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The zombies have spread in the years since the original Dead Rising, and now the masses of the undead come to Las Vegas in Capcom's upcoming Xbox 360, PS3, and PC release.

Making its debut in 1996 on the Sony PlayStation, Resident Evil (also known as Biohazard) hits the scene and becomes an over night sensation.

Capcom ran with its success releasing Resident Evil 2 in 1998 followed by Resident Evil 3 Nemesis in 1999, they were both available for the PlayStation and the Sega Dreamcast.

A port of Resident Evil 2 was released on the Nintendo 64 and all three were released for Windows-based systems. The sequels continued, fast-forward to 2009 with the release of Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and will also be available soon on PC.

At this point, one would think Capcom has everything covered. But they're not done yet. It's producing yet another Resident Evil for the iPhone and Pod Touch. This April, Resident Evil Degeneration hit the App Store. The game is based on the CG-animated movie of the same name. The controls for this third-person shooter are simple. navigation is done with an onscreen virtual thumb stick (left side) and the action buttons (right side). Priced at $6.99, this should make this a great infection for the iPhone

With all the success of the Resident Evil series, it's no wonder we've never seen another rendition of Dino Crisis.

So far 2009 is the year for Capcom with the launch of Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, and now the upcoming Lost Planet 2. The hits keep coming, not to mention the newly released DLC for RE5 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Now Capcom has teamed with GameStop and the EVO Championship Series to "fight against hunger" at the Street Fighter IV National Championship Finals. This event is one of the largest and longest-running fighting-game tournaments in the world.

It's taking place Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Sixteen national finalists will battle it out for the grand prize before advancing to represent the U.S. in an international exhibition featuring champions from Japan and Korea. Fans of the genre will be able to experience the action up close and personal as the finalists will be playing live onstage with a giant jumbo screen to show off every bit of the battle.

Not to be overshadowed by the tournament, attendees are invited to join GameStop and Capcom for the "Street Fighter Fights Hunger" charity food drive in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank. Guests are invited to do their part by bringing gifts of canned foods or nominal donations to be collected at the event.

Google's Marissa Mayer announcing new video game themes for iGoogle.

It's perhaps a sign of how little major game industry news was made at the 2009 Game Developer's Conference that Google's simple announcement of a new series of video game themes for its iGoogle personalized home page was one of the best-attended press functions of the show.

In the midst of a dark, noise-filled warehouse space converted into a temporary gaming hub, complete with Guitar Hero and Street Fighter IV setups, we caught up with Google's ubiquitous vice president of search products and user experience, Marissa Mayer, to talk a little about the company's very tentative initial inroads into gaming.

Why is Google interested in gaming right now, and why iGoogle themes?
The iGoogle engineers--all of them--are gamers. Video games are not only something that reflects your interest, but they're really emotionally connected to the user. Everyone's got that experience of finding a new trick or winning a game. It's also something that provides an element of whimsy that our team wanted to put in.

Gaming companies are very particular about how their IP is used. How hard was it to get nine different companies on board ready to launch at the same time?
I have to say, it was relatively easy. For the publishers of the games, they were very excited to connect with their fan base in a new way. iGoogle is a dashboard for people's day, and tens of millions of users log on each day.

I think it's really interesting to think about how a video game can participate in people's home page experience, when you open that browser the first thing in the morning.

A lot of people already have game modules in their iGoogle pages. This seems like a very logical leaping-off point toward something like that for the games represented here. Are these themes the first step toward integrating that kind of in-browser game content?
Absolutely. We think that games are social, and as iGoogle becomes more and more social--we launched chat last week--we'll know who your connections are, and that will allow you to interact with all your friends and start playing games on your iGoogle page. And they won't be just single-player games, but (also) multiplayer games.

So how long until we see Street Fighter from Capcom, for example, as an iGoogle gadget?
We can't speculate as to when, but I will say that there's an amazing opportunity there.

Photos: iGoogle gets its game on

Google's new gaming themes are available starting March 25. The initial release includes themes based on franchises from the following nine publishers:

Activision: Call of Duty: World at War, Guitar Hero
Blizzard Entertainment: World of Warcraft
Capcom: Mega Man, Street Fighter IV
Eidos: Tomb Raider: Underworld
Electronic Arts: Burnout Paradise: Ultimate Box, Dragon Age Origins, FIFA 09, Mass Effect 2, Scrabble, Spore, The Godfather II, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, The Sims 3
Namco Bandai Games: Galaga
Nintendo: Animal Crossing, Donkey Kong, Mario, Wii Sports, Zelda
Square Enix: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Wizards of the Coast: Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering

The March 13 release of Capcom's Resident Evil 5 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (actually something like the 12th game in the series) makes it easily the highest-profile new video game of 2009 so far, and marks the end of the typically dry post-holiday game season.

We've been playing through a preview version of the game for more than a month now, and found it to be a largely successful mix of familiar and new elements. Like all the Resident Evil entries, this is essentially an action game where a somewhat generic protagonist has to travel through creepy houses, compounds, cities, or secret bases, shooting zombies, madmen, and other monsters along the way.

Two key elements separate games of this genre (the awkward Japanese translation is "survival horror") from straight-up shooters. First, there are occasional brain-twisters to solve, such as deciphering a puzzle to open a door; secondly, ammunition for one's firearms is relatively scarce, so making every shot count is important. However, RE5, like its immediate predecessor, Resident Evil 4, tones down both of these gameplay factors, at least compared with earlier games in the series, opting for a more fast-paced (some would say mainstream) approach.

What distinguishes RE5 from its forbearers and imitators is a change of scenery, moving the action to Africa, and trading the traditional Resident Evil look--dark, shadowy nighttime tableaus--for brightly lit, outdoor villages, where sunlight offers no guarantee of safety. This change throws a wrench in the classic "fear of the dark" instinct that we automatically fall back on in movies, video games, and real life.

(Credit: Capcom)

What could be better news for a gamer than knowing there will be downloadable content for a game before its release? Capcom just announced Versus mode for Resident Evil 5. So, when you get tired of playing with them, play Versus, and take 'em out. Resident Evil 5 will be available March 13.

According to Capcom, Versus allows up to four players to match wits in online battles across two very different game types. Slayer's Rule is a point-based game that challenges players to kill Majinis. In Survivor's Rule, players hunt the most dangerous game, each other! Players can begin the hunt as Chris, Sheva, or other secret characters, and choose from either one-on-one or two-versus-two team matches for either of the two gameplay styles.

Versus will be available on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network a few weeks after Resident Evil 5 is available. And will be available for 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live or $4.99 on the PlayStation Network. Versus mode requires the Resident Evil game software to be played. A broadband internet connection also is required.

Resident Editor Dan Ackerman did a hands on with Resident Evil 5 here.

Resident Evil 5 Versus screen shots

(Credit: Capcom)

For gamers, March 13 is a special day. It's the launch of Capcom's Resident Evil 5. What makes this day even more special is Capcom has partnered with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive.

On the way to pick up a copy of Resident Evil 5, gamers in the Los Angeles area will be invited to give back to the community by donating blood at the World of Wonder gallery on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif., from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, fans of the series will have the chance to get exclusive limited-edition Resident Evil 5 Blood Drive collectibles, win copies of the game, enter a raffle for one of several exclusive red Xbox 360 Resident Evil limited edition consoles, and most importantly, do their part to help a good cause.

This week brings us a brand-new Mega Man game sticking true to its 8-bit roots and a classic Dodge Ball game from the NES era.

WiiWare

• Mega Man 9 (Capcom, 1,000 Wii points): Mega Man 9 is truly an homage to the original classic 8-bit series. Even though the game is brand new with unique stages and bosses, the game has the traditional graphics and gameplay from that of the NES classic franchise.
  
• PLÄTTCHEN twist 'n' paint (Bplus, 1,000 Wii points): PLÄTTCHEN twist 'n' paint is a self-described puzzle-shooter that requires you to paint certain tiles in a row to advance to the next level. The game offers up to 300 levels and a maximum of eight simultaneous players.
  

Virtual Console

• Super Dodge Ball (1989, NES, 500 Wii points): Super Dodge Ball lets you take control of the USA Dodgeball team in a race for world title as you travel the globe attempting to knock each team out of the tournament. A classic to anyone who remembers the NES era, this game is sure to bring back some face-pegging memories.
  
• Vectorman (1995, Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points): Vectorman is a classic platformer that has you complete various worlds and levels ultimately destroying WarHead, an evil robot overlord. Upgrade your weapons with power-ups and save Earth in this futuristic Sega Genesis game.
  

What games do you think are missing from the Wii Virtual Console? Sound off here!