Written by Jeff Buckland, 1/5/2010
Many games that were originally set for release in the holiday season of 2009 have been pushed to 2010, and quite a few of them have already had a ton of hype attached. Titles like Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, God of War III, and Crackdown 2 are already highly anticipated titles for 2010, but what about some of the lesser-known games that we've only seen a few glimpses of? There are plenty of interesting-looking games coming out, and any of them could be surprise runaway hits. Let's take a look at some of the bigger titles as well as some of the lesser-known ones, shall we?
Dark Void
Developer: Airtight Games
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release Date: January 19
Action games with jetpacks have had a rocky past; Tribes was a beloved competitive game, but the franchise died out years ago. Other titles like Shattered Horizon and Section 8 on PC also bring in jetpacks to the online space, but how can a single player game with a jetpack as the main mode of transportation work? The videos for Capcom's Dark Void look interesting, and the soundtrack by Bear McCreary (composer for the recent TV show Battlestar Galactica) will almost surely add a ton of excitement to the action.
Mass Effect 2
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: EA
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360
Release Date: January 26
Bioware is on a rampage recently, delivering the successful and critically acclaimed Dragon Age less than two months before their big sequel, Mass Effect 2. This sci-fi RPG/shooter is equally anticipated by both PC and console gamers, and for good reason - the first game was a bit rough around the edges, but it introduced us into a wonderful and frightening vision of the future of humankind. As we take Commander Shepard and a whole new crew into the Terminus Systems (and beyond?), it's hard to imagine that anyone doubted Bioware for breaking free of the Star Wars mold and doing science fiction their way.
MAG
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Publisher: Sony
Platforms: PS3
Release Date: January 26
As games get more and more detailed, we've found that the developers of online action games have had to limit the scale of their projects greatly in order to make everything "fit". Few console games support 24 players at a time or more, and those that do often pull a lot of tricks to try and spread the battle out so you never see more than a dozen people at once. MAG throws that away, promising battles with up to 256 players at once - sure, Sony's own Planetside did that back on the PC years ago, but no one seems to even remember that game anymore. Plus, the console crowd will see this as a first, and for them, it most certainly will be. Impressions from the MAG beta so far have been great, and Sony is gearing up for a huge beta event soon that hopefully will increase the anticipation for their next big PS3 exclusive.
BioShock 2
Developer: 2K Marin, 2K Australia, Digital Extremes
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release Date: February 9
BioShock surprised many console gamers with its amazing story and fantastic visuals back in 2007, but those of us who knew Irrational Games from the old days expected no less. Now, we've got a sequel in the works, but the original team isn't on board and three development teams now have their hands in the pot. Can all of these people together make an interesting and compelling experience, or will they wear out the welcome given to them after the first BioShock? It's a tough call at this point, especially when most of the story of the sequel's still entirely under wraps, but I am hopeful that the single player experience will be at least as good as the first game's.
Heavy Rain
Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony
Platforms: PS3
Release Date: February
Heavy Rain has been panned by some journalists as a big quick-time event collection masquerading as a serious video game, but it seems to me like the guys at Quantic Dream are trying to do something entirely different. This is a psychological thriller where you'll play four characters at their best and at their worst, through mundane parts of their days and when they're all affected by one central character, a serial killer that must be caught. I wasn't a big fan of the developers' previous game, Indigo Prophecy, but I'm definitely willing to give Heavy Rain a shot. Attention deficit gamers need not apply, but this one looks like it'll deliver the story and emotionality that so few video games so far have been able to achieve.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Developer: DICE
Publisher: EA
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release Date: March 2
A year or two back, DICE finally ditched that horrible engine that had been powering their games since what seemed like the dawn of time. Now, they've got a solid technology and they're bringing huge fights onto both PC and consoles; Bad Company 2 looks to carefully build on what made the first one so much fun. Hopefully, this time they'll get the sales and recognition they deserve, because the first one was a lot of fun but simply doesn't have a great playerbase anymore. The PC version is gaining the interest of hardcore shooter fans, because DICE has promised to keep in things like dedicated servers (the exact omission that has made online play in the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 such a disappointment).
Supreme Commander 2
Developer: Gas Powered Games
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PC
Release Date: March 2
Square Enix decided to break out of its Japan-only shell in 2009, and their first act was to publisher the World War II strategy game Order of War. Next up is Supreme Commander II, another strategy game, this one a sequel to the large-scale RTS title from 2007. Yeah, THQ wasn't so impressed with the first Supreme Commander's performance, but hopefully we'll see a return to form for RTS mastermind Chris Taylor. This sequel promises to maintain the scale we've seen before, but this time channeled into more of an arena-style battlefield. Units will be fired from out of the playfield with large cannons, and with more customization of each player's most important unit, the ACU, promises to deliver a significantly different experience compared to the first time around.
