2010 Most Anticipated Games of First Quarter

Featured, Games — By Mike Ruest on December 28, 2009 at 12:50 am

I Hope You Have Some Christmas Money Left
Now that Modern Warfare 2 has made a ton of money, it’s going to take another ton of money to afford all the games that will be released in the first quarter of 2010. Some of which were potentially pushed to 2010 for fear of poor sales due to Infinity Ward’s masterpiece shooter that exploded onto the scene in November of 2009. To prepare yourself and your wallet, here is a list of the most anticipated games of the first quarter of 2010. Whether they will be of any interest to you or be any good at all is yet to be seen. Regardless, here they are in order of ship date:

Bayonetta (PS3/Xbox 360 – ships 1/5/2010)

Bayonetta

You play as a gun-wielding witch with super powers in this high-power, over-the-top, fast-paced, acrobatic action game from the creative mind of Hideki Kamiya. This game is already receiving rave reviews.

Army of Two: The 40^th Day (PS3/Xbox 360 – ships 1/12/2010)

Army-of-Two: 40th Day

This sequel to what could have been a great game has now been refined for action with a new mission for Rios and Salem. Featuring new co-op moves, weapons and customization. Here’s hoping EA gets it right this time, instead of all the cutbacks and compromises we saw in the first game.

Dark Void (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 1/19/2010)

Dark Void

A sci-fi action game where players get to take to the skies with their very own jetpack! Hopefully, Capcom will give us an excellent third-person game. I am still trying to get over what could have been with Bionic Commando.

Mass Effect 2 (PC/Xbox 360 – Ships 1/26/2010)

Mass Effect 2

Hop aboard for a new space adventure with the return of Commander Shepard. This mature and already highly controversial game will feature incredible RPG-Action that will truly be out of this world.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii – Ships 1/26/2010)

No More Heroes 2

The sequel to one of the goriest games on the Wii returns in “No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.” Get ready to fight and slash as Travis Touchdown in this action-adventure.

MAG (PS3 – Ships 1/26/2010)

MAG

The first first-person shooter to feature 256 players in a multiplayer game made up of 8-man squads. This massive war game will be a game of huge MAGnitude.

Star Trek Online (PC – Ships 2/2/2010)

Calling all Trekkies and Trekkers, choose to battle online either as a Federation Captain or a Klingon Warrior in this MMORPG that will feature epic space battles and confrontations on the surface of planets within the Star Trek universe.

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3 – Ships April 2010?)

Gran Turismo 5

After many delays and partial installments, Gran Turismo 5 is finally coming to the PS3. Get ready to drive in one of the most complete racing experiences ever. Update: Another Delay.

Bioshock 2 (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 2/9/2010)

Bioshock 2

You play as the first Big Daddy – a prototype for the Big Daddies of the first award winning game in this epic underwater action, horror-shooter, which is set 10 years after the events in Rapture city.

Blur (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 2/15/2010)

Blur

From the creators of Project Gotham Racing comes “Blur,” an over-the-top racing game featuring co-op and competitive races where you battle it out with your opponents using power-ups that you can collect and combine.

Singularity (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 2/15/2010)

Singularity

This first-person shooter is set in an alternate 2010 blending Cold War history and sci-fi. Players will use both conventional and unconventional weapons to complete missions.

Aliens vs. Predator (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 2/16/2010)

Aliens vs. Predator

Sega will possibly grant many sci-fi gamers’ their dreams of playing as an alien, a predator, or colonial marine in the first-person shooter “Aliens vs. Predator.” Let the action begin.

Heavy Rain (PS3 – Ships 2/16/2010)

Heavy Rain

In what could be a revolutionary game, “Heavy Rain” is set to shower us with a psychological thriller that pits players against a serial killer using four characters. If the game plays as good as it looks, we’re in for a real treat.

Endless Ocean: Blue World (Wii – Ships 2/22/2010)

Endless Ocean: Blue World

This sequel game is set to expand the ocean experience with a goal of more intense action versus just taking a relaxing dive. With improved graphics and online multiplayer, this game is set to take this franchise to a new level.

Splinter Cell: Conviction (PC/Xbox 360 – Ships April 2010)

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Sam Fisher is back and out to seek vengeance on those responsible for his daughter’s death. Featuring stealth-action to allow players to powerfully meet threats with intense force, this game will also include Co-op and other multiplayer matches in this highly anticipated sequel. Update: Delayed from its 2/23 release, oh well, we’ve only been waiting since 2007 for this game, so what’s another few months.

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (PC/PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/PSP/DS – Ships 3/1/2010)

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Prepare yourself for another LEGO game starring Harry, Ron, Hermione and over 100 playable characters with Drop-in and Drop-out cop-op play.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 3/2/2010)

Battlefield Bad Company 2

If you’re tired of playing Modern Warfare 2, pickup this game for spectacular multiplayer action with huge maps, destructible environments, and vehicles ranging from ATVs to Helicopters.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 3/9/2010)

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII takes you on a RPG adventure in Cocoon and the outer world of Pulse. With this sequel to the acclaimed franchise, players will now be able to switch between party members’ roles during combat. Come March 2010, fans in North America will finally get their hands on this game, which has already been released in Japan last year.

Just Cause 2 (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 3/23/2010)

Just Cause 2

Rico Rodriguez is back for an open world, over-the-top, action-adventure on the island of Panau. With his grappling hook and parachute always ready, players can expect some insane over-the-top gameplay as you fight, shoot, fly, drive, and basically cause massive amounts of destruction. Since this time the game is not being developed for older platforms (i.e., PlayStation 2 and Xbox) as in the original title, the game engine should be optimized to take full advantage of the PS3 and Xbox 360, as well as newer PCs.

Red Steel 2 (Wii – Ships 3/23/2010)

Red Steel 2

The original Red Steel may have been one of the biggest selling 3^rd party titles for the Wii, based solely on what looked like a cool idea to use the motion controller as a sword, but in the end – it was more of a gimmick than a viable gaming feature. Developer UbiSoft is seeking to remedy this and many other issues with this sequel and its use of the Wii MotionPlus. Though I am impressed from what I’ve seen so far, I remain skeptical. Let’s not forget that it was UbiSoft who pumped out one pathetic title after another (when the console was first released) to capitalize on the Wii phenomena at the expense of the consumer. So let’s just see if Red Steel 2 will deliver the goods.

Crysis 2 (PC/PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 3/30/2010)

Crysis 2

When Crytek first demoed its game engine, it floored the gaming world. However, the only way to experience all of its glory (in the first Crysis game) was to have a super high-end PC. That’s no longer the case with Crysis 2. Crytek through some programming magic has developed the CryEngine 3, which will apparently give us the full Crysis experience on the Xbox 360 and PS3, as well the PC. If the early teaser videos shown so far are real, console gamers are in for a real treat.

God of War III (PS3 – Ships 3/16/2010)

God of War III

What does it mean when you can re-release two prequels on the PS3 and they not only score well, but they sell well too? It means you’ve got a winner on your hands. Thus, in comes the long awaiting God of War III to give eager a fans what they want. Expect this action game to not only sell many copies, but also sell many systems. Kratos rocks!

Yakuza 3 (PS3 – Ships 4/1/2010)

Yakuza 3

When I first saw the cutscenes to Yakuza 3, I was immediately wowed. But having seen the game in action, I am worried that the fighting will get boring and repetitive. Yet this is not the first time SEGA has had to put together a good fighter. Let’s just hope they can blend all these other gaming elements together to give us a smash hit.

Alan Wake (Xbox 360 – Ships 4/12/2010)

Alan Wake

Delay, delay, go away, come again, not another day. Okay, sorry for cheap rhyme. But that has to be the song many gamers have been singing for years in anticipation of this long awaiting title from Microsoft. If the end product equals the amount of time this exclusive title has been in development, Alan Wake should be one of the greatest action-adventure games of all-time

Dead to Rights: Retribution (PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 4/13/2010)

Dead to Rights 2

Ever since “Shadow Dancer” was released in the arcade and then on the Genesis in the late 80’s, the idea of having a canine ally to fight by your side has been most intriguing. So when the first Dead to Rights came out in 2002 for the Xbox and PS2, many like myself were left with mixed feelings about the game. It was good, just not great. So with eight years of tinkering and rumors, Namco will release what will conceivably be, a better than average game. Let’s just cross our fingers that we don’t windup with a sequel that substitutes substance for just another run of the mill 3^rd person shooter with added darkness and violence.

Red Dead Redemption (PS3/Xbox 360 – Ships 4/27/2010)

Red Dead Redemption

As a fan of Westerns, I am surprised this setting and genre is just now starting to pickup steam. And with Rockstar at the reins, this open-world Western should be more than just a desert of a sandbox game. Expect a ten-gallon story and root’n toot’n action when John Marston comes to town.

ModNation Racers (PS3 – Ships Q1 2010)

ModNation Racers

What do you get when you take the customization, online sharing and graphic quality of LittleBigPlanet and combine it with the fun of Mario Kart? You get ModNation Racers, an exclusive upcoming game by Sony Computer Entertainment coming out sometime March or April of 2010. While the track editor looks like it took some cues from Far Cry’s level editor, Sony seems to have made it incredibly simple to make your own tracks, characters and cars. Expect this one to be a fun romp for both serious and average players of all ages.