With 2009 about to bid a fond farewell, when we finally regain sobriety in 2010, the focus will undoubtedly shift to another fine selection of gaming titles that will hit shelves and online stores across the following twelve months. Of course, many of those titles in the early portion of the year will be ones that wisely accepted delays in order to step out of the path of the Modern Warfare steamroller.
Five of our writers have pooled over the release radar for the next twelve months, as well as a few TBA games too, in order to unveil which five titles they'll be either frantically saving up the cash for, or raiding their cupboards to find titles they can trade against them. Maybe you, faithful readers, will find inspiration in our lists, or perhaps just a few surprises too.
5. Just Cause 2
You'll soon notice that my list is dominated by sequels. Whatever happened to originality, eh? Still, the original Just Cause was a decent single-player experience when bought at a budget price, and proof that you shouldn't always judge a game by its demo (especially when that demo is a god awful mess that doesn't actually appear in the finished game). With another absolutely massive map to traverse around, several decent side-quests to pass the hours, and a whole load of gravity and death-defying vehicle stunts to pull off, Just Cause 2 could very well be worth a gander at full price.
4. Project Needlemouse
Some might argue that the only good Sonic is a dead Sonic. I'd be more inclined to say that the only good Sonic is a 2D one, and that's why Project Needlemouse has piqued my interest. The New Super Mario Bros games have proven that taking a beloved character back to his old-school routes can and does work, so I have faith that PN, or whatever it winds up being called, will be the Sonic game that we've been crying out for for years. The GBA games were decent enough, so surely this can't go wrong. Can it?
3. Bioshock 2
2007 was an awesome year for gaming, thanks in part to this particular gem. Bioshock 2 will take us back to the bizarre, underwater world of Rapture for more dark, gloomy and generally awesome exploration. There are some mild concerns, mainly the fact that the creator of the first game has had nothing to do with the sequel, and the inclusion of a multiplayer mode (omitted from the first game as it would damage the integrity of the story), but so long as we can still be scared witless by lumbering Big Daddies and splicers attacking from nowhere, then we would kindly allay those fears.
2. Batman 2
It seems silly to call it Arkham Asylum 2, presumably as it's not going to be set in the Asylum for one. That is, of course, unless some bright spark decides to play the "oh by the way, there were a whole bunch of buildings on the Island that you didn't see" card (note to Rocksteady: don't). AA was a fantastic single player experience from start to finish (even despite a glitch that forced me to do the final boss fight twice), and here's hoping that the sequel, if it sees release in 2010, will be the same. My only fear is that they'll feel the need to shoehorn in a multiplayer mode for whatever reason (note to Rocksteady: see previous note).
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
From a personal standpoint, I'd name Mario Galaxy as the best Wii game to date, perhaps even the best game of the generation so far (it's up there, either way). One thing that could perhaps usurp the 2007 adventure is its sequel, as long as they don't make every level in the style of Luigi's Purple Coins, of course! Expect more zipping between planets, frantic dashes, dangerous jumps, and a whole lot of Yoshi riding too, and this could be the flagship game for the new decade. Or we could have another "64 to Sunshine" transition on our hands. I hope not.
Up Next: Emily King
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