Five Most Anticipated Upcomming Games

The end of the year has long and away been the most active time in a gamer’s life. Every year for this current generation console, we see spectacular games released within a short time frame of each other. These games blow our minds, empty our wallets, and waste away our life away but we wouldn’t want it any other way. To recap this point, lets look at the last few years in the gaming industry. In 2007 we were blessed with such awesome titles like Halo 3, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, The Orange Box, Mass Effect, and the mega hit Call of Duty 4. Indeed 2007 was something to have been beheld, even being coined the best year in gaming history by www.gametrailers.com. This is not to say that the games released toward the end of 2008 were at all a light weight. We saw the release of Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2, Gears of war 2, Fallout 3, and (of course) LittleBigPlanet.

But now we are fast approaching this time for the year of 2009. Some game dates have all already been announced and we are simply waiting anxiously as we count down the days on our calendar until their release. To give you a sense on how good 2009 will be, other games that were to be released in the following months have been scared off by other titles that will be released in the same time-frame. Although they are likely already completed, they have moved their release date to later in 2010 so as to not loose revenue and be lost in the sea of superb titles. Yes, the games during this time is that good.

Let me make perfectly clear that this is entirely my opinion. I am in no way an authority on the subject and I don’t claim to be. I’m just an ordinary gamer like you. Another thing to note that my list extends from September to January in America (Sorry FFV XIII) and is not strictly Q4. I had to redo this list several times over as some titles I wiedsh to place on this list were too far off to be considered near future (These will be stated after the list). Let me also say that I have excluded the wii entirely from my list. Although many love and cherish the console, I wanted to concentrate on the hardcore audiences of the PS3, 360, and PC. If you disagree with my list, please comment and if you liked it, please press the button “like it”. Lets start!

Number 5! Mass Effect 2

Mass effect was one of those games you have to experience to understand. A amazing story with actual decision that impacted the game. Couple this with beautiful graphics and a meaningful conversation system and we see why this game has such a mass effect (get it?) on it’s fans. However, that was released in 2007, our standards have grown since then and Bioware will have to work hard if they want to appease their fans. I have faith in Bioware though, from what I have seen thus far it will be just as stunning as the first game. This game has a large fan base which helps contribute to it’s hype level. This game will be released somewhere between January and March of the next year for the Xbox 360.

Number 4! MAG!

Imagine playing with up to 256 other players at once online. That is the idea of MAG whose developers are giving us the unprecedented promise of 256 player matches running smoothly. Such a feat alone would be spectacular in and of itself, however the game is shaping up not to look half bad. The interesting thing with Mag is it’s emphasis on player controlled action; unlike other games, you or someone who you are playing with control everything that is going on in the map that you play. Players can man helicopter turrets, order men into battle, and other such things some titles avoid. Some claim gimic, I claim future. Choose your faction and gear up for MAG! Mag will be released early January of 2010 for the PS3.

Number 3! Uncharted: Among thieves!

Uncharted: Drake’s fortune was a marvel for it’s time. In a list of dull games with dreary colors, this game chose to place it’s character in a lively, colorful place. Drake is a master of his art, being able to both climb and navigate his world with ease and use a gun effectively on those who wish to hurt him. Uncharted, at the time a completely new IP became a new face of the PS3. The game gained a massive following and because of this people have high expectation for Uncharted 2. However, that isn’t at all a worry for Naughty Dog who is taking the pressure in stride. They will be including a full fledged multiplayer that is just as beautiful as the actual game. The game itself is incredibly looking better than it did before which really is astonishing. Drake’s new adventure comes to the PS3 October 13th 2009.

Number 2! Starcraft 2!

Okay, I don’t think I need to say too much about Starcraft 2. Although being delayed countless times, us gamers know Blizzard is simply getting the game just right for launch as they always have. With such games on their roster as WOW, Diablo, and Warcraft we simply know that Starcraft 2 will be a quality experience. The Starcraft series has always been focused on the gameplay rather than the graphics making for a fun experience regardless of CPU speed. This is not to say Starcraft 2 looks bad at all; it’s new 3-D engine renders all aspects of the game beautifully and brings life to the once dull pixels we played in Starcraft 1. If the first game is any indication, a heavy emphasis will be placed on balance. Even though The first game was releaced in 1998, it is still being played competitively in tournaments. Starcraft will be released on the PC early 2010 although it is currently rumored to be released somewhere in January.

AND THE NUMBER 1 MOST ANTICIPATED GAME! Modern Warfare 2!

Did you see this coming? If you did then you are in on the incredible hype associated with this game. Activision has done well in making a first person shooter accessable to both hardcore and casual gamers without compromising on either one. Cod4 was a beautiful game back when it was released in 2007 and still looks better than many more current games. Not only was Cod4’s single player engrossing, it’s multiplayer was truly addicting having a level-up system that inticed you to play more. Modern Warfare 2 seeks to continue this trend and expand on it. If you have seen any gameplay at all, you know that this game looks even better than the first game. The new options in multiplayer looks to make this game even more addicting than before. Also the inclusion on a special 2 person co-operative game seems to be Activision’s responce to COD WAW’s addictive zombie survival mini-game. This title looks better than before, has the promise of an engrossing single player, has the addictive levels of the multiplayer, and all new features that are a first for the Modern Warfare series… Need I say more? Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and Mac is, by far, the most anticipated game and will be released November 10th.

Last thoughts

This article was an extreme pain to write. My original list included titles like Heavy Rain, FFV XIII, God of War III, and other titles that I thought were to be released in late Q4 or early Q1 of next year. However, Heavy Rain is to be released in March, Final Fantasy will be released in Q2 in America, and God of war III doesn’t even have a release date yet based on my research. It was aggravating and upsetting cutting them out, however there are so many quality games coming out that my disappointment was soon quelled. In reality, Starcraft was to be removed from the list due to it’s ambiguity on release date. However, I found several articles stating that the new Battle.net will be ready by the January, the time where Blizzard will supposedly release the game. We’ll see in January whether or not that is true.

The honorable mentions are:

Assassin’s Creed 2

Left 4 Dead 2

Halo ODST

Heavy Rain

FFV XIII

God of War III

Sincerely,

     GreenSunshine