No.10 Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows
It has been a dark time for the once-great Castlevania franchise. Sure, the series has seen success on portable platforms like the Nintendo DS, but those are just essentially 2-D retreads of the great Symphony of the Night. In terms of current generation relevance, the story of the vampire-hunting Belmont clan has fallen far off the map. All of that may change in 2010, with Konami set to put a renewed amount of effort and time behind the latest Castlevania reboot, Lord of Shadows. With the game being transformed into a sleeker, more action-packed adventure, Lord of Shadows should appeal to new and old fans alike. The game’s development will be overseen by Metal Gear Solid creator, Hideo Kojima and the rest of his team, so in addition to gory undead slaying, one can expect a cinematic story filled with plenty of twists and turns.
No.9 Fallout: New Vegas
Even though Fallout 3 was released in the fall of 2008, between the sprawling main story and massive downloadable content, most gamers are probably just finally finishing with Bethesda’s role-playing masterpiece. Development duties for New Vegas have been handed over to RPG veteran Obsidian Entertainment, who is best known for their follow-up to Knights of the Old Republic. Even though this game is not a true sequel, but rather another tale from the Fallout 3 universe, killing zombies and other nuclear abominations in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas landscape sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon -- or 500 afternoons.
No.8 BioShock 2
Few sequels in gaming have been as anticipated by fans like the next entry in the tale of Rapture, an ill-fated utopian city several leagues beneath the sea. Originally slated for release in 2009, the 2K Marin-developed BioShock 2 was pushed back into the next calendar year, and the hope is that the extra time and attention will mean that this sequel does not undercut the series’ critically acclaimed reputation. The major new addition to BioShock 2 will be a multiplayer game mode that features five different team-based modes, six unique characters to play as and Big Daddy suit power-ups. Would you kindly start getting excited for a return to Rapture?
No.7 Gran Turismo 5
It was at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in the summer of 2006 that the next entry into the highly respected Gran Turismo racing series was announced, and the amazingly long development cycle is finally about to see the checkered flag. Fans of the PS3exclusive Gran Turismo 5 have watched endless preview videos, read hundreds of articles and even paid for a demo version of the game, but this summer they will finally be able to get behind the wheel for real. If you are curious as to what all the fuss is about, try to wrap your head around 1,000 cars and 20 tracks, rendered in photo-realistic majesty. Of course it's not just a new paint job that has motorheads all charged up; Gran Turismo 5 will be the first game in the series to feature online play for up to 16 racers at a time.
No.6 alan wake
What do you get when you mix the literary works of Stephen Kingwith the mysteries of Lost, and add a dash of Twin Peakscreepiness? The answer to that question is the psychological thriller Alan Wake, the newest video game from Remedy Entertainment. Best known for the Max Payne franchise, the Finnish company has now set their sights on another dark tale, that of author Alan Wake, whose latest story seems to be coming alive right before his eyes. Playing out in episodic format with a television-style presentation, Alan Wake mixes action and strategy to combine for what should be a wholly original experience. The open-world game promises to be the beginning of a much bigger story, which could set the table for future sequels down the line.
No.5 Final Fantasy XIII
Introduced all the way back in 1987, Square Enix’s Final Fantasyfranchise has been the first name in role-playing video games for over two decades. Now making its debut on the PS3 and Xbox 360,Final Fantasy looks to once again raise the bar on both the graphics and gameplay of an entire genre. Final Fantasy XIII will introduce all new characters and themes to the series, while borrowing enough of the essence of the previous games to feel familiar enough to longtime fans. Judging by the reaction to the game's release in Japan -- an excess of 1 million units sold in just one day -- this game is sure to be another evolution for RPGs.
No.4 Heavy Rain
While there are sure to be hundreds of games released in 2010, there will most definitely be nothing else like Quantic Dream’s wholly original and graphically groundbreaking Heavy Rain. Raising the bar on in-game narratives, Heavy Rain is a dark film noir tale about the hunt for a serial murderer known as the Origami Killer, letting the player control four distinct characters that are all somehow linked to the mysterious killer. The gameplay, which is a vehicle for the deep and intriguing story, plays through a series of quick-time events that can have you doing everything from shaving to mourning the death of your son to breaking up an armed robbery. Also, unlike many other games, if one of your characters dies while playing, the story will actually carry on as if that event were an organic piece of the action, with the events of the previous person's death influencing the rest of the plot.
No.3 Halo: Reach
It's hard to be even a casual fan of video games and not know about Halo. Every Halo game release is a major event, and there is no question that Halo: Reach will be one of the can’t-miss games for the 2010 holiday season. Halo: Reach will actually bring the story of the Halo universe back to a pivotal moment on the timeline that takes place before the original Xbox game. "Reach" refers to a key military installation for the UNSC forces, where they actually train and create SPARTAN soldiers, such as series star Master Chief. For the first time, players will be exposed to and presumably be able to control several SPARTANs, including a female character. Early development indications and careful digging seems to point to squad-based combat mechanics forHalo: Reach, which could add a very interesting twist to the beloved multiplayer modes that have become the game’s calling card.
No.2 Mass Effect 2
With the exception of some quirky user interfaces and graphical bugs, the 2007-released Mass Effect was pure science fiction nirvana. The action takes place in the year 2183, and you control Commander Sheppard, an elite human soldier whose race is a very small minority in an ever-expanding new galaxy. With a story worthy of being called a space opera, and action fit for a blockbuster movie, it should come as no surprise that people are pretty pumped for the second part of this planned trilogy. Thankfully, the wait will soon come to an end as Mass Effect 2 will be on retail shelves in late January. Picking up right where the last game left off, Mass Effect 2 will actually read directly from your old saved games file and shape plot points and key events based on what sort of character you built the first time out. BioWare has listened to their faithful community and seem to have corrected many of the minor faults for this sequel that is so massive it spans two discs.
No.1 God Of War III
Kratos is back for the fourth and final chapter of the God of Warseries, and if the previous games were any indication, the conclusion should be a bloody good time. As the titular God of war, you control Kratos -- he who wields a pair of blades attached to his arms -- as you take on the litany of godlike creatures from Greek mythology. Massive in scope, with set pieces that would dwarf even the biggest summer blockbuster movies, God of War IIIwill up the ante on all action games. With the amount of enemies on screen increased from 15 to 50, a slew of new weapons and technical achievements will push the powerful PS3 hardware to its limits. God of War III will truly be epic. In case you're finding the wait till March 31 totally unbearable, Sony has released a God of War collection, which features the first two PS2 games, a bundle of bonus material and a code for the God of War III demo all on one 1080p high-definition Blu-ray disc. Fortify your stomach, because it is going to be a blood-and-gore filled spring season
