StarCraft 2
The game that just can't get here soon enough and proof positive that Blizzard still sticks by its "the game ships when it's finished" adage. There's a ton of us around the office who still play the ten-plus year old original game, and it's still great -- so a improved version with modern visuals is okay with us. While a lot of people (we're looking at you, Korea) are looking forward to the online play most, some of us are story-nuts and want to see what Kerrigan has cooking or if there's an even bigger threat to the galaxy than the Zerg. Come this summer (that's our informal guess), we'll all have a chance to find out.
Dev: Blizzard | Pub: Blizzard
Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Star Wars name already commands an amazingly large fan base. Couple that with BioWare's much-respected role-playing game cred and know-how, and you've got a recipe for mouth-lathering anticipation. Now, toss that all into the online world of MMOs and our loved ones have already begun to steel themselves against our eventual departure from this world to a galaxy far, far away. Could this be the game to carve out a spot next to the ubiquitous genre leader, World of Warcraft?
Dev: Bioware | Pub: LucasArts
Star Trek Online
Whether you have signed copies of every edition of the Starfleet technical manual or just happened to stop to watch whenever one of the old shows was on in reruns, chances are you've at least once fantasized about captaining a starship and blasting the hell out of some alien jerks with a funny noses (and, who knows, maybe peacefully exploring the galaxy or something). STO looks like it might be the closest we'll ever come to that dream, and even affords the opportunity to design our own funny-nosed aliens.
Dev: Cryptic Studios | Pub: Atari
BioShock 2
Though it no longer carries the subtitle "Sea of Dreams," one gets the feeling that this sequel to 2K's smash-hit shooter will still deal in utopian/dystopian themes and ultimately corruption. A bit of the story has been revealed, and here's a quick rundown of we know so far: It's 10 years after the first game; you play as the first Big Daddy (complete with new weapons and plasmid powers); new splicer types and Big Sisters attack you; and a cult-like society run by one Sophia Lamb (and her crazy butterfly imagery) is the new Big Bad. You can see why we're eager to figure out how it all fits together when the game releases in February.
Dev: 2K Marin | Pub: 2K Games
APB
If there was anything lacking from the GTA series, it was the fact that its expansive, screw-withable cities had a player population of one. It's hard not to wonder what a world like that would be if its cops, criminals, bounty hunters, and arsonists were other human players all out to shoot each other. And maybe in between they could assemble their own gangs with their own personalized tags and tattoos. Yeah, that'd be cool.
World of WarCraft: Cataclysm
Half a decade old and going strong, Blizzard's MMO still manages to have surprises up its sleeve. There's a reason why even departed veterans return with every expansion. Whispers of new content are ever alluring, and the Cataclysm expansion promises new races (Goblins and Worgens), raised level cap, environmental phasing, and an entire revamp of the old World of Warcraft zones. The cataclysmic (get it) changes to the world should prove to be yet another longevity booster shot in Azeroth's arm. How's a recovering WoW-aholic to resist?
Dev: RealTime Worlds | Pub: Electronic Arts
World of WarCraft: Cataclysm
Dev: Blizzard | Pub: Blizzard
Splinter Cell: Conviction
After a less than ideal first round of development, Conviction re-emerged in mid-2009 looking like a completely different game, with new features like the ability to tag enemies from a distance and then take them out in one automated move. Unlike previous Splinter Cell games, the gameplay is now focused on rewarding aggressive players who use stealth as a way to take out enemies rather than as a way to sneak past them. Conviction also brings back the critically acclaimed co-op mode from Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and updates it by carrying over many of the "aggressive stealth" ideas from the single-player mode.
Dev: Ubisoft Montreal | Pub: Ubisoft
Mass Effect 2
It's a bit hard to believe that after a great game like Dragon Age: Origins, that Bioware would be able to release Mass Effect 2 just four months later. Surely, something has to give, right? Well, from what we've played, it just seems like BioWare is really good at multitasking, as Mass Effect 2 already hits the "improved what work, and fixed what didn't" formula for a sequel. Not only have the graphics and loading been optimized, and combat finally feels like an honest-to-god shooter, but the story twists and turns that happen in the very beginning already give us a "dark, The Empire Strikes Back type of middle act" feeling.
Dev: Bioware | Pub: Electronic Arts
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
What FPS fans wouldn't love running out into a combat zone that bears the consequences of explosions and gunfire? That's exactly what Battlefield Bad Company 2 promises to have plenty of: destructibility. And development studio DICE made exciting new changes along the way: new vehicles like the transport helicopter that will give the advantage of air-dropping players behind enemy lines. Not to mention death on the battlefield is no longer a problem when Medics can bring you back with the defibrillator. And according to senior producer Karl-Magnus Troedsson and various other DICE personnel, the story will be, "a bit more serious this time."
Dev: Electronic Arts DICE | Pub: Electronic Arts
Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising
Not only did the original Dawn of War 2 add a significant RPG-style twist to the RTS formula in general, it also finally fixed the "Warhammer 40,000K RTS games need the freakin' Tyranids as a playable army" problem that's persisted in previous WH40K titles. Though, as a result of adding Tyranids, the reliable Chaos Marine army was removed for Dawn of War 2. And that problem will be solved with this new expansion. While Chaos Rising includes a slick new campaign with some cool new squads and units for existing armies, the highlight is easily the Chaos army in multiplayer -- Space Marines and aliens are cool and all, but they're no crazy demonic Space Marines like in Chaos.
Dev: Relic | Pub: THQ
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