2009 turned out to be a great year for video games, with the release of a bunch of amazing games. Towards the end of the year — with the release of Modern Warfare 2, Borderlands, Assassin’s Creed 2, etc. — I had was hard-pressed for time to do anything but play games. And that’s without even considering my Street Fighter 4 addiction.
So as the 2010 is upon us, we’re going to have to put down the Modern Warfare and check out some of the upcoming games. The first big release is Mass Effect 2. To be honest, it’s hard for me to get too excited about this game. The other one was just too clunky for me to finish (I got through about 60%). I also never really connected with the characters, despite the cool science fiction setting. However, early impressions are stacking up to show that they made vast improvements. My guess is that reviewers will call this a must-buy, and I’m sure I’ll pick up.
Next is Battlefield: Bad Company 2. This game would have a much bigger profile if not for Modern Warfare, but oh well. From the gameplay footage, it appears that it has a different style of play than MW2, with very big multiplayer maps that move the fight into varying territories (it will shift from rural to urban in the same stage). I can’t wait to get my hands on this game.
I have to mention Army of Two: the 40th Day. Early impressions are positive, though I just don’t like the way the game feels from playing the demo. Sorry, I’ve never been an Army of Two fan. I am, however, a Splinter Cell fan, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Splinter Cell Conviction. It looks sweet — they really went back to the drawing board after the last version flopped. They’re introducing some novel play mechanics, which is hard to do in this age, where we’ve seen everything under the sun.
Finally, it was recently discovered that Microsoft’s Project Natal is slated for a 2010 release. I’m incredibly happy about this: The promotional footage of the product looks amazing. I think this is going to be a game-changer, and will thoroughly solidify Microsoft’s dominance in the gaming arena. OF course, there’s a chance it could flop, but I sincerely hope consumers give it a chance. Microsoft will be risking a lot (rumors have it that it will sell for cheap to achieve a large install base), and I hope it pays off for them (and us!).
Stay tuned for more articles on gaming!
