Most Anticipated Games Of 2010

01 Jan 2010 at 23:03:53 by Andy Alderson

With 2009 proving to be a great year for gamers, here at IncGamers we've put together a list of our most anticipated titles of next year. After much arguing and one brief-but-savage fist fight (you stopped crying yet, Tim?). Don't forget to check out our special video feature below where the team discuss their choices. Here are our picks for 2010:

 MMORPG

Just as Bioware looks set to take the RPG world by storm in 2010 with Mass Effect 2, the Canadian developer also has its sights on the MMO market with Star Wars: The Old Republic. We’ve been excited about TOR since the excellent Coruscant trailer and with a storyline focused on player choices and a fully-voiced roster of NPCs, we think The Old Republic will give the big MMO titles a run for their money.

Strategy

While we have no idea if we’ll actually see StarCraft II in 2010, we have to include Blizzard’s hugely anticipated sequel as our strategy pick. Improved visuals and a non-linear single player campaign are two major plus points in our book and it seems Blizzard has overhauled the multiplayer game with better matchmaking and a new competitive ladder system. Oh, and regarding the new graphics engine, we can apparently look forward to some stunning cinematic cutscenes.

RPG

2010 will be a big year for RPG experts Bioware with their Star Wars MMO (see below) and, of course, a sequel to the excellent Mass Effect. Not only is it set to feature more cinematic visuals and an epic branching story, ME2 will apparently sport an overhauled combat mechanic to bolster up the “action” side of the game’s action RPG tag. Everything we’ve seen so far oozes quality and we suspect the space opera will be the RPG to watch in 2010.

Action/Adventure

Heavy Rain As so many titles, open world and otherwise, fall into this category we have chosen three action-adventure titles to look out for in 2010. The atmospheric, story-driven may be more adventure than action but we think it may just turn out to be one of the gaming experiences of 2010. Our open world pick is the long-awaited sequel to Mafia from 2K, which we suspect will improve upon the excellent narrative of the first game with a new protagonist and a vibrant, dynamic city.  And we couldn’t leave the action/adventure category without a good old dose of action in the form of Batman: Arkham Aslyum 2. Very little is known about it at the moment although it seems as if it will be set outside of the Asylum and if it’s half as good as the first game, Arkham Asylum 2 will be an action-packed gaming experience.

Sport

The sports genre is usually all about the annual update but 2010 sees a new player throw its hat in the ring (or Octagon) in the form of EA’s MMA. The publisher’s first foray into the world of mixed martial arts faces some tough competition from THQ’s UFC Undisputed franchise but we think MMA’s varied list of fighters and franchises (Strikeforce is included) as well as the impressive Fight Night Round 4 game engine could make for a great game.

Shooters

The news that EA has revived the Medal of Honor franchise to compete with Modern Warfare 2 means MoH simply has to be on our most anticipated list. With a modern setting (Afghanistan) a bona fide bad-ass set of military consultants (the Tier One Operatives) and DICE handling the multiplayer, MoH has an awful lot of potential. Speaking of DICE, we don’t want to rule out Bad Company 2 either, which is looking fantastic. Will either be able to topple Modern Warfare 2? Don't rule it out.

Racing

As wary as we are to suggest that Gran Turismo 5 will see the light of day in 2010 (it’s been sooooo long, Sony) we have been assured that this is, in fact, the case. As such, we’d be foolish to suggest there’s a more anticipated driving title than Polyphony Digital’s PS3-exclusive sim. With 1000+ cars and 70 tracks (including the Top Gear test track, which we’re particularly looking forward to), can GT5 silence the Forza fans?

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