Most Anticipated Games 2010 #3

2010 is now in full swing and great games are finding their way into our consoles, but don’t get too comfortable because there’s a whole bunch more on the way, each one as hotly anticipated as the next.

Halo: Reach (360)

We’ve heard stories of the Halo series ending for some time now, but while they keep announcing games we’ll keep anticipating them, because love it or hate it; Halo is a massive deal to a large number of people. This latest title ditches the real-time strategy tangent entirely and focuses on what made the series popular in the first place – solid first-person shooting.

The game will be set in the year 2552, before the events of the original Halo: Combat evolved and act as a prequel, focusing on a war on the planet Reach, “as a fictional planet, [Reach] was just a great candidate to play around with. It's such a rich world, with such a great fiction surrounding it," said Marcus Lehto, creative director. He then goes on to explain how setting the game on such a fascinating planet allows them to, “build an immense story with it,” which we’re sure will be great.

A multiplayer beta has been announced for May 3, but players will need a copy of Halo 3: ODST to act as their portal. So if that sounds like your thing make sure you don’t miss it. No official release date has been given as of yet, but stay tuned.

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Most of us remember the ‘Prime’ trilogy with fond memories and a fair few of us still have those titles nestled neatly in our gaming collections for nostalgia purposes. Their gripping gameplay, intense action and exploration elements, mixed with the unnerving eeriness formed a compelling, water-tight gaming experience.

Other M wants to keep some of those traits, but combine them with some retro 2D platforming in order to bring the series back to its roots. The way this will work is by holding the WiiMote in various positions, thus triggering a different perspective. Holding the remote like a classic NES controller will see you navigating a 2D plane, whereas pointing your remote directly at the television – the more Wii-esque of the two – will switch you to a 3D plane, in which you will view the world from a first-person perspective. The game will require frequent switching between the two and each one will grant new abilities that will help you defeat enemies in whole new ways, as well as allow you to delve deeper into Samus’s story than ever before.

The game will be Wii-exclusive and is set for release in Japan early this Summer. North America will follow with a date of June 27, whilst Europe will have to wait until September 24.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC, Mac)

One of the most anticipated gaming sequels of all time, perhaps? We’ve seen beta keys go on auction sites for stupid amounts of money, which goes some way to showing just how badly people want to get their hands on this game. The original, which was praised by critics when it was released 12 years go, is still played by many to this day. GameInformer Magazine placed it as the 35th greatest game of all time, whilst GameSpot also has it listed in their Greatest Games of All Time.

StarCraft II will keep the same core gameplay mechanics that made it so popular in the first place, only this time it will make use of the latest graphical enhancements to make a more cinematic experience for us. It will also feature a better single-player campaign, new units to command, as well as a better of array of abilities for old units. The game will also include an advanced editor that will allow the player a crazy amount of options for creating new units, maps and even interfaces, as well as hero-type characters ala Warcraft III. The possibilities really are something to whet the appetite.

The game doesn’t currently have a release date, but should be seen by the years end.

Green Day: Rock Band (360, PS3, Wii)

The first release of the year from the unstoppable force that is the Guitar Hero/Rock Band conveyor belt is yet another band-specific offering. Whether you love or hate these games, there’s no denying how popular they’ve become and modeling the game on one of the biggest rock bands of the last decade is a very smart move.

Unlike The Beatles: Rock Band however, this will be a software release only. So fans of the band hoping to get their hands on Billie Joe’s famous “Blue” guitar will be left disappointed. The good news though is that all previous Rock Band instruments will be compatible, making it a lot easier to delve right if you’ve owned any of the other titles.

The game will feature a 47 track setlist exclusive to Green Day, instead of games such as Guitar Hero: Metallica, which feature an array of songs from the band and then a selection from other artists. Some of the songs already confirmed are: American Idiot, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Hitchin’ a Ride and Wake Me Up When September Ends. In addition to this, the six Green Day songs previously released as downloadable content for Rock Band will also be compatible.

The game is pencilled in for June 8 and may include a ‘Plus’ edition which would feature additional tracks from the band.

Discuss in our specially created board. 
Be sure to stay tuned for the fourth part of our feature.

Craig Bryan, NoobFeed