2010’s Most wanted

With the ball dropped and the liquor bottles empty, 2010 is upon us. And this, friends, is a good thing—at least when it comes to video games. 2009 may have had its fair share of great games, but it’s nothing compared to what’s coming this year, even besides BioShock 2, God of War III, Mass Effect 2 and Dante’s Inferno. Here’s a list of some titles you’ll want to watch for.

Red Dead Redemption
Systems: PS3, Xbox 360
Release: Fall

The seriously lacking Western genre is getting a much-needed shot in the arm this year, courtesy of Rockstar Games. And the follow-up to the last-gen Red Dead Revolver is looking like it could be the biggest (and one of the most ambitious) takes on open world gaming to date. You’ll play a reformed outlaw living in the Wild West, circa 1910. No telling whether the game’s narrative will explore the death of frontier life under an increasingly modernized world, but rest assured there’ll be plenty of reason to dust off your six-shooters and go to town.

Bit.Trip Runner
System: Wiiware
Release: Spring

Gaijin Games’ Bit.Trip series was a great surprise last year. The series takes the notion of video games’ evolution and twists it around to create unique, rhythmic gameplay. Each game is modeled on a classic arcade design, such as Pong, Tempest or even Gradius, with mechanics that are firmly modernized. Runner, the last in the series, is allegedly a platformer. You’ll want to get this one (and the others) as soon as it’s available.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
System: Wii
Release: Jan. 26

Suda 51’s No More Heroes was brilliant. It starred Travis Touchdown, a horny, geeky 20-something who decides to become the world’s greatest assassin just so he can make enough money to buy more video games. With its violent, over-the-top gameplay (enemies exploding in hyperbolic geysers of blood and coins) and quirky narrative, it quickly became a cult classic. In NMH2, Travis is out for blood (again). Antics will ensue. And if it’s anywhere as good as the original, NMH2 is going to be one of the best Wii games of the year.

Heavy Rain
System: PS3
Release: Feb. 9

A lot of gamers probably aren’t going to get Heavy Rain. Essentially the plot revolves around four protagonists and how they relate to an ongoing series of murders by a character known as the Origami Killer. This adventure game isn’t like ordinary games—you’ll often control your characters’ actions as they go about their day-to-day lives. That means you’ll be controlling them while they shower, brush their teeth and have conversations, as well as investigating crime scenes and other more action-oriented tasks. But the most interesting thing of all is that if one of the protagonists dies, the game will switch narrative tracks and continue in their absence. Best of all, the game is intended for adult players, making Heavy Rain play out more like a well-written indie drama rather than something that caters to the lowest-common denominator.

3D Dot Game Heroes
System: PS3
Release: Summer

Hot off the success of Demon’s Souls, one of the best Japanese role-playing games to come out in years, From Software is looking to strike gold a second time with 3D Dot Game Heroes. Although little is known about the game thus far, it looks like Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze ripped the sprites from an old-school, pixilated 16-bit RPG and brought them to life in a 3D world (with a stop-motion-looking effect, to boot). And judging how original and great Demon’s Souls was, that should be more than enough to get you excited.

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days
Systems: PS3, Xbox 360
Release: Summer

Kane and Lynch are not your ordinary game protagonists. Kane is a scar-eyed, balding mercenary whose selfish actions got his family killed (after escaping from death row). Lynch is a paranoid schizophrenic with a penchant for killing innocent people during psychotic episodes (he also looks like a long-haired child molester). The original game’s action was a little rough around the edges, but the narrative was interesting because the protagonists were so unlikeable. This time around they’re stirring up trouble in the Shanghai underworld, with a narrative focus on Lynch. If the story delves deeper into the twisted psyches of these characters, it should make for (hopefully) a very different kind of action game. The addition of grainy, Cloverfield-style aesthetics and camerawork can’t hurt, either.

Final Fantasy XIII
Systems: PS3, Xbox 360
Release: April

This doesn’t even really need an explanation—after five years of development time, Final Fantasy XIII is almost here. There’s been a dearth of RPGs for the next-gen systems, and even Square’s other offerings on Wii haven’t done much to satiate those looking for a hardcore, 60-hour RPG. With a new action-oriented combat system and Square’s trademark insanely high production values, FFXIII is going to make a mint, and should prove to be worth the wait. Let’s just hope the story is up to snuff.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Systems: Wii
Release: Winter

Mario needs even less introduction than Final Fantasy. The original Super Mario Galaxy—which took the gameplay of Mario 64 and updated it to marvelous effect more than two years ago—is still a top seller and remains one of the Wii’s best. For the sequel, Nintendo is promising more worlds and stars to collect and, most notably, Yoshi. Sign me up.