There’s been no official word from Microsoft or Square Enix, but Destructiod appears to discovered an ad for a FF XIII 360 bundle.  Like some of the other bundles recently released this one comes with a 250 HDD, 2 controllers,  and a copy of FF XIII.  And all this can be yours for $399.

Final Fantasy will drop into retail stores in the US and Europe on March 9th 2010.  so start saving your pennies.

Since its launch in December of last year in Japan, Final Fantasy XIII has drawn a lot of “mixed” press. Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it 39/40, RPGFan gave it 85%, Action Button gave it 2/4 and a lot of people on blogs and messageboards across the internet are giving it a lot of flak. Me? I’m still going to buy it as soon as it hits shelves. Why? I’ll give you 3 good reasons.

First off, I absolutely hate spoilers. I don’t think I’d be able to hack playing a Final Fantasy a few months after my friends and them having to keep mum about what happens, just in case I go all medieval on their asses. While a good portion of other games, I wouldn’t mind the wait, and having stuff ruined on me (partly by my own curiosity (see: Bioshock) ). But for a game series that’s often heralded for its excellent storytelling and plot, I don’t think I’d be able to hack it.

Second of all, it’s in the name. As I mentioned there a second ago, Final Fantasy, as a game series, has a solid reputation of great games, and I’m sure this one will be no different. Whilst I’ve heard a few scant details of the storyline, and I’m not too fazed by it, the story at large is still a mystery to me, and I want to keep it that way. But not only that, the gameplay’s usually polished as well and everything just has that knack of clicking into place. And before you say it, yes, I did like Final Fantasy 12, up until the part where right at the end before going to the last area to defeat the end-boss, there isn’t a save point in between. That was a bad design choice, but I can live with that.

Third of all, and probably the most important one: the hype. Exactly what this post is based of, the most important reason why I want to get it is to see whether it’s hating is justified. It’s part of the fun of gaming if you ask me. You see a game that was expected to do really well for itself getting a pasting, but somehow, the poor scores just say “Hey wait a second, this can’t be right?” and it triggers some sort of intrigue mechanism that makes you want to check it out, the same way that we buy out-of-the-blue games that unexpectedly pull high ratings and reviews, because we want to see did they deserve the praise.

So if you see me approaching a games store on March 9th with a look of intent on my face, don’t try and stop me and tell me I’m making a bad decision. There is no wrong answer to this one, it’ll be an experience unlike any other, and I certainly won’t be kicking myself for getting it.

I love Final Fantasy.  I grew up on it and always thought the paradox that there were so many final fantasies to be awesome.  I have great, great memories involving defeating Sephiroth while Barrett was turned into a frog and stuff like that (I didn’t call this Renerdify for nothing).  And this feature from IGN is one of my favorite articles I have ever read on gaming, telling the legend behind the legends.

As such, there is no doubt that I will purchase, delve into (hopefully topping 50 hours), and probably defeat and enjoy the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII.  Having said that, as a fellow, I am becoming a bit concerned about what seems to almost be a  chick-flick type of game, based on the trailers.

I mean, listen to the song.

Now, I’m certainly in touch with my feminine side.  For instance, I consider myself a Lady Gaga fan and for a long time considered Love Actually a guilty pleasure (it is now just a regular pleasure), but when I think Final Fantasy I don’t really think of anything quite as effeminate as this (except for FF10-2, which I don’t count).  Am I exhibiting some sort of inherent sexism based upon the game starring a female lead character?  Or am I right to say that this is looking a little…girly?

Still looking forward to it all the same.  Just over a month now!

Final Fantasy is set to release on the Xbox 360 on three discs according to the bold print on Gamefly. While the rumors and speculation were flying around the internets for quite a while, it seems now it is finally confirmed. This means two massive pauses for your adventure as well, which can be kind of a bummer for some. Also, according to Gamefly, this only counts as one rental for a customer.

Singapore owners of the Xbox 360 will not be petting their Chocobos in March as expected.

The widely popular Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII) role-playing game, which the yellow fowl-like creatures are synonymous with, will not be released on Microsoft’s game console in Singapore.

During the 2008 Microsoft conference E3 announcement, which stated that the latest sequel of the hit Final Fantasy franchise was finally moving to the Xbox 360 console, referred only to the North American and European market.

Since the first role-playing game was released in 1987 by the Japanese developer, the recent game sequels have been linked very closely with the PlayStation console, a device by the Japanese electronics giant, Sony.

A surprise announcement at the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo by developer Square Enix triggered elation from Xbox 360 owners, who thought they could start enjoying the popular game on a competing console.

When the Japanese version of the game was released on Dec 17 last year, it sold 1.7 million copies in two weeks.

When contacted, Square Enix declined to comment.

A spokesman from Xbox Singapore said: ‘Square Enix has not announced the availability of an Asian version of FFXIII.’

The news – and silence on the reason for the no-show – is not going down well with the game’s fans.

Accounts executive Lincoln Mah, 26, bought his Xbox 360 console in late 2008, on the assumption that FF XIII would be available for his console.

‘Growing up, I played a lot of the Final Fantasy games, as did many of us in Asia. Final Fantasy is an Asian game and now, to have skipped Xbox owners here, it’s just not right.’

While the original E3 announcements made no mention of an Asian release, nothing was mentioned to indicate otherwise either.

‘They have already said that the game would be available for the Xbox, and though they worded things carefully, I am shocked there are no release plans,’ says Lincoln.

The Xbox 360 consoles use region coding security features to differentiate content for the different markets – like the United States and Asia – so there is no option to buy the US game for use on local consoles.

The only way local gamers can indulge in the game is through their PlayStation 3 consoles, to play either the current Japanese language version or wait for the English version to hit markets on March 9 in the US.

The other not-so-good news? Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong says the final release date for the game in Singapore ‘has yet to be finalised’.

Given the popularity of the game, which created a triple jump in sales of PS3 consoles in Japan during the week of the game’s launch, it is expected that Sony’s console, with its Blu-ray capabilities, will now win over more fans.

‘There will definitely be a negative impact on Xbox 360,’ notes Richelle Lee, an account manager with research company GfK Asia’s imaging and entertainment department, though she says it is too early to predict how the numbers will shift.

Currently, the PS3 commands the highest market share in Singapore, at 40 per cent, followed by 35 per cent for the Xbox 360 and 25 per cent for the Nintendo Wii.

It seems Final Fantasy XIII.net had manage to get more details on FF13 and developer Yoshinori Kitase who also confirmed FF13 will have DLC few days ago but thats not all yet. He had also mentioned something about the Xbox360 version of FF13 will be using a different Game engine than PS3 version? hmm thats fishy now this seems kinda odd as Square said they’re using Crystal Tools to work with both the PS3 and 360 as well as other platforms.

For more info visit http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/2010/01/30/dutch-opm-final-fantasy-xiii-feature-and-interview-scans.html

After the release of Final Fantasy 13 on last december in japan, Square Enix manage to sold 1.5 million over copies of FF13 on the Playstation 3 (The sales doesn’t count on Final Fantasy 13 PS3 bundle package) and received lots of great reviews on FF latest installment series. Producer Yoshinori Kitase recently confirms that FF13 will indeed to get its DLC in near future.

“At first we had plans to release the game simultaneously worldwide,” Kitase tells Official PlayStation Magazine. “So we had the intention to deliver identical version between the regions. When we noticed that we wouldn’t make it, we decided to release the game as fast as possible in the west after its release in Japan. We initially had doubts to add extra content to the western version but then it would have taken the international version more months of delay. We did prepare DLC but it will arrive a little later in the west.”

So what could we expect to see the latest DLC content, could it be new weapons? Armors? costumes?who knows?  check back  more latest updates on FF13 DLC.

Since I saw its first gameplay footage I stopped bothering about Final Fantasy XIII. Despite the sparkling graphics, the action itself looked so rusty, so lifeless, so… 1998. Of course, I can be wrong. After all, I haven’t played the actual game and my sentiments towards JRPG’s in general are on a pessimistic course for some time. But with the Western release getting closer my skeptical view seems to make more and more friends. A lot of FFXIII Hands-ons are dropping in lately and most give me the feeling that western journalists are not really blown away by what they have seen. Again, I could be wrong. But when journalists start to make excuses for not having fun, I get suspicious. I understand that you can’t judge an RPG based on a short demo or without the chance of understanding the story. But between all those alibis I start to think that nobody dares to say how they actually feel about the game. Like it is some kind of Voldemort, people would get scared if you called it by its name. Maybe I’m getting to paranoid here. Maybe I should wait until I can see how the West receives this game before I make judgments about its pre-release framing. And maybe I never stopped bothering about Final Fantasy XIII after all.

Is it wrong of me to be considering buying a PS3 just so that I can play this game?!

I’m a huge fan of the series, and this looks absolutely mind-blowingly awesome!

Amazon.co.uk have just started taking pre-orders for it, with a release date confirmed for Europe of 9 March 2010.

If you’re the type of geek who likes to let their nerd flag fly, but doesn’t want to wear the same ol’ shirts that anyone can get from their local Hot Topic, check out these super sexy, super limited Odin and Shiva tees for Final Fantasy XIII. Since these shirts are limited in quantity and imported from Japan, they go for $40, but it’s really a small price to pay for being the most stylish nerd in town. NEEERRRRDDDSSSSS!!!

{via}

Hello everyone who is reading this, as ever, it is appreciated that you are reading this. Once again this article is basically a note of “yes, I know I have vanished and I yes I know I said I would write something last time, but really I will”, this time I intend to do that. My fellow writers have written up there three games they are most looking forward to. I am loathe to create lists and talk about my favorites of anything mainly because it changes on a regular basis. I don’t have favorite music for instance, I have albums I will listen to time and time again but avoid making lists so I am going to do this in a different way. So far this is what I plan to invest in (I know some of these are not pre-releases but some will be bought on pay day):

For the PS3 -

Heavy Rain
Gran Turismo 5
Dragon Age: Origins
Borderlands

For the Xbox360 (as I now own one) -

Final Fantasy 13
Gears of War 2
UFC2010
Alien Vs Predator
Modern Warfare 2
Splinter Cell: Conviction

The main games I am most looking forward too are FF13 and Heavy Rain. I know very little about either title. To be frank I stopped playing the Final Fantasy series from number 8 as I couldn’t get into the story at all and gave it very little attention. I am hoping this will turn the tide. Heavy Rain is an odd one. I know literally NOTHING about it except to say it looks FUCKING amazing. From what I have read it is going to be a very good game and I simply cannot wait and hope the good people of PSN provide us with a demo nearer to the time.

I am also considering getting DJ Hero as I have heard a lot of good things about it.

Right, that’s it for now, hope to write more soon!

Here’s the international trailer for the Final Fantasy Xlll. This game’s graphics is so freaking awesome. >.< Totally speechless. It’s a must have for me if you ask me hehe… but I will need to wait till the end of this year after my final exam before I can go all out and drill the game hard. xD

]]> http://jkwelch.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/ff13-shao-longui/ Sun, 17 Jan 2010 09:19:27 +0000 jkwelch http://jkwelch.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/ff13-shao-longui/

Again, this is my personal memo.

Shao Longui (?? spell ??)

Members are:

Fang(LoC-Pandra)
Vanille(Nirvana-Belladona)
Sazh(Total Eclipse-Regel – No Break)

Fang – GENJI-No-Kote/Keiser Knacle/Imperial Guard/GEKKO(Tsuki-Niji) No Anklet
Vanille-Best Choice/Magistel Crest/Imperial Guard/GEKKO(Tsuki-Niji) No Anklet
Sazh-Kin Dokei/Magistel Crest/Imperial Guard/GEKKO(Tsuki-Niji) No Anklet

Optima

1. D/D/D  – to be prepared for the first “Quake”
2. E/H/J – Fang to cast all enhancer spells to entire party
3. J/H/W – Fang to cast 4 spells, and receive “Enfire” from Sazh
4. B/B/J or B/H/J – until “Break”, switch to D/D/D if “Ultima” or any other strong spells
are casted
5. A/A/A – remeber the last turn should be ended with Fang’s “Highwind”
6. repeat from 4 if required

James

Currently, I’m trying to boost the attention the blog and the youtube site is getting. It’s dissapointing- not alot of people are looking.  Is it because there is no room for the video game music industry on youtube? Maybe I should look into making originals or mainstream remixes. they are annoying to create however. I did a little experiment with Utada’s Sanctuary ~Single Version~ but the lyrics seem to not keep in time with the Midi Arrangement. Ah well. I’ll keep trying. Hopefully the introduction of this blog section will increase the attention. Anyway, Basically i’m just adding tags to the posts to draw more people. Hope it works. Anyway, preoordered Final Fantasy 13 some weeks ago. Seen some great stuff. It’s a dissapointment at the return of the Active Time Battle. I was looking forward to some KH style real time action, damn. It should be a great game none the less. Hopefully it’s music is inspiring! Nobuo is not the music arranger for the first time in the FF series, I beileve. That has got me a bit worried. Versus XIII on the other hand, I will definatley have to get. It’s made by the KH team, and looks entirely like a fresh start for the FF series- it’s alot more modern day, something i’ve wished for. Anyway..that’s all for now.

Unbelievable..

The line between movies and video games is slowly but surely starting to fade and Final Fantasy XIII is out there to prove it.

If you’re a video game junkie or just plain curious to see what video games have become then this trailer is a must see.

Seriously..its awesome. Just watch the first 15 seconds if you don’t have the bandwidth to spare.

Hey..told you.

My balls tingled.

Good times.

]]> http://assassindx.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/final-fantasy-xiii-is-almost-here/ Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:38:35 +0000 Peter http://assassindx.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/final-fantasy-xiii-is-almost-here/

Believe it or not there’s only two months to wait until the release of Final Fantasy XIII.  Over in Japan reviews have been good, but the same can’t be said about a large percentage of those who bought it.  Even so the game has whipped up excitement across the world, but what exactly will we be getting on March 9th?

First thing’s first, I’m no expert on this subject.  In fact up until about an hour ago I knew basically nothing about this game, but I’ve done a little research and to me it seems like a mix of good and bad if I’m being honest.

Firstly, Kotaku have done an article on the games’ first five or six hours of gameplay, and they seem less than impressed with the linearity of it all.  The article included the following picture, which is the first few hours pieced together.

Unless you’re fluent in Japanese you probably won’t have a clue what any of that means, but it appears to show the first three ‘chapters’ of the game along with a boss.  What you can see is that it’s incredibly linear, but at the same time one has to wonder why Kotaku are making such a big deal out of it.  For those who have played a lot of RPG’s the first few hours generally are pretty linear, the idea being that you get a feel for the game and the starting characters before being let loose in an enormous world.  However, while this formula remains true for most games in the genre Final Fantasy XIII allegedly features an ultra-linear story from start to finish, which is unusual.  Final Fantasy X was criticised in part for its linearity but at least there was some freedom late in the game, but that’s supposedly not so with this title.

Another quip is with the battle system, which is similar to what Final Fantasy XII uses – yet more ‘dumbed down’ for casual fans.  For those who ever played FFXII you’ll probably be aware that you can effectively make the game play itself if you know what you’re doing with the Gambit system, so now you can do more of the same but with added ease.

“Not sounding good so far” was what I thought at this point, but it gets worse.  According to what I’ve read there are also absolutely no towns and villages to discover on your adventure in Final Fantasy XIII.  So where do you buy stuff and replenish your health? At save points.  Sounds like fun.  You can’t backtrack to places you’ve visited before either.  And don’t forget the AI characters who’ll join you as the game progresses are AI controlled, which can only mean nothing but trouble.  AI characters are notoriously dense as Resident Evil 5 fans will tell you, so alternating between characters to get the most out of the battle experience won’t be an option and you’re almost guaranteed infuriating moments where your allies don’t do what you want them to do.

On the plus side, there are no random encounters.  Enemies are in plain sight and you can easily avoid them if you want to, but in all seriousness that’s about the only good thing I’ve read about so far.

At this point I should again reiterate that I’m not all that knowledgeable regarding what I’ve written about so far, these are all bits of information I’ve picked up on my travels.  A lot of it has apparently come from Japanese players courtesy of a translation, it seems as though even the most hardcore of role playing game fans aren’t entirely satisfied with what they’ve got which was also what happened with Final Fantasy XII.  That was a game that divided Final Fantasy fans practically down the middle, anyone who played it either loved it or hated it.  Personally I detested it, having spent £40 on a politically-charged mess of a game with annoying characters and a dull plot I just couldn’t bring myself to carry on after 20 hours or so of play time and being hopelessly lost in a desert.  Final Fantasy XI was again mixed with mixed opinions, personally I’ve never played it but it has a fairly strong cult following several years after its release.  Before that came the notorious Final Fantasy X-2, the first direct sequel in the entire franchise where the main characters were *gasp* women.  For whatever reason a large portion of hentai-loving basement dwellers didn’t take too kindly to this, but apart from being a little cheesy in places the game itself actually wasn’t bad.

In effect that means that the last universally liked Final Fantasy game (for the most part) was Final Fantasy X, released almost eight years ago.  Two games later, several spin-offs and numerous remakes later and they still haven’t got it right since, and if the fan reception towards Final Fantasy XIII is anything to go by it’s not going to change.  It seems to me that the only thing Square-Enix have done right recently is release both Final Fantasy VII and VIII on the Playstation Network, so either the Japanese public simply don’t ‘get’ Final Fantasy XIII or it really is another poor addition to the franchise.

Despite all that I along with millions of others will probably be buying the game upon release or soon afterwards, I’d like to read a few reviews and fan opinions before being disappointed the hard and expensive way.  I just hope there is some appeal to the game the Japanese have missed, failing that there’s always Final Fantasy XIV to look forward to.

This is my addition to Brake For Frogger’s Most Wanted 2010, detailing my Top 3 desired games of the next 12 months.

Final Fantasy XIII

Although I cannot claim to have been a fan from the outset of this franchises, I have been a fan for the past 12 years, since the arrival of Final Fantasy VII. I put hour upon hour into that game, being sure to squeeze every little piece of fun and action out of it.

Sadly, as time has moved on, I’ve had less and less time to put into them but this doesn’t stop me getting excited about them. Square-Enix have yet to produce a poor game, in my opinion, since the release of FFVII. When Final Fantasy XIII popped up on the video-game radar, I was initially disappointed because I thought that Square were bound to stay faithful to the Playstation 3 and make it a Sony exclusive title.

Lo and behold, they decided against that and I’m patiently awaiting the release of this game on Xbox 360. I hope that it’ll be everything I want it to be and more, providing new and interesting gameplay innovations and the stunningly beautiful visuals that we have all come to expect from a Final Fantasy title.

Scheduled release date: Tuesday March 9, 2010.

Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach is a prequel to the first game in the original Halo trilogy, Halo: Combat Evolved. It is a first-person shooter and is set to be the final game of the Halo series to be developed by the studio who are synonymous with the franchise, Bungie. Future games of the franchise will be farmed out to a Microsoft subsidiary company, 343 Industries, created purely for the purpose of overseeing the franchise (and also responsible for the creation of the recent addition to Xbox Live, ‘Halo Waypoint‘.

I hold something of an obsession with the Halo series, having enjoyed every game released under it’s banner to date (perhaps less so with Halo 3: ODST, but no matter). It is therefore no surprise that this game is causing a lot of excitement for me. I’m looking forward to more intense gameplay and deep storyline that’ll help fill in the gaps of my understanding of the franchise’s plot.

Look out for a review later in the year…!

Scheduled release date: Friday September 24, 2010

Fable III

Fable II, and it’s DLC, were huge hits with the public, with their unique blend of fantasy role-play and third person sandbox, not to mention the karma-style system whereby your own in-game activities influence the type of character you become.

Fable III looks set to pick up where the previous game left off, even going to the extent of using Fable II game-saves and allow the Hero from #II  to become your parent in #III. It seems that the storyline will involve the overthrowing of the current King of Albion. You will be required to gather the support of the people of Albion to do this. Once ruler, you then make the decision whether or not you want to fulfill your promises to your people. It seems like another great storyline hook and I truly cannot wait to sink my teeth into it!

Scheduled release date: Monday November 1, 2010.

That concludes my Most Wanted 2010 list.

Keep an eye out for my upcoming review of the game of the film, ‘James Cameron’s Avatar’…!

Amazon Germany has listed FFXIII Limited edition at €71.99, ($103 or £65 if you so wish), with the standard edition selling for €62.99.

Whats inside the box is as yet unknown, but suffice to say it will be full of goodies any Final Fantasy fan would be proud of.

So far there is no word on a US version though.

The game ships March 9th.

Okay so according to Arthur C Clarke 2010 is the year we make contact! Personally we at G4A will just be looking forward to making contact with normality again after the festive period.

The team are also looking forward to what could be the best line-up of releases in gaming history!

Yes, the first year of the new decade promises to deliver a veritable cornucopia of gaming delights and in this feature we will be listing the ones we are simply foaming at the thumbs to get our mitts on.

Halo: Reach- Xbox 360

After the end of the Halo trilogy Bungie claimed there would be no more Halo games that they would be producing. Since then there has been, Halo Wars and the rather disappointing ODST and next year we are all hoping for a true return to form for the series when Bungie and Microsoft release Halo: Reach. The new game sees the welcome return of the Spartans in what is a prequel to the original Halo. We are daring to hope for good things from this title Autumn 2010 we will find out!

Bioshock 2 – 360/ps3/PC

Another sequel here this time to 2008’s monster hit Bioshock. The underwater utopia of Rapture will this time be fully populated with crazy characters and mad scientists. Set 10 years after the original, children have been disappearing  from homes along the Atlantic coastline and taken by some monster to Rapture you playing as the first ever “Big Daddy” are trying to find out why and what. We are slightly  apprehensive about the storyline and whether Bioshock 2 could live up to its predecessor. The addition of a multiplayer element set up as a prequel to the original, makes us uneasy but anyone who follows this blog will know that already. Still we hope for another mind-blowing experience when Rapture reopens its doors.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii

In an unusual move by Nintendo ‘Mario Galaxy’ gets a direct sequel. We are not complaining though as we cannot wait to see what Miyamato comes up with in this follow-up to G4A’s game of the year 2008! Expect a whole heap of fabulous and innovative gameplay ideas that, if its predecessor is anything to go by, that will consistently surprise throughout.

Heavy Rain – PS3

Whilst not a direct sequel, this is a game G4A have been gagging for ever since we completed Fahrenheit. With its unique cinematic gameplay and stunning visuals we are hoping for big things from Quantic Dreams this time around. We have no doubt they will deliver.

Mass Effect 2- 360

This is the sequel I have been waiting for, Mass Effect is one of my favourite games of all time and I was hoping to have my greedy mitts on this for the festive period. Alas it has fallen back to early 2010, (29th Jan to be precise!) I don’t mind though as I would rather a game took ages to arrive and deliver, than come out on time and be, well, shit! Expect more shooting and in-depth story-lines and most likely some sex with aliens! Bring it on!

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction- PS3/360/PC

Sam Fisher’s latest outing has been in development for what seems like ages, mainly because Ubisoft realised that it was a direct rip-off of their other massive title Assassins Creed II.

Since the complete reworking, taking Splinter Cell back to the drawing board, the game is now back and looking brilliant. Featuring a storming one player game and the return of the awesome co-op storyline that this time acts as a prequel to the game’s storyline, this is one we can’t wait to get our hands on.

Alan Wake – Remedy – 360

Having been in hiding for some time many had begun to worry that this would go the way of Duke Nukem Forever and get lost in development hell. But this year finally saw it spectacularly break cover again at E3, not only that we actually have a confirmed release period of May (I’ll believe it when I see it though).  The showing at E3 was enough to convince me though that this is looking very sweet indeed. With what looks to be a huge game world and a genuinely David Lynch type odd (think Twin Peaks and you would not be far wrong) scary story this is on my must have list for 2010.

Bayonetta – Sega – PS3/360

With the recent release of the demo versions of Sega’s latest hack and slash anticipation for Bayonetta has increase ten fold. The sheer size and scope of the battles are nothing short of breathtaking and some of the bosses are enormous! A mixture of gun & swordplay mixed with magic in a similar vein to Devil May Cry series although easily outperforming Capcom’s games. Bayonetta is a pleasant surprise and definitely one worth parting with a few of those Christmas quids for; you can get your hands on it January 8th!

Final Fantasy XIII- 360/PS3

Out and reviewing well in Japan (Famitsu gave 39/40) us here in the UK will not be seeing the first proper outing for Final Fantasy on the current home consoles until March. A must buy for any Jap RPG gaming fans this is looking as if it will be the definitive Jap RPG for the current home consoles. Developed by the masters of the genre Squaresoft it is set between the the floating world of Cocoon and the ground land of Pulse the story is your usual humanity must be saved gibberish fantasy fiction stuff. Graphically  as usual for the series the game looks amazing and the newly refined battle system looks to be moving the series forward from its completely turn based roots.

Ghost Recon 4 – PS3/360/PC

Ubisoft have still not officially announced anything about this. We do know it is in development though thanks to the game appearing on a leaked Ubisoft financial document for the financial year 2009 – 2010. Also we know that Ubisoft have recently trademarked the name Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Other than this there is nothing else known about the game so I would reckon the absolute earliest we would see a release is Q4 2010 and it may even slip till 2011 but fingers crossed as it has always been a quality series.

Resonance of Fate – PS3

Yet another Jap RPG makes our list of games to watch in 2010. This time round it is developed by those other masters of the genre Tri-Ace. Known as End of Eternity in the land of the rising sun this game will be out in Japan for the end of January and across PAL territories sometime around September. Set on Earth in the future, Earths surface and landscape has been chamged by toxi gases. This resulted in the near extinction of humanity, those that remained built a massive air purifier called Basel. This then became the home for Earths remaining human inhabitants and all is well until the machine starts to go wrong. With a mix of real time and turn based combat and the usual stunning graphics for a game of this genre 2010 is looking  like being a bit of a cracker for fans of Jap RPG’s.

Aliens vs. Predator -  PC/Ps3/360

Things have not gone very well over the last few years for the Alien vs. Predator license with a succesion of poor games and films. But with this game being back in the hands of the series originator Rebellion a return to form is expected. As per the original game it is a FPS that you can either play as the Marine, Alien or the dreadlocked hunting machine that is the Predator. Each combatant lends itself to very different play style with their own varying abilities and different view point of the game world. The online multiplayer also looks like it could be pretty special with teams of all 3 very different combatants facing off against each other. Previews of the game have so far been very mixed. But regardless of these I still think this will be one to watch come its release the 19th January.

Aliens: Colonial Marines – PS3/360/PC

News on this Gearbox developed title  has been scarce since its announcement close to 2 years ago now. So scarce in fact rumours had begun that the game had been cancelled. Thankfully Gearbox’s own Randy Pitchford has refuted these claims by stating the game was still very much in development and on course for a 2010 release care of Sega. Not much is known other than that it is a squad based FPS and screenshots that have been seen are absolutely gorgeous. Whether this will make a 2010 release is debatable but it’s very existence has me excited as with anything Alien flavoured.

Max Payne 3 – PS3/360/PC

Again little has been seen or heard about this game but we do know it is slated for release in 2010. Being developed by the ever secretive Rockstar and not Remedy this time round what we do know is that it is set a good few years after the second game in the series. We know this because screens have a shown a much older wearier Max who looks even more terribly down on his luck than he did in the first 2 games. The game is now set in Sao Paolo, Brasil where Max has been working in the private security sector. Expect plenty of 2 handed pyrotechnic bullet time gunplay come its release Q4 2010.

Mafia II – PS3/360/PC

Sequel time again but at least it is an unexpected  one and something that I am very much looking forward to. The first Mafia inspired sandbox game was sadly overlooked by many especially on the home consoles but this sequel is definitely tryin to get noticed this time round. Developed by the same team now called 2KCzech (previously known as Illusion Softworks). The game is set in Empire City in the 1950’s and is a open ended sandbox game much like the GTA series but with a more cohesive story. The game’s story charts the rise of Vito Scaleta from Mafia lackey to made man. Currently scheduled for release sometime between May and July 2010 this should more than fill the gap till the next GTA is announced.

God Of War 3- PS3

The Greek mythical adventures of Kratos continue with this the 3rd in the home console series. Once again it is a third person action game come beat-em up. All you need to know is that this game features some of the most gruesome and visceral graphics and gameplay yet seen on any machine. I was one of the lucky few that got sent a PSN key to download the demo and I hav have to say it is pretty awesome stuff. Also it would be worthwhile to note that they are releasing a special edition version with all 3 games with the first 2 games getting a special PS3 HD makeover. God Of War 3 is due to be released in March 2010.

Dante’s Inferno – PS3/360/PC

You could actually ditto everything I have said about God Of War 3 for this game other than the setting. The game is loosley based on the first book of Dante’s epic poem “The Divine Comedy”, “Inferno”. Taking it down to its nuts and bolts it has you laying all kinds of smackdown in the 7 circles of hell. The setting has allowed the artists at EA’s Visceral Game Studio to go way over the top on the sick and gruesome stuff. At its heart though this just does look like a GOW 3 clone but a top one all the same.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle – Wii

A follow up to the very successful and rather excellent No More Heroes. You can expect crazy moves, crazier storyline and a dialogue that is just nuts! The game is shaping up to be truly awesome although the rumoured Wii-Motion plus compatibility seems not to have made it. Still, this time they are upping the number of moves and you can play as more than one character so that should add appeal. It is slated for Q1 2010.

Red Steel 2 – Wii

Another Wii exclusive featuring swords although this time there are guns too! Red Steel was a launch title that promised much but ultimately failed to deliver. Red Steel 2 looks to address those issues and seemingly has succeeded. Set in the American Wild West of sorts as the game also has a whole host of Eastern traits,  Red Steel 2 looks stunning and if the game play lives up to the wondrous screen shots then this could be a huge hit. Was scheduled for Christmas but slipped till Q1 2010.

MAG – PS3

MAG or Massive Action  Game to give it its full title ( no wonder they went with MAG) is a huge online battlefield type experience with up to as many as 256 players online at any one time. This sounds incredible and so far looks to hold up to all its promises. With stunning graphics and intense action MAG looks to be a sure-fire winner! There is even a promise that if you do well you will be able to rise through the ranks and command the armies of one of the 3 PMC’s that make up the games teams. All sounds very intriguing.

Crackdown 2 – PS3/360/PC

The sequel to the superhero version of GTA, Crackdown 2 looks to build on everything the first game did so well. Adding beefed up graphics, multi-player and a more in depth storyline this promises more building vaulting, massive gun-play and huge upgradable vehicles, this is another one that is getting us injecting our super thumbs with mega steroids in anticipation.

Dead Rising 2 – 360/PC

I am really worried about this game but as it is one of my favourite early Xbox 360 titles I am still quietly excited. The reason for my worry is that Capcom have handed over development to a little know Canadian dev named Blue Castle Games. Series creator Keiji Inafune is aparently overseeing it but the worrying trend of Japanese software houses to hand over development to Western devs has yielded no results at all Bionic Commando and Silent Hill; Homecoming were shocking. Still we have got to give it a try and trailers showing the Vegas setting have been promising and the new multiplayer component being rolled into a “Running Man” style fake TV competition looks interesting. Scheduled for a April realease at present here is hoping  that original sense of fun and humour is retained into a more cohesive game.

Just Cause 2 – PS3/360/PC

The original Just Cause was one of the first games to show what the then “Next Gen” was all about, HD visuals and huge open game worlds for starters. It was just a shame it was let down by extremely repetetive gameplay, Avalanche Studios have promised more this time round though. Original protagonist Rico Rodriguez returns and the game is now set in south east Asia on the fictional Island of Panau. Once again it is a huge free roaming sandbox game. Trailers have looked very impressive but despite the devs promises of less repetitive gameplay it does look very samey. At present it is down for release in late April.

Last Guardian – PS3

PS3 owners should be getting very excited by this game. Why well it is the first game on the PS3 by much fabled Sony developer “Team ICO” you know those of the fantastic “ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus” fame . All that has been seen is a fantastic trailer featuring a young boy and a huge feathery cat like bird of prey creature as his companion. In short it looked incredible and very much like a spiritual successor to ICO. As I said before this is a game that every PS3 owner should be getting very excited about no release date has been announced but I would expect to see it towards the end of the year.

Metro 2033 – Xbox 360/PC

This Xbox 360 and PC exclusive FPS is based on a cult Eastern European novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky about a nuclear holocaust. Being released by THQ and developed by debut devs 4 A Games this looking very good indeed. After the earth is destroyed by nuclear war the last of humanity in Russia now live underground in Moscow’s Metro Stations barely surviving whilst overhead the earth has been overrun by irradiated mutants. A new mutant threat is threatening to destroy the last of humanity and you as Artem have been given the job of returning to the surface and save humanity. Trailers of the game show a very detailed and large world marking this down as one to be keeping a very close eye on come release time in March.

Brink – PS3/360/PC

Being developed by Splash Damage they who developed Quake Wars: Enemy Territory this FPS promises to freshen things with a bold new direction. With a bright vibrant graphic design and blending drop in co-op of up to 7 players, single player and multiplayer into one involving story arc this is definitely one to keep an eye on in 2010. Set on a floating man-made city called the Arc things have not gone well on Earth leaving the Arc and humanity as they know it on the Brink (you see what they did there HEY!). Big things are expected from this expect a release sometime around late Summer.

Red Dead Redemption – 360/PS3

Being released in March this game is looking the absolute nuts. With Rockstar San Diego at the helm this is looking like the Western game I and many others have been longing for. The trailers have looked incredible and it looks like this is going to deliver in a big way. GTA with western theme I cannot wait.

Split Second - PS3/360/PC

Being developed by Black Rock those of Pure fame and were formerly Climax this racer promises to be a bit different. You race round tracks that have loads of explosives dotted around and its the racers that trigger said explosives. Buildings and various other things will block parts of the course and seriuosly change the route if you survive the building coming down on you first. Basically its a racer with big set pieces that will dramatically change the course of the race and it looks absolutely fantastic. Being released sometime in February this is one for all you Arcade racing nuts to look forward too.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - PS3/360/PC

Whilst not being the critical success that both Dice and EA had wanted it to be the online multiplayer side of things gathered a strong cult following. I still have peeps on my friends list still playing this even after the release of MW2 so its this side of things devs Dice have decided to conentrate on. There will still be a strong single player filled with the potty mouthed knuckle heads of B-Company but multiplayer is definitely where its going to be. Basically in a nut shell it will be more of everything that made multiplayer in the first game so great plus some stuff borrowed from other games (MW2) such as perks. EA and Dice have stated their intent is to be the number one played console game online this year with this title so expect it to be bloody good.

Gran Turismo 5  – PS3

Finally about to get off the starting grid, GT5 has much to live up to. Hopefully it will be vastly better than the rather lacklustre demo/time trial that has just appeared on PSN. Rumours are abound that Polyphony Digital cant decide whether to include the car damage model or the weather effects model they have been banging on about, which seems like an odd thing for them to say but oh well. Gran Tourismo used to be the benchmark by which all racing games were tested against, now however it has a huge amount of quality racers including the excellent Forza Motorsport 3 battling it for pole position. Time will tell if it can reclaim the podium.

Gears of War 3 – 360

Okay so it is not yet announced as a 2010 release but we at G4A predicted the release of GOW2 before anyone else did so we are confident in our prediction again, and let’s face it if we are wrong we will just deny we ever wrote this! Expect the ‘final’ game in the trilogy to be more of the same and taking the ‘bigger, badder, better’ (or as “Cliffy Bellend” would say more Badass) premise to a whole new level!

So there you have it 2010 in a nutshell! What is abundantly clear is that 2010 will see lots on evolution rather than invention but then the games that are receiving sequels are ones we all have cried out for. There are always a few nice unannounced releases along the way as well so hopefully some originality will leap forth and surprise us all!