Cack-handed year-round-up that is also about what I am looking forward to in 2010

I had it all planned out: a banner, some semblance of structure. Then I got bored and distracted. I really wanted to make a go of this, but it's a little too formulaic. I couldn't even be bothered to come up with a decent post title. I'm sorry. I may chuck some headings in here, I may not. Let's just look at it as a stream of consciousness thing.

2009 was a tad shit for games and I personally -add foolishly- avoided some of the better ones (Uncharted 2, Borderlands, House of the Dead: Overkill). My New Year's Resolution is to get a Blockbuster card in an effort to resolve this. 2009 can be summarised for me with this succinct list of games that I enjoyed playing:

Street Fighter 4

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Guitar Hero Metallica

DJ Hero

Rhythm Paradise

Brutal Legend

Shadow Complex

Done.

Now, 2010, come to me. My boner-list:

1. Super Street Fighter 4

Heh, bet you never expected me to harp on about this, did you? That's why I'm getting it out of the way first. More of everything piled on top of my favourite game is exactly what I want. More characters, backgrounds, music, online modes and a whole host of tweaks that could potentially balance the game even further. Also, it will provide brilliant screenshots like this:

of Ken's stupid face. Look at ken - what a fucking knob, I hope that punch ruptures his spleen. Stupid face Ken.

2. The Last Guardian

If you ever played Ico or Shadow of The Colossus then I don't need to tell you how special a new Fumito Ueda project is. His inimitable mood and eye for detail shows no signs of absence here, along with a character partnership that serves to strengthen his status as one of gaming's few true auteurs. Beautiful from the offset, this can surely not disappoint.

3. Heavy Rain

David Cage may be a self-aggrandising wanker, full of pomposity and delusions of grandeur, but I still have to admire the guy's commitment and passion. He genuinely believes in the advancement of digital media, pushing it beyond the safe conventions of what defines a videogame. It could, of course, just turn out to be a glorified QTE, in which case we can all comfort ourselves by making fun of Cage. He's such an easy target after all.

4. Dead Rising 2

Played-out though they may be, I don't think I could ever get bored of killing zombies in Capcom's Dead Rising. With the sequel promising even more options and implements with which to maim the undead, I'm not about to turn my nose up. Blender on a zombie's head? Fuck Yeah!

5. Final Fantasy XIII

Whilst I'm still apprehensive about the lack of turn-based combat, it's hard not to look forward to a new Final Fantasy game. The brand always carries an assurance of quality that this generation of consoles has yet to truly see. On that basis alone I'm looking forward to it. Once again, their character design, music and presentation are all looking incredible too, which only helps it's case.

6. Hokuto Musou (Fist of the North Star)

I grew up watching the Fist of The North Star anime and it gave me a taste for the kind of elaborate, explosive violence that the Japanese do so well. The game will have you beating the crap out of hundreds of dudes and you'll have the ability to make their heads explode. Sold.

7. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

If this comes out on time, bug free, it will be nothing short of a miracle. The first game was a colossal fuck up in terms of tweaking, bug-fixing and marketing. Eidos rushed it out incomplete and pulled every dirty trick in order to get sales from halfway-decent review scores, need I remind you of Gerstmann-gate? With Square-Enix providing some much-needed assistance publishing the sequel, we can all breath a sigh of relief. IO Interactive's status as a quality developer should never be questioned, let's hope that with a new and respected publisher behind them, they can start making K&L the brand that it deserves to be. Then Hitman 5, please.

8. Yakuza 3

On an almost daily basis I find myself pining for more Shenmue. I've accepted that this will never happen, but at least we now will see a Western release for Yakuza 3 - a series which is often considered as Shenmue's spiritual successor. It's not quite the same as working down the docks, collecting capsule toys and winning Saturn games, but it'll do for now. I miss Yu, Suzuki. Pun intended.

I'm fairly sure that most of these games will get delayed. If so, I'll just re-post it next year. Until then......

A Dead Rising 2 trailer you say?

When I was told about this yesterday, I instantly cried 'bullshit!' and I continued with my day, blissfully ignorant. The key point is that yesterday, I had not seen the trailer and I easily dismissed it as either someone getting their wires crossed with the Wii version of Dead Rising, or one of those horrible fake movies that mock you for following the link to a clearly fake trailer. I've had a few of those before, they suck.

Now that I've seen it, dubious as it may seem being filmed off a home screen, I want to believe that it's real. If this is fake, you've have to applaud it's creators for being so convincing. As always, I'm being incredibly naive, but I find it hard to believe that someone would go this far just for Youtube hits. You be the judge.



There's enough here to get me excited, whether it's real or not. I just desperately hope that Dead Rising 2 is more than a mere case of 'new weapons, new location'. There was a tonne of missed potential in the first Dead Rising, even more so in retrospect as I feel that the medium has genuinely evolved since it's release. We gamers expect a lot more post Gears of War, Littlebigplanet, MGS4 and GTAIV, to name but a few. Here's hoping that Capcom made a wise choice with rookie developers Blue Castle and that they aren't afraid to try new ideas, regardless of their experience.

The Faux Bot

What do you think, real or fake? What ideas do you think should make it to the sequel? Use the comments kids, I opened them up just for you. If you knew the spam it gets me, you'd appreciate it more, I swear.