January was pretty good, but this is 2010, the best (expected) year in gaming ever. And while January was good, February will be better. Here’s why:
5. Dante’s Inferno
Releasing on February 9th, the game that’s made more headlines by ridiculous marketing tactics such as rickrolling journalists and paying picketers against their game. It’s been called the God of War clone, but from the same developer that brought us Dead Space, Dante’s Inferno is all about gruesome combat, the epic journey into hell, and the most disgusting and visually unappealing imagery you’ve ever seen. Sounds like the best way to enjoy a night after a queasy dinner!
4. Time to Finish Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 takes a long time. While I managed to beat it in 26 hours with completing absolutely everything on Hardcore, BioWare employees have noted that CEO Ray Muzyka has put over 130 hours into a single game on Insanity. Getting the free time to finish is hard, so thankfully Mass Effect 2 owners didn’t have to worry about other games for a good 2 weeks. That, of course, ends on the 9th, then #5 and #3 release. If you couldn’t complete one playthrough, that’s your own damn fault.
3. Bioshock 2
Releasing right beside EA’s re-envisioning of the Divine Comedy, Bioshock 2 plunges players back into the underwater world of Rapture, only this time as a Big Daddy. Ten years after the original game, one little sister is all grown up, and wreaking havoc. After a pretty damn awesome trailer, even without Ken Levine working on the project we are excited and can’t wait to share our review of the game. And my time with multiplayer at CES was surprisingly fun, so once you finish the single player campaign, you can jump online as a splicer and use those Plasmids on your friends and foes. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get to play as a Big Daddy too.
2. Aliens vs. Predator
Few franchises have the appeal of Aliens vs. Predator. Even after several games, none have really expressed the possible greatness such an interactive experience could have. That all changes on February 16th when Sega releases AVP for mass appeal. Play as humans, Aliens or the Predator in both the single player campaign and multiplayer. Unsure how it’ll all play out? Steam and Xbox Live have the multiplayer demo available for download right now, so go try it out and prove us right.
1. Heavy Rain
From the same developer that brought us Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream has teamed up with Sony to make the PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, the next step in interactive entertainment. Note that this is not a game, it’s INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT. Still, I’ve played through several missions at various shows, and it is absolutely unique to the gaming industry. Whether or not it turns out to be the huge success everyone expects it to be, we’re all going to try it. This adventure has hundreds of different possible endings, depending on how you treat your characters and the actions you take. Expect to play through several times, starting on February 23rd.
