So, following on from the Winter 2009 Film preview last week – here’s the gaming edition of things to look out for…
THE SABOTEUR (PS3)
Release Date: 8th December
Developer: Pandemic Games
Publisher: EA
The more I see of this War era game the more I like the look of it.
You play as one man resistance Sean Devlin as he tries to destroy the Nazis. We’ve been told there is a personal revenge story in there as well.
My favourite thing about this game is the way that the occupied parts of Paris are black & white and the parts you’ve liberated have the colour come back to them. Looks cool.
MODERN WARFARE 2 (PS3)
Release Date: 10th November
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Don’t really need to say much about this one I suspect. 
This has to be one of the most hyped games of recent years.
I’m looking forward to playing this but I’m not as excited about the multiplayer as everyone else seems to be 
The clips I’ve seen look good but not amazing – hopefully it will be as great as everyone else thinks!
GTA: CHINATOWN WARS (PSP)
Release Date: 23rd October
Developer: Rockstar
Publisher: Rockstar
After success on the Nintendo DS Rockstar is bringing Chinatown Wars to the PSP.
A cell shaded and fairly stylised game with an aerial viewpoint, Chinatown Wars is set in the same Liberty City we know from GTA IV.
As well as performing standard missions you have the chance to boost your income by peddling one of six kinds of drugs. Nice 
However I’m reliably informed this isn’t as sinister as it sounds and it is actually a deep and tactical part of the game.
Rockstar always comes up trumps and this scored high ciritically on the DS so there’s no reason to think it won’t be as good on PSP.
UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (PS3)
Release Date: TBC October
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony
After the visually stunning and superbly written first game there is no doubt that for me personally, Uncharted 2 is the most anticipated game of 2009.
Continuing Nathan Drake’s story with new allies and enemies, among the old favourites of course, Uncharted 2 will have you travelling all over the world as the story unfolds.
Added to all this is a new multiplayer mode that will take the Uncharted universe online for the first time! 
Check out my initial impressions of that here.
Geoff Keighley, the well respected host of GameTrailers.com has recently tweeted that Unchated 2 is ‘one of the best games of this generation.’ I expect nothing less.
BRUTAL LEGEND (PS3)
Release Date: 15th October
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: EA
In Brutal Legend you control Eddie Riggs, a roadie who ends up transported to a world inspired by Heavy Metal album covers. Do I need to continue? 
Well if you need more then the idea of the game is to help the people of this world break free of the tyranny of a bunch of supernatural overlords.
Not 100% sold on the multiplayer but this is still a game I’m defintely looking forward to.
The soundtrack looks great with over 100 tracks personally selected by Tim Scafer, the games creator. Jack Black voices Eddie Riggs and there are roles for Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy among others.
Only downer for me on this that they have ditched Dio (& his tracks) and got Tim Curry to voice his character instead. No Dio? 
BLUR (PS3)
Release Date: 6th November
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Publisher: Activision
I’ve included Blur in this list as lots of people are hyped about it and the game itself looks, graphically, great.
For me Split/Second, Disney’s racing offering, looks the better option for vehicular combat – however after the whole Prototype/Infamous debacle left me with egg on my face, I’m not ruling Blur out.
Essentially a hybrid of Mario Kart and Twisted Metal, Blur gives you powerful cars with powerful weapons.
You can win races by speed or by taking out the opposition – there is nothing new here but it looks like it could be fun.
ASSASSIN’S CREED II (PS3)
Release Date: 20th November
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
The first Assassin’s Creed took me a while to get into but once I did I was immersed fully.
Yes it was limited in places but the engaging storyline, great graphics and cool features were enough for me.
Ubisoft are upping their game for the second installment, this time featuring lots of new gadgets and more ways of getting information on targets (rather than just the three methods of the first game).
We take on the role of role of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an assassin who is presumably another decendant of Desmond Miles.
Set in Venice in the 15th Century, the game features some beautiful locales for us to cause mischief in.
Can’t wait for this one.
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS (PS3)
Release Date: 11th November
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: EA
I’ve never been a massive fan of fantasy RPG’s like Baldur’s Gate or Dungeons & Dragons (which is surprising considering my obsession with the Fighting Fantasy series of books and games like Hero Quest when I was a kid).
I have seen my wife play Baldur’s Gate and some of Oblivion: Elder Scrolls so I kind of know the ‘standards’ of these games.
Dragon Age: Origins caught my eye with a few great trailers and having looked at it a bit more I’m quite intrigued.
They have the (almost obligitaory) karma system but I like the idea of the origins part – where you’ll control the character early on in their life and shape their outlook.
Kind of like an extended version of the great Vault sequence in Fallout 3.
Might be worth a try.
So there you go. One of the games I was really excited about was the spy based RPG ‘Alpha Protocol’ (Sega) but that has now been pushed back to June 2010 so a longer wait ensues.
However, judging by the games above we haveplenty to get through in the meantime!
