As One Year Ends, Another Begins...

As 2009 has come to a close and the Top 5 have been drawn up, I thought I'd have one final look back over '09 while simultaneously looking forward to 2010.

Amongst all the big guns that were unleashed on the world in 2009 there were some games that while may have had a lower profile (for one reason or another) were also great. The first being The God of War Collection...while at time of writing only available on Import from the United States of America, it is easily available from sites like Movietyme or Gamesbasement (and of course as the PS3 is region free there are no issues when trying to play it in a British PS3). For those not aware this is a blu-ray reissue of the PS2 classics. With its HD overhaul (upped res and frame rate as well as trophy support) this looks better than ever and plays like a dream. While almost 5 years old this is still as good as anything being peddled as true next gen gaming today. The story is truly one of the best I've ever come across and the violence is brutal (its fair to say Kratos has a few issues!). Overlook this 'last gen' beauty at your peril!!!

Another game that caught my eye this year was Flower...a bizarre game in which you play as a flower dreaming of sunnier climes. While I appreciate it sounds quite lame and a tad 'hippyish' it really is all about the lovely visuals and brilliant use of the (horrendously under used) sixaxis' motion sensing functionality. I've read elsewhere that people say that you don't play Flower as much as experience it...it is like taking control of a Pink Floyd video. It is different and the fact that I picked it up from the US PSN store for £3 makes it a must.

Finally the last game I'd like to mention is Eyepet. Now while its not my normal gaming fare I was rather impressed with it. It is basically a super fancy Tamagotchi whereby you have to feed, groom and play with the titular Eyepet. Unlike the aforementioned Tamagotchi it does grip your attention for more than 2 minutes. Now while there are loads to games to play and things to do it is not for this reason why I mention it. The way you interact with Eyepet is by using the Playstation Eye which allows the virtual pet to interact with people and objects in the real world. Using augmented reality the Eyepet appears to be aware of its environment and surroundings and reacts to them accordingly. The player can place objects in front of the animal and the game will interpret what the object is and respond to it. For example, if the player rolls a ball towards it, it will jump out of the way to avoid being hurt. It will also react to the player's actions and sound allowing the user to, for example, tickle the animal or clap their hands to startle it. To see the little creature doing his thing, head over to Youtube and check out this video. The use of the tech is really quite cool and has generally made me quite excited about the release of Sony's new Wii challenging Motion Sensor Controller (It doesn't have a name yet but 'Gem' has been mentioned).

Anyway enough with the reminiscing and lets look forward and see what will be invading the gaming landscape in the next 12 months. Due to the sheer volume of great (or at least potentially great) games being released in the next year I am only going to be able to mention a handful. Lets start with a franchise I've already mentioned, God of War...

In March God of War 3, the third and final part of David Jaffes Greek Mythology based Epic, is to be released. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the demo a few months back (thanks Sony) and I must say it didn't disappoint, in fact it totally blew me away! It took the already tried, tested and loved game play of the previous PS2/PSP games, cranks it up a few notches and adds a (the decapitation of Helios is eye-wateringly brutal!) lush PS3 polish! If the full game is as good as the demo (and I have a feeling it may even top it) I think this will be a strong contender for game of the year. I...cannot...wait...

The next game, and say it quietly, is Gran Turismo 5. I think they started making this game in about 1973 and they've been decanting the lines of code from angel tears ever since. What will be completed first, Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia or GT5? All joking aside if (and it should be as it scheduled for release in Japan in March and SCEE has only today released photos of the box art) this is released in 2010 it will be MASSIVE. I personally think it's going to be nigh on impossible to live up to the insane level of hype that has surrounded this racing monster since its it was announced at E3 in 2006 but I hope I'm wrong. At the time there were rumours we could be getting our hands on it before Christmas 2007. Ha ha, how we laugh at this now! I've seen some videos and screenshots (as well as play the all too brief GT 5 Academy Demo) and the way this game looks is something else...the lighting, Physics, detail on the cars, it looks all so very real. Also this time round we can expect car deformation/damage (yay!!), online multiplayer, a 1000 cars and 70 track layouts. In addition to this there are rumours regarding head-tracking using the PS Eye and a track editor. If this all comes together with the usual Polyphony pizazz (I thought GT PSP was amazing!) and sheen then it could just be the game we have been dreaming of since it was announced.....

Deadspace 2 - While this might not be at the forefront of everyone's 'gaming mind' at present I'm pretty sure it will be come the Autumn. Anyone that knows me knows how much I loved the 1st one and I can tell you that I am very excited about the sequel. The first game was a brilliant combination of action and atmosphere. It took the well established survival horror formula of classic games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill and put a wonderous Alien/Event Horizon spin on it. I loved everything about this game from the slick controls to the great story and from the awesome use of surround sound to the genuinely eery atmosphere. If its only half as good as the original then it will still be better than a lot of games released in 2010!

Heavy Rain - I first read about out this just after I got my first PS3 in December 2007 and I remember being mesmerised by the film grade visuals. I didn't know anything about the story or what type of game it was but I was instantly hooked and wanted to know more. Until relatively recently information on this game has been slow coming other than the fact that it's a 'mature' adventure game which surrounds 4 central characters and how there lives change following a series of murders (check wiki for some more info). The way you control your characters and the style of gameplay sounds like a 21st Century Dragons Lair remake over seen by David Lynch!. At the end of the day this could end up being a pretentious, dull, overblown turkey but you've gotta give Quantic Dream respect for trying something new and original. If it is good it could genuinely be a turning point for the games industry. Watch this space.

Finally lets not forgot some other games that are also due in the next few months like Rebellion's 'Alien Vs Predator', Visceral Games' 'Dantes Inferno', Square Enix's 'Final Fantasy XIII' and Rockstar's 'Red Dead Redemption'. Its scary looking at the release schedules as this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg.....While I don't know whether any of these games will replicate the quality of the 'class of 09', i do know that my bank account is gonna take a beating! See ya kids online. JB