Keep It or Delete It?: Pushmo (3DS eShop)
Keep It or Delete It?: Quasar Quinn: Escape from Zargnon (Android)
Keep It or Delete It?: Mutant Mudds (3DS eShop)
Final Cut: Hetalia: World Series (Season 3) (DVD)
Keep It or Delete It?: Paper Monsters (iPad)At this point, pretty much everybody who cares knows that Final Fantasy XIII is coming out in North America on March 9th of next year. If that were the only game coming out at the time, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but the deluge of games coming out early in 2010 are going to sap my free time and my savings account, and I know I’m not alone. Here’s a rundown of what to look forward to in the first part of next year and an estimate of what it’s going to cost you to keep up, without getting the collector’s editions.
Not quite as many big name titles hit in January as the next two months, but there’s still a little something for everyone. The decade starts off full of action with Bayonetta, my pick of the month for January coming out on the 5th for PS3 and 360. For those needing their Diablo fix in a box, the PC retail version of Torchlight lands on store shelves on the 12th. The digital download version is already available, but this way you can give the gift of more than just ones and zeroes. Capcom fills the Dark Void in your gaming shelf on January 19th. Join William Gray and eccentric genius Nikola Tesla in their battle against the evil alien Watchers on PS3, XBox 360 and PC. Phoenix Wright is scheduled to make his Wiiware debut in January, too, but Capcom has yet to announce the official date. The first month rounds out with two titles on January 26th: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars busts onto the scene for Wii – How many games give you the chance to pit Frank West and a horde of zombies against Chun Li and her flurry of lightning kicks? Here’s a hint: just one. The other title is Greg’s pick of the month, Mass Effect 2. Follow Commander Shephard in Bioware’s next big RPG for 360 and PC.
January estimated retail cost: $245.
February might be a short month, but there’s still a long list of games to buy. February 2nd alone has quite a few big games. Cryptic Studios boldly goes where no MMORPG has gone before with Star Trek Online for PC. At least it’s the only major MMO coming out during the first part of the year. The first big PSP release of 2010 hits thanks to XSeed as they send us back to the past with Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. It’s a remake of the Sega CD version of Lunar: The Silver Star; hopefully, it’s as fun as the Working Designs translations. Gran Turismo 5 tears up the track on PS3 filled with the classic Gran Turismo cars plus new additions NASCAR and World Rally Championship tracks. And finally, White Knight Chronicles makes its long awated PS3 debut. It had its first playable demo at Tokyo Game Show in 2007; so, this RPG has had a lot of time to build up hype. Big Daddy and friends return in Bioshock 2 for PC, PS3 and XBox 360 on February 9th alongside the PS3 release of Star Ocean The Last Hope International. Finally, the long awaited followup to the Ace Attorney series featuring Miles Edgeworth comes to the DS on February 16th.
February estimated retail cost: $350.
March certainly comes in like a lion with one of the biggest titles of this console generation, but it doesn’t go out like a lamb by any means. Square Enix’s latest entry in its flagship RPG series, Final Fantasy XIII, stands alone on PS3 and XBox 360 on March 9th. Two Nintendo titles headline the releases on March 16th, the hugely popular Pokemon series remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver land on the DS alongside the unusual Wii adventure title Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. A lesser known title, Fragile Dreams follows a young boy left virtually alone on a dying world as he searches for answers and other survivors. The DS gets its second Shin Megami Tensei title when it goes on a Strange Journey on March 23rd while the North America finally gets to say So Long, My Love to Sakura Wars on PS2 and Wii. You can check out our preview of Sakura Wars 5 here. Two more downloadable titles make their debuts this month with the second Phoenix Wright title Ace Attorney: Justice for All coming to Wiiware and Mega Man 10 firing a spread on the PlayStation Network, XBox Live Arcade and Wiiware. Three more titles are tentatively scheduled for the end of March, but haven’t had their dates set in stone yet: Front Mission Evolved for XBox 360, PS3, and PC brings giant robot combat to the next gen console. Aksys offers up Mimana Iyar Chronicle for PSP. This portable RPG was written by the people behind Lunar and Tales of Destiny 2 and mixes RPG elements with real-time battle. And fight a slew of giant monsters when Japanese mega-hit Monster Hunter Tri comes stateside on Wii.
March estimated retail cost: $390.
Release dates start to get fuzzy when you get this far out, but April has a few games that should be coming out in the shadow of tax day. Super Street Fighter IV offers up the latest incarnation of Capcom’s flagship fighting series on PS3 and 360. Kratos brings his reign of destruction to PS3 in God of War III. Japanese-themed action-adventure title Yakuza 3 brings gamers to Okinawa on PS3. And finally, 360 gamers get to find out whether psychological thriller Alan Wake lives up to all the hype.
April 1st – 15th estimated retail cost: $220.
That’s $1205 in games between New Years 2010 and April 15th. 2010 is clearly shaping up to be a great year for gaming, but a terrible year for gamers’ bank accounts. Save up your gift cards, everyone. We’re gonna need them.
Bayonetta and Mass Effect 2 Top our Most Wanted List for January | G.A.M.E.S. on 21 Mar 2010 at 5:00 pm #
[...] lot of great games are being released in the next few months. See Dan’s post about “Why I’m Going To Be Poor By Tax Day 2010“. But there’s always some that become a must have pick. Out of the January Releases, [...]