Video Games to Watch for in 2010: Faylor's Picks

With the New Year upon us the Shacknews editors looked at the upcoming release calendars and chose our three most anticipated games of the lot. There's nothing remotely scientific or analytical about it. These are the games, though, that as gamers we're already wishing we had in our systems. Here's what's got Chris going for 2010:

Red Dead Redemption

It only took about gosh darn forever, but it looks like we're finally getting a proper Western game for this generation of consoles.

To start out with, you've got cowboys, horsies, and the like. Behind that, the same technology used by Grand Theft Auto IV. And behind that, you've got developer Rockstar's extensive experience with the open-world genre.

As with most of its other titles, Rockstar is keeping the bulk of Red Dead Redemption under wraps. But with the April 27 release date fast approaching, I'm quite excited to see if Grand Theft Cowboy, as I've taken to calling it, will live up to that nickname.

Split/Second

Though I'm not that big of ATV fan, the last release of out developer Black Rock--off-road racer Pure--still had me hooked for a while.

Given this, I was looking forward to the studio's next project before it was ever announced. But when I found out that it involved fast cars and lots of explosions (read: things that are more my style), well, hooray.

It's, essentially, Burnout with explosions. The better your driving, the more explosions you can trigger, allowing you to set off more of the little ones scattered around the map or activate one of the bigger ones, like, say, bringing down an air control tower.

Now mix some strategy into that--it's all for naught unless that thing falls on your opponent, after all--and, voila, you've got Split/Second. The only downside is that it's not due until May, which, at this point in December, seems so very far away.

Dead Rising 2

Of my picks for next year, Dead Rising 2 represents the one I'm most unsure about. No, it's not just because external studio Blue Castle is at the helm, instead of Capcom proper.

Rather, with word of Capcom pushing back its major titles, it's not clear if Dead Rising 2 will actually come out in 2010. And while Capcom certainly plans to release the sequel something during its next fiscal year, that timeframe runs until March 31, 2011.

But regardless of when it hits, the follow-up to Dead Rising is something I'm quite looking forward to. Hell, were this just a rehash of the zombie-slaying original in a new city, I'd be happy enough. But with multiplayer, all sorts of new weapons (like a pitchforked shotgun), and word of up to 6,000 characters on-screen, well... yes, please.