We are on the cusp of the end-of-the-year game deluge, so I went over some release lists earlier today to see just when some games I want were slated to hit shelves and, to my dismay, I found a ton of goddamn games. I copied them down anyway and decided to go through and give them some kind of priority. Which games do I really want? Need? Will die without? Once I started I decided just to make a blog out of it and share it with Destructoid.

Shadow Complex -- August 19, 2009
Purchase likelihood: High



Shadow Complex being a download game, lower price and all, really bumps it up. I was initially pensive about a purchase and I still plan to try a demo before spending my Silly Bill Fun Bux, but every trailer has made it seem like a great combination of retro style and modern development.

Batman: Arkham Asylum -- August 25, 2009
Purchase likelihood: Already Paid Off

I was almost sold when I heard Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill voicing their respective characters; I was even closer when I saw gameplay videos of combat and stealth; I made a run to Gamestop the day I heard about the demos on PS3 kiosks and I wasn't disappointed. I'll admit a bit of enjoying this title was due to the license, but I genuinely had fun cracking Arkham inmates in half.

I just can't bring myself to get the batarang edition though.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade -- September 8, 2009
Purchase likelihood: Pretty High

Much like Shadow Complex, Muramasa looks like it combines oldschool style with modern design ideas. It has pretty graphics and everything I've seen makes it look like a ton of fun. I don't know what else to say about it, but I'll probably be suckered into one of those Classic Controller Pros. Maybe I'll wait until I can get my mitts on the controller first, since I have no idea when they'll be letting us roundeyes buy them.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 -- September 15, 2009
Purchase likelihood: Mediumish

I am a sucker for comic books, Marvel, goofy match-ups and anything that includes more obscure characters. This seems to do all of that, present a hopefully less Liberal-bullshit laden (DA GUBBERMINTS IS BAD!!!) version of the Civil War plot and, with any luck, will have a more cohesive end quarter than the last game. They've got my attention at least, but this might be one where I wait for a review just to be safe.

WET -- September 15, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium High

I may have mentioned it at several points in the past, but here it is again: I love third person action games. They are exactly what I look for. I can see the character and form a connection, they can have lots of variety while maintaining the basic framework I like (Uncharted vs Devil May Cry vs Armored Core) and they're just plain fun to play. Wet does that, and has the very “unserious” grindhouse over-the-topness that made any plot issue irrelevant in HotD:Overkill. If only more developers would learn that a game that rocks easily replaces a game with some extra-grim story they demand be taken seriously.

Unless it gets really atrocious reviews, it will end up on my shelf.

Katamari Forever -- September 22, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium High

I likes me some Katamari rolling and I would love to have a new one in HD, but this really isn't “new”, per se; it's revamped old levels It's in HD, but it doesn't look like the current-gen power has done anything but pumped up the resolution. A bit of a tangent, but what I always want from new generations is not fancier graphics—those are easy—it's better physics and environmental interaction. This doesn't really have that, but I have no idea if a Katamari game could even exist with fancy physics anyway.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 -- September 29, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium

Once again, third person action. Unfortunately NG2 took itself far too seriously for my taste and was a technical abomination. Some of it seemed like it was easy to fix; make it not freeze, make the framerate not blow ass and for god's sake, fix the camera. If they can fix the horrible technical problems, I can get past the completely stupid story and writing easily enough to enjoy the combat.

Alpha Protocol -- October 6, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium with a dash of Low

There's a lot about Alpha Protocol that has me interested, and nothing that has me sold. For all the variety and dialog options and customization, it just hasn't hit me as particularly smooth in operation. Trailers seem stiff, but there's time to fix that, and who's to say the age of the build used for trailers in the first place? It looks like Mass Effect with spies, and like a game I can play through a few times without sinking back into the same methods I did as with Fallout 3.

Demon's Souls (Deluxe Edition) -- October 6, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium

Demon's Souls looks pretty awesome, but a big draw for me is the multiplayer. This is something I'm going to echo with Borderlands when we get to that, but I like teamwork, I like classes and I like customizing to work with your team. Demon's Souls would be all about that if it had a straight up multiplayer component. It doesn't, but it still has a dark, foreboding atmosphere and tons of character customization. Want it, but I'm skeptical of my own ability to stick with it when I really want to play with someone and have to some crazy phantom stuff.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising -- October 6, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium Low

Really, what does this one in is my own lack of necessity for another shooter. I do think the concept of the game is awesome though. A big, open area that's almost impossible to navigate on foot, teamwork, lots of ways to approach objectives. It all looks good, but I'm just not as excited for this one as I am for others.

Brütal Legend -- October 13, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Very High

Over at Gamersyde, and on several other sites to boot, you can watch about 35 minutes of gameplay from Brutal Legend that covers everything from combat tutorials to the headbanger minions to the upgrades. If you don't see why I, or anyone else, would drop $60+ on this game as soon as they get the chance, go watch. You will know. And if you still don't know, then you need to go listen to Motorhead until you figure it out.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves -- October 13, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Just waiting to see if there's a special edition beyond the preorder bonuses



No, it's not a typo, I actually just made this one bigger than the rest. Uncharted was, and still is, one of the best games released this generation. It is an interactive summer action blockbuster that I enjoyed all the way through. It never got old, it didn't drag in the middle and having recently played it again, it is an example of such expert tuning I can't think of another game that truly accomplishes what Uncharted did. Revolutionary? No. Can I complain about anything? Also no. Now they're making another one and between the trailers and the beta, they seem to have made it more impressive in every way. If I had to pick only one game to buy for the rest of this year, this would be it.

No, really, I'm just waiting to see if there's an option that lets me pay Naughty Dog more.

A Boy and His Blob -- October 14, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium

I was in love as soon as I saw the hug button pressed, but my decades old attempt at playing the game on the NES has made me slightly hesitant to charge head first into this one. It looks amazing, but there is a platformer I want more.

Borderlands -- October 20, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium

I find this a bit more interesting than Operation Flashpoint just for the setting, but the ability to scrounge up a firearm fit for Super Jesus puts it over for me. Teamwork, support sniping, RPG elements but with the assurance that when I aim at someone I'm going to hit them and a sweet style make this a pretty attractive game. But, and a big one, it's still a shooter and good god do I have enough of those.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time -- October 27, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Sure Thing



This is the platformer I want more than ABahB. [Late night edit: Double negative that sounded more entertaining in my head hours ago feels like I'm saying I don't love R&C now. Fuck that! Ratchet & Clank rocks.] I don't know what to say about it. I think my only disappointment is that this new one isn't titled “Clock Blockers” in the goofy fashion of it's predecessors.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition -- November 3, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Sigh... pretty high

I am such a goddamn sucker, but I loved the first release of this game. I attempted to objectively review it, but I just love smashing enemies into walls that dent differently every time. I love super-scary sith armor. I love playing the bad guy. I don't know if I'll grab this one right away, but I'm probably just sucker enough to do it.

Modern Warfare 2 -- November 10, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Low

What? Yeah. I know a few things about Modern Warfare 2. 1. It's Modern Warfare. It will be fun, it will be familiar, and it will be some third f thing. 2. It will be around for a good, long time. Really, people are still playing COD4, so I don't expect MW2 to go away anytime soon. 3. I'm not going to be the first to the top rank with everything unlocked so why fucking rush it?

I'm sure, absolutely so, that I will buy Modern Warfare 2 someday. I'm just kind of set on shooters at the moment, and there's no shortage of new ones this fall. It's not necessarily a lack of interest in Modern Warfare 2, but a lack of urgency. I've got a burning need to get my hands on MAG (especially since someone on my friends list is in the beta, taunting me with NDA filtered informational goodies it would be rude to blog about) and because it's new. Modern Warfare is a sure thing, and will be a sure thing in six months too.

The Saboteur -- December 8, 2009
Purchase Likelihood: Medium Low

There's plenty about The Saboteur that I like and plenty that I am ambivalent to. It's a new take on a setting that I couldn't care less about, but it's got a cool style and I love stealthy gameplay. It's another third person action title and I've said before that those are my bread and butter. I'll need to see how this one pans out, especially after that metric assload of titles.

This isn't even every game. I didn't list anything with a TBA or a Q4 note, only games that had a day locked in. I even did my best to root out all the delays and I'm still left with a ton of games. I love being excited about games but... damn. That's a lot of them and I'm going to have to make some difficult cuts; "can afford" and "should buy" are not the same thing. Many of the games I really, really wanted, such as Bayonetta and Dark Void were pushed to next year where they can make friends with even more games I want like God of War 3.