GOONL!NE

Happy New Year everyone.

2008 was a great year for gaming with MGS4, LittleBigPlanet, Gears of War 2, Fable II and more but 2008 is in the past. 2009 is here and it has the biggest load of work to do if it has any chance of taking on 2008, luckully, it’s got the games to do just that.

Our list consists of games being released in the 3 major regions of Europe, Japan and North America  in 2009.

So, lets get started shall we?

20 – Prototype (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): Summer 2009

It barely survived the chop from Activision after the merger with Blizzard last year but now, with the game finally coming into it’s own, Prototype is a game to look forward to.

Going up against inFamous this year, Activision will have to do all it can to beat Sucker Punch but right now, Prototype is showing all the promise to be a great game.

19 – Star Ocean: The Last Hope (Xbox 360): April 24th 2009

Admittingly, Square Enix hasn’t been the best of developers this gen. While they arent the worse, they have lost the touch which was what made them one of the best story tellers in RPG games. With games like Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant not being the games Square wanted them to be. However, before Square put all their chickens in with Final Fantasy XIII, there is Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

The game, a remake of the first Star Ocean for the PSX, will be out next month in Japan with an April release coming to Europe exclusively (so far) to the Xbox 360. This is one RPG which may start to turn the fortunes of Square this gen.

18 – BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): TBA 2009

The original BioShock was an absolute gem of a game when it came out in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC. It eventually got a release on the PLAYSTATION 3 in October 2008 . But hidden within the PS3 version of the game, when you completed it, you get a trailer to the sequel of the game, Sea of Dreams.

From the trailer, we can see a Little Sister who seems to be a bit older then she was in the last game holding a plushy Big Daddy with Rapture being built behind with sand. Other then that, not much of a hint was given.

All we know is that it wont involve Ken Levine, the 1st game’s director, it will be out in 2009 and it will be out on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360.

17 – Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (Xbox 360): Tuesday February 17th 2009

If 2008 had taught us anything, it was this: never ever again do we overhype a Grand Theft Auto game and that is advice we’re taking on here.

Thats not to say that The Lost and Damned will be bad, no, we think it’ll be great. What with bikes, bikers and Johnny Klublitz from GTA IV, what could go wrong?

Just… we’re throwing caution to the wind this time.

16 – Bayonetta (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): TBA 2009

Said to “blow off the doors” of the action genre, this new IP, made by Platnum Games and to be published by Sega from the creator of Devil May Cry, Hideki Kamiya.

Not alot of the plot has been released by Kamiya or Sega but what is know is this: you play as Bayonetta, a female witch brought into the modern day society as we know it to fight angels.

Thats all we know so far on the game but from the footage which has been released, it looks absoutely great and we cant wait for it’s release this year.

15 – I Am Alive (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): Summer 2009

Bad News: Jade Raymond aint gonna be on this project at all.

Good News: This game is still gonna be good.

I Am Alive sees you as Adam Collins who tries to look for his girlfriend in the aftermath of a devistating earthquake in Chicago. You control Adam through a FPS view with your intention in mind to not only find your girlfriend but to also survive.

We cant wait to see what comes out of I Am Alive but for the love of god Ubi, show some more footage.

14 – Lionhead’s Secret Project (Xbox 360): TBA

It’s a bit of a risk putting in a game like this in our list considering we haven’t heard a single peep of the game so far. All we know is that this game will revolutionise the way games are developed but we know that this game will most likely be revealed very soon at GDC 2009 in March in San Francisco as Peter Molyneux will be doing a keynote at the event this year.

Whatever Molyneux has planned next, if Fable II is anything, it’s gonna be amazing.

13 – Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360): Fall 2009

The fight with Master Chief is finished but Bungie want you for one last mission as they hand over the development reigns of the Halo IP over to MS as ODST will be Bungie’s last Halo project.

The games takes place between after the events of Halo 2 for the original Xbox and before Halo 3 where you play as The Rookie, an ODST soldier who crash lands into New Mombasa and gets seperated from his team known as Romeo, Mickey, Butch and Dutch.

The game is playable now from start to finish so it should be playable for expos very soon. We cant wait to see what this next Halo, and Bungie’s last, takes the series.

12 – inFamous (PLAYSTATION 3): Spring 2009

Revealed at Sony’s E3 Press Conference in 2007 with a re-emergence at E3 the following year, this new IP from Sucker Punch, the devs of the Sly Cooper series, will be on PS3′s by late Spring.

You play as Cole who, after a massive explosion in Empire City, wakes up as a survivor of the explosion and has gained some new powers to use… except…

1 – You fall into unconsciousness
2 – Your the one behind the explosion apparently

Now you must use these powers to decide if you want to be a hero or an anti-hero.

From what we have seen of this game, inFamous is gonna look sweet.

11 – Gran Turismo 5 (PLAYSTATION 3): Late 2009

Released in March 2008, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue was a big tease for the main game with 70 cars, 12 tracks, including the reverse layouts, and for the first time in GT histor, online.

Expect GT5 to hold twice as many cars and tracks when the game is released (hopefully) this year)

10 – Crackdown 2 (Xbox 360): TBA

We all know that Crackdown 2 is on the horizon, no escaping it.

Phil Spencer hinted at it, we’ve been gagging for it since the release of the original game and now, we’re most likely gonna get it.

The question is, who is gonna develop it? Real Time Worlds, the original developers of the game or Ruffian Games, a new studio set up by RTS alumni and funded by MGS?

We’ll know soon but for now, we’ll consider that Crackdown 2 will be in the development soon (maybe they’re about to start) and be released by late 2009.

9 – White Knight Chronicles (PLAYSTATION 3): TBA 2009

Having been on general release in Japan for nearly two weeks and selling over 130,000 units in it’s first week, the Level 5 RPG exclusive for the PS3 is set to touch down in the US and Europe this year, the only question is when this year?

WKC is seen to be the first major full scale JRPG to be released on the PLAYSTATION 3 which will do us until Final Fantasy XIII when it comes to the west in late 2009/early 2010 and is infact a major contender to take away the RPG crown from Square Enix and give it to Level 5.

We’ll hopefully have an import review of the game in very soon but for now, WKC wont be here for a while in the west but when it does, it’ll be worth it.

8 – Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360): Late 2009

It hasnt been officially announced but we can pretty much pin down that Mass Effect 2 is in pre-dev, maybe even in development itself as this most likely shows. Now, with Bioware in the hands of EA, the game could very well be multiplat with the game going to the PLAYSTATION 3 at some point along with the PC but for now, we’ll stick it as a Xbox 360 exclusive.

Mass Effect was without a doubt the best RPG of 2007 and one of the best games of 2007, full stop. So to see a sequal to this great game and this year as well would be a great early Christmas gift in time for Christmas 2009 so this is one we’re gonna keep our eye on, particuarly at E3.

7 – God of War III (PLAYSTATION 3): Late 2009

You’ve seen the and the released last month but come later this year, you’ll be able to play it.

Yip, play it.

Kratos is back for one last outing as God of War III wraps up the series which only started in 2004 on the PlayStation 2. Series Creator David Jaffe has said that the footage shown at the VGA’s last month was meh like while the footage shown to him was like a “painting come to life” and surely, that has to mean something.

God of War III will be one of several games which will see sales of the PS3 push through the roof but I mean, what do you expect, it’s God of War II.

6 – Alan Wake (Xbox 360): Fall 2009

The game has been in development for a very long time yet since it’s reveal back in May 2005 at E3 2005, nearly 4 years ago but now, its nearly done and it’ll be out in time before the big games rush which you’d expect during the Fall.

It’ll be going up against Heavy Rain in the battle of psychological thrillers in 2009 but Remedy Games aint gonna take the challenge lying down, no sir, not on your life!

Alan Wake is gonna be one of the most intense games of 2009, not just for the Xbox 360, but for all of gaming. And thats why we cant wait for it.

5 – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PLAYSTATION 3): Late 2009

Only very recently revealed last month, Uncharted 2 is gonna be hitting your PS3 in Late 09 with a vengence. Without a shadow of a doubt, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune was the best PS3 game of 2007 so we cant wait to see what UC2 has in store.

Nathan Drake is on one last mission before retiring from treasure hunting and is on the search for a treasure belonging to Marco Polo before a world reknown criminal gets there to him.

Simply, Uncharted 2 is gonna rock, lets leave it at that.

4 – Heavy Rain (PLAYSTATION 3): Late 2009

Heavy Rain, revealed back at E3 2006 with an emergence at GC 08 in Leipzig last August, is one of the most stunning games the PS3 has seen. We have had a dozen screens and only two videos and we still dont have a bloomin clue as to what the game’s story will be.

However, if it’s anything like Farenheit, Quantic Dreams last opus, we’re gonna be in for a stunner.

3 – Resident Evil 5 (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): Friday March 13th 2009

Resident Evil 4 is one of the best games ever, no question. Is RE5 the same? We cant say, we’ve only tried the Japanese demo but so far, it looks like Capcom have another sure fire hit with Resident Evil 5.

Chris Redfield is back and he’s in Africa to investigate a bioterrorism threat in Africa. Lucky for you, you’ve got a new partner in Sheva Alamar. Unlucky for you, you’ve got a old foe who’s hindering you every step of the way.

And as well as the Single Player campaign, for the first time ever in a Resident Evil game, you get to co-op the entire single player campaign, online or offline.

March 13th cant come soon enough.

2 – Killzone 2 (PLAYSTATION 3): Friday February 27th 2009

Gurreilla Games epic FPS shooter is almost upon us and by god, when the game is out in Europe on the 25th and the UK and US on the 27th, you had better brace yourself, your gonna be in for an epic ride of epic proportions.

You play as Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko, an ISA soldier who is part of a unit under the command of Rico Vasquez, from Killzone 1, taking part in the invasion of Helghan to arrest Helghast leader, Emperor Visari and stop the Helghast machine from tramping onwards.

Our hands on of the multiplayer will tell you how excited you should be for this game. If your a PS3owner, this is a Day One buy, no question.

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So, what is our most antcipated game of 2009? Last year, we didnt give it to Grand Theft Auto IV or Metal Gear Solid 4, we gave it to LittleBigPlanet. And our decision now seems to have been justified as it was one of the best games of last year.

But who gets the 2009 award?

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GOONL!NE’s Most Antcipated Title of 2009: 1 – Final Fantasy XIII (PLAYSTATION 3/Xbox 360): Late 2009

Since it was revealed back at E3 2006, we have been quietly looking forward to it. Since the release of DKS3137 2007 trailer, our antcipation got higher. But come E3 2008, our antcipation became want with the news that the game would not be a PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive in the series for the first time in 10 years and would head to the Xbox 360.

But then, with the recently release of the DKS3137 2008 trailer, want has now become need.

It will be a while before Final Fantasy XIII comes to the West with a 2010 release for the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 in North America and Europe but it will almost certainly be released in Japan in time for Christmas this year, exclusively to the PLAYSTATION 3.

Not alot about the story has been released so far and all the footage we have seen of the game so far is mostly CGI with only 20 seconds of real time footage in the DKS3137 trailer (hey, blame Square for their Closed Theatre) but from all the screens we’ve seen so far, from all the real time screenshots we’ve seen, from all of the gameplay screenshots we’ve seen so far, from all of the descriptions of the Closed Theatre trailers and from what we have seen so far, the wait for Lightning will be worth it.

We will have an import copy come in so we can bring you the review of the game when the game does get released this year in Japan. Till then, the wait is almost for Final Fantasy XIII.