Mass Effect 2: Fight for the Lost
Platform: Xbox 360 (it's also coming out on the PC I think)
Release date: 29/01/2010 although you lot in the US get it on the 26th or something.
Incredibly vast, epic sci-fi adventure. It's essentially the suicide mission to end all suicide missions. Lots of action, lots of story, and your actions affect the plot. Everything is fully customisable, including the main character. (I recommend playing as a female, simply because the voice talent is vastly superior to the male voice acting for Shepherd).
Heavy Rain
Platform: PS3 only
Release date: End of February
Something completely new for video gaming. It could be called an experiment but apparently that wouldn't do it justice, seeing as how polished it is. You play it in a completely different way compared to other games, and the creators are trying to immerse you in a unique, involving and emotional experience. The main reason I bought a PS3 was in anticipation of this "game". No doubt it will piss off lots of people, since it is trying to break the mould and really bring the consumer a different experience. It's only had one review so far, 9/10 from Official Playstation Magazine. Everyone I know who played it at E3 were blown away though. From what I've seen, it also has the most intense action scenes in any game. My heart was beating during a preview from some French show. I didn't understand what was being said, but it was crazy. Plus if I play through this game, and then you do, we can discuss what happened in the game and it will be different. It's not exceptionally long, but uses a 2000+ page script because of how your choices dictate the story. It's been described as being inside a more emotionally involving version of the film se7en, with elements of Saw as well. Oh, and this is a NSFW game. It's an adult game, featuring a serial killer, murder (obviously), torture, sex and even rape. The internet is buzzing with discussions on sex in games after the previews. It's been praised as the first game to maturely deal with sex. In the past, games have either been silly about it, or they've been interactive pornos. Of course, there are plenty of people up in arms about how this game will corrupt our children and invoke the wrath of god and all that shit.
These are all in-game shots from playable gameplay.
This is actually what it looks like while you're playing, as opposed to them being video cutscenes:
The other titles I'm waiting for are:
Bioshock 2 (360)
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
I'm interested in some others but need to know more about them. I'm keeping an eye on the much-delayed Gran Turismo 5, and MAG as well.
Anything being released this year that you're waiting for?
(12334 mins) must be a busy server.