Coming Attractions: Action-Adventure & Platformers

Metroid: Other M

On: Wii / Developer: Team Ninja / Publisher: Nintendo / Release: 2010

What on earth is going on here? Soapy CGI cut-scenes? Acrobatic action-game combos? Team Ninja? We know Nintendo's on a charm offensive with hardcore gamers, but letting the creators of Dead or Alive Beach Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Ninja Gaiden loose on the monolithic Metroid licence seems like a risky move - it's a mood game as much as anything else, and we're not sure that Team Ninja has the subtlety and restraint to pull it off. Or any subtlety and restraint at all, for that matter. That said, it's an unexpected and intriguing collaboration, and back in the day, no-one thought Retro Studios would be able to pull it off either.

Mafia II

On: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 / Developer: 2K Czech / Publisher: 2K Games / Release: Summer 2010

Wait, are we going to have to expand our list of open-world royalty again? Well, maybe not, because while 2K Czech get the basics right, Mafia II 's considered pace, painstaking authenticity and down-to-earth action contradict the rampant, antisocial hyperbole of GTA and crackdown. It's a delicate balancing act, but Mafia II has seemed to be managing it with grace and poise so far, and the longer it takes to make, the better we feel about it.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

On: PSP / Developer: Kojima Productions / Publisher: Konami / Release: 28th May

Who knows what Rising is all about, and frankly, who cares, when we can look forward to this full-fledged, Snake-hipped campaign from Hideo Kojima's playful mind. The idea that a PSP game could headline the Tokyo Game Show doesn't sound as ridiculous over there as it does over here, thanks to Monster Hunter - but once we discovered how good it looked, how funny it was and that the entire thing was playable in four-player co-op, we didn't think it was ridiculous at all. Look past the format and Metal Gear's chequered history on it, because this is very much the real deal.

Red Dead Redemption

On: PS3, Xbox 360 / Developer: Rockstar San Diego / Publisher: Rockstar Games / Release: 30th April

The videogame world is still waiting for its first truly great Western; last year's Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, for example, got the tone and texture absolutely right but only managed a mediocre game, and it's more common that they're neither. Rockstar seeks genre redemption in this gritty, serious, turn-of-the-century tale, and the developer certainly knows its cinematic cues, but it's the gorgeously lonesome open world that's the real draw; we can't wait to saddle up and just drift these plains.

Also in 2010

Deep breath: Alan Wake plunges into the darkness this spring; Splinter Cell: Conviction's so deep in the shadows we won't see it until much later in the year, now; Dante's Inferno pushes the boundaries of taste and inspiration, if not gameplay originality, next month; Dark Void jets in next week; Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands promises a return to the Sands of Time, but with a movie release window to hit, time is the one thing it doesn't really have; Kojima chips in on the development of a new 3D Castlevania: Lords of Shadow; the seedy glamour of Yakuza 3 finally makes its way West;

LucasArts succumbs to the dark side again in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II; Suda 51 peddles his delightful pop-art nonsense in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle on Wii and remake No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise on 360 and PS3; Dead to Rights: Retribution barks up the wrong tree, probably; Ninja Theory does Monkey in the future with Enslaved ; LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 should casually show up the proper Potter games; Square Enix is suddenly claiming that Nier is an RPG, but we're not convinced; Splatterhouse survives developer BottleRocket's sad demise, and This Is Vegas outlives Midway; Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers could use a longer title, we feel; Zangeki no Reginleiv is Dynasty Warriors on drugs (and the Wii), from the makers of Earth Defence Force, so let's pray for a Western release; not something we have to do for 3D Dot Game Heroes any more; which is just as well because we should save our breath for the gorgeous Okamiden on DS anyway; tired yet? Take a break with Endless Ocean 2; swords and sandals abound in the Wii's Gladiator AD, Warriors: Legends of Troy and the Clash of the Titans movie spin-off; over in indie corner, there's the intriguing co-op jewel heist game Monaco, and the beautiful side-scroller Rocketbirds Revolution, while the amazing Zeno Clash is headed for XBLA; The Calling keeps survival horror alive on its own; Maijin: The Fallen Realm is a Last Guardian rip-off that will probably make it out before the real thing.

A quick word about adventure games: there are some! Even if you're not counting Heavy Rain, you can still look forward to these: the return of Gabriel Knight author Jane Jensen with Gray Matter; Hotel Dusk creators Cing offer a dark murder-mystery in Again on DS; Phoenix Wright's classic cases are being reissued on WiiWare, alongside a Miles Edgeworth investigation on DS; and indie experiment Trauma pieces together memories in a photo-collage style.

Probably not coming in 2010:

Will we see a new Wii Zelda in 2010? Satoru says "yes", Reggie says "not so sure", and we're inclined to side with the big man from Louisiana over his boss; EA won't want Dead Space 2 flighting its own Medal of Honor for shelf-space in the autumn; Rockstar North's espionage exclusive for PS3, Agent, is down for a 2010 release but is a cert to get delayed; Ubisoft is so vague on Beyond Good & Evil 2 and I Am Alive that it sometimes seems to forget they exist; Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 will need another six months at least; and were we dreaming it, or was there going to be a Bourne game by Starbreeze?