Wednesday, May 19, 2010
May 18 9:30 A.M.
Between top-selling blockbusters like Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Splinter Cell: Conviction, it's already been a banner year for gamers.
But it's just getting started. A gaggle of high-profile sequels have been announced in the past few weeks, turning an already huge 2010 into a year for the ages.
Final Fantasy publisher Square-Enix threw their hat into the ring on Monday by revealing that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, the latest in the Disney-themed Kingdom Hearts series, would be hitting North America on September 7. Though it's exclusive to the PSP, the new game is easily among the most wanted games for Sony's portable -- and considering the franchise has sold over 14 million units worldwide, it's bound to be a top seller.
Call of Duty: Black Ops, the next game in the mind-numbingly huge war shooter franchise, is also due out this holiday. It's still a bit of an enigma, but with the Cold War pegged as the likely scenario, it's bound to touch a few nerves on its way to store shelves.
It won't be lonely once it arrives there. Ubisoft recently revealed that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the follow-up to last year's Game of the Year contender Assassin's Creed II, will arrive in 2010 as well. Picking up where the last game left off, it tosses players back into the sneaky boots of master assassin Ezio, who now takes his acrobatic act to Rome in a new multiplayer-friendly affair.
Multiplayer is the hallmark of yet another enormous sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2. Sony's next effort in their popular platform series goes bigger by letting players build and share actual games rather than just new levels, and it too will hit shelves by the holidays.
While these newly announced sequels are sure to wow, there's plenty more planned for 2010. An octet of big hits -- including Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- are coming in the next two weeks alone, and the likes of strategy mammoth StarCraft II, first-person behemoth Halo: Reach, anticipated action adventure Metroid: Other M and the world-changing expansion to World of Warcraft, Cataclysm, are all scheduled to arrive before year's end.
The rash of announcements comes just weeks before the E3 2010 video game convention in Los Angeles, the traditional launchpad for major franchises.
Game Release Dates
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - May 23, 2010
StarCraft II - July 27, 2010
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - September 7, 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops - November 9, 2010
Halo:Reach - Fall 2010
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Q4, 2010
LittleBigPlanet 2 - Q4, 2010
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - 2010
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