The New Year is here and with it comes a slew of new promising titles for each console. Here are my picks for games that are bound to rock your socks in the coming year.


Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP)
Projected release date: January 20th
This might be a remake (the original for the PS was titled, Star Ocean: Second Story) but Square Enix has revamped the graphics, added new anime cut scenes and offered new playable characters to this already stellar title. You pick up the reigns as either Claude, a space cadet, or Rena, a country girl with magic powers, and follow through their own unique stories. As you progress through the game there’s plenty of room for exploration off the beaten path. The game’s surprisingly roamable world provides plenty of opportunity for side missions and free play. Maybe that’s not so revolutionary anymore but it wasn’t bad for 1999.

Punch-Out!! Wii (Wii)
Projected release date: Spring/Summer
This series really needed an update and it’s kind of a shame that it skipped a few console generations to get there. But with Glass Joe, Von Kaiser and other fighters returning to again feel the leathery bite of your glove, fans will finally get a chance to take their fights next gen. Nintendo, as usual, is keeping most of the details under wraps, but the Wii motion controls will add an awesome update to the game play and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it utilize the gyroscopic Wii Motion Plus. As soon as this game hits the stores I reckon there’s going to be a surprising amount of classic hardcore gamers coming out of the woodwork to get in the ring as Little Mac again and beat some ass.

Starcraft 2 (PC)
Projected release date: “It’s done when it’s done.”
Little can be said about this title that someone hasn’t already hit the Internet over and over, so I’ll keep this brief. The first Starcraft was a game I couldn’t put down, I think I seriously played it on and off for a half a decade. Blizzard’s long awaited follow up to the 1998 smash hit may have me playing for a little bit longer by offering new, updated units and an engine that can double the size of its already epic encounters.

GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Projected Release Date: March 17th
Rockstar brings it’s pop cappin’, car thievin’, gang warin’ crime franchise to the family friendly DS. But don’t you worry about the family friendly part this game is set to be as brutal as the rest of them. The studio has promised that the game will be bigger than all the other handheld titles by offering more jobs and a deeper main story. Also GTA: CTW will be making use of the Nintendo handheld’s online connectivity. If the single player game is as big as they say it is and there’s the added online play, this game promises to be well worth the wait.

Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Projected release date: Fall 2009
Bioshock threw you into the wild art deco, steam punk world of Rapture with nothing but a shotgun and some plasmids, giving us one of the best first person experiences to date. PS3 fans got a special treat when they beat the game and saw a trailer for the sequel (which might actually be a prequel). 2K Marin will be taking over most of this project from 2K Boston who was the lead developer in the first game. Take-Two Interactive, the studios’ parent company, says that fans shouldn’t worry that the game will go off course with a new studio as 2K Boston will be overseeing the sequel’s production. Despite the original developers’ lesser involvement (and the complete lack of info on the title as of now), this game is still poised to be one of the best of 2009.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360)
Projected release date: 2009
Square Enix surprised us in ’07 with an update to their FF series that took the games away from the turn-based combat system fans were used to and instead opted for a more real time KOTOR-esque one. It was met resounding acclaim and, though with a few tweaks, is said to make a comeback in the thirteenth installment. Motomu Toriyama, the games director (and director of Final Fantasy X-2) has promised a good mix of story in action hoping that the games battle system will help keep the players attention through his epic story. But after seeing those beautiful trailers, it’s hard not to pay attention to what might be one of the biggest FF releases of all time.