Gaming in 2009: 21 Things We Missed!

If our list of 50 of the hottest releases, events, unveilings and announcements scheduled in 2009 wasn't enough, thank the internet's gaming forums, friendly publisher PRs and our own grey matter for an additional helping of 21...

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StarCraft II
TBC 2009 (PC, Mac)

How on earth could we have missed this one, you ask? Well, perhaps because I didn't get round to playing the iconic original till Time, like a Hydralisk horde gutting a Xel'Naga temple, had stolen away its lustre. Still, there's no denying the brilliance of that core species balance - multi-purpose Terrans versus specialised but expensive Protoss versus cheap, ferocious Zerg - and Blizzard's brand new 3D engine should captivate those wary at the idea of a sequel which builds on, rather than breaks from, these spotless fundamentals. The unit selection has been tweaked - some troops have been dropped, others return with a fresh look and abilities - and the arthritic Battle.net service, revolutionary at the time of StarCraft's release, is being revamped. Each of the three campaigns sports around 26-30 missions, with at least one campaign letting you tackle them in any order. Will StarCraft II be a hit? You know it will. But will it have the upstart Dawn of War 2 on the ropes? We're going to enjoy finding out. Our interview with Blizzard Co-founder Frank Pearce has more. -EET

Codemasters' Racing Line-up
TBC 2009

Codies are set to put out more new top-notch racing content this year than should really be allowed by law, and we think the only reason none of them were on our top fifty is that the awesomeness just cancelled itself out, or something. First up is Colin McRae: Dirt 2, announced back in November. It's the follow-up to and should really have been on our list purely on the grounds that the first game was brilliant - and out of respect to the late Mr McRae - and also because they've added a new multiplayer mode. Next up, possibly the best racing game ever made, Race Driver Grid, is set to get another downloadable content boost, the V8 Car Pack - reported to include muscle cars such as the Holden Commodore and a new track, Bathurst. And finally, although we'd previously speculated that full-on F1 could've joined Race Driver Grid as DLC (based on this developer chat), it's since emerged that Codemasters is planning to release a proper, standalone F1 game this year, having won the video game rights previously held by SCE. -AD

MadWorld
Q1 2009 (Wii)

When it isn't fishing Sonic the Hedgehog out of the toilet to dance for Megadrive/Genesis diehards, Sega can make pretty damn solid publishing decisions. Signing MadWorld, PlatinumGames' third-person comic strip brutaliser, was one. The premise is oh so very Manhunt: Varrigan City has been transformed into a vast, unspeakably violent game show, "Death Watch", with residents battling masked thugs for the world's televisual amusement. Unfortunately for the thugs, one of those residents happens to be a chap with a chainsaw punch. Stepping into the boots of this pleasant individual, players move with the Nunchuk and ladle out the agony with the Wiimote. Killing enemies slowly and above all inventively is vital if you want strong ratings: the environment, littered with spiky objects and lethal machinery, is a great ally in this regard. Partly a commentary on mass entertainment, partly just a bloody fun action game, MadWorld should put a bit of flesh on the Wii's anorexic adult-themed line-up. -EET

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