The 50 Hottest Things in Gaming in 2009

Here's the ultimate list of things to look forward to in your 2009 gaming calendar. This massive preview of the year includes E3 2009, The Reinvention of Atari, the Return of Itagaki, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Half-Life Episode Three, Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, Rare and loads more.

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Rage
TBC 2009

We doubt we'll see or hear anything more about Doom 4 this year, so it's just as well id Software has another incredible bit of code in the pipeline. We'd say a 2009 release for Rage seems fairly likely, since it was originally announced back at QuakeCon in 2007, and the id Tech 5 technology that powers the game was already extremely impressive in its unveiling birthday suit. In this interview with id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead, we described Rage as "the most impressive looking game we have actually seen running by quite some margin." It's set in the near future following a comet collision with the earth, and is set to offer both shooting and driving gameplay. -AD

Prototype
April 2009 (Xbox 360, PS3)

When I get a virus, the symptoms are usually a runny nose and a headache. Alex Mercer, on the other hand, has come away with the strength to toss cars around, shape-shifting abilities, Spiderman-like agility and a taste for human flesh. Some people have all the luck. The game of which Alex is the star, Radical Entertainment's Prototype, is a third-person parkour-fest which pits the player against military goons, rival mutants and poor old Joe Public. Success is said to hinge on how well you exploit Alex's upgradeable moveset, with over 750 combinations of powers. It's the twisted lovechild of Crackdown and Kid Chameleon, in short. -EET

Resistance: Retribution
February 2009 (PSP)

Insomniac's alternative history shooter is coming to the PSP, and Sony Bend, a studio second only to Ready at Dawn for mastery of the hardware, is in the driving seat. So it's off we pop to pump bullets into those vicious Chimeran mutants once again, this time in third-person, using old Resistance standbys like the Bullseye and Auger rifles. The game looks boxy but beautiful on the smaller screen, and the gunplay is of a standard befitting the developer of Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror. Unusually for a PSP title, Retribution has a robust online mode: you'll be able to take on up to seven faraway acquaintances in Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and other, Resistance-specific modes. Colour us interested. -EET

Virtua Fighter 5 R
Possible 2009 console release

This is little bit hopeful, but as anyone who caught our recent AM2 interview will know, we'd really, really like to see this Japan-only arcade update come to consoles - either as a standalone release or perhaps as a downloadable expansion. Virtua Fighter 5 R sees the welcome return of sumo wrestler Taka Arashi, and also welcomes French karate newcomer Jean, who bumps the full line-up to 20 fighters including boss character Dural. Throw in some absolutely gorgeous stage redesigns/additions, and of course hundreds of gameplay tweaks and improvements, and VF5R is a must-see for all fans of the series. AM2 told us of a console release: "I can't give a definite answer, but if we get a lot of requests from users, then it's definitely possible" - and VFDC has a guide on how to tell SEGA you want to see it come to consoles. Let's see if SEGA can step up to the standards of listening to its fans as Capcom has been demonstrating of late. Which leads us nicely onto... -AD

Heavy Rain
TBC 2009 (PS3)

Since I know that a disturbing number of Shenmue fans visit this site, let me address them directly when I say: keep an eye on Heavy Rain. In terms of gameplay it bears notable resemblance to the Dreamcast epic, if you ask me. And more to the point, it looks really quite incredible in terms of graphics, and very promising in terms of concept. Heavy Rain is a first party PS3 title by French developer Quantic Dream, and we think it has the clear potential to achieve the sort of fusion of cinematic storytelling and interactivity that we have pondered with Hideo Kojima - someone we think will be very interested to see what Quantic has been up to. As supplies of third party exclusives wither away to literally nothing, it's first party titles like this that will continue to make the PS3 a strong proposition in 2009. In fact, going through this feature, there's an impressive number of hot PS3 exclusives from Sony itself. -AD

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