20 MASSIVE games of early 2010

5. Bayonetta - Multi

Expected release: January

Should you care?

Bayonetta may look to the uninformed eye like just another Devil May Cry knock-off. Consider though, that it’s being directed by Hideki Kamiya, DMC’s original creator, and things suddenly get a whole lot more exciting. Now working at Japanese dream-team Platinum Games (a company set up by some of Capcom’s previous brightest and best), Kamiya has reworked his nitrous-boosted combat creation to make something far cooler, sexier and eyeball-poppingly ludicrous than you have ever seen before. In a recent feature, we described Bayonetta as “DMC off its face on mescaline at an all-night rave for sexy witches”, and that’s something you need to be a part of.

Delayed?

Would you be at all surprised at this point if we said “Yes”? Bayonetta’s producer has admitted that avoidance of the Christmas action game rush is the reason. Ordinarily we’d applaud his attempt to give an interesting niche game more breathing space. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have moved its release date right next to Dante’s Inferno and God of War III.

6. Aliens vs. Predator - Multi

Expected release: February

Should you care?

If you like Aliens, Predators or good FPS, yes. After year upon miserable year of crap games and Paul Anderson, Sega has teamed up with Rebellion Developments (creator of 1999’s rightly revered PC AvP game) to do a proper job on the license. We’re getting three characters, three campaigns and three completely different gameplay styles, and it’s all wrapped up in ultra-authentic visuals ripped straight from the films and some of the most brutal gore we’ve seen since someone told Justin that Sonic was “a bit gay”.

Delayed?

Surprisingly no. AvP was always scheduled for early next year. Well done, AvP.

7. Singularity - Multi

Expected release: March

Should you care?

Maybe. While a fairly solid team, developer Raven has a pretty hit and miss track record over the years, ranging from undoubted brilliance to fairly average pap. And we’re still undecided on Singularity. Right now it looks like a solid and polished FPS, but we really wish it had a single piece of visual design that didn’t reek of BioShock imitation. And while much has been talked of the game’s time-manipulation puzzles, so far we’ve seen nothing more interesting than reskinned versions of opening doors or breaking boxes. Decaying a hole in something using time instead of the more traditional doorhandle or crowbar does not Braid make.

Delayed?

Yep, and Singularity’s publisher is very open about the reason. Of course it helps that the publisher in question happens to be Activision. It can’t hurt that much to admit you’re pushing a game back because your other one is so awesome.

8. Dark Void - Multi

Expected release: January

Should you care?

Dark Void could turn out to be a very interesting game indeed. Essentially Gears of War meets The Rocketeer, it’s both a ground-based cover shooter and a high-flying, jetpack-toting aerial combat game which flips shooters on their side by allowing vertical firefights up the sides of buildings and cliffs. The proof will of course be in the playing, but right now it looks to add a brand new, dynamic dimension to an increasingly crowded genre.

Delayed?

Capcom pushed Dark Void back from September to skip what at that point was the perceived Christmas rush. With only the very different ODST and Modern Warfare 2 and the PS3-exclusive Uncharted 2 to go up against now, we can imagine more than a few faces making very good friends with palms over there.