13 Best Upcoming Non-Sequels

13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Sure, we all love video game sequels but there are a ton of hot new franchises coming in 2009 and 2010. Here are 13 that we can't wait to play!

Take a look at a release calendar showing what video games are slated to come out during the rest of this year and into 2010 and you'll see that the lion's share of upcoming big titles are sequels.

Big surprise, right? Of course, with franchise behemoths like Call of Duty, Halo and Super Mario, game sequels are prominent every year but 2009 and 2010's lineup of games is even more bloated with game sequels than usual.

But that's nothing to complain about. We can't wait to sink our teeth into BioShock 2, God of War III, and the rest of the heavy hitter sequels on the horizon, but we thought it'd be nice to move the spotlight over to all the non-sequels we're excited for that show some serious potential. These games have what it takes to make an impression big enough to trigger their own sequels. Read on to find out why.

13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Borderlands

For: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Coming: October 20, 2009
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: Fallout 3, XIII (AKA "Thirteen"), Mel Gibson Films

Borderlands is one of those games where I had literally zero interest in the game at first. That all changed once I saw the game up and running in front of me. I had seen the initial batch of screens they released for Borderlands, heard that it had a Fallout 3 meets Mad Max (pre-Tina Turner filled Beyond Thunderdome) feel, but I still wasn't entirely sold on it until I got to play it.

GamePro's Travis Moses and I played a good chunk of Borderlands' cooperative campaign and I had a lot of fun murdering overgrown rats called Skags, working together to take down some of the game's gnarlier enemies, and going overboard collecting and upgrading its mouthwateringly huge assortment of weapons. Borderlands has slick cel-shaded graphics, a compelling post-apocalyptic world, cool enemies, and a lot to offer for gun nuts and gamers who love to collect lots of crap. It's already on my X-mas list
-Patrick Shaw (Want more Patrick? Follow him on Twitter now!)




13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Heavy Rain

For: PS3
Coming: Early 2010
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: Indigo Prophecy, Phantasmagoria
Can video games be art? Who the hell knows, but Heavy Rain makes it clear that they can come pretty damn close. It's a murder mystery, a Hollywood blockbuster and a Choose Your Own Adventure book all mixed up in a blender. The developers made the fantastic but flawed Indigo Prophecy so I'm excited to see what they pull off with Heavy Rain. It looks fantastic--hello Uncanny Valley--and the storytelling looks to be incredibly strong. I'm holding out hope that it delivers a compelling gaming experience and that it pushes video game storytelling to the next level.
-Tae Kim (Want more Tae? Follow him on Twitter now!)




13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Dante's Inferno

For: PS3, Xbox 360, PSP
Coming: February 9, 2010
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: God of War, Devil May Cry
Yeah yeah, I've heard you whiners say time and time again that DI is a God of War rip off, but guess what? If the game delivers, we'll all benefit from its influences. What's impressed me since the first time I saw the game is how silky smooth it runs; I'm no expert, but I'd bet that making an action game that constantly runs at 60 frames-per-second is no easy task. Add an awesome setting (Hell's never looked so good), a plethora of devilish creatures and solid combat, and Dante's Inferno could very well destroy gamers' misconceptions of the game. Here's to a hellish February 9th.
-Andy Burt (Want more Andy? Follow him on Twitter now!)




13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Brink

For: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Coming: Spring 2010
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Gears of War
Brink blew me away at this year's GamesCom, Germany's massive electronic entertainment expo. Literally, it was the loudest live demo I have ever experienced and I came out of the booth looking like Albert Einstein with a hangover. I expected to see intense first-person shooter action with firefights between the two playable factions -- security vs. resistance -- but I was overjoyed with the character customization options.

Brink's quasi-cartoony characters feature realistic textures with hyper vibrant colors, but their body parts are squished, stretched and chiseled to look more like brawny caricatures rather than real people. As you play the game more pieces of apparel become unlocked that you can use to outfit your character and appear unique. When I'm playing Brink online in 8-player multiplayer, I'll be the pumped shirtless guy with ammo belts strapped across my chest like Rambo. "Aaaaarrggghhh!"
-Travis Moses (Want more Travis? Follow him on Twitter now!)




13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Brutal Legend

For: PS3, Xbox 360
Coming: October 13, 2009
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: God of War, Metalocalypse
The anticipation is killing me. It's like waiting for your favorite band to hit the stage. We're a little more than a month away from Tim Shafer's next epic game.

Mixing God of War-style fighting with RTS-style army battles, while adding an amazing script and an all-star cast. Every time any of us here have played it, we've come away impressed. Unless the game disc shoots out of my Xbox 360 and beheads my two cats, I can't see myself not enjoying this title.
-Dave Rudden (Want more Dave? Follow him on Twitter now!)




13 Best Upcoming Games that AREN'T Sequels

Singularity

For: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Coming: Early 2010
Will Likely Appeal to Fans of: BioShock, TimeSplitters
As George Jones pointed out in his hands-on preview from Germany's GamesCom, Singularity is being trumpeted as "the thinking's man shooter" where a Russian Cold War experiment goes horribly wrong and the result is Element 99.

Doesn't sound too mind-blowingly different from your average shooter's story until you find out all the insanely-cool shit you can do with Element 99, such as speeding up time to disintegrate your human enemies, and destroying or restoring your environment by manipulating the weathering effects of time. But the coolest thing you can do in Singularity that we know about so far is de-evolving your human adversaries so they turn into mentally feeble cavemen. Seriously, you can do that.
-Patrick Shaw

Comments [16]

post a comment

bigtime726

some of them sound pretty good. but some nnot so much. iwant try alpha protocol. but i know people going say i crazy but brutal legends just isnt really appealin to me to even try.

PatrickShaw

PlasmaSnake wrote:

o GODD Singalarity loko AMMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with Plasma.

N10_Aden

All good games. I wonder if Brutal Legent will have as much metal references as Metalapoclypse, but from what I have seen it looks like this game will be great.

355430
Triller

Brink all the way! This list is almost too good. I dont think I am able to buy and play this many games unless they don't release anymore for about 2 years afterwards.

Brink
MAG
I am Alive
The Saboteur
Borderlands

I am gettin these ones for sure. I can't wait for the sequels? lol

TRUPREDATOR

these are all pretty much wait and see games for me other than maybe alan wake heavy rain and possibly mag because my friend is hyped for it and wants me to get it.

ilovetehgamez

Ewe the alein in Dont'es inverno riminds of bettle juice! alex baldwen loks that way when he a CRUSTY DADE MAN!

Post a Comment