Top 10 Most Anticipated...Games

Before the hiatus, I thought I'd do a quick round-up of the TV shows, books, films and video games that I'm most excited about for the remainder of this year, especially seeing as many of them are coming not too long after the blog returns. Some of the other lists involved looking up minor releases to fill in some of the gaps, however this list of video games is by far the easiest to fill up due to the sheer velocity of titles reaching our shores in the coming months, and thus the most difficult to decide on an order. I don't know how many of these titles will be successful in bringing us genre-defining stories and experiences, but I've ranked them according to which have me most excited right now. And of course, this isn't even covering Dead Island, Gears of War 3, Resistance 3, FIFA 12, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Rocksmith, Kinect Sports: Season Two, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Need for Speed: The Run, Rayman Origins, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dance Central 2, Kinect Minecraft, Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Kart 7 or Super Mario 3D Land, all out very soon too!
#10: METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION- Three MGS games for the price of one, available for both PS3 and 360? That's a bargain unto itself, and while I can't see this selling too well right now with all the other titles on offer, it may do its developers proud when people want something to play early next year. (November 30th)
#9: MODERN WARFARE 3- I'm no longer a major fan of the Call of Duty franchise, but I must stress that each glimpse we get at Modern Warfare 3 does still impress me, and I'll still be interested to play it and see how it turns out. (November 8th)
#8: LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 5-7- LEGO Pirates of the Carribean (9/10) proved there's still plenty of life left in Travellers Tales' LEGO video games, so I'm eager to see how The Order of the Phoenix, The Half Blood Prince and especially The Deathly Hallows will fare in hilarious brick form! (November 30th)
#7: FORZA MOTORSPORT 4- The insanely innovative gameplay of Forza 3, coupled with improved visuals (that's a big acheivement), Kinect compatability and Top Gear features make this the quintessential racer to buy this Autumn. (October 14th)
#6: DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION- Like Arkham Asylum did in 2009, Deus Ex is wisely releasing before everything else, so that may it show it off as a Game of the Year contender instead of the action RPG being swamped by the rest of the crowd! (August 26th)
#5: SONIC GENERATIONS- Most of you will likely dispute my placing this in the list. However, go back to many of Sonic's past games and you'll notice a giant heap of potential just waiting to be tapped by the right game- I think Generations could be just that. (November 4th)
#4: BATTLEFIELD 3- The lush graphics, the near-disturbingly realistic shooter gameplay and the intense audio are bound to come together to form the definitive war experience for fans and newcomers alike. (October 28th)
#3: HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED ANNIVERSARY- Having recently played through Combat Evolved for the first time and being stunned at how well the visuals and gameplay hold up, I cannot wait to see a HD version coupled with new multiplayer maps and secret Halo 4 terminal hints. (November 15th)
#2: ASSASSIN'S CREED: REVELATIONS- After its E3 demo, this came very close to matching or topping the game in first place. Don't worry, though, as it coming second is just representative of the high standards set by Q3/Q4 2011, and I'm sure the story's closure of our two past Assassins and hints at the future should make this a must-buy title. (November 15th)
#1: BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY- But as before, I remain stunned by the constant innovation and attention to detail present in every trailer, gameplay demo and mere screenshot for Batman: Arkham City. As long as we see a few well-implemented stealth sections to complement the extensive action that's been focused on in trailers so far (as the stealth was what made Arkham Asylum stand out), we've got a genuine Game of the Year contender right here. (October 21st)