My Top 10 RPGs to look out for in 2010

It's that time of year isn't it? Z-list celebrities have switched on Christmas lights all over the country, M&S have released another epically long, epically cringe-worthy advert, RBS are in the spotlight over Christmas bonuses that UK taxpayers will have to pay for and some shatting little X-Factor runt face will be Christmas number one. Again.

Fun times.

It's also that time of year where we look ahead wistfully and expectantly to what 2010 will have to offer us. Which celebrity will die first (anyone up for a sweepstake?), what will be the new social network fad (Google Wave anyone?) and more importantly, which RPGs should we be looking out for to mark the dawn of a new decade in gaming? Everyone will have their own ideas on that, I'm sure, though undoubtedly a few constants will remain on everyones lists (Two Worlds II not being amongst them!). So without further ado the first of two easily digestible parts as I countdown from 10 to 6, the RPGs I'm most looking forward to in 2010.

10. Final Fantasy XIV - PS3, PC - Late 2010.

Funny that people should be talking about FFXIV before XIII has even been released but there you go. Sony managed to botch the announcement at this year's E3, but even so reactions ranged from gasps of excitement to doubt manifested as sharp intakes of breath. It's safe to say, most attending were surprised at the very least.

As an avid player of FFXI for over a year, my reaction was mixed. If Square Enix could tidy up the grind and make FFXIV an accessible and enjoyable game for all they really could be on to something. They've promised to do that, starting with the abolition of experience points and levelling up. Instead players will level their equipment up by using it, in what has been called the Armoury system. For me it sounds similar to the Weapon Skill levelling system already present in FFXI but refined to encourage players to build the character they want to build without the constraints of archetypal classes.

The license posesses the quality and the pedigree to make Blizzard cast an extra look over their shoulder but realistically, FFXIV is unlikely to challenge WoW's crown. It looks set to make a splash in the MMO world though and should release on PC and PS3 towards the end of 2010.



9. Fable III - Xbox 360 - Late 2010

After prolific tweeter and serial pranker (rhymes with pranker anyway...), Jonathan Ross accidentally on purpose let this slip on Twitter a few months back, details of Lionhead's next Albion rooted offering have started to emerge. Fable III will feature Albion as it heads into the age of steam with an industrial theme featuring prominently on the landscape. The gameplay will focus on your actions and the wider effect they have on the worldly denizens.

Peter Molyneaux recently confirmed that Fable III will also feature Natal support although details on how exactly are pretty sketchy at the moment. If it means I can virtually kick a chicken about with a bit of over-exaggerated leg-swinging though, then happy days. This is likely to be an optional element which will be a relief to people like me who really can't be arsed to get off the sofa when playing games to go to the toilet, let alone to play the damn things. Still if the rumours of a Q4 Natal launch are true, it wouldn't be a wild assumption to think that Fable III may be one of the launch titles for Lionhead's newest innovation.

Despite my apprehension about having to get off my sofa, I'm a big fan of the Fable series and I'll definitely give the Natal elements a decent try before retiring back to my permanently-indented couch.


8. Infinite Space - DS - Spring 2010

You'll come to learn that I love two things in entertainment more than anything else and those are: RPGs and Sci Fi. So when someone comes along and lumps them both together to release a game on my favourite handheld console ever in the world, I get a little bit excited. Some may say a little too excited and in the case of Star Ocean: The Last Hope, set myself up for a fall. I have high hopes for Infinite Space though and I think they're justified.

It topped the charts in Japan when it released earlier this year and while there's not a snowball's chance in hell of it doing the same in Europe, it should be a lot of fun. Promising an ambitious tale of space exploration featuring combat in a variety of fully customisable spaceships, numerous worlds to explore and numerous worlds' bars, the ability to captain your own mini-fleet and employ your own crew, it looks like ticking both of my entertainment boxes.

Playing the part of Yuri, you'll be whisked of into space by a woman with anatomically unlikely breasts to save your sister Chelsea from some really evil space pirate types. On overriding plot of evil aliens hell bent on taking over the universe will ultimately lead you down a more existential path by the look of it, but distractions are aplenty in what could be one of the biggest, most open ended DS games ever. 


7. Phantasy Star Zero - DS - February 12th

This wasn't even on my radar until I saw the new trailer yesterday. Recent Phantasy Star games haven't been anything to shout about at all in my opinion, certainly nothing as groundbreakingly time-sapping as Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast, but Zero has promise. At least I think it does.

Again, as if SEGA are conspiring to siphon all my disposable income away from me with their RPG/Sci Fi offerings, both my entertainment boxes are ticked. Throw in some online play too with the Visual Chat system - which we're all hoping won't be used just to draw comedy dicks to your fellow players - and PS0 becomes an intriguing title.

The story centres around 'The Great Blank', a 200 year gap in the timeline and players will uncover its secrets as they play through. Dungeons will be randomly generated online to offer a different playing experience every time and single players will find around 15 hours of gameplay to tuck into if they don't have any friends, or don't feel like making any. PS0 should feel like an MMO in the palms of sweaty hands with Phantasy Star Online drawn from as a firm source of inspiration. This makes PS0 an exciting title for me next year and I hope it lives up to expectations by rejuvenating the brand.


6. White Knight Chronicles - PS3 - Early 2010...hopefully.

One of the disadvantages of living in gaming's third world when it comes to RPGs, us Europeans often have to wait bloody ages for things we really want to come out. Released in December '08 over in Japan it has undergone the mother of all localisations seemingly and should be with us by Q1 2010. However, everything I've seen and read so far suggests it will not only be worth the wait, but it will go some way to reinvigorating a next-gen JRPG genre that is so quickly falling into obscurity next to high profile Western RPG releases.

White Knight Chronicles is a good old BOGOF (that's you buy one, you get one free, I said you buy one, you get one free! - er sorry about that) in that it's basically two games in one. An epic single player campaign and a squad based online campaign which are completely separate from each other. WKC has a real time combat system not massively dissimilar from FFXII in that enemies are on-screen and engaged by walking into them. The combat is defined by it's customisable combo system which will allow you to chain a variety of moves together into beautifully composed sequences. Not only does this show a fantastic level of innovation from Level 5, but it will have connoiseurs tinkering for hours to come up with the most effective chains.

Playing the lead role of Leonard, who as an infant was discovered in ancient ruins, you posess the ability to transform into the White Knight and battle against the nefarious forces of Wizard and it's up to you to rescue the princess. Sounds cliched in many ways but Eurogamer suggested earlier this year that it's postmodern in the sense that it realises it's cliched and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a hard game to sum up in three paragraphs because of it's sheer depth but it's definitely one to watch in 2010 and if it wasn't the for the fact it's been out for a year already in Japan, would probably have featured much higher up this list.

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Well, that's it for part one. It's been fun. I'm sure not everyone will agree with my choices but that's the advantage of all blogs being opinion based I guess. Stay tuned for part two where I will not be including the 'highly anticipated' Two Worlds II. Sorry if that's ruined it for you Two Worlds fans. Part two next week, where predictably, I'll be counting down from five to one.