Honest Hearts – Released May 17th (Xbox 360), May 18th (PC & PS3)
“Honest Hearts takes you on an expedition to the unspoiled wilderness of Utah’s Zion National Park. Things go horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaanite missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. The decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.”

As of yet, there have been no official images released, but expect some within the next few days.

The content will be available from December 21st exclusively on Xbox Live players.

[Source: Bethesda Blog]

The patch is currently in the testing stage, and is thought to be released within the next few weeks.

Bethesda are set to reveal more details on the DLC within the next few weeks.

The limited edition is packed full of Fallout related poker items such as chips and a deck of cards. As well as the poker items the limited edition will be packaged with hard back novel called ‘All Roads’ which explores the events and the characters leading up to Fallout: New Vegas. Other items include a behind the scenes DVD on the making of Fallout: New Vegas and a recreation of the games highly coveted “Lucky 38″ platinum chip.

Bethesda has said the following on the limited edition “We’re offering this very cool collector’s edition to give fans the opportunity to own some of the items that they’ll discover while playing Fallout: New Vegas,” said Pete Hines, vice president of PR and marketing. “We are also expanding their experience with the game by including a top-notch graphic novel worthy of the Fallout name and a DVD that gives them a behind-the-scenes look at how the game was created.”

As of yet the Limited edition is only available to pre-order in North American stores and no details have emerged in regards to  a European release .

With 2010 arriving at full swing, let’s do a quick recap of all the exciting titles we should expect this year. Don’t forget to keep a bit of cash spare this year guys, judging from our pre-order basket – it is going to be huge!

Heavy Rain (PS3)

“Heavy Rain is about normal people who have landed in extraordinary situations. I wanted a much more personal story. The first thing that came to my mind, as a father of two little boys, was that the main theme should simply be a father’s love for his son. This is not a game about saving the princess or the world. Its [sic] purely about a father’s love. The main story will revolve around four different characters, and we’re putting the spotlight on their perceptions. The question ‘what is good and what is evil’ is the key here, that will be just a matter of viewpoint…I believe heavily in moral choices, I’m going to use them A LOT. They’re not about being good or bad, but about finding the right balance.” – David Cage

BioShock 2 (PS3, 360, PC)

“The game is set in fictional dystopian city Rapture in alternative history 1970, a decade after the events of BioShock. The protagonist and player-controlled character is a Big Daddy, a being that has had its organs and skin grafted into an atmospheric diving suit. Among the first of its kind, the player-controlled Big Daddy reactivates with no recollection of the past decade’s events, and scours the city in a vain attempt to relocate the Little Sister that he was paired with. When it becomes obvious that Rapture’s leader Sofia Lamb will become responsible for the city’s destruction, the Big Daddy attempts to overthrow Lamb and her army of Big Sisters.” – Wikipedia

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360)

• “Final Fantasy XIII is the thirteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series, and is the first of the series to be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360…”

• “The battle system, called Command Synergy Battle in game, has been described as “More tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster than X-2, and almost as seamless as XII…“

• Final Fantasy XIII will not have one prominent main character. In a similar vein to Final Fantasy VI…”

“Different games aim to have some sort of “key element” that will differentiate them from other games on the market. For FF, we feel that the key element is that we constantly try to reach the highest potential, the highest quality standards in that particular generation. We’re always trying to raise the bar and outdo ourselves. We try to do that in every generation, and when we succeed, I think that’s when users really look to us and say “that was a great game!” And that’s what we want to achieve with FFXIII, as well.” – Hashimoto

Pokemon Heart/Soul (DS)

A lot of people grew up with Ash as he explored the vast world Pokemon had to offer – both in the video game world, and off. A lot of the same people would also argue that Pokemon was in it’s prime with the release of Gold & Silver for the GameBoy. So, when hearing it was to remade, enhanced and released on the Nintendo DS – I was straight on Amazon to place my pre-order. The kid in me is jumping on the bed in sheer anticipation for March 14!” – AndyW

Halo Reach (360)

It’s Halo… Just do it…

Really? You are still waiting?

Just go put it on pre-order…

You really want to be that guy? Fine, be that way.

God of War III (PS3)

Kratos uses blood, sweat & fear to force the final saga of the God of War trilogy, into your pre-order basket!

“God of War II ended with Kratos, Gaia and the Titans marching on Olympus. God of War III will conclude the story of Kratos’ attempt to destroy Olympus. A game demo was released at E3 2009 showing Kratos battling his way through the city of Olympia and, with help from the Titan Perses, paralyzing and killing the god Helios. Kratos then fights his way inside a back door into Olympus, and flies up through a vertical shaft using the Wings of Icarus. Meteors fall through the channel and, after emerging through the exit, Perses seems to try to kill Kratos as he falls towards him with blades in-hand.” – Wikipedia

Crackdown 2 (360)

The sequel is set around ten years after the first instalment, you are placed under control of another genetically-modified agent sent out to restore peace in the streets of Pacific City. The only major difference, instead of only fighting off convicts, you are protecting the innocent against infected hordes of mutants. Following their accidental release into the city from the research facility we seen in the first Crackdown. Then to top it off, regain control of the City from the hands of the rebel group ‘The Cell’ – a revolting terrorist organization fighting to overthrow the Agency.

With the all new four-player cooperative play, not to mention the multiplayer modes for up to 16 players over LIVE, you can take the mutatious fight to the streets and rooftops with your friends in explosive style.

Dead Rising 2 (PS3, 360, PC)

The game is set a few years after the events of the original Dead Rising. The zombie parasite that originated in Santa Cabeza has spread all over the United States. The game will take place in the fictional city of Fortune City, which is modelled after the real-life city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Chuck Greene, a former national motocross champion, is somehow caught in the middle of the zombie apocalypse in Fortune City. Just like Frank West (the player-character from the original Dead Rising), Chuck must survive through every zombie horde he gets into as well as psychopaths and rescue surviving civilians. Among the survivors is Chuck’s own daughter, which serves as his primary motivation for battling the undead. Inafune mentioned in an interview that part of Chuck’s quest will force him to participate in the violent game show, “Terror is Reality.” – Wiki

This was an easy pick for the list, who doesn’t need a good zombie game in their life? The only zombie-fix we have at the moment is Left 4 Dead – but that’s only and online fix – singleplayer dammit!

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)

Delayed. Delayed. Delayed. If you are a PS3 user who has been following Gran Turismo’s progress over the last few years, this word must be more than familiar. Somewhat of a death-toll. But without any driving simulators to keep you PS3 users satisfied, you have been going cold-turkey – and every junky needs their fix.

With a bit of luck, this gem will be released in 2010 without any further delay.

Fallout: New Vegas (PS3, 360, PC)

When Fallout: New Vegas was announced in London at a press-conference, we were immediately told by the name that despite it’s predecessor, it will be taking place is a non-fiction environment. Instead, a full-scale action adventure tale set in Vegas. Though information at the moment is scarce, the target release date is 2010. Until that time, we’ll just have to sit back and do more speculation. Feel free to add your hopes, expectations and fears for Fallout: New Vegas in the comments section below.

With Fallout 3 being such a huge and influential title, are you really all that surprised to see this game on the list?

Additional Notes

Forming the above list was pretty hard work, which involved a lot of sacrifices. As a lot of games are strongly “hinted” at being released in 2010 – but with no official release date or announcement, I decided not to include them in the above list. The main two games for this are Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 and Gears of War 3. With the addition of a official announcement, both would undoubtedly be on the list. If and when they are announced, I would also recommend pre-ordering – so much potential!