What's Next?: A Look At The Rest Of This Winter's Titles

Many of you marched into your local electronics retailer this week and bought some combination of Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed II, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and God of War Collection. While you're probably having a blast with those titles (and perhaps another recently-released game that apparently sold a few copies), you might be left wondering what to look out for in the coming months. Thankfully, the rest of the year and early 2010 is looking to be unusually loaded considering that those months are typically a dry period for game releases. Take a look below for a taste of what you'll be playing for the remaining winter months.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: SPIRIT TRACKS

Release Date: December 7th

Why it should be on your radar: Link's first adventure on the DS introduced some clever uses of the hardware and featured surprisingly solid stylus controls. Spirit Tracks takes the same controls and visual style, abandons the sailing, and brings Princess Zelda along for the entire ride. With the omission of the repetitive Ocean King elements from Phantom Hourglass, it looks like his new quest will keep what worked and toss aside what didn't.


THE SABOTEUR

Release Date: December 8th

Why it should be on your radar: They may be closing down, but Pandemic Studios plans to go out with a bang via The Saboteur. You play as Sean Devlin, an Irish man who takes up arms against the Nazis in Paris. Slaughtering the Third Reich is nothing new in video games, but this title features a distinct art style and open-world gameplay that might warrant another trip to World War II.


BAYONETTA



Release Date: January 5th

Why it should be on your radar: Platinum Games and director Hideki Kamiya are going in guns blazing with this absurd orgy of angel slaughter. It's drawing understandable comparisons to Devil May Cry, but our hands-on time with the game has made Dante's adventures look downright tame next to the titular character's violent romp. With summons made out of hair, shotguns attached to her feet, and guillotines that can be dropped out of the sky at will, this action-packed title will be sure to keep your trigger finger busy during the cold winter months.


DARKSIDERS



Release Date: January 5th

Why it should be on your radar: This armageddon-centric adventure game (in which you play as one of the Four Horsemen) is earning some early comparisons to Zelda and God of War. Pretty lofty comparisons for an untested IP, but it should be worth playing if the level of quality is even half of what those games are.


DARK VOID



Release Date: January 19th

Why it should be on your radar: People like jetpacks...this is a scientifically proven fact. From Sean Connery making his escape in Thunderball to C.J. peppering San Andreas with grenades from the sky, jetpacks have always straddled the line between hilarious and cool. Dark Void is looking to fill the latter half of that equation by presenting gamers with setpieces that you can shoot up in full Rocketeer gear.


MASS EFFECT 2



Release Date: January 26th

Why it should be on your radar: Just in case BioWare hasn't given you enough hours of gameplay lately with Dragon Age, they'll be adding a few dozen more to your backlog with this followup to last year's hit. Taking place two years after the original, Shepard returns to round up new friendly operatives to take on the Collectors.


MAG



Release Date: January 26th

Why it should be on your radar: This "massive action game" has been a big focus during the last two Sony Press Conferences at E3, and it should be worth checking out if it delivers on the hype. Just the concept of full-scale 256-player matches should make fans of tactical shooters salivate. Assuming it runs smoothly and features some quality character progression, this title should certainly earn an online following.


ModNation Racers



Release Date: February 2nd

Why it should be on your radar: Building on the popularity of LittleBigPlanet's level-sharing aspects, ModNation is hoping to inspire the same creative types to create entertaining racetracks. The creation interface seems intuitive and quick, which is an absolute must if they hope to amass an active online community. If users populate the servers with a steady stream of quality courses, gamers could potentially have a racer with nearly unlimited replay value.


DANTE'S INFERNO



Release Date: February 9th

Why it should be on your radar: There's a reason why you almost always hear God of War mentioned when people talk about Dante's Inferno - it's obviously directly inspired by Kratos and his god-killing adventures. There's also a reason why that shouldn't matter very much - people love God of War's gameplay, and more visceral and violent action can't be a bad thing. If EA hasn't caught your attention yet with one of their questionable PR tactics for the game, hopefully the gameplay will.


BIOSHOCK 2



Release Date: February 9th

Why it should be on your radar: Taking place ten years after the events of the original, Bioshock 2 takes you back to the flooded hallways and general creepiness of Rapture. Rather than fearing for your life every time you see a Big Daddy, you'll experience this sequel as one of the drill-armed protectors. Hopefully the added armor will be enough to keep the hordes of Splicers and Big Sister off your back.


SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION



Release Date: February 23rd

Why it should be on your radar: After numerous delays, gamers will finally take control of the newly brutal Sam Fisher in Splinter Cell: Conviction. While he certainly took out his share of baddies in the past, it's never been quite on the level of Conviction's head-slamming, limb-stabbing interrogation segments. An early scene evokes memories of the almost painful-to-watch bathroom fight from Casino Royale.

It may be true that the typical holiday "rush" is winding down, but a slew of delays means many great titles will be spread out over several months rather than the condensed window we're used to seeing. What titles are you looking forward to picking up this winter?