STRATEGY
Elemental: War of Magic
Turn-based fantasy wargame in vein of Master of Magic, from Stardock (their Galactic Civilization 2 plus both add-ons to it all got 9+ ratings on Gamespot)
Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty
Do I really need to explain why? 
Jagged Alliance 3
Jagged Alliance series is pure turn-based perfection. now it returns running on highly modified Silent Storm engine and developed by F3 Games( new developer composed of veteran Russian developers, including ex-Nival people)
World War Two Western Front Combat Mission
After disappointing affair with modern combat Battlefront returns to what they do best: WWII tactical wargames
M.U.D TV
Humoristic managment game from Realmforge Studios, makers of Ceville (9.0 from IGN)
Napoleon: Total War
Follow up to Empire: Total War (9.5 from IGN)
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom
Armada 2526
Epic 4X game from Nitronium Games, company run by R.T.Smith, a Creative Assembly veteran designer and Medieval: Total War lead designer and project manager.
Spice Road
a trading and city management game by the people who created Light of Altair (7 from IGN and 7.5 from Out of Eight and )
Society
A MMORTS without fees. From makers of GalacticCivilizations2(9.0)
Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy
Second and last mini expansion.
ROLEPLAYING
Guild Wars 2
Original Guild Wars scored 9.0 at IGN
Drakensang: The River of Time
Prequel to Drakensang
Torchlight
A MMORPG from the team who made Mythos
Mytheon
MMORPG from Petroglyph, a company responsible for Star Wars: Empire at War
North Star
A space trading/combat RPG with turn-based combat by Kerberos (ex Barking Dog guys
and makers of Homeworld: Cataclysm and Sword of the Stars)
Cyclopean
Indie RPG, with hardcore focus on roleplaying, inspired by Lovecraft mythos.
Dropship
A turn-based SF wargame with RPG elements developed by ex-Troika guys using the Source engine
Avernum VI
The final chapter in the long running indie RPG series
Villagers and Heroes
Action-rpg from Mad Otter games, a small indie company made of Dynamix veterans, headed by Damon Slye(co-founder of Dynamix and lead designer of Aces of the Pacific, Aces Over Europe, Red Baron and A-10 Tank Killer) who previously released Ace of Aces on Instant Action
Untitled Carbine Studios MMORPG
Carbine is a team composed of RPG veterans(including Blizzard ones) like Tim Cain
(one of creators of Fallout and Arcanum) and Jeremy Gaffney (founder of Turbine)
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Star Wars MMORPG from Bioware.
Otherland
Cyberpunk MMORPG based on novels by Tad Williams, handled by the development studio Real U, formed around a core of ex-Melbourne House talent (as Eurogamer put it” 8-bit heroes of The Hobbit and The Way of the Exploding Fist, and then cult classic Shadowrun, who in later years struggled valiantly with the tide of licences and conversions heaped on them by Atari, sometimes triumphing against the odds (as in PS2 Transformers)” )
All Points Bulletin
GTA-like MMO from David Jones, the creator of original Grand Theft Auto
Jade Dynasty
Martial arts MMO from company that developed Perfect World Online (a MMO that scored 7.5 at IGN)
LEGO Universe
MMO developed by NetDevil, who’s portofilo includes two other MMOs: Jumpgate(7.8 from IGN) and Auto Assault (7.5 from IGN)
Forged by Chaos
Online action-rpg using CryEngine2
Mount & Blade: Warband
The base Mount and Blade recievied 8.0 from IGN. This expansion pack will improve graphics, have a real SP campaign and most of all a full blowm multiplayer mode (up to 64 players online)
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Third add-on to biggest MMORPG (the original WoW scored, it’s first add-on got and the second one was rated )
Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
First add-on to MMORPG that got 7.8 from IGN
ADVENTURE
Gray Matter
New adventure game from the empress of the genre: Jane Jansen (creator of Gabriel Knight series)
15 Days
Thriller adventure game from House of Tales, makers of Moment of Silence and Overclocked, which both got 8+ reviews at Adventuregamers
Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island
Monkey Island inspired comedic adventure game from Autumn Moon, company created by ex-LucasArts guys. Autumn Moon’s previous game: Vampyre Story scored 7.6 at IGN
Vampyre Story 2: A Bat’s Tale
Sequel to one of the best adventure games of 2008
Next Frictional Game
New horror adventure game from creators of Penumbra series (Penumbra: Black Pleague got 8.0 from Gamespot)
Haunted
New aventure from Deck 13, makers of Ankh series and Jack Keane
Deponia
Hand painted post apocalyptic cyberpunk adventure game in glorious 1440×900 resolution
Culpa Innata 2: Chaos Rising
The first one got 7.5 from Gamespot
Lost Horizon
Adventure game that takes place in Asia in 30s, from makers of Secret Files Tunguska series
The Book of Unwritten Tales: the cattle’s chronicle.
Prequel to humoristic adventure game that scored 90% on Adventure-treff, 91% at Adventurecorner.de and 85% from Gamestar, making it one of highest rated adventure games in germany in years)
Coven
New game from makers of Rhiannon (7.5 from Gamespot)
Gamelet
Twisted indie retelling of Hamelet
Shades of Violet: Episode 1 – Tale of the Clockwork Princess
Indie steampunk adventure game
ACTION
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Sequel to 8.5 WWII tactical shooter. What’s more, RO2 will singleplayer campaigns for both Russian and German sides.
Ground Branch
Tactical shooter from Blackfoot( which is composed of RainbowSix, Rogue Spear and Ghost Recon leads)
Shattered Horizon
Muliplayer FPS that takes place in zero gravity setting from Futuremark
BlackStar Chronicles
An action MMO described as a mix of the single-player traditions of Wing Commander with the multiplayer feel of Descent. It’s being developed by a team of people who previously worked on sadly canceled Privateer Online as well as on Star Wars Galaxies
Project Offset
A fantasy FPS from makers of Savage(which won Indie GOTY 2003)
Tactical Intervention
New tactical FPS from creator of Counterstrike
ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead
Standalone expansion pack
Iron Seed 2
Follow up to forgotten classic (it’s not well known now, but back in the days it rivaled Star Control 2 in quality)
RACING
rFactor 2
The first rFactor became the rulling standart of PC racing sims and the most popular modding platform for fans of the genre, not to mention it’s engine was the basis for majority of other good PC racing sims of recent years (like GTR 1-2, Race series, Arca simracing or GT Legends)
Top Race 2009
new sim by 2PEZ (makers of Turismo Carratera) running on gMotor2 engine
The Turismo Competición 2000
A new racing sims based on ISI’s Gmotor engine (the same engine that powers GTR and Race series, rFactor and Arca), a follow-up to Turismo Carretera.
777 Studios is publishing previous game in the series in US, so there is high chance this one will see an English release too.
SIMULATION
Storm of War: Battle of Britain
From makers of Il2 Sturmovik
Silent Hunter V
Both Silent Hunter 3 and Silent Hunter 4 received 8.8 from IGN.
World of Tanks
A MMO PvP tank combat game set in World War 2 setting from Wargaming.net,akers of Massive Assault (8.4 from IGN) and upcoming Order of War
Infinity: The Quest for Earth
MMO space simulator with huge procedurally generated universe
Steel beasts 2
The follow-up to most realistic and hardcore tank sim ever. First one\ got 8.8.
Supreme Commander 2
Sequel to one of best RTSes of 2007 (it recieved 9.0 from IGN)
Brink
TPP Shooter from Splash Damage, makers of Quake Wars (8.5 from IGN)
Mafia II
At last! A sequel to one of very best (9.3) action games ever made.
Mechwarrior
The classic series returns.
Alien Breed Evolution
The legendary Amiga series is finally back!.
American McGee’s Alice II
The first one got 9.4 from IGN
Aliens: Colonial Marines
FPS from Gearbox (known for Brothers in Arms series)
Mass Effect 2
Sequel to 9.2 (IGN) RPG
Max Payne 3
Max Payne got 9.3 from IGN, while it’s sequel scored 9.4
Singularity
FPS from Raven Software
Dark Void
Action-adventure from Airtight Games, a team formed by people who created Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (8.9 from Gamespot)
Bioshock
Sequel to a game that scored 9.7 at IGN
Afterfall
A post apocalyptic roleplaying game following the good old school principles of the genre: non-linearity, turn-based combat, lots of roleplaying and decisions having real effect on the game world
Dungeon Hero
From Firefly studios (makers of great Stronghold series and medicore Stronghold: Legends and CivCity, we’ll see how they do here)
Battlefield 1943
Downloadable-only MP game in vein of original Battlefield 1942.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
New MMO from Square Soft
Agency
Spy-themed action MMO from SOE
DC Universe Online
Superhero MMO from Sony Online Entertainment (Everquest 1-2, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies)
The Secret World
A MMO from makers of Age of Conan and Longest Journey franchise
Toki Arcade
High res remake of the classic arcade game
Strength of the Sword
3rd person, fast paced, action beat ‘em up set in a fantasy realm.
Rocket Knight
Side scrolling sequel to classic Konami franchise
Split Second
New racer from Black Rock Studio (makers of PURE, which got 8.4 from IGN)
Arcania: A Gothic Tale
This game is effectively a Gothic 4.It’s tainted with plenty of drama with Gothic 1-3 developer breaking away from the publisher, which resulted in other developer (Spellbound), but at the very least it will be interesting to see how it will compare to Pyranha Bytes’ (Gothic creators) own RPG
Ferrari Project
Blimey games (makers of GTR2 and GT Legends) are preparing this game on brand new engine
and they also hired Richard Burns Rally physics coder to create the physics engine for it.
Great articles, One question though, Any idea on any games coming out with a similiar “view” as Diablo 2 and Titan’s Quest? (Other then Diablo3)
My wife can’t play FPS due to bouts of vertigo, but is addicted to D2……
Any help would be appreciated….
THanks
By: Dragon on December 5, 2008
at 6:30 am
From recent ones Sacred2 would be the best solution. It’s not particularly innovative, but it’s fun and has insane ammount of content so your wife won’t finish this one quick. Just be sure to patch it up before she plays it, the initial release was pretty buggy
By: adrianwerner on December 6, 2008
at 7:55 am
Star Wars: The Old Republic? I Pray to all that is Holy and good in this world that it is true.
By: Lance on December 7, 2008
at 12:58 am
[...] [...]
By: why should i buy pc gaming components? - Tech Support Forums - TechIMO.com on February 10, 2009
at 2:40 pm