Bulletstorm

One look at this title and you know there’s no Metal Gear Solid sneakiness involved. From what we can tell so far it’s halfway between the wildly overblown urban violence of Soldier of Fortune (a precise shot can blow an enemy’s head clean off) and the egotistical sci-fi of Duke Nukem (carnivorous plants feature throughout), even promising a unique cache of weapons to rival both of those titles. No pressure then… ETA: 25 Feb



Uncharted 3

Run, jump, shoot, slide, swing and shoot again – that’s roughly how most scenes play out in the Playstation-exclusive Uncharted series. And with Nathan Drake, a GAP-clad Indiana Jones of sorts who’s essentially gaming’s male equivalent to Lara Croft, set to be dangled in more situations that even MacGyver would struggle to walk away from, he’s clearly glutton for punishment. ETA: October



LA Noire

Channelling the cinematic ambience of LA Confidential and Chinatown, this 1940s detective game looks set to leave as many scalps scratched as last year’s often frustrating but addictive Heavy Rain and, being a Rockstar title, is sure to offer an extra dimension of open-world gameplay. The sleuth element will allow the game to be a bit more interactive than the studio’s previous epics (you can use the stick to turn evidence around in your character’s hands) and hopefully just as good when it comes to old fashioned street violence. ETA: March



Mass Effect 3

Judging by this promotional cut-scene, in which a British soldier takes cover in a famous London landmark while the rest of the city is obliterated by towering intergalactic nasties, the third instalment of Mass Effect should be the grandest scale the game has had yet- given extra chutzpah by the fact it’s the first time the title has been released on all major consoles. ETA: October



Gears of War 3

With more awards than you can shake a Golden Joystick at, the previous Gears of War instalments have been showstoppers packed with eye-aching detail amid bloody skirmishes on far flung planet Sera where human grunts battle humanoids for supremacy. Their biggest asset, however: the ballet-like camera movement - aided by the novelty that taking cover is imperative during play. This and a cinematic approach made other third-person shooters redundant upon its initial release and did just the same when the sequel bettered it. So we see no reason why the third won’t impress us once more. ETA: September



Rage

You’d be forgiven for thinking that id Software – the grandfather of the first-person shooter that gave us Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake – had been left behind in the doldrums of MSDOS. Not so, it’s just been tweaking its console-friendly Tech 5 engine with the intent of creating Rage – a post-apocalyptic shooter that also doubles as a buggy racer. And while the Fallouts and Borderlands of this world serve as a reminder to id that dusty sci-fi action is nothing new, there’s every chance of another game changer here. ETA: September



Dead Space 2

If you thought the Alien meets Event Horizon claustrophobia of the first Dead Space made you feel uneasy, you’ll probably want to play the sequel from the back of your sofa. Blindfolded. The new addition of random spawning enemies means that whatever creature bursts through an air duct and kills you might not be lurking in the same area when you come back for revenge. Sure to be one of the gems of 2011 and a mainstay on your console – unless someone turns the lights off. ETA: 25 Jan



Batman: Arkham City

Just like Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel one-upped his first effort, many sense the same for the follow-up to last year’s Bafta-winning video game romp Batman: Arkham Asylum. The jail has now been moved to a bigger district; combos that made brawling as the Dark Knight so addictive have been added to – the superhero can now smash his foes into the wall and grapple in mid-air as he menacingly glides around - while the Joker has competition as Gotham’s Most Wanted with Mr Freeze pulling in an appearance. Let’s hope he’s not been modelled on Arnie. ETA: October