Games Galore in Spring '09

Vince Horiuchi - The Salt Lake Tribune

Normally, springtime means "game over" for the video game industry. After the holiday rush, the release of top-notch titles seemingly comes to a halt so publishers can take a breather before planning the next Christmas assault.

Not so in 2009.

Over the next 2 1/2 months, some of the most anticipated video games this year will be ready to ship, leaving gamers scrambling for cash to satisfy their hunger for thumb-twitching excitement.

Here's what has gaming enthusiasts frothing at the mouth through the middle of March.

Fear 2: Project Origin (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Feb. 10) -- One of the most horrific first-person shooters returns with more terrifying scenarios lifted straight from the images of an Asian horror movie. Again, the player controls a soldier investigating ghostly occurrences in a dingy 3-D environment.

Sims 3 (PC, Feb. 20) -- The best-selling PC game introduces the third iteration of the human simulator. Control little sims, or virtual avatars, in a world that is now expanded beyond just your own home. The tool set to develop your sims is now greater, allowing you to make people that look more like you. Hopefully, players won't have to babysit their sims as much when it comes to going to the bathroom.

Killzone 2 (PlayStation 3, Feb. 27) -- Three years ago, Sony showed off a trailer for this first-person shooter that wowed gamers beyond belief. Finally, the futuristic combat game that could out-Halo "Halo" hits shelves. Some who have seen early versions of "Killzone 2" say it has the best graphics ever rendered for a video game.

Street Fighter IV (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Feb. 17) -- Fighting fans are ready to tighten their fists for this new sequel to one of the most popular franchises in games. While the play mechanics are similar to those in "Street Fighter II," considered the best of the series thus far, this new version ups the stakes with gorgeous pseudo-3-D graphics.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & Damned (Xbox 360, Feb. 17) -- This is the long-awaited expansion pack for what most consider the best game of 2008. You don't buy it in stores, but download it to your Xbox 360 hard drive if you own the original game. In it, players control the leader of a motorcycle gang in a new story and new locations.

Resident Evil 5 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, March 3) -- Gaming's most popular survival horror series returns with this gory action/adventure game that puts longtime hero Chris Redfield in Africa, battling hordes of zombies with his shotgun, machete and more deadly weapons. And for the first time, there is cooperative play where a second player can control a new sidekick.

Halo Wars (Xbox 360, March 3) -- No, this is not the latest version of "Halo." It is, however, the Halo universe of space marines turned into a real-time strategy game where players control entire squads of soldiers instead of just one. While not the next sequel in the "Halo" series (that comes out later this year), it's still a long-awaited new entry that has strategy fans salivating.

Resistance Retribution (PlayStation Portable, March 17) -- "Resistance" was one of the best-selling first-person-shooting games for the PlayStation 3, allowing players to control a soldier in a twisted view of 1950s America in which the army battles aliens. Now, Sony is cramming all of that game play and graphics into its portable gaming device so fans can save the world while on the go.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS, March 17) -- If it's going to be difficult to stuff "Resistance" into a portable device, imagine "GTA" on the Nintendo DS. Well, for one, it won't have a first-person perspective like other "GTA" games but a top-down view. Even though the graphics will be dumbed down for Nintendo's portable system, expect all the same bloody mayhem that puts U.S. senators and decency groups into a lather.

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