Empire: Total War
Sega
Creative Assembly
U.S. Release Date: March 3, 2009
U.K. Release Date: March 13, 2009

The Total War series infiltrates the 18th and 19th centuries in perhaps the most ambitious entry yet with Empire: Total War. Already the game has shown promising large-scale conflicts that incorporate naval and land battles, coupled with a resource management system that rewards the most cunning players.



Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
THQ
Relic Entertainment
U.S. Release Date: February 23, 2009
U.K. Release Date: Q1 2009

Relic Entertainment is made up of masterful strategy and tactics craftsmen, having delivered the incomparable Homeworld, Company of Heroes and Dawn of War series. The studio has made a hobby of throwing out typical RTS conventions, chiseling their works into unique beasts. In Dawn of War II, flavors of Company of Heroes are apparent, but no hardened WWII infantryman is in sight, as this Games Workshop-licensed game, sprinkled with RPG elements, is purely about space marines, orks, vicious Tyranids and near-extinct Eldars, all colliding in a sci-fi setting.



Dragon Age: Origins
EA
BioWare
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA

When BioWare announces a new RPG, gamers take notice. But when BioWare announces an RPG that is supposedly destined to be the “spiritual successor” to Baldur’s Gate, the studio sets itself up for an intense level of scrutiny from faithful role-players. BioWare’s marketing materials promise that this return to fantasy to be grittier, more gut-wrenching and darker than any of the studio’s previous work, which includes Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Mass Effect. BioWare has given little reason for gamers to believe that it can’t live up to its own lofty expectations.



StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
Activision Blizzard
Blizzard Entertainment
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA

Pleasantly familiar, StarCraft II sidesteps the chance of botching the series’ legacy, staying true to the 1998 original. While there is a new 3D engine, storyline, unit changes and other updates, the soul of the gameplay remains faithful, indicating that StarCraft II is an exercise of exceeding polish rather than pure unbridled innovation. Now that everyone seems to be done complaining about the three-part release (Wings of Liberty only contains the Terran campaign while Zerg and Protoss will arrive in their own respective packages), all eyes are on Blizzard to see if it can repeat the success or even usurp the popularity of the beloved sprite-based original. Perhaps we’re overly optimistic that it’ll actually make 2009 considering Blizzard’s “it’s done when it’s done” mentality, but one can hope.