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	DJ Hero 2 ³⁶⁰ PREVIEW: We try out Freestyle's revamped vinyl
	Hydro Thunder Hurricane ³⁶⁰ REVIEW: Messing about on the river...
	Ghost Recon: Future Soldier ³⁶⁰ PREVIEW: Stealth series stands up to Gears
	FIFA 11 ³⁶⁰ PREVIEW: The beautiful game gets even prettier

Halo: Reach gets 10 new screenshots | Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened and Prestige editions confirmed | Halo: Reach announcement revealed | Xbox 360 Slim 250GB hard drives to be sold separately | Ice-T: Hates Medal of Honor, loves Kane & Lynch 2 | Vanquish gets Casual Automatic and God Hard difficulties | Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock songlist thus far | Gears of War 3 'Save/Kill Carmine' shirts now available | OXM subscription is half-price! | Xbox 360 Slim and PS3 Slim do battle | Blacklight: Tango Down nationwide tournament kicks off next month | BioShock 2 gets patched up | Kinect no good for flight games says Ubisoft | Battlefield: Bad Company 2 gets two more maps | What has been the biggest Xbox Live Arcade seller this year? | Xbox Live Arcade overcame slow start this year | Madden NFL 11 Terrell Owens screens revealed | Microsoft defends Kinect price | Halo PC unlocks Halo: Reach item | Transformers: War for Cybertron DLC hits today | Kane & Lynch 2 gets three new trailers | Red Dead Redemption heading to Japan | THQ creating yet another WWE franchise | Lord of the Rings and Smackdown hits Games on Demand | DJ Hero 'increasing DJ equipment sales'

On the site today - News: Halo: Reach gets 10 new screenshots http://bit.ly/agUjBR

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Launch Player

OXM's 100 Favourite 360 Moments

Top 360 Exclusives For 2010

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Hopes for 2010

1-Jan-2010 Looking ahead to the New Year...

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Mass Effect. Splinter Cell. BioShock. AVP. FFXIII. And that's just in the first three months. Get ready for what's shaping up to be the Xbox 360's best year ever.

Crackdown 2
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Ruffian Games
Release Date: Autumn 2010
Four-player co-op throughout the campaign, 16-player online multiplayer, a whole new set of abilities, and weapons and fighting moves to use when leaping around the city. Crackdown 2 may have shifted developer to upstart studio Ruffian Games, but it's not lost that special something that made the original so much more than a Halo 3 beta extra. This time, the 'evil' agency has a mutant threat to deal with in a revamped and now cel-shaded Pacific City, which for some reason translates to underground sections as well as all the building-leaping hilarity. As long as you can still kick cars down hills as a ludicrously muscular cop, we'll all be happy.

Max Payne 3
Publisher: Rockstar
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Release Date: Autumn 2010
The last few years may have turned him in to a bald, fat and ill-looking bloke, but Max can still shoot. Complaints that Max Payne 3 isn't 'noir' any more are pretty ill founded - noir isn't just about being set at night - but it's the blasting that'll keep fans happy. Will that be enough to make it stand out? Only time will tell...

Battlefield Bad Company 2
Publisher: EA
Developer: DICE
Release Date: 5 March
More destruction? Check. More banter? Check. Bigger multiplayer? Check, check, check. 2008's most underrated shooter returns with more confidence and cohesion than before, blasting its way through anything and everything, and loving every minute of it. Fans will not be disappointed.

EA Sports MMA
Publisher: EA
Developer: EA Tiburon
Release Date: Autumn 2010
With Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko and Cung Le all signed on, this is as direct a competitor to THQ's UFC game as you could ask for.

Fez
Publisher: Polytron
Developer: Polytron
Release Date: Summer 2010
The Indie PC darling is coming to Xbox Live. Hooray forever! It's a 2D platformer with a twist, the twist being that the game's not really 2D at all - you're able to rotate the environment around a central axis, changing the layout of the levels completely. Brain bending.

Deus Ex 3
Publisher: Eidos/Square
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Release: Winter 2010
This RPG-esque FPS is still very hush-hush - officially, it's not even confirmed for Xbox. It's definitely coming, though. Early clues suggest it's going to be an intelligent remake of a revered PC franchise in the good, Fallout 3 way, and not the bad, Wolfenstein one.

Brink
Publisher: Bethesda
Developer: Splash Damage
Release Date: Spring 2010
Don't let the stylised graphics fool you - this could be the multiplayer shooter of 2010. Staggering good looks combine with clever, multi-tiered mission objectives to create a blaster that actually has a brain. Time to get slightly excited.

Dead Rising 2
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Blue Castle Games
Release Date: Autumn 2010
Somehow, Capcom has managed to make this game even more mental than the first. Set in Vegas, there are over four times the amount of zombies on screen than in the first game, and you can combine stuff you find lying about to make impromptu weapons. As long as the save system isn't borked, then this won't disappoint.

Super Street Fighter IV
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: Spring 2010
The year's most successful fighting game gets its inevitable sequel. Dee Jay, T.Hawk and new girl Juri join the rest of the crew, but it's the engine tweaks that'll have the hardcore salivating. How many frames are there in a Dee Jay FADC? If that makes sense to you, then you've probably already preordered.

Alan Wake
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Remedy
Release Date: Spring 2010
It's been a long, long time coming, but Remedy's take on survival horror is nearly here. It's lost some of the graphical punch that it carried back in 2005, but the sense of foreboding dread mixed with moody lighting and haunting audio should compensate for that. And the fact that almost anything in the environment can be possessed and hurl itself at you in a gut-bustingly terrifying fashion. Anything other than horrific excellence, though, and Alan Wake will go down in history as one of the great gaming flops. The pressure's on.

Majin - The Fallen Realm
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Game Republic
Release Date: Summer 2010
A co-op action adventure from the guys at Game Republic. The studio's headed by Street Fighter II creator Yoshiki Okamoto, which bodes well, but its back catalogue is dodgy at best. Tread carefully.

Fallout: New Vegas
Publisher: Bethesda
Developer: Obsidian
Release Date: Summer 2010
Announced earlier in the year, this isn't an explicit sequel to Fallout 3 but another adventure set in the same world - this time West Coast USA. It'll be a while before we get more details, but you'll be reading them here first.

Just Cause 2
Publisher: Eidos/Square
Developer: Avalanche
Release Date: March 23rd 2010
Ah Rico Rodriguez. You're a great man. You can leap from plane to chopper to car to train, you've got amazing hair and you even share your name with a UFC fighter. Let's hope your open-world sequel can match the ambition of your dress sense.

Milo & Kate
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Lionhead
Release Date: Winter 2010
Yes, we know. It doesn't scream "must buy" in the same way that Modern Warfare does, but even if you'd rather watch One Man and His Dog than a boy and his dog, you have to admit it's important. If Molyneux pulls off the AI interaction - and from our E3 demo, he's doing a very good job of it - then this opens up the Xbox to some very exciting ideas, and they could make your next favourite shooter a whole lot more interesting.

Earthworm Jim
Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Interplay
Release Date: Spring 2010
The greatest worm in the world is coming to XBLA. The timed exclusive is an updated version of the Mega Drive classic.

Resonance Of Fate
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Tri-Ace
Release Date: Autumn 2010
An action RPG with a stupid name and a stupid story? Where do we sign up? In fairness, Tri-Ace knows its role-playing onions, and the story of Zephyr and his self-loathing ways looks to be a cut above most RPG fare.

Dead To Rights: Retribution
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Volatile Games
Release Date: Autumn 2010
It's not exactly the finest series in gaming history, so why DTR has been selected for a reboot is unknown. Still, it's full of bone-breaking violence.

Red Dead Redemption
Publisher: Rockstar
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Release Date: Spring 2010
Rockstar's Wild West opus combines long horseback rides across dangerous open desert and countryside with the inevitable shootouts and train heists.

Kane & Lynch 2
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: IO Interactive
Release Date: Winter 2010
They're back, they're in trouble, and they're in grainy YouTube-o-vision.

Tecmo Bowl
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo
Release Date: Spring 2010
Check it out! It's an ancient version of a sport no one in the country cares about! The Americans will lap this up. It's like their Sensi.

Aliens: Colonial Marines
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Gearbox
Release Date: Winter 2010
We're still looking forward to it, but after repeated delays, this has replaced Alan Wake at the top of the vapourware list. It was working when we saw it two years ago though, so late-2010 seems reasonable.

Ninety-Nine Nights 2
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Q Entertainment
Release Date: Winter 2010
If you have to press a lot of one button, you might as well make it look pretty. Expect - lots of swords, bodies and orbs, and it'll be better than Dynasty Warriors.

I Am Alive
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: Autumn 2010
If this lives up to the promise of those early trailers, we could be looking at one of the most interesting action games for some time. Commodities like water and food will be vital to surviving this post-earthquake disaster area.

Capsized
Publisher: Alientrap Software
Developer: Alientrap Software
Release Date: Autumn 2010
Everyone loves a good physics-based platformer, which is why we should all be highly excited that Capsized is coming to XBLA next year. Don't rock the boat! Ho ho ho.

Darwinia +
Publisher: Introversion
Developer: In House
Release Date: Spring 2010
The PC sensation has finally made its way to XBLA, bringing its unique take on Real Time Strategy and unusual graphical style with it. It's your job to create and command an army to wipe out a computer virus that's slowly corrupting the land. It's not for everyone, that's for sure, and the controller could be a problem, but it's nice to have a broad range on Xbox Live.

R.U.S.E.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Eugen Systems
Release Date: Spring 2010
RTS on consoles has a troubled history. Halo Wars was fun, even though it mainly involved clicking a screen and watching Spartans do all the work. R.U.S.E. thinks it has all the answers with its impressive looking engine, and our hands-on time at gamescom left us impressed.

Enslaved
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Ninja Theory
Release Date: Winter 2010
The team behind PS3 exclusive Heavenly Sword have gone multiformat for their new adventure, Enslaved. It's an unusual combination of action, platforming and strategy, where you play a guy called Monkey (voiced by Andy Serkis - the guy who brought Gollum to life in Lord of the Rings). Could be good...

Army Of Two: The 40th Day
Publisher: EA
Developer: EA Canada
Release Date: 15 Jan 2010
Where the original game fizzled, 40th Day plans to land with a particularly big bang. In fact, the entire environment is falling down around Salem and Rios as they try to get the hell out of Shanghai. Cue gun pimping, buddy-dragging and cover-shooting ahoy - hardly subtle, but it should be more fun this time round.

Split/Second
Publisher: Disney
Developer: Black Rock Studios
Release Date: Spring 2010
Every time we see Split/Second, it looks better. The speed is unquestionable, as are the looks, but it's the raw, visceral thrill of seeing a plane crash into the track or watching huge ships collide into one another that keeps us coming back for more. This could turn out to be a one-trick pony, but for first impressions? Incredible. It's about time something challenged Burnout's domination of arcade racing, and the Brighton-based Black Rock is confident that Split/Second will be the game to do it. It's easy to see why.

Mass Effect 2
Publisher: EA
Developer: BioWare
Release Date: 29 January 2010
Few could have predicted just how early BioWare's sci-fi sequel was going to arrive next year, but it's only a few short weeks after New Year before we can continue the story of Shepard and his crew of alien avengers. We're promised a deeper, darker narrative with seriously tough choices to make. Depends on your definition of tough, really. After killing everything that moves in the original, we're sure we'll be able to cope. Come on BioWare - challenge our morality.

Inversion
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Saber Interactive
Release Date: Autumn 2010
Like Dark Void without the steampunk, this is a gravity-bending nightmare - motion sickness sufferers beware!

Spelunky
Publisher: TBA
Developer: Derek Yu
Release Date: Summer 2010
The freeware classic is coming to XBLA. It's just as tricky as it always was, and still brimming with the same personality.

Fable III
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Release Date: Winter 2010
At a recent Bafta lecture on videogames, the ultimate ideas man Peter Molyneux announced that Fable III would definitely feature Project Natal functionality, but wouldn't be drawn into exactly how. What we do know, however, is that Fable III is painted in broader strokes than its predecessors. It's all about becoming a ruler of Albion rather than just a hero, so expect to be dealing with economy, town planning, and hopefully farting in important peoples' faces. Brimming with promise.

Mafia 2
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: 2K Czech
Release Date: Autumn 2010
It might look like GTA, but 2K Czech's crime epic concentrates more on story, character and the finer details of open-world destruction. Visually it's stunning, with a vibrant depiction of both the '40s and '50s gelling together with a Scorcese-inspired script. Very interesting.

Ricochet
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Microsoft
Release Date: Winter 2010
It's not going to be very exciting. But it is important. The full body ball-bouncing game is as casual as they come, but it represents a vital shift in what the 360 is capable of. And hey, it'll be a family distraction come next Christmas.

Perfect Dark
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: 4J Studios
Release Date: Summer 2010
It's all very exciting that Perfect Dark is coming to 360, but it's easy to forget that old shooters can underwhelm. Let's hope the core design principles that made the original so compelling still ring true today.

BioShock 2
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: 2K Marin
Release Date: 9 February 2010
Multiplayer. BioShock. It still doesn't sound right. After one of the finest stories and settings in videogame history, it seems a shame to cheapen it by letting us all run around as Big Daddies trying to put bees in each others' mouths. Never mind - there's still a fantastic looking single-player, where you play as the original Big Daddy and learn about the origins of Rapture, and just where it all went wrong.

Splinter Cell Conviction
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Release Date: Spring 2010
Splinter Cell slipping into 2010 was a blow to Microsoft in the Christmas battle. And rightly so, as this looks to be fantastic.

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: ACE Team
Release Date: Spring 2010
One of the weirdest shooters you'll ever see, this features bizarre weaponry and environments straight out of a surrealist nightmare.

Darksiders
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Vigil Games
Release Date: 8 January 2010
Vigil Games' open-world God Of War wannabe is just around the corner, and it looks to be shaping up pretty well. You play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse, and you've got to find all your horse-riding mates and restore the balance between Heaven and Hell by killing everything and doing Quick Time Events. Just like in real life.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
Release Date: Spring 2010
A gorgeously unique art style accompanies this downloadable effort. Think Braid meets French 'toon Belleville Rendez-Vous and you'll get the idea.
The high concept here is that you can clone yourself and control time to solve increasingly difficult platforming puzzles.

Skate 3
Publisher: EA
Developer: Black Box
Release Date: May 2010
After promising that Skate wouldn't turn into a yearly franchise, here comes the third Skate game in three years from EA. There's a co-op crew building mode, but that sounds meaningless, so let's just stick to the ridiculously satisfying deck-flicking and hilarious bone-breaking. Given that Tony Hawk has faltered, this will be skaters' game of choice for the moment.

Blur
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Release Date: Summer 2010
Activision's decision to delay Blur was probably a good idea - 2009's been a strong year for racers, and this pseudo arcade effort could have been lost in the pack.

Final Fantasy XIII
Publisher: Square-Enix
Developer: Square-Enix
Release date: 9 March 2010
Controlling a team of rebels fighting the government of a high-tech futuristic civilisation, you'll explore amazing worlds, venture through dungeons, and get into eye-popping fights using a brand new, spookily-smooth battle system.

Crysis 2
Publisher: EA
Developer: Cry-Tek
Release Date: Winter 2010
After meagre sales of the original, Crytek has turned to consoles to boost its sequel. The tech in display is second to none - you can even shoot individual leaves. Although hopefully that's not the point. We imagine it'll be killing Korean soldiers. And aliens.

Alien vs. Predator
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Rebellion
Release Date: Summer 2010
AvP certainly has the looks and the class, and seeing Pred tear someone's head off once is cool, but thirty times? We shall see...

Alpha Protocol
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Obsidian
Release: Spring 2010
The perpetually delayed espionage RPG is nearly here, still looking a little limp in its screenshots but still full of promise and potential. If Obsidian can nail the Mass Effect meets Jason Bourne thing, though, then Alpha Protocol could still be a champion. At spying.

Halo Reach
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Bungie
Release Date: Winter 2010
After the excellent but short-lived ODST, it's time for Bungie to re-establish itself as the premiere FPS developer in the world. Little is known about the exact details of the game itself, but followers of the fiction will be only too aware of the Spartan's plight on the human planet Reach. It's where The Covenant strike first, Elites and all, and there's no Master Chief in sight. If Bungie doesn't deliver the sharpest and most ambitious straight-shooter of next year, we'll eat our undersized Master Chief helmets. More details very soon.

F1 2010
Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Racing Studio
Release Date: Autumn 2010
Are you as good as World Champion Formula 1 racer Jenson Button? There's only one way to find out - get involved with the first F1 game to grace the Xbox 360.