It has begun! Gamers are lamenting the prospects of the 2008 season after leaving behind one of the biggest AAA video game years ever. I, for one, am not worried in the slightest.

As some of you may know, on top of working like a slave under Lono’s bull whip, struggling through my 9 to 5 job, spending time with the GF, family and friends; I also devote a large portion of my game life to playing beta’s. That, mixed with my total addiction to reading the latest gaming news and cruising developer websites has assured me that the 2008 season, for PC gaming at least, shows no signs for concern.

Check out my list of ten games to look forward to in 2008 after the jump!

Here’s just a short list of 10 games we can all start fiending over in the coming months plus a short description of why we should give a hoot about them.

1. Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor (January 2008)

If you never played the original GC II or its first expansion Dark Avatar, shame on you. The system requirements are low and anyone who loves strategy games or turn-based titles in general should definitely give it a whirl. Twilight offers the first real, everything but the kitchen sink, space strategy game done right since the glory days of Master of Orion.

2. Spore (Q2 2008)

Will Wright’s dream game. This oft-delayed title looks to be one of the best simulated life games ever. From the microscopic to the galactic level, you control everything. Just the editors alone, for the many facets of this game, have blown me away.

Besides, Wright is one of the mac-daddy’s of video games so we can all rest assured this title will be a gem.

3. Starcraft 2 (2008 we hope)

If you don’t know what it is, I’m afraid there’s no hope for you. Sequel to the best selling and most popular RTS in history, and backed by the super perfectionist Blizzard, I can’t wait for this one. Every time I watch the demos from last years BlizzCon I almost faint, and thats looking at very old footage. To think that we are still months away from it being “ready” boggles my poor little mind.

4. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (Feb 26, 2008)

This game looks really good so far. Rather than the emphasis being just on multi-player, this game looks to have a robust single player campaign, beautiful graphics and an intriguing storyline. Playing as an average Joe in New York fighting the Nazi invasion of the US sounds pretty freaking cool to me. The city design alone is just bad ass.

5. Space Siege (Feb 5, 2008)

Gas Powered Games is one of my favorite developers, and their newest action role-playing title looks cool as all hell. I’m already calling this game the Mass Effect for PC. What more can I say? The upgrades and tweaks you can add to your character and the great looking campaign seem poised to blow PC gamers away.

6. Sins of a Solar Empire (Feb 4, 2008)

Stardock (who made GC II) are going to one up their own greatness with their newest space RTS game. Perhaps the only title of its kind that could possibly pull me away from GC II. The horrible atrocities we have been subjected to over the years in the space RTS world have made me very wary of these type of games, but the super long developer demo on GameSpot and other sites put my fears to rest. If you’ve been as sad as I have over the years since games like Imperium Galactica 2 came out, rest assured this game not only looks beautiful, but may also be one of the most challenging RTS titles in years.

7. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Mar 25, 2008)

I bet you’re thinking, “is PMPB really toting an MMO?” Well yeah, I guess I am. After throwing in the towel after becoming disillusioned with the current MMO roster, Conan is the first one to spark my interest. With a blatantly mature target audience, nice graphics, uber amounts of bloodshed, huge and down right scary looking monsters and from what I hear, a responsive beta, this game may just be the MMO to revitalize my faith in the genre.

8. Iron Man (Q2 2008)
My god, a comic/movie based game that actually looks like it will be good! Of course Spiderman 3 had amazing trailers but was atrocious, but my hopes are high despite my own omnipresent gripes with movie tie-ins. The trailer featuring free flying in and out of different environments and fighting jets as they wiz by was more than enough to spark my interest. Here’s hoping that for once we will see a comic book game do justice to its source material.

9. WarHammer Online (Q2 2008)

Ok, another MMO. What the hell PMPB? I too was surprised by how hyped I’m getting for this title. The insane amounts of people playing the beta, 200,000 signed up in the first ten days, was my first indicator that we may have a competitor for WoW on our hands. Tales from my peers who are part of the beta have wowed me even more. Even if it’s not the best game ever, anything that can at least take a bite out of the WoW monopoly is a good thing in my book.

10. Fallout 3 (Q4 2008)

I’m still torn between horror and joy at the thought of this game. The Fallout games stand as some of the best games I have ever played (and still play). The mature universe, awesome storyline, dark humor and awesome turn based party fighting still have next to no competition even today IMO.

I’m just afraid that this new third person/FPS, no turn based, no strategy take on the series will fall short. Sorry, but I hated Oblivion and the idea of that same group of devs butchering Fallout gives me nightmares. Good or not, I know I won’t be able to help myself from buying this one when it comes out.

That’s just a tiny selection of the games we’ll see in 2008. Rest assured gang, we may not have the banner year we had in ‘07, but this year is not lacking for great games. Not by a long shot.

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