Most Anticipated Games of 2010: 40-31

Our hottest picks for the year ahead.

2009 is done and dusted, but there's an awful lot to look forward to in 2010. Over the next week we'll bring you our 50 most anticipated games of the year. It's fair to say that gamers appear to be in for quite a treat in 2010, should most of these titles make their expected release dates and deliver on their early promise. The year will bring everything from MMOs and single-player JRPGs to mature adventure games and visceral first-person shooters. Read on for games 40-31 and head here for the titles ranked 50-41.

40. MAG - PS3, January 29

The thing about MAG, right, is that it's going to be really big. The clue is in the name: Massive Action Game. How massive are we talking? Try "256 players in a single match" massive. With that that many people taking part, there's bound to be someone worse than you - someone you can pick on for easy kills. Then again, there will probably be at least a 100 people who can blow you away with a perfectly-aimed headshot from halfway across the map. This is the first game we've seen in four years from SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive, but something tells us it'll be worth the wait.

39. Darksiders - Xbox 360, PS3, January 8

Vigil Games' third-person post-apocalyptic hack and slash action exploration adventure thing is out this Friday, and we've already played it a whole bunch, but it's still worth a mention in our most anticipated games of the year list. Darksiders is Zelda meets Metroid meets Spawn meets Devil May Cry meets the in-laws (that last one's not true). You play WAR, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, who slices and dices his way through millions of demons as he attempts to clear his discredited name. He's got a big sword, chucks cars about and eventually gets to ride a flaming horse. Win.