Most Anticipated Games of 2009: 10-1

The games to keep an eye on during 2009.

And in the blink of an eye 2009 is upon us, and games like Gears of War 2, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Animal Crossing: Let's go to the City seem like a distant memory. Now, as is the way with the world, we turn to the future without having given the past the time it deserves. Fable 2 creator Peter Molyneux says nothing in 2009 excites him. Well that's not how we feel. And in an attempt to get all that excitement off of our chest, allow us to present the culmination of our week-long Most Anticipated Games of 2009 feature, where we've compiled the 40 games that make us wet with excitement just at the thought of playing them. Here, in the final instalment, we run down from 10 to 1. Read on, and let the hype begin, or check out 40-31, 30-21 and 20-11 first.

10. Diablo III, Blizzard - PC - 2009

Blizzard sure knows how to announce a new game with a bang. Back in June last year, following weeks of fevered speculation, lead designer Jay Wilson stepped on stage at the Blizzard Invitational event in Paris to give a gameplay demonstration, crushing plenty of demons in the process. It was the first time the game was seen by anyone outside of the famously perfectionist PC developer, and the internet went into meltdown. While the game looks like classic Diablo refined and perfected rather than revolutionised, that's all we need to get us dribbling with excitement. If you need another excuse to upgrade your rig this year, look no further.

9. Street Fighter IV, Capcom - Xbox 360, PS3 and PC - February 20

With the arrival of the stupendous Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix on Xbox LIVE and PSN, our excitement for the console release of the first proper true Street Fighter sequel in a decade has been dulled somewhat, but it's still reaching stratospheric levels. We've played the game loads, in the arcades and on consoles, and can safely say it's fantastic. The game will be out on Xbox 360 and PS3 in February, so there isn't long to go, but it's still excruciating. Hadouken!