Fall 2010 is going to be one of the hottest seasons ever for gamers. Though the economy is still sluggish, the arrival of the new motion controllers — Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move — and a slew of new A-list titles, and we could have ourselves a record quarter for the gaming industry.

Let’s look at the ten hottest titles coming to a console near you in the next two or three months. (And fanboys, start cracking those knuckles: you’re invited to gripe about all of the big games I didn’t include…)

10) Call of Duty: Black Ops

Does this long-lasting franchise still have some life left in it? Especially now that the creators of the series at Infinity Ward have been dumped by Activision? The prognosis looks pretty good. For one thing, Black Ops is an entry from secondary game production team Treyarch, which has a history of turning in solid titles.

The Infinity Ward titles get all of the brio and hype, but Treyarch still produces excellent games that maintain the quality standards the series is known for. Plus, Black Ops throws a whole new dynamic into the mix: setting the game in the throws of the Cold War, and featuring a heavy focus on covert tactics, with new and different kinds of weapons and vehicles. Have gamers finally tired of Call of Duty?

Doubt it.

9) PlayStation Move

This isn’t a game so much as a peripheral (or a whole new platform, depending on who you ask). Regardless, it brings with it a new way of playing on the PS3, and an entire roster of new titles to go with it. Sadly, the most promising of the bunch — SOCOM 4 — has been pushed back to 2010. What’s more, everyone that’s had some hands-on time with the Move controllers are calling it Wii HD. Granted, it’s got super high-def games, and the controllers are more finely tuned than even the Wii Motion Plus. But it’s still beyond obvious that Sony couldn’t come up with anything more original in the motion controller wars than a riff on the Wii.

Are Sony fans itching to Move? We’re all about to be bombarded with ads for the new controllers, so I guess we’ll find out.

8) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2

How is Starkiller back from the dead? Is he a clone? Was the original Starkiller a clone, too? Or is something else at work? (After all, if the Empire could clone Jedi so easily… why didn’t they clone a Jedi army instead of all those disposable Stormtroopers?) Story is front and center of the new Force Unleashed title, and that’s A-okay with me.

The original game was a blast for the faithful, offering you the chance to manipulate entire environments and obliterate your enemies just by using the Force. The new game is adding lots of cool new tricks to Starkiller’s arsenal, as well as dual lightsabers for him to wield. And the buzz from people who actually played it at E3 was off the charts.

7) Little Big Planet 2

The first LBP was a revelation to many. Its cardboard aesthetic was clever, and its side-scrolling gameplay dynamic was like Mario designed for three generations from now. What really set the game apart was the ease with which it allowed users to create their own levels and then share them on the PS3.

The second game in the series looks as though it’s being made primarily to serve those amateur game makers by giving them a vast new toolset to play with. Modders can now make virtually any type of game they want — not just side-scrollers — including racing games, RTS, FPS, and more. It remains to be seen if LBP2 will provide enough incentive for noobs to jump on the bandwagon, but what’s exciting about it is getting to see just how innovative gamers will become with the versatile new tools it offers.

6) Super Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts was one of the most original games of all time, giving gamers a virtual playground to think up pretty much anything by writing words on the screen of their Nintendo DS, and then dropping the objects those words create into an environment together to see what happens. Super Scribblenauts improves on the original with lots of player-requested tweaks and an entire dictionary worth of adjectives that you can use to add greater specificity to the words you write.

Overlook this one at your own risk.

5) Fable III

Fable II finally gave the Xbox 360 the genre-defining RPS it deserved, and its addictive gameplay was the source of many a sleepless night. Fable III takes the formula to a new level by offering you the chance to become king over Albion, and see what kind of a ruler you would be. Its “industrial revolution” setting looks like the shot in the arm the franchise needs, and the dozens of other innovations are sure to entice existing fans back for more.

For anyone who played Fable II, Fable III is already at the top of their wish list.

4) Rock Band 3

A real-world six-string guitar. A piano keyboard. Fine-tuned instruments. A gi-normous playlist. Rock Band has defined the rhythmic gaming genre with its past titles.

How can Rock Band 3 not be another mega-hit?

3) Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Brotherhood adds some much-needed multiplayer to the bestselling series, letting you hunt and assassinate those pesky Templars alongside your BFFs. Come on, admit it: that’s just too awesome to resist. Plus, there’s a fantastic-looking single player campaign that continues the story of fan-favorite protagonist Ezzio Auditore, taking him to Rome to build an entire army of assassins. With three enormous new areas of Rome to explore — all three of which are bigger than the three cities we visited in AC2 — and tons of multiplayer goodness, there’s a tremendous bang for your buck.

2) Halo: Reach

There’s a reason Halo is one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world. Well, more than one, actually. First, there’s that honed-to-perfection, frenetic gameplay. Then there’s the legions of fans who spend day and night online in deathmatches and capture-the-flag and all those other wonderful multiplayer game modes.

What Halo: Reach brings to the table that most of the other games have lacked is a powerful story. (Don’t hate me fanboys — I know ODST had a pretty darn awesome story, but it was the exception to the rule.) The fall of the planet Reach is the pivotal event in the games’ history, and Bungie’s not just telling that story — it’s letting you live it. Knowing that no matter how hard you fight to save Reach, it’s still going to fall… This is the elephant in the room. Will it create an unforgettable experience, or it will prove too fatalistic for gamers wanting a fun escape from daily life?

1) Kinect

Like it or not, all eyes are on Microsoft‘s major gamble. Will turning the human body into the controller be a revolution in gaming? Or will its simplicity prove too limiting for hardcore gamers? Kinect‘s reported difficulties with couch-bound gaming is not encouraging. Many gamers simply aren’t interested in standing up all the time. Then there’s the fact that the best and most defining games for Kinect aren’t launching with the hardware itself (aside from perhaps Harmonix’ Dance Central, which has some buzz around it).

But what Kinect represents is more exciting than what it currently is. This could be a landmark moment in not just gaming but computing of all kinds. Used in different ways and different settings, Kinect is just one step away from the gesture-based computing seen in Minority Report. If Microsoft latches onto this as wave of the future, it could affect everything from how future computers are designed, to operating systems like Windows itself.

Until then, the innovations it offers makes Kinect the must-have of the Fall. I can’t wait to see what creative ways game publishers dream up to make use of it.

EA Games has joined in the user-generated content fad by announcing Create, a new “EA Play” title that looks like a platformer where players can create their own environments and puzzles. Hmm, why does that sound so familiar?

Could it be because user-generated content is ever-so-fashionable?

Little Big Planet leads the user-generated charge, thanks to its easy-to-use yet robust set of building tools, and the forthcoming Little Big Planet 2 looks to take things to the next level with tools for creating just about any genre of game you can think up — not just platforming. PlayStation’s ModNation Racers takes cart racing to a new extreme by letting players easily craft their own highly detailed and fun-to-play race tracks.

Now comes Create, where exploration and puzzle-solving are rewarded based on the higher level of creativity that you use. The game is said to present you with increasingly-complex puzzles where time is frozen; you insert various objects or creatures into the workings, and then start up time to see what happens (derivative of Scribblenauts much?). Reportedly, every puzzle the game presents has multiple solutions available, and the game actually tracks the way you think and express your creativity, and it reacts by adjusting the puzzles accordingly. The deeper you go into the game, the more rewards you unlock, which allow you to customize your game and even create your own content. EA’s website for the game offers the ability to upload your creations for others to download and enjoy.

User-generated content is nothing new. As far back as the original Half-Life, or even further back to the likes of Duke Nukem, game developers have been making tools available for users to create their own content. Even more recently, games like Will Wright’s Spore have offered users the opportunity to take part in a greater community of users by customizing characters, structures, and entire worlds. (The hype over Spore has cooled in the last year or so, even though EA continues to milk the franchise for all its worth. The next title on the docket is DarkSpore, a fast-paced RPG that brings real combat to the Spore universe.)

The difference with these new titles like LBP, ModNation, and now Create is the ease with which users can fashion new content. It’s become so simplified that it can be done on consoles now, whereas in the past it required nothing less than a PC. Yet the resultant maps, characters, and objects being made – put together by user choices and clever algorithms in the game — are high-res, sophisticated things that were never before possible at the hands of Joe Basic Game Player.

Publishers are sinking more and more money into this trend, but is it just a fad? Or is it really the future of gaming? I think it has its place, but it’s never going to replace the finely-polished work of professional game designers. It’s the equivalent of YouTube versus the movie theater. There might be some gems out there among the user-generated stuff — maybe even a few creations good enough to catch the attention of movers and shakers in the industry — but there’s also going to be a lot of crap.

Create, by the way, will be available this holiday season for Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3 (compatible with Move motion controllers), PC, and Mac. Screens below.

Little Big Planet fans can now bring their own little Sackboy or Sackgirl home.

At the recently concluded Toy Fair in New York, Sony Computer Entertainment and Mezco Toyz the production of four inch action figures based on the iconic character/mascot of Little Big Planet will be made available in many selected store in North America. The Little Big Planet toys will be available this spring. Collectors will also have to prepare as Mezco said that that it will have retailer exclusive and limited edition versions of the LBP figures. These special versions will range in size from between two to eighteen inches and will be available throughout 2009.

For those who want actual Sackboys or Sackgirls to cuddle with, plush toys of the LBP characters will be made available in the latter part of 2009.

I just love the fact that I can play so many user created levels. This makes it that rare game that keeps on giving. Every single time you go online you are met with new levels that you can play. I also love the fact that I can interact with other players’ sackboys.

Media Molecule does have some problems that they need to address–the most crucial being the servers itself. I think the large influx of gamers is crippling the servers. The whole online experience has improved from the first day the servers went up to what I experienced after one week but the frequent inability to connect to the online levels can still get frustrating.

But those are quibbles that I have come to often overlook because of the great gaming experience that I get whenever I play.

As a way of addressing the issue of the Qu’ran passages in the soundtrack for the games that were not recalled Media Molecule has released patch 1.02 that removes the music for the game. I heard that those who want the original soundtrack can opt not to install the patch.

Another news from Media Molecule is that a sequel to LBP is now in development. But this is not clear if the sequel is the direct followup to LBP or the LBP PSP game that has been announced before.

Based on the information taken from the Playstation forum, the two phrases literally translate to
“Every soul shall have the taste of death” and “All that is on earth will perish.”

I commend Sony for its swift action on this matter. It’s really professional and sends a positive message. What I don’t understand is how this was only caught at this very late stage. This should’ve been noticed while the game was being developed.

A number of gamers out there though will still get the unedited version of LBP as some retailers have already shipped the game to people who have preordered the game. I guess my copy of LBP is now a collectible.

I have never had so much fun playing a platformer before. The quirky levels and the very cute sackboy character (who is highly customizable, by the way) will keep you playing for hours. One thing that I noticed about this game is its very family-oriented design. It is non-violent, not at all scary and really funny. My wife and son had blast just watching me play a few of the levels and when my son finally couldn’t take it anymore and insisted he wanted to play, he easily got the hang of the controls and was playing like a pro a few minutes after.

I hear some of the guys who got the game early too are now tinkering with the vaunted level creation tools. This means you should expect a ton of user-created levels the moment the server officially goes online on the 21st.

Gotta cut this short. Have to go back to the game…

I recently showed screenshots and an in-game trailer of LBP and she was immediately enamored. She’s a big fan of Final Fantasy VII so when I showed her the Sack Boy Sephiroth she just went ga-ga.

There are reports that people are already getting copies of the game well before the official October 21 release. Can’t blame them though, this is a game that’s just too good to wait for.