Future Soldier looks to be another stand-out title in a strong year for Ubisoft.

Taking an already established brand and making it something even more special isn’t easy, but that is, quite frankly, Ubisoft’s modus operandi. Ghost Recon has been around for many years now, and has achieved success by taking a popular genre, the third person shooter, making it as realistic as possible, and then continuing to improve the franchise with the subsequent iterations.

It isn’t that the games have changed dramatically, it is that the basic formula continues to be improved. We aren’t just talking visuals here, although Future Soldier is absolutely stunning. What we mean is that the basic gameplay continues to advance as new ideas are dreamed up and as the finer points of gameplay are tightened even further. For instance, not only can you take cover in a Gears of War style now, but your cover can also be shot through and ultimately obliterated.

Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2 took us to the near future of 2013. Our Ghosts had a distinct advantage over enemies without training even being taken into account– they had technology on their side. Future Soldier, taking place 10-15 years from today (in our real world), uses even more advancements. Notably, the biggest addition to gameplay is the stealth suit, based on prototype real world technology. What this allows you to do is basically turn invisible. You’ll still be heard, and your effects on the environment will still be noticed (such as foot prints), but you’re still, well, invisible.

Fortunately, Ubisoft was smart enough to realize that this could be an advantage abused, and limited your use of the suit to compensate. When your gun goes off, even though it doesn’t make much sense, your suit will turn visible. Also, the user will have to recharge the suits battery. He would do this by, presumably, shutting it off for a short while.

Another new feature is the ability to call your shots. In the single player campaign, which will run anywhere between 12-15 hours, the demo shows off the user controlled character sneaking up behind his target to apprehend him, all the while his three buddies are picked off with head shots from your own squad. Simple in single player, but in 4 player co-op, it could be a different story. It may be hard to coordinate this scenario, especially if you are not playing with friends willing to experience the game in a similar style as yourself.

If you were lucky enough to snatch up a copy of Splinter Cell: Conviction earlier this year, you’ll automatically be entered into a beta program for Future Solider, though the release of this beta client has yet to be revealed.

Look for Ghost Recon Future Soldier to hit shelves in download for all major consoles including Wii (though ignoring the PC, for some reason), as well as your DS and PSP in early 2011. Trust me. It will be worth waiting for the polish.

• What:      Mass Effect 2
• Who:       Bioware
• Where:   360/PC
• When:    January 2010
• Why:       The second part of Bioware’s epic sci-fi RPG is a comin’. Will it prove as popular and atmospheric as the original? Or is the immensely disappointing DLC a sign of things to come?

• What:     New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Who:      Nintendo
• Where:  Wii
• When:    27^th November
• Why:      A brand new game with old skool 2D Super Mario gameplay, space year 2009 graphics, and a simultaneous four player mode. If you’re not dribbling in anticipation, you have no soul.

• What: Demon’s Souls
• Who: From Software
• Where: PS3
• When: Now (Asian territories), 6^th October (North America)
• Why: To import or not to import, that is the question. By the time you read this, we should have received our copy of the North American version from the lovely sexy people at Atlus. Then we’ll be set up to answer that question for you…

• What:    Dragon Age Origins
• Who:     BioWare
• Where:  PS3/360/PC
• When:   6^th November
• Why:     An action RPG from the developer that gave us titles such as Knights Of The Old Republic and Mass Effect (which will apparently be dwarfed in ‘size and scope’ by this game) was always going to be an attractive proposition. The promise of six different stories to play through, each reacting to the choices you make whilst playing, is a tough one to keep. But if they can do it…

• What:    White Knight Chronicles
• Who:     Level-5
• Where:  PS3
• When:   Spring 2010
• Why:     An estimated 100 hours of gameplay, the ability to warp straight to locations you’ve already visited, massive enemies, co-op play, and a main character called Leonard. What’s not to like?

• What:    Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
• Who:     Naughty Dog
• Where:  PS3
• When:   16^th October
• Why:     The original was like a cheesy eighties action movie or TV series – but in a good way. The sequel promises to improve on everything we already like, and throw in a multiplayer mode for good measure. With (decent) console exclusives a dying breed, expect lots of advertising from Sony for this one.

• What:     Modern Warfare 2
• Who:      Infinity Ward
• Where:  PS3/360/Wii/PC
• When:   10^th November
• Why:     Okay, so all three versions of this game are too expensive, but let’s give Infinity Ward the benefit of the doubt and presume they had no say in the matter. The original Modern Warfare was one of the greatest FPS games ever made…until greasy stinking hackers ruined the online mode for everyone. The sequel should definitely be on your shopping list; just bear in mind that Activision will expect you to buy at least one map pack before christmas.

• What:    Brutal Legend
• Who:     Double Fine
• Where:  PS3/360
• When:   13^th October
• Why:      It’s the latest game from Double Fine (Psychonauts), the developer founded by Tim Schafer (Day of The Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, loads more). A mostly brilliant metal soundtrack has been announced. The voice cast includes Jack Black, Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy for frick’s sake! If this isn’t completely awesome, we’ll eat our leather jackets.