Reasons to be excited part 1 - Announced Games

17. XBLA - It looks as if Live's Arcade service is about to hit an all time high. With huge hits in the pipeline including: Limbo, Shank, Super Meat Boy, Comic Jumper, Hydro Thunder, Monday Night Combat and Lara Croft, XBLA should get a lot of your attention come late Summer, Fall.

16. Red Faction: Armaggedon - Using what made the last one so good, Red Faction will be taking full destruction to the next level.

15. Dragon Age II - While not much is known of the follow up to Origins, more of the same but with more polish and better graphics is expected.

14. Mafia II - Focusing on story telling might set this apart from other open sandbox games. Sharp graphics, and a Sopranos feel? I'm in!

13. H.A.W.X 2 - The first Tom Clancy flight game was very under-appreciated in my eyes. I had a lot of fun with it. They have added take-offs, landings and new locals to add to the 4 player co-op.

12. Fallout: New Vegas - For fans of Fallout 3, this looks to be more of the same. I haven't gotten very far in F3, but I still get excited hearing about more wasteland to traverse.

11. Bulletstorm - The game looks gorgeous, and looks to cut story telling out of the equation and give you guns, violence and more guns. With Cliffy B (maker of Gears of War) behind the scenes, expect gun porn it it's finest.

10. Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 - The surprise hit makes a return to Arkham. What will the sequel bring? Not much is known, but expect more of what made the original fantastic.

9./8. DJ Hero 2/Rock Band 3 - Ok, so music games have taken a dip in sales. That could change this fall with the releases of DJ Hero 2 and RB 3. Harmonix is putting a PRO mode into Rock Band allowing full guitar support and Keyboards. DJ Hero will bring another 100 or so mixes to the table, and are adding more turntables and mic support.

7. Gears of War 3 - More bad-assery from Cliffy B and Epic. This time they're bringing 4 player coop to close out the conclusion to Marcus' storyline.

6. Medal of Honor - A reboot of the popular EA title sees a more dramatic storyline, and complete overhaul by EA LA. The mutiplayer is being overseen by DICE, the famous Battlefield devs.

5. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - The tale of Ezio is continued in Rome, and has the added bonus of online multiplayer. How will it stack up against the Call of Duty's and Halo's?

4. Portal 2 - I don't know 1 person who didn't enjoy the first Portal. Incredibly simple yet difficult to master. Will the cake return? Coop is in, so are outdoor levels. Expect this one early 2011.

3. Dead Space 2 - Won a ton of awards for Game of E3.  Amazing environments and graphics hope to set an atmosphere to scare the sh** out of your pants.

2. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - The Ghost Recon series is one of my favorites. The fact they are adding a futuristic element to it has some people scares it will lean away from the series' roots. I have no such fears. 4 player online coop, a slew of new weaponry and graphics that look almost life-like, put this on the top of my list....well...almost at the top....

1. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (EA 11/16/10)- This is the reboot that the NFS series badly needed. This game looks to take us back to the time when NFS games were at their peak. Made by Criterion Games EA, the minds behind the fantastic Burnout series, expect incredible speed, destruction and intensity. Cop chases are taking a front seat, and it looks to be running at top notch already, winning a huge amount of respect and awards coming out of E3.

So there you have it...my look at the best Xbox 360 titles to expect over the next 12 months. Stay tuned, because next week I'll be taking a look at what's to come even further down the pipeline in part 2 of the series - Reasons to be excited!