For me summer is all about waiting for the fall blockbusters. By this time we’ve had E3 and we know what will be coming out for the Christmas season, and we’ve had a glimpse at what lies beyond. I thought it would be a good time to list my top ten most anticipated games.
…But then I could only think of five:
5. Warhammer 40,000 Dark Millennium Online
Publisher: THQ, Developer: Vigil, Release: TBA
I Don’t play MMORPGs. This game might change that. E3 brought us the first trailer but no real gameplay demo. I wasn’t impressed with the trailer but it’s still early on. At this point I’d love to just get some details. Basically, if they make a game where I can grow from a mewling heretic into a civilization-crushing Chaos Lord then I’m in.
4. Rock Band 3
Publisher: MTV Games, Developer: Harmonix, Release: Octoer 26th
Music games aren’t as hot as they were two years ago when Rock Band came out. Back then every party I went to had people playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I never got Rock Band, mostly due to the price and space requirements of all those damn peripherals. I’m thinking of jumping in with both feet this time. Rock Band 3 will support 7 players. It will have a two octave keyboard and a Pro guitar with 102 buttons for every note on a real guitar. It will have a Pro mode, a setting above expert were you can play the real notes. It will support all the songs from RB 1, 2 and RB: Green Day, as well as all the DLC. This is the Cadillac of music games. They are pulling out all the stops, and my prediction is that this will be the game that decides if music games stay in the spotlight or prove to be just a passing fad.
3. Fallout: New Vegas
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Developer: Obsidian, Release: October 19th
I’m a longtime fan of Fallout. I played the first game on a 133 MHz Pentium Uno. It was a serious time investment because moving from one screen to the next took a full minute or more to load. I’ve spent more time with Fallout 3 than I did with the first two games combined, and I still haven’t finished with it. I’ve got DLC for it I haven’t even touched. So I’m fairly psyched about New Vegas. Two points of interest: One, it’s being developed by Obsidian, a developer with members of the original Black Isle team than made the first game. Two, they are revamping the NPC system. That second point might not seem exciting, but as I may have mentioned before, the ONLY significant problem with Fallout 3 was that your NPC companions were drooling idiots who consistently ran head-long into flaming death. Keeping them alive became a whole game in itself and it made having companions more of a liability than an asset. New Vegas is supposed to fix that by making the AI more robust and giving you more command options as well. For me the idea of putting together an actual team rather than deploying living SCUD missiles is very appealing.
2. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Publisher: Konami, Developer: Mercury Steam, Release: Q3 2010
3D Castlevania games have not done very well in the past. There have been decent 3D offerings from the series but they never stood up to the pedigree of the 2D games. I enjoyed Curse of Darkness on PS2, but I have to agree with the vocal majority that it was missing that spark of greatness. It just seemed like it was made by a second-rate studio, not a giant like Konami. Lords of Shadow is supposed to change all that. It’s hard to say exactly why I’m so optimistic about this game. All I’ve seen are a few trailers with gameplay footage… but it just looks awesome! I’ve got a good feeling about this one.
Side note: In a few days I’ll get a surprise summer gift in the form of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. I love the 2D “Metroid style” Castlevanias. While the series has faltered on consoles it has flourished on handhelds. While I enjoyed my time with titles like Circle of the Moon, I always found myself wishing I could play them on a TV with a controller (the Game Boy Advance SP was not made for giant man-hands or old people eyes). Now just yesterday I found out about Harmony of Despair, a 2D side scroller for XBLA. The game will have a co-op element and a new way to explore the castle. Instead of uncovering little bits at a time you can zoom out to see the entire thing including where the boss is. You then have to figure out the best way to reach him. And it comes out in two weeks!!!
1. Brink
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Developer: Splash Damage, Release: Q1 2011
I seem to be starting a trend where I have one shooter per year that I play the hell out of. In 2009 it was Rainbow Six Vegas 2, 2010 is the year of Modern Warfare 2, next year it will be Brink. Probably. This game looks sick. I saw it played at PAX last year and was very impressed with the whole package. It has:
- Progressive character development and customization
- Adaptive mission system within competitive multiplayer
- Some sort of new movement system that allows previously unseen agility and obstacle navigation
It’s going to be hot, I can’t wait. Have a great summer everyone!
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