What’s up all? cmfl3x here. I recently volunteered to contribute some material to Leveling Down so I’ll be making posts every once in a while. A little bit about myself, and like espion4ge I’ve been gaming since the 8 bit era. Some of my favorite games from previous generations are Final Fantasy IV, Super Mario 64, Punch Out!, and Goldeneye. As you can see, I was a huge Nintendo fan. I still am, but am pretty disappointed in their offerings for the Wii right now.
As for current systems, I own a XBox360, a Wii, and a DS, although I lent my Wii to my fiancee. With a 360, I obviously play a lot of first person shooters, and I also enjoy RPGs like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect. Other than that, you should probably know that story trumps all other aspects of games for me, so if I like the story I can forgive annoying gameplay errors or bad graphics. Although everyone seemed to think Grand Theft Auto IV had a great story, which I disagree with. GTA had a promising story, but it was way too long and drawn out. But I digress…
Anyway, like espion4ge I put together a list of titles that I’m looking forward to this year. If you guys think we should have added anything to our lists, feel free to post in the comments! What are you excited for?
Halo Wars (360)
I’ve been in love with the Halo universe since the beginning. But the biggest thing about first person shooters is that they never feel very realistic. Sure, Master Chief is a genetically enhanced super soldier, but still, taking down the Covenant AND the Flood practically singlehandedly? In Halo Wars, hopefully, we’ll get to take part in the grand battles between the Covenant and the UNSC (and the Flood!) This is a game that I HOPE is awesome, but I’ll have to wait and see if they can pull off.
Mass Effect 2 (360, PC)
While not officially announced for 2009, most people think its presence at GDC this year means it will be out by the end of the year. True story: I totally scratched my Mass Effect disc, so I ended up buying another one. I was so engrossed in the story that I didn’t want to stop and spent (not wasted! well, maybe wasted) another 60 bucks. I loved Mass Effect’s sci fi story, the voice acting, and the relatively open universe. Up until Fallout 3, Mass Effect was my favorite RPG on the system. I’ll put my money on Bioware delivering an excellent sequel (but hopefully not 120 bucks this time).
Harmonix Beatles Project (360, PS3, Wii, PS2)
Right now, Rock Band is the class of the music game industry and Harmonix stands out as one of the most brilliant, successful, and cool developers out there right now. Harmonix has developed the quintessential party game, and now they have pulled in one of the most popular bands of all time. I don’t see how this game WON’T be amazing for people who love the Beatles. It’s a testimony to the power of the video game industry that this game will be the first time Beatles songs will be offered digitally at all. To celebrate, they should invent a piano peripheral to go along with the game so that we can jam to Hey Jude.
Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty (PC)
The only game espion4ge and I have in common, I’ve been waiting for this game for over 10 years. I was never that competitive, and I definitely don’t have the time to get into it, but I am looking forward to the continuation of the single player story and seeing what’s become of Raynor, Kerrigan, and the others. Blizzard has yet to make a game that isn’t amazing, and I’m sure Starcraft 2 will be no exception. Are they bleeding us a little bit by releasing 3 episodes? Sure. But at the same time, I do trust that the overall experience will be enhanced, because Blizzard has no past history of just adding “filler”. I am thinking about buying a new computer just to play this game, and I know I’m not the only one thinking about it. Talk about anticipation.
The Conduit (Wii)
This game is on the list because I would like to play my Wii at least once this year, and this is my best chance. Metroid Prime: Corruption had such an excellent control scheme that I thought publishers would be lining up at the door to make FPSes for the Wii. But it turns out that it’s much easier to make money selling millions of copies of games like WiiFit and WiiPlay. Thus the Wii has been labeled the “casual” console by gamers, and 3rd party publishers have been focused on “casual” type games that sell. High Voltage and Sega are taking a huge risk with this game, so I hope a) it’s good, and b) people buy it. But I’ll settle for just a), because then I’ll have a reason to get my Wii back from my fiancee.
Last Game Cut: Bioshock 2
A prequel to the 2006 game of the year sounds somewhat cool, but it’d be even cooler as a more open world experience if you could observe AS Rapture is degenerating. I doubt that the game will be that because that’s too risky, plus 2K Boston and Ken Levine are no longer involved, so I’m skeptical. But, if they can somehow recapture Bioshock’s magic…I’m there.
You forgot to mention Need For Speed: UndercoverER
Yeah, how could you ignore the eagerly awaited sequel to the awesomeness that was Need For Speed: Undercover?! Will almost certainly be back to back Games of the Year (2008 and 2009) for me. I cannot wait for even more undercover speeding!
Unfortunately, the Need for Speed franchise has kind of been diluted over the years. Maybe Need for Speed XIII next year will help it to reclaim some of its former glory. But with a bunch of layoffs coming to Blackbox (the developer), the situation looks kind of grim.
Fl3x, this is yoru Halo3 game disc. Why don’t you love me anymore!! I need your love!