| A few games to look out for in 2009 |
|
With two great years of gaming behind us it’s going to be tough to live up to what’s already been brought to the table. The games that have been released have been plenty and highly anticipated, yet the majority have reached their levels of expectations, and in some cases, surpassed them. Unless 2009 lies with a few surprise releases and some truly fascinating titles, then it’s not going to near the equivalence of the last two years, but that’s in no way saying your Xbox 360 is going to be gathering dust.
To prove that’s the case, here are just a few titles you may or may not have heard of heading your way this year.
HALO WARS
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Genre: Strategy
I know what you’re thinking, not another blooming Halo game, but this one is special I promise. Not only is it the first Halo game to be produced by a company other than Bungie, it’s the first Halo game that isn’t a first person shooter, instead, it’s what it was originally meant to be, a strategy game.
From the highly reputable creators of the Age of Empires series, Ensemble Studios will be going out with a bang by promising a strategy game which is built from the ground up for the console. Halo Wars will feel right on the Xbox controller and it will also play right, something that the majority of console strategies haven’t picked up yet.
You’ll be able to take command of the well known, battle hardened UNSC and the archaic and destructive Covenant forces in this birds-eye adaptation. We also know that there will be an extensive campaign - situated 20 years before the original Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved) - allowing you to control and experience the Halo universe from the UNSC, and a multiplayer mode allowing you to play the campaign with a co-op partner, and up to six players on skirmish via Xbox Live. Unfortunately there won’t be any familiar faces in the form of Master Chief or Cortana, but instead the focus on familiar vehicles and other characters such as the Warthog, Scorpion, Hunters and early Spartan units.
We’re more than looking forward to getting our hands on the highly anticipated Halo Wars coming February the 27th 2009 for Europe and March the 3rd for North America.
SKATE 2
Developer: EA Black Box
Genre: Sports
After the unexpectedly enjoyable and well received Skate, it’s not surprising EA have announced a sequel not long after.
For those of you in the dark over what Skate is really about, think Tony Hawk but with heavily innovated controls. You’ll be controlling your skateboard mostly via the analogue sticks, and that also includes the tricks involved allowing for an interactive approach to performance. All the tricks will be available straight away; you just have to master them all in your own time, in any order.
You won’t be just featured in a skate rink either, the city of San Vanelona (Yes, it’s fictional) will be your playground for all the receivable challenges available giving you the freedom for how you want to play the game.
Skate 2 looks to improve all the features which made Skate great by increasing the amount of tricks, allowing other spontaneous ways of travel – holding onto car bumpers – and the ability to actually get of your board and create challenges yourselves by moving objects.
The promising sequel to Skate is just around the corner, and will be released in Europe on January the 23rd and in North America January the 21st.
AFRO SAMURAI
Developer: Namco Bandai
Genre: Hack and slash
Based upon the unique, bizarre but very interesting Japanese manga series, and now a 5 episode mini-series with the infamous Samuel L. Jackson as a voice actor, it was only a matter of time before Afro Samurai was going to become a game.
The game alteration is based upon the manga series and will be staying true to its theme by using a cel-shaded animation engine, and having hack and slash based game mechanics. It is said to be concentrated on its fighting mechanics, and unlike many previous hack and slash games it will emphasise strategy in the form of combos, counters and character movements.
Many of the original characters from the comics will play a part in this game, such as Afro Samurai himself and being played as Samuel L Jackson for extra authenticity, plus many other noticeable appearances.
This is a must buy for the well formed fan-base of the series, and probably worth looking into for any hack and slash or manga comic fan.
Afro Samurai will be hopping onto shelves January 27th in North America, soon to be announced for Europe.
ALAN WAKE
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Genre: Psychological Thriller
The creators of Max Payne and Max Payne 2 make a glamorous return in this new long awaited IP called Alan Wake. Remedy have been known for their cinematic experiences and sophisticated, edgy storytelling and from the looks of things, Alan Wake doesn’t look too far apart.
Alan Wake tells the story of the player’s character who is a famous author of bestselling horror stories, things start to go strange in his life when his fiancé disappears and everything around him offers resemblance to what he had written in his books, it then becomes your job to find out what’s going on.
This game not only offers an ever so curious and misleading story, but some also ‘different’ gameplay mechanics, with light being one of your primary weapons against your horror conjurations, and a free-roaming world to experience this dark tale in. With very little footage and patchy details, it’ll be very interesting to see what Alan Wake will actually offer us, but by the sounds of things it’s definitely one to look out for.
The official date of Alan Wake has yet to be announced, but we believe it’ll be sometime between the first half of this year.
STOKED
Developer: Bongfish
Genre: Sports
Stoked is an exclusive free-roaming snowboarding game coming for the Xbox 360, featuring five fully explorable levels that provide for a different experience every playthrough. And in the current standards of this generation's gaming, we can’t go without more than one innovative design as here there are also fully dynamic weather patterns affecting the environments around you.
Of course, like other snowboarding games you can perform tricks, jumps and participate in races, but I don’t think many games offer this experience with drop-in/out multiplayer over Live. Customisation comes into play when you can choose your drop-ins and create your own challenges against one another. All this with enhanced and adapting AI, and 30 famous snowboarders to play as should end up being a very hopeful and engaging title in the Xbox 360 Library.
Stoked is out the 20th of January this year in the US, an official release date in Europe is yet to be heard of.
TEKKEN 6: BLOODLINE REBELLION
Developer: Namco Bandai
Genre: Fighting
I had always thought that Tekken would stop at the 2nd one, as it was the only title in the series that had that ring to it when you mentioned it ‘Tekken Two’, but nope, it didn’t finish there, people just love the games too much.
Tekken 6 has technically been out for just over a year now, at least in arcade machines all over Japan. An updated version developed just for the consoles called “Tekken 6: Bloodlines Rebellion” is officially in the making and, as of recently, will be released to us 2009.
In this sequel we’ll be seeing all of our favourite characters returning; Armor King, Eddy Gordo, Julie Chang and Yoshimitsu being just a few, plus expecting a few more new additions. The gameplay has been changed as well though, such as new items and customisable options, which was introduced in Tekken 5 but now vastly improved (varying costumes, different clothing options and weapon decorative), you’ll also be welcoming completely new stages with a few multi-tiered environment levels.
This isn’t a revolutionary step from the previous games in the series, but that’s probably revolutionary music to some people’s ears, it’s a great game made even better and Namco will do well bring the once Sony exclusive series to a wider audience.
The release date is expected to be late 2009.
F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN
Developer: Monolith Productions
Genre: (FPS) First Person Shooter
Originally just Project Origin due to ownership issues - but now back to its more familiar and preferred name - F.E.A.R 2 looks to build upon everything the fans had loved in F.E.A.R. So the very 1st person feel to the game is now going to be even more personal, the horror elements are now going to be more horrific, and the action sequences, explosions and effects are going to be even more action packed, explosive and effective. The view Monolith’s team have stated clearly with the development of F.E.A.R 2 is that not only are they going to amend the issues people had, but were going to take the parts which people loved a step further.
Monolith are also releasing it on all platforms simultaneously, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, this is a relief for all the previous players wondering why slow-motion didn’t seem to turn off in the original.
F.E.A.R 2 is released February 10th in North America and the 13th in Europe.
THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: ASSAULT ON DARK ATHENA
Developer: Starbreeze Studios
Genre: (FPS) First Person Shooter
Riddick on Xbox is regarded as a cult classic, and for those in the know, probably one of the best, if not 'the' best first person shooters on the system. The game went against the grain of movie tie in games being less than stellar. Vin Diesel stars as the enigmatic traveler and general hard-man Riddick, and this time we'll get to experience not only a re-worked Escape from Butcher Bay, but the all new Assault on Dark Athena. Starbreeze really pushed the boundaries with the game's graphics on Xbox, and looks set to do the same for Xbox 360. The game features classic first person shooting elements, combined with optional stealth mechanics and minor adventuring. The sheer brutality of the Riddick character should be captured perfectly in this new game as he snaps necks and breaks bones. If there ever was a cooler anti-hero, then Riddick is the icy cold one of the night. Dark Athena is due out in Spring 2009 so you won't have to wait too long.
Posted By: Lee Burton
Date: 2009-01-05
|
