It's that time of year again. As one onslaught of games slowly draws to a close, the cycle continues and we set our sights towards the future. I'll be posting my fave games of 2006 soon - once my busted PS3 is fixed and Nintendo Wii all over my bedroom - but in the meantime, let's gaze upon what lies ahead. Which 20 odd games does The Dig foresee headlining his faves of
2007?
Traditionally, I scribble down these preview lists for the coming 12 months around December/January time, then half the mother frackers get delayed. As a result, you might well remember some of these same games mentioned this time last
year. While at the time of blogging I firmly believe the majority will indeed touch down in 2007, a wiser man might well want to expect some minor slippage further down the line with that in mind.
'Tis what the industry does best, after all.
Army of Two
(PS3/Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Two crazy mercs in ski masks shoot shit up in the third person...the twist being one's your buddy, and you can beat the shit out of him whenever you please.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Homoeroticism at its finest, Army looks ace |
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Army of Two fills me with hope and excitement for a ton of reasons. Any game fundamentally built around the idea of co-op play immediately pushes Dig's buttons in an all manner of primal (and sexual) ways, but more than that...I'm just happy to see a company like EA putting out a brand new, 100% original (and non-sport related) IP for once. If the biggest, most commercial...and most faceless of games companies still has the testes to plough millions of bucks into cutting edge, inventive and daring projects like this...well, gaming is clearly in a good place right now. Be gone sequel-itis, Army of Two gives us hope.
That said, we still don't know a ton about this game. Supposedly, you and a buddy play a pair of crazy dudes carrying out paramilitary ops behind enemy lines, comprised mostly of tag-team fire-fights, mucho vehicles usage and even the odd bit of two-man wall rappelling. The ability to play by yourself alongside AI, or hook up with a buddy online, should immediately double AoT's fun and lifespan alone, in that same way
Gears of War did...and continues to do. If anything though, Army looks to be improving on Marcus and Dom's ever popular stop 'n' pop adventure by adding a whole host of additional features and, well, stuff to do.
This includes the ability to shout commands at your AI buddy through a headset if you're so endowed, such as "go back to back", or "snipe my target". We're told he may or may not follow said orders though, depending on the overall state of the battlefield and, well, his mood. Trailers even hint at friction between our two protagonists, as they constantly bitch slap each other around and engage in oh so humorous smack talk. Fun times.
It's Gears meets Tom Clancy, and looks utterly amazing.
World of Warcraft - The Burning Crusade
(PC)
The Pitch: That most popular of PC games, the most successful of MMOs and that one infamous title that turns humans into zombies is now doubling in size. More loot, more quests...more wasted hours.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Starting to look pretty ruddy dated these days, 'init? |
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I hoped the WoW expansion would have reached our collective hard drives by now, but in good old Blizzard tradition, they continue to tweak and polish that sucker until the end of time, deadlines and schedules be damned. The beta's underway as we speak however, and to quote Family Guy, initial word is most good. New races, flyable mounts, tons of additional areas...what's not to love?
These days it almost feels like if you're a PC gamer, you play WoW and nowt else, hence console-phobes should welcome this flood of additional content with open arms. You can only level up to 60 in the same humungous, heavenly medieval fantasy land so many times after all, no? It's bizarre how former addicts tend to turn on this game with such raging venom the second they un-sub though...heck, I've often succumbed to such hatred myself. I just wonder if such reformed characters'll be swayed back to life in Azeroth by the promise of all that silky smooth Burning Crusadey goodness after all this time.
We'll find out as early as January when this baby supposedly goes live, but I must admit, after a good year off, I'm positively wet at the thought of a trip back to that most memorable of online worlds.
Assassin's Creed
(PC/PS3/Xbox 360)
The Pitch: The creators of the very first Splinter Cell, not to mention Dig spooge-fest Prince of Persia - Sands of Time, marry their trademark stealth gameplay with beautiful, fully interactive balletic platforming in a cutting edge third person murder 'em up.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Labelled as one of the most impressive games currently in development, I defy anyone to resist Assassin's charms |
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Assassin was originally slated for release this March, but has since been shoved all the way back to bleedin' November I'm sad to say. Hmmph, but at least Ubi-soft gave us fair warning. One still can't help but wiggle with excitement at the mere prospect of murdering mofos in cold blood then hopping around rooftops to escape though, even so painfully far out from release. It's like Hitman butt-sexed Splinter Cell and had a baby in the Shadow of the Colossus universe.
Assassin's arguably most intriguing feature is how it endows the player with unparalleled freedom via its innovative new climbing mechanic. Every building and structure is a potential climbing frame in Creed, allowing you to suss out the most obscure and streamlined paths to your marks, along with the fastest and most direct escape route too. Of course, ground-breaking AI and huge crowds of passers by will make this all considerably tougher than it sounds, giving away your positions and we're told even tripping you up as you collide into 'em mid-escape.
One hopes Ubi manage to spit out that Splinter Cell sequel in 2007 as well, particularly in light of
Double Agent's hugely anti-climactic cliff-hanger of an ending. There really hasn't been one single shred of info on that game yet - other than sneakily leaked concept art off a dodgy Ubisoft FTP site - but past history has taught us to expect Splinter Cell games pretty much annually...for the most part. Will Fisher clear his name? Does daylight beckon once again? Or is it straight back to the shadows where old Sammy boy belongs? Far more importantly...will the bleedin' camera work this time? One thing we do know is it'll be sticking exclusively to the Microsoft platforms this time around.
Oh sick buuuurn!
Heavenly Sword
(PS3)
The Pitch: Looking to be one of the first true stand-out classics for the PS3, Heavenly Sword mixes stunning animation and next-gen visuals with a third person martial arts experience like no other.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Kinetic kung-fun meets exquisite animation in Heavenly Sword...one of PS3's most wanted |
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While those too afraid to make that ?450 leap of faith still have God of War 2 to look forward to on the good old PS2 next year, us way-too-rich for our own good next-genners will be focusing our attention squarely on Heavenly Sword for our beat 'em up fix. A third person brawler boasting the most outrageously gorgeous art and animation you've ever seen, Heavenly Sword seems destined to go down as potential head smacker of the year by all accounts. Old Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, even makes a digital appearance as the game's primary villain, proudly displaying his now legendary motion-capture, voice acting talent in a video game for the first time. Match made in heaven?
Although hardly a new title, I also have to throw much excitement towards Ninja Gaiden Sigma on that similar beat 'em up tip. Little more than a remake of the classic Xbox
title - re-bundled with beefed-up visuals and a bonus side story for PS3 owners - my undying Gaiden fandom will no doubt see me buying this god damn game for a
third fucking time in the new year.
Combined with Heavenly Sword - not to mention the upcoming Devil May Cry sequel - it looks like Sony's black beast may well be the platform of choice for beat 'em up fans in the coming war. If Mr. "Sex Pest" Itagaki's vague hints are to be believed mind you, perhaps we'll see that full blown Ninja Gaiden 2 we all yearn for before the year's out as well. Is this one crucial Microsoft exclusive on the verge of going cross-platform?
Kane & Lynch - Dead Men
(PC/Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Ex-con Kane and his psychopathic side-kick Lynch hit the town in a Michael Mann-inspired third person massacre from Hitman developers IO Interactive.
GameTrailers Link
The titular characters of this game, Kane and Lynch, actually showed up in Hitman -
Blood Money if you paid close attention. Albeit solely in newspaper form, the boys made their own headlines in-between levels while Agent 47 simultaneously enjoyed his. As a game though, K&L sounds less like Hitman, and almost like a more character-focused take on that same Army of Two formula mentioned further up.
 | Be on the look-out for an ominous
white-haired assassin dressed in
grey... |
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You'll play the part of Kane. A former mercenary who's kidnapped off death-row by former associates, Kane's then tasked him with an all manner of dodgy heists and kidnap jobs, or he's told his wife and kid'll be murdered. Schizophrenic psychopath Lynch meanwhile tags along for the ride, the twist being, the two can't stand each other. Supposedly, Lynch - who befriended Kane on death-row - will lose his rag at regular intervals in fact, randomly punching women in the ace and murdering dudes whenever he gets the urge. Although strictly an offline split-screen affair, player two will get to enjoy playing this maniac in co-op mode to no doubt much hilarity.
Along with Lynch "spazzing out" and causing undue havoc, we're also promised more extravagant squad-based levels in which you control an entire team of friendlies, hinting back to IO's other critically acclaimed previous work, Freedom Fighters (which I really need to check out one of these damn days). Like Kane and Lynch themselves though, these squad mates'll also have their own individual identities and stories, ones which may conflict with your own missions and objectives as you progress.
Most interestingly of all though, are the humungous servings of Michael Mann peppered throughout every glimpse of this game so far, from the famous LA bank robbery scene in Heat, to that oh so blue night-club shoot-out in Collateral. Mmmmmm!
An official Heat game is currently in the works via
Brothers in Arms developers Gearbox incidentally, with rumours claiming it may go into either prequel or sequel territory depending on which big-name Hollywood talent signs on for voice-acting duties. As of right now there's no word on potential release dates either way...but 2007, please chaps. Or Waingro's comin'.
Metroid Prime 3 - Corruption
(Wii)
The Pitch: Much-loved space-hopping bounty hunter Samus Aran returns for another first person Metroid spin-off adventure, this time utilising that barmy new Wii functionality we're all so desperate to get our hands on.
GameTrailers Link
 | Metroid goes next-gen!
Sorta |
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When it came to sitting down and compiling a list of all my most wanted games for 2007, it was worrying how little the Wii popped up. Not only is it lumbered with perhaps the worst console launch line-up ever seen (Zelda aside)...but the future doesn't look particularly bright either. Many will ring the bells of Super Mario Galaxy as some kinda saviour, but that game ain't particularly revvin' my engine so far, and until we hear word of true Wii-mote enabled Star Fox and F-Zero games, my interest in the system remains somewhat tepid at the minute.
That all said, there is one single saving grace. Metroid Prime 3 is on its way, and looks friggin' killer. The FPS game that isn't, Metroid's right up there as one of the better Nintendo franchises around these days for me, and even if this were little more than a simple continuation of Echoes - its rather splendid Gamecube predecessor - one would still be rubbing crotch at the mere prospect. To chuck in that Wii functionality on top though? Full blown FPS controls? Even some spruced up visuals? My god...system potential am realised!
It's strange how for all the promise the Wii held as the saviour of console FPS games, developers seem to be having a much harder time taming that controller than expected. Cast your mind out of the Red Steel gutter though, as word of mouth speaks of Metroid finally nailing it all but perfectly. That awful light fun feel - in which you drag the Wii-mote against the edges of the screen to turn - is reportedly still there, but can apparently be switched off in favour of a full-on "hardcore" FPS mode this time, in which the reticule stays glued to the center of the screen ala good old PC shooters. In fact, you may well be pulling off split second 180? turns that even a keyboard 'n' mouser envies...
Expect greatness.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
(Systems Unconfirmed)
The Pitch: The Ghosts return to Mexico for more third person tactical squad-based shooting from the mind of Tom Clancy, building on one of 2006's most entertaining and down-right impressive titles right across the board.
No Footage Available
Confusing name conventions aside (shouldn't this be Ghost Recon 4?), Dig couldn't be more ecstatic about the recent announcement of a GRAW2. Heck, I don't even need a ton of newness from this outing; just chuck in another campaign, a bunch of additional co-op maps, and spruce up them online graphics, et voila...pay day, Ubi-soft.
Rough
scans of this bad boy can be found floating around on the interwebs already, accompanied mainly by mutterings of "GRAW 1.5" for the net's more jaded, but screw the lot of ya, that's fine with me.
GRAW's single player mode looked - and still does - like a movie in places after all. We're told never the less to expect hugely revamped graphical weather effects for this follow-up, including full-on sandstorms, rain and even wind.
The sequel will reportedly offer up much more varied locales too, with forests and mountains joining the classic inter-city combat we enjoyed previously. Vehicles will be fully driveable in addition, hopefully adding a little more exploration and freedom to your paths through the various streets and roads.
Ubi are a rare breed of developer who have the mad skills to push out relentless yearly updates to their many franchises without ever skimping on quality, and with that in mind I have high hopes GRAW2 won't disappoint this March. Most of all, I eagerly await the return of them good old 16 player co-op nights we all loved so much...tissues firmly in hand.
Too Human
(Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Silicon Knights' long-awaited and much delayed follow-up to Eternal Darkness, this time venturing into futuristic third person beat 'em up territory.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Too Human hints back to Fight Night 3's dual analogue control setup, with different rolls and taps pulling off a varied range of attacks and combos |
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Although Too Human was originally slated for release years ago on the Gamecube, its endless delays and subsequent re-imagining on the 360 have done little to subdue the immense hype and promise surrounding its every facet. Well, that was until this past E3, which show-cased positively awful in-game footage that looked like some kinda broke-arse PS2 game.
Silicon Knights have since withdrawn back into the shadows, promising not to show the sucker again until it does their original vision justice, which - dodgy footage aside - still tickles my nips I must say.
Too Human's ultimate goal is to be a super-slick sci-fi twist on Devil May Cry by the looks it, mixing crazy-fast sword fights with spur-of-the-moment gunplay at the drop of a hat. We're promised a far deeper and more interactive experience than that though, with not only a more off-the-wall control system for your cybernetic warrior, but also a ton of additional RPG and adventure game elements thrown in on top. Nice.
It certainly sounds ambitious - and the company's credentials give 'em due cause to promise the world - but I'd love to see exactly how much progress has been made since that iffy E3 unveiling earlier this year. All being well, it should hit stores first quarter of '07.
Metal Gear Solid 4 - Guns of the Patriots
(PS3)
The Pitch: Solid Snake returns in supposedly his final tale. More bizarre, third person, stealthy spy action and nonsensical but utterly captivating hour-long cinematics that promise a ride and a half like you've never seen before.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Will #4 mark the game where we actually get to pull of super bad arse kung-fu shit like this ourselves? Rather than just...ya know...watch it in another cut-scene... |
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If the latest, and somewhat worrying rumours are to be believed, MGS4 could in fact see a slip to 2008. It'd mark a sad day for Sony if their biggest exclusive gun wasn't around to combat Halo 3's explosive launch in the late holiday season, but I'm afraid it gets even worse for old Phil and Ken...EGM magazine are now claiming murmurings of a 360 port further down the line on top.
Sony teh doomed sensationalizing aside, I couldn't be more psyched for this game the more I hear about it. After working my way through the previous Metal Gear games
recently, the return of Solid Snake holds a huge wad of excitement in my scrote right now, especially in light of how captivating each and every trailer's been thus far.
Supposedly, the action's been ramped up over previous Metal Gears too, meaning what little stealth the series offered up could be all but gone at this point. I'm also hearing word of interesting and innovative motion controller functionality, along with a brand new over-the-shoulder GRAW-style camera in its gun-play. Wise move.
Even if recent next-gen games have taken away some of the sheer spectacle of MGS4's (admittedly rather glorious) visuals, Guns of the Patriots still sounds like the most exciting and emotional game of the series thus far. The thought of Snake whacking dudes from the bushes and hiding in boxes with true next-gen power backing him up for a change could well result in potential game of the year for many...
...as long as the old bugger don't slip.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadows of Chernobyl
(PC)
The Pitch: A free-roaming, open ended FPS adventure in which you scavenge valuable relics from the wastelands of Chernobyl, whilst contending with ludicrously smart fellow stalkers and hideously mutated life-forms trying to gobble you in the willy.
GameTrailers Link
 | Relax, the final game'll look a lot better.
I hope |
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It's pretty much become tradition for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to appear on the annual Diggler "games to look forward to" list, even if at this point it shows up more out of common courtesy and a cheap giggle. The game only Duke Nukem Forever can outmatch as the brunt of vapourware gags, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. still holds some undying interest within my heart regardless. Developers GSC have admitted to poor project management and the ripping out of several core features over the years, but still promise the game is shaping up nicely and coming out Q1 of next year.
With the likes of sleep and food removed from the game though, will it still have that stark originality to keep it away from the glut of other cookie cutter FPS games we so regularly see every month? I dunno about you, but I was particularly psyched at the thought of venturing into such a fully realised world, one in which finding shelter for the night and tracking down grub to keep your body functioning underpinned the experience with a brutal and tense realism. Without such extravagant depth, this game's sounding more and more like a severely watered-down Oblivion with guns.
Perhaps S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will surprise us all the day we finally get to see it though, and if nothing else, its most recent snapshots showcase a beautiful visual upgrade that almost makes those earlier trailers and screens look like some kinda last-gen prequel never released.
SSX Blur
(Wii/Possibly Others)
The Pitch: The world's greatest extreme sports snowboarding racer returns, promising more beautifully laid-back down-hill action, this time via a little golden shower action on Nintendo's Wii.
GameTrailers Link
 | | 'Scuse the crap-o-rama quality, but at least it lives up to its name. Blocky YouTube vids provide our only glimpse at Blur thus far |
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Pretty much the only other Wii game on my radar right now, but one I couldn't be more buzzed for regardless. As I've preached many a time in the past, SSX3's like crack to me. I love that game down to my very soul, even in spite of the fact that...shhhh...I really couldn't give a fuck about real-life snowboarding.
There's just magic on that disc which I can't explain though. Blazing down them luminous slopes with the wind in your hair - R?yksopp blaring out from the speakers as you do - inexplicably provides the most thrilling sensation no other game can even vaguely match, next-gen or not. And yet it still remains one of the most charmingly chilled-out experiences ever made at the same time. Pleasant sigh.
This upcoming sequel was only announced the very same very day I sat down to write this article, hence any vague info whatsoever remains firmly locked up in the EA vaults for now. What are we looking at here exactly, a brand new Wii exclusive? A simple remake of the previous games? Or a typical EA cross-platform rape-o-thon? No one knows at this point, but I will say this...SSX is one game I could easily forego flashy HD graphics and 5.1 sound in favour of that scaled-down jaggy-vision Wii port...'cos I'm telling you right now...motion sensitive snowboarding?
FUCK YEAH!
Mercenaries 2 - World in Flames
(PS3)
The Pitch: Sequel to the oh so brilliant yet painfully under-rated GTA meets Battlefield shooter, in which you carried out missions and objectives from competing nations amidst an epic war-zone.
GameTrailers Link
While the sequels may continue, Mercenaries is another franchise I'd be more than happy to see milked over and over until the end of time. In act, I'm currently revisiting the
original game as we speak, desperate to finally polish off that mother freaking campaign, and having a blast in the process I must say. Well, despite the fact - my god - that fucker's
long.
 | Call it a hunch, but I got the feeling that oil refinery's about to go...
BOOM! |
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Once again Mercs 2 throws the player into a massive, wide-open, GTA-style free-foaming world, yet once again one set within the far more interesting confines of an ongoing war. The action takes place in Venezuela this time around, with a plot centred on competing superpowers battling over oil rights. Hit home, much?
Little's been seen so far of this baby, although the scant available vid feeds do show some considerably beefed up vehicular handling, along with - much like last time - a super strong emphasis on physics and environmental destruction.
As mentioned in the past, it's this game's two player mode which gets me the most excited though. While Mercs was an amazing (and surprising) experience that just seemed to come out of nowhere, one couldn't help but notice how much more fun the whole thing would have been with a buddy in-tow. That's exactly what we get here. In fact, if Pandemic can get the two player functionality running online (they're "looking into it", apparently), Mercs 2 could well be that one elusive title to show-case what the PS3 Network's truly capable of.
I can't wait for this game as a result, and advise every single person reading this to snag the freakin' first Mercenaries if they still haven't done so. It goes for a meagre 7 odd quid at this point for fuck's sake.
Yet fear not 360 owners. While you may not have confirmation either way on an Xbox port right now, you do still have your very own co-oppy GTA rip-off coming out in the form of futuristic cell-shaded arse-kicker Crackdown, also due next year. The art design may not be for everyone, but this first party super-hero style free-roamer (which showed up on last year's 2006 list if I remember correctly) promises an overabundance of destined-to-be-great two-player hilarity, if nowt else.
Fable 2
(Xbox 360)
The Pitch: The sequel to gaming god Peter Molyneux's open-ended single player adventure beaut of 2004, promising to fulfil a ton of empty promises left dangling from the admittedly still amazing original.
GameTrailers Link
 | | CGI-tastic, but with Lionhead at the helm, one would hope the final game looks comparable |
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Despite the fact Fable rather infamously failed to deliver on many of its initial promises, I was a huge
fan of that game regardless. It felt like Zelda had come to the Xbox, and bought along some neat new tricks of its own to boot. Breaking into houses and robbing stores remains some of the best fun in any game, ever, in fact, and beat
Oblivion to the punch by a good couple o' years at the whole RPG/sandbox thang.
Despite next to no info on its 2007 sequel, master of hype Peter Molyneux has explicitly stated a lot of those early promises from Fable will finally show up this time around. You will for instance, be able to plant a tree wherever you so choose as a child, then watch it grow in size as you yourself grow into an adult throughout the course of the game. This ability to affect the environment with your character's actions seems to a fundamental focus of the entire experience in fact, opening up that overall sense of freedom and interaction big time. You'll even be able to make babies and create your own family, all within the overarching umbrella of a third person hack 'n' slash adventure game in which you (no doubt) save the world.
Or rule over it with an iron fist.
What Peter promises to be the most gobsmacking new and utterly ludicrous feature though, still remains firmly under wraps. We're told it'll blow our minds and is unlike anything we've ever seen before however...which somewhat goes against his previous promise to tone down the hype-o-meter this time.
Either way, I can't wait to return to Albion once again. First thing I'll do is go skipping through those picturesque woods again like a gay little bitch.
BioShock
(PC/Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Another open-ended FPS-cum-RPG adventure, this time set in a beautiful yet tortured underwater utopia...designed to scare the rocking horse shit outta you.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Trapped beneath the ocean, BioShock's a claustrophobe's worst nightmare |
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Hot on the tail of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. we find BioShock, another open-ended FPS attempting to reinvent the genre from the ground up. The latest title from much-hailed System Shock 2 developers Irrational Games, BioShock takes that same sense of unease, dread and solitude they nailed so spectacularly, then takes it deep down underwater into the beautiful yet haunted, and extremely unnerving city of Rapture. What did they expect with a fucking name like that?!
While your standard running and gunning exists as always, BioShock promises a whole lot more on top. Freeform exploration, DNA mutations, special powers, hacking devices, and a wealth of different quests to constantly keep you busy. It might as well be called Deus Ex - Under the Sea.
Check out the 10 minute long video
demo if you haven't yet...just bring along some spare nappies for good measure.
Mass Effect
(Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Single player RPG gods BioWare's latest work of epic proportions, in which you play the captain of a star-ship, exploring the galaxy and thwarting the world domination plans of a former comrade gone rogue.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Check out the boards if you ain't been following this one. Screenshot floods and amazing footage awaits |
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That one game I'd happily gargle toilet water, sell my cats over, or even nibble a little faeces for if it meant snagging a copy early. Mass Effect is my most anticipated game right now you see, BioWare's expert sense of storytelling and character interaction matching truly gorgeous sci-fi art design that puts the likes of...pretty much everything else on this page to horrendous shame. Thrown in with dauntingly huge, Oblivion-esque planet-hopping freedom that could run up the game's length to ludicrous hours? Say no more. Sold.
Yet there
is more. Finally we've had a glimpse of the combat thanks to recently released Mtv footage, and "fucking brilliant" does it no justice. It seems BioWare have taken Mass Effect's running on the same underlying tech as Gears of War quite literally (aka the Unreal 3 engine), by busting out super bad arse third person shooter mechanics that render the likes of Final Fantasy laughable in their comparative blandness. Expect tons of ace physics, meaty explosions, and awesome Force style "dark energy" powers in which lots of craaaazy shit happens at your very own finger tips.
Plot-wise, you play a "Spectre", Mass Effect's guardians of peace and prosperity (Jedi, much?), tracking down a former member who's apparently commanding his own army to take over the universe. Despite the lack of concrete details on huge chunks of what this entails exactly, such as how the space exploration works, and what sort of side content we can expect, BioWare still maintain an early 2007 release date on this baby at the time of writing. Boner-rific!
Murmurs also ring out from multiple sources of a KOTOR 3 in the works by someone, somewhere at this very moment in time as well...could that be yet another BioWare production deep in development? And more importantly...could we see it as early as 2007? We can live on in hope I guess, but if not...Mass should be more than enough for me.
I need this game.
Alan Wake
(PC/Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Silent Hill-esque third person horror craziness abound, as insomniac writer Alan Wake retires to a small mountain town to get away from it all, and his nightmares start to spill over into the real world.
GameTrailers Link
 | | The latest cinematic graphic novel from the creators of Max Payne, expect style, mood...and a whole heap o' scares |
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While Alan is starting to piss The Dig off a wee bit at this point, due to his sheer unwillingness to spill even the tiniest of beans as to just what the
shit he is exactly, recently unveiled footage of the sucker in action was so jaw-droppingly gorgeous as to cast all doubts from the mind of us long-awaiting fans desperate to get our mitts on the bugger.
Bad news comes in the form of ludicrous system requirements on the PC side of things, mind. Not only has it been confirmed as Vista-only now, but the fact Wake was recently used to demo upcoming Intel-based quad-core CPU systems, doesn't bode particularly well for those still struggling with outdated machines of yester-millennium.
We know it's a third person adventure game of sorts. We know you can also drive vehicles. We know light plays an integral role. And we know it's gonna be head-fuck scary. But beyond that? It's all cloud and mystery right now.
What
are you exactly, Mr Wake?
Motor Storm
(PS3)
The Pitch: Extreme off-road racing pushed to the max, as buggies, lorries, quads bikes and err, garbage trucks go head to head in full-on, mammoth, demented racing craziness that words do no justice.
GameTrailers Link
 | | What little time I've spent on the PS3 so far has pretty much all been with this gobsmackingly awesome title |
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The final PS3 game featured here, but also the one closest to release, Motor Storm should be out in Japan a mere week or two after you read this.
A brutal and hilarious revamp of the much-loved Burnout formula, Motor Storm takes that same high speed, rough 'n' tumble, smash 'em up racing experience, then rackets it up a notch for the next generation. Blazing across vertigo-inducing canyons and wide-open mountainsides, the game pulls off the noisy, bustling sensation of rocketing along in a high-powered automobile perhaps better than any other game we've ever seen before. And all without rumble.
Unluckily for Japanese gamers, their 2006 release lacks any sort of online functionality whatsoever, which coupled with Motor Storm's apparent (and disappointing) lack of any split-screen play, means it'll be a worryingly single player experience for them. Fear not such things for its 2007 Western release though, Evolution Studios are bolting on full online play over the Playstation Network, which should elevate this game from simple, crazy fun, to all-out system selling brilliance...and most likely the first triple AAA exclusive for Sony's new super machine.
Do not underestimate this game.
Dragon Age
(PC)
The Pitch: BioWare return to their more medieval roots, in a Baldur's Gate style D&D RPG, strictly for the PC crowd.
No Footage Available
BioWare's other big game for 2007 gets a plug here on heritage alone, although I'd be lying if I said I knew a huge amount about it at this point. Expect pure medieval (and extremely dark) Tolkien stylings this time around though, along with slightly more conventional RPG combat and game mechanics than some of their more recent offerings, possibly providing a pleasing contrast next to Mass Effect's more futuristic and cutting edge vibe.
Speaking of which, we do know Mass Effect's impressive looking and much-hyped conversation system is said to show up here however, which endows the player with far more freedom with their character interactions than simply selecting lines of dialogue from a list as we're used to. You can for instance, interrupt NPCs mid-conversation if you want, and even draw weaponry to threaten them.
If Canada's finest deliver another character-focused, riveting ride into single player RPG territory, I'll be all over this one next year. That is, providing it doesn't slip to 2008 as we're hearing it now may...
Lost Planet - Extreme Condition
(Xbox 360)
The Pitch: A post apocalyptic snow-covered universe that'd keep Mr Plow busy for years provides the setting for Capcom's upcoming attempt at a quintessential Japanese hardcore shooter. If such a thing exists...
GameTrailers Link
 | | Gears of War or not, Lost Planet's still one of the better looking games around right now |
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Sitting alongside a ton of other long-awaited Capcom beauties stencilled in for the coming year or two, I'll resist the urge to plaster Resi 5 all over this list as we
still don't have one single shred of news on when that sucker's coming out. At least Devil May Cry 4 should pop up at some point within the first half of the year if we're lucky.
Lost Planet here is due any damn day now in Japan though, and looks better and better the more we get to see of it. We'll have to wait 'til early next year for our rendition, but recent trailers appearing on the Marketplace - showcasing the most gobsmackingly amazing gameplay your eyes have ever witnessed - make one presume the wait'll be worth it. With that trademark sense of flair and artistry only the Japanese seem to nail so precisely, Lost Planet oozes the pretty like no other.
A revenge tail in which you battle a race of insect-like aliens who supposedly killed your father, it'll be interesting to see how Japanese gamers - traditionally very anti-FPS in their tastes and play-styles - react to a more home-grown take on the genre though. Along with your more traditional ground-based blasting, Lost Planet also boasts huge fucking mechs to pilot, a big cheesy orchestral score and the sort of ultra-stylish cinematic cut-scenes that Japanese gamers tend to get insta-wood over. Will the underlying shooty shoot gameplay hold it back when all's said and done?
Unfortunately for me, that recent multiplayer demo pretty much solidified this game as a single player-only experience either way. It's fine, don't get me wrong, but at the same time is definitely no Gears, no Rainbow and not even a Call of Duty. Nope, I want epic single player, bug slaughtering craziness from Lost Planet and not much else, but at least in that respect, it looks set to deliver by the bucket-load.
Halo 3
(Xbox 360)
The Pitch: Gaming's biggest and most successful franchise returns to "finish the fight" once and for all.
GameTrailers Link
 | | Doesn't look like much now? Try again in a year. This will be the game of holiday season |
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Finally, I just gotta suck Bungie's dick a little. It's freakin' Halo after all! My ball-hair's standing on end just thinking about it.
That said, even as an uber Halo fanboy of worrying proportions, I've been a little underwhelmed with the various screenshots released so far. I'll take the word of the Bungie boys themselves that these super early pre-alpha snaps in no way resemble what the final game will look like, but one hopes more mind-blowing imagery is on its way soon.
What do we know so far about Halo 3 then? Well it's to conclude the Master Chief story for one. We also know new weapons, grenades and vehicles are all in. Strong emphasis continues to be placed online too, with a return of the much-loved party system and matchmaking setup that made Halo 2 such a riot to play with your pals. All good news.
Beyond that, details remain scarce though. 1up.com did recently run a week long info
flood however, detailing some of those new gadgets you'll get to play round with, as well going over the various multiplayer maps they got to play-test, so if you require every last single scrap of Halo info you can get your hairy mitts on, I'd advise you to check that out while we await more concrete infos.
We may well see Halo's RTS spin-off Halo Wars released in 2007 if we're lucky too. While the genre ain't for everyone - me included - the thought of commanding massive waves of Warthogs, Ghosts and Banshees in balls-to-the-wall online skirmishes sounds pretty frickin' cool to me actually, and I'm sure I ain't alone.
What else can I say though? I'm calling it right now. Halo 3. Game of the year. I mean come on;
that universe?
That online system?
Those devs?
This generation? Magic happens with this sorta chemistry.
Then again, with Gears of War so recently rocking my world, expectations for this game have skyrocketed through the friggin' roof. The onus is on Bungie now to step up...can they topple the big new cheese on the block?
You know, I think they can.
