We're now in the home stretch toward the 2008 holiday season, which means the traditional gaming glut is about to be unleashed on wallets everywhere. If you're a gamer, particularly one who likes SF-ish games, there is a lot to look forward to. Fun for you, dangerous for your wallet.
Dead Space
(Oct. 14th) Dead Space is a SF survival/horror game from EA. It takes place aboard the USG Ishimura, a ship that's been overrun by hostiles and all the crew killed. You play a repair tech sent to help fix the ship, who has to do whatever it takes to survive once aboard. Think Event Horizon meets Half-Life's Gordon Freeman. The early buzz has been positive, and the trailers make it look really good. And besides, who doesn't like a little 'strategic dismemberment' in their game? That alone puts it on my list. The rest is just icing. Single player only, so you'd assume some attempt has been made to work on the story.
Fable 2
(Oct. 21st) Fable 2 is Lionhead Studios and Peter Molyneuax's 'sequel' to the somewhat disappointing Fable. Building on the first game, Fable 2 is an action RPG where, as they say, every action has a consequence. Every choice you make affects how the NPCs in the game perceive you and react to you. You can go full evil, goody two shoes, or somewhere in between. The game world, and your character, will reflect your actions. They've also taken a page from the old skool Rogue/Nethack games and given you a dog to pal around with. While being single player only at launch, they have promised a patch soon after to allow for multiplayer coop gaming, where you can invite your friends in on demand to help you with the quests. This is really nice and, if it's as seamless as they claim, should be an incredibly fun addition. I liked the first Fable so this one is also on my list.
Fallout 3
(Oct. 28th) This is it. The big kahoona of the season. Bethesda launches the long awaited sequel to Fallout 1 and 2 amid a metric @$$ load of hype and anticipation. Based on the Oblivion engine, Fallout 3 promises to redefine the post-apocalyptic RPG the same way Oblivion did for fantasy RPGs, mainly by giving you the freedom to go and do anything, much like Fable 2, but with a sly sense of humor. Just check out the website to see what I mean. Now, I've never really played the first two Fallouts, but this one looks really sweet. Everything about it screams 'first-rate', from the art direction to the writing, so it is, of course, on my list. So now I have to decide which of these games Tim gets to buy so I can borrow from him. This one I'll be buying though. Again, a single player game only, so they should have concentrated on creating an interesting story to tell. As Tim would say, "Damn them for concentrating on story! Don't they know I have friends to kill in multiplayer? What about my needs?"
Command and Conquer: Read Alert 3
(Oct. 28th) Despite the somewhat unwieldy title, they managed to get Tim Curry and George Takei as voice actors. Red Alert 3 continues the wildly successful Command and Conquer series, sticking with the tried and true, and lame, RTS formula. Gather, build, Zerg, rinse, repeat. Still, many people like this kind of thing, and RA 3 promises more of the same, but better. Not on my list for bring an RTS. On Tim's list for being an RTS and Tim Curry. Bald guys named Tim stick together for some reason.
Gears of War 2
(Nov. 11th) The other contender for big kahoonaness, Gears of War 2 continues the story from last years Gears of War, with humanity on the brink of total annihilation at the hands of the Locust Horde. Can our intrepid band of malcontents save the day? Probably.Where GoW1 focused on action, violence and chainsaws, GoW2 attempts to add some depth to the characters, especially everyone's favorite brain-dead AI, Dom. I though GoW1 was really good, with a decent story, so I'm looking forward to this one. And with coop play built in, 'Down Again' Dom is only slightly less brain dead when Tim joins in and takes over the character. He at least will step into the line of fire. Mine or the enemy's, it doesn't matter. This is an autobuy, so my wallet is approaching a nervous breakdown. And any game that has its own line of kickin' shoes can't be bad.
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels
(Nov. 11th) Lightsaber Duels is the only Wii title on this list, and it's only here because the idea of using the Wii remote and nunchuck to simulate swinging a lightsabre and using Force powers is intriguing to the Star Wars geek in me. Sadly, it looks to be more of a fighting game than a lightsaber simulation so I expect it to be light on the controls and heavy on the twitch factor. In other words, I expect to be beaten to a bloody pulp by my kids much the same as they do to me in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Darn kids. Not for me, but maybe for the kids on down the line.
Mirror's Edge
(Nov. 11th) Mirror's Edge kind of sneaked up on me. I hadn't heard much about it till recently when I learned that Dice, the guys behind the EA Battlefield series had written this as a single player only game, which intrigued me. After seeing the in-game footage, I'm even more intrigued by its free running meets The Fly game mechanic. Place it in a near future society where the government is cracking down on everything, and it's a SF game that has possibilities. Others have played parts of it and say it shows promise. On my watch list. Good reviews will do wonders for potential purchase.
Left 4 Dead
(Nov. 17th) Left 4 Dead is a pure survival/horror/zombie game which pits you, and up to 3 friends, against the endless zombie horde. Designed to be played in multiplayer, this one looks like a winner. You and friends vs. the endless zombie/mutant hordes, what's not to like? And it's based on the Source engine which means my PC can actually play this game. Mouse and keyboard here I come! If the other guys around SF Signal World HQ get this, I'm in.
There you have it, all the SF-ish games coming out over the next month and a half. Most of them intriguing on some level, with several 'must haves' for me. Note that, for me, I will be looking at these games for purchase on either a 360 or a PC. YMMV on other systems. Now I just need to figure out how to actually play all of these games in a reasonable time frame.
What games are you looking forward to this holiday season?
Comments (8)
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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 1:23 PM
© 2008 SF Signal
Star Ocean First Departure is coming out for the PSP on the 21st. It's was never released here in America until now. If you want to get your scifi RPG on, this game is it.
Dead Space looks like a winner. I saw some early reviews claiming it has brought new things to the genre of survival horror--plus one claims it's the scariest game ever made. The whole dismember-to-kill thing makes me think of Soul Reaver where you had to kill enemies by using specific ways (impaling for one).
Posted by E_I on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Fallout 3 is a 'must have'. Not so sure about Fable 2 given I found the first to be dissapointing. I'll probably wait and see what the reviews are. I never finished Gears of War probably because I got it after my friends and barely played multi-player so I'm hoping GoW2 gets me in on the ground floor.
I'll probably wait on Dead Space and Mirror's Edge until I see the reviews.
Posted by scottsh on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 4:04 PM
My son and I are pining for DIABLO III, but no release date yet.
Posted by Larry on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Larry - Blizzcon is this weekend and Blizzard has already indicated that Diablo 3 is farther ahead on thier release schedule than Starcraft 2. My hope is that while WOW and its new expansion will have its share of the limelight being on the cusp of release, but they will also dedicate more time to this next title coming up. I am very much interested in D3 since I feel they are making the right changes to match what Iron Lore did with Titan's Quest.
Posted by Tim on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 7:33 PM
I'd be happy finding a Wii. Or, rather, my daughter would be happy if I found one so she could use it!
Posted by Fred Kiesche on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 9:51 PM
To get me off the computer so she can have Internet time, my wife wants to ge me an Xbox 360 so I can play "Elder Scrolls."
Posted by Jim Shannon on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 2:23 AM
Jim,
Do it! How often does your wife say "You should get an Xbox 360." Seriously.
I like mine a lot, and now that I can stream videos to it from my PC upstairs, I see it getting a lot more use besides gaming...
JP
Posted by jp on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 8:06 AM
As sad as it is that you've never played FO 1 and 2, I must say that you have an advantage in the expectations and comparative history department. I'm certainly not a rabid "it *must* be developed by Black Isle" type of FO fan, but I have never been that stoked by Bethesda's RPGs (to be fair, I've only tried Morrowind, and it just didn't grab my interest.)
What I do like about FO 3 is that Emil Pagliarulo is the lead designer, and he has history on his side in the form of Looking Glass Studios (RIP.) The system's still S.P.E.C.I.A.L. This Fallout takes place on the East Coast instead of in California, so I think the setting will be make it easier to divorce 1 & 2 and will provide fresh scenery and background.
Dead Space's surface plot screams System Shock 2; I might pick up used. Only new if the reviews are superlative. I'll wait a long time to pick up Fable 2, as I've never been completely stoked by Molyneux's games, including Fable 1 and Black & White.
Games that I wish I was excited about (all on PC
X3: Terran Conflict and Dark Horizon. The X series has never done anything for me except to bore me, and Dark Horizon looks like a dollar store space sim. I do have Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment, a mini-expansion, to look forward to, although it's strategy and purely third-person space combat.
I think my skiffy game of the autumn/holiday season is going to be the one I'm currently playing: The Witcher Enhanced Edition (PC fantasy RPG.) For me, this year is nothing like last year's, with the promise of Mass Effect, Bioshock, Halo 3, and Gears 1 (Fun to play in co-op. I may grab Gears 2 just for that reason, certainly not for depth of characterization or story-telling.)
Posted by Waz on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 4:05 PM