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Now that Modern Warfare 2 is out of the way…
What will be the next BIG game?
Modern Warfare 2 has just broken the record books. 1.23 million units sold in the UK in one day. Estimated sales of $310 million in North America and the UK alone in the first 24 hours. Add to the mix a healthy sprinkling of controversy and a price war and what you end up with is a serious contender for Game of the Year. But are there any other surprises awaiting us video gamers in the coming months?
Let’s spend a few moments looking at the next five big releases heading to the shops later this year and early next.
Assassin's Creed 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
Assassins Creed was a beautiful game, but it had its flaws. The graphics were stunning, even jaw-dropping in places; running around the wonderful cities and landscapes was a joy to behold; there was vibrancy and reality to the game. However this feeling of wonderment quickly paled as you set into the routine and monotony of the quests and side-quests. I would even go around picking fights with guards just to break the feeling of tedium.
And yet Assassins Creed is still hailed as a modern masterpiece in video gaming, despite the negative feedback. So what better place to start for a sequel? Surely all Activision have to do is keep the good bits and get rid of the bad.
Keep the movement and mechanics, the fluid climbing and free-running controls, the roof-tops and the streets. Keep all that stuff because that was just about flawless.
Actually keep the missions and side-missions too. Just make them better. Give them more variation. Make them harder. And make the fighting a bit more than attack and counter.
This game will see you pick up the mantle of Desmond Miles again, with this game continuing moments after the end of the first game ends. Recalling the memories of his ancestors, this time we find ourselves in the boots of Ezio Auditore in Renaissance era Italy. As before you will have a ‘base’ you can call home (which this time is actually your family mansion). After what is said to be an ‘interesting’ tutorial you will soon be running courier missions and hand-to-hand combat assignments whilst deftly skipping across Italian rooftops. Add to that some new climbing-based puzzling as well as new assassinations skills and you are already beginning to see that Activision have made some steps in the right direction. A little bit of a plot twist here; a few secret codes and unlockable items there. And finally all the stunning vistas and sound you loved from the forebear.
Assassins Creed 2 is all set to be another masterpiece.
Left 4 Dead 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
How on earth do you improve on Left 4 Dead? More to the point, do you really need to improve a game like Left 4 Dead? A small section of their fan base seemed to think not, but an all expenses paid trip to California to see the new L4D2 seems to have laid that little revolt to rest. So what was it that so impressed them that they were happy to return home with their collective tail tucked between their collective legs.
The original L4D had an impressive multiplayer side to it. In fact it was so good that it eclipsed the single-player side of the game. And so they have stuck with this format for the sequel, as it was the one thing that didn’t need fixing. What they have changed, though, is in the detail. Some of them are big, whilst others are a bit more subtle.
First up, this one is set in the day. That’s right horror fans, no more contrived claustrophobia caused by that sense of not knowing what is beyond obsidian veil. This time you will be thrown in to mixture of open areas and close quarters, giving you a ‘real’ sense of panic that both situations are designed to give. When inside you will not know what is around the corner, if anything at all. Fear and dread will set in as you try to peek around the 2D door frame. When you are outside you will have to fight off the inevitable zombie hordes, with you and your mates taking up strategic positions for greatest effect.
A bit too similar so far? Well hopefully this next bit will quench zombie fans. Expect more blood, more gore, more violence and more variety of all the aforementioned. With Valve setting this installment during the day they have had to sharpen up the graphics. No more relaying on the dark and the shadows for effect.
Is there anything else? I should think so. Try more weapons, improved weapons, better ammo… and more zombies. They have added bigger and better melee weapons that make you feel like you want to use them rather than need to. They have added ammo packs that can be used as a weapon boost (how do weapon exploding bullets and incendiary rounds sound to you?). And the have added zombies that… ahh, that’s probably enough for now.
Expect more of the same, just better. And remember who your mates are.
Mass Effect 2
Release Date: 29th January 2010
What is being said?
Mass Effect was a brilliant RPG. It contained all of the classic RPG elements and presented them in a slick format that was quite stunning. It was modern. It was classic. It was visually breathtaking, had excellent dialogue, a great control system, and a superb story. Oh yeah, and it had combat like many good FPS’s available at the time. So can we expect ME2 to be any better?
The short answer is “Yes”.
The talk around ME2 is of it potentially being one of the best FPS’s of 2010, rather than the best RPG. Worried? Well you shouldn’t be. BioWare have kept all that was great before and made it better. Those stunning visuals we saw previously are still there, but even more amazing. The general graphics which were brilliant in the first can be seen again, but just that little bit more brilliant. More textures, more detail and more aliens. And gone, this time, is the annoying drop in framerate. But this is all fairly standard sequel stuff, right? Improve the visuals and fix the bugs.
Well we haven’t really brushed on the action yet, and this is where Bioware have made the most changes. The fighting should be more fluid and feel more real than before. Where you hit your enemy makes a big difference. You hit a guy in the shoulder and he’ll drop his weapon. You hit him in the leg and he’ll slow down. And if you hit him in the head, it really is a head shot. It feels less RPG the more you play, as you feel it is ‘your’ skill making the play rather than the computer. And there is limited ammo, so don’t think you can go in guns blazing this time. Make sure you pick your targets and use your team.
We are also promised a darker story with more complex characters and more engaging side quests. All in all a much richer and deeper Mass Effect. And I’m counting down the days already.
Bioshock 2
Release Date: 9th February 2010
What is being said?
Are there enough superlatives in this world to describe Bioshock? Probably not, and I’m not about to try listing them all. The ones you need to worry about are brilliant, atmospheric, and brilliant. I know I mentioned brilliant twice, but it is so important I thought I would highlight it.
It’s classic sci-fi. A dystopia set in a hostile environment. Something goes wrong and everyone dies. You find it, broken and leaking, and have to solve the riddle of what happened. Along the way you will face a number of baddies each of them trying to kill you. You will have weapons and special powers available to help you reach your end. Have I missed anything?
Oh yeah, the multiplayer that never was.
Not to worry, BS2 is promising to be a good addition to the multiplayer world. It’s what we have all been crying out for, and have been given. Same old weapons, but this time redesigned for the sake of the multiplayer experience. The same old plasmids, too, but this time with the option of quickfire, or saving up for a big blast. And how could I forget? The chance to step into a Big Daddy suit.
This is all set to be Bioshock on steroids. Do you need anything more from a video game?
Dead Rising 2
Release Date: Q1 2010
What is being said?
How many zombies do you think you could handle at once? One? Two? Ten?
Feeling lucky? Fancy your chances against 100? 200? 500?
That’s just what Dead Rising gave us. 1 vs 500 zombies. Now as ridiculous as that might seem DR2 has outshone its predecessor in this very department. 500 zombies is for wimps. Dead Rising 2 gives you 7,000 zombies in screen as once. That’s a 1300% increase!!
Left 4 Dead has given us the multiplayer experience we were all craving, however it was all thanks to Dead Rising that it existed at all. Capcom Japan gave us a unique zombie killing spree the likes of which the world had not seen before. Perhaps this was due to the East/West influences, or perhaps it was because they took everything we like about zombie flicks and made them into a game. Dead Rising was the perfect single player zombie video game.
Dead Rising 2 is the same. However this time there are more zombies and more means at your disposal of killing the aforementioned, flesh-eating undead. Everything is a weapon. And you’ll be surprised what I mean by everything.
You still get the hack-em and rack-em game style, but with more imagination. This time of asking you will take the role of “handyman” Chuck Greene. And like the first made use of Frank’s talents, so this one will do the same. A handyman is good at making things, and that might come in useful when you find a load of stuff lying around and a horde of zombies chasing your tail. Creating your own weapons sounds cool enough, but the potential of being able to do it with clothing just sounds a lot cooler.
Not convinced? Well rest assured DR2 has given its own makeover to the gore as L4D2 has done. This time they have developed a new technology which reacts to the way you cut things and/or chop them up. Slash at a limb and it will fly off. Hack at a torso and it will split in half. Where you cut so the cut appears, it is that clever. And of course when you cut a zombie in two you need lots of blood, and lots of it there is.
The old bugs have been fixed (again), and replaced with a zombie death count to die for. It’s set to be a cracker.
What will be the next BIG game?
Modern Warfare 2 has just broken the record books. 1.23 million units sold in the UK in one day. Estimated sales of $310 million in North America and the UK alone in the first 24 hours. Add to the mix a healthy sprinkling of controversy and a price war and what you end up with is a serious contender for Game of the Year. But are there any other surprises awaiting us video gamers in the coming months?
Let’s spend a few moments looking at the next five big releases heading to the shops later this year and early next.
Assassin's Creed 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
Assassins Creed was a beautiful game, but it had its flaws. The graphics were stunning, even jaw-dropping in places; running around the wonderful cities and landscapes was a joy to behold; there was vibrancy and reality to the game. However this feeling of wonderment quickly paled as you set into the routine and monotony of the quests and side-quests. I would even go around picking fights with guards just to break the feeling of tedium.
And yet Assassins Creed is still hailed as a modern masterpiece in video gaming, despite the negative feedback. So what better place to start for a sequel? Surely all Activision have to do is keep the good bits and get rid of the bad.
Keep the movement and mechanics, the fluid climbing and free-running controls, the roof-tops and the streets. Keep all that stuff because that was just about flawless.
Actually keep the missions and side-missions too. Just make them better. Give them more variation. Make them harder. And make the fighting a bit more than attack and counter.
This game will see you pick up the mantle of Desmond Miles again, with this game continuing moments after the end of the first game ends. Recalling the memories of his ancestors, this time we find ourselves in the boots of Ezio Auditore in Renaissance era Italy. As before you will have a ‘base’ you can call home (which this time is actually your family mansion). After what is said to be an ‘interesting’ tutorial you will soon be running courier missions and hand-to-hand combat assignments whilst deftly skipping across Italian rooftops. Add to that some new climbing-based puzzling as well as new assassinations skills and you are already beginning to see that Activision have made some steps in the right direction. A little bit of a plot twist here; a few secret codes and unlockable items there. And finally all the stunning vistas and sound you loved from the forebear.
Assassins Creed 2 is all set to be another masterpiece.
Left 4 Dead 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
How on earth do you improve on Left 4 Dead? More to the point, do you really need to improve a game like Left 4 Dead? A small section of their fan base seemed to think not, but an all expenses paid trip to California to see the new L4D2 seems to have laid that little revolt to rest. So what was it that so impressed them that they were happy to return home with their collective tail tucked between their collective legs.
The original L4D had an impressive multiplayer side to it. In fact it was so good that it eclipsed the single-player side of the game. And so they have stuck with this format for the sequel, as it was the one thing that didn’t need fixing. What they have changed, though, is in the detail. Some of them are big, whilst others are a bit more subtle.
First up, this one is set in the day. That’s right horror fans, no more contrived claustrophobia caused by that sense of not knowing what is beyond obsidian veil. This time you will be thrown in to mixture of open areas and close quarters, giving you a ‘real’ sense of panic that both situations are designed to give. When inside you will not know what is around the corner, if anything at all. Fear and dread will set in as you try to peek around the 2D door frame. When you are outside you will have to fight off the inevitable zombie hordes, with you and your mates taking up strategic positions for greatest effect.
A bit too similar so far? Well hopefully this next bit will quench zombie fans. Expect more blood, more gore, more violence and more variety of all the aforementioned. With Valve setting this installment during the day they have had to sharpen up the graphics. No more relaying on the dark and the shadows for effect.
Is there anything else? I should think so. Try more weapons, improved weapons, better ammo… and more zombies. They have added bigger and better melee weapons that make you feel like you want to use them rather than need to. They have added ammo packs that can be used as a weapon boost (how do weapon exploding bullets and incendiary rounds sound to you?). And the have added zombies that… ahh, that’s probably enough for now.
Expect more of the same, just better. And remember who your mates are.
Mass Effect 2
Release Date: 29th January 2010
What is being said?
Mass Effect was a brilliant RPG. It contained all of the classic RPG elements and presented them in a slick format that was quite stunning. It was modern. It was classic. It was visually breathtaking, had excellent dialogue, a great control system, and a superb story. Oh yeah, and it had combat like many good FPS’s available at the time. So can we expect ME2 to be any better?
The short answer is “Yes”.
The talk around ME2 is of it potentially being one of the best FPS’s of 2010, rather than the best RPG. Worried? Well you shouldn’t be. BioWare have kept all that was great before and made it better. Those stunning visuals we saw previously are still there, but even more amazing. The general graphics which were brilliant in the first can be seen again, but just that little bit more brilliant. More textures, more detail and more aliens. And gone, this time, is the annoying drop in framerate. But this is all fairly standard sequel stuff, right? Improve the visuals and fix the bugs.
Well we haven’t really brushed on the action yet, and this is where Bioware have made the most changes. The fighting should be more fluid and feel more real than before. Where you hit your enemy makes a big difference. You hit a guy in the shoulder and he’ll drop his weapon. You hit him in the leg and he’ll slow down. And if you hit him in the head, it really is a head shot. It feels less RPG the more you play, as you feel it is ‘your’ skill making the play rather than the computer. And there is limited ammo, so don’t think you can go in guns blazing this time. Make sure you pick your targets and use your team.
We are also promised a darker story with more complex characters and more engaging side quests. All in all a much richer and deeper Mass Effect. And I’m counting down the days already.
Bioshock 2
Release Date: 9th February 2010
What is being said?
Are there enough superlatives in this world to describe Bioshock? Probably not, and I’m not about to try listing them all. The ones you need to worry about are brilliant, atmospheric, and brilliant. I know I mentioned brilliant twice, but it is so important I thought I would highlight it.
It’s classic sci-fi. A dystopia set in a hostile environment. Something goes wrong and everyone dies. You find it, broken and leaking, and have to solve the riddle of what happened. Along the way you will face a number of baddies each of them trying to kill you. You will have weapons and special powers available to help you reach your end. Have I missed anything?
Oh yeah, the multiplayer that never was.
Not to worry, BS2 is promising to be a good addition to the multiplayer world. It’s what we have all been crying out for, and have been given. Same old weapons, but this time redesigned for the sake of the multiplayer experience. The same old plasmids, too, but this time with the option of quickfire, or saving up for a big blast. And how could I forget? The chance to step into a Big Daddy suit.
This is all set to be Bioshock on steroids. Do you need anything more from a video game?
Dead Rising 2
Release Date: Q1 2010
What is being said?
How many zombies do you think you could handle at once? One? Two? Ten?
Feeling lucky? Fancy your chances against 100? 200? 500?
That’s just what Dead Rising gave us. 1 vs 500 zombies. Now as ridiculous as that might seem DR2 has outshone its predecessor in this very department. 500 zombies is for wimps. Dead Rising 2 gives you 7,000 zombies in screen as once. That’s a 1300% increase!!
Left 4 Dead has given us the multiplayer experience we were all craving, however it was all thanks to Dead Rising that it existed at all. Capcom Japan gave us a unique zombie killing spree the likes of which the world had not seen before. Perhaps this was due to the East/West influences, or perhaps it was because they took everything we like about zombie flicks and made them into a game. Dead Rising was the perfect single player zombie video game.
Dead Rising 2 is the same. However this time there are more zombies and more means at your disposal of killing the aforementioned, flesh-eating undead. Everything is a weapon. And you’ll be surprised what I mean by everything.
You still get the hack-em and rack-em game style, but with more imagination. This time of asking you will take the role of “handyman” Chuck Greene. And like the first made use of Frank’s talents, so this one will do the same. A handyman is good at making things, and that might come in useful when you find a load of stuff lying around and a horde of zombies chasing your tail. Creating your own weapons sounds cool enough, but the potential of being able to do it with clothing just sounds a lot cooler.
Not convinced? Well rest assured DR2 has given its own makeover to the gore as L4D2 has done. This time they have developed a new technology which reacts to the way you cut things and/or chop them up. Slash at a limb and it will fly off. Hack at a torso and it will split in half. Where you cut so the cut appears, it is that clever. And of course when you cut a zombie in two you need lots of blood, and lots of it there is.
The old bugs have been fixed (again), and replaced with a zombie death count to die for. It’s set to be a cracker.
Cheers dude. Just remember it wasn't meant to be a review, but more of a summary of the gossip surrounding this game. I don't know how good it is or will be, and so I cannot rate the game. I really hope it is as great as it could be. :)
Tricky question for Friday. AC2 or L4D2? Or single player or multiplayer?
Tricky question for Friday. AC2 or L4D2? Or single player or multiplayer?
Yeah I just watched the Assassin's Creed II Trailer and with what I read from your review on the game, I want to play it even more!
That was a hell of a read!
Nice summary there, some interesting choices for my Christmas gaming.
Nice summary there, some interesting choices for my Christmas gaming.
Now that Modern Warfare 2 is out of the way…
What will be the next BIG game?
Modern Warfare 2 has just broken the record books. 1.23 million units sold in the UK in one day. Estimated sales of $310 million in North America and the UK alone in the first 24 hours. Add to the mix a healthy sprinkling of controversy and a price war and what you end up with is a serious contender for Game of the Year. But are there any other surprises awaiting us video gamers in the coming months?
Let’s spend a few moments looking at the next five big releases heading to the shops later this year and early next.
Assassin's Creed 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
Assassins Creed was a beautiful game, but it had its flaws. The graphics were stunning, even jaw-dropping in places; running around the wonderful cities and landscapes was a joy to behold; there was vibrancy and reality to the game. However this feeling of wonderment quickly paled as you set into the routine and monotony of the quests and side-quests. I would even go around picking fights with guards just to break the feeling of tedium.
And yet Assassins Creed is still hailed as a modern masterpiece in video gaming, despite the negative feedback. So what better place to start for a sequel? Surely all Activision have to do is keep the good bits and get rid of the bad.
Keep the movement and mechanics, the fluid climbing and free-running controls, the roof-tops and the streets. Keep all that stuff because that was just about flawless.
Actually keep the missions and side-missions too. Just make them better. Give them more variation. Make them harder. And make the fighting a bit more than attack and counter.
This game will see you pick up the mantle of Desmond Miles again, with this game continuing moments after the end of the first game ends. Recalling the memories of his ancestors, this time we find ourselves in the boots of Ezio Auditore in Renaissance era Italy. As before you will have a ‘base’ you can call home (which this time is actually your family mansion). After what is said to be an ‘interesting’ tutorial you will soon be running courier missions and hand-to-hand combat assignments whilst deftly skipping across Italian rooftops. Add to that some new climbing-based puzzling as well as new assassinations skills and you are already beginning to see that Activision have made some steps in the right direction. A little bit of a plot twist here; a few secret codes and unlockable items there. And finally all the stunning vistas and sound you loved from the forebear.
Assassins Creed 2 is all set to be another masterpiece.
Left 4 Dead 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
How on earth do you improve on Left 4 Dead? More to the point, do you really need to improve a game like Left 4 Dead? A small section of their fan base seemed to think not, but an all expenses paid trip to California to see the new L4D2 seems to have laid that little revolt to rest. So what was it that so impressed them that they were happy to return home with their collective tail tucked between their collective legs.
The original L4D had an impressive multiplayer side to it. In fact it was so good that it eclipsed the single-player side of the game. And so they have stuck with this format for the sequel, as it was the one thing that didn’t need fixing. What they have changed, though, is in the detail. Some of them are big, whilst others are a bit more subtle.
First up, this one is set in the day. That’s right horror fans, no more contrived claustrophobia caused by that sense of not knowing what is beyond obsidian veil. This time you will be thrown in to mixture of open areas and close quarters, giving you a ‘real’ sense of panic that both situations are designed to give. When inside you will not know what is around the corner, if anything at all. Fear and dread will set in as you try to peek around the 2D door frame. When you are outside you will have to fight off the inevitable zombie hordes, with you and your mates taking up strategic positions for greatest effect.
A bit too similar so far? Well hopefully this next bit will quench zombie fans. Expect more blood, more gore, more violence and more variety of all the aforementioned. With Valve setting this installment during the day they have had to sharpen up the graphics. No more relaying on the dark and the shadows for effect.
Is there anything else? I should think so. Try more weapons, improved weapons, better ammo… and more zombies. They have added bigger and better melee weapons that make you feel like you want to use them rather than need to. They have added ammo packs that can be used as a weapon boost (how do weapon exploding bullets and incendiary rounds sound to you?). And the have added zombies that… ahh, that’s probably enough for now.
Expect more of the same, just better. And remember who your mates are.
Mass Effect 2
Release Date: 29th January 2010
What is being said?
Mass Effect was a brilliant RPG. It contained all of the classic RPG elements and presented them in a slick format that was quite stunning. It was modern. It was classic. It was visually breathtaking, had excellent dialogue, a great control system, and a superb story. Oh yeah, and it had combat like many good FPS’s available at the time. So can we expect ME2 to be any better?
The short answer is “Yes”.
The talk around ME2 is of it potentially being one of the best FPS’s of 2010, rather than the best RPG. Worried? Well you shouldn’t be. BioWare have kept all that was great before and made it better. Those stunning visuals we saw previously are still there, but even more amazing. The general graphics which were brilliant in the first can be seen again, but just that little bit more brilliant. More textures, more detail and more aliens. And gone, this time, is the annoying drop in framerate. But this is all fairly standard sequel stuff, right? Improve the visuals and fix the bugs.
Well we haven’t really brushed on the action yet, and this is where Bioware have made the most changes. The fighting should be more fluid and feel more real than before. Where you hit your enemy makes a big difference. You hit a guy in the shoulder and he’ll drop his weapon. You hit him in the leg and he’ll slow down. And if you hit him in the head, it really is a head shot. It feels less RPG the more you play, as you feel it is ‘your’ skill making the play rather than the computer. And there is limited ammo, so don’t think you can go in guns blazing this time. Make sure you pick your targets and use your team.
We are also promised a darker story with more complex characters and more engaging side quests. All in all a much richer and deeper Mass Effect. And I’m counting down the days already.
Bioshock 2
Release Date: 9th February 2010
What is being said?
Are there enough superlatives in this world to describe Bioshock? Probably not, and I’m not about to try listing them all. The ones you need to worry about are brilliant, atmospheric, and brilliant. I know I mentioned brilliant twice, but it is so important I thought I would highlight it.
It’s classic sci-fi. A dystopia set in a hostile environment. Something goes wrong and everyone dies. You find it, broken and leaking, and have to solve the riddle of what happened. Along the way you will face a number of baddies each of them trying to kill you. You will have weapons and special powers available to help you reach your end. Have I missed anything?
Oh yeah, the multiplayer that never was.
Not to worry, BS2 is promising to be a good addition to the multiplayer world. It’s what we have all been crying out for, and have been given. Same old weapons, but this time redesigned for the sake of the multiplayer experience. The same old plasmids, too, but this time with the option of quickfire, or saving up for a big blast. And how could I forget? The chance to step into a Big Daddy suit.
This is all set to be Bioshock on steroids. Do you need anything more from a video game?
Dead Rising 2
Release Date: Q1 2010
What is being said?
How many zombies do you think you could handle at once? One? Two? Ten?
Feeling lucky? Fancy your chances against 100? 200? 500?
That’s just what Dead Rising gave us. 1 vs 500 zombies. Now as ridiculous as that might seem DR2 has outshone its predecessor in this very department. 500 zombies is for wimps. Dead Rising 2 gives you 7,000 zombies in screen as once. That’s a 1300% increase!!
Left 4 Dead has given us the multiplayer experience we were all craving, however it was all thanks to Dead Rising that it existed at all. Capcom Japan gave us a unique zombie killing spree the likes of which the world had not seen before. Perhaps this was due to the East/West influences, or perhaps it was because they took everything we like about zombie flicks and made them into a game. Dead Rising was the perfect single player zombie video game.
Dead Rising 2 is the same. However this time there are more zombies and more means at your disposal of killing the aforementioned, flesh-eating undead. Everything is a weapon. And you’ll be surprised what I mean by everything.
You still get the hack-em and rack-em game style, but with more imagination. This time of asking you will take the role of “handyman” Chuck Greene. And like the first made use of Frank’s talents, so this one will do the same. A handyman is good at making things, and that might come in useful when you find a load of stuff lying around and a horde of zombies chasing your tail. Creating your own weapons sounds cool enough, but the potential of being able to do it with clothing just sounds a lot cooler.
Not convinced? Well rest assured DR2 has given its own makeover to the gore as L4D2 has done. This time they have developed a new technology which reacts to the way you cut things and/or chop them up. Slash at a limb and it will fly off. Hack at a torso and it will split in half. Where you cut so the cut appears, it is that clever. And of course when you cut a zombie in two you need lots of blood, and lots of it there is.
The old bugs have been fixed (again), and replaced with a zombie death count to die for. It’s set to be a cracker.
What will be the next BIG game?
Modern Warfare 2 has just broken the record books. 1.23 million units sold in the UK in one day. Estimated sales of $310 million in North America and the UK alone in the first 24 hours. Add to the mix a healthy sprinkling of controversy and a price war and what you end up with is a serious contender for Game of the Year. But are there any other surprises awaiting us video gamers in the coming months?
Let’s spend a few moments looking at the next five big releases heading to the shops later this year and early next.
Assassin's Creed 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
Assassins Creed was a beautiful game, but it had its flaws. The graphics were stunning, even jaw-dropping in places; running around the wonderful cities and landscapes was a joy to behold; there was vibrancy and reality to the game. However this feeling of wonderment quickly paled as you set into the routine and monotony of the quests and side-quests. I would even go around picking fights with guards just to break the feeling of tedium.
And yet Assassins Creed is still hailed as a modern masterpiece in video gaming, despite the negative feedback. So what better place to start for a sequel? Surely all Activision have to do is keep the good bits and get rid of the bad.
Keep the movement and mechanics, the fluid climbing and free-running controls, the roof-tops and the streets. Keep all that stuff because that was just about flawless.
Actually keep the missions and side-missions too. Just make them better. Give them more variation. Make them harder. And make the fighting a bit more than attack and counter.
This game will see you pick up the mantle of Desmond Miles again, with this game continuing moments after the end of the first game ends. Recalling the memories of his ancestors, this time we find ourselves in the boots of Ezio Auditore in Renaissance era Italy. As before you will have a ‘base’ you can call home (which this time is actually your family mansion). After what is said to be an ‘interesting’ tutorial you will soon be running courier missions and hand-to-hand combat assignments whilst deftly skipping across Italian rooftops. Add to that some new climbing-based puzzling as well as new assassinations skills and you are already beginning to see that Activision have made some steps in the right direction. A little bit of a plot twist here; a few secret codes and unlockable items there. And finally all the stunning vistas and sound you loved from the forebear.
Assassins Creed 2 is all set to be another masterpiece.
Left 4 Dead 2
Release Date: 20th November 2009
What is being said?
How on earth do you improve on Left 4 Dead? More to the point, do you really need to improve a game like Left 4 Dead? A small section of their fan base seemed to think not, but an all expenses paid trip to California to see the new L4D2 seems to have laid that little revolt to rest. So what was it that so impressed them that they were happy to return home with their collective tail tucked between their collective legs.
The original L4D had an impressive multiplayer side to it. In fact it was so good that it eclipsed the single-player side of the game. And so they have stuck with this format for the sequel, as it was the one thing that didn’t need fixing. What they have changed, though, is in the detail. Some of them are big, whilst others are a bit more subtle.
First up, this one is set in the day. That’s right horror fans, no more contrived claustrophobia caused by that sense of not knowing what is beyond obsidian veil. This time you will be thrown in to mixture of open areas and close quarters, giving you a ‘real’ sense of panic that both situations are designed to give. When inside you will not know what is around the corner, if anything at all. Fear and dread will set in as you try to peek around the 2D door frame. When you are outside you will have to fight off the inevitable zombie hordes, with you and your mates taking up strategic positions for greatest effect.
A bit too similar so far? Well hopefully this next bit will quench zombie fans. Expect more blood, more gore, more violence and more variety of all the aforementioned. With Valve setting this installment during the day they have had to sharpen up the graphics. No more relaying on the dark and the shadows for effect.
Is there anything else? I should think so. Try more weapons, improved weapons, better ammo… and more zombies. They have added bigger and better melee weapons that make you feel like you want to use them rather than need to. They have added ammo packs that can be used as a weapon boost (how do weapon exploding bullets and incendiary rounds sound to you?). And the have added zombies that… ahh, that’s probably enough for now.
Expect more of the same, just better. And remember who your mates are.
Mass Effect 2
Release Date: 29th January 2010
What is being said?
Mass Effect was a brilliant RPG. It contained all of the classic RPG elements and presented them in a slick format that was quite stunning. It was modern. It was classic. It was visually breathtaking, had excellent dialogue, a great control system, and a superb story. Oh yeah, and it had combat like many good FPS’s available at the time. So can we expect ME2 to be any better?
The short answer is “Yes”.
The talk around ME2 is of it potentially being one of the best FPS’s of 2010, rather than the best RPG. Worried? Well you shouldn’t be. BioWare have kept all that was great before and made it better. Those stunning visuals we saw previously are still there, but even more amazing. The general graphics which were brilliant in the first can be seen again, but just that little bit more brilliant. More textures, more detail and more aliens. And gone, this time, is the annoying drop in framerate. But this is all fairly standard sequel stuff, right? Improve the visuals and fix the bugs.
Well we haven’t really brushed on the action yet, and this is where Bioware have made the most changes. The fighting should be more fluid and feel more real than before. Where you hit your enemy makes a big difference. You hit a guy in the shoulder and he’ll drop his weapon. You hit him in the leg and he’ll slow down. And if you hit him in the head, it really is a head shot. It feels less RPG the more you play, as you feel it is ‘your’ skill making the play rather than the computer. And there is limited ammo, so don’t think you can go in guns blazing this time. Make sure you pick your targets and use your team.
We are also promised a darker story with more complex characters and more engaging side quests. All in all a much richer and deeper Mass Effect. And I’m counting down the days already.
Bioshock 2
Release Date: 9th February 2010
What is being said?
Are there enough superlatives in this world to describe Bioshock? Probably not, and I’m not about to try listing them all. The ones you need to worry about are brilliant, atmospheric, and brilliant. I know I mentioned brilliant twice, but it is so important I thought I would highlight it.
It’s classic sci-fi. A dystopia set in a hostile environment. Something goes wrong and everyone dies. You find it, broken and leaking, and have to solve the riddle of what happened. Along the way you will face a number of baddies each of them trying to kill you. You will have weapons and special powers available to help you reach your end. Have I missed anything?
Oh yeah, the multiplayer that never was.
Not to worry, BS2 is promising to be a good addition to the multiplayer world. It’s what we have all been crying out for, and have been given. Same old weapons, but this time redesigned for the sake of the multiplayer experience. The same old plasmids, too, but this time with the option of quickfire, or saving up for a big blast. And how could I forget? The chance to step into a Big Daddy suit.
This is all set to be Bioshock on steroids. Do you need anything more from a video game?
Dead Rising 2
Release Date: Q1 2010
What is being said?
How many zombies do you think you could handle at once? One? Two? Ten?
Feeling lucky? Fancy your chances against 100? 200? 500?
That’s just what Dead Rising gave us. 1 vs 500 zombies. Now as ridiculous as that might seem DR2 has outshone its predecessor in this very department. 500 zombies is for wimps. Dead Rising 2 gives you 7,000 zombies in screen as once. That’s a 1300% increase!!
Left 4 Dead has given us the multiplayer experience we were all craving, however it was all thanks to Dead Rising that it existed at all. Capcom Japan gave us a unique zombie killing spree the likes of which the world had not seen before. Perhaps this was due to the East/West influences, or perhaps it was because they took everything we like about zombie flicks and made them into a game. Dead Rising was the perfect single player zombie video game.
Dead Rising 2 is the same. However this time there are more zombies and more means at your disposal of killing the aforementioned, flesh-eating undead. Everything is a weapon. And you’ll be surprised what I mean by everything.
You still get the hack-em and rack-em game style, but with more imagination. This time of asking you will take the role of “handyman” Chuck Greene. And like the first made use of Frank’s talents, so this one will do the same. A handyman is good at making things, and that might come in useful when you find a load of stuff lying around and a horde of zombies chasing your tail. Creating your own weapons sounds cool enough, but the potential of being able to do it with clothing just sounds a lot cooler.
Not convinced? Well rest assured DR2 has given its own makeover to the gore as L4D2 has done. This time they have developed a new technology which reacts to the way you cut things and/or chop them up. Slash at a limb and it will fly off. Hack at a torso and it will split in half. Where you cut so the cut appears, it is that clever. And of course when you cut a zombie in two you need lots of blood, and lots of it there is.
The old bugs have been fixed (again), and replaced with a zombie death count to die for. It’s set to be a cracker.