Games I’m looking forward to in 2008, part 3
Further looking at games I’m anticipating this year, here’s a couple I’m hoping to take for a spin in my 360 within the next 12 months…
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Soul Calibur 4
Developer: BANDAI NAMCO Games
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date: TBA 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Much like Tekken, I have a certain interest in the Soul Calibur series, even if I don’t play the games very seriously… or at all, really. Probably even moreso than Tekken, SC’s gameplay has a tendency to just kind of tick me off, and I’ve never really been able to put too much time or effort into any SC title without ending up kind of bored, or even annoyed. Despite that though, there is a lot to like about the games - the character designs are consistently great (and have pretty much only gotten better with every installment), the music is awesome, and the presentation and visuals has always been top notch. SC4 might not be a game I’m looking forward to pouring my heart and soul into, but I’m most certainly looking forward to checking it out. And if it has a character creation mode that’s better than the one in SC3, hey, I’ll want to play it just for that.
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Biohazard 5 (Resident Evil 5)
Developer: Capcom
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date: 2008, with any luck
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: The Biohazard franchise had been going absolutely nowhere for years when Capcom reinvented the series with 2005’s Biohazard 4. The first Biohazard was a hugely innovative game that still holds up today (though I prefer the 2003 remake for the Gamecube), but 2 sequels, three spin-offs and a prequel later, the series had lost some of its freshness - to say the least. But thanks to a overhauled camera system and an overall more linear, action-oriented experience, BH4 regained what had been lost, making it not only one of the best games in the series, but also one of the best games of 2005 (and again in 2007 when it was released on the Wii). Like a number of other games on this list, not a whole lot is known about BH5. What is known though, is that it will play reasonably similar to part 4, and that it will be absolutely gorgeous. Knowing how good Biohazard 4 was, I really don’t need to know more than that to be very, very excited for Biohazard 5.
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Iron Man
Developer: Secret Level/SEGA
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PC
Release date: February 2
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Now this one is somewhat of a left-fielder. Movie license games aren’t exactly known for their quality (and comic ones don’t necessarily fare much better), but the situation isn’t nearly as bad as it once was. For whatever it’s worth, I absolutely loved the Spider-Man 2 and The Punisher games, and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction really wasn’t bad at all. What I suspect sets the former two apart from the latter however, is the fact that I love their respective main characters to death, whereas with Hulk I’m apathetic at best. I don’t think I would put Iron Man on the same level as Spider-Man and The Punisher as far as my personal fanhood goes, but in the last couple of years I’ve read a fair amount of comics featuring the guy, and I’ve actually really started to like him. Sure, he was a complete dick during Civil War, and he might not be as fun to read a character as he was a few years ago, but at his core I still think Tony Stark is a great character. So what about the game, then? Well, some footage has been shown, and I think it looks like it might be fun. Most importantly, I hope it will succeed in giving me a sense of being a superhero - something I think was what made the games previously mentioned so good, but also something most comic-based games have actually been shockingly bad at. If nothing else, if they manage to make traveling as fun as the web-slinging in Spider-Man 2, it’ll be worth playing.
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Castle Crashers
Developer: The Behemoth
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Release date: TBA 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: I love The Behemoth for attempting to prove something I’ve been trying to say for years - the beat ‘em up genre is not dead! The genre was at the height of its popularity during the late 80’s and early 90’s, but after a few valiant efforts from Capcom in the mid-90’s, it sort of faded away along with its then-close sibling the 2D fighting game. But while 2D fighting games have continued to thrive in a niche market (and Japanese arcades), beat ‘em ups have yet to see their renaissance. Outside a select few like God Hand and Urban Reign - two games that while great only very snugly fits within frames for what constitutes a classic beat ‘em up game - any attempts to revive the genre has ranged from woefully mediocre to utter dog shit. While my ideal game to bring the BEU genre back into the limelight would not necessarily be the same kind of old-school affair as Castle Crashers, it’s impossible not to commend The Behemoth for their efforts, as is saying the game looks anything but awesome. I wasn’t an enormous fan of the visuals in Alien Hominid, and although CC continues in a similar style, for some reason it looks more appealing. I’m still somewhat torn on the Flash-esque look of the animation… But in any event I’m pretty sure all possible qualms I might have about visuals will become inconsequential once I get to play the game. I hope so, anyway.
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Rez HD
Developer: Q Entertainment/SEGA
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Release date: Q1 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Rez is a somewhat bizarre and unique game… and that’s neither a euphemism for “absolutely retarded” nor an attempt at being pretentious - those are just the first words that come to mind when I think of it. I had heard for years and years how Rez was a really cool game, and how it’s one of those Dreamcast titles you just have to play at some point, but like so many others, the game had just managed to elude me. However, one day last spring I stumbled upon a used copy of the PS2 version dirt cheap at Geo, and needless to say I snagged it immediately. I didn’t know quite what to expect, as I hadn’t heard much more than that the music was supposed to be pretty unique and the game as a whole rather trippy. An accurate description, as it turns out. The gameplay isn’t very easy to describe, but essentially it’s a shoot ‘em up in kind of the same vein as Panzer Dragoon or Star Fox, except the gameplay is closely intertwined with the music. Bullets are fired with to the beat of the songs, destroying enemies adds instruments and percussion, and so on. My description isn’t really giving it justice, so I can only reiterate what others have said before me; Rez really is one of those games you have to try at some point. Despite already owning a perfectly fine PS2 copy of the game, I was really excited when Rez HD was announced for Xbox Live Arcade - it was already a fantastic game to begin with, but HD graphics and 5.1 surround sound will only serve to make it even better. The used game I got at Geo barely cost me anything, so I’ll happily fork over the dough for this new version.
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Ikaruga
Developer: Treasure
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Release date: January
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Another fantastic Dreamcast classic, Ikaruga is a game that I actually did get to play and enjoy a lot when it first came out. While I like arcade games in general, I have never been a huge aficionado for traditional shoot ‘em ups. Ikaruga, however, really stood out to me and became an instant favourite. While the genre has definitely evolved since the days of 1942 and Gradius, before playing Ikaruga I had never experienced the kind of innovation offered in what is arguably Treasure’s magnum opus. Like most modern shmups, Ikaruga has a fairly complex and difficult to master scoring system, but its trademark feature is something that stands out to even the greenest beginner: the black/white motif and the bipolar ship controlled by the player. The ship can be switched between white and black, and will always absorb bullets fired by enemies of its own colour, while dealing extra damage to enemies of the opposite colour. Switching sides and absorbing incoming fire is not just a cheap gimmick, but integral to the gameplay and absolutely vital if you want to make it past the first level. Unlike Rez, Ikaruga is a game I never had the pleasure of actually owning, which makes its arrival to the Live Arcade even sweeter. As I prefer to have my games on cartridge or disc, I’ll definitely want the Dreamcast or Gamecube version at some point, but until then the XBLA release will definitely keep me entertained.
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Come back tomorrow for the fourth and final part.