The Misadventures of José Faxner

Well, it is. Thanks to my brother’s steady income, the pile of games I need to try out keeps growing faster than I can work through it, and at the top of it was Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

I was well aware that COD4 had a decent amount of hype surrounding it, and I’d really not heard anything but good things about it. I had even played through COD2 - and enjoyed it for that matter - a few years ago… but still I really did not have much interest in it. Hype means nothing to me after games like GTA, Halo 3 and Bioshock failing to impress or entertain me to any great extent, and in the last couple of years my interest in first-person shooters had waned dramatically; leaving me even less enthusiastic.

Looking to try one of the newest additions to our games collection, I didn’t feel compelled to play Mass Effect - I had just seen my brother play through the first 45 minutes and wasn’t dying to go through the exact same thing again, only with myself at the wheel - or Assassin’s Creed - a friend had brought it over a few weeks ago so I had at least seen it… so Call of Duty it was.

I had no reason to feel sorry for “having” to play COD4 though, as it turned out to be one of the best god-damned action games I’ve played in a long time. Everything about it positively oozes quality, and despite its difficulty at times, it is a lot of FUN. The narrative and level design are absolutely fantastic, and make for an extremely compelling singleplayer experience, made even better by the astounding amount of variety in the different levels. FPS games have a tendency of being repetetive to the point of being mind-numbingly dull, but COD4 - in spite of its never-changing camera or control scheme - manages to provide more variation than most action or platform games, let alone an FPS modeled after real-life war.

Having finally finished the single player campaign yesterday, I ventured into the online multiplayer mode. I had enjoyed the single player game immensely, but I honestly wasn’t expecting too much from the online portion of it. I guess I was kind of expecting more of a slower-paced squad based game, but that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Sure, it’s not Quake, but I felt it was a lot closer to that type of game - the fast, simple, arcadey FPS games of yore - than anything like Rainbow Six or Counter-Strike. The gameplay is great in single player, but it’s in multiplayer that it really gets to shine. It’s fast, simple, and never bogged down by waiting times or obtrusive user interfaces. The controls give you just the amount of freedom without being annoying or complex, and the feeling of the weapons is truly unmatched. Add to that an insanely addictive system of experience points, challenges and achievements, and you get what is in my mind the best FPS game in years, by far.

I could write more, but I feel I’d be wasting your time. If you own a 360, PS3, or a modern PC, I urge you to get this game and start playing it. If you even remotely enjoy action games, you won’t regret it.

So much for writing about everything I want to, as often as I want - there’s just been way too much interesting news to keep up lately! I see little point in simply regurgitating what’s been said and posted elsewhere (also, I’m somewhat lazy), I’ll just give you guys the CliffsNotes version.

• The Harvey Birdman game has been released. I’ve downloaded it, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Looking forward to see if it lives up to my expectations.
• SEGA announced a patch for the Xbox 360 version of Virtua Fighter 5. It will add mixing and matching costumes (a feature from the arcade originally missing in the 360 port), the ability to save replays of online matches, quick rematches against people not on your friends’ list, and a couple of small tweaks and fixes. Good news, but unfortunately SEGA also announced that they have no further plans for updates or downloadable content for VF5.
• On a related note, SEGA are holding location tests for the upcoming update to the arcade version of VF5, Version D, in Japanese arcades. Ver.D adds a brand new costume to each character, weapon items (used in intros and win poses), new single player modes and as always a slew of new costume items.
• The Sonic RPG for the DS has been named and unveiled. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is looking mighty purdy, and my excitement for the game is bigger than ever.
• Street Fighter IV had barely been shown to the world before Capcom announced the development of a new SF game - Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation. An entirely mouse-controlled online PC game, SFO will hardly set the global fighting game community ablaze, but it looks neat enough, not least because…
• Japanese toy manufacturer Kaiyodo, in collaboration with Capcom, will develop a series of figures based on Street Fighter Online for their excellent Revoltech line of figures. Between these and the previously announced Hokuto no Ken Revoltechs, 2008 is going to be an awesome year for the line.
• Capcom also announced that a playable version of Street Fighter IV will be available at the AOU 2008 Amusement Expo in Tokyo, February 15-16. I’m very very excited to hear impressions and hands-on reports, not to mention game footage and further announcements.
• The upcoming Bionic Commando sequel is getting a little brother! Yesterday, Capcom announced Bionic Commando Rearmed for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows. A remake of the classic Famicom/NES game, the title is being developed by GRIN, the same guys who are making the 3D sequel. Looks amazing, and I can’t wait to play it.
• Ikaruga and Rez will apparently both hit Xbox Live Arcade very soon. Rez is already scheduled for a January release (in other words, most likely this upcoming Wednesday), and Ikaruga is being demoed in fully playable form at some event in Akihabara this weekend, meaning the game is probably finished and just waiting to be released.
• A demo version of “The Club” hit Xbox Live without much fanfare a while back. I had never even heard of the game, but was happy to see that it was actually really awesome! This game had managed to completely evade my radar, but I’m really happy that they put out a demo of it - cause I’m very excited about it now. Hits in February.
• Leisure Suit Larry returns in a game of “mission-based exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving”. 2004’s LSL: Magna Cum Laude was hardly an icon of excellence, but I’m still a huge fan of the original series. I’m expecting this to end up kinda crap, but who knows? If it ends up actually being a fun game I’ll be happy to play it.
• A “Highlander” game was unveiled. The world collectively shrugged and moved on.

We’re barely a few weeks into 2008, and already it seems like it’s going to be chock full of great stuff. Let’s hope the awesome announcements will keep coming in the next couple of months as well.

The latest issue of Weekly Famitsuu features an article on Street Fighter IV, marking the first time the game has been shown in Japanese gaming media. The article seemed to mostly cover stuff already known from overseas media coverage, but did offer one major revelation - the announcement of the game’s first new character: Crimson Viper.

So far we’ve only seen in-game footage of Ryu and Ken, and while series stalwarts Chun-Li, Dhalsim, Zangief and E. Honda are all but confirmed, this is the first we’ve seen or heard of any characters new to the franchise. So what can be said about Crimson Viper? So far, not a whole lot, really.

I’ll offer my two cents though. At first, I didn’t know what to make of her - I like the design, no doubt, but it doesn’t necessarily feel very Street Fightery. It’s a very typical modern Japanese design (but by no means a bad one), and if the plan was to make a game that would strike a chord with old fans of SF2 Turbo, I couldn’t get a good feeling of how she’d fit in. After having a day or so to let it sink in though, I’m starting to warm up to her appearing in SF4. And of course, it’s possible to tell from one picture how she’ll move, what her fighting style is like, and not least how well she’ll fit in with the rest of the roster. I can already say I like her better than the likes of Rose , T. Hawk and most of the misfits from the Street Fighter EX games, so who knows? She might be considered a classic SF character before you know it.
The article had a few other interesting details as well - for example, the game has been confirmed to get a 2008 arcade release! The chances of me getting to play the arcade version are slim to none, but it still excites me, as a console-only release would really have been a devastating blow to the game’s credibility.

To round things up, here’s a couple of screenshots. It’s shaping up pretty nicely, isn’t it?

For more pictures, a trailer and more, check out the Official site, and while you’re at it you might as well take a look at the Official blog. Not much there at the moment, but I’m sure it’ll be quite interesting in the coming months!

So 1up’s got the scoop on Soul Calibur 4’s guest characters.

Yup, it’s Darth Vader and Yoda. Who’da thought?  Check out more pictures at 1up.

To round off my list of anticipated titles in 2008, here’s a couple of DS games coming out this year that I’m pretty excited about.

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New International Track & Field

Developer: SUMO Digital/Konami
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: Q1 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: New International Track & Field was somewhat of an unlikely announcement. Granted, reviving old game franchises has been pretty popular for many years now, but Track & Field seemed like an unusual choice to me; T&F’s trademark mindless button-mashing gameplay doesn’t seem very relevant in today’s gaming climate, and I wouldn’t think it’s a franchise that has very much of a fan following. Further, development is being outsourced to British SUMO Digital, with character designs and art created by Omar Dogan of Canadian UDON Comics (perhaps most known for their Street Fighter comic adaptation). Between this and Contra 4, which was developed by US-based WayForward, I guess this is becoming standard practice for Konami, and if NIT&F ends being anywhere near as good as Contra 4, I’m certainly not opposed to it.

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????????????????? (Super Dodgeball Brawlers)
Chou Nekketsu Koukou Kunio-kun Dodgeball-bu

Developer: Million/Arc System Works
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: February 21
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: The long-running Kunio-kun series has been loved by a legion of fans for many years, and almost everyone who played Famicom or NES games as a kid has fond memories of at least one of the classic games. Though western versions of the games - the ones that were released outside Japan, that is - were heavily localized, with changes to the setting, story, characters and not least title of the game itself, the games were still fantastic. Personally I spent countless hours playing Nintendo World Cup (Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball-bu: Soccer-hen) and Street Gangs (Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari) as a kid, and once I learned of - and played - other games in the series with the help of the internet and emulators, my love for the series grew steadily. Sadly, after the death of Technos and its subsequent reformation in the form of Million Corp. in the late 90’s, the once-prolific series took a step back, and releases since then have largely consisted of ports, collections and remakes. This is however looking change with 2008’s Chou Nekketsu Koukou Kunio-kun Dodgeball-bu - at its core it’s same good old Nekketsu Dodgeball, but with the addition of all-out brawling, special moves and 8-player multiplayer support, it’s looking to be one of the best Kunio-kun games yet. Here’s hoping the franchise will live on, and eventually make its triumphant return to home consoles.

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???? -THE LEGEND OF KAGE 2-
Kage no Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2

Developer: Taito
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: March 13
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Games like OutRun2, After Burner Climax and Street Fighter IV were all huge surprises when they were announced, but I still feel like the award to “most unexpected sequel announcement of the last couple of years” goes to Kage no Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2. The original Kage no Densetsu came out in arcades in 1985, but is perhaps better known from the 1986 Famicom/NES conversion. The game was only released in Japan and North America, but it is well known by people around the world, as it shows up in just about every pirate Famicom collection cartridge under the sun. The game’s a pretty typical mid-80’s arcade game, but the design and not least music set it apart from many of its contemporaries.?This is one of those games that really came completely out of the blue, but I’m very happy it did. I have many fond memories of playing the original game on my friend’s 700-in-1 pirate cart, and I’m excited to relive them through the sequel. It doesn’t hurt that the new character designs look really cool either!

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Metal Slug 7

Developer: SNK Playmore
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: TBA
Official website: None yet
Why I’m looking forward to it: I’ll be the first to admit that the Metal Slug series has lost a lot of its magic with the last couple of installments. The original Metal Slug was revolutionary, Metal Slug X was even better, and Metal Slug 3 took the series to new heights I couldn’t even have dreamed of. But after that, something happened. In 2001 SNK went bankrupt, and development of MS4 was handled by Korean company MEGA Enterprises. MS4 kept the core gameplay the same, but between the short length of the game (about half that of 3), uninspired levels, and general lack of innovation, it ended up feeling like a big step backwards and was ultimately a big disappointment. The then-newly (re)established Playmore (later SNK Playmore) made Metal Slug 5, and while it was better than 4, it was nowhere near the greatness of 3, or even X. The series just seemed to have taken some permanent damage, and while MS6 had a fair amount of new features, including different stats for each character, on the fly weapon-switching and a new scoring system, the fun just didn’t seem to be there, and it barely managed to keep me entertained for the duration of one playthrough. Even the GBA title Metal Slug Advance didn’t seem as fun as the two entries for SNK’s own Neo Geo Pocket platform. At the end of the day though, the MS games are still very much competent, and outside Contra 4 I really doubt there is a lot like it on the DS. I can’t imagine MS7 being bad, really: as long as it keeps the usual high quality I definitely think it’s going to be worth playing, if not owning.

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Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword

Developer: Team NINJA
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: March
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: I really don’t know a whole lot about Ninja Gaiden DS, but from what I have heard and seen, I think it seems really interesting. It’s a spin-off of sorts to the main Ninja Gaiden series on the Xbox consoles, but what makes it unique isn’t so much that it’s a portable game, but rather the fact that it is entirely stylus-controlled. It’s also played with the DS on its side, opened like a book, further setting it apart from other action games on the console. Obviously the sleek design and visuals, Team NINJA’s trademark of sorts, won’t exactly be present in NGDS in the same way as their console games, but for a DS game I think it looks pretty good. Either way though, any game stands - or falls - on its gameplay, and I think that rings even truer for an experimental game like this. Like I’ve said before though, Team NINJA are competent people, so I expect this game to be good, just like NG2.

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Sonic the Hedgehog RPG

Developer: Bioware
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: TBA
Official website: None yet
Why I’m looking forward to it: In what was possibly the shocking announcement to end shocking announcements, last year SEGA announced that famed RPG developer Bioware would be developing a Sonic the Hedgehog RPG, exclusively for the DS. Bioware making a game for SEGA, Sonic starring in an RPG, the whole thing being on the DS - it’s uncertain what part of the announcement was the most unbelieveable really, but needless to say it caught everyone by surprise, and people still don’t quite know what to make of it. Nothing whatsoever has been announced about it, other than the fact that it’s in development, so there’s really not a whole lot to be said. I’m very very curious to see where this project will end up though, and considering the rather questionable quality of most Sonic games in the last 10 years or so, it could well be the best Sonic game in years.

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So that’s it for games I’m looking forward to this year. Of course there’s stuff I haven’t heard of, stuff that hasn’t been announced, and games I haven’t realised I should be excited about yet, but all in due time, I guess. Also, if by some miracle something like Street Fighter IV or Duke Nukem forever manages to come out this year, needless to say I’ll be plenty stoked for that. As it stands though, I’ve got plenty to look forward to already, and disregarding the fact that I likely won’t have the money to buy a lot of the games on this list, I think 2008 is going to be a cool year for gaming.

… And now that this is done, let’s hope I can think of something else to write about to keep updates frequent.

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.

Continuing my series of posts on games I’m looking forward to in 2008, here’s part two of four.

—

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Developer: Kojima Productions/Konami
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release date: 2008… probably
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 3 years or so, I don’t think I really need to explain what this game is, or why it’s worth looking forward to. Judging from the hype, Metal Gear Solid 4 is video game Jesus, stealthily feeding the 5000 from underneath a cardboard box. The final chapter of Solid Snake’s adventure (”for real this time, honest!”), MGS4 is slated to make early adopters around the world realise that their PS3 purchase was worth it after all. I have to admit though, I was never a tremendously big fan of the Metal Gear Solid series… I am a big fan of Hideo Kojima (he made Snatcher!), and I really dig a lot of the characters and designs, as well as certain technical aspects of the games, but gameplay-wise the MGS games have always felt a little off to me somehow. I do like them, but I don’t go absolutely nuts over them like some people do, as they always seemed to have a certain degree of Annoying Shit in them keeping them from ever joining my absolute favourite games. That said though, I remain a fan of enough aspects of the MGS games to still be genuinely excited about MGS4. Though I never finished it (despite giving it three or four tries) I did enjoy what I played of MGS3, and I’m hoping the next game will be as good. Hey, it’s got Metal Gear Mk.II from Snatcher(!) in it, so that’s a step in the right direction. MGS5 should take place in Neo Kobe, that’d be awesome. Also, it should feature Random Hajile. And Snatchers.

—

LittleBigPlanet

Developer: Media Molecule
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release date: TBA, possibly Q3 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: When LBP was first unveiled at the Game Developers Conference in March of 2007, I instantly fell in love with it. The design is adorable, but more importantly the whole idea of such a free, user-controlled and -created experience is just genius. Running around with a bunch of friends solving (and creating!) puzzles just looks like a lot of FUN, something that the gaming industry at large seems to have just left behind at some point during the 1990’s. Frankly, it’s somewhat difficult to say what to expect from this game, but initial impressions from footage shown are definitely good, and I think the concept of creating and sharing your own content has near endless potential. God knows the PS3 needs more good exclusives, and I for one am a lot more excited about LittleBigPlanet than Final Fantasy XIII.

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Tekken 6

Developer: BANDAI NAMCO Games
Platform: PlayStation 3, Arcade
Release date: TBA (out now in arcades)
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Fighting games are definitely my favourite genre of video games, but I was never really a huge fan of the Tekken games. I did play the crap out of Tekken 2 when it was new, but considering the fact that I knew absolute jack shit about fighting games and what made them good back in those days (I seriously thought Pit-Fighter was a good game), my opinion meant squat. Eventually though, I learnt more about fighting games and what I like about them, and as a result it became increasingly clear that I just don’t really like Tekken. The Tekken games are by all means among the very best fighting games on the market, but as with so many other things, at the end of the day it all boils down to individual taste. I just don’t like the feel of Tekken. It can be fun to mess around in, but as soon as it gets somewhat serious, it all seems to devolve into a pokefest where one wrong move will put you on the receiving end of a devastating combo, and you’ll have to be lucky to be able to get back on your feet before the round is over. You might be wondering why the hell T6 is even on this list considering my feelings for the series, but, well, it’s not all bad, really. For all its gameplay issues I love large parts of the character roster to death, and the Tekken games always had excellent design, visuals and presentation, and T6 doesn’t look to disappoint there. The gameplay has evolved a fair bit since Dark Resurrection, the last installment, but what interests me the most is something considered complete fluff by most, and a waste of time by everyone else - character customization. I love when I can play dress-up in games, and fighting games are of course no exception. Much like Virtua Fighter, Tekken seems to take a giant leap forward with customization in its latest installment, and as dumb as it may sound, I honestly can’t wait to put glasses and silly hats on Kazuya & co.

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Ninja Gaiden II

Developer: Team NINJA
Platform: Xbox 360
Release date: TBA 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: I’ve bought it twice - once for Xbox and once for PS3 - but I’ve yet to actually finish the first game. Nevertheless, I do love the game and think it’s one of the greatest action games to have come out in the last couple of years. Team NINJA head Tomonobu Itagaki may talk a lot of shit, but he definitely proved that he and his team can make a great action game with 2003’s Ninja Gaiden and its subsequent rereleases. It didn’t exactly seem like a fluke either, so I’m confident NG2 will be a great game as well. I’m not quite sure what to make of the overly gratuitous gore and violence in the game - I’m not opposed to gruesomely violent games as a general rule or anything - but frankly I don’t quite see the point of it. Sure, the original game was very bloody as well, but the whole severing limbs left and right thing just feels kind of overdone and out of place. The blood effects look great, but cutting up all the enemies in snack sized portions seems to me like something best left to Soldier of Fortune or Mortal Kombat. I guess I could always get the Japanese version - cause I sure as hell can’t imagine the game coming out in Japan without the violence being toned down rather drastically.

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Alan Wake

Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Platform: Xbox 360, Windows Vista
Release date: TBA 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: “A Psychological Action Thriller” - that about says enough right there. Granted, they could’ve left out the “action” part, and I’d probably be even more excited, but simply put, Alan Wake seems to be the kind of game we see far, far too little of these days. The horror slant I could probably do without, but I guess you need that to get character- and story-driven games greenlighted these days. Well, either that, or banana-haired emo kids engaging in turn-based combat, I guess. Remedy haven’t exactly divulged a lot of information about what AW is really about, but I’m all for that. I just hope I won’t already have had the entire game spoilt by the time I get around to actually playing it.

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SEGA Superstars Tennis

Developer: SUMO Digital/SEGA
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS
Release date: March
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: Sonic the Hedgehog against Akira Yuki in a game of tennis? Sounds awesome to me! As the name implies, SEGA Superstars Tennis gathers various mascots and icons for the company for a tennis crossover of epic proportions. Or something. Really, this is just the closet SEGA fanboy in me speaking, but I am pretty excited about this game - the quality of the game is almost inconsequential when there are promises of getting to see guys like Beat, Amigo and Ulala again. To be fair I do have certain expectations from the gameplay, and it’s really not like the character roster on its own will be able to entertain me for all that long, but truth be told I don’t exactly expect this to be quite on the level of Power Smash/Virtua Tennis, or even something like Rockstar’s Table Tennis. It’s mostly the idea of a SEGA crossover that really appeals to me, and as long as it’s executed well enough, and the presentation is nice, I honestly don’t care much about what type of game it is. I have no idea whether I’ll buy this game, but I’m very curious to see what it’s like once it’s released.

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Part three coming tomorrow.

The other day, I saw an interesting thread at Swedish video game collector/enthusiast forum Cowabunga, asking “What games are you looking forward to in 2008?”. I of course knew of a couple off the top of my head, but I realised I hadn’t really made an actual concrete list of titles. As I was spending a few minutes thinking of what it really is I’m looking forward to, I couldn’t help thinking “hey, you know, this would make a great entry for my blog”. There’s a fair amount of games on the list, and as always I’ll be needlessly verbose, so I figured I’d split the list up over a few posts. Without further ado, I present to you: Games I’m looking forward to in 2008, part 1 of 4.

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The King of Fighters XII

Developer: SNK Playmore
Platform: Arcade (Taito Type-X2)
Release date: TBA, but it damn better come out in 2008
Official website: None yet
Why I’m looking forward to it: Once upon a time, the King of Fighters series of fighting games saw a new release each year. However, due to budget and quality concerns, that ended with the series’ 10th installment, KOF 2003. In the years since we’ve seen numerous spin-offs, remakes and side projects, but no true sequels since 2005’s The King of Fighters XI. A stellar game, it turned a lot of series staples upside down yet remained distinctly ‘KOF’ with great gameplay and equally great presentation. As a fan of the series I look forward to each new installment with great anticipation, but this time I’m more excited than usual, as SNK have mentioned that they are in fact redoing all the game’s graphics from the ground up, instead of (partly) relying on groundwork laid by previous games - SNK’s M.O. for the last 11(!) or so years. To be fair, this graphics “recycling” is really not a big deal, but the fact that SNK have their sights set on renewal and staying contemporary deserves a lot of props.

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The King of Fighters Maximum Impact Regulation “A” 2

Developer: SNK Playmore
Platform: Arcade (Taito Type-X2), PlayStation 2?
Release Date: TBA, presumably 2008
Official Website: None yet
Why I’m looking forward to it: The original KOF Maximum Impact was one of the aforementioned spin-offs that came out in 2004 to fill the void created by the no-longer-annual KOF release schedule. Released for the PS2, and later Xbox, KOFMI took familiar KOF characters and settings, but replaced the hand drawn pixel graphics with polygonal 3D visuals. The game was not particularly great, but apparently it did well enough to justify a sequel; 2006’s KOFMI2. MI2 was a big improvement, and in fact led to the eventual release of KOFMI Regulation “A” - an updated version of MI2 with 4 new characters - in arcades. In an apparent attempt to out-convolute Capcom, SNK have now announced KOFMIA2 - a sequel to a spin-off of a sequel to another spin-off. Dizzy yet? In any event, I really enjoyed MI2 and MIA, so I’m looking forward to this newest installment. MIA retained MI2’s PS2-quality graphics, but I’m hoping MIA2 will if not be a huge step above that, at least look a little better. If nothing else, it’s always interesting to see what crazy new costume designs producer Falcoon will come up with.

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The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match

Developer: SNK Playmore
Platform: PlayStation 2, Arcade (Taito Type-X1)
Release date: Spring 2008
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: KOF ‘98 was a fantastic game when it came out almost 10 years ago, and it has remained one of the most well-liked games in the series ever since. Following 2004’s The King of Fighters ‘94 Re-Bout, SNK Playmore will now release a new enhanced PS2 port of KOF98 on its 10th anniversary. KOF98UM will not feature redrawn graphics like 94RB did, but it will feature a slew of new gameplay features, modes, additional characters, secrets and who knows what else. This greatly anticipated game has been in the works for close to two years, and I can’t imagine any fan of SNK being disappointed with it.

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Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

Developer: High Voltage Software/Capcom
Platform: PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii
Release date: January 8 (USA)
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: High Voltage Software hardly has a very respectable track record - with such games as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as the instant classic White Men Can’t Jump for the Jaguar on their resumé, it’d be easy to simply dismiss this game. It’s made by a largely unknown and rather dubious developer, and is based on a TV show to boot! However, the game seems to largely borrow the gameplay mechanics from Capcom’s highly successful (and highly awesome) Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney series, only replacing all dialogue with fully voiced and animated scenes. Now, I don’t think the writing will be on the level of the GS games, nor do I think the voice acting will be particularly amazing - but it’s a simple enough premise, and as long as the writers and cast don’t screw up too badly, I think it’s actually going to be quite fun.

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NiGHTS Into Dreams…

Developer: SEGA
Platform: PlayStation 2
Release date: February 21 (Japan)
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: NiGHTS Into Dreams… was pretty much the flagship title for the Sega Saturn, and it’s remembered by many as one of Sonic Team’s last truly great games. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that despite being both an avid Saturn fan and an owner of the original game, I’ve never really played it. Nevertheless, it’s supposed to be really good, and undeniably a real classic. Not to be confused with the recently released NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (the American-developed Wii sequel), NiGHTS for the PS2 is a port of the original Saturn game, with enhanced graphics and other bonuses. It might sound weird that I’m looking forward to a new port of a game I already own, yet haven’t been bothered to play, but I suppose it’s a matter of convenience. Having it on PS2 means I can play it on my PS3, without having to dig out my Saturn. Plus, considering the fact that graphics, load times and possible controls will be better, it just seems like it’ll make for a more enjoyable experience overall. And hey, being an old SEGA fan it would just not seem right not to be excited about this game.

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Ryuu ga Gotoku Kenzan!

Developer: SEGA
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release date: March 6
Official website: Link
Why I’m looking forward to it: I’ve written about this game before, and, well, let’s just say my excitement hasn’t exactly subsided. With every new piece of media revealed, this game just keeps looking more and more awesome. I’ve still yet to play either of the first two RGG games, but from all accounts they are supposed to be fantastic, and I see no reason why Kenzan! would be any different. Just download this trailer and TRY to tell me this won’t be the coolest thing so far on this generation of consoles. Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank be damned, as far as I’m concerd, Ryuu ga Gotoku Kenzan! is the first standout exclusive for the PS3. It still doesn’t excuse Sega for not making Shenmue 3, but it’s pretty darn close.

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Stay tuned for part 2.

Following an announcement yesterday, 3D Realms have now released a teaser trailer for what may well be the longest running joke in the gaming industry; Duke Nukem Forever.

Obviously, the teaser doesn’t tell much more than, indeed, 10 and a half years after its original announcement, Duke Nukem Forever is apparently still in development, and still not heading to store shelves anytime before “when it’s done”. This is essentially the first life sign we’ve gotten from the project since 2004 or so, and the first time we’ve been able to see it in action since E3 2001.

As silly as it may sound, I’m actually quite excited about DNF. I mean, not heart-poundingly excited (like I am for Street Fighter IV), or perhaps not even morbidly curious (like I am for the inevitable trainwreck that is Mortal Kombat 8), but there’s certainly something there. I want to play it. I really liked Duke Nukem 3D (and the original platformer Duke Nukems really weren’t bad either), and I don’t see why DNF couldn’t end up being really entertaining as well. To be honest, that trailer from 2001 looks like a lot more fun than most FPS games on the market today.

Five or six years ago I would say DNF still carried the stigma of being a ridiculously delayed, over-hyped game in the vein of Daikatana (which upon its release failed to make anyone John Romero’s bitch) - but I don’t really think that holds true any more. For one, I don’t really think it’s particularly hyped. I think many gamers like myself still have that “They’re making a sequel to Duke3D!” feeling from 1997 lingering somewhere in the back of their heads, and there’s no denying the fact that everyone and their grandma at least KNOWS about the game… but hype? The hype machine from the late 90s, and even that following the 2001 trailer, died out before too long and has since stayed quiet. By this point, DNF’s state of being in limbo feels like it’s some kind of universal constant. It’s like, if/when the game does come out, we can worry about it then - for the last couple of years the release of the game has seemed so far off that there hasn’t really been any point in getting excited.

Needless to say the game could well flop (and what a punchline that would be), but as far as I’m concerned, it’s entirely possible that it’ll be really great as well. By having a potentially groundbreaking new game delayed, there’s always the risk of competitors making it to the store shelves first, running circles around you in the process. As far as DNF goes though, I don’t think the risk is very large; DNF was simply no more groundbreaking 10 years ago than it is now.

Although the 2001 trailer did show some player/world interaction that would admittedly still be pretty impressive by 2007’s standards, it was - seemingly - never much more than a straight-forward action game. Not any action game, sure; Duke Nukem carried with him a unique charisma and personality that are no doubt key to both Duke3D’s and DNF’s success - but what little we know about the new game say nothing about any new concepts or game mechanics that were going to set 1998 ablaze but will look hopelessly dated in 2008. As such, as long as the game is fundamentally good, I feel it has good chances of being every bit as fun as its predecessor. Fun is a keyword, as the sheer fun of 1995’s Duke Nukem 3D is what made it so damn great. Let’s hope Duke Nukem Forever - whenever it is released - doesn’t replace it with lighting effects and cheap gimmicks.

Read more about DNF’s troubled development:

The List

A Decade of Duke: The Brief Long History of DNF

As tough as it is to wrap one’s head around, Street Fighter IV is indeed on the horizon. The game has been shrouded in complete mystery up until this point. Who’s developing it? What characters will it feature? Will there be an arcade release? What will it look like? Will it be in 2D? Well, today the first few answers have started to trickle in as Capcom and 1up unveiled this:

So now we know that SF4 will use polygonal graphics - good looking graphics, at that - but retain classic 2D gameplay. Part of me really wanted to see traditional 2D pixel art, but realistically this is the only way things were going to happen. With the knowledge that the game will use 3D graphics, I am now left hoping it will be the first to succeed where others (Rival Schools, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, Battle Fantasia, et al) have failed, and create a 2D fighter with 3D graphics that actually looks better than its contemporary 2D counterparts.

Judging from the screenshot I’d say things are looking pretty good - Ryu’s design is clearly influenced by Akiman’s art, and hopefully that can give an idea of where they’re going with the art direction and character designs in general. I suppose visuals based more on Kinu Nishimura, Ikeno or Bengus’s work would’ve lead to a game that looked more like SF Zero or SF3 - something much more desirable by certain fans - but I like Akiman’s art as well and it’s about time we see it translated into in-game graphics. On the technical side, SF4 has an advantage over the previously mentioned games in that it doesn’t look decidely last-gen. As far as I’m concerned it looks good enough to compete with Tekken 6, Virtua Fighter 5 or Soul Calibur 4 on reasonably even ground. As long as the game is well animated and looks as good in motion as it does in that screenshot, I have little to fear regarding the game’s visuals.

The screenshot was followed by a press release from Capcom, confirming aside from classic 2-dimensional six-button gamplay, the presence of classic fighters Chun-Li and Dhalsim, but little else. It is however clear that 1up will release more exclusive pictures, news and video footage over the coming weeks, and that its print cousin EGM will have a big SF4 article in its January issue hitting newsstands December 18th.
The tiny sneak peek we’ve gotten today really brings with it at least as many questions as it has answered, but it has undeniably set things in motion and the hype machine is most definitely running at full steam. I don’t like to speculate, so until now I haven’t given SF4 very much thought. With the first look at the game, along with promises of more information in the pipeline though, I guess things just seem a lot more solid, as all of a sudden I’ve found myself incredibly excited about the game, to the point where I have difficulty taking my mind off it. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about a new game. But then, what could possibly be as monumental as Street Fighter Four?