Infamous 2 - Already Released. Owned! (Unopened too.)
LA Noire - Already Released. Owned! (Unplayed!)
Resistance 3 - September 6th
Uncharted 3 - November 1st
Yugioh World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus- Already Released. Owned!
Dark Souls - October 4th
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 - Already Released.
"Sonic 20th Anniversary Project" - November 1st
Disgaea 4 - September 6th
This is merely scratching the surface of all the good games slated for Q3 and Q4. Besides this, there is also a new system, the Playstation Vita to pick up and then buy games for. I tried to count how many games I added to my library last year. Once I hit 10, I gave up, figuring that I had miscounted in some way. So far, I have gained:
Dead Space 2
Marvel VS Capcom 3
Portal 2
YGO WC2011
LA Noire
Infamous 2
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2
DJ Hero 2
That is already 8 games, so it is no surprise that I bought (well) over 10 games last year. This isn't even counting Digital Downloads. Granted, some games are gifts, and there is no way I would be able to pay for every game I have. The next releases for this year are so good that I have no idea how I am going to play them all. Besides actually getting the games, playing them is a challenge in itself. After work, yugioh, and other hobbies, it is hard to find time to play all the games that I have. As said earlier, I have an unopened Infamous 2 sitting on the cable receiver, just waiting to be played. I wan't playing that because Chelsea and I needed to finish up Dead Space 2. As awesome as Dead Space 2 is, I had to stop playing that because I needed to finish Resident Evil 1: Director's Cut before Resident Evil: Code Veronica HD is released. I had planned to play through the first 3 games so that we have a better understanding of the events that take place in the game. Of course, I haven't been playing RE1 faithfully because of all the League of Legends. In fact, LoL takes up far too much of my time, perhaps I need some organization so that I can actually accomplish something.
I won't hold my breath, though. With so many good games I plan to get, the backlog is just going to grow more and more daunting.
Sonic Generations
Dubbed "Sonic 20th Anniversary Project," Sonic Generations is one of the best ideas to hit the Sonic scene in a long time. The game is a tribute to the 20 years of great levels by recreating them from 3 different "eras": The Genesis era, the Dreamcast era, and the Modern Era. So far, we do not have many levels revealed besides Chemical Plant from Sonic 2, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 1, and the classic Green Hill zone. In these levels, you have stages for Modern Sonic to play and stages with Classic Sonic. Classic Sonic is exactly like the original Genesis version, where your only tools Spin Dash and Roll, and Roll cancel. Modern Sonic has his Homing Attack, O Button slides, Boost, Spin Dash, Roll and Roll cancel. People wanting a return to fun stages with less filler in between should be excited to Generation's return to pure platforming. Of course there are some scenes here and there, but so far there is no hint of Adventure zones, npcs to do "quests" for, or objects to hunt down.
Most Sonic fans and Sonic haters will tell you that all they want in a Sonic game are fun levels to play with not much in between. This is probably the answer to most of our wishes and we can only hope that Sonic Team takes their time to make this one the best in years. I personally hope for:
-Better frame rate on the PS3. The frames in Sonic Unleashed were abysmal and there is no excuse to have it that way in Generations.
-Multiple ranks for levels such as in Sonic Adventure 2. In Adventure 2(expanded from Sonic Adventure 1's 3 rank system), every level in the game had 5 ranks, essentially 5 different missions to do in the same level. It went from Beat the level->Beat the level with a certain amount of rings->Beat the level within a certain time limit->Find a Hidden Object in the level-> Beat the level on "hard mode." The player is graded on their performance with a grade of A-E, where A is obviously the best. Getting A ranks on all stages is excellent replay value and is something I would love to see again.
-Downloadable content in Sonic Unleashed was sub par. Players could spend money on new missions for levels they already have. Once completed, there was no reason to ever do them again. I am hoping that Download Content in Generations is in the form of new levels, new characters and other things that players will enjoy buying. Even if they are skins of Sonics friends, I for one would love to play through levels as different characters if I had the choice.
Silent Hill Downpour
I believe Downpour is the 8th iteration of the Silent Hill Series. In this original game you play as Murphy Pendleton, a convict that has an unfortunate bus accident, stranding him in Silent Hill. As you can see in the video, the settings are still amazing with a great musical score to go with it, just as all the other games. In Downpour you have a number of people you can meet and do things for. Based on the latest videos, the Silent Hill town seems even grander than what we are accustomed to.
Of course, in 2011 gamers are plagued by many refutable feelings. The worst, and one that has dropped the ratings of the more recent Silent Hill games is nostalgia and the idea that "if the latest version of a game isnt as good as the first time I played it when I was 13, then that new version is automatically a bad game. The go-to complaint is that the modernized controls in our more recent Silent Hills are what kills the game. Some even say that the early games are scarier because the controls are so limited that you have no choice in how to react in most situations. The tension of the moment is multiplied by the terrible control scheme and the lack of defense in these older games. Now we have something like Homecoming, where next generation consoles can combine awesome visuals with a spectacular soundtrack. But once your put the camera on the Right Analog Stick and give your character knowledge of how to defend yourself(and no we aren't talking about Rocket Launchers, plasma grenades and rifles that shoot chainsaws), then the game is instantly bad. Let us not forget that some "Action Horror" games like Dead Space are actually good, and our latest Silent Hills are no where near the level of action in Dead Space. But alas, Vatra Games did make a couple of great changes to keep the most fickle of reviewers satisfied.
Murphy can actually fight, but finding a weapon during a frantic chase will often be too stressful. Chairs, bottles, iron bars, book cases, and other environmental elements can be used to slow, inhibit, or even combat the devilish creatures of Silent Hill. The goal is that most players will probably run in fear of most things, but you can actually be brave and take evil on with a little improvisation. Other subtle horror elements return too, like fixed cameras in certain areas and an aim-able flashlight. Honestly, as long as the story and atmosphere is good, you can't really go wrong with this game. People who base their reviews on 10 year old games should probably rethink how they analyze "fun."
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
I know what you're thinking. "You just got Marvel vs Capcom 3 this year, and Ultimate is releasing this year too? Don't you find that a little ridiculous?" While it does seem bad to support a developer that pushes out games this way, you have to remember that Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom would have been download content released over the course of the last few months. Every character pack of 2 could be anywhere from 8.99 to 14.99 per set, then there are new moves and gameplay balancing that would have been done via multiple large patches. Ultimate MVC also has a new interface, new stages, a spectator mode for online matches, and possibly more additions that we have not been told about. In any case, the characters alone are enough to spend $39.99 on. All shoppers should be trying to get a deal on their games anyway. If you shop at the trade-in place, you can get a discount on your Ultimate MVC that way. If you shop at big name retail place, you probably got a gift card for buying "vanilla" MVC that you can use towards Ultimate MVC...and get another gift card back.
We only have gameplay videos of Strider Hiryu, Firebrand, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange, and Nemesis. The remaining characters that need gameplay videos are Phoenix Wright, Rocket Racoon, Iron Fist and Frank West. All of them look really really good and I for one can not wait to try out Nemesis. In the latest videos, Nemesis is shown having awesome bounces, command grabs, and a level 3 Hyper combo that murders low HP characters. He is also one of the tallest characters in the game, giving him outlandish hit boxes(for you and your opponent!). My team of Jill, Trish, and Captain America haven't shown any changes yet in the latest videos. I do hope someone gets new attacks though, or else Nemesis is getting a slot.
Cap Trish Nemesis?
Jill Trish Nemesis?
Jill Cap Nemesis?
How can you not be excited for this?
There are even more games to talk about this year and I simply don't have the space to do it all, or the time for that matter! The 3 listed above are most likely day 1 purchases for myself. You can find me on the leaderboards for Sonic or in lobbies for Ultimate MVC as Ealdnarche(PSN) or maybe some Youtube videos of Downpour under BoogiepopPhantom05. I know Tumblr will love some horric pics of the game on my VeeDotMe Tumblr blog.
EXCITE.
No comments:
Post a Comment