There are quite a few games I am looking forward to, and here's what I want to see. Two blogs in one night you lucky lucky people
Gears of War 3:
I am a huge Gears of War fan, having played the original on the PC (a much better version than the 360) I bought my 360 specifically to play Gears 2, I had no interest in Microsoft's ludicrously unreliable console prior to that. The two games so far are wonderfully well done, and some of the all time best shooters. As such I am not really looking for any big changes for 3, and basically want a continuation of the story. The story and writing is something very fashionable to complain about, people like to crticise it, it is badly written, badly thought out etc. I strongly disagree, I think it is very well written for the very simple reason that it conveys exactly what it needs to to be inkeeping with the tone of the game. Gears of War is about large men with large guns having fun chainsawing stuff, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. As such the writing needs to reflect that ethos, if all the cast spoke like they were in a shakespeare production, or like Hercule Poirot, it would be ridiculous. Also, we have different genres for good reason, not every game needs or benefits from a plot like metal gear solid, convoluted and deep does not automatically make something better. I enjoy rom coms, and I enjoy bizarre films like a scanner darkly, and very clever films like fight club or the usual suspects, that does not mean that Notting Hill needs some sort of Keyser Soze figure. Likewise Gears of War would not benefit from being written by the guys behind Myst.
Gears of War is about lots of over the top action and awesome fun, and the writing reflects that. The story is interesting and provides ample motivation for moving the plot along, which is exactly what you want it to do. As such I feel it is pitched at exactly the right level.
What I would really like to see is a tightening up of one or two basics, not a change, but a tweak. One is cover, I have mentioned several times before that the cover in gears of war can feel a little unnatural, artificially placed for the benefit of the shootout. It needs to take a look at my beloved Vanquish, which feels very organic, like you are taking cover in whatever is to hand. It blends with the setting well too, the colours work, the textures mix, and so on. Gears does sometimes suffer from chest high grey walls on red ground, with everything looking quite smooth and neat, including the rubble, all placed a little too deliberately.
All in all I can't wait for this game, and was gutted when it got so badly postponed, damn you microsoft.
Killzone 3:
Another of my favourite shooters awaiting its' third installment. I never played the original, but love 2. It is sci fi, but also dark, gritty and brutal. There is a wonderful mix of the futuristic ISA in their clean high tech ships and guns, against the very world war one feel helghast, with their retro feel of trenches and steam punk industry. More than any other game for me it really feels like war, the battles are violent and dirty, they create a feeling of desperation and hatred between the sides as you fight for every last inch. There is nothing in particular I would like to see changed for 3, I had no real criticisms of 2. The one thing I did find clunky was the controls in certain situations. Mostly they worked fine, but as I liked to use a sniper rifle, holding one button to stick to cover, another to look over the cover, one to zoom, then one to aim, and one to fire, was actually rather hard to achieve. Whilst people like to complain about sticky cover systems, they do free up a button and allow very simple means of cool looking motions. Some way of easing up aiming from cover would be great. Aside from that, more of the same please.
FEAR 3:
Yet another shooter I love on game number 3 (at least in official numerics). I played FEAR a lot and loved it, including the two expansions. The AI is the best ever made, the atmosphere was excellent, story great. It never did what you expected and avoided horror cliches, whilst giving you awesome guns to kill clever dudes. I haven't actually played 2 yet, though I will do before 3, but I have heard that 2 focuses more on the action side. What I want from 3 therefore is a return to the horror side a bit more. All I want is a continuation of the great story and atmosphere.
Steel Battalion:
I love mech games, even if they don't love me. I also love the potential on display behind the Kinect. So the idea of stomping around controlling a mech, without a pad, is awesome. I have absolutely no idea how it could possibly work, and I look forward to seeing how they do it. The people behind the original steel battalion are obviously mech freaks too, given their original peripheral, so I have high hopes they will make a proper hard core mech game, that feels great. So long as it doesn't turn out to be Mech Party, I will be happy.
On the subject of Kinect, I am very intrigued by news of a Kinect Gears of War. Like Steel Battalion, I have no clue how that could possibly work, but I have strong faith in the awesome Cliffy B that work it would. I do not think he would be willing to put out a sub par Epic game just to make a Kinect cash in, I feel Epic must see a real possibility here, and I can't wait to see what happens.
Army of Two: 3
As far as co-op shooters go, Army of Two:40th day is the best by a country mile, and the ending was very cool. As such I really hope there is another one in the not too distant future, continuing the tale of Salem and Rios in all their fist bumping glory.
Battlefield Bad Company 3:
I think the bad company squad are great characters, funny and interesting, getting into crazy situations and scraping through. The game mechanics are brilliant too, blowing up buildings always rocks. As such everything is there for a great sequel. My only concern is the BC2 ending, **spoiler** Russians invade america. It was stupid in MW2, it was every bit as stupid in BC2. I am hoping they can do something with this story, BC1 worked because it was like the film 3 Kings, a few soldiers trying to get rich quick without anyone noticing. BC2 had them as almost accidental heroes, trying to keep up with events beyond their control, it is great stuff. An invasion though seriously risks that humour and personal involvement. MW2 ruined itself by trying to do a Russian invasion seriously, and failed completely, BC3 can only succeed by maintaining the same irreverance and believable-ness that the previous two have had, it will have to keep the squad relatable and human and humorous in amongst the give gritty battle.
Dragon Age 2:
Origins was totally awesome, I have played it through multiple times and loved every minute. I know very little about 2, but one thing that does concern me is the loss of so much character choice. The character creation process of Origins was excellent, and the choice of race is an RPG staple. I am not saying that making you play as a human is bad, or wont work, it could do fine, but I hope it is not an indication of a wider scaling back of the RPG elements in favour of a more instant action game. Looking at some of the criticisms of Origins, like its' pace, I disagree with many of them, and I hope that 2 remains true to its' RPG roots and doesn't lose too much depth in favour of twitchy kill animations.
So, what are you looking forward to and why?
Gears of War 3:
I am a huge Gears of War fan, having played the original on the PC (a much better version than the 360) I bought my 360 specifically to play Gears 2, I had no interest in Microsoft's ludicrously unreliable console prior to that. The two games so far are wonderfully well done, and some of the all time best shooters. As such I am not really looking for any big changes for 3, and basically want a continuation of the story. The story and writing is something very fashionable to complain about, people like to crticise it, it is badly written, badly thought out etc. I strongly disagree, I think it is very well written for the very simple reason that it conveys exactly what it needs to to be inkeeping with the tone of the game. Gears of War is about large men with large guns having fun chainsawing stuff, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. As such the writing needs to reflect that ethos, if all the cast spoke like they were in a shakespeare production, or like Hercule Poirot, it would be ridiculous. Also, we have different genres for good reason, not every game needs or benefits from a plot like metal gear solid, convoluted and deep does not automatically make something better. I enjoy rom coms, and I enjoy bizarre films like a scanner darkly, and very clever films like fight club or the usual suspects, that does not mean that Notting Hill needs some sort of Keyser Soze figure. Likewise Gears of War would not benefit from being written by the guys behind Myst.
Gears of War is about lots of over the top action and awesome fun, and the writing reflects that. The story is interesting and provides ample motivation for moving the plot along, which is exactly what you want it to do. As such I feel it is pitched at exactly the right level.
What I would really like to see is a tightening up of one or two basics, not a change, but a tweak. One is cover, I have mentioned several times before that the cover in gears of war can feel a little unnatural, artificially placed for the benefit of the shootout. It needs to take a look at my beloved Vanquish, which feels very organic, like you are taking cover in whatever is to hand. It blends with the setting well too, the colours work, the textures mix, and so on. Gears does sometimes suffer from chest high grey walls on red ground, with everything looking quite smooth and neat, including the rubble, all placed a little too deliberately.
All in all I can't wait for this game, and was gutted when it got so badly postponed, damn you microsoft.
- so hawt
Killzone 3:
Another of my favourite shooters awaiting its' third installment. I never played the original, but love 2. It is sci fi, but also dark, gritty and brutal. There is a wonderful mix of the futuristic ISA in their clean high tech ships and guns, against the very world war one feel helghast, with their retro feel of trenches and steam punk industry. More than any other game for me it really feels like war, the battles are violent and dirty, they create a feeling of desperation and hatred between the sides as you fight for every last inch. There is nothing in particular I would like to see changed for 3, I had no real criticisms of 2. The one thing I did find clunky was the controls in certain situations. Mostly they worked fine, but as I liked to use a sniper rifle, holding one button to stick to cover, another to look over the cover, one to zoom, then one to aim, and one to fire, was actually rather hard to achieve. Whilst people like to complain about sticky cover systems, they do free up a button and allow very simple means of cool looking motions. Some way of easing up aiming from cover would be great. Aside from that, more of the same please.
- retro sci fi
FEAR 3:
Yet another shooter I love on game number 3 (at least in official numerics). I played FEAR a lot and loved it, including the two expansions. The AI is the best ever made, the atmosphere was excellent, story great. It never did what you expected and avoided horror cliches, whilst giving you awesome guns to kill clever dudes. I haven't actually played 2 yet, though I will do before 3, but I have heard that 2 focuses more on the action side. What I want from 3 therefore is a return to the horror side a bit more. All I want is a continuation of the great story and atmosphere.
Steel Battalion:
I love mech games, even if they don't love me. I also love the potential on display behind the Kinect. So the idea of stomping around controlling a mech, without a pad, is awesome. I have absolutely no idea how it could possibly work, and I look forward to seeing how they do it. The people behind the original steel battalion are obviously mech freaks too, given their original peripheral, so I have high hopes they will make a proper hard core mech game, that feels great. So long as it doesn't turn out to be Mech Party, I will be happy.
- the original was deep...
On the subject of Kinect, I am very intrigued by news of a Kinect Gears of War. Like Steel Battalion, I have no clue how that could possibly work, but I have strong faith in the awesome Cliffy B that work it would. I do not think he would be willing to put out a sub par Epic game just to make a Kinect cash in, I feel Epic must see a real possibility here, and I can't wait to see what happens.
Army of Two: 3
As far as co-op shooters go, Army of Two:40th day is the best by a country mile, and the ending was very cool. As such I really hope there is another one in the not too distant future, continuing the tale of Salem and Rios in all their fist bumping glory.
Battlefield Bad Company 3:
I think the bad company squad are great characters, funny and interesting, getting into crazy situations and scraping through. The game mechanics are brilliant too, blowing up buildings always rocks. As such everything is there for a great sequel. My only concern is the BC2 ending, **spoiler** Russians invade america. It was stupid in MW2, it was every bit as stupid in BC2. I am hoping they can do something with this story, BC1 worked because it was like the film 3 Kings, a few soldiers trying to get rich quick without anyone noticing. BC2 had them as almost accidental heroes, trying to keep up with events beyond their control, it is great stuff. An invasion though seriously risks that humour and personal involvement. MW2 ruined itself by trying to do a Russian invasion seriously, and failed completely, BC3 can only succeed by maintaining the same irreverance and believable-ness that the previous two have had, it will have to keep the squad relatable and human and humorous in amongst the give gritty battle.
Dragon Age 2:
Origins was totally awesome, I have played it through multiple times and loved every minute. I know very little about 2, but one thing that does concern me is the loss of so much character choice. The character creation process of Origins was excellent, and the choice of race is an RPG staple. I am not saying that making you play as a human is bad, or wont work, it could do fine, but I hope it is not an indication of a wider scaling back of the RPG elements in favour of a more instant action game. Looking at some of the criticisms of Origins, like its' pace, I disagree with many of them, and I hope that 2 remains true to its' RPG roots and doesn't lose too much depth in favour of twitchy kill animations.
So, what are you looking forward to and why?
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