Hello again to everybody. Now, I probably should have done this soon and more towards the beginning of the year, but I guess I could still post this now. As with everybody, there's a number of games that I am eagerly awaiting to come out later in the year, I thought I would post a list my top 10.
10 - Duke Nukem Forever (PS3, 360 and PC)
This is a title that has become something of a legend, having one of the longest development cycles for a video game, having been in development in one form or another since 1997. I was shocked to have seen a few months ago that the game has now been given a set release date and that there is finally a trailer available that roughly reflects the finished product.
I will be incredibly interested to see what Gearbox Software have created, given the parts of the game already developed by 3D Realms. Duke Nukem Forever will (hopefully) be released on the 10th of June worldwide, except for North America, which can expect the Duke to be reaching them four days later.
9 - Battlefield 3 (PS3, 360 and PC)
Until the beginning of the year I wouldn't have even considered placing Battlefield 3 on this list as I did cast something on a blind eye over Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and I don't think I ever gave it as much attention as it deserves. Once I had played through the campaign, which was rather slowly in my case, I then barely touched upon its multiplayer.
Having said that though, I have had endless fun playing Medal of Honor multiplayer, so that allowed to see the Frostbite engine running multiplayer. Those points along with the fact that Battlefield 3's trailers show groundbreaking graphics and fact that it took one member of the DICE team a whole week to set up Frostbite 1.5 outside of the company office. To me this shows that Battlefield 3 should be a seriously powerful game when it comes out on the 2nd of November.
8 - DiRT 3 (PS3, 360 and PC)
When I got hold of a copy of Colin McRae: DiRT 2, put simply, I was blown away by it. With the exception of Burnout Paradise I personally haven't ever had as much fun playing a diving game. Despite moving away from the style of the original game, DiRT 2 still has a great rally-style feel to it and respectfully pays tribute to the late Colin McRae himself.
Like Burnout Paradise I loved the fact that the game still had a lot of playability even long after the main aspect of the game was complete. In DiRT 2 I felt compelled to try and reach the highest XP level, which I assume is 100, even though I had completed the game's singlepayer section at level 85. That said I still have never hit the level cap. In DiRT 3, as far as I am aware, Codemasters are going to in some respects move the series into a game more similar to that of DiRT 2, while also expanding upon the rally elements, which as new snow terrain stages.
I for one, do hope that the game does become something different as I feel that Codematers can now begin to slowly drift away from the games being a part of the Colin McRae series, leaving what they already have as a great tribute to one of the world's greatest rally drivers. DiRT is expect to be available for sale on May 24th.
7 - Alice: Madness Returns (PS3, 360 and PC)
Until quite recently I hadn't even heard of American McGee's Alice, the first entry in the Alice series. Once I had I was hooked on the concept, having also loved least year's Alice in Wonderland film. I love the Gothic themes portrayed with in film and feel that American McGee's Alice also put across a strong Gothic element. I haven't actually played the first game, so really have nothing to go by except for instinct and a simple desire to want to play the new title.
With the two games they explore Alice life after the events of both
Wonderland and
Through the Looking Glass, with Alice's house having burnt down her house and killed her family, all except her. As a result Alice is in a fragile state of mind and is sent to the Rutledge Asylum. While there she eventually find herself re-entering Wonderland, which has become twisted as a result of her unstable mental health.
Madness Returns is set long after the first game, after Alice has since been released from the asylum, although once again she finds herself within a warped and dark Wonderland. While there she also seeks the answers she has asked herself concerning her parents deaths.
Apart from that I don't think I have much else to say, just that I hope to see good things from this title upon it's launch on June 14th.
6 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3, 360 and PC)
Despite the many things I have said about the Call of Duty series I am curious as to how well Activison will be able to create Modern Warfare 3 with Infinity Ward now supposedly defunct. I would like to to into detail about Modern Warfare 3, but I am instead going to being doing a two part series of posts about this over the next few days.
5 - Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception (PS3)
When Drakes Fortune, the first in the Uncharted series was released I payed no attention to it, even though I have been a long time fan of Naught Dog's Jak and Daxter series, I didn't have any faith in Uncharted. It wasn't until a year later that I downloaded the demo out of sheer boredom, with nothing else to do to occupy my time. Once I did play it I was blown away by what I had come across and found myself buying the game the very next day.
I am amazed to see what Naughty Dog have created, in part due to the film-like experience, with a powerful story and well created characters and also due the game's mind-blowing graphic. To me it always seems that Naughty Dog is one of the few developers that seemed to be able to push the Playstation 3 to near it's limits.
In Uncharted 3, players should be able see how Naughty Dog have furthered their graphical output with the game containing lush desert environments and a particular focus on water and fire physics.
Uncharted 3 can be expected to be out on November 1st and 4th in the North American and UK regions respectively, as well as a post from me about it.
4 - inFAMOUS 2 (PS3)
As with Uncharted, inFAMOUS was another game that I was skeptical when it was first released, but later became interested after playing the demo. The world of inFAMOUS features Cole McGrath, who finds himself in the epicenter of a government conspiracy and a whole load of super powers after a package he was expected to deliver blows up.
This may at first sound like a slight twist on classic superhero stories, which inFAMOUS is loosely based upon, with a similar comic book style, except inFAMOUS' main focus is that the player can actively chose if they become a hero or infamous by making many different moral decisions throughout the game. As well as all of that, the game is set in a open world, which is spit between different islands, in a similar manner to Grand Theft Auto.
inFAMOUS 2 sets to expand upon the experience provided by the first game in the series, with Sucker Punch hoping to expand the karma system in place in the first game, meaning players will have a greater rein over how they develop throughout the game and having more choices as whether to evil. when it reaches the shops on June 7th.
3 - Ratchet and Clank: One 4 All (PS3)
Moving swiftly, onwards and here is number three on my list. Having been a fan of Ratchet and Clank since the release of the original game on the Playstation 2. I can see great things coming from this game, with Insomniac Games focusing this title of co-operative gameplay, a feature which has not been seen in the series since Ratchet: Gladiator. The co-op is set to be designed for up to four players, both on and offline.
As a result of the online and offline co-op gameplay Insomniac have opted to display the game with a fixed camera angle that will show all of the players at once, in comparison to split-screen. This means they had to redesign the characters to be in proportion to each other, giving the characters a look that is unique and quite different to how they have been shown in previous titles.
Beyond that Insomniac have been rather quiet about revealing the game's plot, only really explaining that Doctor Nefarious' plan of destroying Ratchet, Clank and Qwark once and for all ends in disaster, leaving him and his three archenemies fighting for survival from a mysterious unknown enemy.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is due to be on the horizon around autumn, so keep your eyes peeled for this title.
2 - Resistance 3 (PS3)
Down to number two on the list now and this is Resistance 3, another title out later this year from Insomniac Games. Following on from their blockbuster release, Resistance 2, the third entry into the series main story, the game is this time focused on survivor Joseph Capelli, once a soldier alongside Nathan Hale, the protagonist of the first two Resistance games. Hale is now not included in the series following the shocking cliffhanger at the end of R2. At this point I would like to say, if you haven't already played Resistance or Resistance 2, then why the hell not? There are two games most definitely worth getting hold of and both also now fairly cheap.
Fans of the series, as well as newcomers should find this latest installment to be an interesting new chapter. Since the events in R2, humanity is down to it's last survivors, with them being forced to hide from the Chimeran forces that now control the planet. The few now that still fight back now have to with any scraps they can find, including grenades that are made of nails being attached to bean tins.
The critically accliamed online has also been changed, with the action being toned down from a maximum of 60 player matches to a maximum of 32, with Insomniac Games hoping this will create a tighter, meaner, faster and more exciting experience in comparison to Resistance 2's large maps, which could result in players often spending their time simply finding enemies or moving into the current area of action.
The online co-op elements has also been dropped, but a co-op version of the single player campaign will again be available.
Resistance 3 has been dated for a release on September 6th, in North America, with other regions expected to have the game shortly after.
1 - The Last Guardian (PS3)
Finally, number one on my list and I would like to speak about The Last Guardian. The Last Guardian is currently in development by a incredibly small Japanese team called Team ICO, named so after their first title for the Playstation 2. ICO was a game that was very individual at the time, combining puzzle, beautiful graphics and an emotionally gripping story.
Their second title, The Shadow of the Colossus is considered to be a spiritual prequel to ICO as well as a sequel, combining story elements from the previous games and also adding new facts to the story. The Last Guardian is set to combine gameplay elements from both other games, with ICO's puzzle aspects and the fighting style from The Shadow of the Colossus.
Apart from that I honestly know very little else about the game, apart from the rough outline of the game's story, which revolves around the friendship between a young boy and a griffin-like creature.
So, that is my top ten games that are yet to come out later this year. I would like to point out that I did consider adding Portal 2 to this list, but being less that two weeks away from release I wanted to instead mention games which are further off.
So, after this somewhat length post, I have indeed been randomthings and I would like to thank you very much for reading this and I'll of course be posting again soon.
