Anticipation Station
Has
anyone ever noticed how boring the month of June is? It’s so warm and sunny
outside that I’m almost tempted to drop what I’m doing and go stand in the
sun. Then I realize what it would do to my skin and scurry off to somewhere
shaded. Like…
…The
living room (where big-screen gameplay is had).
…The
bedroom (smaller screen, but it’s where my game collection is).
…The
basement (I’m sure there’s a copy of Ice Hockey down there somewhere!).
Nonetheless, game collections only include titles that have been played. June
will have some hot releases, but PSP and Nintendo DS players won’t get more
than a few games each. What’s a gamer to do?
Long
hours of thought, pondering, and other synonyms of the symmetrical psyche led
to the conclusion that, no matter what we do this summer, nothing’s going to
keep us from wanting a piece of the Christmas gaming pie. (I want the whole
pie actually, but I’m willing to spare a bite or two if I must. If I was the
last person in line to get an Xbox 360 and found out that they had two
controllers left, I’d be happy to let the guy behind me buy the
controllers. Wink, wink.)
Those
who can play games play; those who can’t play talk. Following
that rule I’ve compiled a list of games I haven’t played but can’t stop
talking about. They’re adventures I’m anxiously anticipating. Collaborations
I’m clamoring to conquer. Racing games…that are revving my engine.
Most of
these games should be released this fall, but if not, they can always go on my
next list: Games I’m Anticipating For the Second Time: Volume IX.
Why
it’s intriguing:
We all could use a new vehicular combat game, and who better to bring it to us
than Sega. Their expertise in racing and driving game stretches back to the
days of OutRun and Daytona USA and peaked with the first Crazy Taxi. They’re
poised to put the pedal to the metal once more with Full Auto.
Why
you’ll love it:
The best car destruction visuals since…since…since nothing! Full Auto has
the most realistic car crashes, body damage, and fire effects I’ve seen all
year. Blast your friends and computer-controlled foes with multiple weapons
of the bullet and bazooka fare. With your eyes bulging and your jaw dropped,
watch as the vehicles fall apart as they skid, crash, and get blown to pieces
by unrelenting weaponry. If this game plays half as good as it looks even
Twisted Metal will be envious.
What
could be improved:
Full Auto might be a killer vehicular combat game, but everyone compares it to
Burnout. I suspect that it will be a game that holds its own. If Sega wants
to compete, however, they’ll need to increase the speed and add blur/cinematic
effects to match Criterion’s unrivaled series.
Why
it’s intriguing:
The game will last for no more than 24 hours. In other words, you have one
full day to save the world – the clock never stops ticking! Dawdle and die.
Why
you’ll love it:
More bloodshed will be spread as Jack Bauer hunts down new terrorists. The
story takes place between seasons 2 and 3, revealing what happened when
President Palmer was out of commission. Who ran the country? Most likely the
sleazy Vice President who tried to take Palmer’s job at the end of season 2.
Who’s behind the new terrorist plot? It could be the same people who paid a
female assassin to infect Palmer with a life-threatening virus. She
resurfaced at the end of season 4 so we know Jack doesn’t catch her, but that
doesn’t mean she won’t play a role in the final hours of the game. Like the
show, movie sequences will have split pictures for intensive purposes. Better
still, all major players from the show will be present in the game so long as
they were introduced by season 2.
What
could be improved:
This is another video game based on another TV show. Knowing that most of the
viewers won’t play the game, it’s almost guaranteed that the best plot twists,
the best revelations, and the best sequences will be saved for the show
itself. This is a mistake. The bigger the surprises in the game, the more
people that will talk about it. More people would become curious, and more
people would play it.
Smell-the-fart acting taken
to a whole new level.
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (PlayStation 2)
Why
it’s intriguing:
No more pre-rendered backgrounds!
Why
you’ll love it:
Traditional Onimusha gameplay + full 3D levels + better graphics = one heck of
a button-masher. A good button-masher with intelligent gameplay and painful
puzzles. At least two playable characters are going to be included, and from
what I can tell you’ll be able to switch between them at any time, during any
battle. Aside from the fun factor, it’s likely that you’ll need to change
characters to solve puzzles. Resident Evil 0 included puzzles where both
characters had to work together to solve a puzzle – I wouldn’t be surprised if
this game had a similar feature. At this stage the whole game looks
beautiful, sporting some of the best PlayStation 2 visuals seen at E3. The
gameplay* is nearly identical to the previous games in the series, which
shouldn’t surprise or disappoint anyone. The new full-3D environments allow
for larger enemy battles. If we’re lucky it’ll also allow for bigger, more
fearsome boss encounters.
What
could be improved:
For the love of gaming
PLEASE remove the sliding puzzles! Capcom has changed the puzzles with each
Onimusha, yet for this one they decided to keep the puzzles introduced in the
last game. Also, as with most games when they enter the third dimension for
the first time, the camera isn’t always where it should be.
Why
it’s intriguing:
Microsoft bet their video game farm (consisting of over $1 billion) on the
Halo franchise. Now they’re betting Xbox 360’s success on convergence and a
game that cost them $350 million to obtain: Perfect Dark.
Why
you’ll love it:
Halo-style gameplay with a classic Rare touch. Perfect Dark Zero was absent
from E3, but prior to the show Microsoft gave the world a glimpse of what the
gameplay will be like. Moving at the speed of Halo, Zero will be a
high-octane first-person shooter with stealth and sophistication. Cloaking
suits and sniper rifles are guaranteed to be in any game that dares to take on
Master Chief. New to multiplayer is jet air packs. They’ll add a new
dimension to the gameplay for sure, and if the controls turn out to be as
seamless as Halo’s, aerial battles could be the best part.
What
could be improved:
Other than the reported polygon count (Joanna Dark has 5,000 polys), Perfect
Dark Zero is too elusive to judge. Deep down I think Microsoft wants to
release it at launch, but they won’t make any promises, nor have they let the
gaming press play it. Maybe they wish to taunt us, as if to say, "We have the
best game ever and we’re not going to let you touch it!" Yeah, well I’m
rubber and you’re glue! (Actually I’m not. I’m really just a sad, sad puppy
who longs for the day when, like Neo from The Matrix, I am one with
Zero.)
Is it me or should there be
a monster standing on the left side of this picture?
Tales of Legendia (PlayStation 2)
Why
it’s intriguing:
It’s Tales of Legendia! No clarification necessary.
Why
you’ll love it:
Beautiful graphics and a wonderful artistic style unique to this chapter in
the series. That sounds vain, doesn’t it? It’s what’s inside that counts,
but right now we don’t know what’s inside because it wasn’t playable at E3.
The running video failed to show a substantial amount of gameplay, but I’m
going to go out on a whim and say that that doesn’t matter. The Tales series
has improved with every chapter; Symphonia was an unforgettable masterpiece.
Assuming Namco keeps up the tradition, Legendia will be a remarkable, must-own
role-playing game.
What
could be improved:
No rehashed quest within a quest, please! I love Symphonia, but I didn’t love
taking the same journey (more or less) twice.
Why
it’s intriguing:
Last night Burnout 1 got a little needy and called up Burnout 2 for a button
call. Their sweet gaming passion led to the birth of Burnout Legends.
Why
you’ll love it:
Burnout gets better with every sequel, therefore it would be impossible for
Criterion to whip out a PSP version that didn’t include the awesome Takedown
feature. Legends has it, along with numerous (maybe even the whole lineup)
tracks from the first two Burnout games. These tracks were excellent back in
the day but would seem a little dated in comparison to Criterion’s latest
achievements. That’s why they’ve upgraded the entire game to match the
quality of Burnout 3 (nearly), creating one of the most impressive PSP games
to date. I’m not always stoked for ports, especially when I have the Burnout
trilogy in my gaming library and will be adding Burnout 4 as soon as it’s
released. However, this is not merely a rehash. It’s a portable version of
two of my favorite racing games; includes Burnout 3’s gameplay features; and
will likely include a few new tracks exclusive to this version of the game. I
wouldn’t be surprised if there were PSP-specific mini-games and multiplayer
features as well.
What
could be improved:
Call me a Criterion nut, but I say nuttin’.
*Okay, I admit it. I must confess that I did play
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for a brief moment at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo. I know these were supposed to be games that I wanted to
play but hadn’t, but this wasn’t my fault! There was a kiosk at the Sony
booth sitting all by itself. Every kiosk was occupied, but this one was all
alone. From afar I could hear it weeping. I’m not one to let a kiosk cry. I
went over to console the console and before I knew it my hands were wrapped
around the controller.
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