Top 10 New Games of 2009

News lately has been full of previews, and rather than just restate what I'm reading, I'm going to offer my predictions/expectations for the year.

Top 10 New Franchises

1. Prototype
Release: June
Developer : Radical Entertainment
Platforms: 360/PS3/PC

This game is full of so much awesomeness, that I don't think my 360 will even be able to contain it. You play as one of the most badass gaming characters ever as he rampages across a disaster-struck NYC, killing or destroying everything in his path. His mutant abilities to transform body parts into weapons, like huge claws, massive spikes, or thick armored plates, make him nearly impossible to kill. And you can consume other people to take on their appearance, or to learn their skills or watch their memory. Consuming memories is how you learn the backstory to the game, which is a sweet idea for narrative work.

2. Borderlands
Release: June
Developer: Gearbox
Platforms: 360/PS3/PC

This is another game that has me psyched for its sheer coolness. The game takes place on an alien world with a wild-west feel. With no government in sight, the raiders and explorers roam free through the desserts, driving sweet combat buggies as they fight off rivals and dangerous beasts. But though the game has a lot of driving and shooting, its an RPG/shooter hybrid, and the RPG side shows strongly with the loot. The game supposedly has over 650,000 unique guns already, due to a weapon creation system in the game that generates more guns than any dev team could possibly hard code. Seriously, over half a million different guns, do you need anything else?

3. Champions Online
Release: June
Developer: Crpytic Studios
Platforms: 360/PC

The newest MMORPG from Cryptic Studios, the makers of City of Heroes and City of Villains. This one is going to have a very in-depth character creation system, where you design your own superhero, from his appearance to his powers to weaknesses. The screens and info so far look great, so this is definitely the next MMO on my list.

4. Dragon Age: Origins
Release: TBA 2009
Developer: BioWare
Platform: 360/PS3/PC

The developer on this one should say it all. As the newest RPG from the developer of Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Jade Empire & Baldur's Gate, there is no way that Dragon Age can't be good. It's a huge fantasy world, with tons of our favorite fantasy creatures, but with the excellent game design of BioWare. And each character class has a unique begin to the game, going through a lengthy origin sequence, which adds a lot to replay value.

5. Darksiders
Release: August
Developer: Vigil Games
Platform: 360/PS3

This is another one with a pretty badass premise. Armageddon has just begone, and the earth is now a battleground between angels and demons, battling over the last remnants of humanity. You play as one of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, War. And its your job to annhialate all the other bastards that are roaming the wasteland that was once our world. Did I mention you get a giant sword, a warrior horse, and gattling guns?

6. Saboteur
Release: Summer
Developer: Pandemic
Platform: 360/PS3

From the famed developer Pandemic (Battlefront series among others), this looks to be a highly unique stealth game. Set in WWII behind enemy lines (I believe its Paris), the character takes on the role of a partisan fighter who is attempting to sabotage Nazi plans and help bring them down from the inside. The game has a unique art style for many of the sequences (I believe its the un-saved areas), where everything is shades of grey except for the red Nazi flags & symbols, kind of like Pleasantville. It looks to be a very original and action-packed title.

7. Singularity
Release: TBA 2009
Developer: Raven Software
Platform: 360/PS3/PC

This is another title from a well-known developer. Raven is releasing a trio of heavy-hitters this year, including the new Wolfenstein, and the new X-Men game, but Singularity may be the most unique of the three. The story puts the player on a strange island where an accident manipulated the time continuum. The island will go through periodic shifts, where everything around you changes from its broken-down contemporary form to its brand-new Cold War version. The game also lets you manipulate time yourself, like the ability to send objects forward or backwards in time to collapse/rebuild them, freezing objects by pausing time, and decaying your enemies into dust. The puzzle opportunities sound as intruiging as Braid's, but in 3D.

8. Demigod
Release: April
Developer: Gas Powered Games
Platform: PC

This game is set to combine all of the best elements of RTS and RPG into one. Players choose their race/team and then select a Demigod, choosing either an Assassin or a General unit. The Generals play much more like RTS, commanding all of your little minions around the battlefield to take out the enemies. Assassin units are highly powerful on their own, so rather than micromanage your troops, you let them fight on their own while you hunt down key opposition to kill yourself. The size of the battles is impressive, the scaling looks spot-on, and there are some awesome creature/unit designs, like the impossibly huge Castle Demigod.

9. Halo Wars
Release: March
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Platforms: 360

This one is already out, but its from 09, so it deserves a spot on the list. Take the most popular console FPS and turn it into a console RTS- sounds kind of crazy right? But Halo was originally conceived as an RTS by Bungie, and it still kicks ass after returning to its roots. I''ve only gotten to play the demo so far, but I'm hoping to get the full version for my birthday later this month. The game uses a built-for-360 control scheme, which makes it one of the best (if not THE best) RTS games on consoles. It's action-packed, it includes all of our favorite units (like Warthogs and Scorpion tanks) and keeps the feel & integrity of the Halo universe. Ensemble was shut down after finishing the game, but that only makes it more alluring.

10. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Release: June
Developer: Rocksteady
Platforms: 360/PS3/PC

This may be based on one of the oldest IP's in action fiction, but the game itself is a new franchise. It isn't based on any movie or tv series, so the developers were free to do as they'd like. The game's premise is that Batman was following a recently-captured Joker into Arkham Asylum, when the madman breaks out and takes over the joint. The place is massive, including tons of underground and secret areas, so the whole game takes place in the huge madhouse. The action and stealth seem integrated well, and are a blast from what I've read so far. This game may finally redeem the Batman name in video games, and even may him a hit again, like Dark Knight did with movies.

- Scott

LEGO & Marvel MMO's

The genre of MMO's got a pretty sweet announcement this week: not 1, but 2 Marvel MMO's are in development.

Gazillion Entertainment (a new game company) announced that they had reached a deal to use the Marvel Universe and its characters in their upcoming projects. But rather than just make a single game, Gazillion is going to get its money worth.

They will be making a "casual" MMO called Marvel Super Hero Squad and a hardcore, more traditional version called Marvel Universe. The casual game is being developed by Amazing Society, and the hardcore version by Gargantuan, both wholly-owned studios of Gazillion. How an MMO is going to be casual is anyone's guess, but its cool to see them trying new things.

This sounds like excellent news for any Marvel fan, especially since DC Universe Online is coming out later this year for PC & PS3. But this isn't the first time we've been promised a Marvel MMO.

Cryptic Studios, known for its well-liked City of Heroes MMO, was originally making a Marvel MMO. But the deal to use Marvel content fell through, even though the game was already well underway. Cryptic had to change their plans, and instead is using the Champions role-playing game license (which is far less known). Champions Online is set to come out this summer, and looks like its going to be fantastic.

Champions Online has a very slick superhero look, and early reports say the gameplay is great, but this may not be enough now. With an actual Marvel MMO coming out, how many players would rather get the Marvel-knockoff MMO? Most comic fans and online players are already fans of either DC or Marvel, and with both lines coming out with a game the competition for Cryptic is going to get fierce. This new announcement may have just cut the legs out from under Cryptic, a sad fate for the original superhero MMO developer.

But with more games and options on the market, players will definitely be the ones to benefit. Gazillion also announced they are working on 2 other MMO's, 1 based on LEGOs and one based on an original IP.

Here's a list of some of the big MMO's currently in the works:

• Champions Online - Cryptic - Summer 2009
• Aion: Tower of Eternity - NCsoft - Fall 2009
  
• DC Universe Online - Sony Online Austin - 2009
• Dragon Ball Online - Namco - 2009
• Guild Wars 2 - ArenaNet/NCsoft - 2010
• Fallout Online - Bethesda* - 2011
• Star Wars: The Old Republic - BioWare - TBA
• Star Trek Online - Cryptic - TBA
• Marvel Universe - Gargantuan - TBA
  
• Marvel Super Hero Squad - Amazing Society - TBA

So finish beating Warhammer, Conan and WoW, because there's a lot coming!

- Scott

Army of Two Sequel

I'm sure most of you heard of Army of Two when it came out last year. It sold quite well, over 2.5 million copies. But while sales were great, reviews were only average (Metacritic score for 360 is 72). So with only mediocre reviews, and a lot of more lauded material on the market, I passed on the game.

But details and screens are coming out now about the sequel, called Army of Two: The 40th Day. It looks great, and it sounds better.

The developer, EA Montreal, has promised to address a lot of the problems of the first game, and the changes and results seem very promising. This time the game is set in Shanghai, which looks like a perfect choice for a shooter. The locale is exotic, colorful, and diverse, all of which should result in stunning-looking and fun-to-explore levels. Just hearing the location alone had my interest piqued, then I found out that Shanghai is also in the middle of a major disaster. I'm imagining a wartorn city, a lawless populace and a lot of tasty chaos.

The story that goes along with the location also sounds interesting, with competing mercenary forces and the ability to work for various factions and employers. The game also is going to include a lot of civilian NPC's, creating some moral choices you can make, whether its taking hostages and killing ruthlessly or saving the poor saps. The game will also have a good bit of humor worked into the characters and dialogue (which the team promises will be more engaging, less annoying, than last time).

Gameplay also seems to be receiving an upgrade. The co-op campaign is going to be more organic, so that the co-op parts don't feel obviously orchestrated or stiff, which should make it a blast to play with friends. And if you don't have friends, the team-ate AI has reportedly seen a vast improvement, including greater player control over that NPC teamate. Add in an updated cover mechanic, and destructible environments that allow you to blast through walls and cover to hit enemies, and the game has a lot of potential.

The EA Montreal team also said that they are putting a bigger focus on their multiplayer component, which is good news: good frag fests always add to the replay value.

So maybe none of this sounds ground-breaking, but does it need to? With great graphics, a cool story and humor, an awesome setting, improved tighter gameplay, and plenty of co-op and competitive multiplayer modes, what else do you need?

- Scott

(Screenshots & info are from Game Informer and IGN)

MMO Diversity

The makers of Warhammer Online are trying to entice their old players to return, according to an article just posted by Game Informer.

Mythic Entertainment, the creators of last fall's critically-acclaimed MMORPG, are giving plenty of incentives to return. They are offering tons of experience awards, a unique quest line, and even free play time to players who re-activate their accounts. This is in addition to the many upgrades that Mythic made to the game as a whole, including new careers, new game modes and tiers, new rewards, and a number of performance patches.

The game is one of the highest rated MMO's ever, just behind the WoW giant and my personal favorite, Guild Wars. But the game was judged at release against the well-established World of Warcraft, which had already had years to fix bugs and tweak gameplay design. So now that Warhammer Online (WAR) has had time to catch up, with tweaks and patches of its own, its time for players to take another look.

This seems to be just the latest struggle by the game industry to break the monopoly World of Warcraft has on the MMO market.

Not that WoW is a bad game, its just getting to the point that it may be bad for the MMO industry. So many millions of players are invested in WoW that they have little time to even try out other MMO's. Many fans are too used to the way WoW works to enjoy anything else, including some friends of mine and a number of professional reviewers. There is a single-minded attitude that is spreading, that WoW does things right and everything else has to copy it, but do better.

Which is frustrating, because the notion is both wrong and harmful to the games industry. No one game has all the answers, no matter how great it is. There are different kinds of games that have different themes and objectives, and there is no reason MMO's should be any different. Guild Wars, for example, offers a more casual approach to MMO's, with a much lower level-cap and shorter quests and missions that can be completed by active or busy gamers. It doesn't require players to surrender their social lives, which is a good thing. But in contrast, it offers tighter more tactical gameplay.

But when these diverse MMO's are criticized for not being like WoW, everyone suffers. Players want different kinds of experiences; there is a reason Guild Wars still has thousands of active users. And honestly, even those who are comfortable should branch out. Diversity is a good thing, it allows for innovation and creativity to flourish.

So quit playing the same character you've been playing for years, and try something new. For your sake, for my sake, and for the game industry's sake.

- Scott

Resident Evil 5 Multiplayer

2008 was a fantastic year for multiplayer gaming. But by the look of it, 2009 may 1-up last year's fantastic array.

Just this morning, Capcom announced that it will be adding more multiplayer features to Resident Evil 5, which comes out tomorrow (WOOO!).

Resident Evil 5 already has full cooperative mode for its campaign. Two players can play through the entire lengthy story, either locally on 1 console or online. One character controls series fav Chris Redfield, the other takes on Sheva, the franchise's newest badass chick. Early reviews have applauded the co-op, saying that it works very well and is a blast to play. (in fact, some claim that playing solo is frustrating, & that the game is only worth it when played co-op)
In addition to the co-op campaign, players who beat the game will unlock co-op Mercenaries mode. Mercenaries was included in Resident Evil 4 as an unlockable. The mode is similar to Horde mode in Gears of War 2, in both games the player has to kill increasingly powerful waves of enemies with limited resources, while trying to earn a high score. Mercenaries in RE4 also had a time limit though, and lacked multiplayer.

So with a co-op campaign and a now-multiplayer Mercenaries mode, Resident Evil 5 has its co-op bases covered. But today's announcement was for some competitive modes that will be available in a few weeks.

For 400 Microsoft points or $5, players can download the competitive modes, which will include 2 styles of matches. 'Slayer's Rule' rewards the team that gets the most zombie kills in a time limit, while 'Survivor's Rule' pits the players directly against each other.

It isn't clear yet if these competitive modes will work for local play and online, or just online. With countless shooters abandoning local play in the last year, let's hope that all of the modes will work offline and on.

So what are you waiting for? Get some cash in your pocket, because RE5 comes out tomorrow. And with these new multiplayer options, it'll definitely be worth the money.

- Scott