The blockbuster games for fall
For months in advance, commercial
companies plan their fall
and Christmas season line up;
however, the video game industry
is among a unique part of the spectrum
that literally plans each one
years in advance.
Last year, game retailers lit up with sales of Halo 3, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Rockband and Super Mario Galaxy, among a few other blockbuster titles. Those same titles quickly rocked the review score charts and fueled their sales to staggering heights, like Call of Duty 4's nine million units sold.
This season's competitors for blockbuster status are heating up as all the big publishes are now either upon the release of their titles, or the eye of the gaming media preview sections as their release dates draw ever closer.
This fall and Christmas season's preliminary heats are already over, with a few titles rising to the top of prospective best sellers. Yet, others have already fallen. The Force Unleashed and Too Human in particular have already tripped out of the gate with unfavourable reviews. Regardless, there is still a lot of hope for a blockbuster filled fall and Christmas season.
Resistance 2
The first person shooter sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man, the title that is known as the saviour of the Playstation 3's launch line-up. Resistance 2's predecessor scored high among reviewers for it's pacing, story telling, graphical prowess and especially its unique arsenal of weapons in its single player campaign.
Resistance: Fall of Man's multiplayer was also well loved by players for its gameplay variety, polish and the 40-player matches, Resistance 2 is looking to not only improve on this, but raise the bar even higher. When the game hit's shelves in November, packed in will be an eight player online co-op campaign mode, a single or co-op offline campaign, and up to 60 player online multiplayer, with promises of all the polish that players have come to expect from developer “Insomniac Games.”
Gears of War 2
The first Gears of War actually debuted on the Xbox 360 the same time as the first Resistance, and yet they meet again here in 2008. Gears of War, when released back in 2006, was an immediate and unrivaled success, hitting it big with reviewers and becoming the fastest selling game in 2006.
The title was hailed for its sheer immersive and challenging gameplay and graphics. Players quite literally chain sawed and blew their way to the end of the game in a unique adaptation of the third-person shooter and tactical shooter formula, although the multiplayer was very limiting.
Gears of War 2 is looking to make amends where the original was weaker, and further the thrill and gore of the gameplay. The detail and opportunity for more memorable battles seem to be stacking up for the sequel. Players, when near death, will face even more gore than when in good health. On top of this, players can also use downed enemies as so called “meat shields,” should any moment call for such armament.
Co-op, among much more, is also being expended on, with players being able to choose their own individual difficulty level, much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Also a nice touch to those not so thrilled with the gallons of blood Gears of War 2 promises just by looking at any given action screenshot, there will be a mature content filter option available: blood becomes sparks, and f-bombs become, well, nonexistent.
Wii Music
Wii Sports, Play, Fit and now, Wii Music. The “Wii Series” of games by Nintendo today is basically a guarantee of blockbuster status, regardless of review score, even hitting into pop culture at large at varying degrees. As Wii Sports more or less simulated a variety of sports, and Wii Fit simulated light exercise, stretching and health, Wii Music is continuing the simple yet effective labeling trend.
In the game players mock simulate playing an instrument, like the saxophone, to preprogrammed songs. So far, all the music shown are songs from Nintendo games and not licensed music from big name labels.
To play the game, players aren't actually required to match onscreen notes, but more so try their best to pretend to play. Pressing buttons like notes on a clarinet, or pretending to play drums with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. It's a new twist on the rapidly growing music game genre. Nintendo has basically taken the act of ‘air' playing an instrument and stuck the Wii Remote into the mix.
Other potential blockbuster games hitting this fall include Motorstorm: Pacific Rim, LittleBigPlanet, Fable 2 and Far Cry 2, among many others.
Last year, game retailers lit up with sales of Halo 3, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, Rockband and Super Mario Galaxy, among a few other blockbuster titles. Those same titles quickly rocked the review score charts and fueled their sales to staggering heights, like Call of Duty 4's nine million units sold.
This season's competitors for blockbuster status are heating up as all the big publishes are now either upon the release of their titles, or the eye of the gaming media preview sections as their release dates draw ever closer.
This fall and Christmas season's preliminary heats are already over, with a few titles rising to the top of prospective best sellers. Yet, others have already fallen. The Force Unleashed and Too Human in particular have already tripped out of the gate with unfavourable reviews. Regardless, there is still a lot of hope for a blockbuster filled fall and Christmas season.
Resistance 2
The first person shooter sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man, the title that is known as the saviour of the Playstation 3's launch line-up. Resistance 2's predecessor scored high among reviewers for it's pacing, story telling, graphical prowess and especially its unique arsenal of weapons in its single player campaign.
Resistance: Fall of Man's multiplayer was also well loved by players for its gameplay variety, polish and the 40-player matches, Resistance 2 is looking to not only improve on this, but raise the bar even higher. When the game hit's shelves in November, packed in will be an eight player online co-op campaign mode, a single or co-op offline campaign, and up to 60 player online multiplayer, with promises of all the polish that players have come to expect from developer “Insomniac Games.”
Gears of War 2
The first Gears of War actually debuted on the Xbox 360 the same time as the first Resistance, and yet they meet again here in 2008. Gears of War, when released back in 2006, was an immediate and unrivaled success, hitting it big with reviewers and becoming the fastest selling game in 2006.
The title was hailed for its sheer immersive and challenging gameplay and graphics. Players quite literally chain sawed and blew their way to the end of the game in a unique adaptation of the third-person shooter and tactical shooter formula, although the multiplayer was very limiting.
Gears of War 2 is looking to make amends where the original was weaker, and further the thrill and gore of the gameplay. The detail and opportunity for more memorable battles seem to be stacking up for the sequel. Players, when near death, will face even more gore than when in good health. On top of this, players can also use downed enemies as so called “meat shields,” should any moment call for such armament.
Co-op, among much more, is also being expended on, with players being able to choose their own individual difficulty level, much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Also a nice touch to those not so thrilled with the gallons of blood Gears of War 2 promises just by looking at any given action screenshot, there will be a mature content filter option available: blood becomes sparks, and f-bombs become, well, nonexistent.
Wii Music
Wii Sports, Play, Fit and now, Wii Music. The “Wii Series” of games by Nintendo today is basically a guarantee of blockbuster status, regardless of review score, even hitting into pop culture at large at varying degrees. As Wii Sports more or less simulated a variety of sports, and Wii Fit simulated light exercise, stretching and health, Wii Music is continuing the simple yet effective labeling trend.
In the game players mock simulate playing an instrument, like the saxophone, to preprogrammed songs. So far, all the music shown are songs from Nintendo games and not licensed music from big name labels.
To play the game, players aren't actually required to match onscreen notes, but more so try their best to pretend to play. Pressing buttons like notes on a clarinet, or pretending to play drums with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. It's a new twist on the rapidly growing music game genre. Nintendo has basically taken the act of ‘air' playing an instrument and stuck the Wii Remote into the mix.
Other potential blockbuster games hitting this fall include Motorstorm: Pacific Rim, LittleBigPlanet, Fable 2 and Far Cry 2, among many others.
