So, I’ll be blogging about alot of things on this website; not just design. As many of you who know me know, I am a bit of a gamer. As many of you also know, being a gamer who is also married, a college student, and a freelance designer can be a bit of a juggle, and can cause some troublesome situations.
This year is looking to be a really good year in the video game world. The following are the games that will probably get me in the most trouble this year.
1. Halo: Reach
With just over 6 days until the launch of the next and final chapter in the Halo series (at least for us Bungie fans), I can already feel my trigger fingers itching. Lets hope it lives up to the hype. There have already been some pretty awesome new maps and game modes talked about.
Many detractors are stating that All the Halo games are merely clones of the first one, but when a game is as good as the original Halo, I don’t see that as a bad thing. Who among us hasn’t had a ridiculous amount of fun exploring alien landscapes and mowing down grunts like grass in the summer. I say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
2. Batman: Arkham City
I grew up playing the NES and worked my way up from there. I remember so many terrible Batman games that I became disgusted with the franchise. That’s why I got so excited about Batman: Arkham Asylum. A game starring the Dark Knight that actually made you feel like Batman! It was one of the few games that I played all the way through, then went back in to get the rest of the achievements.
Now, the creators of Arkham Asylum are giving us the same action on a city-wide scale! Batman: Arkham City takes place in a fenced-off area of Gotham set aside for the growing Arkham inmate population. So far, new character introductions include Catwoman and Harvey Two-Face, but I’m sure there are quite a bit more, and with the stellar voice cast from the first game returning, I’m sure we’re all in for a treat. I predict a few sleepless nights with this one.
3. Fable III
I came late to the Fable series. Fable II was the first one I played. However, it was so awesome that I bought the original on Xbox Live and played it as well.
Peter Molyneaux’s Fable series is noted in the industry for its pure innovation, and I would have to agree. It is a full on RPG that is accessible even to the casual gaming market. Anything you want to do, from being a powerful land owner, to becoming king of Albion is doable in Fable II.
Now the third installment has the gaming world buzzing again, and with good reason. With weapons that change their appearance based on how you play the game, an epic storyline that pits brother against brother in a battle for the kingdom of albion, and a chance to actually rule the kingdom with either an iron fist or a heart of gold, Fable III is already offering us much that hasn’t been explored in previous titles.
Again, sleepless nights expected and anticipated.
4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
The first entry in this series was unmatched in putting the power of the Force in your hands. No game before or since has made you feel as much like the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy (with the possible exception of KOTOR, depending on who you talk to). I personally enjoyed the ability to chuck Stormtroopers off of cliffs with the power of my mind so much that I played through the game three times.
This upcoming entry in the series may have a slightly hokie storyline, but that is a small price to pay for another chance to use the Force to pull spaceships out of the sky and make enemy troops turn their weapons on themselves. According to GameInformer, there’s even a few new Force powers they haven’t told us about yet.
So, which games are likely to get you in trouble this year? Comment, comment, comment… Tags: arkham, Batman arkham city, fable, fable 3, force unleashed 2, halo, reach, Star wars, video games
