Gears of War 2 has finally been announced at GDC on February 20th by lead designer Cliff Bleszinski, better known as Cliffy B, from Epic Games. This is a title that I couldn’t be more excited about. The first Gears of War was one of the best shooters I have played to this day and even now, a year and a quarter after its release, I still play it every once and a while.
Gears of War for those that don’t know is a third person horror shooter with immense emphasis on cover. In the storyline you play as Marcus Fenix, a betrayed soldier convicted for a crime he didn’t commit. You fight the locust horde, a vast enemy force that live beneath the ground that are deadly and smart. They make for one of the best enemies to fight.
But Gears of War 1 wasn’t just well renowned for single player but also its multiplayer. Sadly it was only 4v4 but it still made for a fast paced, fun multiplayer experience namely due to the revolutionary cover system.
Gears of War 2 promises to continue the Gears storyline and make it bigger, better and in the words of Cliffy B ‘More Badass’. Unreal Engine 3 has been refined so that it can now host up to 100 enemies in a map at a time. Now I still sincerely doubt we will be seeing 50 v 50 matches but it is easily probable that we may get 8v8.
Gears of War 2 will be released exclusive to Xbox 360 first but I suspect it will move to PC afterwards similar to Gears of War 1.
Check out the trailer to Gears of War 2 at this website http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/g/gearsofwar2/default.htm
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Monday, 4 February 2008
Blaze: Most Anticipated Games of 2008
In 2007 we saw a series of great game releases like Mass Effect, Halo 3, The Orange Box, The Burning Crusade, Call of Duty 4, PGR 4 and Guitar Hero 3. All of which were excellent games and made 2007 possibly one of the best years yet for gaming. However in my opinion the years can only get better as the gaming market only seems to be increasing in size which can only mean bigger and better games for 2008.
This is just a quick run down of my top 5 most anticipated games for the coming year.
5) Far Cry 2
Despite the Crytek not being involved in the production of one of their best games sequel, it still appears to be a very promising title. It is now in the hands of Ubisoft who have made big titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Brothers in Arms and the Rainbow Six series.
Far Cry 2 will be an open ended first person shooter. It will be similar to games such as
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. It will be set in the plains of Africa which is a setting that will work perfectly for this type of game due to Africa having lots of wide open spaces and small villages. There will be around 50 square kilometres with which the player can explore. This is an immense amount of land to be explored in a single game and will contribute to the feeling of freedom that it should give.
However I am not looking forward to this game for its nice landscapes. I am looking forward to it for its intense combat which should feature you taking down entire villages, fighting out in the desert and fighting in the jungle. However from the current screenshots it looks like it will have some of the best graphics to date; Ubisoft is using a new engine called Dunia which appears very promising.
4) Ninja Gaiden 2
Ryu Hayabusa is back in Ninja Gaiden 2 with new weapons and an array of new enemies to fight and inevitably dismember. It will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and will be released in early 2008. Although I didn’t play the first Ninja Gaiden on Xbox is famous for being one of the most hardcore games and one that was nearly impossible to complete on the hardest difficulty. And this is an element of the game that I hope doesn’t get thrown away in the hope of making all the difficulties accessible to every gamer, that’s what easy is for.
The fighting style in Ninja Gaiden 2 appears to be one that will be iconic to the genre. It will be fast paced and full of a wide variety of attacks that will be capable of dismembering opponents. But there will be heavy weight put on having a strong defence, in that if you go into a fight without concern for your own protection you will most likely die.
Also the variety of weapons is an aspect of this game that will make it stand out. You will be able to use the classic swords, a scythe, three–bladed claws and bladed boots and possible even more then this. And don’t forget each one of these will have a different play style completely and will require you to know them inside out if you are to be successful on the harder difficulties.
Ninja Gaiden has a lot of prestige about it and for good reason, it is indefinitely a game that should be watched for this year if you are, like me, an Xbox 360 owner.
3) Battlefield Bad Company
And so the Battlefield series continues. And why shouldn’t it, Battlefield 2 was a great shooter and so was Battlefield 1942. And Battlefield Bad Company looks like it will be even better then either of them.
And this actually looks like it will have a really good campaign, while all the other Battlefields have only been known for their multiplayer gameplay. The single player campaign actually sounds very off-beat and fun which I think is the image they are going for. You are a soldier who decides that the army doesn’t pay enough and that having a nations pride isn’t worth it. This causes you to become a renegade soldier in search of money. This will provide a very different single player experience then what we have seen before. With games like Call of Duty 4 which is a very different experience to what Battlefield Bad Company promises to be, only in single player the multiplayer may end up quite similar.
Another feature that I think will define this game is the amount of destructibility in the game. 90% of the environment is supposed to be destructible. This means you can blow holes in walls, destroy whole rooms, make holes in the ground and probably much more. All of which will add a whole new level to the game experience, and make it feel a lot less linear.
It will be released for PS3 and Xbox 360, so look out for this game.
2) Dark Sector
At first I didn’t think much of Dark Sector but after looking at more screenshots and videos it has become a very promising title. I myself am a huge Gears of War fan and this will incorporate elements of that into it such as a need for cover and the extreme fast paced action. But it will also bring new elements to it, namely the Glaive.
The main aspect of this game appears as if it will be mostly single player, and I think it has yet to be officially announced that there will even be multiplayer. You will play as the character Hayden Tenno who is sent on a secret mission to eliminate a mad scientist. However he becomes infected by a strange disease that results in his arm being drastically changed. But this has a major upside. You can now make a three bladed glaive from nowhere. Now how this works I am
not sure, that will most likely be explained in the game. But this sounds like a great game mechanic, it will allow you to throw the blade, slit enemies’ throats, set enemies on fire and even electrocute them. What is also great is that this won’t be the only useable weapon. Dark Sector will be host to an array of guns to use and take down the large variety of foes.
And when I say large variety I mean it, from the screenshots I have seen more types of enemies then appear in most game. From zombies to robots, from soldiers to other infected people like Hayden (but a lot worse).
This game will be released for both Xbox 360 and PS3 and is expected to be on shelves by late march.
1) World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
With the announced subscription figures to World of Warcraft being 10 million it is easy to say it is one of the most played games out at the moment. I am a WoW player myself and the appeal of more content is one that makes this my most anticipated game this year. World of Warcraft is an MMORPG for those that don’t know and it is one probably the biggest MMO out at the moment.
Wrath of the Lich King will be host to a huge array of new content. With the level cap raised to level 80 (from level 70), a whole new continent, Northrend, the first hero class, Death Knight, more instances, more battlegrounds and plenty of other additions to the already huge amount of content available. It will also continue the story of the Lich King that was put in place in Warcraft 3. This is an exciting aspect of the upcoming expansion because the story of Prince Arthas and the Lich King is one that is very memorable in my mind and made Warcraft 3 one of the best strategy games.
So this is indefinitely my most anticipated game of 2008 and it is thought to be on shelves by November, but this isn’t a confirmed released date.
Other Games to look for: Metal Gear Solid 4, Starcraft 2, Resident Evil 5, Fallout 3, Army of Two, Condemned 2, Fable 2
This is just a quick run down of my top 5 most anticipated games for the coming year.
5) Far Cry 2
Despite the Crytek not being involved in the production of one of their best games sequel, it still appears to be a very promising title. It is now in the hands of Ubisoft who have made big titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Brothers in Arms and the Rainbow Six series.
Far Cry 2 will be an open ended first person shooter. It will be similar to games such as
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. It will be set in the plains of Africa which is a setting that will work perfectly for this type of game due to Africa having lots of wide open spaces and small villages. There will be around 50 square kilometres with which the player can explore. This is an immense amount of land to be explored in a single game and will contribute to the feeling of freedom that it should give.However I am not looking forward to this game for its nice landscapes. I am looking forward to it for its intense combat which should feature you taking down entire villages, fighting out in the desert and fighting in the jungle. However from the current screenshots it looks like it will have some of the best graphics to date; Ubisoft is using a new engine called Dunia which appears very promising.
4) Ninja Gaiden 2
Ryu Hayabusa is back in Ninja Gaiden 2 with new weapons and an array of new enemies to fight and inevitably dismember. It will be exclusive to Xbox 360 and will be released in early 2008. Although I didn’t play the first Ninja Gaiden on Xbox is famous for being one of the most hardcore games and one that was nearly impossible to complete on the hardest difficulty. And this is an element of the game that I hope doesn’t get thrown away in the hope of making all the difficulties accessible to every gamer, that’s what easy is for.
The fighting style in Ninja Gaiden 2 appears to be one that will be iconic to the genre. It will be fast paced and full of a wide variety of attacks that will be capable of dismembering opponents. But there will be heavy weight put on having a strong defence, in that if you go into a fight without concern for your own protection you will most likely die.
Also the variety of weapons is an aspect of this game that will make it stand out. You will be able to use the classic swords, a scythe, three–bladed claws and bladed boots and possible even more then this. And don’t forget each one of these will have a different play style completely and will require you to know them inside out if you are to be successful on the harder difficulties.
Ninja Gaiden has a lot of prestige about it and for good reason, it is indefinitely a game that should be watched for this year if you are, like me, an Xbox 360 owner.
3) Battlefield Bad Company
And so the Battlefield series continues. And why shouldn’t it, Battlefield 2 was a great shooter and so was Battlefield 1942. And Battlefield Bad Company looks like it will be even better then either of them.
And this actually looks like it will have a really good campaign, while all the other Battlefields have only been known for their multiplayer gameplay. The single player campaign actually sounds very off-beat and fun which I think is the image they are going for. You are a soldier who decides that the army doesn’t pay enough and that having a nations pride isn’t worth it. This causes you to become a renegade soldier in search of money. This will provide a very different single player experience then what we have seen before. With games like Call of Duty 4 which is a very different experience to what Battlefield Bad Company promises to be, only in single player the multiplayer may end up quite similar.
Another feature that I think will define this game is the amount of destructibility in the game. 90% of the environment is supposed to be destructible. This means you can blow holes in walls, destroy whole rooms, make holes in the ground and probably much more. All of which will add a whole new level to the game experience, and make it feel a lot less linear.
It will be released for PS3 and Xbox 360, so look out for this game.
2) Dark Sector
At first I didn’t think much of Dark Sector but after looking at more screenshots and videos it has become a very promising title. I myself am a huge Gears of War fan and this will incorporate elements of that into it such as a need for cover and the extreme fast paced action. But it will also bring new elements to it, namely the Glaive.
The main aspect of this game appears as if it will be mostly single player, and I think it has yet to be officially announced that there will even be multiplayer. You will play as the character Hayden Tenno who is sent on a secret mission to eliminate a mad scientist. However he becomes infected by a strange disease that results in his arm being drastically changed. But this has a major upside. You can now make a three bladed glaive from nowhere. Now how this works I am
not sure, that will most likely be explained in the game. But this sounds like a great game mechanic, it will allow you to throw the blade, slit enemies’ throats, set enemies on fire and even electrocute them. What is also great is that this won’t be the only useable weapon. Dark Sector will be host to an array of guns to use and take down the large variety of foes.And when I say large variety I mean it, from the screenshots I have seen more types of enemies then appear in most game. From zombies to robots, from soldiers to other infected people like Hayden (but a lot worse).
This game will be released for both Xbox 360 and PS3 and is expected to be on shelves by late march.
1) World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
With the announced subscription figures to World of Warcraft being 10 million it is easy to say it is one of the most played games out at the moment. I am a WoW player myself and the appeal of more content is one that makes this my most anticipated game this year. World of Warcraft is an MMORPG for those that don’t know and it is one probably the biggest MMO out at the moment.
Wrath of the Lich King will be host to a huge array of new content. With the level cap raised to level 80 (from level 70), a whole new continent, Northrend, the first hero class, Death Knight, more instances, more battlegrounds and plenty of other additions to the already huge amount of content available. It will also continue the story of the Lich King that was put in place in Warcraft 3. This is an exciting aspect of the upcoming expansion because the story of Prince Arthas and the Lich King is one that is very memorable in my mind and made Warcraft 3 one of the best strategy games.
So this is indefinitely my most anticipated game of 2008 and it is thought to be on shelves by November, but this isn’t a confirmed released date.
Other Games to look for: Metal Gear Solid 4, Starcraft 2, Resident Evil 5, Fallout 3, Army of Two, Condemned 2, Fable 2
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