This has been a ridiculous year. On the movie front we’ve already had Inception, Toy Story 3, Scott Pilgrim, and tons of other great films. On the music side of things we’ve had a proper release of Dark Night of the Soul and a new album from Eminem that is blowing everybody away. And, in our medium, we’ve had triple-A title after triple-A title released already. Bioshock2, God of War 3, Mass Effect 2, Limbo, and Heavy Rain are just a handful of titles that have already been released this year. So, what’s left? Well, I’m glad you asked that because it’s exactly this week’s topic here at Pixelosophy. Aaron and I are each going to give you our five most anticipated games for the rest of the year, with number one being revealed on Monday’s episode of Pixelosophy. So, without further adieu…
5. 007 Blood Stone-PS3, Xbox 360 (Nov. 2)
I’m going to be perfectly honest. I have only seen one Bond movie, and it was Goldeneye. That’s right, I haven’t even seen the recent reboot of the character, which everybody raves about. However, after seeing the initial teaser for Blood Stone, I quickly went to my Netflix queue and added both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The game is being produced by Bizarre Creations, creators of Geometry Wars, The Club, and Project Gotham Racing. If you’ve been a loyal Pixelosophy follower, you know that I am quite fond of Bizarre Creations. It’s this very reason that I’m excited for the game. If they can inject this game with some of the same heart-pounding action that all of their games seem to have, then this one is sure to be a hit. Each one of their games has a great level of polish, and I hope that this is no different. I will concede, however, that this is the one game on my list that could really go either way.
4. Epic Mickey-Wii (Holiday)
This is definitely one of the most intriguing titles because I don’t think we can grasp how awesome this game is going to be until we get to play it. From just watching video on it, I don’t think it looks like anything too special, but understanding what is happening in these videos is what makes the game really stand out. The paint/thinner mechanic seems like it could be the coolest gameplay mechanic of the year, and that’s only part of the game. Add on top of that a moral system, what seems to be an amazing story, and a cool atmosphere that oozes with style, and this game is going to be one that we can’t miss. My only hope is that gamers don’t write this one off as just some Mickey game.
3. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future-DS (Sept. 12)
Even if it weren’t for the fact that this game deals with future selves getting in touch with past selves and presumably having to mess with time to rewrite history, the fact that this is a new Professor Layton game is enough to put this in my top five. The first two games in the series are among my favorite games ever, and I don’t expect this one to disappoint. Then add on top of that all of the cool time elements of the story, and I think this one is definitely going to find a special place on my shelf. The developers are also saying that this game is going to have even more voice over and cut scenes than the previous games, which for this series is always a welcome addition since they are incredibly well done each time. Now, if only that damn DVD would come stateside.
2. Donkey Kong Country Returns-Wii (Nov. 21)
I said earlier that Blood Stone is the one game on my list that could go either way. I know that a lot of you may have that same feeling with this game, Aaron. But, I’ve got faith in this one. If nothing else, Retro Studios is developing, so that’s a step in the right direction already. Even if I didn’t know that, you don’t have to be a genius to watch the E3 video and see how amazing that level design is. The flow of the levels looks great, and everything looks like it was created so that the player must run through it perfectly to complete the level. Also, I hear the game is super hard, which should make the entire experience bananas. That’s right, I just did that.