Screenshots :.
Games of 2010: Part 1
Matt
10-03-2010
"LA Noire sounds pretty funky"
"Good day Kratos"
"Ah Samus, back in business I see."
The year is but two-and-a-bit months old, yet we’ve already had arguably more quality games released this annum than we got during all of 2009. With Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2 and Heavy Rain already fighting out atop critics’ best-of lists it’s hard to imagine that things could get even better, but oh heck you’d better start sitting up and taking notice. These three games are our first selection of upcoming titles that will not only pick up the torch from the three titles already mentioned, but run with it and go on to perhaps make this year a vintage year for us gaming folk.
L.A. Noire – PS3, 360, September 2010
Developed by Australian crew Team Bondi and published by Rockstar, L.A. Noire promises to be something akin to Grand Theft Auto 1940s, except this time you are on the right side of the law as you try to solve a series of rather nasty murders. As of yet much has been kept silent when it comes to solid details, so let us make a few guesses at what we could be getting come September time.
One thing that has been confirmed is that the game will be open-world much in the vein of Rockstar’s very own GTA series, leading to the possibility of some proper Dick Tracey style super sleuthing against the mob. Expect high-talking folks in high trousers with those ridiculously tiny guns that were all the rage at the time. Hits in spaghetti cafes? Gun-running? Prohibition and stuff like that? Imagine all that in game form.
As said, details are mighty scarce at the moment. There’s a trailer that can be viewed at the game’s official site that gives a general flavour, particularly of the game’s visuals, which have the dulled-out Film Noire look to them. Wouldn’t say this is a sure-fire Triple A just yet, but the idea and the people behind it are promising enough to mean that this is most certainly one to keep an eye out for.
God of War 3 – PS3, March 18th 2010
Yup, you read that right, this one’s out in less than ten days and it looks utterly fantastic. Part four (counting the PSP-only Chains of Olympus) of Kratos’ adventure brings everyone’s favourite mythical hellraiser crashing and banging into the current generation amidst buckets of gore and violence.
Jay might be considered UltraNinjas’ ‘God of War guru’, but that hasn’t stopped me hoovering up the games myself and giving them a good play over the last couple of years, with each proving fantastically enjoyable. For those not initiated, imagine what would happen if Lara Croft went a bit mental, started wielding knives and all sorts of brutal weaponry and then somehow ended up fighting characters out of Greek mythology. It’s a frenetically-paced action adventure that requires a bit of platform hopping and a heck of a lot of brutal real-time fighting.
The third game kicks off where the second left off, with Kratos making some sort of uneasy alliance to aid his quest for redemption. Don’t expect too much change from the tried-and-tested formula, but hey, it’s something that really didn’t need too much tinkering around with in the first place. Expect this one to score very, very heavily indeed upon release.
Metroid: Other M – Wii, Summer 2010
A new Metroid game? Yes please. I have a couple of soft spots in my heart for characters such as Guybrush Threepwood and Phoenix Wright, and sat there right next to them tugging away at the heart strings every time her series sees a new release is Samus in her fetching orange space suit.
This time around things promise to be mighty interesting, with Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden) taking over the reins that Retro Studios had looked after so well since 2002. Another point of note is that quite a bit of the game seems to be back in third-person rather than the first, which is something that could dramatically alter the gameplay in a couple of ways.
Events supposedly kick off somewhere between the happenings of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, with Samus waking up after a rather large explosion caused by her kicking Mother Brain’s arse and finding herself on a ship. Heading out toward a dormant craft that has emitted a distress call, she finds herself meeting with some old buddies and going off to explore the ship to find what is going on. Presumably the game will still centre around the same mechanic of the world opening itself up for exploration as you gain more tools and weaponry, plus the usual selection of badass boss battles being flung at you too. Summer can’t come soon enough!
L.A. Noire – PS3, 360, September 2010
Developed by Australian crew Team Bondi and published by Rockstar, L.A. Noire promises to be something akin to Grand Theft Auto 1940s, except this time you are on the right side of the law as you try to solve a series of rather nasty murders. As of yet much has been kept silent when it comes to solid details, so let us make a few guesses at what we could be getting come September time.
One thing that has been confirmed is that the game will be open-world much in the vein of Rockstar’s very own GTA series, leading to the possibility of some proper Dick Tracey style super sleuthing against the mob. Expect high-talking folks in high trousers with those ridiculously tiny guns that were all the rage at the time. Hits in spaghetti cafes? Gun-running? Prohibition and stuff like that? Imagine all that in game form.
As said, details are mighty scarce at the moment. There’s a trailer that can be viewed at the game’s official site that gives a general flavour, particularly of the game’s visuals, which have the dulled-out Film Noire look to them. Wouldn’t say this is a sure-fire Triple A just yet, but the idea and the people behind it are promising enough to mean that this is most certainly one to keep an eye out for.
God of War 3 – PS3, March 18th 2010
Yup, you read that right, this one’s out in less than ten days and it looks utterly fantastic. Part four (counting the PSP-only Chains of Olympus) of Kratos’ adventure brings everyone’s favourite mythical hellraiser crashing and banging into the current generation amidst buckets of gore and violence.
Jay might be considered UltraNinjas’ ‘God of War guru’, but that hasn’t stopped me hoovering up the games myself and giving them a good play over the last couple of years, with each proving fantastically enjoyable. For those not initiated, imagine what would happen if Lara Croft went a bit mental, started wielding knives and all sorts of brutal weaponry and then somehow ended up fighting characters out of Greek mythology. It’s a frenetically-paced action adventure that requires a bit of platform hopping and a heck of a lot of brutal real-time fighting.
The third game kicks off where the second left off, with Kratos making some sort of uneasy alliance to aid his quest for redemption. Don’t expect too much change from the tried-and-tested formula, but hey, it’s something that really didn’t need too much tinkering around with in the first place. Expect this one to score very, very heavily indeed upon release.
Metroid: Other M – Wii, Summer 2010
A new Metroid game? Yes please. I have a couple of soft spots in my heart for characters such as Guybrush Threepwood and Phoenix Wright, and sat there right next to them tugging away at the heart strings every time her series sees a new release is Samus in her fetching orange space suit.
This time around things promise to be mighty interesting, with Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden) taking over the reins that Retro Studios had looked after so well since 2002. Another point of note is that quite a bit of the game seems to be back in third-person rather than the first, which is something that could dramatically alter the gameplay in a couple of ways.
Events supposedly kick off somewhere between the happenings of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, with Samus waking up after a rather large explosion caused by her kicking Mother Brain’s arse and finding herself on a ship. Heading out toward a dormant craft that has emitted a distress call, she finds herself meeting with some old buddies and going off to explore the ship to find what is going on. Presumably the game will still centre around the same mechanic of the world opening itself up for exploration as you gain more tools and weaponry, plus the usual selection of badass boss battles being flung at you too. Summer can’t come soon enough!
