Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Post-E3 Thoughts: Games (Sony)

Sony, Sony, Sony...what are we going to do with you? I've talked ad nauseum about my thoughts of Sony's moves, but now we'll look at the games on their systems. Let's start with current systems and then get to the PS3.

Playstation 2

God of War II (Sony, February 2007): Sony and the Santa Monica studio can spin it however they want, but we should all be very afraid that this game is coming for PS2 3 months after the release of the PS3. There is no reason the GoW engine shouldn't have been moved and updated to the PS3 for this release. This game will be big, but I still question why it is being made on the current generation and not the next generation.

Final Fantasy XII (Square-Enix, October): It's about time this game comes out. The good news is that FF XIII will probably not be as long of a wait as there was between FF X and FF XII (the two single-player games). This game is set in the world of FF Tactics and that by itself will make this game great.

Guitar Hero II (Red Octane/Activision, Q4 2006): Never played the first game, but Bill Harris swears on it. I will probably pick up the game at some point and this is probably going to be a huge release with the whole duet capable thing. Bill and Gloria can do duets!

Yakuza (Sega, September): This game just looks interesting to me. It looks very Shenmue-esque, which is high praise coming from me. The same group isn't making Yakuza, but chances are this could be good. Only problem is it won't sell worth squat.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway, October): This is only coming out for the current generation, but it will effectively close this chapter of the MK universe. Every fighter to ever take part in the game will be playable in this game, almost an impossible undertaking from a balancing aspect. I wish them luck and I hope this game is as good as Deception was.

PSP

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami, 2006): This game is a sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3 and has the possibility of making the PSP a popular choice again. I don't personally have one, but games like this would make me think twice about it.

Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters (Sony, 2007): The awesome platformer goes to the small screen come early next year. This will be the first year this series has not had a game during the holiday release. If this is as good as I've heard Daxter is this could be another winner for the PSP.

Killzone: Liberation (Sony, Q4 2006): Set after the events of the first game this game features a top-down perspective versus a first-person perspective.

Coded Arms: Contagion (Konami, 2007): The first game wasn't well received, but if they fix the problems of the first one here they could have a really good game on their hands.

Lumines II (Buena Vista Games, Q4, 2006): The sequel to the popular puzzle game.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (2007): Even though Gamespot gives a 2006 release, I'm doubting that. This game is set before FF7 and seems to be quite interesting. If there is one thing Sony has over Microsoft it is that they have Square-Enix in their pocket and Microsoft has nothing from them.

Playstation 3

Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/Sony, Launch): This game will supposedly be a launch game. It happens in a world where World War II never happened and aliens landed on the earth. The game looked cool in videos, but I get a very "been there, done that" kind of feel from this game. It has to show that it is bringing something new to the FPS genre or that it can standout over other WW2-era games, of which there are a plethora.

Warhawk (Insomniac/Sony, Launch): Also supposedly a launch game and will show off the gyroscopic controller. I remember playing the first game and enjoying it, however I don't know if I will enjoy the controls this time around. I think Sony is just creating a way to play the game differently, but that it just won't be the same as having a Wii controller.

Virtua Figher 5 (Sega, 2007?): This is a pretty big deal since it is exclusive to the PS3.

Final Fantasy XIII (Square-Enix, 2007? 2008?): Ditto.

Unreal Tournament 2007 (Epic/Midway, 2006? 2007?): This is an interesting game. Word coming out of E3 this year was that it was no longer exclusive to the PS3 on consoles, but no word yet from Epic or Midway on that.

I'm sure I missed a few here and there, but there really isn't much of anything yet to excite me on the PS3. Granted, the Xbox 360 didn't have the biggest games either. I shall wait until tomorrow to maybe get my PC game thoughts out there sine it is getting late...