The rest of the big announcements were all game-related. I’ll mention my favorites here, and feel free to talk about the ones that you are most excited about in the comments!
My number one new announcement from yesterday will have to be Metal Gear Solid Rising. I remember playing MGS2 with my buddy Josh way back during summers off in high school and later when I bought a Wii I played MGS: Twin Snakes. I really enjoy the MGS story, as it’s pretty complex and a lot deeper than most video game stories. I really like the quirky, sometimes subtle humor that Hideo Kojima injects into his characters, and the stealth action was unprecedented at the time (in my memory at least). While MGS:Rising is not a 360-exclusive game, I’m very excited about getting hands-on with it on the 360, since I haven’t taken the plunge on a PS3 yet. It’s in my future, I’m sure, just not right now.
Number two is going to have to be Left 4 Dead 2. I was as blown away by this as most, whether for good or bad. I’m a little shocked that the sequel is coming so soon, since the first L4D hasn’t even been out a full year yet. I had expected more DLC and maps to be added, but Valve is a top-notch company, so I expect they have a good reason for doing so. The introduction of melee weapons will be interesting, because I don’t see them being very effective if the gameplay/enemies stay the same as the first. Getting rushed by a mob of zombies always called for projectile weapons in my experience, although the limited melee abilities always were more effective than I expected them to be. This new release will have 4 new survivors, new special infected, new campaigns/maps/multiplayer, new weapons and the same great 4 player co-op. I’m psyched!
Next would be one that was already announced last year — Final Fantasy XIII. I played a few of the NES FF games (1-3), and of course I played 7 and 8, but that’s where my RPG days stopped. I didn’t own a Playstation, so I had to borrow a friend’s and rent the game, and after 8 I didn’t play console games until this generation. So I’m finally getting back into RPG games, and I’m really excited about this one. It’s not being released until around this time next year, but hopefully they get it perfect during that time.
Those are my top 3 from Day 1, but there are several others worth mentioning. Alan Wake, where light is harnessed as a weapon. Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to the huge Call of Duty reboot — not too excited about this unless it’s way different than the first. Splinter Cell: Conviction looks promising — I haven’t played a Sam Fisher game since the 2nd one, but I really enjoyed them! Crackdown 2 is another sequel to a hugely popular open-world game – I have the first, but haven’t had the chance to dive into it yet. Assassin’s Creed 2 looks like more of the first, but with swimming added! Mass Effect 2, where we finally discover Shepherd is not dead, and your save games carry over to the sequel so play the original wisely! And two new Halo games announced, one for this year and one for next; this year’s Halo: ODST will feature stealth elements and 4 player co-op.
Such an exciting year coming up for the Xbox, and my wallet is already whining. I can’t wait to hear what Nintendo and Sony have to say!
