Three industry-defining games for 2009
There aren't a whole lot of computer games I feel like playing right now. Sure, I can pick up some of my favorites like Fable 2 or Gears of War 2, but I'm ready for something new. Where is it?
Looking at release calendars, I found that none of the games I'm eagerly waiting for is that far off. This helps me feel better about gaming this year; I had been expecting 2009 to be a little dull.
Although I still believe that 2009's lineup is a little thin, there are three games I'm really looking forward to. More importantly, I believe that these three titles will help define gaming in 2009.
Punch Out!!
I still look back fondly at the days of Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!, so when I saw that Punch Out!! will be making its way to the
Wii this year, I was overjoyed.
For our younger readers, a refresher: Punch Out!! is this generation's homage to Mike Tyson's cult classic on the NES, which, in my opinion, was the greatest boxing game of all-time. Punch Out!! on the Wii should provide that same rhythm-based control for boxing, which is the fun thing about the game (and the sport). Hopefully it will forgo over-the-top visuals and complicated controls and instead go for pure boxing fun.
Punch Out!! could be a defining game for the Wii this year. It gives the gaming industry the opportunity to see how old games, barely updated, can have an impact on today's generation. If successful, look for more old-school games to make their way to consoles. I'm hoping for a winner.
Release date: TBA 2009
Resident Evil 5
If you didn't love Resident Evil 4, you probably couldn't care less about the next iteration in the popular horror franchise. But as a devoted Resident Evil fan for years, I see nothing but good things coming from Capcom's latest.
Based on what we know so far, Resident Evil 5 will star Chris Redfield of past Resident Evil fame, who will need to fight for his life in "a sweltering desert colony" where a new range of zombies and other bad, bad beings are on the loose. Unlike its predecessor, the latest in the Resident Evil series won't be found on the Wii (Capcom wanted power this time around) and will only be made available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
It's easy to get excited about a Resident Evil game because, well, it's Resident Evil. But with titles like Dead Space trying desperately to take the horror franchise away from the original King of fear, I'm happy to see that a new title is hitting store shelves this year. And considering this version hasn't changed the control style much and that Capcom promises "bigger and better things" for 5, it's not outlandish to believe this title could be the best game of the year. I can't wait.
Release date: March 13, 2009
Killzone 2
Killzone is Sony's hallmark first-person shooter franchise and the key to its success on the PS3. Price is a major issue for the platform, but with a solid Killzone 2, the chances of the console gaining ground in the market go way up.
Killzone 2 takes place two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta and sends the player on a mission to Helghan to capture its ruler and bring the war to an end. Once they get there, trouble starts and they need to fight their way out and find a way to cope with an enemy planet.
IGN has already given it a score--9.4--and other publications are falling in line, doling out high marks for the FPS, so there's no reason to suggest it shouldn't be a winner. But will it be so compelling that it will sell consoles?
That's Sony's hope and I can't blame its executives for feeling that way. In a time of high development costs and multiplatform game titles, it's the exclusive and first-party titles that will sell consoles. Microsoft has Halo, Nintendo has Mario, and Sony, for now at least, has Killzone. If Killzone 2 is as good as everyone hopes, it could be a major victory for Sony and maybe jump-start its idling console business. But if the title doesn't perform well in stores, I simply don't see any other game being released this year that can have a major impact on PlayStation 3 sales. Killzone 2 is that important.
Release date: February 27, 2009
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Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
As for Resident Evil 5, it's true for the hardcore fans, and it might round up a bunch of new fans (wait and see), but as far as I can tell from what I hear from gamers all over, this opus of the series will lose as many of the current fans as it will gain new fans. Overall, I'm pretty confident that it will even out. So in my opinion, that's not industry-defining either, just one of this year's dozen (or so) of blockbusters. And the TPS survival-horror genre is already well in place, no brand new killer concept there.
As for Punch Out, maybe, I don't know, I have stopped taking interest in the Wii when it started being flooded with crapware. A shame, really.
Halo Wars has that POTENTIAL - RTS games on consoles.
Industry defining titles must have one element: risk.
Killzone is not risk. Its another Halo/Unreal/Gears/Turok/Goldeneye game. FPS's are short on innovation. If the mechanics, story, and map are creative, they do well. This is not risk.
Punch out is risk.
But yes I do agree that Kill Zone or RE5 will not be defining anything. Especially after playing the demo for RE5 I can say I really wasn't impressed. I hope the finished version does improve on allot, but so far dead space has the lead on RE5. Come on with today?s tect instant vanishing body?s is such a visual disappointment, and that?s just one of the many things that irked me.
My opinion, to each his own.
Alike what MajorSlax said though, I must say I'm not into RE5 (nor was I into RE4) 1 - 3 and Code Veronica were probably the last of the series that I could appreciate, after that it broke it's original style and took a more action based step than usual for the series.
I can agree with Punch Out being industry defining since it's so simple, but RE5 and Killzone 2 despite what ratings they may get or what have you, I don't see these games setting the ground for future titles.
So far this year in new releases, the only 2009 game I've killed was FEAR 2 and it basically stunk compared to the first game. The programmers couldn't even get basic movements and inventory access correct. Really challenged my patience. I'm thankful that it was too short lol.
Isn't time to stop looking for that 'one game' that is going to turn the bus around for the PS3? It reminds me of the Gamecube, all the fans would eagerly look forward to the next game announcement which would surely contain that gold nugget that would make everyone pay attention the machine. (Speaking of which, GC fans were looking to RE4 to be that defining game. It wasn't. Which makes your comments on RE5 funny to me.)
Industry defining games don't come along often. 3 in one year might be pushing it. Personally, I think Wii Sports Resort is going to define a long list of games that follow it, if only because of the Motion+.
If the motion controls of WiiSports Resort really actually improve the motion controls significantly then Resort has the potential of creating the WiiSports craze all over again.
- by kcobley February 20, 2009 4:55 AM PST
- FEAR2 Project Origin is a worthless piece of junk it's a rippoff even if it's free. I had a whole host of problems the game would only run to the school level, and after the Alma cut out would not run any further. The A.I. is woefull, the graphic's worse than the original. I could not contact the support line advertised on the back of the box as the email adress did not exsist. WB games has no suppport for their products havae a look at their piece of crap website.Monolith will not reply to emails. So there is NO support for this product and boy it really needs support. Don't under any circumstances buy this get Far Cry 2!
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