Upcoming Games (of 2009)

[M.Steiner]

Thought this might be a good thread to start considering the amount of games which are due out later this year.
I know for myself there's quite a lot coming out from September onwards which i'm planning to buy or am at least considering, so it's quite easy to lose track, or even know about some of the lesser known games.

So!, which games are you guys looking forward to? (just 2009, the list would be endless otherwise lol). Tis always nice to discover other games through lists like this which perhaps we hadn't known about before, or seen much of. At least i think so

For me, will try keep it short.

Definite:
Sep 9th - The Beatles: Rock Band. - Been a fan of them all my life so besides the game looking absolutely fantastic, having this (and the remastered boxsets) preordered as soon as they were up was a no brainer for me. Tis the only game i've preordered so far and i can't help but count down the days heh.

Oct 6th - Alpha Protocol. - Think this is the only RPG that i've been watching which is out this year.

Rocktober 13th/16th - Brutal Legend. - Albeit not as hyped as Anny for this, but it does look great and another one i shall be preordering nearer the time too.

Oct 20th/23rd - Borderlands

Oct 29th - GTA4 DLC: The Ballad of <censored> Tony. (edit: umn, Ballad of Censored Tony eh? That actually sounds fun. Silly thing... lol) - I haven't downloaded tons of things off the marketplace so far, few pieces of DLC/MP maps, few arcade games, 1 Xbox Original, premium themes & gamerpics.. But out of all of that the first piece of DLC for GTA4 was worth every penny, can't say the same about everything i've purchased.

Nov 10th - MW2 (!new trailer if you haven't already seen!). - Looks friggin' awesome what more can i say?, having seen the new MP gameplay trailer i'm even more excited than i was before. Much fun to be had with that! Will probably be playing BF1943 MP until this (and that is also worth every penny, lots of playability).


That's it for the games i'm definitely getting. There are a few others which i'm either interested in and hope to get once they're a bit cheaper (can't possibly afford to buy every game heh), or i've not fully made my mind up either way. Splinter Cell Conviction would have made my definite list too but that's been pushed back to 2010...

Possible: R.U.S.E - When it's cheaper probably, Forza 3 - It interests me, but car games only usually keep my attention for a short period of time before i get bored of them so this will have to wait, The Saboteur - When it's cheaper probably, AC2 - Looks great, but not made my mind up yet as i need to go back to trying the first game (got distracted from it whilst finding it very repetitive. Willing to retry it though since others here have enjoyed it).


Looking forward to seeing what the rest of you are looking forward to

[Anubis]

I have a big list at home written out with dates beside them so I am sure I don't miss any

I'll write it up and post it for you when I get home tonight.

[Anubis]

Right, my list! I'll be getting all of these fairly quickly upon release, and pre-ordering the first one. There's not really anything that I want that I am willing to wait ages for the price to drop for. Anyway, in order that I want each game:

Brutal Legend (Rocktober 13th, provided the lawsuit doesnt push it back) - It's Tim Schafer. That's enough said right there, even ignoring how utterly fantastic everything spewing from the media machine is looking.

Tales of Monkey Island (Every month till the series ends) - This isn't on Live yet, but it will be in the non-too distant future if I know Telltale. For now, I'll be getting the PC episodes - but when it hits Live it is mine there too.

Alpha Protocol (all I have down is October, but MS says the 6th) - It's Obsidian, and after the great job they did of KOTOR 2 that'd probably be enough for me right there. But it also looks really good from the media I've seen both in gameplay and an RPG sense. Can't recall when I last played, if I ever have, a Spy RPG before either. I have high hopes for this.

FIFA 10 (September 25th) - I've played 09 into the ground, and wasn't planning on getting 10. But that was before I saw that they're actually doing Manager Mode properly this time. Since that's basically all I play the game for, I'll be getting this to hopefully last me till 12 hits in a couple of years.

Dragon Age: Origins (October 20th) - It's BioWare and it's an RPG, which again amounts to enough said for me. The media coming out for this looks good, but the fact that it's fantasy rather than Sci Fi means it falls below Alpha Protocol in my list (ignoring the fact that Obsidian just make better RPGs if KOTOR 2 means anything). Even so, I want it and I have hopes this will be a great RPG as most BioWare games are. Been waiting long enough for it anyway....

The Saboteur (December 8th) - This impressed me greatly at E3, and I am very much looking forward to trying it as a result. Beyond the media, however, I have heard little of it - and the studio comes with no previous impressions for me - hence it has to fall behind BioWare and Obsidian's offerings. I have hopes it will be a good game, and the media suggests it will, but we'll see.

Assassin's Creed 2 (November 17th) - I enjoyed the first, and this one is both continuing on with the plot and carrying on in the first's footsteps. Hence, I will get it. I do have to say though that I must admit I was less than impressed by the fantastical spin the game seems to be taking (Leonardo Da Vinci loaning you his flying machine to go for random trips around the city for example), and would much rather it beef up the realism factor - that's why it falls so far down the list.


Max Payne 3 was on my list, but has tentatively been removed having seen how Rockstar are butchering the game. Splinter Cell Convictions is also a game I want, but I just read both MS' comments and Kotaku's article that it has been delayed till 2010 - that would have been on my list should that not have been the case. Mass Effect 2 has also been affected by a similar delay, and Bayonetta has just fallen outside of 2009 for the EU release - and both of those would be very high up my list too.

There's a few I am waiting for in 2010 too, those I just mentioned aside, but those are for another thread. For now, that's my list

[M.Steiner]

hmm Dragon Age. I've heard of that before but i don't think i've seen anything of it, i certainly don't remember anyway. I shall go search! . Could do with another RPG or 2 to add to my list.
Just remembered the name of another RPG i saw a little while ago actually, "Risen". I saw very little of it, not even sure what it's about but i do remember the pics looked pretty (not much to go off lol). Will have to see if i can dig some info up on that too i think, see if it sounds good...

Max Payne 3 - Didn't add that to my secondary list as it has been delayed until 2010 as well, along with Bioshock 2 and Mafia 2. I'll probably wait until i've seen some more of those before i decide. All 3 interest me (Mafia 2 the most), but those will be for next year now anyway.

[Anubis]

System Shock 2....or should I say Bioshock 2 holds no interest for me for the same reason the first didn't - I played that game ten years ago. It has no originality, so all I can say about the game is I wonder which trustworthy character will turn out to be the bad guy this time, or which other game they've chosen to rip off this time around.

Mafia is not usually the kind of game I look at, though it may warrant further consideration nearer the time when final trailers and the like are released.

Of the three new ones to me you mentioned, Risen has the most potential for interesting me. Information on the game seems sparse so far, story wise, but it seems that the devs are planning to release a Story Trailer some time soon. I'll keep an eye out for that, and give it a proper look then. Hard to judge atm when all the trailers released are basically showing off AI and environments

[M.Steiner]

I've never played System Shock 2, just Bioshock. So i can't really compare the two. I happened to think Bioshock was an excellent game though, Bioshock 2 is looking great as well so i'm really looking forward to that.
Also not sure just what they've ripped off cos as i say, not played SS2?, but it was still fantastic. - Imo, Vice City was a total rip of Scarface too (assuming you've seen that, it is a classic. <3 Al Pacino) but it was still a great game, no?

Dragon Age. I think i'll be getting this too but it may have to go on my secondary list for buying later, not sure yet. I'll have already saved up for The Beatles Rock Band & Remasters in a few weeks and i've already bought some MS points for Beatles DLC (and possible MW2 MP maps) so that's those out of the way.. Adding all my prioritised games up though there's 300 quid there alone so i prolly will have to wait for some of the others but i can't play them all at once anyway so tis nps. Cheers for pointing that game out too Anny!

Risen, i'll be keeping watch of, need to see lots more. There was a new trailer for that a couple of days ago too, dunno if you saw mate?

Also!, just discovered this (Borderlands). Might be good.


(The MP trailer of MW2 that i mentioned in IRC earlier this afternoon is in my original post btw. That will be awesome for sure.

[Anubis]

I've never played System Shock 2, just Bioshock. So i can't really compare the two. I happened to think Bioshock was an excellent game though, Bioshock 2 is looking great as well so i'm really looking forward to that.
Also not sure just what they've ripped off cos as i say, not played SS2?, but it was still fantastic. - Imo, Vice City was a total rip of Scarface too (assuming you've seen that, it is a classic. <3 Al Pacino) but it was still a great game, no?

Dragon Age. I think i'll be getting this too but it may have to go on my secondary list for buying later, not sure yet. I'll have already saved up for The Beatles Rock Band & Remasters in a few weeks and i've already bought some MS points for Beatles DLC (and possible MW2 MP maps) so that's those out of the way.. Adding all my prioritised games up though there's 300 quid there alone so i prolly will have to wait for some of the others but i can't play them all at once anyway so tis nps. Cheers for pointing that game out too Anny!

Risen, i'll be keeping watch of, need to see lots more. There was a new trailer for that a couple of days ago too, dunno if you saw mate?

Also!, just discovered this (Borderlands). Might be good.


(The MP trailer of MW2 that i mentioned in IRC earlier this afternoon is in my original post btw. That will be awesome for sure.

Basically, they ripped off the plot. System Shock 2 did the "Your guide through the game turns out to be the bad guy". It also used genetic infection as a basis for the enemies/gameworld, which had basically the same results as in Bioshock. It was a complete "We made this great game 10 years ago, but can't get the licence anymore. Lets recreate the game in a new setting and call it a 'spiritual successor'" game - they just took the game and put it in a different setting. I can't blame them in some ways because System Shock 2 was a great game (better than Bioshock by a very long way), but at the end of the day it leaves Bioshock as a husk with no originality as soon as you start to strip away the stuff they ripped off.

Risen's new trailer looks to be a compilation of footage from their various mini-trailers they have released but in HD. Seeing it in HD is a lot better, but I'll still wait for the story trailer before I judge. With RPGs, I'd play them were they a pixellated visual mess tbh as long as the story was good, and as such it is core to most things I buy. Cheers for the link though!

As for Borderlands, ahhhh, that is the cel shaded one I have read a lot about. There must be a reason why it isn't on my list, and I recall reading something about it that turned me off - can't for the life of me remember what it is though. I'll have to look into it and see what information on the game I find, as the trailer you linked does look nice.

[Fenavian]

Well to be fair Anny, you would be hard pressed to find a game nowadays with any sort of originality. I am curious, how is Rockstar butchering Max Payne 3? I am a big fan of the first two, so this doesn't bode well if they screwed up the formula.

[Anubis]

Well to be fair Anny, you would be hard pressed to find a game nowadays with any sort of originality. I am curious, how is Rockstar butchering Max Payne 3? I am a big fan of the first two, so this doesn't bode well if they screwed up the formula.

It's set in the Carribbean, they haven't kept on the voice actor, they made him old and gave him a beer gut. It's like they're systematically destroying every part of the game that made the franchise great.

As I said on IRC a while ago:

"Ok Al. We made Max Payne old, changed his voice, and gave him a beer gut. What else can we do?"
"Well Jim, I never liked those dark gritty settings, let's send him to the Carribbean."

It's a great shame, since I loved both of the first two, but from everything coming out of Rockstar odds are I'll be trying to pretend it doesn't exist. Shame on them for trying to cash in, and shame on Remedy for wasting so much time on an inferior IP so that it got to the point where Rockstar weren't willing to wait any longer

[Fenavian]

well considering that the first two games had different voice actors portraying max, it's not surprising. It's also not surprising to see his change in appearance, I mean considering all that he has had to go through, you would of thought that he might of offed himself after the first game. I have a wait and see approach, as I love both games tremendously, so I will have faith that they deliver on a superb product.