
This is the sixth edition of Games to the Video. Games to the Video is something I do twice a year now. This is the second one this year and will preview the games I am looking forward to in the second half of 2009. August 2009 through January 1, 2010. I'll use the same format I've been using lately, but I'll go into more detail on the games. I'll provide a link to the game's
Gamespot page. Also, I'll get a little picture that represents the game from google, which is probably copyright infringement. I do not take credit for those pictures. I do take credit for the picture I made for this post and yes, anyone is free to use it. If this is your first Games to the Video, you can check out Games to the Video 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 [links removed] by following those convenient links.
I get release dates from a few different websites. Some of them I heard from interviews from Xplay. Sites like Gamespot, IGN, and Wikipedia are my other sources. A few magazines also. All dates are North American release dates. After E3, I got a ton of release dates, and even after E3, release dates were changed. So all dates are subject to change at the developer's/publisher's will. Example, I originally had 21 games on this years list. That's a lot. In the few weeks I worked on this, I've had to remove 5 titles because they were moved back to 2010. I've also added one game. I'll list exact (up to the month) release dates first, and then I'll list the quarter 3 and quarter 4 release dates after those.
Batman Arkham Asylum: This game is a stealth action-adventure game based in DC's Batman universe. Joker is going to Arkham Asylum, and Batman wants to make sure he gets there. But Joker has a few tricks up his sleeves and escapes and takes over the asylum, releasing many of Batman's enemies. Batman needs to put these felons in their place, and put Joker back behind bars. What makes this game cool, it is being co-written by Paul Dini, who wrote for Batman The Animated Series. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill will reprise their voice roles as Batman and Joker respectively from Batman: The Animated Series. The developer, Rocksteady Studios, has focused on both stealth and combat evenly. It will feature a Detective Mode which highlights points of interest and scans items, among other things. It's looking awesome. The combat looks easy, but varied, and the stealth looks like it'll be fun as well. The story and atmosphere is what I'm most excited for. Arkham Asylum is a sweet place, in my opinion, to hold this game. Expect this game for the Playstation 3, PC, and XBox 360 on August 25, 2009.
Section 8: It is one of the few games that caught my eye with screenshots. It was featured in Games to the Video 3. The game looks great, graphically. The people of earth have discovered interstellar space travel and colonized other places in space. The ARM of Orion is a group who has disconnected the outermost colonies from the main government. The main government has deployed the 8th Armored Infantry to investigate and fight. You play as Alex Corde, who is part of this team. They go on near suicidal missions, which other teams call them insane for, causing the nickname Section 8. Standard first person shooter stuff, but the deployment and vehicles make the game stand out from the rest. It's interesting sounding, but we'll probably see how the reviews go. The game will not be out for the PS3, but will still release PC, and XBox 360 with multiplayer. The release date is August 28, 2009. Or September 1, 2009. I see it listed as both.
WET: It's an action shooter, with a third person camera. The game features a heroine named Rubi, who is played by the television show's Dollhouse star, Eliza Dushku. Rubi is very acrobatic. While diving you whip out two guns, one gun auto aims, and the other gun is controlled by the analog stick, and this allows you to shoot two enemies at once. You also have a nice sword. It's over the top, and takes a lot of credit from grindhouse type films. WET also features a Rage mode. Your kill multipliers are increased and everything is even more over the top violent goodness. What attracted me to this game is because it was one games the were dropped by Activision Blizzard when Vivendi and Activision merged. I cared for those games and developers. Luckily, Bethesda Softworks picked this game up. The game will be out for both the Playstation 3, and XBox 360 on September 15, 2009.
Darkest of Days: The greatest strength of this game is the concept. You die and are transported back in time by a mysterious organization. You fight in turning point fights of the past to ensure that history stays intact. You travel back and forth through time. It sounds interesting. The game engine supports over 300 characters on screen, but the objective is not to kill everyone and get the flag back. However, your objective is usually to save a key soldier from dying. The company is kinda unknown, who is developing this game so we'll see how this goes. They did make the engine, so they know it in and out. Probably see what reviews will say about. The game comes out for the PC and XBox 360. September 8, 2009 is the release date.
Demon's Souls: I'm not a Japanese RPG kind of person. Demon's Souls is being developed by a Japanese developer, but this is a very Americanized RPG, like Oblivion. It's actually out in Japan right now, is getting really good reviews. There's Co-op up to three players, and you can also fight other players. Basically a standard American RPG. There's also an educational mode where you can leave hints for other players. That looks interesting. You fight enemies that are huge. I don't know much about the story, but it takes place in a dark fantasy type of world... so England pretty much. If there is a demo, I might give that a shot first. It's only on the Playstation 3. It comes to America on October 6, 2009.
Brutal Legend: I love this one. This was also one of the orphans abandoned by Activision Blizzard during the merger. Luckily good EA picked it up. And they are promoting the crap out of it. Activision is trying to sue, but the developer, Double Fine Productions is coutersuing. Double Fine is run by one of my favorite people in the video game bis, Tim Schafer. My friend actually got a picture with him and his kid at Comic Con this year. I should throw that up on the site. So I've been following this game for a long time. The game is an action-adventure game, taking place in a metal (the music genre) world. You play as Eddie (voiced by Jack Black) who is a roadie who get's transported to this metal world and finds a magic guitar and axe... like the sharp axe. You also have a hot rod. The game will feature voices of heavy metal musicians including Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford and other celebrities such as Tim Curry. I like metal, but not a fan of it, and I'm still psyched about this game. You don't need to be a metal fan. The locations of the game are inspired by metal album covers, so that's pimp. Tim Schafer is known for funny games, and this is no exception. Every time I see Tim talk about this game, he has a genuine smile on his face, like this is his dream game. So he has put a lot into making this game perfect, and you should buy it. I'm preordering it, and I don't preorder games very often. It comes out for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 on Rocktober 13, 2009.
Borderlands: This is a game that was actually found by my friend... I'm usually the person telling him about games. Alas, he subscribe to Game Informer back in the day, and that's when this game first popped up with realistic graphics. The game is a First Person RPG with over 500,000 different guns, with several more combinations with modifications. They changed the graphics style earlier this year, and I think it looks fantastic. Makes the game stand out. Instead of the standard browns, you have colors. Seeing it in action in gameplay footage makes it look even better. I applaud Gearbox for the change. This is my new Hellgate London basically. Except this should be good. Four player coop is always a plus. In the distant future, you live on the planet of Pandora, and everyone is seeking riches, especially from this vault in the side of a mountain which is rumored to contain alien technology. But the peeps who found it were wiped out mysteriously. There are four playable characters, each containing different characteristics, like sniper, support character, mage, and tank. Diablo like randomization is used for weapons, areas, and monsters. Towns and general paths will not be randomized. I'm hoping for a better version on Hellgate London, and this game looks like it. It puts more emphasis on the shooter part, then the RPG part. Another preorder. The game comes out for the PC, Playstation 3, and XBox 360. The release date is October 20, 2009.
Dreamkiller: This game reminds me of Psychonauts, except freakier and first person shootery. You play as a psychologist who can enter the dreams of her patients. You shoot the crap out of their sub conscience in order to cure them of their demons. So very Psychonaut like. Has a creepy feel to it to. There is an insane asylum that looks scary, and the enemies are creepy as well. The guns are over the top, with one being a minigun that lobs grenades. This game is for the PC and XBox 360 and should be out in October 2009. Although IGN still says Q3, but in an article on Gamespot, it says October from the developer's mouth.
Dragon Age Orgins: Another RPG. This one is from Bioware, the peeps behind Mass Effect and Bulders Gate. In fact, the developers call it the spiritual successor of Bulders Gate. It's called "origins" because each character class has origin in the game. This is the beginning of their story. Each charter class has a home town, and will start in the town, so the story will be different for each class. It even goes down to the point where a rich character will start out in a noble part of town, where a poor character starts out in the slums. Oh, and their are actually dragons in the game! This game was going to be on the last list because the PC version was going to come out in March before the 360, and PS3 versions, but they changed it to be released with the rest. Oh well, the polished the PC version a little more. As a result, it is on this list and will be released on November 3, 2009 for the PC and 360. The Playstation 3 version follows later in November.
Assassin's Creed Bloodlines: Another portable Assassin's Creed. The DS version didn't do so well, but this one takes place between the first game and the second game on the island of Cyprus. You get to play as Altair. The game should explain the link between Altair, Desmond and the protagonist from Assassin's Creed 2, Ezio. The game is only for the Playstation Portable and will have connectivity support with the Playstation 3 version of Assassin's Creed 2. This will allow you to unlock six unique weapons on Assassin's Creed 2, and vice-versa. Upgrades and treasures unlocked in one game, will be transferred to the other game as well. Pretty sweet, with me being a PS3 owner and PSP owner. Another game, other then God of War and Twisted Metal, that give me a reason to own one. The release date is suppose to be November 10ish, 2009.
Assassin's Creed II: I loved Assassin's Creed. I recently just played it, so I got psyched seeing ACII being demoed at E3. You'll play as another one of Desmond's ancestors, Ezio Auditore di Firenze. The game takes place in Italy, in 1486, this time around. Leonardo da Vinci makes some gadgets for you, including his flying machine. The only weapons you have are two hidden blades, and you can steal the weapons of your enemies during combat. You can also swim this time around. It looks freaking amazing. I suggest you watch the E3 demo at Gamespot. They also demoed it during the Sony Conference. I'm probably going to be preordering one of the collector's editions. Looks like we have a couple of options. This game will be on the PS3, 360, and PC. The release date is November 17, 2009.
Darksiders - Wrath of War: This game I have talked about. Well mentioned. The game puts you in the very large shoes of War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Turns out someone started the end of the world... without War knowing. He loses most of his powers, but he must find out who started the apocalypse, while battling angels and demons. The combat is another interesting point of this game. You wield a giant sword, and there are also guns. You collect orbs also. You can ride on your horse, Ruin. The game is looking like a cross among God of War, Devil May Cry, and Legend of Zelda. Actually the developers said they took inspiration from Zelda. From gameplay videos, and trailers, I agree and I am psyched. This will probably another preorder. This game comes out for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 on January 1 2010 (for sure January).
Torchlight: I spotlit this game in a recent post, called "That's Why" on August 10. So I shouldn't have to say too much on this game and why I like it so. Think Diablo 1.5, and it's only going to be 20 to 30 dollars. It looks sweet, the developers, Runic Games, are having fun with it. Randomization like Diablo. Lots of items. Lots of loot. And you get a pet. It's moddable to boot and will come with the editor for the game to make modding easy. Q3 or Q4 of 2009 for this game. It's for PC.
New Super Mario Bros Wii: This game was probably my favorite announcement from Nintendo at E3 (I'm not a big Metroid fan, or else Metroid the Other M probably would have been). This game will be similar to New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, where it goes back to old school roots and is a side scrolling platformer. The big news is that this is the first Mario game to have four players playing simultaneously. You can play as Mario, Luigi and two Toads of different color. Yoshi also shows up, and has abilities much like the Super Mario World Yoshi. This game will also feature a mode called "demo mode." If you get stuck, just enable this, and the computer plays through that part of the game for you. I'm probably not going to use it. That's my plan anyways. Maybe Nintendo made the game super hard. I don't know. I'm excited. The game obviously comes out for the Wii. Should be out Quarter 4 2009. Holiday 2009 are the words from Nintendo.
Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks: I like the Zelda series. I haven't played Phantom Hourglass yet. And this game looks similar. Not much is known about this game really. Link rides a train to get around the world. Also, Link controls a phantom. It'll be a tried and true Zelda game, that's for sure. Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks will be released only for the Nintendo DS. Quarter 4, 2009 is the release date.
Edge of Twilight: I had to make sure this wasn't vaporware, because I stumbled on it back in Games to the Video 3. They turned out two trailers in July of 2009, and they did an interview back in June, and it's rolling along. Gamespot isn't paying attention to it though. Anyways, Edge of Twilight takes place in a world where the Rift tore the world into Night and Day. You play as Lex, who is the only one who can survive in both Night and Day (if I understand it correctly). Lex needs to save the world from plummeting into darkness. There's some Steampunk elements. I don't know what kind of weapons, but that's what the developers say. The game is a third person platformer with hack and slash elements. Should be a good time. The game is very story driven, which makes me happy. The game will be out for the PS3, PC, and XBox 360. Websites say 2009 for the release date, but the developers haven't announced a date and, by the interview I read, it will probably more likely be 2010. So this game might pop up again on Games to the Video 7. Hopefully more information will be available then.
Sadness: I'm about 90% sure this is vaporware. Vaporware is software that is announced by the developer, but is not actually in development. The reason I say this is because the developers haven't updated their website since 2008, and they said that they would be at the Game Developer's Conference, and they weren't. The website for Sadness expired. Anyways, this game looked really cool. The concept anyways. The game would be in black and white and take place in pre World War I, Russia. The game is a survival horror game, and is meant to scare the player without using violence. It looked cool. It was for the Wii. The developers meant to take advantage of the Wiimote to help scare the player. The stated a long time ago that the game would be released in 2009. Again, I'm 90% sure that this game does not exist, but we'll see.
Honorable Mentions are also back. These are games that I'm keeping an eye on, but not a close eye. Either XBox exclusives, or games that I might buy if it's a game drought and the reviews are good. That type of deal. They are just mentioned with their release dates.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a Playstation 3 exclusive set to release on October 13 of this year. I didn't really get into Uncharted, but if the first game becomes a greatest hits, I'll scoop it up, and if I like it, buy this game at full price. I wasn't impressed with the demo for the first Uncharted though.
Scribblenauts is coming out for the DS on September 15. It's mentioned because writing something and having it form in the world sounds interesting, but sounds like something more casual.
Halo ODST is for the 360 only and comes out September 22. I'm not a fan of the Halo series, but this one intrigues me because it is different from the other Halo games.
Metroid Prime Trilogy comes out for the Wii on August 24, 2009. The game contains the two Metroid Primes from the Gamecube, and the third game on the Wii. The first two games has been upgraded with Wii controls. I figured all three games for 50 bucks wouldn't be bad. I hear good things, but never got into the Prime series.
Cursed Mountain comes out August 25 for the Wii. The main reason it is mentioned because it sounds like a hardcore game for the Wii (which I like to tell people about because people complain there are no hardcore games for the Wii).
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is coming to the PS3 on September 29. I'm not a fan of the Ninja Gaiden series, but it's a big title so I mention it.
Dead Space Extraction gets mentioned because it's another hardcore title, but I don't like survival horror so yeah. September 29 for the Wii.
Left 4 Dead 2 should almost be in the big list, but I probably won't buy it because my XBox 360 friends will buy it, and I'll play with them. I liked the first one for Coop, so yeah. Why spend the money, when you can mooch off friends. November 17 on the PC and XBox 360.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a sequel to Umbrella Chronicles for the Wii. It's hardcore for the Wii again so that's why it's mentioned. November 2009 is the release month.
And finally we come to the point where I give you updates on games that made the list in Games to the Video 5. So enjoy.
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers is a game that I bought and played for a few minutes. It got terrible reviews, but it's still pretty fun. The story is very weak, but who cares. You are running around slashing up zombies on the Wii.
Damnation finally got released, but it got bad reviews so I decided not to get it.
Madworld is one of the best games for the Wii. For those of you complaining that their are no hardcore games for the Wii, pick this game up. Everytime a hardcore game gets released for the Wii, hardcore gamers ignore it and they don't sell. So stop complaining and buy this game. It's got blood, violence, and zombies.
Resistance Retribution came out for the PSP. I played a little bit. The controls were good for the PSP and the graphics were good. Any Resistance fan with a PSP should definitely pick this one up. I need to finish that game.
inFamous is my best game of the year so far this year. It's great to play as Cole. I've played through it twice already want to play it a third time.
The Conduit is said to be the best FPS for the Wii... but that's not saying much really. I didn't pick this game up, because it sounds like an average FPS, and I have a ton of those. I want to buy it to support the developers because they did such a good job on the Wii, but money is money. maybe some day.
Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dark Void, and I Am Alive were all pushed back and Batman appears on this list. Darkvoid and I am Alive were meant to be on this list, but were pushed back further into 2010 as I was writing this.
House of the Dead: Overkill is a game that I did end up picking up. It has a grindhouse theme to it, and is very M rated, and is probably borderline Adults Only just because of the dialogue. It's great. Again, another hardcore game for the Wii. It's still House of the Dead, through and through. It's short, but has tons of replay value if you have friends.
That concludes this edition of Games to the Video. I hope you enjoyed it.
"Be happy to."
-- Orc Peon from Warcraft II