IGN: The Top 10 Games You May Miss This Year
Don't lose these games in the crush!
The floodgates are well and truly opening on the release avalanche that will carry us through to the New Year. There's going to be a veritable treasure trove of gaming on offer over the next few months. We've already got BioShock and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (in the States), but it's not long until the likes of Skate, Super Paper Mario (in AU), World in Conflict and Halo 3. Then after that we slide neatly into Guitar Hero III, Rock Band (in the States - did I mention curse you?), Need for Speed ProStreet, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Super Mario Galaxy, Crysis, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed. So many big names. So many top sellers and triple A titles.
This feature isn't about those games. It's about the games that could easily be overshadowed by the above, even though they don't deserve to be. Here are our Top 10 games to put on your radar.
10) Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
System(s): PSP
Developer: Nippon Ichi
Genre: Strategy RPG
Gameplay pros: The Disgaea series has built up a cult following over the last four or so years, and it's little wonder why. Developer Nippon Ichi has a knack for crafting strange, labyrinthine and deep mechanics in its resolutely old school games, and thus you're generally guaranteed a solid 40+ hours of absorbing and challenging gameplay. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness is a PSP remake - with bonus content - of the PS2 classic Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, one of Nippon Ichi's most humourous efforts.
Sales forecast cons: Nippon Ichi's games are niche at best, and at least in Australia they don't get much - if any - shelf space. Why? Well despite being incredibly deep and often very progressive in game mechanics, these are not easy games to sell on face value. They look like SNES titles (not that there's anything wrong with that), frequently take several hours just to get into, and well, they appeal to a certain type of gamer. Hardly anyone in Australia got the chance to play Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on PS2, so do yourself a favour and don't miss it when it returns on PSP.
9) BlackSite: Area 51
System(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Midway Studios Austin
Genre: Shooter
Gameplay pros: With the recent abduction (and return) of the entire population of Sydney by aliens, could there be a more topical time to make a game where you get to fight back? No, there couldn't, but that's only one reason why we're looking forward to BlackSite. The other reasons are pretty simple - while this game isn't going to change the world, it
is going to be a whole lot of fun. The squad elements are simple and intuitive, and the action never lets up; whether you're taking cover during a tense fire fight, frantically back-pedalling as a swarm of fast and nimble aliens pursue you, or facing off against one of the game's absolutely epic monster encounters.
Sales forecast cons: We're just not picking up much of a buzz on this game - it could easily be dismissed as just another shooter and sink without a trace. We're not saying run out and buy it, just keep this sucker on your radar, and grab it if the reviews are positive.
8) Fury
System(s): PC
Developer: Auran
Genre: PVP MMO
Gameplay pros: Australia's own Auran is hitting the MMO scene with the completely PVP-focused Fury, and it's shaping up to be a gameplay goldmine. Accessible and fast-paced, Fury is exciting to both play and watch, with streamlined mechanics and eye-poppingly nice visuals for the genre. Game types scale from intimate to epic; you have Elimination, a four versus four arena-based team mode, Bloodbath, a deathmatch mode for 8-32 players, Vortex, 16 versus 16 CTF and Fortress, a massive 32 on 32 battle royale. Think UT's Onslaught and you'd be on the right track.
Sales forecast cons: The fact that the game's free to play (although there
is a subscription model for those inclined) is all well and good, but that's not going to get it into people's hands in the first place - they still need to buy it at retail. Here's hoping the word gets out there through the beta, the press and marketing, and let's hope the game's attempt to appeal to both MMO players and fast-paced shooter fans doesn't leave it without a core audience.
7) TimeShift
System(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Developer: Saber Interactive
Genre: Shooter
Gameplay pros: We've already done some
pretty serious coverage of TimeShift, but here's the take home point - TimeShift is worth checking out for multiplayer alone. The team really understands what makes for good competitive play, and they've been honing this aspect of the game for - literally - years. Not only will this be one of the most customisable multiplayer offerings, allowing you to change, tweak and save a huge number of parameters, but the 'Chronos Grenades', which allow you to throw out bubbles of time stop, slow or rewind, fundamentally change the multiplayer experience.
Sales forecast cons: Oh man, this game has been in development for so long that it's hard to maintain momentum amongst gamers. Maybe the demo will help, or maybe word of mouth about multiplayer will give this a boost. I hope so, because I sure as hell want those servers populated 24 hours a day when this game ships.
6) The Settlers: Rise of an Empire
System(s): PC
Developer: Blue Byte
Genre: Strategy
Gameplay pros: Rise of an Empire is by far the prettiest Settlers game to date, and it's looking really engrossing in the gameplay department too. Your overall goal is to build a bustling medieval town from the ground up. You all know the basics - gather resources and balance the happiness of your people with the needs of the society. Starting with a single tiny settlement surrounded by verdant forest, your domain will expand until you're looking after a fortified city with thousands of citizens.
Sales forecast cons: The other guys here at IGN AU assure me that the Settlers series is 'teh awesome', with great mechanics and enchanting visuals, but honestly, I've never looked twice at this series in the past. And that's the problem. Year in, year out, Blue Byte's The Settlers games represent a slice of compelling strategy gameplay, but never really sell beyond its niche audience. Let's hope it gets a few more fans this time around. Fans that are outside Germany, that is.
5) Hannah Montana: Music Jam
System(s): DS
Developer: Gorilla Games
Genre: Rhythm action/music creation
Gameplay pros: I honestly had no idea what the hell Hannah Montana was until about five minutes ago (thankyou, as always,
Wikipedia) - all I knew was that it looked unrelentingly poxy. Now that I know more, that opinion has - naturally - not changed. Why, then, is this game in the list? Gameplay potential, pure and simple. Check out the video below and you'll see why we're excited. In short, this game is moving on from the usual Simon Says nature of rhythm action games by letting you build your own songs from scratch and record all the parts. Lay down a beat using the array of drums and cymbals on the touch screen. Strum a guitar, switching chords by holding in a different direction with the D-pad. It looks intuitive, and potentially powerful. Plus, you can wirelessly jam with up to three other people.
Sales forecast cons: Look, this game will probably sell just fine, thankyou very much. We just wanted to make sure you don't dismiss a potentially great game out of hand just because it's attached to a girly license. This could well be the pinkest game you ever buy.
4) Jeanne d'Arc
System(s): PSP
Developer: Level 5
Genre: Strategy RPG
Gameplay pros: An awesome strategy RPG for PSP that
scored a huge 9 on this very site a couple of weeks ago. What's so good about it? Well, who wouldn't want to liberate France from the bastard English? Okay, maybe not. Okay, try this on for size: Jeanne D'Arc has one of the most engrossing grid-based turn-based combat systems we've played on a portable. The game regularly shifts up objectives for battles, which, when combined with a turn-limit and deep mechanics, makes battles far more interesting than in more sedate strat RPGs. The character skill system in the game is really flexible too, meaning there's always another setup/tactic you can try.
Sales forecast cons: By and large this is a naming issue. No one is going to randomly pick up a game called Jeanne d'Arc. Hell, for that matter they're not going to pick up a game called Joan of Arc. History is
so yesterday's news man. The sales from people in the know will be good, but for commercial success to come, this game needs more than that. It needs a bad-ass title. I know it's already out in the States, but perhaps for the Australian release it could be renamed something more exciting, possibly utilising a license linked to Joan of Arc. Something like "Bill and Ted Present the Further Adventures of Hottie McHottenstein, aka Joan of Arc".
3) Tabula Rasa
System(s): PC
Developer: Destination Games
Genre: MMO RPG
Gameplay pros: This is another MMO that's going for more of an action feel, combining RPG elements with an FPS aesthetic. It's great to see a sci-fi take on persistent worlds, and we also really like the basic concept for the world - that all the players are taking part in humanity's last stand against an alien race called The Bane. Yes, it's us against them (but don't worry, Tabula Rasa will still have PVP), and this means that Tabula Rasa's gameworld is one that will evolve over time, and could potentially have an epic conclusion! The alien invasion storyline is also being used to present players with ethical choices, which will determine future events and how NPCs respond to them. Throw in some really interesting classes and environments and Tabula Rasa is going to be worth a look.
Sales forecast cons: Richard Garriott is steering the ship on this sci-fi MMO, but his name alone will not be enough to sell it. Not only is the MMO space very tricky to crack into and be profitable in, with so many triple A titles coming throughout the rest of 2007, publisher NCSoft needs to get more than just the ardent fans on board to make this title a success.
2) Braid
System(s): PC
Developer: Jonathan Blow
Genre: Platform
Gameplay pros: This indie game won the Innovation in Game Design award at the Independent Games Festival back in 2006, and is now finally on the verge of release. Simply put, Braid is going to be gameplay gold - presented like a 2D platformer, the game's hook is its innovative use of time control. In fact, this is probably the most progressive use of time control in a game to date, and gives the game incredible puzzle potential, particularly as your character's abilities change as the game progresses, so the gameplay is never stagnant.
At a basic level you can rewind any mistake you make. You can rewind all the way from the end of a level to the beginning if you like. Layered onto this, however, are objects that are immune to time rewind, meaning you can pick them up, then rewind the world while still holding them. Then there are sections where moving the character forward moves time forward, while moving the character backwards rewinds time and stopping, well, stops time. You can already see how much potential the game has, and I haven't even mentioned a couple of other - very cool - time control mechanics. You need to buy this game.
Sales forecast cons: While indie gaming keeps growing and growing, there's still only minimal cross-over to the mainstream. This game deserves a massive audience. At the moment it's down for release sometime between November and February - we say delay it until the New Year to give it more room to shine, and get it into the hands of as many reviewers as possible. Word of mouth alone could make this a hit.
1) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
System(s): PS3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Genre: Action adventure
Gameplay pros: Hopefully you read IGN AU's recent
hands-on impressions of this title, but if you didn't, here's the gist. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune comes from the Naughty Dog guys (who you may know from series' such as Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter) and is like a wonderful cross between Tomb Raider and Gears of War. One moment you're clambering about ancient ruins, wall running using vines, leaping between ledges and solving basic puzzles, the next you're taking cover as wave after wave of mercenaries assault your position. The combat in this game is going to be super smooth. Oh, and did we mention that this game is visually amazing? Best. Jungle. Ever.
Sales forecast cons: Why oh why is it called 'Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'? That is
not a cool name for a game. You might as well call it Nerdy McNofriends Goes to Band Camp for all its appeal. Okay, so it's not that bad, but it's not a classic name, either. The gameplay too, while engrossing and lovingly crafted, risks being passed over by players who assume that it's just another Tomb Raider clone… without the breasts. Uncharted deserves to be a hit, so make sure you don't miss it!
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