Hope for 2008: Part One

 Click here for “Hope for 2008: Part Two”

Below is an e-mail I received yesterday:

2007 was a great year for games. Anything exciting for 08?

So, I thought about the question. And I realized that 2007 was a good year for games, but in my opinion 2008 is going to be even better.

When you think back to 2007, understand this: the most prominent triple-A games were sequels. Call of Duty 4. Super Mario Galaxy. Halo 3. Guitar Hero 3. While we did see a few exceptions to the rule (Mass Effect, anyone?), 2007’s best games were sequels. When I think 2008, sequels are the last thing on my mind. I really want 2008 to be the year when something original takes the coveted Game of the Year award.

In this post, I’ve included 3 games that I’m excited about (in no particular order). These games are the ones that look promising, different, and innovative. So, let’s begin, shall we?

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

After Mass Effect’s success, you’d figure Bioware’s next project would be a sequel. But Bioware shocked the gaming world when they announced that their secret DS project was: a Sonic the Hedgehog RPG. Sonic’s fast pace is replaced by an RPG turn-based battle system, with field exploring, enemies approaching on the field map (So long, random encounters!), a polygonal experience, and a storyline from Bioware.

From the details revealed in Nintendo Power (on sale now, so give it a read), Chronicles tries to maintain Sonic’s speed in a variety of ways. One of these is by deciding your whole party’s actions before anyone moves. So you’ll still have tactics, but the moves will have a certain element of “Sonic Speed” to them. Expect Emerald Hills, Mystic Caves, and other locales to return, and what would a Sonic game be without a loop? We also know that Sonic can assemble a team of three to travel with him out of a possible 11 characters that you’ll recruit throughout the game. Only problem I can see is that Sonic doesn’t exactly go hand-in-hand with RPG gameplay, so Bioware will be pulling off an epic feat if they’re successful. Expect Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood to be released Fall 08.

LittleBigPlanet

It would seem like an obvious choice to include LittleBigPlanet. Many gamers are very excited about LittleBigPlanet, some even going so far as to purchase a PS3 for it (and for Metal Gear Solid 4 of course).

LittleBigPlanet is like Bungie’s File Share service on overdrive: it’s all about user-generated content. LBP let’s you design the game that you want. Do you want a platformer involving teamwork, an all out race to the finish on skateboards and bouncy balls, or something entirely different? It’s all up to you. And the stage creation tools look to be intuitive and easy to use, allowing you to create things “even the creators’ didn’t expect”.

The only thing that could stop LittleBigPlanet from taking over the world is LBP’s main idea: user content. If the users aren’t there creating the stages (there are more 360s out there than PS3s), then all LBP content will come to a standstill and gamers will grow bored and move on. The stage creation tool needs to be easy and fun to use, the community needs to be there to create the stages, and the creators of said stages need to put some sort of effort into what they release. Let’s face it: an inappropriate-themed stage may be fun for you and your buddies, but not for someone else.

Left 4 Dead

Blasting through an endless horde of zombies has gotten a little stale lately. With the exception of Dead Rising, zombie games just aren’t as fun for me (well, maybe except for Stubbs). Enter Left 4 Dead, with the simple premise that may lead to endless hours logged with your buddies.

L4D features a four-man group of humans fighting through a city of zombies in order to stay alive and escape. Now, they don’t have the same arsenal as Dead Rising’s Frank West, preferring guns over discount signs. You start off in a “safe room” in each mission, allowing you to load up on guns, grenades, and ammo. Then you’re off to blast through an endless amount of zombies, that will enter differently each time you play. Eventually, you’ll hit another safe room. Wash, rinse, repeat.

What makes Left 4 Dead interesting, is that you don’t have to play as the humans the whole time. If you want, you can play as a zombie of a certain class (differences in stats and weapons). And even better, Left 4 Dead is designed to be a co-op game, so you can gather up some friends online and tackle the zombies together. Or you can use the in-game bots. Look for Left 4 Dead in June 08.

Check back in a couple days when I’ll put up Part 2.