New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
Nintendo seems to always change things up. I'm talking about their release schedule. They used to cram a lot of games into the holiday season, but there's already a whole bunch of games during the period fighting for the same consumer dollar. New Super Mario Bros. Wii appears to be the sole traditional title for North America this holiday season. With co-op up to four players or by yourself, you can never get enough 2D Mario, and it's a miracle we're seeing one on a console.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Go on a second adventure with wise-cracking acrobatic Nathan Drake as he goes on a new journey for what else but treasure. The first game featured three types of gameplay: third-person shooting a la Gears of War, climbing across chasms via Prince of Persia, and vehicle segments, some on-rail, some not. Co-op and multiplayer gameplay are added, and we'll see if they're as up to snuff as the single-player story. Look for this treasure sometime this fall.
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)
This is a series that I fell in love with when I rented Going Commando, the second in the series, so long ago. I immediate purchased the game and have been a fan since. I was afraid that Insomniac would rest on their laurels with a game that featured minimal new additions, but it appears there's nothing to fear here. Play as Ratchet as he goes off to find Clank and stave off Dr. Nefarious (Up Your Arsenal) once again.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS)
The original Mario & Luigi was a terrific game, and Partners in Time while also excellent was more linear. Bowser's Inside Story, the third game in the trilogy is set to be the best one yet. Comic relief Fawful has returned, but this time he's the one in charge. Travel inside and out Bowser's body in a role-playing adventure unlike any other. Mid-September is when Mario & Luigi return to the RPG realm.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
Link is a flexible character for sure. Sailing ships, bashing baddies and bosses, utilizing an arsenal of weapons and gadgets, and now taking the role of engineer in the latest Zelda game, Spirit Tracks. If you didn't care for the controls of Phantom Hourglass, you won't be interested in this adventure. The rest of us will have another fun adventure only this time without the Temple of the Ocean King.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up (Wii, PS2)
Ubisoft seems to be making no attempt to hide that Smash Up is wholly inspired from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Face off with the turtles and a number of characters in multi-tiered stages full of danger and havoc. The Wii version features online play while the PS2 version does not. Whatever system you go with, Smash Up seems to be a smashing good time. It comes out late next month.
Scribblenauts (DS)
This game holds huge promise. It's from the developers behind Drawn to Life. Scribblenauts has you doodling down words and watching your words turn into a creation. Writing "tree" will make a tree pop up. "Sword" will make a sword materialize, and so forth. Countless hours will be wasted seeing what words will work and won't work. Catch Scribblenauts halfway into September.
My personal favorite shooter of all time gets the polished treatment with online co-op, counter-op, and combat simulator gameplay. The visuals have been upgraded and the framerate is said to be stable. This might just be my most anticipated game of the year.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
War is hell unless you have unlimited respawning troops. The hugely popular Call of Duty returns with its yearly tour of consoles. I'm not too into the Call of Duty series, but this one very much interests me. It helps that Modern Warfare is being ported to the Wii so I can try it out with the controls I prefer. Regardless, Modern Warfare 2 is poised to be a mega-hit come November.
Halo 3 ODST (360)
Face off and let the best spartan win in Halo 3 ODST. The campaign mode no longer features Master Chief this time around but a cadet simply called "the rookie". Multiplayer is what people play Halo for, and it aims to please with 24 maps right from the box, the original eleven Halo 3 maps, and several maps from various map packs that were released. Ready, aim, and fire this fall.
Honorable Mentions:
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii, PSP, PS2)
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge (PSP, PS2)
Spyborgs (Wii)
2 comments:
May I recommend not overlooking Batman: Arkham Asylum?
That game is seriously top notch. I voiced my thoughts in my blog on it, but seriously, it's not one to miss.
It had come out before this list is why it's not mentioned.
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