Xbox 360 had another phenomenal year in 2008, what’s on the cards for 2009?
2009: the year that Xbox 360 enters the ‘safe zone’ that is the console sales peak. The console is cheap, Xbox Live is the current superior online console gaming experience, and the Xbox 360 boasts a vast library of quality software. This library will be expanding again this year, with both good and bad games. Here are ten of our most hotly anticipated titles that we hope will living up to their pre-launch acclaim.
GTA IV: The Lost and Damned (Rockstar, 17 February 2009)
Not much needs to be said about the expansion pack to the most complete GTA yet. You play a member of a biker gang, named Johnny, and you play through side story that runs parallel to Niko Bellic’s blockbuster tale in Liberty City. With the release just around the corner, it really won’t be much longer before we can make an informed opinion on the game, and we won’t be surprised at all if it becomes one of the most popular downloadable expansions on XBLM.
Street Fighter IV (Capcom, 20 February 2009)
We can already envisage the reviews: “A very enjoyable sequel, but it’s no Street Fighter II.” If we’re honest, we’re looking forward to a sense of progress over the classic fighter that became a household name in the 90s, and that’s been milked so very much by Capcom over the years. The visual style is a refreshing, eclectic blend of the old and the new. We’re already clearing our schedules for the all-night parties that are sure to follow this slice of arcade perfection.
Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 13 March 2009)
Now the racially awkward trailer they showed at E3 is (just about) behind them, the demo we’ve played was an entertaining experience. The locale is something that we thought we’d never see in a Resident Evil game… daytime! However, besides the new addition of a co-op aspect, which we’re thoroughly looking forward to online, not much has really been improved in terms of the over-the-shoulder gameplay. We’re confident that the game’s going to be good, but as to whether anything new and original being implemented, we’ll have to find out.
Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft, TBA)
Details leaked about this game don’t stipulate much of a gameplay related improvement, but show that Turn 10 Studios are following a ‘bigger is better’ mentality – over 400 cars and 100 tracks and a vast addition of tools to the already comprehensive car customisation options. A leaked claim suggests that the game may be sold as a 2-disc set because of its size. We enjoyed the previous games to an extent, but the driving did get a bit tiresome after a while. Hopefully, the AI opponents can be wizened up from driving round an identical path in-line, and the racing experience can be made more involving – then we’re onto a sure winner.
Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft, Q4 2009)
The first full expansion to a Halo game ever, but from the promo trailer, it looks like a whole new experience from Bungie studios. With Ensemble’s RTS swan song, Halo Wars, launching later this month, Microsoft have been have been quick to distance themselves from the project, returning Halo to its more familiar FPS gameplay. The debut presents a darker tone and the lead character – an ODST operative – is supposedly taking a stealthier role to dispatch his foes. Who knows what to expect from this?
Battlefield 1943 (EA, TBA)
Going back to what it does best, EA and DICE are scrapping a single-player Battlefield experience to bring back the straight forward sandbox experience that everyone fell in love with in Battlefield 1942. The debut trailer shows a map that is extremely similar looking to the popular Wake Island map, and some impressive visuals to boot. We can see this being an extremely popular online game, just like the famous predecessor before it.
Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams (2K Games, TBA)
Where do we begin? A near perfect single-player experience that we couldn’t help but replay time and time again in the original. All fans have seen at the moment is a trailer that shows a woman (stipulated as a grownup Little Sister), stood on a beach at sunset, holding a teddy bear. No other official details have been released, but the game’s mastermind, Ken Levine, is still at the helm for Bioshock 2. For this, we would love to see something special emerge to continue this beautifully creative idea. It has been announced a lot sooner than we expected too.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 (Ubisoft, TBA)
The original was an evocative mix of platforming and adventure gameplay. However, not even the sharp production values that permeated even corner of the disc could save Beyond Good & Evil from going unnoticed by the mainstream. A rather puzzling trailer, titled ‘The Pig’, released at last year’s Ubidays event, is all we’ve seen of it so far. If the sequel can manage to hold on to the believable world of the original and challenge the characters in new ways then colour us five shades of excited.
Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, TBA)
A surprise move by Microsoft – taking one of Sony’s stalwart titles, one of the reasons why the PlayStation was popular in the first place. Despite being in production for more than two years, we still know very little about the latest in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy franchise. The first gameplay trailer was recently released, showing a more advanced version of the turn-based combat that last graced the series in Final Fantasy X. The cut-scenes, as per usually with Square games, look peachy enough to be released as a standalone movie. Don’t expect this one anytime soon however, as it’s been pitted for a European release of spring 2010.
Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar, Q3 2009)
FINALLY! The concept trailer that was shown by the side of the Killzone 2 trailer at E3 2005 has finally materialized, and just like Killzone 2, the visuals of Red Dead have very much met, if not surpassed, that of the original trailer. We fell in love with its predecessor, and for Rockstar to implement the sandbox elements that it does so well just makes the wait until autumn 2009 so much more baiting.
Check out the latest Xbox 360 games at xbox.com.
Jason England
[Originally published on Monday, 9 February 2009]
