G-pinions

Yesterday I ran through all of the new, original games hitting next year that I'm excited about. We can't ignore sequels though, the bread and butter of the industry, as unfortunate as that may be. I've tried my best to choose games that could potentially push their genres forwards, or in new directions; I fully acknowledge that all sequels are ultimately cash-ins, but there's a big difference between EA/Activision and Valve/Bungie in the way they approach profiting further off of successful ideas. We'll see how things pan out, but here's what I'm excited about right now.

10. Turok

I managed to finagle my way into the last BCD showing of Turok at E3 this year, a simple one-level playthrough with some developer commentary. And it seriously impressed me. They have a ridiculously talented group of people building the game, and the idea that we may finally see futuristic technology versus dinosaurs done correctly is thrilling. They've captured the ferocity and terror of dinosaur attacks, and should have plenty of time to build an engrossing game around it.

9. Culdcept Saga

One of the greatest things anyone has ever done for me was Al teaching me how to play Culdcept correctly. The Monopoly meets Magic the Gathering description it usually gets couldn't be more accurate, and it's as addictive and rewarding as that implies. This 360 sequel doesn't look much better than it's PS2 predecessor, but online play fits this game like a glove (unless they somehow botched it horribly). There are just so many reasons to be excited about an experience like this on a console.

8. Warhawk

There are two very good reasons why this game should wind up fantastic : Incog. doesn't make games that are anything less than ridiculously fun, and the motion control worked really well at E3 once you got used to it. The PS3 launch could have definitely used that game, but I'm glad they're getting another nine months to polish things to a sheen. The ground segments are also looking a bit like Mercenaries, which is a very good thing. I will have a PS3 by the time this game comes out.

7. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

Hey, I remember you from such places as last paragraph! Mercs was one of my favorite games last gen, a perfect fusion of sandbox structure and explosive military goodness. It looked great at E3 (sorry, I know you're getting sick of me saying that), as beautiful and destructive as ever, with co-op no less! They've also built the engine from the ground up, which is very exciting since the original one was so great and is still being used.

6. Mario Galaxy

This is what I want from the Wii. Experiences that are immediately intuitive and fun, and as response and visceral as using a traditional controller. With gorgeous art design to make up for limited graphical power (though the game does look technically beautiful as well). The Wii has proven that it can work in traditional genres, but Mario is the first example (of many, I hope) I've seen of trying to fundamentally evolve a genre. It's still the most profound fifteen minutes I've had with the system, and I can't imagine the final game will be anything less than brilliant.

5. Half-Life 2

Let's go over what you get for your (assumed) $60 here: Half-Life 2 (arguably the best game ever), Episode 1 (which everyone loves), Episode 2 (takes place in the woods!), Portal (obscenely innovative FPS puzzler), and Team Fortress 2 (sequel to the most beloved multiplayer game on the PC). Are they actually going to go through with this? I would pay like $200 for this package, and they really going to give it to me for $12 a game? Some of the best FPS experiences available anywhere, in their highest-resolution versions yet, playable from my couch. What's not to love?

4. Grand Theft Auto IV

This would probably be ranked higher if I knew what the hell to expect. But with three years, 150-person staff and I'm sure an obscene budget, the potential this game has is a little hard to wrap my head around. The experiences I've gleaned from the other GTA games are damned near enlightened, especially coming from a game where you can run over a hooker with an ice cream truck. What innovations lie in store for us in October? Running over a bear, in space, with a dinosaur? The mind boggles.

3. Earth Defense Force X

I don't quite understand why this took so long to make it over to the States. What do Americans like more than blowing up giant insects, robots and aliens? You're a tiny man, with a big gun, fighting hordes and hordes of the before-mentioned epidemics. It also happens to have the best co-op play known to man. This 360 version has less levels and no girl with a jetpack to play as, but what it lacks in those areas it makes up for by being able to be played on a goddamned US machine, and be in English. Spring, please come here now.


2. Halo 3

I was going to be cute and just write "It's Halo 3.", here, but I guess I should come up with a couple other reasons why I would tackle a porcupine to play this game for ten minutes. It has a new and improved matchmaking and party system, you can record clips of all your brilliant single and multi-player exploits and share them with your friends or in the post game lobby, and a drivable ATV. There you go. Now when do I find out for sure if I'm in the beta test, so I can stop having hourly panic attacks?

1. Burnout 5

Weird, huh? The best racing/action/puzzle/whatever game gets better, with an open world structure that sounds brilliantly thought out (go do some reading, or take my word for it), and all the graphical prowess, sense of speed and devastating crashes we're all become accustomed so being taken to the next level. Though Burnout Revenge wasn't quite as good as Burnout 3, I put an extra few dozen hours into it just trying to get gold medals everywhere I could. It's a perfect formula for fun and addiction, and everything I've read about this new one sounds like a step in the right direction. It's the only game that does a better job than Halo of making everything else in it's genre feel embarrassingly archaic and obsolete.