I was inspired by Gamespy’s editor’s lists of top 5 most anticipated. You can click next on the bottom to see each of the contributor’s lists. I was surprised how different each of them was until I tried to put together my own list. There are tons of good games scheduled for this year. With no further adieu, here is my list:
1) Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams
2) Diablo III
3) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
5) God of War III
Honorable Mention – Star Wars: The Old Republic
Cautiously Optimistic – Batman: Arkham Asylum
Everything on my list is currently a day of full price purchase. Key observation #1, everything on the list is a sequel. I’m a skeptic at heart and I put a lot more stock in what the developers have proven rather than what they promise. That said, I am expecting some top quality titles out of the various new IPs this year. I just don’t know which ones will hit the mark far enough in advance to have high expectations for them now.
Now some further commentary:
Bioshock 2 – I know I’m setting myself up to be disappointed here. My expectations are sky high for this title. I can’t tell how many articles I’ve read that point out Ken Levine’s lack of involvement. I’m not entirely sure how true that is. The core group in 2K Marin was essentially formed out of key members of the Bioshock team. The group essentially mentored under Levine. You don’t think they have conversations about what they are doing and how it fits into the world he created? Bioshock was one of my favorite titles of all time. The team wasn’t boxed in by any parameters and were able to create a tight game and compelling narrative. I expect the next Bioshock to be technically successful but I have real concerns about what the narrative will be. The biggest concerns I have are polish and story. I hope they don’t end up having to rush things.
Diablo III - I sunk a ridiculous amount of time into Diablo II. The combination of RPG and fantasy elements appealed to me from the start. The first Diablo was ground-breaking in its time. There has been a groundswell of concern about the art direction on the newest title which I feel is entirely unwarranted. I don’t want the color pallets for all of my games to be dipped in muck. The Gears of War’s style color schemes are just too dark and boring. My biggest concern is around the inclusion of the Paladin class. There hasn’t been an announcement yet. I always pick the Paladin.
Star Wars: The Old Republic – I can’t wait to see what Bioware does with this. I posted at the time of the EA acquisition that I though this game was the reason for the purchase. Based on the highly successful KOTOR game, this title. If anyone can challenge World of Warcraft, it’s the Jedi.
Batman: Arkham Asylum – What a PR campaign. The team promoting the new Batman game has the blogs whipped up into a frenzy. The screenshots look great and all of the blogs are saying positive things. The commentary and screenshots so far give the impression of a Bioshock-like tone to the game. We are seeing the first crop of games to be influence by the top quality 2007 titles. Batman is coming from an unproven studio, but I’m cautiously optimistic based on everything I’ve heard.
Tags: batman arkham asylum, bioshock, call of duty modern warfare, diablo ii, god of war, ken levine, sea of dreams, star wars the old republic