Fall/Christmas Preview
For me, Fall is one of the most exciting times in gaming. Of course, some would be quick to disagree. After all, isn’t that when school starts? Then wouldn’t school interfere with gaming? It sure does. However, I like to think that since your gaming less, when you DO get to game it becomes that much more exciting.
Fall is also one of the most competitive times in the industry as companies try to one up each other to win your hard Christmas money. It simply doesn’t get any better than this! With that out of the way, let’s get to the most hyped games you’ll be playing this Fall.
Pikmin 2 (October 27th, 2003)
Now you and a friend will be able to work co-operatively to salvage the remnants of your ship and conduct tasks. Along with a arrival of a new partner comes the arrival of more interesting plants for you to build and collect; a big beast of a burly purple plant, along with a poisonous white one which freaks me out.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (October)
By the looks of it, EA’s final chapter in the Lord of the Rings may prove to be the best entry yet. You once again assume the roles of Frodo, Sam, Aragorn and Gandalf in your quest to defeat Sauron and return peace to Middle-Earth. New to this game is a two-player co-operative mode, which should prove to be interesting. EA is also planning to have characters take individual paths which are besieged with forces eager to thwart you of your goal. The game, by the looks of it, has an epic feeling. The graphics have taken a giant leap forward and the animations are looking better than ever. Definatly watch out for this gem.
Viewtiful Joe (October 6th, 2003)
Alex, our EIC, has the skinny on this game, so you may derive more information from his preview here. I’ll borrow a snippet of his preview to sum up the storyline of Viewtiful Joe
“Love Hurts. Joe and his girlfriend Silvia are finally going on a movie date, but all of Silvia’s seductive attempts to make out are futile as Joe is intent on watching Captain Blue, his favorite Super Hero. Silvia gets sucked into the movie - how and why is still unknown - and Joe goes in to rescue her. Original: yes. Corny: I guess so, but compared to some other games, like Super Mario Sunshine, it’s wonderful.”
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
A Final Fantasy game that isn’t Final Fantasy best sums up Crystal Chronicles, a multiplayer action RPG with action as as the main focus of the game. You and up to three explorers are what make up the Crystal Caravan team – Cyadd, Lu’ge, and Ciaron – which must save the world from smog by finding magic crystals. The gameplay promises to be simple to handle while still being a challenge for seasoned RPG gamers. It’s Square and Nintendo in the same sentence; what could be better than that?
Mario Kart: Double Dash (November 18th, 2003)
To play Double Dash within these next kouple of months is easily your reason for living. There are now two karacters per kart – one for steering and one for throwing items – and you will be able to switch between them on-the-fly. You’ll have access to the usual assortment of weapons, inkluding the infamous banana peel, and there are even new items such as a chain chomp.
The game comes equipped with 16 racers, and you can choose one of three karts. Be wary though, as some racers will only have access to certain karts. But the best has yet to be typed! You will also be able to hook up your Gamekube via LAN (to a maximum of eight systems) for some serious Karting action with your friends - or enemies.
Mario Party 5 (December 14th, 2003)
It’s tough to even say why Nintendo decided to make Mario Party 5. Newcomers to the Mario Party series might love the newest installment, but many people such as me are probably asking how you can possibly improve a board game for a 5th time? The traditional gameplay mechanics have remained the same, but now there’s an added dimension of retrieving capsules to garner a variety of defensive and offensive tactics. If Nintendo is keeping to their release schedule, we should be partying with Mario on December 14th.
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (December 31st, 2003)
EA has taken to the sky in a standalone version of the wizard’s game of choice. You’ll be able to select from the four Hogwarts houses and use characters well-associated with that house. This game actually looks very promising as it plans to deliver something totally new to gaming. Although the planned release date is December 31st, I’ll wager that we’ll see it before Christmas if EA plans to make more bones off it.
These are but the ripest pick from the crop of games set to sprout this fall. Also keep an eye out for Urban Street Soccer, a cross between traditional soccer and street soccer; a very promising original title.
I apologize if I missed any games that you feel should deserve mention; I simply decided on which games would be the most popular and most “hyped.” Complain, heckle, or compliment me at webmaster@gamequbed.com!