[Slestak]

Holy moley! THE GAMERS' EYE is late again! Must be that pesky writers' strike. Or just blame the mountain of work on my desk, the new set of germs from my kid's new school, or, hell, just blame Halo 3. Enough apologies -- chances that between H3 and COD3, your gaming minutes are well-spent. But hold on a second! There are plenty of great games coming out this month, games you shouldn't give the cold shoulder to. There's an RPG that may seize Oblivion's crown; a stealth-action game set in a huge open world; a bloody, foul-mouthed crime game that hopes to make GTA look more like the PTA; and a giant box full of cheap Chinese plastics!

For those of you that may be new, each month THE GAMERS' EYE takes a look ahead to the impending future and examines upcoming game releases. Without further ado, let's begin . . . THE GAMERS' EYE!

November 5


Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)

Infinity Ward has seized the reins back from Treyarch (developer of the stop-gap Call of Duty 3) and brought this series into the modern day. The campaign pits you against terrorists in that wonderful, hyper-real, intense way that COD fans have grown to love. Multiplayer is deep and layered, with a pile of maps and modes, an experience-based levelling system, and customizeable weapon load-outs.

Slestak's Take: This game came out like two days ago and you STILL don't have it? Stop reading this and go get it right now! Take it from me -- I played the beta -- this game is HOT. The multiplayer is fast and fun, and the three maps from the beta were top-notch. As soon as this TGE is published, I'm going to go pick it up.


November 6


LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)

LEGO Star Wars, both of them, are really fun. Now you can play through both games without changing discs! Sweet! But there’s more! You can even play co-op online this time! What a novel concept! And they’ve added a few crappy levels that weren’t fun enough to make it in the first time around. Fantastic!

The Bread Line: In a world where the Detroit Lions can be 6-2 and the Red Sox can be World Series Champions, it’s nice to see Lucas still can sell us the same product multiple times (and the Cubs still reek). I loved this game when it was just LEGO Star Wars, even though it was the shitty trilogy, and really enjoyed what they did a few months ago with this game when I thought they completed the saga by releasing LEGO Star Wars: The Original Trilogy. Now it's the even more completed saga, and even though I love the added online co-op feature it should have been here before! This is only good enough if somebody else is hot to play through the same game a third time. I’ll need peer pressure, a price drop, or a Christmas present to get this one again.



Scene It? (Microsoft)

The popular movie trivia game ditches the board for your TV! Buzz in to answer one of over 1800 questions based on film clips of your favorite flicks. Sixty bucks nets you not only the game, but four jumbo button buzzer controllers so you and three friends you wish you had can play together!

Slestak's Take: Hey, I gotta give props to Microsoft for trying to horn in on some of that Wii action by publishing a high-profile casual game. If you regularly entertain a variety of people in your home, Scene It? is probably a pretty good investment. But if you're not into casual gaming, you don't need to bother with this one at all.


November 13


Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)

Is there anyone that hasn’t heard about Assassin’s Creed? Ubisoft has been showing off it’s hot graphics and hotter producer since before E3 2006. It’s been billed as the first true next gen action game and all signs point to their product delivering on all points. As a 12th century assassin during the Third Crusade you sneak and stroll through the crowds, climb over walls, and leap across any rooftops you desire on your way towards bloody, sword swinging conflict.

The Bread Line: It’s Splinter Cell meets Prince of Persia while they rip off Hitman. If that combination doesn’t make you poop yourself you need to stop eating so much cheese. There is no denying that this game will be one for the ages! Get it pre-ordered and paid off immediately!




Need for Speed ProStreet (Electronic Arts)

The hot street racing franchise from EA is back for a fourth time (or does it just feel like it?) and this could be the finest yet. This addition features a new online system that allows you to race on your own schedule. Finish your challenges and match them up against your friends. Collect cars, tune, race, crash, repeat. It’s everything you want in a racing game- and more!

The Bread Line: The aptly titled Need For Speed Most Wanted was one of the great Xbox 360 launch games. It was fast, fun, and an early top vote getter as the gamerscore whore’s game of choice. That momentum meant nothing as NFS Carbon passed by completely unnoticed. I think the chances are good NFS ProStreet shares Carbon's fate.


November 20


Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Eidos Interactive)

Meet Kane: a former mercenary with a troubled past who's now on a prison bus to death row. Across the aisle is Lynch, a heavily medicated schizophrenic, also sentenced to death. One is cool as ice; the other can go off the deep end at any second. A mysterious group has hijakced said prison bus and kidnapped Kane's wife and daughter, blackmailing him into recovering their lost fortune. The mentally unstable Lynch has been hired to keep tabs on Kane. This new IP from the folks that brought you the Hitman series promises to be a bloody good time.

Slestak's Take: K&L has "sleeper" written all over it. Boasting an imaginative storyline that places gamers right in the middle of a hyper-violent crime movie, as well as an innovative online mulitplayer mode that puts your loyalty to the test, Dead Men is the title folks will be buzzing about this winter. Don't miss out on it!



Mass Effect (Microsoft)

Kicking off an Xbox 360 exclusive trilogy, RPG masters Bioware say that mankind is the butthole of the galaxy- flexing their newfound, stolen alien technological muscle to make them the new powerhouse in a diverse galactic community. This doesn’t sit well with a renegade, alien Jack Bauer, so he joins forces with a dangerous AI race that isn’t the cylons and means to end (or dominate) all life in the universe. You have to stop him!

The Bread Line: It’s all here -- unmatched graphics, real-time third person shooter combat, vast open worlds, and a killer story with a revolutionary dialogue system that will actually have you following it! Downloadable post game missions are even promised to keep the story fresh as we wait for part two. It’s the one game RPG lovers must have and haters should play!



Rock Band (Electronic Arts)

Tired of getting laughed at by your girlfriend for holding that plastic ukelele? Teach her a lesson with some plastic drum pads! Rock Band gives you everything you need to "rock out" with your friends by including a drum set, guitar, and microphone controllers in this big ol' box (not to be confused with your mom's big ol' box). Stocked with piles of master recordings and the promise of megatons of future downloadable content, Rock Band is your ticket to the Hairway to Steven!

Slestak's Take: If you are going to litter your living room with junky, plastic toy instruments, you might as well sell out completely and buy enough to start a fake band. In the never-ending GH3 vs. Rock Band debate, it seems to me that it boils down to a question of whether you should support the publisher or the developer. As for me, I'll pick developer. If you can only afford one, pick up Rock Band. If you can afford Rock Band, spend that money on Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed instead, you dork.


Also coming in November

Cabela's Big Game Hunter (11/6)
Is there anything better than shooting animals from the comfort of your living room couch? Especially when you can't even use a light gun? The answer is EVERYTHING is better than this. (Bread)

F.E.A.R. Files (11/6)
It’s the expansion packish sequel to the best FPS nobody played. You are part of a crack team of commandos to basically shoot ghosts and people possessed by ghosts. Boooo! (Bread)

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War (11/6)
From the title I was hoping this was some "nonsensical Japanese history" game. Turns out it's just a "nonsensical Japanese take on European history" game.(Slestak)

PopCap Arcade Volume 1 (11/6)
It's Bejeweled 2, AstroPop, Feeding Frenzy and Zuma all on one handy disc. Perfect if you don't have internet, but if you didn't have internet you wouldn't be reading this anyway. (Slestak)

Beowulf (11/13)
Remember when you had to read this in ninth grade and all the words were spelled wrong? For fans of sweaty shirtless men only.(Slestak)

BlackSite: Area 51(11/12)
In a fall full of shooters, this one is the low man on the totem poll. Might be worth a rental if it was set in a Black Angus Steak House. (Slestak)

WWWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 (11/13)
It's the biggest and best wrestling game ever- or would be if you could fix the matches like they do in real pro wrestling. Anyways, my money is on SmackDown! to win, because while Raw was hilarious, Eddie Murphy isn't a very intimidating guy. (Bread)

College Hoops 2K8 (11/19) and NCAA March Madness 08 (12/1
Two college basketball games are hitting this holiday. One uses the NBA 2K engine, the other is lame. Both have all the big and small college teams, an NCAA tournament mode, online play, and "point guard #11" throwing perfect passes to "power forward #4." (Bread)

Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection 2008 and Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess (11/20)
People play this? WotG is the latest expansion of the long-running MMORPG, and the Vana'diel Collection contains every single FFXI release for X360 to date. Anyone who spends time playing this needs to date. (Slestak)

History Channel: Battle for the Pacific (11/20)
Just like the Civil War game nobody played, Battle For The Pacific is another "bargain" FPS title that isn't much of a bargain. I'm not saying the game isn't cheap, but it's still priced way too high! Watching Ken Burns' documentary, "The War" on PBS is a much better way to spend your time. (Bread)

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus (11/20)
Unlike the previous installments, this one is strictly a single-player affair. But you can customize your avatar!(Slestak)

The Golden Compass (12/4)
You didn't read the book, you didn't see the movie, now don't play the game! (Bread)

MX vs. ATV Untamed (12/17)
I thought MX and ATV were emo bands. As for pitting them against each other, my prediction is that NOBODY wins.(Slestak)

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (12/1
It's a hack and slash action role-playing game for people that still can't get enough of swords and sorcery from Overlord, Conan, and the 100 other games available. Except this one has 4 player online play going for it. (Bread)



See you next month!
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[malliabu]

Call of Duty 4

Mass Erect and Assassis Creed will be rented.
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[Joe Dirt]

Where's Mario Galaxy? Oh yeah, forgot the 3rd commandment, "Thou shalt not speak of other consoles games in the Gamers Eye" .

Sorry, my bad.
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[ehamilton]

[malliabu]

ya hurry...i wanna hear eham's interview.
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[Joe Dirt]

it's submitted, as far as I know it's still in "certification"
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[Slestak]

It will be posted Thursday (maybe Friday ... )
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