[Slestak]

Ah, memories. It's been eleven long months since we've put release lists under our microscope. Why so long? Dunno. Life? Lack of interest? 30 Rock reruns?

It's not important. This fall, each of us will be asked to make a choice which will affect future generations of consoles. Let's not waste any more time discussing the causes and focus on the solution. My friends, once it became clear that we were facing a videogame crisis of historic proportions, we suspended our GTA3* campaigns and rushed straight back to xbox360.ign.com to examine the list of upcoming relases. Upon inspection, I can assure you that the fundamentals of our console are strong!

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!

*seriously, we still haven't finished that goddamn game.


October 7


Fracture (LucasArts)

It's the year 2161 and mankind is in the throes of a massive civil war between genetically and cybernetically enhanced societies. (I prefer to side with the chemically enhanced- amirte? ) The future is as bleak as always and we seem to have yet another space marine 3rd-person shooter on our hands. No so fast, Chief! To shake things up (literally), Developer Day 1 Studios tossed in some kind of crazy earthquake gun- useful for offense, defense, puzzle solving, or just to give the earth a serious acne problem.

The Bread Line: Seems like a pretty fast paced, original shooter, and Day 1 brought us the Mech Assualt franchise so they have a solid track record, but if I'm going to be stuck in an apocalyptic future why wouldn't I just make it FALLOUT 3? Sure, this one has multiplayer, but what good is multiplayer if nobody’s playing it? Luckily there’s a demo on the Marketplace, so you can decide for yourself if you are ready to rumble or not.


October 14


Dead Space (Electronic Arts)
Its the Third-Person Shooter Space Marine game with a Survival Horror twist- just in time for Halloween! Stuck on a derelict space ship filled with bloodthirsty aliens, you must find out what happened to the crew, rescue the girl, and get out alive. A completely single player affair, you’ll battle a variety of baddies as they leap out at you from the dark to give you a fright. Nearly unstoppable, they’ll keep crawling at you until find and destroy their weak spots and blast off their arms, legs, or faces. Perfect for the violence and gore fan!

The Bread Line: I bet you a hundred space bucks you can’t guess what happened to the crew? If you guessed, "They are the aliens", then you must read "No Shit Magazine" too. If you want a good horror game, get your hands on one of the Condemned games. If you want space marines, we’ll get a game of HALO going on Tuesday.


Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Sega)

SEGA resurrects its D&D-themed franchise for the new milennium! Use steel and magic to defeat evil across a fantasy world filled with epic steeds and ferocious combat, and save your world from devling in to an age of darkness and woe. Or some shit like that. As Tyris Flare (the chick from the original), you'll traverse a desperate landscape on your approximately 12-hour-long single player quest.

Slestak's Take: If you are expecting to relive some of the arcade thrills of your past with this title, think again. Who is the goddamned genius that thought it was a good idea to bring back Golden Axe without co-op play? The reason the original was so popular had little to do with its setting -- it was all about co-op gameplay, well-balanced characters, and kicking the shit out of elves. The hooks of this latest chapter seems to be saddling up animals, realistic dismemberment, and boobs. Also, Golden Axe: Beast Rider is about 6 typos away from a plethora of imaginary porno flick titles. Fuck this game.


October 20


Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Rockstar)

Get behind the wheel and tear ass through a open-ended, digitally realized LA! With more than 40 licensed vehicles, a huge array of customization options, more than a dozen types of races, no load times, arcade-flavored special moves, and online multiplayer, MCLA looks to be the finest racing title of the year. If you spot a fellow racer out on the street, just flash your lights at him and start racing!

Slestak's Take: Though the title sounds like a gay porn film, MCLA looks hot, fast, and action-packed. Though that description sounds like a gay porn film, this racer looks like it might hit that sweet spot of variety, customization, and arcadey fun that I find most pleasing in a racing game. If you are jonesing for some asphalt action, give this one a spin.



October 21


Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft)
Shaking things up for this installment of Far Cry, Ubisoft tosses out overdone, impressive water effects, with overdone, impressive fire effects! Now set in dry, barren Africa, this first person shooter has the perfect environment for you to go wild with a match, a torch, or a flamethrower. Offering a challenging, open-ended campaign, and a rich multiplayer mode, this could be one of the biggest shooters of the fall season.

The Bread Line: Far Cry has always been one of the most visually impressive shooters on the market, but it’s gameplay always seemed a little off to me. Enemies wearing only a t-shirt for protection can take an entire clip of ammo before going down, but you’re worm food in seconds. Ubisoft Montreal has taken over development and built the game engine from the ground up, but only hands on time will tell if this keeps the same faults. Online multiplayer with a robust map creator will add replay value, but not enough if they haven’t tweaked the resiliency of the bad guys.


Legendary (Gamecock) (lolz)

As an international art theif, you've been hired to swipe Pandora's Box. Your curiousity gets the better of you, and you decide to take a peek inside. Of course, this unleashes all matter of demons, monsters, and evil fantasy creatures upon New York City, who quickly reduce the city to ruins. Since you opened it, you're the only one that can close it, and a secret society gives you the tools and the manpower to take on the beasts and save the world.

Slestak's Take: Legendary could well prove to be one of the sleeper titles of this holiday season. While its first-person shooter gameplay isn't as revolutionary as, say, Bioshock's, its scale is staggeringly epic. The bosses are huge, the destruction is massive, and the story is straight out of a summer blockbuster movie. There's also online multiplayer, but I'd wager it's unecessary and tacked on. Nevertheless, Legendary is looking to be at its least a solid rental title.


Fable II (Microsoft)

Fable is a third-person action RPG from legendary game designer Peter Molyneux and Lionhead studios, but this sequel set 500 years later is bigger (potentially 100 hours of game play) and better in every way. It features simple, but deep one button combat, the coolest dog in gaming history, and an impressive drop-in, drop-out co-op ability that allows you to share your world with your friends. Your world will be worth showing off too, because both you and your world will evolve based on how you choose to play.

The Bread Line: The original Fable was one of the Xbox’s last great games- or would have been if creator Peter Molyneux had kept his mouth shut. He aired brain storming sessions in public and made the game he was trying to develop completely outshine and outclass the game he could develop. Despite it having a lot of great stuff, most gamers dwelled on what it didn’t have. This time, Molyneux didn’t talk about anything unless it was being delivered- which sounds an awful lot like the game he tried to make 4 years ago. Molyneux is delivering everything this time. That means you’re looking at a serious Game of the Year contender.[/quote]

October 28


Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

From the time of the global atomic wars, humanity has been living the past 200 years in vault deep beneath Washington, DC. One morning, you wake up and discover your father has disobeyed the rules and left the vault. It's your duty to venture out in the Wastelands, facing mutants, giant bugs, slavers, and bands of raiders, to find him. This highly anticipated title is brought to you by the good people who gave us Oblivion, which should tell you this game will be massive, immersive, and a complete timesuck.

Slestak's Take: My most anticipated game of the year, even though I never seem to finish these sprawling RPGs. The graphics are beautiful, and the assisted targeting system, which lets you target individual body parts and remove them from enemies in spectacular fashion, looks like great fun. I'll be spending tons of time this fall adventuring through a bombed-out DC with my faithful dog by my side and a Pip-Boy 3000 strapped to my wrist. It's an early favorite for Game of the Year honors, so don't miss it!



All month long



Rock Revolution (Konami)
Rock Band 2 (EA)
Dance Dance Revolution 3 (Konami)
Disney Sing It (Disney)
Guitar Hero World Tour (Activision)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance (Disney)

For the console enthusiast who doesn't have enough cheap plastic crap piled up in the corner of their living room. Which one to choose? Stay away from dancing and Disney. Konami's band game looks ridiculously stupid. RB2 has improved instruments, but World Tour seems to be the most ambitious title on the list (expect to see Rock Band 3 include song creation). My advice: Buy NHL 09 and join Five-Hole: The Team!


See you next month! srsly!1
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[ehamilton]

The Future looks bleak.

Where is NBA 2k9?
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Slestak comparing Bosh leaving Toronto to LeBron signing with the Miami Heat:

[My2sons]

You really do need to put in SOCOM: Confrontation for the PS3.
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When the hell did I eat corn?

[ParadoxSkills]

[malliabu]

no co-op for Golden Axe?
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[Slestak]

[Lord Calibus]

[Astronaut Bread]

Hey man, some Detroit Lions press conference was on in the background when I was writing stuff. It made me come across as a little pissy. Besides, I saw "EA" on the Dead Space box and deducted a few points off it's potential.
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[Lord Calibus]

...I'm not dogging ya....I miss the Gamer's Eye too much for that!!!

Like I said we will both get a look at these games through my Gamefly, it just might be a little while...but we have Fallout and Fable for hole filler....

...Oh, and fuck the Lions!!!

[Angry Bald Man]

NBA games shouldn't exist cuz they're gay as hell, unless they make it real and have you be a player from the streets through college and then NBA, yeah, I know, they do, but I want included that you get extra points for being a fucking asshole and a thug to people. Kind of a choose a road to travel sort of thing.
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Has a complete penis, full intact, the way nature intended.

Circumcision? Fucking savages!

[ehamilton]