Looking Forward to 2013

The original Xbox went out with a bang back in 2005 and delivered some of the consoles best games during its final year. It is actually looking like the Xbox 360 will repeat this feat over the next 12 months, and we already know is the last full calendar year for the Microsoft hardware. The year ahead is littered with spectacular send-offs and sequels made to push the current hardware into the future and as we eagerly await the Xbox 720/Durango next winter. You can probably expect some new Xbox 360 games in 2014 but I’d imagine this will coincide with the next hardware releases like King Kong and Fifa 06 did last time around.

There are plenty of fantastic games already announced for 2013 and the point of this list is to let you know exactly what you should already be keeping an eye on. I’ve reduced the number in specific ways both because I think the games will either be not good enough or they’ll breach the console generation gap and release on the Xbox 720 – I’m looking at you Star Wars 1313.

Another interesting point is that the majority of games announced for this year are due in the first half of the year which presumably means that developers don’t fancy their games getting lost in the next-gen hype.

With all that out of the way, let the Xbox 360’s swan song begin!

Grand Theft Auto V

Who could start this list without the final GTA game of this generation? Besides the fact that Rockstar have a fantastic reputation, this sandbox is rife with humour, personality and adult content. Every single GTA game has surpassed expectations and I expect this one to do exactly the same. It is due to be released in spring this year and has an interesting co-op premise that promises even more hours of play than ever before. It’s actually bean five years since GTA IV so we know a lot is going to have changed for the better which is the best thing about a franchise that still hasn’t conformed to the plain Call of Duty idea of releasing every single year.

BioShock Infinite

Ken Levine has become one of the most recognisable faces of the Video Games industry and for very good reasons. Him and the team at Irrational Games have proven that smart game design and clear gameplay is always a marketable asset and one that has delivered great sequels and new IP’s alike. Infinite looks like a chance to increase their opportunities again; delivering a sequel to a franchise that already has a lot of love while also making this seem like a new game in its own right. The biggest change is the addition of the NPC- Elizabeth - who will be integral to the gameplay, a risky choice maybe, that follows the line of ICO and it’s parameters for ‘protection’. It seems like this game has been in production for an age but this year we will finally get to wander the cloud-city of Columbia.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Not a lot of people have probably heard about this one yet but it’s shaping up to be a cracker. It’s from the creative minds behind last years ‘Journey’ and just that fact has a few eager heads spinning. It’s supposed to be a short 3 to 4 hours downloadable game but one that story driven and set in a fantasy realm. It’s one of those games that will make you play from start to finish in one sitting.

The Cave

Ron Gilbert is back to doing what he does best and his new baby is already littered with dry wit and clever ideas. Unlike most adventure games, The Cave features platforming and puzzle-solving elements that is key to working with it’s massive cast of characters. Interestingly you can only play as three at any time so the replay options on this are likely to be high. After the Monkey Island franchises what’s not to be excited about?

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Since Conviction was released in 2010 we have noticed that the Splinter Cell franchise is going to become more of an action title than ever before. It’s unlikely that we’ll head back to the stealth elements of Chaos Theory anytime soon but for what it’s worth Blacklist is shaping up to be the Metal Gear Solid of the New Year. Sam Fisher is back, again, and appears to be slicker, faster and cleverer than ever before. The only downside is that Michael Ironside still isn’t voicing Sam himself.

Gears of War: Judgment

When Gears of War jumped over to developer People Can Fly there was a sense of worry over how the series would go. This is a typical Gears game in any sense of the word but one what isn’t in line with the Marcus Fenix trilogy you’ve been playing over the last few years, People Can Fly are the creators of Bulletstorm and it’s in their skill kills, brutal challenges and arcade action that Judgement takes a lot of it’s foundations. It’s like a faster Gears game with more blood – if that’s possible – and environmental kills. It’s exciting and should definitely feel at home in the hands of any Gears of War veteran.

Crysis 3

If the fantastic Crysis 2 is anything to go by this third instalment should be immense. The CryEngine is getting shaper with each use and this looks to lovingly create an urban world littered with jungle foliage. I should also say that the gameplay is right up there with the eye candy to produce another Nanosuit masterpiece. Expect more freedom this time around when completing your objectives. Although Crysis 2 was a great game in itself the developers have really listened to fan feedback, the only downside is that we haven’t received confirmation of the 3D TV support that gave added depth to the last game.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

We all know there is a hell of a lot riding on this one. After the tragic failure of AvP the development cycle for this one has been watched with a fine eye. It’s been in development for a couple of years now and with Gearbox helming this franchise reboot (of sorts) the game looks to be in safe hands. Unfortunately we aren’t likely to know for sure until it releases in, at this point in time, early February. Big game review sites are stating that it’s a good game at the moment and that it gives off a very claustrophobic feel just like the movies.

Dead Space 3

It wouldn’t be right to talk about the big games of next year without mentioning everyone’s favourite horror survival franchise. This is a series that has really taken the bull by the horns and is arguably the finest horror franchise on offer today. While Resident Evil and Silent Hill have dropped in popularity this ‘horror on a spaceship’ has become one of the fan favourites. There is a lot of new additions to the tried and tested formula and the co-op campaign option is looking to have just the same amount of shocking twists and turns as it’s predecessors.

Star Trek

I find movies tie-in’s to be terrible, boring and completely repetitive but the new Star Trek game looks like it might change my mind. Granted it doesn’t actually follow the ‘Into Darkness’ formula of the movie but this action-adventure looks to be something we should all keep an eye on. Build around Kirk and Spock this co-op style game has great graphics and licensed likenesses to help with its authenticity.  Hopefully it really can change all our minds on the recently poor licensed title genre.

Tomb Raider

After getting to play a snippet of this back at the Eurogamer Expo in September I have been eagerly watching the interweb for new previews, videos and announcements. It seems to be taking Lara in a completely different direction and that’s a rare accomplishment for a franchise that has such a strong fan backing. This is a fresh take on the origins story with action, puzzle and gun play all taking place through its epic looking single player. The recent announcement of multiplayer won’t hurt either with the Uncharted vibe certainly giving it a good fast paced feel while staying true to the tried and tested formula.

It’s going to be an interesting year for game and an even more important one for the new hardware announcements which we all know are due anytime now. Is there anything I’ve missed off this list? Any choices you don’t agree with? If so sound off in the comments section below.

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Why don't people like Final Fantasy IX?

After some Christmas boredom and standard internet browsing I came across a particular article on 1UP that got me thinking about some of my favourite older RPG’s. In particular it got be thinking about Final Fantasy and the ninth instalment in the series.

While Final Fantasy IX didn’t generate the same amount of hype as VII, VIII or X, it did have a following of hardcore fans. It came at a time when myself in particularly had no idea when I could take the leap onto the next generation console, in this case the PlayStation 2 which had only just been released. As such I trusted in my grey friend again to provide me with some enjoyable gaming activities and boy did he deliver.

At this point Square were pushing out Final Fantasy games at an almost yearly rate and each was a single approach to the standard formula, there was no need for sequels or immensely rubbish spin-offs. Ok the graphics didn’t compare to Final Fantasy X, which had already been announced for the next gen, but the game pushed the original Playstation as far as it could go.

Final Fantasy IX is, in my opinion, the sweetest and most sincere take on the Final Fantasy brand ever and one that gripped you straight from the play at Alexandria to the inevitable final battle.

Of course, when you lift off those rose-tinted glasses, the few faults of the game are easy to spot and the game should have really be pushed over to the next gen console to fully realise it’s potential. Along with Vagrant Story the game really excelled at what it did even with the limitations of the console itself. Getting sucked into a Random Battle produced a good few seconds of blank screen, and what seemed to be intentional build-up music, before the monsters and characters were released on screen. Other issues arose in areas where the game didn’t have the memory or the time to give some of the core plot characters enough personality. Eiko, Amarant and Quina just didn’t get the time they deserved and Freya’s back story needed far more development.

What the game did get right though was the pacing and the development of the characters once they were on your journey, in particular towns certain short character interchanges were available to flesh out emotion and the Chocobo digging side missions could have been a game in itself. Once particular piece of magic was the use of a single spell in battle to topple the disk changing boss, Soul Tree (and for the life of me I want to say disc two but it might have been disk three). It was in these moments that the game sucked you in for more and the graphical prowess of the cut-scenes made for dramatic viewing – Alexander vs Bahamut springs instantly to mind.

The core story of friendship, love, and loss still makes for one of the strongest in Final Fantasy history, mostly because it's just so damned straightforward and humanistic. I couldn’t tell you what happened in the more recent games as their stories become so contrived that I actually lose interest. In a fantasy world we all need some grounding from reality to keep us invested in the characters plight (actually Catherine is a great example of this – completely abnormal gameplay but with a core story based in the real world).

Although some of the characters get short changes – see above – you still knew exactly what their nuances where and how their personalities would affect the situation. The Final Fantasy games have become more about their ‘Sexy Teen’ style cast as the years go on and IX is a complete contradiction to that rule. There’s a ‘there’s a homeless piñata’ a ‘Buzz Lightyear style knight’ and a ‘moomin dressed in housewife clothes’. The only one feasibly humanlike in creation and nature is Garnet – who has a ridiculously childlike face and could never become a real object of your desires. The whole cast are a travelling freakshow.

It’s these extreme character traits and their subsequent changes that make the game so memorable: Steiner (the Buzz Lightyear) goes from stuffy antagonist to a warmer hero, Vivi copes with knowing he is just a puppet, and even the main character Zidane has to deal with some heavy plot points towards the end that contradict his childish antics.

Many people think that Final Fantasy IX is a cheap throwback to the original games, and although there are a few quotes here and there, this is really a game that has been created with character of its own. It has the same monsters as most games and pulls back to some of the battle systems of yesteryear but it’s a great instalment to what has unfortunately  become (since the release of X) a tarnished franchise.

I’m not sure if this still has a mediocre reputation, maybe I’d know for sure if people ever mentioned it (which is part of the reason for writing this). I’m guessing the characters are nearly as marketable as those from new instalments but if you’ve never played it then now is the time. Go out and find those legendary weapons, take some time to explore the cracks and crevices of Treno which hold a mountain of quests. In fact I am going to play this through again…. And I’d love to have some dialogue with people who see the magic of this severely overlooked game.

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3DS Sales Turnaround

An interesting statistic was released last week – in less than two years the 3DS has sold more units in Japan than the PS3 has in its six year lifecycle.

According to Media Create (via Nintendo Life) the latest portable sold 211,499 in the first week of December bringing its cumulative total to a whopping 8,799,378 units since its launch. The PS3 has still managed to sell 8,716,260 units in Japan since it’s launch in 2006.

Nintendo and Sony always do better in the Asian market than Microsoft and this can be seen in the statistics published at the bottom of this page. In fact the only console to sell more units in the first week of December was the brand new Wii U system which only released on 8^th December and therefore only has 1 day of sales to back up the statistics.

The most impressive thing about the 3DS’s accomplishment is that it has only really been out just over 18 months and, especially at first, we were all thinking the launch had gone badly for the Japanese developer.

The 3DS has a prime competitor now too in the form of the Playstation Vita but this seems to have failed to catch on in Sony’s homeland where it only managed to shift 11,039 units in the same week. Strangely the PSP sold more units in the same week with a grand total of 19,637 consoles sold.

Below is the full chart on Japan's hardware sales last week. Lifetime sales are in parenthesis.

■Nintendo Wii U - 308,142 (308,142)

■Nintendo 3DS - 211,499 (8,799,378)

■PlayStation 3 - 36,994 (8,716,260)

■PSP - 19,637 (19,488,236)

■PlayStation Vita - 11,039 (1,074,621)

■Nintendo Wii - 6,714 (12,608,700)

■Xbox 360 - 1,216 (1,608,399)

■PlayStation 2 - 904 (21,829,112)

■Nintendo DS - 424 (32,875,469)

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