What Games Are You Playing?
With all the video games on the market these days, it’s hard to pick which ones to check out. Without a doubt, however, there are a few out there whose previous incarnations have been so successful that new versions are bound to do well. The hype looks to be well-founded for games such as Halo Wars, Gears of War 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Resident Evil 5.
Halo Wars is breaking the third-person shooter trend of previous Halo games and delving into the realm of real-time strategy. You will now be leading an army into real time war action. This newest voyage into Bungee’s wildly-successful Halo universe allows players to use resource management and battlefield tactics to play out the war that took place prior to the first Halo game between humanity and the fearsome Covenant. Halo Wars looks to bring in not only Halo fans, but also RTS fans as well. Halo Wars is set to be released in January of 2009.
Gears of War 2 is the follow up to Epic Games’ 2006 blockbuster, Gears of War. This sequel takes the over-the-shoulder view and superior graphics of the first game to dizzying heights. Not only will players get to further explore Delta Squad’s ongoing conflict with the alien Locust Horde, but they will also get new weapons, vehicles and online modes that look to be very innovative and genre-bending. Gears of War 2 is due to be released in November of 2008.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the Sony Playstation 3 was released in June of 2008 and has met with great reviews. Fans of previous Metal Gear games are sure to enjoy this latest installment in the stealth action saga from Konami. Though MGS4 was supposed to be the last installment in the series, rumors have already abounded about Metal Gear Solid 5. It’s hard to not keep producing these games when they keep being so successful. If you don’t already have a PS3, go out and get one today–it’s the only system Guns of the Patriots is available on.
Resident Evil 5 is Capcom’s latest installment in its wildly-successful Resident Evil franchise. With over ten games and a trilogy of movies (in addition to comic books, action figures and other collectibles) under its belt, the Resident Evil franchise shows no signs of slowing down. In 2005, Resident Evil 4 revolutionized the survival horror genre it popularized with updated graphics and gameplay. Resident Evil 5 continues this trend, using the over-the-shoulder view of the previous game as you take control of Resident Evil 1’s Chris Redfield. This newest installment takes place in Africa and is rumored to explore the origins of the virus that created the zombies and mutated monsters of the series. Resident Evil 5 is due to release in March of 2009.
If these games aren’t enough to whet your appetite, there are plenty of other games out there that have full-blown hype machines behind them. The difference between those games and these sequels is that you know what you are getting from the studios that produce these games. They are all building upon successful products to bring you the next generation of gameplay and graphics. You simply can’t go wrong with one of these games.