Upcoming video games

*Originally published on 9/23/2008


Rock Band 2: Now available for Xbox 360, PS2 and 3, and the Nintendo Wii.
The sequel to the popular game boasts a whole new song list. If you have the first one, you can use the instruments from that and buy the game solo or you can buy a new set of "drums" that have softer padding and a more comfortable bass pedal along with a new guitar. There is a download available that allows you to export the song list from the first game onto this one so that you can stay with the one disc as opposed to going back and forth between Rock Band and Rock Band 2. The track list is solid, including songs by bands like AC/DC, Alice in Chains, Disturbed, Modest Mouse, Lacuna Coil, Billy Idol, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Rush, Smashing Pumpkins and many more.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed available Sept 16 for Xbox 360, PS2 and 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP

I played the demo that was released for this game awhile back and it looks pretty sweet. You play as Darth Vader's secret apprentice, going on various missions for him. If you're a fan of the previous Star Wars games, this is a must have.

Lego Batman: Available Sept. 23 for Xbox 360, Windows, PS2 and 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP

Following on the success of Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones comes Lego Batman. Play as Batman and Robin (I recall something said of Nightwing being an option but I'm not sure on that) or wreak havoc as one of the members of Batman's infamous rogue's gallery like Joker, Two Face or Scarecrow. Hardcore fans may shudder at how goofy the game looks but judging by the other games I do have to say that, while bizarre, they are quite enjoyable. I hope that Lego Ra's al ghul makes a surprise appearance, that would make me happy indeed.

Silent Hill: Homecoming available Sept 30 for PS3 and Xbox 360

The popular, and surprisingly creepy, franchise finally makes it to the next gen consoles. Expect mind bending puzzles, a well developed story, an unnerving ambiance with spooky background music to augment it...oh and monsters.

Dead Space available October 14 for Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows Vista/XP

I don't know a whole lot about this one. I've seen ads, it appears to be of the scifi/horror ilk, but I don't know the nature of the plot so much. Judging by the ads it seems to play up the creepy atmosphere as well. Worth checking out at the very least.

Left 4 Dead available November 17 for Xbox 360, Windows 98/XP/2000,

One might think that I'd be annoyed with yet another zombie game. On the contrary, you can't have too many zombie games. RE, Silent Hill, Dead Rising, each explores the zombie uprising from a different angle and this does the same. Besides, the more practice people have in this situation the better prepared we will all be when the zombies do rise up. I kid of course. The designers of this game seemed to design it with multiplayer in mind. From what's been said in interviews, coordination is key to survival. Rogue members going off on their own will be met with a grisly fate. It looks really fun and I can't wait for it to come out.

Mortal Kombat vs the DC Universe available November 30 for Xbox 360 and PS3

The much belated counterbalance to Marvel vs. Capcom. I was unsure of this at first. It didn't seem like the two franchises mixed very well. Mortal Kombat fans didn't like the idea of it being watered down to cater to DC's liking and DC fans didn't like the idea of someone like Scorpion being capable of hurting Superman. I've read quite a bit on this game and seen some of the gameplay. It looks like they did a good job meeting each franchise halfway so that neither really suffers. The graphics look amazing as does the game play capability. Of course, the superheroes of the DC Universe don't kill, so they have brutalities as opposed to fatalities. Still, having DC villains available makes it possible to kill the MK characters. While it's not excessively gory, there is a substantial amount of blood spilled in fights. I think MK fans will be satisfied with it. If it goes well we might expect a Marvel vs Capcom vs Mortal Kombat vs the DC Universe to follow.

Resident Evil 5 available March 13 2009 for Xbox 360 and PS3

Like Silent Hill, this franchise finally gets a release on the next gen consoles. More of a straight shoot em up style game then Silent Hill, this game should be as enjoyable as its predecessors with much improved graphics.

Ghostbusters available June 30 2009 for Xbox 360, PS2 and 3, Nintendo Wii, Windows, and Nintendo DS

This game should have been released in October, but was pushed back. Still, as a hardcore Ghostbusters geek, this will be worth the wait. While it's not designed with multi-player in mind like Left 4 dead, I have a feeling that this game is going to be insanely fun to play with more then just one person. The story takes place after GB2 and acts as a sequel of sorts (which may be coming to film anyways). You play a rookie in training. The whole cast lent their voices to this including William Atherton, so expect a return of Walter Peck. Along with him, Stay Puft, Slimer, and the ghost librarian are expected to make small appearances. If they design tournaments that pay handsomely like they did with Halo I may just have a second career on my hands.