Personal Computing
What I’m looking forward to this year
Ramesh "r2k" Singh | August 2007
What games are you most looking forward to this year and why?
These days I can't really say I am looking forward to just one game. There are so many genres of games on so many consoles that it tickles my mind just thinking about them.
World in Conflict
This highly anticipated RTS title from Massive Entertainment has already lived up to its hype even though it’s still only in beta testing. It has already been used in a couple of the Cyberathlete Professional League tournaments, and it should be an awesome game once it is fully released. I expect it to pick up several awards from E3 2007.
The game is set around the year 1988, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and assumes that the Soviet Union attacks the Europe and the USA, with NATO and US forces trying to stop the Soviets. You are a field commander and you control one of four classes: infantry, support, armour and air. With these classes you battle to take strategic points to fend off the opposition. The multiplayer mode is geared for team-play, with battles scaling from 8 to 16 players on a server using all sorts of weapons from carpet-bombing to airstrikes and even the dreaded but spectacular atomic bomb. The game uses DirectX 10, so expect all areas of the world to look really nice when destroyed.
If you haven't tried the open beta yet then you should be nuked yourself!
Release date: 21 September 2007
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
From Id Software and Splash Damage, this game is set before the start of Quake 2, when the Strogg forces invade Earth and Earth's forces fight for survival against the powerful enemy.
The game is multiplayer and uses a new engine called Megatexture. It is an advance over the engines used in Doom 3 and Quake 4 and looks very promising. Most of the dynamics and objective game-play are carried over from Return To Castle Wolfenstein and the standalone free game (Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory) is still a fantastic game.
Many players who have tried the beta say that this will be an amazing game when it’s fully polished and released.
Release date: August/September 2008
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
I loved the depiction of World War 2 in Call of Duty, but now that period has become old and stale. It’s time for a little more modern warfare – and that’s where Call of Duty 4 comes in.
A lot of players from the Call of Duty community are really looking forward to this game as it includes modern weapons, has more game-play modes and will attract new fans.
Release date: fourth quarter of 2007
Crysis
Published by EA and developed by Crytek using the Cryengine 2, this is one of the first games to use DirectX 10 – and it looks absolutely stunning.
There are single-player and multiplayer modes in this game. The single-player mode is set in 2019 and sees you playing as Jake Dunn, a US Delta Force soldier sent to an unknown and mysterious island in the South China Sea to investigate a UFO that has crashed there. Jake also has a futuristic suit that uses nano-technology and enhances his whole body. He has phenomenal speed, strength and armour, and he can become almost completely undetectable. The multiplayer mode will have its usual deathmatch modes and another mode called Power Struggle in which you kill to gain better weapons and armour.
Crysis looks amazing. Take a look at this demo of the engine.
Release date: third or fourth quarter of 2007
Project Gotham Racing 4
I was ecstatic when I heard that another edition of Project Gotham Racing was coming. The new game sets out to be more than just a sequel. There are new vehicles, including motorbikes, and new tracks including Shanghai, St. Petersburg and many more. There are new weather conditions too, including rain and snow, so now it’s not only the opposition you have to deal with. Also new is the online mode in which every race can be recorded and seen at any time from any player in any country.
This game will be huge and I will certainly be playing it. Already got it pre-ordered. Hah!
Release date: September 2007
Gears of War
Argh! Locusts! Kill them all!
There were plenty of rumours in early 2007 that Gears of War would be released for PC, but Microsoft and Epic Games kept saying no. But finally they have made it official. Gears of War has been one of the pinnacles of the Xbox 360 and I found out why when I was playing it. I find FPS games really hard if I’m using a control pad but they’re far simpler with a mouse and keyboard.
Gears of War is set in the future. An alien race known as Locust Horde, one of the most brutal I have seen in a game, has taken over the Earth. In the single-player mode you are Marcus Fenix, who breaks out of prison only be to be drafted into the Gears team to take on the Locusts. The PC version of this game has exclusive extras. Sorry ‘bout that, you Xbox 360 users. It has five new campaign chapters and one brand new multiplayer mode, and the game will also take full advantage of DirectX 10.
Gears is shaping up to be absolutely awesome for PC, and I can't really say enough about it. Hope you get some nice upgrades for your PC this Christmas.
Release date: Christmas 2007
Peace.
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