Anticipation! A lot of it

By Mark

There are loads of fantastic titles coming out in the near and far future but I thought I’d take some time to share with you some that I just actually can’t wait for much longer yet must do. These are in no particular order just the ones that come to mind, this is just a brief musing.

Catherine

That lady is Catherine with a "C"

Atlus’ first real push into the current generation of gaming leaving the PS2 to finally rest in peace, Catherine is being developed by the same team that brought us the fantastic RPG’s Persona 3 and 4. So it’s pretty easy to get stoked just by this information alone, however when coupled with a strong mature theme and heavily dark tone I can’t help but get even more excited. Details on gameplay itself is sketchy and we know little about the plot other than that it centres around Vincent who recently cheated on his girlfriend Katherine with none other than Catherine (eh?). Since this happened he has been plagued with nightmares and death has entered his life. It all makes for an interesting premise and I for one simply have to have this game.

Another pretty sweet tidbit for those interested is that Vincent has actually appeared to us before in the recent release of Persona 3 Portable (P3P) where he featured as a social link for the female main character. If you want to see some interesting scans from famitsu head on over here - http://spawnkill.com/2010/08/18/hd-atlus-game-from-persona-team-catherine-full-famitsu-scans/ and check em' out.

Dragon Age II

Need I say more about this really? For fans of the first one you know why this is a must have, there are some striking changes that Bioware have opted for yes but this hasn’t affected my opinion on this game. With what looks to be a heavier emphasis on plot and more meaningful decisions than Origins taking place over a decade it makes you interested to see where Hawke will be travelling to, the people he meets and what sort of cameos we’ll get from DA:O. So there’s a dialogue wheel and simpler combat, doesn’t mean it won’t be fun as hell.

Plus this trailer is great although some proper gameplay thats not from cams would be great. Also the sooner I can get my hands on the song at the end the better  :D - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-extended-dragon-age-2/703488

Dead Space II

Dead Space. A game that by all accounts I didn’t think I’d enjoy all that much yet when I finally got down to playing it, was a relatively short but definitely satisfying experience. Some may question its “scare tactics” and say it’s too repetitive but I enjoyed my time with the Necromorph’s, dismembering them in all sorts of ways and seeing a genuinely interesting plot unfold before me with some pretty awesome boss fights. So with Dead Space 2 on the horizon and wondering what the hell is going on with Isaac Clarke (he now actually talks!) you’ve gotta be looking forward to this one. Let’s just hope the tense atmosphere returns and EA/Visceral Games don’t just opt for action this time around!

Old debut trailer! - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-dead-space-2/65054

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

A pretty obvious choice but one that’s hard not to get excited about really, most of us by now have seen those delicious cutting trailers and everything from gameplay to visual fidelity looks fantastic. With an entire game focusing not on Snake but rather on the flashy cyborg ninja Raiden, we’re in no doubt in for some tremendous cutscenes that are so over the top the actually make your eyes bulge. It’s sure to be a wild ride cutting your way through Rising and it’ll be more enticing to see a full console game not fully centred upon the franchise’s usual espionage hero.


Tokyo Game Show Stage Demo - http://www.gametrailers.com/video/tgs-10-metal-gear/704635

So there we have it, a very brief look at the games i'm mostly looking forward to in the coming months/year. There are loads more but for now this will do, what about you guys! Sound off in the comments :D