Golden Axe: Beast Rider
(PS3, Xbox 360)
10/14 To this day, the words “golden” and “axe” together conjure up the smells and sounds of late-80s bowling alleys. I really don’t think a 2008 iteration of the Golden Axe franchise can do us any wrong (though “Beast Rider” reads pretty awkwardly). As you can imagine, this game’s maturity level is on par with Conan the Barbarian… but the gameplay looks like the big fight at the end of the Lord of the Rings series. You will be using a range of weapons to hack off various limbs, and you’ll be fighting (and controlling) all kinds of crazy creatures. You also play a chick (Tyris Flare, remember?), which makes it even more fun to play.
Dead Space
(Xbox 360, PC)
10/21 Nothing ever goes right in space, especially in the future. Honestly, hearing that EA did this game made me kind of worried, but after watching the gameplay and reading the interviews, I am pumped up. You play a technician on a mining spaceship where things have gone terribly wrong. Having to contend with technical puzzles, zero-gravity environments and tons of combat (they say at least 20% of the game is in zero-G), you’ll fight aliens and necromorphs – the reanimated flesh (literally, just disgusting chunks of flesh) of your former co-workers. It is dark. It is innovative. It will put the “survival” back into the survival-horror genre.
Fable II (Xbox 360)
10/21 Taking place in Albion, nearly 500 years after the original Fable, you will deal with a somewhat primitive society where large castles and primitive guns are the norm. You will be able to explore an endless array of dungeons, castles, unsettled lands and more in this extensive and engaging sequel to the commercially successful original. Designer Peter Molyneux, who presented the first edition of this series, has helped bring this new version to the public.
Far Cry 2
(PC, Xbox, PS3)
10/21 Holy crap! I can’t wait! It’s good to know someone (Ubisoft) is still looking out for the PC gamers, with our mouse-usage and our keyboard-strafing. The latest installment of the Far Cry series takes us away from our hero Jack Carver (and his little tropical island) and puts the player in the shoes of a mercenary in the African Serengeti desert. Which mercenary you play is up to you.There are eight to choose from, each with their own back-stories. Anyway, there’s civil war going on, and the player has been hired to assassinate the main war-monger in the middle of it all. The original game can almost be considered “ancient” and it met all my expectations. I can only wonder at what this Far Cry will have in store for us!
