Q1 Release Calendar Highlights for 2009

The new year is upon us. Gamers and podcasters alike have been picking through the ashes of the madness that was fall/winter 2008. While internet debates continue to stir about whether 2008 was the "superior" year of gaming over 2007, they are also asking the most poignant of questions, like: How will 2009 stack up in the quantity and quality of game releases?

The first quarter of any calendar year is typically a quiet time for notable game releases. This year the slate is looking uncharacteristically exciting, thanks to a number of long-anticipated sequels and higher profile games that were delayed from their originally scheduled Q4 launches in 2008.

In order of release, here are my picks for games to watch for the remainder of this winter:

LOTR Conquest
I realize that I did not paint the rosiest picture in the post of my impressions of the demo a few days ago. Fellow bloggers have kindly advised me to try out the demo's multiplayer mode, claiming that it is a far more interesting experience than the tutorial-like single player trawl. Even with all my early misgivings about this game, it is overall a rather strong release to see in January of all months. With a heavyweight license behind it, a credible developer in charge and some very solid production values on display, LOTR Conquest is poised to make a very big splash... at least until some of the other Q1 games are rolled out.

Afro Samurai
I know very little about this Bandai Namco release. Based on the cult animé series, Afro Samurai immediately grabs the eyes with its visually striking art design, one that supposedly stays very true to the source material and seems to be a perfect fit for an edgy action-adventure game. The game will feature a unique bit of technology that will allow bodies to be cut -- and presumably separated-- at any point and from any direction. With the pre-release buzz nearly non-existent, my expectations are refreshingly blank. Here's hoping for a strong demo to hit XBL and PSN well before the game's retail launch.

Sacred 2
Action-RPG fanatics got their just desserts last August when Too Human stormed the shelves and was met with mixed reviews all around. The game failed to light a fire at retail but caught on with a devoted fan base who were willing to forgive the game's many glaring flaws and enjoy the unadulterated level- and loot-grinding mechanics. Sacred 2 will give Xbox 360 gamers a second shot of hack n' slash action this February, touting a vast open world, multiple player classes, ride-able mounts and 4-player online co-op. The PC version launched last November to unremarkable reviews and there were prompt complaints about the litany of bugs that snuck by the QA team. I remember many years ago how German developer, Ascaron patched the first Sacred to death and I sincerely hope most of the technical hiccups are ironed out before they unveil this ambitious action-RPG to the Xbox masses.

FEAR 2: Project Origin
Monolith's flagship shooter has suffered a bit of an identity crisis. With the FEAR brand locked up in legal hell for the better part of 2008, Monolith was forced to position the game as a spiritual successor to 2005's FEAR (released to 360 in 2006) rather than a legitimate sequel. Thankfully, the FEAR brand is back in its rightful home but the sequel still faces some hurdles on its road to acceptance. Similar to Valve's reliance on their Source engine, FEAR 2 has been developed on a retro-fitted LithTech engine, a reliable piece of kit that may be getting a touch long in the tooth. Players can expect the level design to open up beyond the drab office interiors of the first game, with pitched firefights spilling onto devastated city streets and even a few joyrides in mech-like war machines. I remain optimistic but I wonder if Monolith is getting stuck in a time loop. The industry as a whole seems to be over its fascination with corridor crawls and Bullet Time, so only time will tell if Monolith serves up a helping of retro-cool or just tired old retro.

Street Fighter 4
The one-on-one fighting genre has seen a bit of a resurgence these past couple years, so it's only fitting that we are a little over a month away from welcoming back the arguable granddaddy of fighter franchises. Street Fighter 4 has already been making waves in arcades overseas and with good reason. Marketed as a "return to form" for the series, SF4's game play will take most of its cues from the template popularized by Street Fighter 2 and its many variants during the 1990s. Featuring all of the original playable characters and a host of new personalities, the home versions of SF4 will also feature bonus characters not found in the arcade edition. Fans of Akuma, Fei Long, Cammy, Rose, Dan Hibiki, Gouken, Seth and Sakura can rejoice! These additions brings up the total roster to a staggering 25 characters. If this isn't the definitive version of Street Fighter for the new generation, I am at a loss to figure out what is. This may also herald the first time I lay down the money for an arcade stick or fight pad just play a fighting game.

Resident Evil 5
I am a relative neophyte to Resident Evil, yet another revered Capcom franchise that has been brilliantly managed and reinvented all these years. Sharing many traces of game play DNA with Resident Evil 4, this new game will deposit players in war-torn Africa in the continuing fight against the zombie virus. This game is sure to be a technical showpiece for both Xbox 360 and PS3 owners as it features some of sharpest graphics seen so far this console generation. For the first time in the series, co-op play will be supported from the ground-up, allowing players to step into the shoes of Chris Redfield or his newcomer partner-in-arms, Sheva Alomar. With so much going for this game, I wonder how it will be received in a world where Dead Space exists. Survival horror has always been a rather small genre in gaming, so it'll be interesting to see how a genre titan like Resident Evil fares in a more competitive, modern climate.

Halo Wars
My recent infatuation with strategy and war games has warmed me to the prospect of playing Halo Wars this March. Notable in so many different ways, the game nonetheless struggles to gain traction in the enthusiast press. You'd think the Halo brand alone would be enough to draw global attention yet all is not roses and sunshine for Ensemble Studios' swan song. The way I see it, the success of this game hinges on one thing: control. From the beginning, Halo Wars was touted as the only RTS developed to take full advantage of console hardware (this distinction has now been officially stolen by Ubisoft's excellent, EndWar). Where previous RTS games have been met with partial success due to cumbersome or incomplete integration of mouse-keyboard controls to a game pad environment, Halo Wars will be designed with just that peripheral in mind.

Even so, the overall design still seems to stubbornly adhere to the resource harvesting and base building formula established by Dune II in 1992. More so than any flaw with control schemes, this tired formula is the main reason I shy away from most modern RTSs. It would be more reassuring to know that Ensemble was also intent on shattering the harvest-build-rush paradigm of yore along with any innovations made to user-centered design. As it stands, we can at least be assured of a unique take on the Halo universe, as well as a solid, final release from one of the best RTS developers of our time.