Games to Watch in 2008

With 2008 under way, we look ahead to pick out some of the promising games due over the next 12 months.

Page: 1  2  3  4 

Page 3

Spore
(PC, DS, Wii)

Will Wright took the ordinary events that make up life and in The Sims he brought them together in an extraordinary way. Nearly eight years after debuting the first game in that series, Wright is now preparing to release his next creation: Spore.

Where The Sims put you in charge of a life, Spore takes the idea much further, giving you the tools to control all life, from single cells fighting to survive to advanced civilizations capable of interstellar travel. The scope of the game calls for solutions to new kinds of technical problems, which is probably why Spore has been delayed so many times.

Spore will play more like five games than one, with each stage of life presenting new ways to experience the game. The big question is whether this time around Wright has bitten off more than his many monsters can chew. We'll see later this year.

For more, see our Spore feature with Will Wright.

Grand Theft Auto IV
(PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

No one outside of Rockstar has yet laid a hand on this latest instalment in the record-setting franchise and already many people are convinced that it could be the biggest game of 2008. It's not hard to see why.

Gran Theft Auto IV takes the essence of the series and completely updates it. The game world is as big as ever only this time it's more compact, shoved into a replica of New York City that builds its world both horizontally and vertically. If the look of the world and the options opened up by the open-world gameplay aren't enough to attract you to the game, perhaps the deeper characters and storyline will help.

The game follows fresh-off-the-boat Niko as he strives to get his slice of the American pie. Along the way you'll get to play with a new combat and gunplay system that complements a level of polish that will, in all likelihood, easily make amends for the delay from the projected October release.

For more, see our massive Grand Theft Auto 4 coverage.

Gran Turismo 5
(PlayStation 3)

When it comes to driving games, few can claim to have the mindshare of Polyphony Digital's long-running PlayStation-only Gran Turismo series. Though it's not clear yet whether the full version of Gran Turismo 5 will arrive in 2008, no matter where you are, you will be able to get a feel for a game in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

This cut-down version will introduce PlayStation 3 owners to some of the new features that have been added to the game. The most notable addition is without a doubt online play, which makes a belated debut after the developers reluctantly dropped it from Gran Turismo 4 in the interest of time.

Prologue will be a meatier experience this time around, offering dozens of cars, five tracks, full online racing and none of the pesky forced bits that made the already-short Gran Turismo 4: Prologue feel more so. The real good news would be confirmation that the full game will be out this year, but Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will certainly draw enough interest on its own.

For more, see our Gran Turismo 5 interview with Kaz Yamauchi.

LittleBigPlanet
(PlayStation 3) - September

One of the overwhelming memes of the last few years is user-created content. No longer content with simply absorbing their entertainment, more and more people are making their own. And that's good for LittleBigPlanet.

This PlayStation 3 exclusive game is all about creating interesting worlds and playing in them with your friends. Armed with only a bulging toolkit and your imagination, you'll be able to create the kind of levels that you want to play, fitting together parts that come with the game and others that you win by playing through the game.

Don't want to think too hard? No problem. The game will come with pre-made levels and, more importantly, you'll be able to download levels that other LittleBigPlanet players have made. Freedom is one of the buzzwords in this generation and this could be one of the best examples of it put into action.

For more, see our hands-on preview with Little Big Planet.

Page: 1  2  3  4 

NEXT PAGE >>