Most Anticipated Video Games of 2008
Words: Christian Crider

2008 looks like a promising year for gamers everywhere. Whether you’re a console fanatic, PC enthusiast, or Wii ninja, there will be a plethora of great games sliding into your disk drives over the next twelve months. It’s definitely difficult to narrow the entire field of emerging games down to such a dwarfish list, so rather than polling door to door, I simply asked my inner escapist what I’d most enjoy distracting myself with as I endure the oncoming year of elections, Olympics and general chaos that seems to follow humanity around like a rabid puppy.

Fallout 3
Bethesda Software
RPG
PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release: TBA
Fallout, simply put, is one of the best CRPGs ever made. I remember my joy as a young teen as I ventured out into the wastes with little more than a few stimpacks and a shitty pistol to save Vault 13 from certain demise. This post-apocalyptic, darkly satirical masterpiece was my introduction to the genre, and holds a special place in my memory box labeled: Things You Did When You Should Have Been Studying. When I heard that Bethesda Software purchased the license to the long-defunct Fallout franchise, I nearly had a heart attack. After all, they built their empire on wizards and orcs in the popular fantasy series, The Elder Scrolls. I was marginally happy that the Fallout series wouldn’t end on such a sour note as the terrible Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, released in 2004 to messy critical failure. However, I remain skeptical as to whether Bethesda can revive Fallout in all its previous glory, with the change in perspective from top-down isometric to first and third-person, and a switch in setting from West to East Coast. The optimistic side of me welcomes these changes because change is an inevitable part of life, but I’m wary. Will Bethesda “get it?” My Magic 8-Ball says, “Ask again later.”

Grand Theft Auto IV
Rockstar Games
Action/Run-People-Over
Xbox 360, PS3
Release: April 29th
The highly controversial series is returning to Liberty City for more lewd acts of criminal road rage. GTA IV represents Rockstar Games’ first foray into the current generation of consoles. A new protagonist, Niko, will hit the shiny streets of a redesigned Liberty City with felonious ambitions, and wreak a great deal of havoc in the process. A refurbished combat system, a higher degree of character customization, and multiplayer are just a few of the new features expected to appear in the newest installment of the most wholesome family videogame series since Carmaggedon.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Funcom
MMORPG
PC
Release: May 20th
Before Arnold was the Governator, he played a seminal role in bringing Robert E. Howard’s burly barbarian to the big screen. With such a rich and intricate setting replete with fascinating characters, it was only a matter of time before a developer snatched up this fantasy realm and brewed an MMORPG. Funcom -– developers of Anarchy Online – has translated the world of Conan into a dark and brutal world where hoards of players will grind out their fantasies. If you’re a stranger to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (you can untie your tongue now), these games allow you play your character alongside thousands of other characters while working together to achieve uber-1337ness. If you’re ready to pwn some n00bs with your mighty broadsword, Age of Conan is your ticket.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Nintendo
Button Smashing Fighter
Wii
Release: March 9th
When I was a geeky teenager (not much has changed), I was all about playing Super Smash Bros. on the N64. Aside from Goldeneye and Fallout, no other game stole as much of my adolescent life. While this version of Super Smash Bros. features new characters and settings, players won’t be able to use the “nunchuk” controller to beat each other senseless – much to my dismay. Instead of bludgeoning your opponents to a pulp with your mad skills, you will be confined to the button smashing so commonly associated with fighting games. Regardless, this brawler should suck your hourglass clean.

Far Cry 2
Ubisoft
First-Person Shooter
PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release: TBA
Gallivanting through a jungle sounds like a perfect vacation, right? What if you add a well-armed militia intent on shooting you in the face? Well, that’s Far Cry 2 in a nutshell.  Thankfully, many of the unrealistic features of the previous Far Cry iterations will be absent. Instead, expect to treat your own wounds whilst stalking through a dangerous and lifelike African setting.