August is finally winding down after a month filled with solid releases and convention announcements. This month played host to the 20th Anniversary release of Madden football as well as the yearly release of the highly successful Tiger Woods franchise. Sony finally delivered a respectable roleplaying game this month with Disgaea 3, and EA brought the boom with Mercenaries 2. The PlayStation Network wasn’t left in the shadows either. Fans of the Ratchet & Clank series got to finally enjoy a swashbuckling Quest for Booty, while Bionic Commando was Rearmed in a very big way. And for me, personally, I consider this 30 more days down until the release of LittleBigPlanet. I’d go out on a large limb to figure that I’m not the only one counting down the days.
As for Leipzig, who else was blown away by the technological aspect of EyePet? If Sony can take advantage of this technology and spread it around within serious titles, then PlayStation Eye owners should finally be content. Of course we can’t downplay the public revealing of Heavy Rain and the way it impressed gamers around the globe. Though the game is not a direct sequel to Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit), it utilizes a lot of the same mechanics that made its predecessor great.
September is shaping up to be just as great of a month as August, if not better. Gamers will see the release of Pure, LEGO Batman, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Facebreaker, NHL 09, NHL 2K9, NFL Head Coach 09, TNA Impact, Brother’s in Arms: Hell’s Highway, Armored Core: the Answer, Baja: Edge of Control and Buzz Quiz TV just to name a few. There are a handful of titles not listed that are due for release as well, demonstrating how big of a month September is going to be. As usual, we’ve turned to the forum and our readers to get their input on the past and future months.
What was your favorite PlayStation announcement from Leipzig? Why?
“Heavy Rain.
In a time where we’re getting a lot of cliche games, it is nice to see developers take risks and make a new game that is more story driven. The graphics look astounding and the story seems very well done.
My favorite part is the gameplay because every decision you make in the game will have consequences that are either negative or positive and affect the rest of the game.” SymphonyX
What’s your opinion and expectation of Heavy Rain thus far?
“Heavy Rain has good graphics and a lot of low-res textures. The gameplay is not unique but refreshing in this generation. It’s even an envy considering Kojima regrets he did not make his MGS4 cutscenes like HR.
I expect it to sell over one million copies and consider it a moderate hit. In the time frame that HR is going to be released we will see other Horror games too. So there will be some competition and a lot of comparing. The voice intuition is good and so is the rigging of the characters. I will have to give it a solid 7.5.” Sventax
Which PlayStation title are you looking forward to most in September? Why?
“It would probably be Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Why? I’ve been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been greatly interested in the Force Unleashed since it was first announced. Of course, after playing the demo, my mind had been made up and all fears of having another crappy Star Wars game were laid to rest; it had amazingly, exceeded all expectations. I plan to buy it on day one but due to a lack of money it might have to wait…” Jaeger
What did you think of the EyePet announcement from Leipzig?
“I think it was a good thing to announce. I personally probably won’t be buying it, not because of the whole ‘I have a pet so why would I want that’ stigma, but because I purchased Eye of Judgment and regrettably only used it a few times. So I’m a bit more careful with something like this, where the tech behind it looks quite interesting, but as something to entertain me, it doesn’t really give me my money’s worth.
Still, it’s an announcement I can appreciate much more than another run of the mill FPS or something and it could be a big success if they market it right.” Byoushinn
This Month is Gaming History: August 2008 saw EA Sports deliver their 20th edition of John Madden Football. The franchise that began 20 years ago on the Commodore and Apple II achieved a milestone that is rarely seen, if ever, in the gaming industry. While other series sputter out after four or five iterations, Madden has proven with its formula that it can churn out a successful title year after year. With the NFL licensing and an ESPN marketing campaign, EA Sports is setting itself up for another 20 years of Madden football.