Wednesday Update note: It seems this darned Blast Works review doesn't want to be seen. The first time, I posted the blog title as a reminder to post the review. That obviously did not happen and I forgot anyway! This time the review is posted, but apparently only I can see it! I'll tinker with Blogger's settings to see what the heck's up. Thanks for being patient. I'll post a blog entry tomorrow for when the review can be seen by all! Now... onto the main article!Hello. SuperPhillip here as you probably already know. Tonight I'm listing my most anticipated games of this holiday season for all platforms: Wii, PS3, 360, PC, DS, and PSP. I'll also be sharing some runners-up for each category. Perhaps you'll discover a game here that you didn't know about! Feel free to list your own games that you are looking forward to, folks!
- Nintendo Wii
Most Anticipated: Wario Land: Shake It!
Wario feels that he's partied enough with his WarioWare company, so now he's returning to his platforming roots with an all-new adventure. With beautiful 2D graphics and animation done by the excellent Production I.G. anime team, this game looks great and previews state that it plays even better. Shake the Wii remote to shake an enemy into submission or tilt the remote to control various vehicles to help Wario find his sought-after treasure. This game should be hitting most Wiis at the end of this month.
Runners-Up: Animal Crossing: City Folk, de Blob, Call of Duty: World at War
- Playstation 3
Most Anticipated: LittleBigPlanet
There's nothing I love more than creating my own levels. I have no intention of becoming a game developer or anything of that sort, so games like this where I can really be creative and share my works worldwide with friends and strangers alike is something very compelling to me. In LittleBigPlanet your creativity is your boundary. Create levels down to the finest detail with the interesting physics engine. I very much hope this title sells. THIS is what I look for in the ever-stagnant world of "bloody shooter #666". LittleBigPlanet (all one word) parades onto the PS3 a bit before Halloween.Runners-Up: Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Far Cry 2, Bioshock
- Xbox 360
Most Anticipated: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Bear and bird are back, and they look better than ever. The worlds are expansive, but Banjo need not traverse them on foot alone. The main draw of the game is the ability to create your own vehicles from either blueprints to your own imagination. You use a different type of vehicle for a different type of challenge. There will be online races as well as other competitions that Rare is still tight-lipped about. All I know is that Banjo-Kazooie is one of my favorite series period, and I'll be there day one! By the way, if you pre-order the game you'll get a code around the game's launch to download the original B-K for Xbox Live Arcade for free. Did I mention that this is all just for $39.99? 11/11/08 Banjo and Kazooie make their next gen debut.
Runners-Up: Gears of War 2, Saints Row 2, The Last Remnant
- PC
Most Anticipated: Spore
From the creative mind of Will Wright, creator of SimCity and The Sims, comes a brand new venture. Create your own organism, watch it grow from cell to galactic god! The beauty is that you can completely design your creature and interact with it. Have it fight others, inhabit new areas with it, etc. The choices are yours for an experience unlike any other. Spore spawns onto retail shelves next week.Runners-Up: Grand Theft Auto IV
- Nintendo DS
Most Anticipated: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
There's just too much I'm interested in for the DS. It's simply insane! Regardless, my pick is the newest Castlevania, Order of Ecclesia. It's the good old Castlevania action that we've grown to love, and that's a good thing! Keep it simple, Igarashi-- no 3D, no spin-offs-- just simple action-platforming, RPG style leveling up, exploration, great music, and gorgeous 2D graphics. I really loved Dawn of Sorrow as its appearance on my Top 100 games proves. Portrait of Ruin was too segmented to my liking, but it was still up-to-par. We'll see how Order of Ecclesia fares ten days before Halloween.
Runners-Up: Kirby Super Star Ultra, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Chrono Trigger DS, Away: Shuffle Dungeon, Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Dragon Ball: Origins
- PSP
Most Anticipated: Star Ocean: The First Departure
Sadly, there's not much for PSP owners this holiday season. Regardless of the quality of releases, a game I've been eyeing for the longest while is Star Ocean: The First Departure-- a remake of the original SNES Star Ocean game that never made it to North American shores. Enix is correcting this by releasing this title October 21st.
Runner-Up: Valhalla Knights 2 (Eh, I felt bad not having a runner-up for the PSP, so I added this RPG that probably won't do well...)
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Well, there you have it. You might be wondering why certain multi-platform games are on one system and not another. It's just my personal preference of the version that intrigues me the most. I wouldn't give another Call of Duty a chance if not for new Wii controls. We'll see how those work out. Again, I encourage you to post your own list in my comment sections. Don't worry. I DO read them.
