(Here are the rest of the notable North American game releases between October 2007 and December 2007!)
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Nintendo Wave:
Curse Of The Horned Rider
Curse Of The Horned Rider is a horror/motorcycle game that plays like Road Rash through a Tim Burton filter. The player can choose from one of up to eight different motorcycle riders, all with a horror theme, ranging from vampires to demons to cursed humans and more, who then race along abandoned highways on motorcycles, trying to get to the end while also just trying to stay alive. The player can use their rider's special powers or pick up weapons on the track to deal damage or cause trouble for their opponents. The plotline has to do with Satan awakening after a thousand year slumber to overtake the Earth, and a few evil creatures are vying to usurp him as ruler of Hell, though there are also a few humans who are trying to stop him and save humanity. The game is rated M but is kind of a soft M, with plenty of blood and violence but not too much in the way of sex and language. The game is definitely a strange one, but reviews are quite good, with praise going toward the unique characters and the play controls, while the demonic motif is seen as a good choice for a motorcycle game, and old school Road Rash fans love it as well. Sales are only decent, but better than expected, especially for a late Wave game.
Persona 3
The latest game in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, Japan would see this nearly a year before America does, but it is released in North America late in 2007 exclusively for the Nintendo Wave. The game features somewhat similar gameplay to OTL's, with a group of six high schoolers who alternate between normal high school lives and descending into a realm of demons and nightmares to protect humanity with the aid of their Personas, which resemble classic mythical creatures, gods, and demons. However, the main plotline is quite different, and involves a sort of war against a student council of six students who have Personas of their own and who are unwittingly serving an evil master while seemingly trying to keep order in the school. The student council is led by Agumi, a haughty and fearsome social climber who is secretly descended from demon hunters and who believes herself to be purifying the world, but is actually serving as a puppet for Deus, who is seemingly God but is actually a being of pure control and domination, not actually YHVH of Shin Megami Tensei notoriety but somewhat of an avatar of him (the fact that Xenogears was never made ITTL leaves the idea of a Deus-like character freed up for Atlus to eventually use, which they do). The protagonist (who is only male in this game) leads the fight against Deus and Agumi utilizing their Personas and making social links with friends all over Tokyo to gain strength. Their companions can only utilize one Persona each, similar to OTL's game, and each of the companions can have social links built with them. The realm that the player descends into in TTL's Persona 3 is called Hel, and like in OTL's game, it gets more and more dangerous as the player goes through it while completing certain storyline objectives (In TTL's Persona 3, there's actually no time limit, though social links and other plot achievements are gated by the main storyline, so you can't advance too far in some player's links early on in the game). Eventually, events come to a head, and like in OTL's game, the protagonist is killed. However, after some story events, and provided that certain objectives have been fulfilled (otherwise, the player gets the “bad ending” here) the protagonist's place is taken by a repentant Agumi, who carries on the fight against Deus and assumes all of the original protagonist's Personas and powers. There are two more ending options here, one a “good” ending in which Agumi sacrifices herself but the world is saved, and another being the “golden” ending in which Agumi lives and the world is saved, though the golden ending is a bit ambiguous and cryptic, implying that the world is saved but also implying that there will be a recurrence of the same events that led to the crisis in the first place.
Like IOTL, Persona 3 gets strong reviews from critics and some controversy for its violence and religious themes (and killing off the original protagonist), but is very well received by fans and actually sells a bit better than it did IOTL in North America. It helps that the Wave is in the spotlight a bit more than the PS2 was when Persona 3 game out IOTL, and Nintendo actually does a fair bit to promote the game as a somewhat more mature RPG for those who are turned off by Kingdom Hearts II.
Apple iTwin:
Rhapsody Of The Firmament
(Authors' Note: This summary for Rhapsody Of The Firmament was given to us by the reader Neoteros! We filled out the developer, director, and artist information and the game's commercial/critical performance but the rest was reader-contributed.)
Rhapsody of the Firmament is an action role-playing game developed by Blizzard for the Apple iTwin, and directed by Jeff Kaplan. Even though it follows many of the conventions and traditions of Western action role-playing – the open world of The Elder Scrolls, the overhead perspective of Diablo – it consciously averts and avoids many of the other distinctive elements of the genre; for example, there is no HUD to speak of, nor health and mana points, or item slots: the player has to rely on visual and vocal cues to guess the status of the protagonist, that can also be done away with in one hit or severely wounded if not properly protected by armour – even though it is possible to dress her in bikini armour, a flimsy silk dress and other assorted revealing outfits, it's a challenge only Ghosts 'n Goblins veterans can hope to survive – and she can carry only what a single person would realistically be able to carry. The game is also notable for how the first segment of the game, set in a military academy, replaces what in other action role-playing games would be the character creation screen – the decisions the player makes during said segment determine the protagonist's speed and strength, her inclination towards certain weapons or psychic abilities, and even her personality – and for its peculiar art style, courtesy of Michael Sutfin, that before working on Rhapsody of the Firmament had worked on Magic: the Gathering. The protagonist of the game is Kelos, a young woman belonging to a harpy-like alien species: even though she looks like a dark skinned – in fact, indisputably black – human being, her height is that of a human child, she has green/red feathers along her arms and on her head, heterochromic green/red eyes, avian claws instead of feet, and possesses the ability to fly.
At a very young age, she is sent to a military academy in her home planet of Mukanay: since she has been born with psychic powers, a very rare occurrence in her world, that grant her a series of abilities who are barely distinguishable from magic – for example, the ability to heal herself and others, the ability to create fire, ice and lightning from nothing, and the ability to control beasts and people with her mind – she has an undisputed place among the members of the psychic élite that rules her homeworld as a de facto military junta. Having graduated from the academy, and gained a friend there – a shy but very competent girl named Palos – she is given by the government a place as Enforcer – a Judge Dredd figure, more or less – in the planet's capital city; at first, she has to deal only with street crime but, when it becomes clear that the city's most dangerous and extensive criminal syndicate and the planet's most threatening dissident organization are in fact joined at the hip, she is asked to take part in progressively more brutal acts of government sanctioned oppression. One of these acts is to kill Vanak, an old man that has so far acted as a mentor figure of sorts to her, that is revealed to be the leader of the aforementioned dissident organization; before dying, he unleashes a synthetic plague on the planet that instantly infects all psychics there and on other planets, due to the psychics' telepathic links. He however gives her and Palos an antidote, telling her that she – as the incredibly gifted psychic daughter of a normal family – could force a new, democratic order on Mukanay and on its colonies if only she wanted to. As the planet of Mukanay and its empire fall into chaos, following the death of 9 psychics out of 10 and the almost complete disappearance of government, Kelos has to choose whether to follow Vanak's advice and aid the dissidents (who can be corrupt and criminal despite their good intentions) or stay loyal to the rump government of Mukanay (that is very authoritarian, but has granted peace and prosperity to the planet). Whatever her choice will be, she has to conquer the city for her chosen faction first, and then the rest of Mukanay, meeting quite a few colourful characters along the way, the most important of them being Hulik, an exuberant professional athlete turned mercenary.
Before moving on to the part of the game set in planets other than Mukanay, Kelos learns about the "Rhapsody of the Firmament" from an old archaeologist that was silenced by the government for decades: an immense epic poem written in several languages over the course of innumerable millennia, and whose fragments are scattered throughout the solar system in which the game takes place; according to a few conspiracy theorists, the Rhapsody hides the darkest, most frightening secret of the universe. As Kelos, Vanak and Palos travel the solar system in which the game takes place and collect fragments of the Rhapsody, it is revealed that the only living star remaining in the universe, around which orbit the planets and moons on which the game takes place, is about to enter the final phase of its existence, and that life itself could soon end: if the player is playing through the loyalist route, it is revealed that the government intends to force the rest of the solar system to submit to Mukanay rule in exchange for the survival of civilization. After these revelations, it is possible for the loyalist player to turn dissident; Kelos' aim however remains the same: defeat the other faction and find a way to not only stop the death of the universe's only star, but to restore life to the other stars; according to the Rhapsody, the key to doing it is carefully hidden on a planet in a dead part of the galaxy; Kelos and her friends reach this planet, waking up an alien scientist, Nachelu, from his cryogenic sleep. Nachelu – a member of a civilization descended from that of Earth – explains that his species could never unlock the secret behind restoring life to the universe, but hoped that other species in their future would; that's how the Rhapsody started.
"Explaining how to reverse entropy to people that could be at a very primitive level of development is like... like explaining advanced physics to a child, except you know only basic physics; you... you have to use a metaphor, and hope for the best; and if there's something that all human civilizations shared, was a flair for epic and song. We could only hope someone else in the universe would grow up to be a little bit like us."
Kelos, Vanak and Palos travel back to their star system, this time with Nachelu; after the game's final, huge battle, in which Kelos commands either the dissident or the loyalist forces against the forces of the other faction, they finally find a way to bring life back to the galaxy; depending on how the player has behaved during the game, several endings can be obtained, and depending on how close Kelos is to one of her friends, she can (it's not guaranteed) enter a romantic relationship with one of them – yes, even the girl. But the game will always end with a shot of a starry sky, where no stars could be seen before.
Rhapsody Of The Firmament was one of the more hyped Apple iTwin games at E3 2007, and was considered on equal ground with The Life And Death Of A Renegade as a game designed to lure older players to the console. Blizzard was paid a great deal of money for exclusivity and the game's development was partially funded by Apple, in the hopes of convincing some of the more “hardcore” gamers on the Nintendo and Microsoft ecosystems to migrate to the system. It works...partially. The game is highly acclaimed, with reviews averaging in the high-8s: not as strong as Renegade, but still one of the year's better iTwin exclusives. Sales also aren't quite as strong, but still very good and the game does achieve its purpose of selling more iTwin consoles to players that might not otherwise have considered them. Combined with the Xbox 2's continued struggles, and the game puts even more pressure on Microsoft during the vital holiday season.
Bomberman Showdown
Bomberman Showdown is an exclusive Bomberman game for the Apple iTwin featuring both traditional and optional motion controls that focuses on one-on-one combat between two evenly matched characters in an arena with the typical top-down Bomberman gameplay. The game allows the two iTwin controls to be split amongst two players for instant one on one multiplayer fun, though it also has options for 4 player mode locally and up to 16 players online. Apple promotes this one heavily as a party-centric Bomberman game, and it's fairly fun. It has a short campaign, but that's really not the point, and reviews are positive for the most part, with sales being so-so.
Valkyria Chronicles
A tactical turn-based RPG, Valkyria Chronicles features combat action in a World War II-like setting, with a similar storyline and gameplay to IOTL. Developed by much the same team as OTL's game, Valkyria Chronicles deals with a clash between two warring empires, fighting over a limited supply of a vital material resource called Ragnite. TTL's game also involves a group of armed mercenaries known as the Shadar Force, which introduces an element of intrigue to the plot and also enhances the strategic gameplay, as the player is given the opportunity to hire these mercenaries at points during the game, and if they fail to do so, some of them can join up with the enemy. Valkyria Chronicles is another example of a game geared toward more mature audiences in order to lure more adult players to the iTwin, but is also aimed at the iTwin's Japanese buyers, who are only just now starting to be able to purchase the system on a reliable basis. Reviews for the game are fairly strong, and it's considered one of the better RPGs of the year, though it isn't appreciated as much in the year end awards as a game of its quality would be expected to (it takes time for the game to get its due appreciation in North America).
Zodiac World Iris
Released five years after Zodiac World 2 on the Sega Katana, the franchise has seen its profile fade over the past several years despite both the previous two games being major hits. However, as hype for this game built in late 2007, it would become one of the higher profile release of the holiday season for the iTwin. While featuring similar gameplay to the past two games (action platforming with a focus on powers and weapons), it features a brand new protagonist: a girl named Iris, who utilizes a special sniper rifle in battle (her fighting style somewhat resembles that of Overwatch's Widowmaker, though her demeanor is a lot lighter). Iris is a Runescraper, a member of a group of explorers sent to gather special artifacts that contain magical properties. She's the “muscle” of her group, so to speak, which mostly consists of nerdy, scientific types. The plot starts when one of the runes Iris acquires turns out to be one of 12 Zodiac Stones. Removing the stone from its resting place unleashes a powerful evil into the world and attracts the attention of an evil industrialist who seeks the power of the stones for himself. Iris and her friends must gather the remaining stones in order to channel their power into an ancient cauldron that will nullify their powers and contain the evil. The game hits all of the familiar platformer notes, and its somewhat dated gameplay does drag the game down a bit, though Iris' unique fighting style, which relies on sniping enemies from afar rather than getting up close and personal, is a change of pace. Zodiac World Iris is considered a critical and sales disappointment, with lower review scores and sales than both of the previous games, though it's still a fun game and becomes somewhat underappreciated because it wasn't as innovative or popular as the first two. It's one of the few “misses” for the iTwin in 2007, though it's a blow Apple can easily absorb, and the series itself is shelved indefinitely (despite somewhat of a sequel hook cliffhanger ending).
Microsoft Xbox 2:
Forza Motorsport 2
The sequel to 2005's Forza Motorsport and the first game in the series to be released on the Xbox 2, Forza Motorsport 2 features shiny new HD graphics, making it one of the best looking console games ever released up to this point. It also features 486 cars (nearly twice the cars of the original game), and at least 10 more tracks than the original as well. Despite a significant graphical upgrade and a massive amount of new content, the gameplay is almost unchanged from the original title, which is somewhat of a mixed bag: while the original game played just fine, players were expecting somewhat more changes from the original game. Despite the lack of changes, Forza Motorsport 2 achieves strong reviews and strong sales at the time of its release, just missing the top five new releases for October 2007 due to being launched in a crowded month.
The Gunrunners 2
The sequel to a 2003 Katana exclusive, this title finds its way to the Xbox 2 due to Apple passing on footing some of the development costs for the game. The original title, a bullet hell-styled third person shooter, was enough of a cult hit to justify a sequel, and this game features updated graphics and a much larger selection of weapons, though it ramps down the difficulty a little bit. This is mostly due to the addition of a bunch of powerful new characters with abilities that give them more firepower and make it easier to dodge the copious amount of bullets that enemies fire at the player. The aesthetic of the game also changes a bit: whereas the original Katana title was somewhat lighthearted and cutesy, this game is more serious, featuring more realistic looking characters and a somewhat more serious storyline. It's not as jarring as say, OTL's Bomberman Zero, but it, and the ramped down difficulty, alienate some of the original game's fans and cause this game to flop on the Xbox 2.
007: Casino Royale
Microsoft tries to succeed where Nintendo did in 1998 with Goldeneye by securing the exclusive license to a Casino Royale game and making a first person shooter based on the 2007 film. 007: Casino Royale follows the Goldeneye formula quite well, creating a campaign that follows and expands upon the events of the film, while also creating a detailed multiplayer mode with both local and online play. The game features the actors from the film, including Sam Worthington, and features some of the better first person shooter action of the seventh generation thus far, with realistic AI and an intuitive aiming system, along with dynamic cutscenes and a wide selection of weapons. It's definitely a good game, but it's received more like OTL's 2010 Goldeneye for the Wii than it is the original Rare Goldeneye 007. It's not all that innovative of a shooter, and though it plays really well, it gets unfavorably compared to Modern Warfare, which has more action and a stronger multiplayer mode. Casino Royale is a critical and commercial success, but not the revolutionary blockbuster Microsoft was hoping it to be.
Maelstrom: The Battle For Earth
A game exclusive to PC IOTL, Maelstrom: The Battle For Earth is an RTS that takes place amidst the aftermath of a deadly nuclear and biological war that ravaged the Earth's surface. As the two factions continue to battle amidst the ruins of civilization, an alien race appears to conquer the reeling planet, and humanity must unite to force them off the planet. The game features not only real time combat, but also gives the player the ability to transform the land, altering battle conditions for friend and foe alike. OTL's game was somewhat of a disaster, plagued by poor AI and bad voice acting, amongst other issues. ITTL, the game suffers from far fewer of these issues, which can be explained by the game's production studio putting more money, resources, and time into the game. This causes Maelstrom to become one of the better Xbox RTS titles of 2007, and the game actually sells better on the console than it does on the PC. Though it's far from a “hit”, it's seen as a respectable cult classic and would eventually get a spiritual successor that would do even more with the terraforming functionality.
Man Of The Atom
Developed by Acclaim exclusively for the Xbox 2, Man Of The Atom is based off the Gold Key/Valiant Comics superhero Solar, a nuclear physicist who is transformed into a living nuclear battery after a radiation accident. The game is a beat 'em up where players take control of Solar and have him engage in a variety of action packed situations. Solar can usually deal with enemies due to his overwhelming power, but the player must be careful to keep him charged with radiation, which for obvious reasons isn't always at hand. Solar must rescue civilians and aid the innocent, and this too isn't always easy due to his tendency to leak radiation and his occasional lack of control over his powers, forcing the player to sometimes come up with unique solutions to help the populace. Solar's enemy in this game is Mothergod, the alterego of a fellow physicist who gains the same powers as Solar but tries to use them to erase all life in order to achieve balance in the universe. Solar must accumulate enough power to stop her, while also attempting to keep the timestream balanced for the good of humanity. Man Of The Atom gets a lot of comparisons to Spider-Man: Hunted, though with the added involvement of time travel. It's somewhat more difficult to use Solar's powers than Spider-Man, but the game is fairly unique for it, with more of a plot than the typical “superhero beating up criminals” that even plagued that highly praised Spider-Man game. Despite some of the criticisms, Man Of The Atom is generally seen as a good game, and proves to be a modest financial success for Acclaim, though not on the level of the Turok or Mortal Kombat series by any stretch.
On Burned Wing
On Burned Wing is a dragon-riding game where mighty dragon riders take to the skies and battle one another. The game takes place in a medieval-esque society that has somewhat degenerated into a hedonistic time where people watch dragon riders brutalize one another for entertainment, and the main plot deals with a dragon rider who is forced to become one in order to provide for his family, slowly rising through the ranks but drawing the attention of the king of the realm, who is a dragon rider himself and hostile to any who would challenge his supremacy. This game looks visually stunning but the gameplay is a slight disappointment compared to the hype, with fairly repetitive battles and some shoddy controls. It's still good but not as good as it was expected to be, and sales definitely don't live up to expectations.
Sakura's Tears
Just as the Xbox 360 tried to lure in JRPG developers to improve its prospects in Japan IOTL, the Xbox 2 tries to do so here, with this anime-styled JRPG featuring a mostly shoujo cast of young magician girls seeking out a lost flower to heal a sick friend. The Xbox 2 doesn't get a big Lost Odyssey style RPG epic but does get a few smaller titles, and Sakura's Tears is the most successful of the bunch. Along with Axe Of The Ravenfell, it lures female players to the system and is one of the better original JRPGs of the year, with reviews averaging in the mid 8s thanks to the fun battle system and excellent English dub (the localization company uses a Toronto-based cast that includes actresses like Alyson Court, Emilie Claire Barlow, and Katie Griffin). However, even in Japan the game sees disappointing sales, and it's nothing more than a cult game in the West.
Game Boy Supernova:
Antarctica: Cold Comfort
A handheld spinoff of the Wave-based FPS series that takes place on the cold southern continent, Cold Comfort tells a side story in the series about a squad of soldiers deployed to a series of underground caves near an old Soviet weather base, sent there to take out a belligerent detachment of Russian hardliners hellbent on starting World War III. The game features the same temperature regulation and environmental hazards as the previous two games, and the graphics look quite excellent for a Supernova FPS, on par with those of the Nintendo Wave. Combined with the strong online multiplayer features and this proves to be one of the better handheld FPS titles of the year, competing quite well with From The Files Of UNITY and Eschaton on the iPod Play (though it doesn't quite sell as well as either of them).
Renata Chronicle
An Atlus dungeon crawler with similarities to OTL's Etrian Odyssey, but with a French motif. The game is about a young woman who stumbles upon a series of ancient catacombs beneath France and must explore them to defeat the demons within and save her village. A difficult but beautiful and very well crafted game, it's a financial success in Japan and a cult classic in North America.
iPod Play:
War For Unity
War For Unity is an RTS title with a simple to learn but difficult to master gameplay system, featuring six rival armies battling it out over an uncharted continent. The game features large armies with procedurally generated characters, though there are also some fixed characters in the game. It features good graphics for the platform and ends up being fairly popular amongst RTS fans, getting excellent reviews for its strong gameplay and technical polish.
Windborn: Quest Of The Ages
The Windborn series of RPG titles returns on an Apple system, the iPod Play, and features a brand new quest and a heroic boy who gains the power of the winds after taking up an ancient sword. A man takes the boy under his wing, claiming to be the previous Hero of the Winds, but the man is trying to get the sword for his own purposes, and the boy has to turn against him with the help of several new friends he makes on his journey. Like the previous Windborn games, this one is a commercial success, but largely due to its Japanese sales, as it's more of a cult hit in North America. Reviews are good, averaging in the high 7s and low 8s, keeping the Windborn franchise's reputation for producing strong RPG adventures intact.
Bleak
Bleak is a horror/adventure game about a group of spelunkers who explore a cavern overrun with monsters. Players must acclimate to the cave's twisting corridors, difficult terrain, and dark environments. The game combines 3-D platforming with survival horror in a fashion reminiscent of some of the Tomb Raider games, and while Bleak is well made from a graphical perspective, it's a sales disappointment. It doesn't have any strong selling points like Resident Evil, and the game's difficulty turns off casual players, but those who do play Bleak tend to enjoy it.
Herzog Tactics
Herzog Tactics is a strategy game based on the classic Herzog series of strategy military titles created by Sega. 2002's Herzog Zwei, an attempt to remake the series with modern gameplay and graphics, was a disappointment, but developers wanted to revisit the series as a strategy game closer to something like the Fire Emblem or Ogre Battle series, and took the classic Herzog Zwei gameplay and adapted it into a turn based strategy title without the real-time elements. Players have to build their units and deploy them on the battlefield, defeating the enemy or capturing installations and completing objectives. It has a Nintendo Wars-esque feel to it but is somewhat more futuristic and complex, and features a mix of techno music and Wagnerian symphonic metal as a soundtrack. Where the Herzog Zwei remake failed, Herzog Tactics succeeds majorly: it's a beautiful, strategic, elegant strategy game that finally succeeds in bringing this series to modern gamers in such a way that replicates the originals. It's one of the best reviewed console games of the year, with scores even topping those of War For Unity, and is one of the best selling iPod Play games of the holiday season.
Shining Force EXA
A re-imagining of the Shining Force series of tactical role playing games, this title combines elements of dungeon crawling with Fire Emblem style tactical warfare. In Shining Force EXA, a prince named Samuel is tasked with journeying to the seat of power of a warfaring empire and stopping their evil emperor from using the Obelisk Rune to unleash a terrible evil. Samuel must journey with his friends and recruit allies along the way, while battling across fields and through dungeons. Inbetween the actual battles, Samuel can venture into the realm, wandering through towns and fields in a top-down RPG style of gameplay. This can be done to look for treasures or recruit potential allies, while also being able to access side battles in this way. Many battles are conducted in dungeons themselves, with Max and his army exploring the dungeons in the midst of battle, walking on the grid as they fight their way through enemies in turn-based fashion, giving the game a unique perspective. The game has up to 68 storyline battles and over 200 side battles, giving Shining Force EXA a massive amount of content and making it one of the deepest games on the iPod Play. Reviews are good but not quite up to snuff with the other tactical RPGs of the holiday season, with reviewers criticizing the dungeon exploration and the repetitive side missions, but otherwise praising the game. The success of Shining Force EXA and other SRPGs on the iPod Play gives the handheld a reputation among fans as being a haven for quality SRPGs, a reputation it would maintain for the duration of its lifespan.
Multiplatform:
Carapace
Carapace is an adventure game about a group of explorers in a barbaric land who roam the landscape, slaying giant bugs. The game has similarities to OTL titles such as Darksiders, allowing players to upgrade the protagonist and buy weaponry inbetween exploring dungeons and slaughtering bugs. It's not a very long game, but the monster designs get some praise, as do the fairly unique weapons this game has to offer (including an ancient can of bug spray), and it's successful enough to get a sequel, selling slightly better on the iTwin than it does on the Xbox 2. It doesn't come to the Sapphire, but the sequel will.
Disavowed: Delirium
The latest game in the Disavowed series published by Acclaim, Disavowed: Delirium is the third main title in the series and continues the adventures of Kevin Straborg (no longer voiced by Triple H, who declined to reprise his role). Straborg is in the midst of completing his special mission, the one given to him by the president at the end of Disavowed: Blacksite, when he is gassed by a mysterious masked figure. Straborg overcomes the gas, but the side effects cause him to experience hallucinations, leaving the player unsure of what is real and what isn't as we slowly learn what Straborg's mission is over the course of the game. Disavowed: Delirium features next generation graphics and is one of Acclaim's best looking games to date, though it's not quite as polished looking as Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare. The game is still heavily reliant on melee combat, though it's a first person shooter at heart. It also sees the special “boss” mode from the first game's multiplayer return, where one player serves as a boss and can booby trap the level for other players, or send AI controlled enemies and even take control of one of them. The return of the popular mode, which is available for online play for up to 16 players, is very well received and one of the most welcome features of the new game. As for the plot itself, the player learns that Straborg's secret mission is to extract an old friend that Straborg once thought dead but was actually taken prisoner by a small rogue nation. However, an agent of this nation got to Straborg first, in an effort to turn him against his allies by poisoning his mind. It's up to Straborg's new handler, a former CIA operative named Fisk, to keep Straborg from losing his mind. Straborg's computer hacking friend Liza also appears from the previous game, and she too works hard to keep Straborg from forgetting who his real friends are. Straborg eventually overcomes the hallucinations and extracts his old friend from the rogue nation while helping to install a new leader there who will no longer pose a threat to the world. Disavowed: Delirium receives stronger critical praise than the previous game did, averaging in the low to high 8s. It keeps the series strong from a commercial standpoint as well, though it doesn't quite crack the top five new releases of October 2007 when it's released on the Xbox 2 (an eventual Sapphire release comes in 2008). Still, it's considered a success, and a new game is planned for either 2009 or 2010.
The Bank Job
The sequel to 2006's hit heist game The Casino Job, The Bank Job is about a gang of criminals putting a team together to rob a bank stuffed with over half a billion dollars in cash and precious metals. The first half of the game is about putting the team together, and the last half of the game is the execution of the robbery itself. This game began development even before the release of The Casino Job, with the intention of releasing it on the next generation consoles (and also the Wave). It's not fully optimized for the Xbox 2 and iTwin, so the graphics aren't quite up to snuff with other seventh generation games, but it still looks plenty good in HD. Like the previous game, it features a strong cast of famous voice actors, and has a stylized, cinematic motif to it that makes it look very slick. As for the game itself, reviews average in the low to mid 7s, somewhat lower than expected, though that doesn't affect the sales of the game too much: it sells about as many copies as The Casino Job did, and does especially well on the Xbox 2. A new installment of the series is planned for 2009 or 2010 to take proper advantage of the next gen hardware.
Mega Man 10
The iTwin and iPod Play both see this sidescrolling installment of the classic Mega Man series. Like TTL's Mega Man 9, the game features fully 3-D graphics while adapting the gameplay of the original games, resembling OTL's Mega Man 11. The big improvement on Mega Man 9 is the addition of a more complex storyline, with a new main antagonist (Dr. Wily still appears, but now he's working for Director Margrave, a mysterious purple-clad woman who runs a massive robotics corporation and is forcing Dr. Wily to build tech for them, Director Margrave herself is a cyborg whose body parts were replaced after an accident that Wily caused during one of his previous takeover attempts, so part of her motivation is revenge). Despite the positive reception given to the last game's Toronto-based voice cast, Mega Man 10 uses a cast of Los Angeles-based actors, with a more mature sounding Mega Man voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, Laura Bailey voicing Roll, Frank Welker taking over as the voices of Dr. Light and Dr. Wily, and Grey Delisle voicing Director Margrave. The game itself features the usual eight Robot Masters before going to Wily's lair, though now each of the Robot Masters has a bit of a backstory (they're still called things like Element Man and Gigaton Woman, but each of them was created initially as a non-combat robot by Margrave before her accident, and it was Wily who upgraded them with military weapons). In the end, Mega Man has to reluctantly save Wily from Margrave, who has gone completely off the deep end. After she is defeated, she chooses to self-destruct rather than see reason and find a new purpose in life, but surprisingly it's Dr. Wily who saves Mega Man from being caught in the explosion. Of course, Wily only does this because he wants to kill Mega Man himself, but it's a rare magnanimous gesture from the evil doctor. Mega Man 10 is positively received by critics, not quite to the degree of Mega Man Next 2 but still quite nicely, and sales are reasonably strong, especially during December, the month after its release. It does better on handheld platforms than it does on the iTwin, and becomes a popular iPhone game (though it absolutely requires a traditional controller attachment).
Pocket Wars 2
The sequel to 2005's massive hit game that crosses the collectible catch 'em gameplay style of Pokemon with the frantic multiplayer action of Bomberman, Pocket Wars 2 returns with a huge influx of new characters to battle with, over 200 in all, including Flippem, a fry cook with a huge spatula who can flip people into the air, Skudvar, a German rocker who launches missiles while jamming out, and Catlady, a cat-obsessed woman who throws cats at her enemies. This game is even wackier and zanier than the original, and with an animated series having just launched on Nickelodeon, it gets a ton of fandom hype as well. It's released for pretty much everything: the Wave, the Xbox 2, the iTwin, the Supernova, and all the Apple handheld platforms (and will even get an Android release eventually). Sales are strong on all platforms: it's one of the best selling games of a super crowded November 2007, though the split platform sales prevent any one version from reaching the top five for the month. Reviews are about the same as the first game, perhaps a bit better, averaging in the mid to upper 8s, and it's one of the biggest hits of the holiday season.
Red Assault
(Authors' Note: The following game idea was given to us by HonestAbe1809!)
Red Assault is a first person shooter that takes place in Alaska in the mid 1980s, and is somewhat of an homage to the film Red Dawn, in which a battalion of Soviet troops invade America, forcing a group of high schoolers to mount a resistance. In Red Assault, these troops invade just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a group of high schoolers are caught up as the town is quickly overrun. The game attempts to be a more “realistic” take on a Soviet invasion, having the troops maintain secrecy and not employ over the top tactics of villainy, but acting in a much more pragmatic manner. The heroes are more pragmatic as well: one of the game's first major conflicts results when an overly patriotic jock has to be removed from the rebellion's leadership by the other students to prevent him from drawing the attention of the invading troops. The main protagonist is a combat novice who is forced to learn how to conduct war operations on the fly, though he gets some help from another young man whose older brother has combat training. The game is HEAVILY stealth reliant, in fact, it's almost less of an FPS than it is a pure stealth game. This does harm it with some reviewers, though others praise the game's realism and unique mission structure. Ultimately, Red Assault becomes more of a cult classic than a hit in the age of over the top military shooters, but its fairly low budget ensures that it does make a profit, and there's a chance that it gets a sequel. It's released for the Xbox 2 initially, but comes to the Sapphire in late 2008.
Skate
An EA published skateboarding game intended for more hardcore fans, Skate is very similar to OTL's title, featuring a more realistic control system and a more barebones “plot”, instead focusing entirely on the skating. While this does lose attention from casual gamers, costing it some sales, it's quite popular with critics and garners comparisons to the White Mountain series of games for snowboarding. One reviewer says that “in a genre overcome by cookie cutter skating games and the latest adventures of the Thrillseekers girls, Skate is a breath of fresh air that returns the focus to where it belongs: the skateboarding”. The game isn't an absolute blockbuster but it is profitable, and would get at least one sequel. It's released for the Xbox 2, the iTwin, and eventually the Sapphire.
The Lord Of The Rings: Legends Of The Silmarillion
As the title would imply, this game is a Lord Of The Rings adventure game. It's an anthology title, featuring a variety of adventures from the Silmarillion companion book, focusing primarily on the Quenta Silmarillion and the Akallabeth, and allowing the player to play as characters such as Feanor and Isildur. The game plays much like the earlier Xbox Lord Of The Rings title, and can be seen as a spiritual successor, mostly in terms of graphics with the gameplay not really evolving save for the addition of some quick time events. For this reason, reviews are fairly middling, with the characters and gameplay being considered mediocre and the game lacking the magic of earlier Lord Of The Rings titles. Sales are a bit disappointing, both for the Xbox 2 and later Sapphire versions, and the game is largely forgotten by most series fans.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Doomsday
The latest game in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series of stealth/shooter titles sees Sam Fisher return once again, this time attempting to prevent a group of terrorist from launching simultaneous nuclear attacks on the United States, Russia, and China in an attempt to get the three countries to blame each other. Fisher believes that these terrorists are linked to a prominent military figure in one of the three countries, and must travel the world to root out the conspiracy before the terrorists can carry out their plans. The first Splinter Cell game designed with HD consoles in mind, this game sees major improvements in both graphics and in enemy AI, making stealth as intuitive as ever (and perhaps a bit too easy in the eyes of some reviewers). The plot actually has some fairly smart twists to make it more realistic, though this does have the effect of lowering the overall stakes toward the end of the game (rather than preventing the end of the world, Fisher ends up only having to prevent a single city from being nuked while most of the world's leaders are there... still high stakes but not quite as climactic as preventing World War III). Thanks to the improvements in graphics and AI, this game is better received than Chaos Theory, with reviews in the mid to high 8s. Sales are a bit lower than expected on both the iTwin and Xbox 2 versions, but the Sapphire version, released at that system's launch, does somewhat better, bringing overall sales up to an acceptable level. Though it's still not the major blockbuster franchise it once was, the Splinter Cell series is considered good enough for Ubisoft to keep around even as they trim down the scope of the Tom Clancy franchise to just a few games.
Avatar: Battle For The Earth Kingdom
Based on the hit animated TV series, Battle For The Earth Kingdom follows the events of season 2 of the show and even a bit of the start of season 3, since the Long Feng/Ba Sing Se storyline stretched into season 3 ITTL. At its heart, it's a fairly cookie cutter beat 'em up game, but it's done decently well, with cool cel shaded graphics and voice acting from the actual actors on the show. It sells well enough, though it's only released on the Wave and the iTwin.
Twin Cities 2
The sequel to 2005's hit open world game Twin Cities, Twin Cities 2 takes the series to high definition for the first time, debuting on the Xbox 2 and later being released on the Sapphire. It features a brand new protagonist as well, a small time drug runner from St. Paul named Lucas Crumm who rises through the ranks to become the biggest crime lord in all of the Twin Cities. Along the way, he has to deal with rival gangs, the police, and a corrupt businessman who runs most of the drug business in Minneapolis. The game features all the map locales from the previous game but expands upon the size of the city. It's a fairly large world to explore, though the game does sacrifice some graphical fidelity in order to achieve this. Considered to be a sort of “appetizer” before the release of Grand Theft Auto II in 2008, Twin Cities 2 was rushed heavily to beat that game to release and to make the holiday season. For that reason, it features numerous glitches that have to be patched out, and the game itself has some fairly lazy design choices that cause large stretches of the main storyline to be repetitive and boring. Reviews are still decent, averaging in the mid to high 7s due to the scope of the game and the fact that it's still fun most of the time, but it's clear that it isn't as good as the original was. Despite this, it sells well upon its release and becomes a bright spot for the Xbox 2 in the last month of the year. The Sapphire port has all of the glitches fixed and the first two DLC packs added in, and features significantly better graphics, making it a MUCH better version of the game (reviews for the Sapphire version average around a 9/10).
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is the sequel to 2006's Rayman Raving Rabbids, which was released for a multitude of platforms. The series is a spinoff of the popular Rayman games, and features the wacky Rabbids in all sorts of adventures. In this game, Rayman has to help the Rabbids fend off a threat to the island where Rayman moved them to at the end of the previous game. Of course, even as Rayman is helping the Rabbids, they're trying to help him... with mixed results. The game is even wackier and crazier than the last Rabbids game, though it also features a lot less platforming and more elements such as puzzles and minigames. It gets a mixed reaction from fans, but proves to be a success as a popular holiday title amongst younger players, especially on the iTwin.
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Top Selling New Console Games In North America (in terms of sales over the first four weeks of release):
October 2007:
1. Guitar Hero III (Apple iTwin)
2. Final Fantasy VII-2 (Game Boy Supernova)
3. Guitar Hero III (Microsoft Xbox 2)
4. Tony Hawk: Thrillseekers (Apple iTwin)
5. Tony Hawk: Thrillseekers (Nintendo Wave)
November 2007:
1. Sonic Duo (Apple iTwin)
2. The Covenant 3 (Microsoft Xbox 2)
3. Super Mario Dimensions 2 (Game Boy Supernova)
4. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (Microsoft Xbox 2)
5. Assassin's Creed (Microsoft Xbox 2)
December 2007:
1. Twin Cities 2 (Microsoft Xbox 2)
2. Aquila: Blue Sky (Apple iTwin)
3. Zodiac World Iris (Apple iTwin)
4. Lost In The Stars (iPod Play)
5. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Apple iTwin)