Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2008

2007 gets a lot of credit for having more amazing games come out than in any other calendar year in recent memory, and with great titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, God of War II, Portal, and on and on, it's absolutely true. But don't sell 2008 short! We've already seen some terrific games like Professor Layton, Burnout Paradise, and Super Smash Bros Brawl released this year, and in the next 9 months we're due for a ton more.

Here are the 10 games I'm most looking forward to this year.



10. Boom Blox (Wii)
Even if we forget about Steven Spielberg's involvement for a minute, and considering he's been responsible for some of the most wildly fun and enduring movies of the last century maybe we shouldn't, the videos we've seen so far stand on their own. I'm a big fan of unrestrained chaos in my games, and throwing blocks at other blocks to make them explode is my idea of a good time. As long as they don't put in too many artificial fun restraints (I'm looking at you Elebits) I think Boom Blox will be --sorry-- a blast!



9. A Vampyre Story (PC)
A bunch of the people who used to make adventure games for LucasArts (including Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and The Curse of Monkey Island, both some of my all-time favorites) got together to start their own company called Autumn Moon Entertainment. I got my first computer at the tender age of twelve for the sole purpose of playing Sierra and LucasArts adventure games, and they left an indelible impression on me. If Vampyre is half as good as some of their past successes, it'll be well worth playing.



8. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
I don't really know much about this game except for some of the videos I've seen, and the fact that a dozen journalists have come out of various press events declaring it the single game this year they're most excited to play. It looks simply beautiful, and we don't get nearly enough 2D platform games these days outside of handhelds and downloadable titles, so the idea of one being a AAA retail release with a big budget is enough to get my attention.



7. Lego Indiana Jones (Xbox 360)
I enjoyed the Lego Star Wars games well enough, but given I have a lukewarm impression at best of the Star Wars movies didn't win the titles any favors. On the other hand, I worship Indiana Jones, so if this game has similar gameplay and fan service to the Star Wars edition it'll be right up my alley.



6. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One (XBLA)
Besides the title, which is almost cool enough to deserve a place on this list by itself, I'm a big fan of the guys at Penny Arcade. Their comics are consistently the best game-related humor on the Internet, and their podcasts (I've listened to every episode) reveal them to be even funnier than their comics, and incredibly smart. On a recent podcast posted on their new Greenhouse site, Jerry (the writer) talked about writing a unique textual description for each of the 14 crabs in one scene so players would have enough to click on. That's my kind of adventure game!



5. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
Is any explanation needed? It's Mario Kart we're talking about here. Sure, it spawned an entire genre of horrible knock-offs, yet somehow Nintendo still manages to make each iteration fresh and exciting. The last Kart game for the DS was wonderful, and with the motion controls for steering, this one could be even better. I'm one of the few people who really loved Excite Truck, so I've got high hopes for this title.



4. Brütal Legend (Xbox 360)
I know virtually nothing about this one, and I have no interest at all in heavy metal. But who cares? It's Tim Schafer. He made Grim Fandango and Psychonauts. The man is a genius and everything he touches turns to gold. He could make a game about underwater basket weaving and I'd buy it.



3. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)
If I don't know much about Brütal Legend, I know even less about Fallout 3. All I need to know is five words: Same dudes who made Oblivion. I don't even like RPGs, but I spent more hours playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion than any other game I've ever played, and I experienced emotions I never thought a game could induce in a player. These guys have a free pass with me.



2. Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBLA)
A downloadable remake of an old NES game at #2? Yup! Back when it was first released, Bionic Commando took hold of my young mind in a way nothing else had ever done. I filled pages and pages of notebooks with sketches of bionic soldiers at war with Hitler's army (even at that age, I knew it was Hitler -- who did they think they were fooling?). I'll be getting this the day it comes out.



1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)
I may have spent more hours playing Oblivion than any other single game, but even those hours pale in comparison to what I've invested in the GTAIII trilogy. And that's another thing, something that blew my mind when I first heard about GTAIV, if Vice City and San Andreas were only extensions of GTAIII, then how big a step forward does GTAIV have to be to earn that new number? GTA has always had the best story, the best action set pieces, the best gameplay, the best side quests, and the best unpredictable chaos of any game series around. Hell, even the talk radio is better written than virtually any other action game out there. I guess this is a predictable choice, but that's because GTA is one of the most beloved series ever made. They've earned this spot, for sure.

Did I miss anything? Let me know!