(4) Big games that came out this time last year include The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Rock Band, and Mass Effect. How does last year's big holiday lineup compare to this year's?
Every year is the best year in gaming. We never think it's going to get any better but it almost always does. Gears of War 2, LittleBigPlanet, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space ... the list goes on. This year is impressive because of the amount of new IP's we've been introduced to. Many people are already throwing their hands in the air thinking it can't get better than this ... it will, but let's hope Winter 09 is just as creative as 2008.
This is actually a really tough question. Last year was a great holiday season for gaming, as is this year. The Orange Box was my personal favourite from last year, since Rock Band didn't hit Europe until Spring this year. But this holiday has a great selection that can keep me busy for ages. Last year, I didn't worry about how I was going to buy all the games I want, yet I am doing just that this year. So this year has the better holiday lineup in my eyes. Damn you lack of money!
I think this years blows it away. Why? Because not only are we getting solid sequels like Gears 2, Resistance 2, Fable 2, and Fallout 3. There's a ton of solid original games like LittleBigPlanet, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, and Mirror's Edge.
This year's line-up is definitely bigger, badder, and more badass (yeah, I stole that one from somewhere). It's heavy with sequels, for sure, but they're all high profile, triple-A titles: Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, Fable II, Call of Duty: World at War, sequels to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. But there's a fair amount of exciting original IP out there, too. I think a lot of people are getting amped up about Left 4 Dead and Mirror's Edge after having played the demos. It'll be interesting to see how much consumers spend on games this year, and how much of that money will go towards fresh and unproven franchises.
Last year's holiday lineup was one of the best in recent history. Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3, Rock Band 2, Resistance 2 are great games, but they don't make up the same united front of aweomeness as last year's games.
This year actually stacks up pretty well. We have some potentially groundbreaking titles like Mirror's Edge, the usual FPS fodder that hits around now, and some classic franchises seeing sequels. With that said, I think The Orange Box (Portal mostly) and Super Mario Galaxy beat out the AAA competition from this year. I'm not saying knocking the quality of this year's big titles...just saying that last gets my tip of the hat.
One notable difference is there is no huge Nintendo product that is out right now compared to Super Mario Galaxy last year. And no, I don't consider bobbing around while music automatically plays a video game. I know I've probably said it every year around this time, but I feel more excited about this year's holiday game line-up than I did the previous year. Gears of War 2, Saint's Row 2, Mirror's Edge, Call of Duty: World at War, Left 4 Dead, Fable II, Fallout 3... I could seriously continue naming big name games for another 10 minutes.
This year may not have any unstoppable tentpole releases; however, what it lacks in major starpower, it more than makes up for in sheer numbers. There's a density of releases this year – perhaps because of a lack of Halo 3s - that again makes me consider the wisdom of Capcom's Q1-heavy release schedule. Lost Planet? Success. Devil May Cry 4? Success. Resident Evil 5 next March? We both know ...
Not as good. Last year was better. There are more games that came out in the back half of 2007 that I still think about in 2008 than I think there are second-half 2008 games I'll be thinking about in 2009.
This year's holiday lineup stacks up pretty favorably. From innovative games like LittleBigPlanet and Spore to highly polished games like Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead, 2008 can hold its head high whenever its older brother walks into the room.
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