Drunken Gamers: Episode VIII (2004 Preview Pt. 2)

We’re back and we’re sober once again this week to bring you part two of our Most Anticipated Games of 2004. Last week we listed off the first ten games that make our livers quiver with antici…

…pation, and this week we’ll bring you ten more. As stated last week, we know how you gamers love to get your undies in a knot, so be warned that your favorite franchise or game may not be on our list. We only have so much time.

And now, the games!

Neo Contra Developer: Konami Platform: PlayStation 2 Release Date: November We were itchy in the britches when the stellar Contra: Shattered Soldier was released and brought the series back to the quality and sheer difficulty the original arcade masterpieces were known for. After the game had its way with us and we were left lying on the floor in pain, all we could utter was, “Thank you Konami, may we have another?” Just this month, Konami answered our masochistic prayers by announcing Neo Contra, the second PS2 Contra game. But before we could get the “Whoopie!!!” out of our mouths, they followed up the announcement by divulging that the game would be in 3D. Appaloosa had conditioned us to believe that Contra and three dimensions do not go together. Ok, so Konami is not Appaloosa and they did an admirable job with the 3D experiment that was Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Even more importantly, the developers of Contra III, Contra: Hard Corps, and Contra: Shattered Soldier will once again be at the helm for Neo Contra. The game will feature lock-on weapons and the traditional spread, flame, and machine guns. Absent will be the jump button, supposedly allowing gamers to concentrate on the action. Another surprise will be the addition of a samurai character named Genbei Jaguer Yagyu. What the hell is a samurai doing in Contra? We can’t wait to find out.

Metal Slug 3 Developer: SNK Platform: PlayStation 2 Release Date: 9/15 Ok, so we like shooters. Scratch that. We love shooters. Next to Contra, there is hardly a shooter game that we can recommend more than the Metal Slug series. SNK’s Metal Slug series represents the top of the line in gun-toting shooter action. Until Metal Slug X for the PSone, the only Metal Slug action American gamers were privy to was to be found either in arcades or the uber-expensive Neo Geo home arcade console. Luckily, the newly formed SNK Neo Geo USA has seen fit to bring us not only this arcade perfect blaster, but also a handheld version on the Game Boy Advance in April and Metal Slug 4 on PS2 next year. What can you expect from Metal Slug 3? Frenetic, arcade-style shooting action with a healthy dose of humor and cartoon-y personality. It rarely gets better than this.

Resident Evil 4 Developer: Capcom Platform: GameCube Release Date: 2004 At the head of the Capcom “Big 5” for GameCube was Resident Evil 4. No one, including us, ever expected the series to become exclusive to Nintendo’s purple box, but after playing the remake of the first Resident Evil, we were glad they did. Leon S. Kennedy returns and infiltrates Umbrella’s European headquarters and discovers – surprise, surprise – more experiments in genetic mutation. With what already appears to be some of the most incredible visuals yet on the Cube, RE4 looks to finally breathe some fresh air into the stagnant series. Yes, the game will finally take place in true 3D. No more rendered backgrounds. Could this mean no more clumsy Resident Evil controls? Let’s hope.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Developer: Ubi Soft Platform: Multi Release Date: 3/16 Released in 2002, the first Splinter Cell brought stealth combat to a new level, and threatened the territory claimed by Konami’s Metal Gear Solid series. The game’s revolutionary use of lighting and gadgets convincingly brought international espionage into living rooms everywhere. With the strangely titled sequel, Ubi Soft brings back Sam Fisher to once again bring down terrorists and foil a potentially catastrophic plot, all without leaving a trace. Sam will once again have all the tools of a secret covert operative at his disposal, including the popular thermal vision goggles. However, the most significant upgrade will be the multiplayer mode, which divides players into spies and mercenaries. Bring it!

Half Life 2 Developer: Valve Software Platform: Xbox Release Date: Who the hell knows? We don’t know of anyone on the planet that played the original Half-Life and didn’t come away loving it. This PC shooter set the standard with an engrossing story, great gameplay and one of the few PC to console conversions that managed to dot he original justice. Gathering Game of the Year awards from just about every major gaming publication on the planet, it goes without saying that the sequel has much to live up to. As we staggered around the floor of E3 this past year, little did we know that our minds were about to be collectively blown by the folks at Valve with their Half-Life 2 demo. Boasting (and showing) their new “Source” technology, the new look of the game had the floor buzzing. With powerful new physics and an all new story featuring Gordon Freeman, we couldn’t get enough. Staying mum on the storyline details of the new game (other than a location of City 17), Valve did give a September, 2003 release date at the conference. With the theft of it’s source code earlier this year, the release of this high profile game is now as much a mystery as the story. Even so, we can’t wait to get our hands on the crowbar one more time as we take Gordon on another fantastic adventure.

Metroid Prime 2 Developer: Retro Studios Platform: GameCube Release Date: TBA We don’t know much about this game, other than what was briefly shown at E3 this year (and now all over the net). We DO however know that this game is on our must have list with the heartfelt hope that it will grace us with its presence in 2004. Rumors abound as to what direction the story will take, but none of it has been authenticated by the powers that be at Nintendo, so we won’t speculate here. One rumor that does have some teeth behind it, however, is the one stating that the new game may have a multiplayer component. Giving you the option to play as a space pirate or a Metroid would kick all the ass. That’s what I’m saying. ALL the ass. Staying pretty true to graphical form, one can only assume the gameplay will stay intact. And with the recent addition of Metroid Zero Mission and its homage to the first installment, one can’t help but wonder if Retro won’t head back into the mythos a little and give us a whole new look at the past. Good times indeed, my space faring friends. Good times indeed.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Developer: Konomi Platform: PS2 Release Date: TBA Words can’t describe how we feel about this game. A little excited, a little nervous, a little curious about how much crack the folks in Hideo Kojima’s studio are smoking. With some stellar graphics and a whole new outdoor environment to play in, the small demo at E3 took the floor by storm. Eating snakes, blending into the jungle with your new camo patterns and whole new algorithms for moving plants has us as giddy as school girls. Kojima, of course, is as closed mouthed as any Bush aid when asked about Iraqi war intelligence. So, as the net folk are wont to do, rumors abound as to the direction the story will take. Many have speculated that the story will feature Big Boss in an adventure that takes place during the Cold War. Such has been slyly hinted at by Kojima himself, but we’ve been fooled before. We once believed that a game with Solid Snake as the lead would feature Solid Snake as a fully playable character. How silly of us not to know that we’d be playing as dickless blond boy Raiden in a talking heads game. We’re hoping we can get some hands on time with this game soon. And we’re praying every day that Kojima stays off the sauce. You should be too. You all played the last game. You should be too.

Fable Developer: Big Blue Box Platform: Xbox Release Date: 6/1 Far be it from us to not be excited about anything coming from a big blue box, but Fable has been on our radar screens for some time now. We know it’s been on yours too by the postings on every message board on the net. From excitement at the high concept idea of bringing the best parts of modern RPG’s together into a cohesive whole to rage at the fact that we can’t play it yet, Fable is net rumor kindling. With time passing and your character aging before you eyes, it’s a geeks wet dream. We’re excited by the idea that your character can marry, have children and subtly travel a path that can lead to grey as well as black and white. No RPG has married the idea of full choice and flexibility as Fable and we’re hoping it works. We’re also hoping we get to play it soon.

Gran Turismo 4 Developer: Polyphony Digital Platform: PS2 Release Date: 6/30 Just graduating from college left us curious about were life would lead us. But we weren’t too concerned about it as we were too busy playing the original Gran Turismo and having our minds blown by a game that could recreate racing at such a high level. Years later, we’re still feeling that feeling as we try out each new installment created by Polyphony Digital. We had a chance to get some hands on playtime with this game at E3 and all the old feelings are coming back again. Structured more like GT2 with the idea of having every damn car imaginable put onto disc, the game will be as big and in depth as you can get. Physics take center stage as usual and a whole new level of graphical polish has been added to an already impressive look. Pushing the PS2 hardware to the limit has this game looking to keep its place as king of the simulation racer. If that wasn’t enough to get our mouths watering, the idea of playing this great game online has us jumping around like hyperactive children. Just the game to really kick off the PS2 in the online department after a losing war with Xbox Live, we’re excited as hell to get in the drivers seat of GT4. Who needs social lives?

Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose Developer: Monolith Soft Platform: PlayStation 2 Release Date: TBA Gutentag! The first Xenosaga for PS2 was an epic RPG unlike any other. The game’s most notorious features were the animated cut-scenes that ranged up to fifty minutes in length. Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose (that’s Beyond Good and Evil to those not familiar with the German philosopher Nietzsche) will still contain more movie scenes than your average RPG, but we’re promised that they won’t approach the 50-minute length that a couple in Episode I did. For fans of the first game, however, probably don’t care about that nearly as much as what is in store for Episode II’s storyline. Jenseits von Gut und Bose continues the saga right where Der Wille zur Macht left us all scratching our heads and running to our computers to learn everything we could on Gnosticism. (You know who you are.) Without spoiling too much of the first game, you finally land on Second Miltia in Episode II, and throughout most of the game, learn all about the mysterious events surrounding the Miltian Conflict, a war that occurred 14 years before the start of Episode I. This war, which is oh-so vaguely alluded to a number of times in Episode I, has a crucial role in Xenosaga’s storyline. The already multilayered plot is about to get a few more layers added onto it, and hopefully, answer some of Episode I’s more burning questions at same time. For those with the perseverance to plow through Episode I, Episode II will certainly be another meaty treat.

Psychonauts Developer: Double Fine Productions Platform: Xbox Release Date: November A game that took us by complete surprise at E3 2003, Psychonauts tells the tale of a boy named Raz, a young boy raised in a circus. Developing both acrobatic and psychic abilities thanks to the presence of fortune tellers and big-top performers at the circus, he is invited to join the Psychonauts program - basically, a summer camp for future secret agents with psychic powers. As he progresses through the game, Raz will be able to learn and develop new psychic powers that seem ripped from the comic books. From levitation, astral projection, clairvoyance and telekinesis to more specific abilities made up for the game, Raz will have a full complement of abilities by the time he graduates, all of which will provide many unique solutions to some potentially baffling puzzles. While this may be Double Fine Productions’ inaugural title, the amount of creative energy behind the project and the sheer thought of how that’s going to translate into gameplay in 2003 has got the GWX offices buzzing. Stay tuned for more as the game nears completion.