7 for '07 - Xbox 360

By: VGGEN Staff (Written by Andrew/Nick/Jared)

At this point, there’s little doubt that the PlayStation 2 was the clear winner of the last generation, beating out long-time champion Nintendo’s GameCube and newcomer Microsoft’s Xbox for the title. However, as we all know Microsoft is not a company to be easily deterred, and with their latest console, they look to claim the throne for themselves this time. Key to that plan, the Xbox 360 got a head start, plunging into the market a year before the other two consoles when all was said and done (the PS3, as you might remember, suffered delays, missing its mid-year launch in 2006). That fact alone, being the first next-gen console available to consumers, certainly seems to have helped the system, as even with only a handful of truly must-have games, it still managed to sell nearly ten million units last year.

However, now that the PS3 and Wii are both out on the market, this competition is really going to start heating up, and you better believe Microsoft is bringing it’s “A” game. In the PS3 section of this feature, we extol some of the games heading to Sony’s newest, but as great as those look, they are matched closely by the second wave of Xbox 360 titles. We got our first glimpse of this with the action shooter Gears of War late last year, followed shortly by the superhero sandbox title Crackdown, and soon we’ll be strumming along in a port of the PS2 hit Guitar Hero II...and neither of the latter two games (Gears of War wasn’t eligible of course) even made it on our list!

BioShock – The upcoming Xbox 360 (and PC) title BioShock may be one that sells it self solely on atmosphere, which is made more realistic than ever before thanks to the power of current video game consoles. A sort of spiritual successor to the System Shock series, this game sets you in the once-utopian, but now-desolate underwater city of Rapture, which is now home to a whole host of bizarre characters. In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, players got a chance to see a basic AI-driven world, with each character having its own 24/7 schedule. In BioShock, you won’t just see a community, but an entire ecosystem, with some inhabitants stopping at nothing to fulfill their purpose, even at the expense of others...something the player can exploit to their own benefit. Players can also alter their own bodies, enabling them to accomplish feats and reach areas they never could before.

With classic puzzles now going hand-in-hand with the new wave of emergent gameplay, BioShock seems set to not only bring back fans of Irrational Games’ past titles, but also welcome those who’ve never played them before into the fold of the company’s cult following.

Blue Dragon – To us westerners, Blue Dragon may seem like nothing more than your typical JRPG, but in Japan, it may be the game that single-handedly saved the Xbox 360 (or at least gave it a fighting chance), and its trip stateside deserves some recognition. After their village is attacked, a group of children unlock the power of unique shadow monsters, which they use to fight back against an evil villain bent on tormenting the world. If the game’s heroic cast seems familiar, that’s because Akira Toriyama, the manga-ka behind such hit series as Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Quest, designed them. Of course, that talent is only the tip of the iceberg – Blue Dragon is also one of the first games from Mistwalker, a new video game studio founded by Final Fantasy-creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. And if that doesn’t make RPG fans want to play it, then nothing will!

Fable 2 – When Fable first appeared on Xbox, it fell horribly short of what creator Peter Molyneux envisioned (and promised)...and yet, it was still one of the greatest games to hit the system. With the Xbox 360 follow-up, Molyneux is being very careful about the information he releases, not wanting to disappoint again...and yet, it still sounds like it is going to be one of the greatest games to hit the system. Key to Fable 2, as it was intended to be with the first one, is choice. Players can choose their level of involvement in the game, playing as a homeless adventurer, a real estate mogul, and everything in-between. They can choose their gender, their skill path, and whether they want to be good or evil, which, in turn will affect how their child grows up...if they even decide to have a family. We don’t yet know whether an acorn will grow into an oak tree, but if you plant the seeds of a good game, your fan base certainly will grow.

Forza Motorsport 2 – Forza was one of the late gems of the original Xbox. It took a realistic tuning approach to racing, and gave Xbox gamers a title that was in many ways superior to the PlayStation mainstay series Gran Tursimo. In addition to giving gamers the chance to tune and upgrade their cars as well as take them online, Forza provided a custom painting system that allowed players to make their cars truly unique.

Forza 2 is the anticipated sequel to this title, and represents the first truly realistic racing title (PGR3 was close) on the Xbox 360. Sporting crisp graphics and robust online features, Forza 2 is also bringing with it more of the original’s unique features. The physics engine has been updated, such as parts that fall off cars remaining on the track and damaging other cars. The 12 included tracks sport 65 configurations, and the game sports a vast library of car models and makes. The online integration through the official site (http://forzamotorsport.net/) looks to rival the one seen at Bungie.net. With its already deep experience and rich online options, Forza 2 may very well be the Halo 2 of racing titles.

If you're a fan of racing games or you're looking for something a bit more realistic than Project Gotham Racing 3, Forza 2 looks like it's going to deliver in a big way.

Grand Theft Auto IV – No matter how much Sony wants to deny it, getting Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360 the same day as the PlayStation 3 was a major coup for Microsoft. While returning game favorites like Mario and Link may keep the youngsters playing video games, the seasoned gamer is looking for a more grown-up experience too, and no game provides that better than Rockstar’s oh-so-influential franchise. Utilizing an all-new engine that Rockstar put to use in its recent Table Tennis game, Grand Theft Auto IV should get a much-needed improvement in graphics, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the rumored multiplayer component (which, so far, has only been realized on GTA’s PSP titles). Very little details are known about the setting or the story, but Rockstar has announced that each system will get its own episodic downloadable content, ensuring that GTA IV lives on well past the main game, and making it one of the top games to watch in 2007...for any console.

Halo 3 – when Microsoft launched the original Xbox back in 2001, it was more or less sold by the companion game Halo: Combat Evolved, a first-person shooter that many lauded as a killer-app. right out the door. Not wanting to let a good thing slip by, Microsoft naturally followed up with Halo 2, which, while still quite successful, was considered something of a letdown after the first game, especially with its open-ended, must-keep-the-franchise-alive ending. But when the third game in the series, the oh-so-creatively named Halo 3, releases later this year, it will be on Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox 360, and with that comes a number of improvements. The sheer power of the 360 ensures that we can see more competent enemy AI, a boost in graphics, and a more robust online feature set than we have seen in past Halo games. People of the world, this is your apology for Halo 2.

Mass Effect – Mass Effect is a new RPG from Bioware, the developers of Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Baldur's Gate series, and many other quality action and RPG titles. The company's RPG pedigree alone is enough reason to include Mass Effect on our list.

Even if Bioware's name wasn't attached to it though, it would still be one of the most promising games of 2007. Beyond the incredible graphics, you'll find yourself smack dab in the middle of a living, breathing galaxy. The game features a KOTOR-like dialog tree (fully voiced of course), where different responses impact the flow and outcome of the storyline. Your character will also progress over the course of the game in RPG-like fashion, gaining new abilities and statistics. Yet, actual combat looks to be an engaging mix of squad-based shooter tactics and RPG elements, more akin to Rainbow Six than Final Fantasy.

Our only concern is that the game may not actually arrive in 2007 (with a still TBD release date), particularly since it is such an ambitious project. However, the fact that we've already seen final box art for the game (sans ESRB rating) seems to suggest that Fall 2007 will be a great time to be an RPG fan.

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Posted: 03/24/2007