Coming Soon

I swear, good media comes in waves. More specifically these waves seem to skip years. Whether it's music, movies, or games it seems that while one year you get a bunch of duds, the next you get non-stop hits. 2010 was very much a year of duds or at the very least it was a year of mediocrity. In music and film to be sure and to a lesser degree games, I found myself being underwhelmed more often than not in 2010. 2011 so far is giving a lot more to get excited about. Sure, movies are still unfortunately not meeting anyone's expectations, but I find myself less anticipatory in general of upcoming films. Half the time I'm not aware until just before release that there is something I'm going to want to see in the theater. Such is the nature of my relationship to film and the marketing reality of the films I tend of get excited about. Music is another thing altogether, with 2011 already having produced a couple fairly high profile (in indie circles at least) successes with The Decemberists' latest release The King is Dead and Bright Eyes up coming The People's Key. Both albums are incredibly solid efforts from bands that have both thrilled and disappointed me in the past. Still to come is the 2nd full-length from Rival Schools, 7 years removed from their debut United by Fate. Protest the Hero will be releasing their 3rd full-length in a couple months as well and it looks like there is a new Mountain Goats LP on the horizon too. Altogether it's not a bad start to the year, but what about games.

I tend to get less excited about upcoming games than one might think. Since games are not just my hobby, but my livelihood, my tastes tend to be not so much refined as picky. I'm a great deal more critical of games then I am other forms of media and even with sequels to franchises I already enjoy, I tend to be reserved in my enthusiasm before I actually get my hands on a game. Contrary to this behavior There are several upcoming titles that I am very much looking forward to:

Bulletstorm
If Paul Verhoeven made a video game, this would be it. Why? For all intents and purposes this looks to be an FPS satire that (like Verhoeven's films) is also a damn good game in it's own right. Developed by Epic, everything I've seen of this game since first laying eyes on it in an EA marketing meeting last year, just screams tongue in cheek, un-adulterated, over the top action that is both parody and homage to modern action gaming. It should be a fun ride.

Crysis 2
The first Crysis game is exactly the type of experience that Bulletstorm looks to parody and the second shows no signs of backing down from the hollywood-style action of the first. The first game was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Like a good summer blockbuster, Crysis was a thrill ride from start to finish. The story is nothing special and neither is the voice (and in game character) acting, but the game play is solid and it does a great job of keeping you glued to the screen. By constantly building the narrative tension, by introducing new elements just on the edge of what you expect, Crysis keeps you moving forward until you're caught up in the whirlwind experience of the game's climax. Crysis 2 looks to provide the same cinematic action at much the same high quality level I've come to expect from Cevat Yerli's crew.

Dragon Age 2
Sure, I get a free copy for working at BioWare, but even if I didn't I'd be eagerly anticipating this title. I know people were initially concerned about the shift towards a more action-oriented combat and a static (as opposed to player-created) main character and I can't blame them, but what has evolved looks like an exciting hybrid of  Mass Effect and the first Dragon Age and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The Dragon Age universe is an interesting place to play and with Dragon Age 2's story spanning 10 years and multiple protagonists, I'm very much looking forward to diving into that realm again.

Portal 2
I didn't think Valve could outdo Portal 1, in fact I have a note somewhere from last year to write a blog about how Portal 2 will never be as good as Portal 1. The first game relied so much on the unexpected in creating the mythos that made Portal not just a fun game, but an incredibly compelling experience that took the industry by storm. How can Portal 2, with the secrets of Aperture Science having already been laid bare still manage to create as compelling an experience? Well I can't speak for the "story", but everything I've seen of the game play for Portal 2 certainly has me compelled. If Valve have upped (or at least found a way) to maintain the compelling nature of the story in Portal 2 as much as it seems to have done with the game play, then this is an experience I'm very much looking forward to.

And that's just the beginning of the year. Dead Space 2 is already out and amazing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is looming somewhere on the horizon, Elder Scrolls V and Mass Effect 3 are slated for the end of the year, and there's still The Last Guardian, L.A. Noire and a bunch of indie releases still to come as well. Of course this can only mean one thing: next year is going to be pretty mediocre as far as games go, but right about now I don't care. It's been a while since I've had games who's releases I crave and in addition to everything else coming in movies, music, and elsewhere, I'm looking forward to a great time with some hot games in 2011.

Posted from my laptop @ Spiderhouse