SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND: FINISH THOSE GAMES!
E3 is over, and my feedreader, Twitter-stream and pub conversations have, at long last, all calmed down from their temporary frenetic haze of hype and speculation. As usual with the industry’s tentpole conferences, there’s always far too much to take in, far too big a glut of announcements, and at least as many announcements of returning franchises as new IP.
Yes, I dropped the F-bomb. Franchise is such an unpleasant word; it signals the point where a game becomes a business, where annual or biannual updates are guaranteed until the title is unpopular, and where the return on your investment is likely to decrease between each successive installment.
Or does it? Much as the F-word makes me nauseous, many of my favourite games end in a number. There’s nothing wrong with a good sequel, just as long as it is a genuinely good sequel. And lots of the suffixed titles shown off this year looked jolly good.
The footage we’ve seen of Modern Warfare 2 (above) once again proves that, when it comes to pacing and technical perfection, Infinity Ward really know their stuff. I’m quite excited by what’s been shown of Bioware’s Mass Effect 2, both in terms of where they’re taking the narrative tone and the tweaks and enhancements being applied throughout the game’s mechanics.
I’m trusting Valve in their decision to make the already high-up-my-list Left 4 Dead 2 a stand-alone title in its own right. I’m even, dare I say foolishly, somewhat interested in the spectacular (yet potentially dull) Assassin’s Creed 2 (above). And I don’t think there’s anyone that won’t relish the chance to return to all those beautiful planetoids in Super Mario Galaxy 2, especially now there’s a dinosaur companion to enjoy them with.
Looking down that list serves a purpose other than tiding me over the quiet summer months and starting to write my Christmas list, though. It also reminds me of how many games on my shelves aren’t finished.
And so that’s my plan for the weekend, and indeed the coming weeks: triaging the stack, and Finishing Some Games. I’ve returned to Mass Effect, having cleared the horrible difficulty spike that is Matriarch Benezia, and am looking forward to wrapping the adventure up, my savegame ready to be imported into the sequel come next year. I’m slowly pushing on with my plan to get my regular cohorts into Advanced campaigns on Left 4 Dead, and maybe – just maybe – survive one without dropping the difficulty level.
And, having just acquired a Wii, I’m stepping into the majesty of Super Mario Galaxy for the first time. What a game! It charms and thrills in equal measure, and whilst I may be collecting stars for the first time, I’m sure many of you still haven’t collected all 120. If not, now’s the time to fire it up again and remember what that wonderful world feels like.
And then, when all my games are wrapped up (as if that will ever happen), I’ll be ready – dare I say it, even deserving – of the treats to come in the Autumn and beyond. What’s on your unfinished stack, Offworlders, and what are you going to be finishing up this weekend?
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