General Gaming DiscussionUse this section to discuss all things relating to PC gaming, including games that are coming soon, released games & classic gaming and also post here for general mmorpg chat that is not covered by an individual mmorpg section.
Well 2003 is now behind us, and it was quite a successful year for gaming with some nice games being released, but that's all in the past now and all eye's are now glancing towards 2004.
Looking at what we can expect from the big names, it looks like this could be one of the best years for gaming since the arrival of the first Playstation. I'm sure there will be a few surprises along the way as well. Below will be my top picks for the upcoming year.
Sony will be looking to keep up the dominancy of the PS2 with the release of some key titles.
Driv3r (Driver 3 to you "non - leet") Perhaps the game that laid the way for "gta" series. The first two were big hits and the third instalment looks set to carry on the tradition. Boasting better graphics, more cars and amazing realism this will be up there as one of the best games of the year for the PS2.
Final Fantasy X-2 For the first time ever a Final Fantasy game gets a direct sequel. FFX-2 sees Yuna (our beloved summoner) begin a new "story". Expect lots of nice new visuals, new characters and perhaps the most startling, lots of dancing and costume changes.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Don't let the glamorous name fool you (ok I lied, it's not that glamorous). MGS3 will once again see you take control of Solid Snake with brand new moves and weapons at his disposal, as well as updated AI to keep you challenged, we can't wait for this.
Gran Turismo 4 No doubt the greatest driving game ever to grace the planet, Gran Turismo was a massive hit and has engraved its name into the one of the all time legends of gaming. Not much to live up to is it? Well by the looks of it, Gran Turismo 4 will do just that. The graphics are stunning proving the PS2 still has what it takes to keep up with its competition. A huge range of cars is expected. Fancy impressing the ladies by cornering at 180Mph in a Ferrari? or perhaps you'd prefer the more secret agent look of an Austin Martin? Driving fan or not, I order you to check this game out when it's released.
Nintendo will be hoping to close the gap between the GameCube and the Microsoft Xbox. Excellent sales of the festive period will have the guys in Nintendo HQ, quite comfortable that this will be done, and at a look at some of their line up I can’t see why not.
Resident Evil 4 The game will take place in Umbrella's main facilities in France and Resident Evil 2's very own heart throb Leon Kennedy(c’mon, he’d be great in Eastenders…ok maybe not) is set to make another appearance. Anyway, not much is known about this title except it is pencilled in for sometime in 2004, although as of late rumours are lingering around the internet that the game may slip (let’s hope not!!) although we do know they are only rumours (nice and calm, ahhh breathe in, breathe out and relax.) Whenever it’s released it will sure to be a big hit among the Resident Evil fan base, and to new comers of the series as well. Graphics wise it looks really nice, very scary, and will probably contain a few brown trouser moments. Be sure to check out the official trailer to see what I mean.
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Finally the FF series comes home onto a Nintendo system. Crystal Chronicles is set to be a big hit amongst GameCube owners, and will surely push the sales of the console even more. Not only will the game offer some serious single player action, but a multiplayer mode will be included where you can play with up to three other players to unlock new items, and events and so forth.
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes Ahhh the memories of when the first Metal Gear Solid was released those many years ago. Now we get the chance to play it with vastly improved graphics, better control, and a brand new first person shooter mode for boss fights and to top it of all the audio has been re-recorded by the original cast. Can’t wait? Neither can I.
Microsoft has had a bit of a bumpy ride since first releasing the Xbox. During 2004 we should see them steady themselves a bit with some nice looking games.
Doom III Yup, you read it correct. Doom III, one of the best loved first person shooters will make its appearance on the console, which will no doubt be seen as a great delight to the current Xbox user base. It’s been a long time since Doom II was released, and now Doom III seems set to pick up where it left of. Amazing game play accompanied by superb graphics, no doubt this game will be looking to challenge some of the other first person shooters which have made their way onto the rival consoles.
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Splinter Cell took the world by storm when it arrived taking the stealthy based games to the next step. In “Pandora Tomorrow” the main focus will be on online modes. No doubt Xbox live will be behind this in some form of another, the bottom line is, you’ll be able to team up with fellow NSA agents from around the globe to complete your mission at hand. The story line will be somewhat along the lines of “NSA > new types of infiltration > group infiltration”, that’s basically it, well in a nut shell anyway. So when one job is too much for one man, what do you do? Bring in a whole squad of men, I like it!!
Halo 2 Many regard it as the best Xbox title to date, some of you will probably agree with it. Not only will Halo 2 improve on the single player side of things, the multiplayer aspect of things is looking like it will only be getting better (oh yeah!!!) New weapons and vehicles are set to be included, what more could you ask for? This may well be the title worth getting an Xbox for, (there, I said it.)
Some of the hottest games to date are on PC and with developers now seeing the power of internet gaming, more and more games are heading for the PC.
Half Life 2 Despite a number of set backs, Half Life 2 is looking like it could be the game of the year. Not only do we know the single player mode will be amazing, but multiplayer wise it looks like we are in for a treat. Who can forget the “mods” that spawned from the original Half Life? Throw in some amazing graphics and some cool characters and let’s not forget the weapons, Defiantly one game every PC owner should not be without, that is if your PC will run it of course.
Hitman contracts Being a fan of the first to instalments of the Hitman franchise, I can’t wait for this one. A better control system is on the cards not to mention more freedom in the way you can perform your kills. The AI is also getting an upgrade so be ready for a tough time taking down your new contracted victim.
Doom 3 Lock and load baby! Not to take anything away from the Xbox, but the PC version of the game should kick some major ass! The homepage for the game (http://www.doom3.com/) scares me enough as it is, let alone what the actual game will be like. March 26th 2004, Pencil it into your diary’s now.
Rome: Total War As if Medieval total war wasn’t enough, this next chapter of the Total War series is looking bloody marvellous. Just looking at the screenshots makes my water, and small puddles of slobber are starting to form as I type. Take command of the mighty Roman empire in stunning 3D graphics. Like the rest of the total war series you can expect some epic battles. Archers take aim, ready, fire!, Legionary’s charge!!!
Well there’s my hot picks for the year, there’ll be a few other great games released I’m sure of it, but these will be the games that make it onto my shelve this year.
I can't ****ing wait for half life 2 and Rome total war, both sequels of my fave games and they're guaran-damn-teed to be awesome.
Also very much looking forward to doom 3
And splinter cell... i really hope it comes to game cube. They say the multiplayer can be split screen, which would be ****ing awesome. Imagine one of you distracting the guards while the other sneaks in the back door, then infiltrates the building while your partner disposes of the guards he lured one by one, then you find a rope or something and lower it down to your mate to get in from the roof... argh i can't wait lol
2004: Forge's picks
Linear Mode
