Feature: The 48 Best Games of 2008 (page 3 of 8)
34. Ninja Gaiden 2
X360 * TBA 2008
Why you should care: Everything old is new again when ninja extraordinaire Ryu Hayabusa expands his arsenal of weapons with weapons in a scythe and Wolverine-esque claws; travels to exotic locations such as New York and Venice; and improves upon his killing and maiming prowess by decapitating his foes or dismembering them. Tecmo's Team Ninja promises a 30-hour story mode and, thankfully, a less punishing check point system wherein, upon reaching one, Hayabusa's health will be at least partially restored.
Why you shouldn't: The game's mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki thinks too hard is far too easy for you.
33. Fracture
X360, PS3 * Summer 2008
Why you should care: This third-person shooter offers an interesting premise: a 23rd century civil war fought between factions who use either technology or biomodification to enhance their soldiers. You're a feisty young explosives expert who gets caught in the middle. Oh, and the kicker is that terrain-deforming grenades will turn the battlefield into a digital sandbox, creating huge pillars, deep sinkholes, or simply barricades. Early impressions from E3 also showed much promise, with sharp visuals and unusual weaponry like underground-burrowing rockets.
Why you shouldn't: Fracture may rely too heavily on its grenade gimmick, and not heavily enough on its gameplay or story.
32. Tom Clancy's EndWar
X360, PS3, PC * Feb. 2008
Why you should care: EndWar lets you build and customize an elite fighting unit and then drop it into one of 40 battlefields across the globe in an epic, real-time massively multiplayer strategy game. There will be six levels of experience and more than 150 different upgrades for individual units, proving definitively that war (or at least video game war) is not always hell. Plus, it's got advanced voice-only controls. The future is now!
Why you shouldn't: You'll probably be playing one of 10 other war games with a similarly apocalyptic theme.
31. Gran Turismo 5
PS3 * TBA 2008
Why you should care: Because the free demo of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is already available online and absolutely amazing. The Gran Turismo games are famous for their laser focus on pixel-perfect visual realism and agonizingly authentic racing simulation. If you like your cars fast and realistic, GT5 is the game you've been waiting for. New to this installment are huge races and massive racetracks (including the Daytona Speedway, a long-requested addition), online play and a car-centric community tools, and a slick YouTube-style video channel called "GT TV."
Why you shouldn't: If you don't live, breathe, and eat automobiles, you should probably run screaming from any Gran Turismo game.
30. Metal Gear Online
PS3 * TBA 2008
Why you should care: Well, it's Metal Gear, and it's online. But far from being a crass cash-in on the Metal Gear Solid 4 gravy train, MGO appears to be a rather ambitious attempt by Kojima Productions to create a team shooter with all the cardboard box-scurrying and tranquilizer dart-firing influences of the slinky single-player classics. So far, so good: MGO plays nice and tense, just the way Gears of War fans would want it.
Why you shouldn't: Aiming felt a bit wonky and oversensitive at TGS. But hey, they've got time.
29. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii * Feb. 2008
Why you should care: Brawling has never been less serious, and it is most certainly good. Where else will you be able to pit your Mario against your sap of a friend's Sonic the Hedgehog, another drippy pal's Pikachu, and someone else's Solid Snake? This lighthearted fighting game features a host of cool Nintendo-themed environments, offers great powerups, excellent weaponry (you can whack foes with Solid Snake's cardboard box), and online play via Nintendo's WiFi Connection.
Why you shouldn't: Wait until the giant Nintendog appears on screen, almost wholly obscuring the gameplay. Whose lame idea was that?
28. Infamous
PS3 * TBA 2008
Why you should care: You could be heroes in this third-person adventure. Or you could be a really bad guy. Developer Sucker Punch will give you the opportunity to gain great superhuman abilities such as flight, electrical manipulation, and telekinesis. Once you've become powerful, you can take to heart the words of Uncle Ben Parker ("with great power...") or you can start talking about yourself in the third-person like Dr. Doom while trying to rule the world. You decide.
Why you shouldn't: This one is a long ways off...2008 is probably a pipe dream.
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