It’s the beginning of a new year, and with the new year comes several highly anticipated video games. Perhaps one of these games might catch your fancy and maybe even prove to be romantic in its own way.
Aliens: Colonial Marines (February 12)-Doesn’t this just scream “romantic”? Or, if you’re like me, Alien will just leave you screaming. “Colonial Marines” has been one of the most anticipated games of 2013, as its story is a direct sequel to James Cameron’s “Aliens.” The story takes place on the same planet, LV-426, and centers on Corporal Christopher Winters, a member of a group of marines who are sent on a search and rescue mission to find Ellen Ripley and the other marines who accompanied her to the planet. As Winters, players will use iconic weapons from the movie including the pulse rifle, flamethrower and smartgun to fend off foes; players will also be able to use welding torches to strategically seal doors and set up robotic turrets to defend certain areas. In order to emphasize the “horror” aspect of gameplay, there is no HUD (heads-up display) except for a motion-tracking radar. Thus, when an alien is in your face… it’s really in your face!
The story is allegedly so well-written and uniquely terrifying that 20th Century Fox stated that the game is officially considered a part of the canon of the Alien Anthology of movies. As if this weren’t official enough, when the story for the game was being written over a year ago, “Alien” creator/director Ridley Scott personally invited the game developers to review not only the script for the first “Alien” movie, but also the script for the then-uncompleted prequel, “Prometheus.”
In addition to visiting locations seen in “Aliens,” players will also find themselves in both the barren wasteland of the planet and in the derelict alien spacecraft seen mostly in “Prometheus” and briefly in the first “Alien.” In addition, the game will feature every type of alien that was seen in all the movies as well as several new, official types, each with its own look and abilities. This incredible amount of detail connects “Colonial Marines” to the entire Alien franchise, leading to a very immersive experience- one that has had fans waiting with baited breath for its release.
Senior Lucas Sein is one of those fans. Lucas said, “’Colonial Marines’ looks really good. It’s really cool that the game is actually part of the official Alien franchise. I’m a fan of sci-fi horror, and this game will definitely have plenty of that. I can’t wait for it to come out!” So if you’re a die-hard fan of Alien (like my mother, which scares me), you won’t want to miss this action-horror Alien game.
You’re welcome, Mom.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (February 19)-It seems entire civilizations have risen and fallen in the time it has taken the next major Metal Gear (MG) game to arrive. And though it may be different from the rest of the MG franchise, Rising will surely not disappoint the millions of fans this game series has.
From the brilliant mind of world-renowned writer/producer/director Hideo Kojima comes a game that has been in development for over three years. For the first time in the MG franchise, players will assume the role of neither Solid Snake nor Big Boss, but that of the ninja-cyborg Raiden, the warrior who was seen assisting Snake in 2007’s MG Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Raiden is arguably the coolest sword-wielding character around; pretty much everyone who watched him wield his high-frequency electronic katana in MGS4 fell in love with him instantly.
To the joy of gamers everywhere, MG Rising puts the players in control of Raiden and his unstoppable blade, allowing them to use incredible swordplay and ninja skills to eliminate enemy cyborgs as Raiden attempts to stop the diabolical plans of the private-military corporation “Desperado Enterprises.” While the game will feature sword combos which can be used by alternating the “light” and “strong” attack buttons, one of the coolest and most innovative features of Rising is “Blade Mode,” which slows down time and, through the right thumbstick, allows the player to manually select any angle at which to slice Raiden’s sword, allowing for some satisfying, movie-like precision. I have had the pleasure of playing the demo and I must say: the game is even better than it sounds.
Thanks to Kojima and the developers at Konami and Platinum Games, Inc., the world can finally experience what it feels like to be the ultimate ninja. And, because it’s a Kojima game, we can expect it to have a mind-bending plot as well. Thus, if you’re a fan of MG- or anything cool, for that matter- MG Rising: Revengeance is one game you have to play.
Tomb Raider (March 5)-I, for one, was never a huge Tomb Raider fan, but even I have to admit that this game looks really good. Game developers Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have been hard at work making the Lara Croft franchise-reboot entitled simply “Tomb Raider.”
Most of us know Lara Croft as a tough woman who is rather proficient at killing people. What we don’t know is how she came to be that way. This newest iteration of the franchise is actually an “origins story” for Lara Croft that will explain how she transforms from an innocent, frightened girl into the bold, hardened survivor that she is. In doing so, the story presents an important fact that is vital to the character of Lara Croft: she doesn’t want to kill anyone. She only takes a life if she has no choice. This mindset creates an inner struggle for Lara, as she is faced with a perilous situation.
Setting out to make her mark, Lara joins the crew of the research vessel “Endurance.” During a journey, the ship is caught in a violent storm which subsequently rips the ship in half. Lara survives only to find herself stranded on a remote, unknown island hidden off the coast of Japan. With the ship’s crew scattered, Lara must overcome the island’s natural obstacles, as well as a large, hostile mercenary presence, to locate her friends and find a way off the island. However, as she tries to save the surviving members of the ship’s crew, Lara begins to realize that the island is more dangerous than it seems.
One of the coolest aspects of this game is the fact that it’s an open-world, free-roam game where players can explore the island and its many missions and dangers with no limits. Though there are plenty of human adversaries who want to kill Lara, one of the biggest opponents in Tomb Raider is nature itself. The island is a huge, unforgiving labyrinth of natural obstacles which can kill just as easily as any gun. This, however, can become an advantage; as Lara, players can use nature to turn the hunters into the hunted, combining stealth and strategy in nature with guns and an awesome bow-and-arrow method for fending off foes.
Fans and non-fans alike are anticipating Tomb Raider. Senior Nathan Cotton said, “’Tomb Raider’ looks quite good. I like how they are completely rebuilding the entire franchise from scratch, allowing for more emotion and more innovative gameplay. It’s definitely one of those games that will be remembered.”
Many gamers have been eagerly awaiting Tomb Raider, and it isn’t hard to see why. With awesome gameplay that combines nature with artifice and a gripping, intense story of survival and raw emotion, Tomb Raider is poised to become the best game the Lara Croft series has ever produced.
