Things I'm Drooling Over

Even though I work with video games day in and day out, I don't really talk much about them here. However, it's worth noting that there are currently four games slated for release in the near-future that have kicked my saliva response into overdrive.

Dead Rising
Zombie games have been done before, but rarely have they looked this promising. A sandbox game (of sorts, since it takes place in a mall), Dead Rising places the player in the shoes of a photojournalist who can live out the end of the world as he sees fit. The game takes place over a 72-hour period (each hour gametime corresponds to about five minutes real time), and you're supposed to be able to replay it several times to get all the pieces of the plot. I'm looking forward to the zombie action, and the OCD-friendly collectable bits.

Just Cause
Just Cause looks like a GTA clone at first glance, but it's got a lot of interesting stuff going for it. Plot: you're a CIA operative in a South American country trying to overthrow a dictator. Sandbox: 250,000 acres of environment to explore (almost ten times what San Andreas had.) Hundreds of vehicles, a grapple and parachute combination, over 300 missions. If executed well, this could be a real gem, and it'll tide me over until GTA4.

Star Trek: Legacy
Command starships from the Enterprise-era to the Voyager-era. Squad-based strategy of sorts, but with starships. Customizable ships. OK, it might not be great, but it's the most promising Trek game in a long time. We'll see how the reviews pan out.

BioShock
Everyone was in awe after E3 when this game did so well. Me: it's by the same crew that did System Shock 2. No shit it's gonna do well! BioShock actually looks like what might happen if SS2 and Fallout went out behind the woodshed, loved each other, and gave birth to some kind of awesome bastard child. It's got the pulpy, 50s feel of Fallout and the plotline looks like all kinds of stuff-gone-wrong a la SS2. This one can't come soon enough.