Too many shooters?

I was just talking to a friend about her recent 360 purchase. I asked her what games she got: Force Unleashed and Fable 2. I was really happy she got that because its the only good 360 game I can think of that isn't a shooter. But then I thought to myself, what does the ps3 have that isn't a shooter. LBP, Valkyria, and Folklore (underrated).

POINT:
Has anyone else noticed this? And do you guys think its a problem that the industry is so saturated with shooters? Are you hoping that we will start seeing more games that are AAA and don't involve guns?

NOTE:
I know Valkyria has guns, but its more strategy than TPS. Its almost like saying Starcraft is a shooter. Also, there may be more games that aren't shooters that are good, please list any out that I missed.

Newest innovation in gaming

I've noticed that gaming goes through phases of innovation. Things like jumping, music, multiple endings, first-person, etc. When a game is successful at some new thing, many other games follow the same innovation. Now it seems we are in the phase of co-op. PCs have had co-op games for years. With games like WoW and Guild Wars, people have worked together to achieve a common goal. The idea of co-op is only now starting to move into consoles.

The interesting part is how co-op appears on consoles. I am going to use LittleBigPlanet as a prime example for this. Its not the fact that you can play levels with other people, that's been done before. But players have never been able to easily build their own levels (this is also done in co-op) and allow other people to play those levels.

Even though LBP's October sales were less than stellar (255,000 in the US, remember this is only for 3 days though), I think that more and more games will start to include co-op in their games.

The sad part is that eventually, it will be a requirement for all games to have co-op. Just like it became a requirement for all games (within reason) to have multiplayer. I'm worried this will lead to an explosion of the industry, but that is for a different blog.

Now, I have a question to anyone who is reading this. What's next? What is going to be the next big thing in gaming?

What else is there?

It is now mid-November and almost all of the big exclusives have been released for every platform. So, if you aren't completely poor from the big four (LittleBigPlanet, Fable 2, Resistance 2, and Gears 2), here is a list of titles that you might want to check out.

-Prince of Persia (PS3, 360, PC)
*I would wait for reviews on this one. It could easily be a sleeper hit, but approaching this game with caution is recommended.

-Sonic Unleashed (PS3, 360, Wii)
*RENT! Sega hasn't done anything good with Sonic since Sonic Adventures on Dreamcast and I fear Sonic Unleashed will be tossed in the pile of crap Sonic titles. But, if you really want to play this, rent it and don't waste your money.

-Left 4 Dead (360, PC)
*This seems like it could be a lot of fun. The gaming industry is starting to realize that gamers don't want to just play against each other, but play with each other. Games like LittleBigPlanet, Gears of War 2, and Resistance 2 have accomplished very well. And it seems like Left 4 Dead will be added to the great co-op titles of 2008. Now, is this game worth the money? I don't know. It seems like a Half-Life 2 mod that you pay 45-55 dollars for, but it could be a lot of fun. So, I'll leave this up to you guys.

-Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
*Its the Animal Crossing series. Probably going to be just like the others. So, if you like the old ones, and are feeling bad about your Wii sitting in the corner collecting dust, at least rent this title.

-Tomb Raider: Underworld (PS3, 360, Wii)
*I really don't know much about this title. Playing through the demo made me think of throwing the graphics of Uncharted together with Tomb Raider. The Tomb Raider series has been taking a turn for the worst in the past, but maybe this could be a redeeming title for Lady Croft. I think this is in the same boat as the Prince. Wait for reviews on this one.

-The Last Remnant (360)
*Anything that comes out of Square Enix that isn't Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy is usually mediocre. I'm not a fan of JRPGs, so take my advice on this one with a grain of salt. But I really don't think this is worth a buy. Maybe a rent if you feel like popping in a new JRPG, but not a buy.

Other titles: Need for Speed Underground (Rent. Midnight Club LA and Burnout Paradise are alternatives), Mortal Kombat Vs. DC (Not even worth playing. Wait for SF4)

Ok, now you're broke :)

I'm back

So, I've decided to start writing here again for two reasons. First, I know way too much about video games and have to way of dumping that knowledge somewhere. And second, I saw a page in my dorm hallway about games to look out for, where half of the games on there would waste $60 of people's money.

I'm not going blog like a news report as I did before. That takes too much time and effort, which I don't have. I am going to write about what games I think need to be given some attention, my views on the gaming industry as a whole, and a few other smaller topics. I also might start making videos that I'll post on youtube. I give you guys my account name if I start to do that.

Now let's see if anyone is going to read this :).

What's this?

What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere. What's this? There's white things in the air. What's this? I can't believe my eyes. I must be dreaming. Wake up, jack, this isn't fair. What's this? Click on the link, it will all make sense, I promise.

This was apparently taken at a Best Buy. Could this be the long await FFVII announcement? We shall see in 2 weeks.

What's this?

OPM Confirms Left 4 Dead PS3

In the latest issue of the Official Playstation Magazine, the rumored port of a PS3 version of Left 4 Dead has been confirmed. However, just like Orange Box, EA is going to do the port in house. Now, have a little bit of faith with this one. Because it has been a full year since Orange Box came out, which is plenty of time to learn how to use the PS3. But, still don't get your hopes up on this one. There was absolutely no PS3 support for Orange Box and no one would be surprised if the same thing happened here.

My recommendation: buy it for the PC. Valve games are supposed to be played there anyway.

OPM Screenie

[RUMOR]FFVII Remake

This is the biggest and best of all rumors I have ever seen. First, I pose a question. Ever wonder why Square Enix's event is called DK *sigma* 3713. Well a fellow poster on the GameTrailer forums might have figured it out. Click on the link for the image, I want you to take it in.

Now, if this is true, everyone would be floored. The announcement of FFXIII on the 360 would mean nothing and the flames of the war would get even hotter. This is pure speculation, but many companies are known to give hidden messages about an announcement days or even weeks before hand. Blizzard's announcement of Diablo 3 is a great example of this.


All credit goes to irchief on the GT forums, so if you would like to pat someone on that back, he is the one to look for.

Announcement Rumor

LittleBigPlanet and Quest for Booty Get Dated

Time for the third post with two pieces of info! First off, the SCEJ site dated LBP to be released on October 30th. However, because SCEE is developing LBP and not SCEJ, this should be taken with a grain of salt.

Quest for Booty also got dated by the Playstation Blog for August 21th priced at $15. Exciting news for any fans of the series, looking for some extra gameplay until the next game. Well, we don't know if there is going to be another game, but looking at past sales, it is pretty safe to assume there will be another.

Playstation Blog

000-000-0000

Insomniac is really getting into this ARG thing. Many people (including myself) received a called from 000-000-0000 today. The call is from the woman seen in the other videos. She talks about how messed up the world is, how much progress has been made, and tells you to help by going to Project Abraham. Very cool, but are they getting into this ARG thing a little too much?

Two updates for Home

Yep, another double information post. First off, SCEJ is adding more people to the Home beta. 10,000 in fact. Japan users only have to enter the lottery through the Playstation Store. Winners will be chosen through a lottery. The bigger bit of news is that current beta users have to delete everything on their ps3 concerning home (game data and client) to install a brand new version of home.