Weekend Reading:
Most anticipated Xbox 360 games

Grim

and myself have each made our own “Top 10 Most Anticipated Xbox 360 Games” lists to give you Xbox 360 owners an idea of what to keep an eye on if you’ve lost track of all the upcoming games already. As always, it’s all opinions, so make sure you give our picks a look through and then throw out some of your own opinions of games you agree/disagree with, or even unnamed ones you think deserve attention.Above is a video that covers all of Grim’s top ten list with visuals on why he picked each game, and after the jump you’ll see his brief explanations of each, followed by my own top ten list which is actually significantly different, although we do agree completely on a few must haves. Grim’s List:10. HuxleyThis one makes the list because it promises to be the first good FPS MMO. It looks as though Huxley will offer fast Unreal Tournament-esque gameplay. Any game that uses the Unreal 3 Engine and allows 200 person gunfights is a great game in my book.9. StrangleholdI’ve been waiting for a game with great destructible environments for a long time. Stranglehold actually looks and feels like an action movie. No other game has made stylized fighting so easy to pull off. Your character will automatically jump over most obstacles. Simple things like this will make the game flow incredibly well.8. Lost PlanetWe’ve all spent some time with the demo on marketplace. The game looks and feels real. It had some seriously cool enemies. The controls were spot on. I can’t think of anything bad to say about this one other than the occasional glitch I experienced. Let’s not forget that the final game will have online multiplayer and co-op!7. Team Fortress 2This might be the next big thing in Xbox Live. With a new look and take on the original title, TF2 seems to have some killer gameplay and should be totally insane. I’m not sure how every fan of the original Team Fortress feels about this sequel, but I can say that I’m really looking forward to this stylish shooter.6. Resident Evil 5Very little is known about RE5. We do know that it will add something new to the plot line and will feature enemies that are a cross between Ganado and zombies. I’m talking 28 Days Later zombies here folks. If this is even remotely similar to the near-perfect RE4 in terms of action and story, RE5 will be one hell of a fun ride.5. BioshockBioshock has one of the most interesting back stories I’ve seen in a game. The game looks stunning and beautiful. The environments are gorgeous. The developers are calling Bioshock an FPS 2.0. If this game delivers what is being promised, it could possibly be one of the best shooters ever.4. Kane & LynchAlthough little is known about this title, the small bits of info that I have heard make me crave Kane and Lynch. The story seems interesting and looks like the game could turn out great as a result. You’ve really got to see this game in motion to realize that it won’t be just another Eidos failure.3. Halo 3What’s really got me anticipating this game is the rumors people have started. I’ve heard things like being able to make your own maps and have bots. While I’m 90% there won’t be bots in Halo 3, I am sure that this won’t have a crap ending like the second installment of the series. Seeing as how this is the last installment, you’d think Bungie would make this one as great as they possibly can.2. Gears of WarThis is the one game that finally delivers chainsaw action to the player. GoW not only looks fantastic, but it looks like it’s going to be loads of fun as well. Resident Evil 4 was a very strong influence in the overall design and atmosphere. Hopefully, multiplayer will be on par with the single player mode. I’m definitely going to be staying up if this game gets a midnight release.1. Mass EffectIf you watch my video, you will understand why this got the number one spot. It deserves it for many reasons. It’s coming from the creators of the much-loved KOTOR. It also seems to be the first game that will truly change the way we talk to npcs in video games. Mass effect has stunning visuals and is the one Xbox 360 RPG that will improve the stale genre.Fronz’s List:Thankfully there’s plenty of games to choose from! Alone in the Dark could make for a fun nerve racking suspence game, and there’s always the next Tony Hawk and Call of Duty to look out for — same damn cow corpses, same damn grinding, same damn fun. And then there’s Assassin’s Creed which everyone’s been anxiously whispering about lately even though little is yet known about the large game, but since it’s coming from the Ubisoft people that gave us Prince of Persia greatness it definitely deserves the attention. And who knows what to expect from Resident Evil 5? Damn, even Viva Pinata is something I’m slightly eager to check out — will Rare impress with a kiddy, yet complex, game with unique graphics? Or is Rare officially now a let down? The only thing that’s sure in my book is that Xbox 360 definitely isn’t shaping up to be a let down of a system at all. Here’s some good reasons why . . .10. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six VegasI’m not a fan of past Rainbow Six games at all — I’m the type that will shamelessly admit I’d rather shoot and blow shit up as fast as I can than waste time on sneaking around a few enemies. The past Rainbow Six games seemed to have not nearly enough interesting options to keep my fingers from just pulling triggers, but this one looks complex enough with plenty of command and action options that I HAVE to give it a try.9. Blue DragonThe original Final Fantasy maker is back and he’s teamed up with the artist who’s responsible for the Dragon Ball series. Even though I’m not huge on FF games and never got too into any of the DB series, this looks like a lengthy game of RPG exploration that hopefully traverses plenty of interesting lands filled with fun characters. I worry the game might be a bit empty in places from what we’ve seen so far, but I don’t see myself being very disappointed with this title.8. HuxleyFinally, an MMOFPS that means business in full fledged next gen graphics. With fights that include literally 100s of people all at once in the Unreal Engine, and some pretty swet looking character/enemy designs, this game would have to TRY to suck. When it comes out and I go to find it in the store, there could be a sticker on it that says ‘no plot whatsoever’ and I would sitll buy it to see how intense it can get.7. StrangleholdGuns? Check. Action? Check. More action? Check. Destructible environments and plenty of occasions throughout the game to tear it apart and you’ve got my money out of my pocket. Remembering that in all likelihood that Red Steel will kinda suck, and that the game involves John Woo and actor Chow Yun-Fat? Sold.6. Mass EffectExploring an entire galaxy over just a trilogy is quite the goal, but coming from the makers of KOTOR they might just achieve it and still kick complete ass. With an NPC dialogue system similar to the much praised Grim Fandango style, BioWare is out to once again expand our concepts of how deep a game can be. I worry that I might not get too attatched to the game’s style and characters despite the abundance of reasons to do so, but I know I’ll definitely get my money’s worth from this title.5. Lost OdysseyThe original Final Fantasy maker isn’t just making a kiddy RPG called Blue Dragon, he’s also trying to make an RPG that will even give FF12 competition. With the main character being 1000 years old and still unable to die, the story offers endless depth and Shadow of the Colossus worthy travels in between classic FF awe-worthy towns. Hopefully this game will get shown off more at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show and completely wow us all. This should definitely be the best RPG Xbox 360 owners will have their hands on for a while.4. BioShockMyst FPS? Starship Titanic with guns? This FPS sets out to change what we expect from the genre forever, and it does it with a unique Art Deco style with a very heavy, ominous mood. The makers stress an immense amount of choices can be made throughout the game, as well as an overwhelming amount of interaction with the environment and the enemy ecosystem as well. Described as almost a living world that they no longer have control of, this is definitely something I want to experience as soon as possible.3. Castle CrashersFrom the maker of Alien Hominid comes the next guaranteed amazing game. (If you don’t know what Alien Hominid is — it’s almost unarguably the most played/applauded game on the internet, that became so impressively fun and popular that it was pulled off the internet and slapped on many different console discs — a.k.a. it’s fun as hell) This game looks like Gauntlet Legends meets Four Swords, combined with the awesome art style the maker always brings to life. If you can tell me how all of that, and the fun witnessed in every trailer so far, somehow WON’T be fun . . . then I won’t invite you to my house when I put this in and play it all night with my friends. The graphics are simple 2D, but there’s a reason this is so high on my list of next gen games, it looks more addicting than even the best that Xbox Live has to offer.2. Gears of WarThis is THEE game for the 360 – the game that, since day one, was slapping its dick in the PS3’s face every month or two. PS3 events have come and gone, and dozens of Sony’s next gen games have been witnessed, but this one is still proving that Sony’s PS3 isn’t going to be vastly superior to the 360 any time soon. Graphics and gore galore, this amazingly high poly game will do nothing less than drop jaws.1. Halo 3Who woulda thought I’d have come this far from being an Xbox hater? There’s a lot of Xbox 360 games to look forward to, but ‘anticipating’ Halo 3 just doesn’t seem to fit. It’s more like ‘expecting’ Halo 3. With all of Bungie and Microsoft behind a single game, the last of its series no less, this game could set out to do anything and chances are good you’ll see 9-10 point ratings for it in every magazine and on every website. If it’s as amazing as everyone’s expecting, then I could see this title being on the ‘Best 10 Xbox 360 games’ lists when the Xbox 360 is dying out and PS4 is on the way. It’s not easy to make a franchise as popular as Mario and Zelda, but Microsoft has done it, and if this game bombs then Bungie better slip 20 dollar bills in their next game’s instruction booklets, or never show their face again at the artist formally known as E3 with the amount of angry fans they’ll receive.Alright, now it’s your guys’ turns. Do you agree with some of our picks and their rankings? Disagree? Did we leave out a game you think definitely deserves attention? Let’s hear your opinions!