Bioshock was one of the biggest hits of 2007. In a year that saw the release of such great titles as Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, this is no easy feat. Bioshock 2 has been announced, the trailer was first shown on the PS3 version of Bioshock. The new game, titled Sea of Dreams, is expected to be a prequel and a sequel at the same time. It is not being developed by 2K Boston and will instead be developed by 2K Marin. This is primarily because 2K Boston wants to develop something radically different. As if one sequel wasn’t enough, a second sequel has also been announced and is slated for release at roughly the same time as the Bioshock movie.

The Christmas Season is here and 2008 promises to be an exciting year for gaming! As gamers, we spend our entire year waiting for this chance to finally try the big titles. The games that developers have hyped for over 2 years are finally being released weekly within the span of about 2 short months. It is totaly bliss for gamers and a total drain on our wallets. With each game costing about 60 dollars, and the average gamer between highschool and his mid 20′s, we’re not the most financially blessed people. For all those new to the gaming scene, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 videogames to watch in 2008. The following games are Xbox games so don’t complain if you don’t see Resistance on it.

• 5- Mirror’s Edge
• 4- Dead Space
• 3- Prince of Persia
• 2- Fable II
• 1- Gears of War 2

Now this is just a list of anticipated games based on personal preference. But with over 10 years of gaming experience, I doubt anyone can have anything bad to say about the following titles. Go ahead, I dare you…

Besides Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the survival horror genre really doesn’t have many video games. Dead Space is a new game by Electronic Arts which seeks to breathe new life (despite the name) into the series. So far, there’s already been a review on it and at 91% it is very promising.

The Dead Space game’s story follows that of engineer Isaac Clark, whose ship has responded to a distress beacon sent out by the Ishimura, a giant planet cracking ship which …cracks planets… to mine the resulting ore. The ship’s crew is transformed by a hideous race of aliens that feed on necrotic flesh. While the story is pretty “Event Horizon”, reviewers have praised the presentation which is terrifying and could teach industry veteran games like Resident Evil a thing or two.

The game will release with a special offer by EA. Anyone who logs into the game’s online stores within two weeks after launch will receive a special suit which can be used in game. The suit will be better than Dead Space’s default suit and will be generally more powerful.

For all you children of the 80′s and early 90′s, you probably remember Golden Axe as a pivotal game in the history of Sega. Personally, it was the first game I’ve ever played. Well its been about 20 years but a new game in the series is upon us. Golden Axe: Beast Rider will feature the return of Tyris Flare, the Amazon from the first game. Its emphasis will be more on (like the name suggests) beast riding than anything the melee combat of the first games. It will be coming to next generation consoles fall of 2008. Here at Xboxspies, we are expecting another classic.

The Dunia engine (“earth” in many different languages) is arguably the most powerful graphical engine on the market today. The first game to feature it is almost here. Far Cry 2 promises all the graphical embellishments from Crysis and a much more immersive experience. The development team spent 2 weeks on the Savannah of Africa. The result of their stay is an extremely realistic environment. Rain will fall, clouds will roll, shrubs and foliage will burn along with many other realistic effects. Of course, Far Cry 2 is coming to Next gen consoles this time around also so PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers can join in on the mayhem.

The prince is finally making his way to the next gen consoles. Prince of Persia has finally been confirmed for a release date and gamers will be happy to know that it falls within this Christmas season.

Ubisoft announced today that Prince of Persia will ship December 2, 2008 for the Xbox 360, the PS3, and PC. Set in a land rooted in ancient Persian mythology, the Prince finds himself caught in an epic battle between the primal forces of light and darkness: the God of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the destructive God of Darkness. The Prince arrives just in time to witness the destruction of the legendary Tree of Life – an act which threatens to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness. Manifested in the form of the Corruption, a dark substance that physically contaminates the land and the skies, the Prince must partner with Elika, a deadly companion, to heal the world from the evil Corruption.

Prince of Persia opens an entirely new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe in addition to introducing a fresh Illustrative art style, evolved combat system, open world structure and dynamic AI – most notably in the form of the Prince’s powerful ally Elika.

[Source:Teamxbox]

For those of us living in North America, October 21 could not come soon enough because it will mark the release of Fable 2. I remember playing the first game 3 years ago and being amazed at the level of detail in the environment and the rammifications of my myriad of choices.

From this gameplay video, Fable 2 is shaping up to be quite a successor that will carry on the name very well. Fable 2 will feature a story set over 500 years after the events of the first fable. Guns will be a part of the gameplay as well as a dog that will serve as a sort of guide/pet to the player. Co-op is also available but be careful who you let into your game world because they can cause havoc if you let them.

Are Xbox games going the way of Hollywood blockbusters these days? Trilogy after trilogy before the first in the series is even released. Starwars, Indiana Jones, The Godfather, Jurassic Park and more recently; Spiderman, Transformers etc etc, Hollywood has been making trilogies since forever. Xbox has its own share of trilogies as well though which started with Halo and the Prince of Persia series. Here is a short list of the planned or likely trilogies for the Xbox 360.

Confirmed

• Assassin’s Creed
• Mass Effect

Likely

• Gears of War
• Grand Theft Auto
• Condemned
• Saint’s Row

I guess who can blame em? Everybody is out to make money and when you have a winning idea like Gears of War, you make as many sequels as you can to get as much profit as possible. I just wonder if a little of bit of originality isn’t lost in the process? Is the video game industry going to end up stagnant like mainstream hip hop? Will all Xbox games eventually become trilogies or more which limit the number of original IP’s to just a few?

A classic battle displayed on the new Street Fighter 4 engine. It is so reminenscant of my childhood arcade fiascos. I would play Street Fighter 2 for hours, feeding coins to the bottomless pit arcade machine. The dynamics displayed in this demo is almost overwhelming. From the clothing to the impact hits. Not to mention background action and special ability effects. This is a big comeback for the Street Fighter series and I believe it will live up to the hype.

Well PAX 2008 has came and gone as another great year of exhibitors showing off what is to come. Standing out was the developer walkthrough of the well anticipated Fallout 3 from the RPG kings Bethesda Softworks. Very impressive landscape that will definetly put those high end processors to work in the consoles. Here it is in a 5 part series.

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