Everybody’s ears perk up at the
mere utterance of the following
revered titles. If they earned our respect on
the old systems, their
newer counterparts are bound to inspire awe, right? While
it’s too
early to reveal many specifics about their anticipated next-gen
versions, the audience demands a taste. Here’s what we learned about
the perfect
trifecta.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the
Patriots
Metal Gear doesn’t
need a playable version to make a big, big scene.
Konami announced that this
installment would mark Solid Snake’s
return—and perhaps his final chapter. Sure
enough, the movie trailer
that played over and over at E3 stopped expo-goers in
their tracks each
time. Beautiful camera angles capture the great detail of
creator Hideo
Kojima’s dusty, gray, war-torn landscape; and the series’
intricate
(convoluted?) storyline and dialogue continues with the familiar cast
of characters. The developers are aiming to release the PS3 title by
2007.
www.konami.jp/kojima_pro
Grand Theft Auto 4
GTA4 left an
impression at E3 that was not seen so much as felt;
there’s something about the
series that makes a gamer hopeful for
tomorrow. Groundbreaking for its open
environment that can be explored
without aim, the new installment will take
advantage of the new
consoles’ processors. I’m crossing my fingers for a
multiplayer
experience, but a brand new (and presumably high-def) city to
corrupt
is good enough for me. Rockstar expects criminal activity to resume
October 2007, on both PS3 and Xbox 360.
www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto4
Halo 3
From all indications, this could
be the end-all-be-all for Halo
fans.
After all, the tagline “This is the way the world ends” isn’t
very hopeful, and
Bungie Studios does claim the game will close the
series as a trilogy. Their E3
trailer offered a glimpse of the
graphical upgrades ahead, and of a desolate
Earth under alien Covenant
control. And as before, we can expect an excellent
soundtrack (the
trailer’s soundtrack alone was the product of a 60-piece
orchestra and
choir of 24). Hopefully, Xbox 360 gamers will be playing Halo 3 in 2007.
www.bungie.net/Games/Halo3
