Sleeper Hits: The games of 2008

by Alex Kidman on Apr 14, 2008

Tags: Games

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14 comments in this discussion

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We reckon these less-than-hyped titles might just be the real stars of 2008. Yes, and we're not just talking about GTA IV.

Sure, you're probably more than aware that Grand Theft Auto IV is out on April 29th, but there are plenty of potential hits in store for gamers in 2008 that don't quite share GTA IV's marketing budget. Here's eight somewhat lesser known titles that we reckon could be the quiet achievers in 2008:

Empire: Total War (PC, November 2008): It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to declare that your game is going to be (and we quote) "the greatest and most awe-inspiring Total War experience ever". Still, developers Creative Assembly haven't let us down before, and their latest Total War experience -- which promises detailed battles across the planet in the 18th and 19th century, including naval combat -- should be just as much addictive fun as Rome and Medieval II were.

Lego Batman: The Videogame (Every format known to mankind, September 2008): Sure, Lego Indy's getting the hype right now -- but after somebody's picked Indy in his Nazi-free sanitised Lego realm, who are you going to choose? Short Round? We don't think so. Better suited is Gotham's Dark Knight, his perky teenage sidekick and a host of villains strangely suited to blocky format.

Alone In The Dark (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, May 2008):
Technically Alone in the Dark 5 -- has it really been sixteen years since the original game? Anyway, Atari's update promises to mix puzzles, horror and, strangely enough, New York's Central Park into its gameplay mix. While Resident Evil get most of the kudos for survival horror, it was Alone In The Dark that started it all, and hopefully the latest instalment won't disappoint.

TNA: Impact! (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, June 2008): THQ's Smackdown series might rule the sales charts for wrestling games, but it's undeniably stale, with a ton of broken gameplay mechanics. TNA Impact! (the TNA stands, rather stupidly, for "Total Nonstop Action", and not what you were thinking...) should give it some solid competition -- there's very little more fun than creating a ridiculous wrestler and diving all around a ring -- six sided, in this game's case.

Sins Of A Solar Empire (PC, April 2008): The Australian release date for this isn’t until the end of the month. Right when GTA IV launches. Which do you think will sell better? That aside, Ironclad’s real-time strategy/micromanagement/space sim has managed plenty of solid reviews in the US, where it's been available since January. If Master Of Orion style games are your thing, this could eat up your entire year.

LittleBigPlanet (PS3, September 2008): Plenty of drooling is being aimed at Gran Turismo 5 right now, but that's not due in full until 2009. Meanwhile, LittleBigPlanet -- a quirky, semi-user-generated physics-based platformer is due for release in September 2008 in European PAL territories -- and although an Australian release date is still pending, it's hopefully not too much further away than that.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC, Late 2008): Can anything beat World Of Warcraft in the MMO arena? Warhammer at least has the pedigree -- Games Workshop's been selling tiny lead Orcs and pitting them in mass battle for a quarter of a century now, and with EA's marketing muscle behind it, Age Of Reckoning could be something special. On the other hand, the world's millions of WoW devotees might not even look up from their keyboard grind long enough for it to register...

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Late 2008): By the time Ubisoft's done paying for the exclusive Tom Clancy rights, we will have seen all sorts of games -- can Tom Clancy's Raving Rabbids be far away? Anyway, the next TC game on Ubisoft's roster is a multiplayer combat flight simulator -- so presumably nobody has to play the role of harried stewardess. With four player co-op or up to sixteen planes screaming through the air in deathmatch style, this could be rather special.

Hm. Is there space enough to note that "Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys!" probably has the best game title of 2008? No? Pity...

Also checkout our article on "Violent video games - the worst of the worst"

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Comments: 14

Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.

nix Apr 14, 2008 12:27 PM	Really looking forward to Little Big Planet. Though the year is just beginning... I expect it to receive amazing levels of hype before release, it's Sony's big chance to break into the 'casual' crowd. Comment made about the PC Authority article: Sleeper Hits: The games of 2008? We reckon these less-than-hyped titles might just be the real stars of 2008. Yes, and we're not just talking about GTA IV. What do you think? Join the discussion.
geller Apr 14, 2008 5:14 PM	Alone in the Dark is still going? I'd looooove to see a return of Metal Gear - superb series.
charonis Apr 15, 2008 9:36 AM	To see a return of Metal Gear? That kinda sounds like you don't know about MGS4... but that couldn't be possible right? Personally, I'm looking forward to, of course, MGS4. But for the more "sleeper" titles, TNA Wrestling (I'm sick to death of the shitty Smackdown games), and the sequel to one of the best hits of all time, Mafia II. If it's anything like the first game.... drool....
cmdhit Jul 14, 2008 9:40 PM	looking forward to another Tom CLancy game.
bbjai Jul 14, 2008 10:14 PM	Im pretty sure the biggest game this year will be Starcraft 2
Durango Sep 3, 2008 3:28 PM	I loved the Total War series, looking forward to that one. Also Mercenaries 2 is due soon, according to www.gamesportal.com.au it's out on the 11th September
Hobo_Joe Sep 3, 2008 8:51 PM	yeah definately starcraft 2! if they actually decide to release it this year! I notice in the article there's a link to the most violent videogames! hehe gotta love carmageddon.. now THAT was fun! I can understand Manhunt being over the top though.. didn't really find that too fun. Impressive that they went into that much detail with killing.. but meh! GTA is enough violence for me haha
Genocide Sep 4, 2008 11:03 AM	Games I'm looking forward to include: StarCraft 2 (of course! I still play StarCraft: Broodwar to this day.) Fallout 3 (loved the Fallout series, and loved Oblivion.) Diablo 3 (Who isn't?) Deus Ex 3 (I hope they do better than Deus Ex 2, but Deus Ex is still one of my all time favourite games.)
Hobo_Joe Sep 4, 2008 8:34 PM	Genocide wrote: Games I'm looking forward to include: StarCraft 2 (of course! I still play StarCraft: Broodwar to this day.) Fallout 3 (loved the Fallout series, and loved Oblivion.) Diablo 3 (Who isn't?) Deus Ex 3 (I hope they do better than Deus Ex 2, but Deus Ex is still one of my all time favourite games.) DEUS EX 3?! Holy moly i had no idea there was even a plan for that!! I agree though, Deus Ex 2 was kiiiinda sucky to be honest. The original is definately close to being the best game of all time for me.
Genocide Sep 5, 2008 9:03 AM	Where have you been Hobo_Joe?! Yeah it's been officially announced, no date is set yet. But from what I've read they're doing a good job. There is a lot of discussion about what the players want. They will be bringing back Skills and Experience which they drooped from DX2. Also they will be dropping the horrible idea of universal ammunition. From what I understand DX3 will be a prequel to DX.
Hobo_Joe Sep 6, 2008 11:58 AM	Genocide wrote: Where have you been Hobo_Joe?! Yeah it's been officially announced, no date is set yet. But from what I've read they're doing a good job. There is a lot of discussion about what the players want. They will be bringing back Skills and Experience which they drooped from DX2. Also they will be dropping the horrible idea of universal ammunition. From what I understand DX3 will be a prequel to DX. yeah i went and googled it and read what i could! there's BARELY any info out there on it :( only he prequel stuff!! I wonder how the story will progress :P should be interesting!
Alistor Sep 8, 2008 7:26 PM	Hobo_Joe wrote: Genocide wrote: Where have you been Hobo_Joe?! Yeah it's been officially announced, no date is set yet. But from what I've read they're doing a good job. There is a lot of discussion about what the players want. They will be bringing back Skills and Experience which they drooped from DX2. Also they will be dropping the horrible idea of universal ammunition. From what I understand DX3 will be a prequel to DX. yeah i went and googled it and read what i could! there's BARELY any info out there on it :( only he prequel stuff!! I wonder how the story will progress :P should be interesting! They're keeping it very hush-hush, but towards the end of the development, they'll start the viral marketing methinks.
Genocide Sep 12, 2008 9:01 AM	Still I'm pumped for Fallout 3. It's not long off.
mordie Sep 12, 2008 2:07 PM	Fallout 3 Diablo 3 X3 (new one) and Warhammer online ...