Quarter Two Games of 2009 - May to August

With 2008 in the books, it’s time to take a look toward intriguing PC titles of 2009. This article covers titles expected to be released between May and August, when a young gamer’s fancy lightly turns to love… and the allergens in the air chase them back inside to their home.

In the MMORPG market, developer Cryptic Studios should roll out Champions Online, though its outlook is a bit muddled since Atari recently acquired Cryptic and the rights to the game. Based around the Crysis engine, it is being proclaimed as the “first true action MMORPG” while promising the boundless character customization abilities that helped make earlier Cryptic titles City of Heroes and City of Villains so successful.

Divinity 2 - Ego Draconis: Now with flashing action!

RPG fans that don’t go for the MMO genre can be comforted by Larian Studios’ Divinity 2 – Ego Draconis, and ZUXXEZ Entertainment’s Two Worlds: The Temptation. Divinity 2 has already been pegged by early reviews as “being difficult to play the same way twice”, with Larian Studios’ estimating fifteen to twenty solutions for every quest in the game and an impressive degree of character customization features. Two Worlds: The Temptation is a sequel to 2007’s Two Worlds that will supposedly contain as much content as the original, revise the core gameplay mechanics, and boast the epic feel and depth of the original.

Not to be outdone by the RPGs, there are a number of action and action-adventure titles coming, foremost among them being Batman: Arkham Asylum. Developed by Rocksteady Entertainment, the game promises a third-person perspective Batman adventure that focuses on the Caped Crusader’s comic-book mythos of the past seventy years. Word is that crime scene investigation will figure as prominently into the game as beating the tar out of baddies. With talented voice-acting as another selling point, it’s clear the developers are sparing no expense. It’s currently slated for release in early May or June.

Ride to Hell is an third-person shooter offering from Deep Silver set in the late 1960s and promising a focus on the biker movement, rock music, and hippie counterculture of the time period. It places the player’s goal as surviving while ascending to the top of a biker gang.

Dark Void may add new significance to the phrase, 'Hang in there.'

Dark Void, developed by Airtight Studios and published by Capcom, offers a more sci-fi spirited third-person shooter experience, promising combat from multiple perspectives. For example, the player may begin a level from the ground, climb a cliff and find themselves firing up at enemies while climbing, and end a stage dueling enemies in the air via jetpack.

Real time strategy gamers will find the offerings a little light this summer, but there’s solace to be found in an upcoming standalone expansion to the Company of Heroes series, Tales of Valor. The First Person Shooter department is also a little light aside from mods and new downloadable content for existing titles, but there is Section 8 a sci-fi inspired title that hints at tactical adjustments including on-demand vehicle delivery. It may not be released until the fourth quarter of 2009.

FUEL will teach racers to forget sissy oil slicks, because the tornado is where it's at.

Racing fans may be satiated by Codemasters’ FUEL, set in an alternate-present in which the planet’s environment has brought about drastic weather effects that require mid-race strategic adjustments. The game promises multi-vehicle, multi-terrain racing.

Finally, from EA comes an expansion to Spore, The Search for More Money. In actuality, it’s dubbed the Space Expansion Pack and allows space-faring creatures to transport down to other planets and perform missions. The big draw is the inclusion of an Adventure Creator, allowing players to produce and distribute their own missions.

Time will tell if these titles live up to the hype, not to mention avoid delays to see spring and summer releases. Either way, it’s time to start saving the bucks and working a new ass-groove into your favorite PC seat to prepare for the spring and summer.