Escaping to Final Fantasy XIII in 2010
When it comes to role-playing games, the first and last name that always comes to mind is Square Enix. They’re legendary and even though their signature franchise is called Final Fantasy, this fantasy never seems to end. Square Enix has been tugging on the heartstrings of RPG enthusiasts since they first gave us a glimpse at Final Fantasy XIII way back in 2006. With E3 2009, I think we will finally see a playable demo of some kind.
Giant posters and billboards are starting to show up in Los Angeles, so it’s clear that Square Enix is getting a lot closer to putting Final Fantasy XIII on store shelves. I’m thinking that it will hit Japan close to the end of this year and, based on the posters, North America will get the epic RPG some time next year.
Finishing the Fight Again with Halo 3: ODST
If you thought that you were finally finishing the fight with Master Chief when you fought your way through Halo 3, you weren’t alone. However, Bungie isn’t going to let an enormously successful franchise just drift off into the distance like that, right? Many people are already playing the Halo Wars RTS game, but this new update brings us back into the FPS genre.
Previously known as Halo 3: Recon, Halo 3: ODST is a standalone expansion for Halo 3. The first-person shooter will probably feel very familiar for Halo enthusiasts, but you are not fighting as Master Chief. Instead, the protagonist is a UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) and the action takes place just before the story in Halo 3.
The UNSC soldier will not have the same advanced armor and strength as Master Chief, so the game will require a greater level of caution on the part of the player. Naturally, you will be playing in an open world environment.
The current projection has Halo 3: ODST getting launched in Q4 2009, so we could be looking at a playable version of the game at E3 2009. The people who love the Halo universe but are looking for something a little different than what Master Chief has been offering over the years may be able to derive a fair bit of pleasure from ODST.
Confirming and Debunking Rumors Once and for All
In terms of other E3 predictions, previews, rumors, and hearsay, there are plenty of tidbits for us to consider. I plan on visiting the Capcom booth to see if anything new has developed for a potential Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The “versus” franchise at Capcom has provided us with plenty of great fighting games, so MvC3 could be great. I’m not as optimistic about the Wii-bound Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, however.
Speaking of the Nintendo Wii, I’m sure that Reggie Fils-Aime will be talking about the new Wii MotionPlus attachment and possibly new Balance Board-compatible games. I hear that Hideo Kojima might have something about a new Metal Gear Solid game, even though he said that he was done with the franchise. Maybe, like Halo 3: ODST, we could be seeing a MGS game without Solid Snake. Based on a sub-page on Konami’s site, it looks like Big Boss (Solid Snake’s commanding officer in the original Metal Gear) could take on the lead role. We might also see an expansion of the New Xbox Experience, giving our Avatars the ability to have Facebook-like status updates perhaps.
What do you want to see at E3 2009? Are there any specific companies you’d like us to visit? Voice your views through the forums or hit us up on Twitter to let us know and we’ll see what we can find!
Discuss This Article in the Futurelooks Community Forums