Not yet published... Games I want to see and play.

Here's a short list of titles I've been interested in recently (or for some time!) with some thoughts on them.

X. Disciples 3: Renaissance
Being a moderate fan of Disciples 2, I want to see how the series translate to 3d. Not long now. Their website, and what art there is on it looks very promising, but unfortunately it's in Russian only... The battle graphics I've seen around the net do not look very good though. http://disciples3.ru/

IX. Starcraft 2
I was very excited to hear they're doing a second Starcraft. I was still excited for the first few months, when I looked at the screenshots and initial videos. Right now though, this is the bottom of the list. From what I've seen, all Starcraft 2 is, is a run-of-the-mill Blizzard RTS, and they haven't even put that much effort into the campaign. Plus, it's going to be broken into three parts? Bullshit, says I.

VIII. Max Payne 3
Compare these two screenshots:
http://www.gamershell.com/static/streaming/6202/6202_medium.jpg
http://static2.videogamer.com/videogamer/images/xbox360/max_payne_3/screens/max_payne_3_6.jpg

See any resemblance? I don't.
To be honest, the game they are making now looks NOTHING like Max Payne. It just doesn't make any sense to drop all the stuff which was great about the original game, and yet keeping the same title. The only more radical change they could make is to establish that Max is an Alien from another planet, kind of like with the second Highlander movie. Didn't make any sense then, and changing a noir story of love and revenge into a story of sweat and South America doesn't make much either.

Which is why, even though I love the series with all my heart, I will most probably skip this game at all, unless it gets very favourable reviews.

VII. Space Marine
So I'm a Warhammer 40K fanboy, sue me. I'm not a big fan of the Space Marines (I like their Chaos counterparts more), but I do love the setting itself. There's a petition out there to have the game released for PC, and it's a real let-down that such a petition is needed at all. Gaming seems to turn it's back on PC's, and I find that very unfair.
Here's a trailer for those of you who haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFHKIFDjk9I There's a newer one somewhere in the net, but I can't be bothered to look it up now.

Also, they call this game an "RPG", but I'll be damned if there's any role-playing you can get from having the main character to be a Space Marine who, apparently, kills Orks 24 hours a day, every day. Things just got a mite more silly.

VI. Diablo 3
I was absolutely hyped to see Diablo 3 announced, and the initial stuff they showed was promising, although far from as impressing as I hoped. The more things I see connected to this project, the more I feel that the direction in which Diablo 3 is going is the wrong one. I'll dedicate a separate post to that at some time in the near future.

V. Mechwarrior 5
Mid position on the list, though I'm not that much of a BattleTech fan. I'm just hoping it's going to be a nice, dark and brutal Mechwarrior game, if it's coming out at all. I heard they had some problems with copyright issues.

IV. The Old Republic
I'm not a MMO fan, but I am a moderate Star Wars geek. What this means is that I'm definitely going to give The Old Republic a try, if it's going to be free. It probably won't, so I'll only play a Trial or something and leave it at that. I'm just not interested in paying for a game I already bought once.
Also, I saw a Jedi stop a Lightsaber blade with her hand in one of the movies. What the hell is up with that? Making the franchise silly as per the Clone Wars animated movie (god, that was awful) or the Force: Unleashed game doesn't help it one bit...

III. L.A. Noire
http://www.rockstargames.com/lanoire/splash.html
So, yeah... not much is known about the game, but I'm a sucker for Noir and Rockstar usually delivers good games. High on the list, because I'm interested AND it doesn't have any issues I find irritating or stupid (not surprising, as there's virtually no info on the game at the moment).

II. Deus Ex 3: Human Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhqYBKZRg5I&feature=fvst
Deus Ex was a game I had to approach twice to get into it and love it. Deus Ex: Invisible War was a letdown, but not as much of a letdown as some people thought. Human Revolution may or may not be a real heir to the first part. It's hard to judge from the trailer, which is awesome in it's own right, but I'm just not sure if it isn't overly flashy and action-focused. I'm hoping for some real RPG elements, as with Deus Ex, and a good number of configuration option and gameplay choices. Seeing how the game was only recently announced though, I'll probably know anything not earlier than in two years...

I. Kohan 3
Ok, this is a stretch. Kohan 3 was not, and probably will not, be announced. It is my right to hope, however, isn't it?
For those of you who do not know the series, Kohan is an innovative RTS published back in 2002 (or something like that), with a follow-up independent expansion called Ahriman's Gift or Battles of Ahriman (depending on whether you live in Europe or the USA I think), and a second part released in 2004 (or 2005) Kohan II: Kings of War. It belongs to my favourite games, and knowing what kind of technology can be used now, it would be great to see a third part. Even though, mind you, Kohan 2 is still as good as six years ago, and in my opinion has only a handful of equals in the RTS genre.

Honourable Mentions
Alan Wake and Heavy Rain. Both have been released more or less recently, both are games I would REALLY LOVE to play, but chances are that I won't play either of them. Why? Alan Wake is X-Box exclusive, while Heavy Rain is PS3 exclusive. God, I hate those people. And no, I won't be buying a console for a single game, so screw you, you assholes!