Anticipation Station: Halo, Silent Hill and Grand Theft Auto

by Louis Bedigian

The next generation is upon us, but one thing is missing: our favorite games. Many of them have been announced but very few have been unveiled.

Having crystal ball-like powers, it's only fair that I use my inner strength to predict what the next generation will be like.  Join us as we take a look into the future of Bungie, Konami and Rockstar's most important sequels, as well as an oddity, Dark Cloud. (see *Note below)

Halo

What it was: The most fun you could have with four friends.  Halo and Halo 2 made PC first-person shooters frown at the games' colossal success.  Great multiplayer maps, a wonderful single-player quest, and an unforgettable soundtrack were highlights mere highlights to perfected controls, which felt as natural as a Shigeru Miyamoto game.

What it could be: MMFPS – massively multiplayer first-person shooting.  The galaxy is threatened again, and this time the war is so huge that it's going to take more than one gamer to save it.  Not one Master Chief, but several – dozens of green, red, blue and yellow-suited soldiers charge toward hordes of alien scum.  Halo 3 gives co-op a whole new meaning by providing a game world where up to 36 people can play through the game at the same time!  Drop in and out at any moment, but be warned: as more players arrive, so will more enemies, thanks to Bungie's advanced AI system.  Four-player split-screen action will always be there, but if you want to experience the massive multiplayer battles, you'll need Xbox Live.  Once logged in you'll be able to enter games with up to 100 players battling simultaneously.

Halo 2 won the hearts (and thumbs, eyes and any other body part we use to play games) of millions.

What it should be: Everything!  It needs to be if Microsoft expects it to ward off the enormous semi that's going to crash into them next year. Over 10 million people purchased Halo 2, topping sales of the first game. Those sales occurred almost immediately. Everyone who wanted it had to have it at launch. A mere sequel to Halo 2 isn't enough to satisfy us. Xbox 360 is not a cheap console. After launch we don’t know when the console’s second tier of top titles will be released, and other than Gears of War, we have no clue as to how many must-have titles will be coming out next year. With so many question marks, and the inevitable launch of PlayStation 3, Halo 3 needs to be so good, so unique, and so far beyond the gameplay mechanics of every Sony title that we forget about PS3. Ten million gamers isn't enough, not when PlayStation 3 will be sold to everyone who has a PS2. That's over 50 million gamers, many of which are hardcore. So when I say Halo 3 needs to be everything, I mean it.

Silent Hill

What it was: Terror in a box.  I played the game in constant fear. Fear of the known, fear of the unknown, and fear of that pulse-pounding radio static. Silent Hill told a convoluted story through gruesome imagery. As of late the series has been more clever than scary, but that's only because we're immune to the survival/horror mantra.

What it could be: Ugly, deformed monsters are a thing of the past. They've become tiresome.  Silent Hill 4 had a stellar concept, but I was more intrigued by it than frightened. I want to be scared. I need to be scared. Konami knows this, which is why they said that the next Silent Hill will likely be played from a first-person perspective. You'd see the world through your character's eyes, allowing the developers and graphic artists to cram more horrific imagery into your TV set.  Combat will be changed in a major way – it might not be faster, but new mechanics will be added to bring the player back to the good old days. The clever puzzles will return, and this time the story will not only be clever, but scary as well. And, as if you don't already know this, when the game is released it will be the most realistic PlayStation 3 game to date. If you thought the tech demo of Alfred Molina's face was eerily realistic, just wait.

Silent Hill 4 reinforced the obvious: it’s cool to be creepy. 

What it should be: Relevant. Silent Hill 5 needs to be the game that makes an impression.  Scaring us won't be too hard if the music is pumping, the sound effects are accurate and the humans are photo-realistic (figuratively speaking. We've still got a few generations to go before we can approach true perfection). Konami does, however, have one thing they need to overcome: the game's ending. After the first Silent Hill it seems as if they forgot what to do. They come up with a great concept year after year, then half-way through the game story loses its thrill.  By the time the game ends you've lost interest. Silent Hill 5 needs to break away and be the most shocking, most relevant and most enjoyable Silent Hill yet.  And you know what?  It couldn't hurt to involve the town of Silent Hill this time around. That is how the game got its name.

Grand Theft Auto

What it was: Crime done right. Do anything, at any time, for any reason. Be a thug.  Be an anti-hero and do evil things to stop those who are evil. Drive any car, any bike, any motorcycle. Steal it, "borrow" it, whatever you wanna call it -- the world is yours to drive.  If you get caught, change vehicles or get a new paint job. The cops can't catch what they can't see, even if it's right in front of them.

What it could be: If the game industry's belief is to be believed – that online gaming is the future -- then the next Grand Theft Auto will be the first major multiplayer crime game. Picture this: different gangs for different cities. Join whoever you want, but once you do, do not expect to leave. Being in a gang is the only way to stay alive, and if you join up with someone else, you'll be your previous gang's #1 target.  This would lead to large-scale gang battles, where one gang enters another gang's territory, hoping to take over, or looking for someone specific to take out. Five guys could pile into a standard vehicle; seven or eight could ride in a mini-van. One player drives, the others hold their weapons out the window, waiting for the right moment to strike. It'd be violent, it'd be gritty, and it'd be the best multiplayer experience a gamer could have, giving Halo's vehicular combat a run for its money. You might not see it happen on PlayStation 3, but mark my words: this will be the future of Grand Theft Auto.

Grand Theft Auto 3 was the beginning of a revolution.

What it should be: See above. I don't mean to brag but my synopsis rocks.  Rockstar, you gotta make it happen in the coming generation. I know this is where you're headed, we've seen the hints in Vice City and San Andreas. This is the game that would get the average gamer to consider online play. The industry needs it, we need it, and you guys would make a ton of money off it. That's three for three. All you have to do is make it happen.

Dark Cloud* ("the oddity”)

What it was: A world-building game that wasn't quite as deep as it first seemed.  Its enjoyable Zelda-style combat, peaceful soundtrack, and impressive (at the time) graphics made it one of the most popular PlayStation 2 games released in 2001.  I loved collecting buildings, bridges, and other town items.  After they're in place and you get the town looking the way you want it, you discover that the townspeople have a different idea where things should go.  This puzzling concept of thought and trial-and-error made it one of my most beloved, and most played, action/RPGs.

What it could be: When PS2 hype began, everyone talked about Dark Cloud's zoom feature.  At any point in the game players could zoom out of the world and start constructing the place; then zoom back in to chat with the locals, enter dungeons, etc.  It was really unique for its time.  No console game had done anything like that before.  Dark Cloud 3 could take that concept, and that visual delight, to a place we only dreamed of.  The textures of the trees, the individually moving leaves, the realistic human faces, the guy that looks like Alfred Molina -- all right in front of your face.  With the press of a button you zoom out for world construction.  The transition would be beautiful and seamless.  You'd press the button over and over again just to see if you can spot any clipping, or any flaws in the buildings, or any pixelation in the characters.  No matter how many times you did it those flaws would never appear. 

Dark Cloud 2 took a different path than its predecessor. Will the next Dark Cloud do the same? 

What it should be: They already copied Zelda once. They might as well go the extra mile and copy them entirely, refining the gameplay to the point where you can't tell the difference between the two games' combat systems. Next they should re-think the world-building system and increase the amount of control players have. Create new puzzles, but give us the option to do whatever we want MOST of the time. Let us shrink or expand buildings to appease or anger the townspeople. Let us have access to unlimited water and mountain construction, allowing us to make bigger lakes or mountainous towns where people have to climb to get to their home. Give us unprecedented freedom and control over what happens, as if it were Black & White meets Dark Cloud meets...a game that only the Dark Cloud team could design.

*Dark Cloud has not yet been confirmed for PlayStation 3 or any other next-gen platform.

Resident Evil 5

What could the future of Capcom’s most popular franchise hold? Hear what I have to say as I share my anticipation for Resident Evil 5 with the PC Chat Show gang.

Download the Episode now! Click on the 9-18-2005 OGG or MP3 link (Free Download and is about 46 minutes into the show)

Stay with us for more Anticipation Station and listen to PC Chat Show for more in-depth, entirely original game coverage with yours truly.

*Note: The preceding game scenarios were written by Louis Bedigian and are not to be considered actual facts. We hope they turn out to be true, just as the guy who buys 30 lottery tickets a week hopes to win the jackpot. That doesn't mean he will, nor does it mean that these games will turn out as wishfully predicted.