2008: Year of the _____?

Have you had enough of First Person Shooters? It was such a dominant genre this year that it seemed to define what it meant to be “next-gen.” We’re not quite out of the woods yet, but 2008 promises to bring us a more diverse line-up. What games or concepts will characterize the industry as we move into the second generation proper?

It wasn’t that long ago when I considered writing an editorial complaining about the lack of variety in games this generation. Some developers will always be making software outside the norm, so it would’ve been by no means absolute if I’d said “can’t you guys come up with anything else?!”

Let’s face it, First Person Shooters get a lot of attention in a lot of different ways and few games have been fawned over as much lately as HALO 3, Orange Box (Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2), Crysis, or Call of Duty 4. Then there’s Unreal Tournament III, Resistance, Timeshift, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Hellgate: London, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Red Steel, Shadowrun, Soldier of Fortune Payback, Blacksite: Area 51, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Even, in many ways, the inimitable Bioshock qualifies. Not all are good, but some are great, maybe even “best game ever” material.

So why did we see so many this past year (and before you ask, yes, I’m aware some were technically released in 2006)? Part of the answer might be found in the types of technology they’re pushing, making them great showcases for what new gaming platforms can do.

There were also some hotly anticipated sequels released, with HALO 3 in particular having the “biggest day in entertainment sales ever.” Multiplayer features have also been a big draw, keeping players hooked for the long haul. And, of course, there’s also the socio-political pressure that’s been put on the genre since day one (though, ironically enough, most of the attention has been focused on Manhunt 2, which isn’t a shooter at all).

Taking all of that into account, maybe it was just a perfect storm of sorts — one grand coincidence created by the combination of a strict holiday deadline and finally-finished development times.

But 2008 looks remarkably different with fewer First Person Shooters on the docket. Thinking of the top of my head, only three stand out – Ubisoft’s delayed HAZE, hype-machine Killzone 2, and, well, Duke Nukem Forever (good one, Broussard!). There will unquestionably be others, but it looks like my original fears were unwarranted. I’ll no longer need to be writing that article.

So, with the FPS taking some much needed time off, what other genre will we be sick and tired of by the end of next year?

2008: Year of the Free-Roamer?

It’s a no-brainer that Grand Theft Auto IV is going to rule the gaming scene. Whether it comes out in the Spring (as planned), or in the Fall (as expected), it will serve as the anchor for free-roaming sandbox games to sail into port. Like a ship-load of liquored-up seamen on shore leave, though, we should probably hope they don’t overstay their welcome.

Remember what happened last time? Free-roaming elements shoehorned into every orifice of a game which otherwise might’ve been good, checkpoint races that take you from zero to frustrating inanity in four seconds flat? A redux of this kind of game design without appropriate context built around it would be unfortunate for an industry that really needs to start finding new ideas.

That said, I’ve got a feeling that we’re in for a few tasty treats. Last year’s GTA clone du jour, Saints Row, should be having another go-around. Up against the king itself, this time, the court jester’s got to become the assassin. Or at least some sort of bizzaro-world, evil twin assassin, considering that the more Volition tries to differentiate itself from its inspiration, the closer it seems to come to it.

“Saints Row has a much darker and more sinister story that leads your character down a path of betrayal, revenge, and redemption against the city that left him for dead, although we’ve blended that with the same light-hearted humor from the original.”

That’s from the official announcement press release. Bittersweet story of revenge with cheeky, culture-skewering laughs thrown in to balance out (or sometimes compliment) the wanton bloodshed? Sounds like a crib notes version of Grand Theft Auto to me.

If Volition’s up to the task and rolls out a quality product, though, I don’t think anybody’s willing to complain.

Speaking of inspiration, ’08 should see at least two from the school of Crackdown (and hopefully expanding on its great, but underdeveloped concepts). Prototype comes from the makers of Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, another last-gen free-roamer, and from the recent footage shown at the Spike Video Game Awards, it looks like your character’s super-destructive powers improve the more you use them.

Sucker Punch’s Infamous, of which we’ve seen nothing since E3, also looks to hit next year. Featuring a similarly-endowed avatar, it’s easy to draw comparisons to Prototype, but from what we can glean, it leans more towards a super-hero morality tale. The early trailer seemed to imply that you would do more than just play around in a sandbox, you’d shape it, and that you might have the delightfully villainous ability to destroy man in the process.

Assuming other titles like L.A. Noire and Mercenaries 2 also show up in ’08, sandbox games look poised to, er, rule the sandbox once again.

2008: Year of Game 2.0?

Game 2.0′s a fancy term, but it’s not at all a new concept. The idea that a someone could effectively change, hack, or recombine elements of a game has bred a healthy, if somewhat exclusive modding community. I say “exclusive” because of the technical know-how often needed to produce any worthy results, let alone something other people would actually enjoy fooling around with.

Game 2.0 aims to bring those capabilities down to the average human being, just as Prometheus did with fire. Hopefully no vengeful gods are angered in the process.

Leading the charge is Media Molecule’s Little Big Planet, now firmly locked as a 2008 title. Voraciously cute and brimming with creativity, it puts almost all of the game’s development possibilities in the player’s hands. Levels are completely customizable. If you can do it with physics, you can probably do it in LBP. Likewise, being able to import various stamps and graphics allows you to add your own, unique look to creations.

Often times, though, we don’t know a whole lot about a game’s customization features until later on its development cycle when it becomes a fully fleshed-out concept. It’s tough to say what may or may not come out way in 2008, but this year’s offerings gave us a tease.

HALO 3′s Forge was a great way to appeal to casual modders, stripping away the need to meddle around in screens of code for half a year before quitting, resurrecting your project two weeks later, and then another two weeks later finally telling the whole affair to sod off for good. Plus, we get some really neat things out of it, like Rit Dye’s self-portrait.

And that’s really the spirit of Game 2.0, isn’t it? Flexing your creative muscle and accomplishing things even the original developers would never have conceived?

Some of the other things that have impressed me lately are custom paint jobs. Forza 2′s liveries were a huge hit. Using up to a thousand different shapes, modified for size and color, players have concocted some truly elaborate skins for their cars.

With features like this, Forza becomes just as much a canvas for budding artists as it does a game for car enthusiasts.

Rock Band’s character customization has a similar, if slightly less elaborate, system for creating tattoos to slap on your avatar. Even I was able to construct a basic Pokeball, clearly making my rocker the coolest dude in town.

Ah, and then there’s the unique art of making a complete fool of yourself. Perhaps latching more onto the “unfortunate internet celebrity” bandwagon instead of the “express yourself” bandwagon, Sony’s SingStar lets you record videos of yourself singing like banshee and shuffling back-and-forth as awkwardly as possible in your very own living room! Though it hasn’t hit the US yet (licensing issues, to be sure), the game is beginning to leak out around Europe, and the results couldn’t be more embarassing.

In 2008, modders will continue to mod, but you don’t need to be a coding whiz to participate in the creation of something new. The concept of Game 2.0 is just beginning to hit its stride, dragging every undiscovered genius along with it.

2008: Year of the Downloadable Content?

Not all predictions are hopeful. The DLC model has introduced us to the concept of microtransactions, and we’re bound to see more in the coming years, both good and bad. For every The Godfather cheat in the world, you’ve also got new songs for Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

But if we’re talking about digital distribution in general, then we’re getting some pretty keen stuff through the same channels – fully, downloadable games, many of the “independent developer” persuasion. Highlights of 2007? Everyday Shooter, Super Stardust HD, Gripshift, Warhawk, PixelJunk Racers, High Velocity Bowling, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Bomberman, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and others. That’s some serious pedigree right there.

Nintendo’s entering the fray next year with WiiWare (Virtual Console aside, of course), which should only push the phenomenon further.

There’s also the hope that we’ll see bigger titles available online, like the aforementioned Warhawk. Older titles are great (VC, Xbox Originals, PS Classics), but new games are even better. Since we know this is the direction that the industry is moving towards in the future (how can we forget about the crazy success of Steam?), I don’t think it would be far-fetched to say we’ll see a lot of DLC in 2008.

2008: What It Probably Won’t Be

Perhaps the most ideal year will be one in which no particular genre or concept will dominate. We’ll all live together in harmony and skip down Candy Cane Lane as unicorns soar overhead dropping rainbow-colored gumdrops straight into our mouths. Then one bold individual will realize that our utopia is a sham and that human nature always has a way of breaking out of its shackles. We’ll suffer through the Great Fluffy Bunny War for a few years before society can be rebuilt, and then a clever author will write a best-selling book about the whole affair.

Or maybe I’m thinking of 2012, when the Mayan calendar ends. Oh well, we’ll deal with that when we get to it.

Something we can’t deny, though, is the entertainment industry’s penchant for taking a good idea and driving it into the ground. That’s the one constant we can depend on.

That said, 2008 probably won’t be the Year of the RPG (FFXIII won’t hit until 2009, or later), it probably won’t be the Year of Waggle (it’s either outlived its welcome or already become so ingrained in our collective gaming consciousness that we won’t think about it so much anymore), and it probably won’t be the Year of Sports Games (bold prediction, I know!).

And, thank the gods, it probably won’t be the Year of the FPS again!

For what it’s worth, I’m banking on my very first pick (Year of the Free-Roamer) to be the right one. What about you, dear readers? What do you think will define the world of gaming in 2008?