Upcoming Games of 2007 [Xbox 360]

2006 was a pretty good year for the Xbox 360 as the console managed to get its very own system seller in the form of Epic’s tactical shooter, Gears of War. Now there aren’t a whole lot of Xbox 360 exclusives to look forward to in 2007, but here’s what managed to catch our fancy…

Halo 3

Without a doubt, the most anticipated Xbox 360 game on the planet, Halo 3 will not only own your soul, but it’ll also “Finish the Fight” in 2007.

Halo Wars

Halo Wars is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game set in the Halo universe and will take place before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. The game will allow players to take control of the human UNSC armies as they go head to head for the very first time against the Covenant. At this point in time it isn’t known if the Covenant will be a playable fraction since Ensemble Studios is keeping a tight lip, but don’t worry, we’ll keep you updated as and when we hear anything.
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Crackdown

A cel-shaded third person free roaming action game from Dave Jones—the man behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise—Crackdown will put players in the boots of a super-human agent as he goes around cleaning up the streets (not in a sweeper sort of way) of Pacific City. As a super-human agent your character will be capable of pulling off some wicked moves like jumping across buildings, throwing/kicking cars and so on; oh and the icing on this cel-shaded cake is the fact that the entire single player campaign will be playable in co-op.

Forza Motorsport 2

If Project Gotham Racing 3 couldn’t satiate your appetite for realistic racing, Forza Motorsport 2 should do the trick. This franchise will improve upon its predecessor in every way including “authentic simulation physics, bone-jarring damage, photo-realistic graphics, and licensed tuning and customization options.” The final version will ship with nearly 300 of the worlds hottest cars for you to tinker with.
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Mass Effect

One of the most anticipated RPGs coming out for the Xbox 360 next year, Mass Effect is part of a trilogy that’s being developed by the talented bunch at Bioware (NeverWinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire etc). In Mass Effect, players will take control of an elite human soldier who must stop an invading race of machines whose sole aim is to harvest all organic life. To do so, you’ll have to traverse vast galaxies and discover the truth behind this whole prophecy.

Fable 2

The sequel to the 2004’s critically acclaimed RPG for the Xbox, Fable 2 will take place in Albion, nearly 500 years after the events of the original game. Not much is known about the game at this point except the fact that it’ll ship with some sort of multiplayer and will improve upon the original in nearly every possible way (yeah I know, Captain Obvious was here).
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Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

From Keiji Inafune (the same dude behind Dead Rising) comes Lost Planet, a third person action game that has players constantly battling a hostile race of aliens, called the Akrid, in a bid to survive. The game will boast of some crazy man-against-gigantic-bugs action (extremely reminiscent of Paul Verhoven’s Starship Troopers) as well as some Mechs that can be used in case the Akrid get to tough to handle. For a better understanding of this game, head on over to our preview here or just download one of the many demos floating around on Xbox Live.

Too Human

By now you’re probably sick and tired of hearing the whole ‘man saves world against invading machines’ bit so I’ll save you the agony and skip Too Human’s story, but one thing you should know is that the game will play out like a futuristic Devil may Cry or God of War with players delivering some serious pain thanks to the “seamless integration of melee and ranged firearms combat”. Every enemy encounter in this game is all set to be epic with hundred of enemies populating the screen at once; all to die by your sword.
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Lost Odyssey

There be a lot of RPGs in this list and here’s one more from developer Mistwalker that goes by the name of Lost Odyssey. In this game, you’ll take control of Kaim, a man whose been sentenced to live for a thousand years (must have been a total borefest) and the game’s story will take you through his life “as he lives through multiple generations, becomes a part of many families, falls in and out of love and gets into conflicts”. Heart wrenching stuff.

Blue Dragon

Yet another RPG developed by Mistwalker, Blue Dragon is the story of a young boy named Shu who’s shadow has the ability to transform itself into a blue dragon. Using this power, he embarks on a quest with his friends (who, by the way, possess different shadow creatures) to save the world. Microsoft is really pimping this game in Japan in a hope that it’ll boost sales of the Xbox 360 over there.

Once again, don’t be disappointed if some of the stuff you were looking forward to isn’t in this list; we still have two more to go.