Xbox360 Exclusives to Look Forward to This Year

Even though the Xbox 360 boasted of a good amount of exclusives in the years gone by, the rest of 2009 isn’t looking too hot for MS. As opposed to what Sony’s bringing to the table, Xbox 360 exclusives aren’t all that umm... exciting and the worst part for MS is that tons of exclusives like Mass Effect 2, Dead Rising and Lost Planet have now gone multiplatform. Either way, let’s take a look at what 2009 has in store for 360 owners:
 
Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3: ODST will be a stand-alone expansion for Halo 3 in which you step into the boots of an unknown Orbital Drop Ship Trooper (ODST) before the events of Halo 3. Unlike the iconic Master Chief, you’re a run-of-the-mill grunt so don’t expect to just run into the heat of the battle and regenerate health; you’ll have to survey the situation, move carefully and even use stealth to your advantage as and when possible.

Shadow Complex

Announced at E3 2009 by the makers of the Gears of War series in conjunction with Chair Entertainment, Shadow Complex is an all out, balls-to-the-wall side scrolling shooter for Xbox Live Arcade. I normally don’t mention XBLA games in such lists but this one grabbed me by my throat with its fast paced action, gorgeous visuals and a 3D open-world game design.

GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony

Since the first episode of downloadable content for GTA IV impressed the crap out of us we sure have high hopes for the second one in which you’ll step into the boots of “Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka Gay Tony)”. Betrayal, loyalty, guns, glamor and copious amounts of Liberty City night life is what’s been promised to us so far.

Forza Motorsport 3

A wet dream for gearheads, Forza Motorsport 3 is all about realistic racing in pretty cars. Besides that expect visuals running at 60 frames per second, over 400 vehicles to choose from, user-generated content and the ability to upload your very own fully customized high-definition videos on Xbox Live.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince India Prices Announced by EA

The video game, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the latest in the series and is a highly anticipated one at that. Earlier we reported that the game would be releasing this month. Now EA has revealed the various platform prices for the game in India.

The game gives players the option of selecting from single and multi player gameplay modes. Players assume the role of Harry, Hermione or Ron and try to discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. Gamers can also take part in wizard duels and dabble in potion making, as they explore the magical Hogwarts and cast spells.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game will release on July 3, 2009 and will be distributed in India by Milestone Interactive. The game is expected to be available at Landmark, Croma, Planet M and other retail outlets. The PC and PS2 versions will cost Rs. 999 while the Xbox 360 and Wii versions can be purchased for Rs. 1999. The PSP version can be bought for Rs. 1599 and the PS3 version of the game is listed at Rs. 2499.

Games Coming July 2009

July is a relatively mellow month for gamers which is good in a way since you can now save up for the more intense months to come. There are a few interesting games heading our way this month, two of which are PC ports of excellent games so lets take a look at what July has in store for us:

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (Xbox 360 PS3 PC)

A prequel serving as a sequel, Call of Juarez: BiB will shed some light on Reverend Ray’s violent past as he along with his brother Thomas McCall rebels against the US government and hunts down the legendary gold of Juarez while killing half the population of Texas and Mexico.

Punisher: No Mercy (PSN)

When I heard of a new Punisher game I was elated. Then I heard it was a PlayStation Network exclusive not being developed by Volition so I was a tad bummed out. But today I actually checked out a few gameplay videos of this Unreal 3 powered first person shooter that’s looking insanely violent and gratifying so I’m kinda happy again. 

Street Fighter IV (PC)

We’ve already reviewed the console version of Capcom’s  excellent fighter. If you’re like really lazy, here’s a quote from the review:

To sum up, Street Fighter IV is undoubtedly at the zenith of the franchise where depth and balance is concerned. There's a really deep combat system in place for those who wish to immerse themselves in multiplayer bouts, but the lasting appeal is limited when it comes to new players since it can get repetitive if you don't enjoy the intricacies of two player versus games. If you do however, there's no better game than Street Fighter IV.

Bionic Commando (PC)

The world didn’t like this game but I loved it. People hated the swinging mechanic but once again I loved it. Now I could go on and on about how I’m radically different from the world. Once again, if you’re the lazy variety, here’s a quick quote:

So do I recommend Bionic Commando? Hell to the mother loving yeah. Bionic Commando is a game that challenges you, but never frustrates you. The game achieves a perfect balance between platforming and combat so you never get really bored of either of them. Even though the game’s pretty linear, you do have a few options up your arsenal so you could say the game even warrants multiple playthroughs. The swinging mechanic will take some time getting used to but stick with it and you’ll love it the way I do.