"Call of Duty 4" Release Date: Nov. 5
The "Call of Duty" series has been heavily criticized for repeatedly treading the World War II game-play area. "Call of Duty 4" responds to this criticism by taking place in the present day. In this installment, the United States and Great Britain must band together to stop a quartet of military dictators across Russia, the Eastern Bloc and the Middle East.
"Call of Duty 4" will run on an entirely new game engine with realistic features such as bloom effects and depth of field. The environment will be extremely interactive, allowing the player to destroy cars or cumbersome obstacles. "Call of Duty 4" is also the first game in the "Call of Duty" series to use a physics engine.
"Call of Duty" has always been known for its stellar single player campaigns, but the new installment places added emphasis on multiplayer. There will be a variety of game play modes available, including capturing flags, attacking a base defended by the opposing team and fighting to control more strategic points than your opponents.
"Call of Duty 4" is sure to be a turning point for the series between the new graphics engine, the greater focus on multiplayer and the break from repetitive World War II titles. The game will be for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
"Super Mario Galaxy" Release Date: Nov. 12
What good is a new Nintendo console without a Mario game? "Super Mario Galaxy" literally aims for the stars when Princess Peach is kidnapped yet again by Bowser and his minions. This time, Mario has to pursue the Koopa King into outer space to rescue her.
Mario's latest journey takes place across a chain of planets and asteroids. With six themed areas and 40 galaxies to travel through, the game features the return of classic Mario items, including the super mushroom, fire flower and invincible star. There are also new power-ups, including a suit that turns Mario into a bee. The goal is to collect stars, which make their first return to the series since "Super Mario 64."
"Super Mario Galaxy" was considered one of the best games at E3, an electronic gaming expo. Matt Casamassina of IGN called the game "ridiculously fun," and Giancarlo Varanini of 1up.com said that it's the best example of how the Wii controller can be used.
"Mass Effect" Release Date: Nov. 20
"Grand Theft Auto" was one of the first games to feature a completely open and unrestricted environment where the player could go almost anywhere he or she pleased. The series has spawned a number of copycats, but "Mass Effect" takes this concept one step further by creating an unrestricted environment in space.
In the game, Captain Shepherd is charged with the task of finding a way to stop an ancient robotic race that invades the galaxy every 50 years. However, the player will have plenty else to do.
Using Sheperd's ship, the S.S. Normandy, players will be able to explore an entire galaxy. Bioware, the game's developer, has promised a story that unfolds depending on what the player does.
"Mass Effect" is an incredibly ambitious project, and Bioware is up to the task after 10 years of creating wildly successful games. .
"Rock Band" Release Date: Nov. 20
Harmonix Music Systems has said to IGN, Gamespot and a number of other game news sites that games like "Guitar Hero" capture only a fraction of the interactive music genre's potential. Now, with "Rock Band," the company hopes to unleash it in its entirety.
"Rock Band" is essentially four games in one. You get to perform karaoke and play guitar, drums and bass. The game ships with all the necessary hardware, including a microphone, a drum set and a wireless guitar model. "Rock Band" also offers 45 licensed songs to play, and more songs will be available for download online.
"Rock Band" is rapidly shaping up to be one of the greatest multiplayer games of the 2007 holiday season by essentially quadrupling the content of the renowned "Guitar Hero" series and taking the music game play genre to a new level. "Rock Band" is coming out on all three of the new generation consoles, as well as the PlayStation 2.
"Super Smash Bros. Brawl" Release Date: Dec. 2
Nintendo has always been great when designing new franchises. With "Super Smash Bros." Nintendo actually made a franchise out of the characters from all of its franchises beating the daylights out of each other. "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" is the third installment in the critically acclaimed series and promises to deliver hours of fun.
In addition to completely revamping existing characters in the game, "Brawl" has announced a slew of new characters, including Diddy Kong from the Donkey Kong series, Ike from "Fire Emblem" and Snake from "Metal Gear Solid." Brawl will balance overpowered and underpowered characters, which was a main point of criticism in the previous game.
The series also offers new stages, new modes of combat, new assist trophies that summon characters to aid you in battle and a more intricately designed single-player game. There are four ways to control your character: the Wii remote by itself, the Wii remote and the Nunchuck, the Wii classic controller and the GameCube controller.
