Eurogamer Expo: Top 10 Games
As voted for by you.
7. Call of Duty: World at War
Publisher Activision has been working overtime to position this as a true sequel to last year's massively popular Modern Warfare, despite the change of developer, but the benchmark for placement here is the game's performance itself, so it's a testament to Treyarch that Call of Duty: World at War finds itself ahead of Gears 2 after its bow at the Expo. Even more so when you consider that the core Expo audience will have been among those hoovering up our beta keys last month, if not playing on the PC beta this week. For a game with that much exposure to outgun triple-A games most of the people present had never played before suggests a thoroughbred. Plus: zombies.
6. Left 4 Dead
Zombies, of course, will only get you so far. Good thing, then, that Left 4 Dead has Valve's incomparable craft to back them up. A co-op shooter by design, the time that design has taken would be a source of concern were it any other developer besides perhaps Nintendo. But the AI created by the Valve's since-absorbed comrades at Turtle Rock ensures a new experience on every playthrough of the game's tight levels, while numerous other ideas gently conduct the party into concert, rewarding team-play and emphasising the perils of playing Rambo with subtle authority. The fact you can take leading rolls in the monster pack that haunts the human survivors trying to escape a zombie-infested city is another reason to keep an eye on this one. And you seem to agree.
5. Street Fighter IV
Permanently manned by Capcom's effusive British PR Leo Tan, the SF IV arcade and Xbox 360 pods at the Expo were popular, to say the least. Told that the beat-'em-up - yet another series reboot - had ranked fifth in the exit poll, Leo explained that he must now "kill everyone who reads Eurogamer", but we'd advise him to stay his hand, because it is so close at this end of the top ten. While some of the titles in the first half are strung out, there's almost nothing to separate SF IV from the games above it, and the fact that a 2D beat-'em-up built on decade-old principles can stand toe to toe with the best action games of this generation speaks volumes for the work already completed by Yoshinori Ono and his Japanese development team. That said, Leo is correct when he points out that Ryu is best, because he fights with honour, innit. Filthy Ken.
4. LittleBigPlanet
- Media Molecule
- PS3
- Out on 5th November
We had nothing to do with the recall, you know. It was just a coincidence. But like COD 5, it's impressive that LittleBigPlanet managed to hold your Expo attention so effectively given its recent beta exposure, and it seems safe to say that this most obscure and brilliant of Sony's new-model IPs is destined to enjoy success in the hands of PS3 owners when it finally hits shop shelves in Europe next week. Again, there's not much to separate this one from the top of your list, and, interestingly, it's not even the highest-placed PS3 exclusive. After two cold winters lagging behind the guts and guns of Microsoft's everything-and-the-kitchen-sink first-mover desperation, could this be Sony's Happy Christmas? We shall see.