Rock stars, soldiers and an undercover assassin. What do these characters have in common? All the characters are found in sequels of their respective video game series. These games are expected to sell rapidly, as employees and players feel that the sequels will be better than previous editions. Customers can only hope that as the holiday season approaches, they can get their hands on some of the newest and most anticipated video games.
One game that is returning with flair is Rock Band 3. This version of Rock Band allows 6 people to play simultaneously featuring a new instrument: a keyboard. The new addition along with the 83 song list will help this video game compete with other musical games, including its rival, Guitar Hero.
Guitar Hero will once again find its way into stores with a new version: Warriors at Rock featuring bands like Kiss, Slipknot, and Queen. This version of Guitar Hero has upgraded its guitar by placing the electric parts on the neck, allowing a player to customize the guitar any way he or she desires. On the other hand, a video game that provides a completely different setting from rock stars is Call of Duty: Black Ops. This installment of the series is very popular among X-Box 360 and PS3 consoles, and many people have purchased this game because of the reputations of the previous installments. According to vgchartz.com, more than four million copies were sold for the X-Box 360, and more than two million copies were sold for the PS3, totaling to more than six million copies combined.
“Black Ops is better than the other ones because they made it more realistic and accurate,” freshman Raiko Marquez said.
This edition of Call of Duty is different from the previous versions because it provides the gamer with undercover missions deployed during the various wars throughout American history. The sales records of “Black Ops” exceeds that of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, which was previously said to be the biggest video game launch in history.
“We have gotten e-mails saying that this [COD Black Ops] was the biggest midnight launch ever in video game history,” EB Games Employee Sole Lorenzino said.
Assassins Creed Brotherhood appears to be a favorite as well. Although some believe that this is the third part of the series, it is actually the second half to the second game. Assassins Creed Brotherhood provides for multiplayer play, something which was never seen in the previous games. Now people can play the game with more than one person, and enjoy each other’s company while assassinating other characters. In this version of Assassins Creed, the players will be able to train other assassins and play as the main character, Altaiir.
“The new graphics, new story line, new characters, and the free roaming ability have just blown me away,” sophomore Joey Bonner said. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
On the fourth Friday of November, traditionally known as Black Friday, Wii Consoles were selling out of many stores. In fact, it is said that over 1.5 million Wii and DS consoles were sold during that week.
With these new games on the market, video game shopping will be easier during the holiday season. The big question is: What will be the big video games of 2011 and will they meet the customers’ expectations?
