The Legend of ZeldaConfession time: I'm glad the new Zelda isn't cel-shaded. The Wind Waker was an incredible game that completely succeeded at what it attempted to do. There's a reason we awarded it Game of the Year in 2003, after all. It came closer to a living, breathing animated film than any other game I've ever seen. Same great Zelda formula and one-of-a-kind visuals... It's not that I didn't appreciate The Wind Waker's fanciful reimagining of the Zelda universe; I just like the Nintendo 64 Zeldas even more. The Ocarina of Time remains one of my all-time favorite games, even six years after its release, and that's saying something. To think that Nintendo is now going to revisit the same style with its next Zelda. Well, the thrill is palpable. The world that Nintendo created in The Ocarina of Time represented a new direction for the series. The previous games, namely A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, were pretty kid-oriented and demonstrated a cartoonlike art style and childish protagonist. Ocarina gave Zelda an edge, though, by presenting a grown-up Link and a dystopian Hyrule in which the citizenry was again deeply in peril. And for once, Hyrule actually looked like it. The darker tone and unique visual flair of Ocarina, as well as Majora's Mask after it, felt like the proper, natural evolution of the Zelda series. So The Wind Waker's change of direction, while impressive in its own right, was jarring to a lot of fans. Nintendo managed to bring the classic Zelda gameplay into the third dimension on the Nintendo 64 capably and effectively, and that basic model looks to be intact in the new game for the GameCube. Interestingly, it looks like equestrian combat will be a big part of the new game, which I think will be a welcome addition. The designers have toyed around with the horse as a gameplay mechanic for a while, but they've never really developed the mechanic fully. The outdoor and dungeon scenes Nintendo has shown off look strikingly like Ocarina, but with better graphics, which is exactly what I've always wanted. Some would claim that the new, harder-edged Zelda is a sign of Nintendo paying fan service to its diehard supporters in a time of flagging sales. I say: Who cares? This looks like one of 2005's most impressive games. Thank you, Nintendo. BioshockI love System Shock 2 to an unhealthy degree. Whenever conversation around the office somehow includes that game, I leap out of my chair and join in with uncanny vigor. I say with the greatest sadness that even if you're an avid gamer...even if you've found your way to this very page...there's a good chance you haven't played System Shock 2. It combined a staggering number of well-honed game elements with an incredible, original story and some of the best production values (outside of the graphics, which are pretty dated) I've seen to this day. With three basic character classes and plenty of room to customize from there, Shock 2 was almost infinitely replayable. It let you interact with the derelict ships you were stranded on in a huge number of ways, from hacking computer terminals to using mind powers to create new paths. The aural backdrop was the creepiest thing I've ever heard in a game, and I say that without hyperbole thanks to the incomparable audio director Eric Brosius. I could go on and on, so let's just say it's one of my favorite games ever. Electronic Arts owns the System Shock license, so the juggernaut may never again do it justice, I'd imagine. However, Irrational is working on what might as well be a sequel with its new project BioShock. Hell, they even put "Shock" in the title. What more do you want? BioShock's pedigree is certainly impressive, because the Irrational crew comprises many of the developers of System Shock 2. After reading about the game, it becomes immediately clear that it's going to be the same style of game as System Shock 2, with the same great mechanics but an interesting new flavor. Irrational has proven it's got the chops to design an amazing game from a mechanical standpoint, but with a new and unproven universe to work in, will the experience stack up? The storyline and atmosphere of the last System Shock were just as essential to the game's overall makeup as the open-ended gameplay, so BioShock will need one engrossing storyline and an immersive, terrifying sense of atmosphere to measure up. With Shock 2 scribe Ken Levine at the helm and Unreal technology under the hood, I don't think that will be a problem. Technically, this feature is about games we're looking forward to playing in 2005. But in the likely event that BioShock doesn't make it out this year, I'm looking forward to looking forward to it for as long as Irrational needs to finish it.

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