I guess there’s something to be said for knowing the precise moment where your new franchise will crash upon the rocks, shattering its newborn body upon the shore to bleed out amidst its murderers. I know that this sounds overly maudlin, but if you look up “fucked” in the dictionary you’ll probably find Kane & Lynch. which now has a release date opposite of Mass Effect this November. Oh, and, uh, a few other games you may have heard of:
If that date sounds familiar, it’s because it’s also the specific release date for a few other anticipated games. Microsoft is releasing BioWare’s Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 on November 20, while Sony has Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune for the PS3 set to drop the same day. And while Rock Band’s release date isn’t official, GameStop is guaranteeing customers who preorder that it will have the game to them “on the street date of Tuesday, November 20.” And then there’s Assassin’s Creed, Unreal Tournament III, and a number of other titles floating around with vague “November” release windows.
I am a fan of Io Interactive. I love the Hitman series, probably more than is healthy. I’ve gotten some hands on time with the game, and my impressions were pretty positive. I think that released at the right time, it could be a sleeper hit, as it does some cool things narratively and stylistically with a gravitas that hasn’t really be seen in many other games. But it really does seem like Eidos wants Io’s new game to fail. I hope they prove me wrong; the game should be pushed back.
-Aegies