Hot Play
Wanna see zombies bake under the hot African sun?
By Scott Gardner
Resident Evil 5
PS3, Xbox 360
When you think zombies, certain creepy, claustrophobic settings come to mind: graveyards, labs and morgues lit by flickering fluorescent lights and, of course, the isolated house on the hill. But this highly anticipated game brings “the infected” out into the sun — literally. Set in parched African locales, a new evil is rising in the birthplace of humanity.
For the first next-gen Resident Evil, original hero Chris Redfield returns as part of a bio-terrorism security force investigating an “infection of insanity” that’s transforming people and animals into mindless, mutated, necrotic horrors. At least he’s got help: Sheva Alomar, a computer-controlled (and stylishly accessorized) West African operative who provides both combat and medical support. And in co-op mode, both characters are playable.
How anticipated is this game? By October, RE5 preview videos had been viewed 10 million times on GameTrailers.com. Add up three hit big-screen adaptations, 34 million games sold (via a dozen sequels), plus 2005’s near-perfect Resident Evil 4 and it’s a franchise to be reckoned with. The aggressive “fast zombies” introduced in the original 1996 game even helped re-energize horror movies, influencing the slavering, hyperkinetic monsters in 28 Days Later and 2004’s Dawn of the Dead.
Like earlier games, RE5 blends intrigue and corporate-government duplicity with its visceral survival-action thrills and gruesomely beautiful gore. Chris and Sheva have to outrun (and outgun) a rainbow coalition of zombies swarming through villages, markets and even an oil refinery, while unravelling a multi-layered conspiracy. And this time, daylight is as terrifying as the shadows.
Release date: March 13
Halo Wars
Xbox 360
This real-time strategy game promotes the Halo fan from combatant to general, wielding squads of Warthogs (jeeps), Scorpions (tanks) and space marines, instead of a machine gun. It’s set 20 years before the first game so beware: Defeating the aliens now could create a space-time paradox, meaning Halo — and your hours of playing it — never happened!
Release date: March 3
We Ski & Snowboard
Wii
Let’s face it: here in Canada, March is still winter. So why not strap on a virtual board or planks, and get out while staying in. Use either the Wii-mote and nunchuk or the Wii Balance Board to make your (extremely cute) customized character careen down dizzying slopes and pull off bone-rattling tricks on freestyle runs.
Release date: March 17