Introduction

A little while ago we wrote down and posted our lists of the top 20 most anticipated games of 2007 for both consoles and the PC. However there are a ton of games out there in development that have not technically been announced. We know they are out there, mostly through vaguely worded press releases announcing a publishing deal or a quick mention in an interview. While many, if not most of these games won’t likely be out by the end of the year we decided to take a look into the crystal ball to see if we can make some educated guesses about these “Black Ops” game titles. In a few instances we even got comments from the developers in charge of the titles.

Id Software’s New Original Game

What We Know: While the folks at Mesquite Texas based id have been working with other developers on new games based on their properties (Raven on Quake 4 and the upcoming Wolfenstein game; Splash Damage on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars) it is also known that id is working on their own in-house title that will be a completely new franchise separate from the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake series (it will be id’s first totally original title since the original Quake was released over 10 years ago). Of course, id co-founder and master programmer John Carmack is back to create the new graphics engine for the unnamed title and we know it will use an advanced version of the MegaTexture feature that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is using to make its huge outdoor levels. It’s also known that it will be in the first person action genre. Other than that, that’s about all we know about the game at this point.

What id Says: id’s new director of business development Steve Nix told us, “We totally appreciate the interest though we’re still not discussing our internal work right now and we wouldn’t be able to participate in this one.”.

What We Think: While id disappointed many with the fairly standard Doom 3 in 2004, there are hints from interviews that the company is thinking outside its own box with their new game so don’t expect a “running in corridors” style shooter. In fact we think that with the MegaTexture tech in place we think that we will see a lot more outdoor action that we have seen in any previous id released game. With QuakeCon 07 due in August, we think that would be the perfect time for id to reveal what they have up their sleeves.

BioWare’s MMO Game

What We Know: Masters of the RPG genre with games like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare made headlines last year when the Canadian developer announced that it was branching out and starting an Austin, Texas based development office specifically to create the company’s first MMO title. BioWare will use the Hero Engine for its graphical basis created by Simutronics.

What BioWare Says: BioWare’s PR head told us, “Oh man, I wish I could give you some hints about the game… but BioWare would KILL ME. (and rightly so) J Sorry but you’ll have to stay tuned…!”

What We Think: When a company as well known and well respected as BioWare enters the MMO genre it’s going to be something special and different. With the company’s strong story and plots in its other RPGs we expect that the MMO game will also have a healthy narrative structure. Remember, Blizzard had a similarly strong game reputation before World of Warcraft and look what happened to that game. Hopefully we will get some solid info on BioWare’s MMO title later this year.