14 DAY TRIAL // Despite what most people think, the decade is not ending when December 31, 2009 passes. We still have one more year of playing before actually ending this gaming decade. Of course, the end of 2010 is not as interesting a moment to do a “Top 10 of the Decade” but the upside is that we have another full 365 days during which developers and publishers have a chance to amaze us with their titles. And it's especially interesting to know that two very different franchises that have revolutionized the way we play could actually release their last installments in the coming year.
EA LA is working on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, the game set to tell the last story of Kane and NOD, GDI and the Scrin. Bungie and Microsoft are also preparing to release Halo: Reach, the apparently squad-based shooter that will show us how Reach went down to the Covenant and how most of the Spartans were killed. We have one hardcore shooter and one full fledged real time strategy game that have redefined gaming with each installment, subtly changing mechanics while also managing to achieve massive success.
And the twist is that both Halo: Reach and Command & Conquer 4 are set to end with a bang, significantly altering the formula, which has made them hits. C&C 4: Tiberium Twilight should adopt classes as a core concept while also ditching actual resource gathering in favor of controlling strategic points on the battlefield. The game takes what worked in other franchises and integrates it all into a universe that has existed in one way or another since 1995, defining the way players approached real time strategy during this yet unfinished decade.
Meanwhile, Halo: Reach, which began as the quintessential traditional shooter, intertwining story elements, strong characters and the 30 seconds of fun idea, is slowly morphing into a more focused experience. The shift actually started with Halo 3: ODST, which introduced Firefight and the idea of experiencing the way a full squad fights and, from the initial trailer, it seems that Reach will offer as many as six players a chance to fight together against the Covenant. The shift reflects the way the shooter is no longer a single player experience but a cooperative and multiplayer dominated genre.
With these two games probably defining 2010, it will be interesting to see how gaming has changed and how two huge franchises can end. Let's hope C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight and Halo: Reach will not disappoint.