GC 09: 23 reasons to be fired up for gamescom

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Why the European E3’s awesome games could make this the most exciting event of the year

DJ Hero (PS2, PS3, Wii, 360)

Race Driver better watch out. This is the game that could leave it stalling on the grid. Combining the rewind system from Codies’ classic racer with a career spanning 200 events and running at a seal pup smooth 60fps, Forza already makes GT 5 look defunct. It’s so big it’ll actually be released on two discs – one for the install the other for the game. It’s due out in the Autumn, so any code we see in Cologne should be pretty much finished.

God of War III (PS3)

If you’ve not seen the 13 minutes of Kratos decapitating and eviscerating everything in his ruthless Spartan sight, do so. Immediately. We’re not sure if we’ll see any new levels at gamescom, but give us a playable boss battle against Hades and we’ll gladly offer up a few prayers to Zeus and co. That does seem unlikely, though, so we’ll probably just have to settle for the same demo and maybe a new trailer.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

One of PS3’s most exciting exclusive IPs, Heavy Rain could be a system-shifter. It looks gritty like serial killer flick Se7en, only with more QTEs and women stripped to their kecks. The devs need to resist the urge of jumping the shark this time – no more of Indigo Prophecy’s zombie lovin’ and mad Dragon Ball fighting, please. Other than that, this is shaping up to be an intriguing and genuinely mature game. Apparently, a new character will be revealed at Sony’s conference.

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC, 360)

The new fairground level, that’s what we want to see at gamescom this week. Oh, and plenty of the new katana weapon slicing and dicing the hordes of undead New Orleans citizens. The spooky amusement park is called Whispering Oaks and we’re hoping Valve will properly show off the new map this week. Just a warning, though, Gabe Newell and pals. If there’s not an option to kill zombies with comedy mallets and water pistols we’re totally boycotting the game.

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)

An exhaustive (and fairly money-grabbing) DLC campaign for LBP on the PS Store has left our love for Sony’s little material man waning. Hopefully, the upcoming handheld version can change that. The screens we’ve seen so far look gorgeous, admirably capturing the visual charm of its console cousin. It’s unclear how much of the level creator will make it across. As long as they show us some more Mexican-themed levels with insanely catchy maraca music, though, we’re in.