Ones to Watch on Xbox 360 for November 2008

By Jeremy Yerby | November 2, 2008

I see you there, Paul Munn. I see you and your Ones to Watch with nothing for us Xbots Xbox users. Well take this!

Ones to Watch is supposed to be a briefing of the notable games coming out this holiday, mostly games that I, based on knowledge available now, would recommend you watch with possible intent to purchase. As I typed this, I came to a realization: what games should you NOT watch? I mean seriously, most of us are still playing Fallout and now they are dropping Gears 2 on us? Not fair. What games can I safely ignore this month? Not many.

Xbox 360

November 7th
Gears of War 2
I remember not being all that excited for this game at first, but watching all the making of videos with CliffyB Cliff “not CliffyB” Bleszinski really sold me on the game. It also helps that every one I know with an Xbox is getting the game so I’ll have lots of people to play with.

November 11th
Call of Duty: World at War
I, personally, am of the opinion that a Call of Duty not made by Infinity Ward is one worth skipping, especially in the face of so many other Grade-A releases. However, that could be me just in spite of STILL not being in that BETA. In any case, I don’t beleive you can fairly say this is a bad game at all, and if you dig WWII then by all means go get this game. I will be watching the reviews.

Mirror’s Edge
Most folks I have talked to were either totally floored by the demo or really didn’t care for it. I kept getting stuck near the end of the demo where I ran into this room with the four guards chasing me and it dead ended and I couldn’t figure out where to go and kept dying. Then I figured out that when I ran in I assumed there was nothing to the right and always ran left, while the whole time I was supposed to be going to the right. Go figure.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
Everyone needs to go get this game. It retails for $40. It comes with the XBLA re-release of the N64 original if you preorder (remake comes on XBLA November 26th for those who do not preorder). Go buy this game to send the message that $40 games will sell! And….it also happens to be a pretty good game in its own right based on the demo. Also I’m kind of a sucker for Rare

November 17th
Left 4 Dead
I already said in this thread that I am a sucker for Rare, but equally so I am also a sucker for Valve. Every thing I have played of their has been golden, last year’s spectacular Orange Box included. Not to mention this game looks wicked sick in every way imaginable.

Tomb Raider: Underworld
If Tomb Raider Legend was your thing or if you’ve been waiting for something that looks about as good as Uncharted on your Xbox, then this game looks like a winner. I really like the adventuring segments of Tomb Raider games, but I still think the combat is a little weak. Perhaps slightly better in this game but still not the “Uncharted but on 360″ game I’ve been hoping for. But still a solid game none-the-less based on the demo.

Prince of Persia Doh thats December!

Runner ups:

Tom Clancy’s EndWar
Rock Band AC/DC Track Pack (too expensive)
Sonic Unleashed (kinda risky given how crappy Sonic Team has been)
The Last Remnant (hope its better than Infinite Undiscovery)

So there we have it. Hopefully most of us will be able to get through this holiday season without selling anything such as homes, appliances, or children.