Anyone else excited? Who’s with me! Yeah! (/que crickets chirping)
Although SOCOM apparently is still doing quite well, I never really got into it. THPS4 is cool, but dang if I can even get within 10% of what the fanboys score against me in online games. I’ve played the hell out Frequency Online, but even that grows old. Now the only thing I play now is Madden.
So I’m excited that a few new games are coming out this and next month. They are:
My Street (03/11/03) - $40 I think.
I’ve been excited about this game since I heard about it last year. Now I just hope it doesn’t suck. So far though it sounds and looks quite good. It’s a collection of party games that you can play locally with your loser buddies, or online with losers across the country. The game is supposed to simulate the experience of walking around the neighborhood and playing various games with the other kids. You can play dodgeball, marbles, chemistry (a tetris-type game), RC cars (looks remarkably like Super Off-Road), and a few others. If it’s as fun as it looks, I’ll be picking this one up tomorrow. 
Auto Modellista (03/25/03) - $50
Another hit or miss prospect, but I’m impressed from what I’ve seen so far. Racers have never really held my attention for too long (I know GT3 is awesome and all, but I haven’t played through more than about ten races total), but this looks pretty cool. If you haven’t seen the screenshots already, check 'em out. It’s cel-shaded, so it has kind of a Speed Racery look. 
Could be good.
Amplitude (03/25/03) - $40
Ah, the one game I have no doubt about. I have been drooling over this game since its announcement. I’ve read every article. I’ve viewed every screenshot. I’ve watched every movie. I can’t wait for this game. If you never played the first one (shame on you!) - it’s a rhythm game where you have to play the different tracks of progressively more difficult songs using the controller kinda like it’s an instrument. Watching someone who’s good at this game (like me :D) is a thing to behold. Watching 4 of us duke it out online is intense! The sequel will have at least 25 more songs, vastly updated graphics, and a more robust and built-in online mode. Also, the local multiplayer is no longer split-screen; good news for those of us who like having the guys over to play a few games but hate staring at a tiny rendition of the game in a quarter of the TV.
Chessmaster (03/25/03) $20 accoring to ebgames.com
Not much to say about this one. It’s online chess. I’d never pay 40 or 50 bucks for it, but for $20, it’s pretty interesting. It could be fun playing online chess on the couch or in the bedroom instead of at the computer.
Midnight Club 2 (04/08/03) probably $50
The original Midnight Club was ugly as hell, but it was pretty fun, especially the tag mode (I forget if it was actually called “tag”). The non-linear racing was fun too. There’d be a certain amount of checkpoints, and everyone would have to make their way through all of them in whatever order. If the game is similar in play style, with much better graphics, and online/LAN play (good-bye split-screen!), it will be a great game.