Action RPGs

For the sake of this argument the term action RPG will be defined as “an RPG where the combat system is pushing one button to swing a sword around.” One waggle motion will also be accepted in lieu of that button. The category blends seamlessly in to the previous two, so interpretation here will be particularly loose—yet there’s no question what’s competing against what in the market here.




1. Fable II
X360
Microsoft/Lionhead Studios
October 21
It feels like Fable II has been forever in coming, and Microsoft has thus far done an excellent job of building up anticipation for the title via key Molyneux-presented feature reveals. The market that the game will release into will give the game some difficulty, however, primarily in Fallout 3—there’s no question that Bethesda’s game will eat into the dollars that otherwise would have gone to Fable. But it’s still everyone’s beloved Fable, and it’s also got singe-player high fantasy almost all to itself this holiday. Almost everyone will be disappointed if it doesn’t move a million or more.




2. Rise of the Argonauts
X360/PS3/PC
Codemaster/Liquid Entertainment
September
Leaning far more to action than RPG, Rise of the Argonauts will find audiences—and rivals—in both genres. Neat ideas like involved branching story paths based on in-game events and a traveling headquarters in the Argo give it appeal to the RPG gamer, while action fans could see it as the next God of War. It’s got a bit of a jump on the rest of the market by releasing somewhat earlier, which should get it to move a couple hundred thousand units before the wave of releases hits—but unless it’s something really, really special (read: BioShock special) it will be forgotten by the holiday shopping rush.




3. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion
X360/PS3/Wii/NDS
Activision Blizzard/Vicarious Visions
Early 2009
Avoiding the holiday (presumably to make more room for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows) might cost this game the money from many a parent’s wallet. But that’s probably splitting hairs, as the first game did very well for itself on the cusp of a shaky hardware transition holiday, building a powerful brand on top of the already Herculean Marvel license. With other details scant on the ground and the franchise moving to a different lead developer, it’s hard to tell if quality issues could also impact sales. A conservative man would put this in the high six figures, sales-wise.




4. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
X360/PS3/PC
CDV/Ascaron
TBA 2008
The underdog sequel to the underappreciated Diablo-like, Sacred 2 finds itself in a position where it is nearing release whereas Diablo is barely on the horizon. It still has dangerous competition from, well, every game mentioned in this feature, as it’s very nearly the smallest brand of the bunch, but recent-ish entries in the Diablo-like arena, like the also underrated Titan Quest, show that there’s some market for the design. And with Sacred 2 releasing on console as well as PC, it has a chance to avoid being weighed down completely by piracy and actually make some real money. So, a hundred thousand, maybe two.