Well, here we are already - 2008. I thought 2007 was a pretty good year for gaming, especially PC gaming, with the release of such games as The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Bioshock, and Supreme Commander to name a few. And now looking forward to 2008, it looks to be another great year of gaming. Here are some of my most anticipated PC games for 2008.

Spore

Maxis needs to get this game released! It was listed as one of my most anticipated games for 2007, but obviously didn't get released. It's now scheduled for the Spring 2008 release, and let's hope it makes it. The game is definitely the first of its kind and looks so in-depth that I might forget to eat and sleep while playing.

For those who don't know, Spore is a sim game where you start off as a single-celled-type creature and have to survive/adapt/evolve. Depending on what you eat and how to choose to evolve your creature depicts what your creature will look like later on. Eventually, you become a great civilization with big cities and eventually space travel.

This games looks to have it all. Now if it would just get released.

Left 4 Dead

Remember this game? Most people don't, or at least forgot about it until now (myself included). Left 4 Dead (L4D) is a zombie game, but this one includes that lacking "fun" aspect. This game is a co-op game, where you and three other players have to fight your way through hoards of NPC zombies. Eventually, you'll come across a zombie "boss" which can be controlled by other real life players.

So if you're into shooter (me) and like co-op games (me again), then this game should be on the top of your list as well. Powered by Valve's Source engine, L4D is stated to be released in the first quarter of 2008. Let's hope it makes it!

Assassin's Creed

Yes, this game has already been released on the consoles, but I want to get the full experience of this game, which means playing it on a PC (third person game with no mouse? No thanks.). To me this games looks like Splinter Cell in the middle-ages. You play as an assassin who seems to be very well trained in acrobatics. You can climb virtually anything to help you access areas, avoid people, or just move around. The graphics also look very good, and kind of takes on a grunge look (think Gears of War).

Assassin's Creed should be out for the PC sometime in February. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

FarCry 2

When I first saw this game, I wasn't too impressed. I liked the first FarCry game, and the complete opposite direction that FarCry 2 was going looked unappealing. But looking through some of its info again, it looks pretty impressive. Unlike the original, FarCry 2 takes place in Africa and is completely realistic. This means no mutants/Trigens. It also has no links or relevance to the first game either (then why keep the same name? Recognition?).

But the game play and graphics look great. Graphics wise, the games looks like it can stand toe to toe with Crysis. It offers a huge, free roaming environment which reminds me of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. But one of the new things I find kind of interesting about the game, is how you have to heal yourself. There are no med kits. If you get shot, you have to pull the bullet out. If you catch fire, you have to put the fire out. Don't do this and you will die. It's kind of a new take on first person shooters and healing. Looks interesting.

FarCry 2 should be released in Spring of 2008.

Duke Nukem Forever?

Well, why the hell not?! Duke Nukem Forever (DNF) currently has the longest development cycle any video game has ever seen. Over 10 years now I believe. Normally this game would not be on my list, but since 3d Realms released a new teaser video of it last month, I had to include it. There's still no word on when it will be released, or if it will even be worth the wait. But I'm getting this game no matter what. I mean, come on, it's Duke Nukem! If anything the game should be hilarious, and that's something that often gets overlooked with the first person shooter genre.

Here's hoping to the DNF 2008!

So, those are my top picks for 2008. What do you think? Am I crazy? Should I be shot for forgetting one? And no, Starcraft II doesn't count. Same with any WoW add-ons. What games are you looking forward to in 2008? PC or otherwise?