My Top 10 Upcoming Games For 2012

I've already gone over my favorite games of 2011, and now (in keeping with tradition) I've decided to list my top 10 upcoming video games that are scheduled for release in 2012. Keep in mind that all dates are tentative. Very few of these games even have set release dates (only two to be precise) and you never even know what could happen with those, let alone the ones that are just "2012" or something similarly vague. It is more than likely that several of these games will wind up getting pushed back into 2013, but for the purpose of this list I'm using games that as of right now (January 2012) are supposed to be coming out sometime this year. Also keep in mind that the world is going to end in December, so if you decide to get/play any of these games set your schedule up to have adequate play time before that happens. You're welcome.



10. South Park: The Game - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - "Second-half" of 2012

I am excited for this game, but with some major reservations. Don't get me wrong, I love South Park. It's definitely one of my favorite TV shows of all-time. What I'm worried about is whether or not the game will stay true to the South Park spirit, and more importantly whether or not it will be a good game. It's an RPG, which is an interesting format for a South Park game, and so far it looks like Obsidian (the company developing the game) is going about making it the right way. But Obsidian does not have my full confidence: they've made some okay games based on other people's game engines (Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas), but they've also made some pretty bad games when using their own tech (Alpha Protocol). Overall I'd say their history of game development over the past few years has been mediocre at best. Hopefully Obsidian will knock this one out of the park, but for now I'm (very) cautiously optimistic.

9. Tomb Raider - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - Third Quarter (Fall) 2012

I've never been a huge Tomb Raider fan, but I appreciate the franchise for the impact it's had on gaming, and from what I've seen of this reboot so far it looks awesome (mainly the preview they showed at last year's E3). It looks a lot more like a survival-horror game (think Resident Evil-ish) than your normal Tomb Raider game, which I think is a great direction to take a franchise that has gotten pretty stale in recent years. The game features a much younger Lara Croft who is just getting started on her tomb raiding career, and the preview they showed was very gritty and downright scary at some parts. We'll see if they can keep that up for the course of a whole game and not just one 10 minute demo, but if they can it will make for one hell of an action/adventure/survival-horror game.



8. Journey - PS3 (via PSN) - Spring 2012

Journey is a semi-indie game from the makers of the indie hit Flower, which (like Journey will be) is only available on the PS3 by downloading it from the PSN. While there's still a lot of mystery about this game, it seems like it's a third person adventure game with a very cool art style (see the picture above - that's actually a screenshot from the game). You are making a journey through a massive desert to reach something at the end, and along the way you'll encounter puzzles, obstacles, and even other players. There's an interesting co-op feature where you will occasionally randomly come across other players in the same area as you. You cannot connect with your friends or even use any kind of voice chat or text chat, but (if you like) you and this other random player can try to figure out a way to help each other with some of the puzzles in the world. This game will probably only be a few hours long, seeing as how it's a downloadable game, but that also means that it will probably only cost around $15.



7. Borderlands 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - End of 2012/Beginning of 2013

Borderlands was a game that was great if you were playing with two or three of your friends and you were all almost exactly the same level. That being said, it had some problems too. Hopefully Borderlands 2 will keep the good things from the first game and fix most (if not all) of the problems. From what they've revealed and what I've heard so far things are looking pretty good though. Either way, assuming you have a couple of friends that will be picking this up too, a good time is all but guaranteed. Plus, I would pay $60 just to hear Claptrap talk for like 20 hours. Nice.



6. Guild Wars 2 - PC - 2012

As I've stated before I'm not usually a big MMO fan (besides my current obsession with Old Republic), but this game looks like it's really trying to innovate in the MMO genre, perhaps even more so than Old Republic has. Besides just the graphics and gameplay looking really nice, this game looks like it will be taking interactive storytelling to the next level for an MMO. Choices you make during missions not only affect your own story down the line (like Old Republic), but they can also affect entire areas around you. For example, while you're in town someone (a computer controlled character) might run up to you and beg for your help: his village is about to be attacked by goblins and they won't be able to fight them off. The goblins are almost ready to attack but his village is the next one over, so if you hurry you may be able to make it in time to drive them off. But if you choose not to go, the village can actually be taken over by the goblins, meaning that you and other players will have to fight them off before you can rest there, use shops, turn in quests, etc. If that game mechanic works the way it's supposed to it will make Guild Wars 2 incredibly interesting to play. Also, with Guild Wars 2 there is no monthly subscription fee. You pay the $50-$60 up front for the game but then you never have to pay again to play it. Subscription fees stop a lot of people from playing MMOs, so the fact that this doesn't have one means you'll probably get a lot of people buying the game who don't normally play MMOs (like myself).



5. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - February 7

This is the game that's being made by famous MLB pitcher Curt Schilling and a bunch of other "big names". Besides Schilling, who's the head and founder of 38 Studios (the company developing the game), he's recruited R.A. Salvatore (one of my favorite fantasy authors from back when I used to know how to read) to write the story and the lore for the world (Amalur); Ken Rolston, who's claim to fame is being the lead designer of both Morrowind and Oblivion, and Todd McFarlane (who worked for Marvel and created the comic series Spawn) to be in charge of the art style. As far as fantasy video games go that just about as close as you can get to a star studded cast. Besides all the hype, what I've seen from the game does look very cool and promising, so I'm definitely excited for this one.



4. Diablo III - PC, Mac; Possibly Xbox and/or PS3 - 2012

I've only played a little Diablo in the past, but the quality of Blizzard's games makes anything they put out command attention, and Diablo (like all of Blizzard's other current franchises) has been beloved for decades. Diablo III looks like it will be no different in terms of quality and addictive hack and slash fun. A lot of the new ideas they're implementing seem pretty interesting and will most likely raise the bar for the hack and slash/RPG genre. It also seems that as time has gone on Blizzard has become more and more interested in telling a good story in their games (StarCraft II being a great example), and I would expect Diablo III to keep pushing forward with that.

Also, while this game is obviously coming to PC, there's been a lot of talk recently that Blizzard might be making it for consoles as well. Blizzard has admitted they've been looking into the possibility of making it for consoles, but beyond that it's all rumors and hearsay. So as of right now no one knows for sure whether it'll also be coming to Xbox, PS3, or both.



3. BioShock Infinite - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - 2012

Coming from the makers of the universally acclaimed BioShock (not BioShock 2, which was created by another developer), BioShock Infinite leaves behind the dark, damp hallways of Rapture and takes us to a literal city in the clouds: Columbia. Not only are the storytelling and characters guaranteed to be top notch, the atmosphere of the game, although much different from past BioShocks, seems like it will be just as intriguing as the first game. The gameplay also looks fast paced and like it will be a lot of fun. I've seen numerous interviews about the ideas behind this game and the direction they wanted to go in (including a live discussion with Ken Levine and some of the development team at last year's PAX East), and every time I get more details this game just gets more and more fantastic looking. Definitely can't wait for this one.



2. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm - PC, Mac - 2012 (maybe)

There's no definite release time frame for this game yet, and while Blizzard has said it will be out sometime this year I wouldn't be surprised to see it get pushed back into 2013. Even if it does come out this year it will most likely be at the end of the year. Even so, I am still extremely excited for the next chapter in the StarCraft saga. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (the Terran campaign) blew me away and consumed a lot of my time in 2010/2011. Most of this was time playing the online multiplayer, but the single player campaign was also fun and very well made, which is something you don't often find in a RTS. My hopes are that not only will Heart of the Swarm (which will be the Zerg campaign) match the quality of Wings of Liberty but will even exceed it. To be honest, although I'm very excited for this game, the one I'm really waiting for is Legacy of the Void, which (as of right now) is the name for the Protoss campaign that will be the final one released. But that is still years away, so the Zerg will have to keep me busy until then.



1. Mass Effect 3 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - March 6

Mass Effect 2 was my favorite game of 2010, and now Mass Effect 3 is my most anticipated game of 2012. That's not a coincidence. I really enjoyed the first Mass Effect, but Mass Effect 2 really set a new standard for cinematic action/RPG games. The RPG elements were present but not complicated or intrusive enough to have to spend hours learning the rules and sorting your inventory, and the action was smooth, visceral, and satisfying. Those two elements, combined with a great story and superb characters combined to make one of my favorite games of all-time, and each of these elements should be even better in Mass Effect 3. If that is indeed what happens, then this game would (in my mind) have to be the best game of this console generation (which will probably be coming to an end in another year or two). The expectations (at least mine) are ridiculously high, so this game has a lot to live up to. And that could very well be its downfall. But I have faith that the people at Bioware will end the story of Commander Shepard and the Reaper invasion with a proper farewell. Commander Shepard and his team aboard the Normandy deserve no less.

With any luck, 2012 should be another great year for video gaming enthusiasts (which I'm assuming you are if you actually read this far into this post). When I look back at My Top 11 Upcoming Games For 2011, there were definitely several disappointments. Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Dragon Age II, and Rage turned out to be letdowns, and while Battlefield 3 was decent it wasn't exactly the revolutionary modern war shooter I was hoping for. But there were some great games that more than made up for the bad ones. There's a good chance that one or more of the games on this list won't live up to the hype, but overall I'm convinced that 2012 will have at least a few gems (especially games number 1-4 on this list).

Impressions From PAX East 2011

I, along with a friend and my wife, got to attend PAX East in Boston this year. I had a great time (besides all the lines... and the Broadway T stop, but that's another story), and I figured I'd take a few minutes to give some brief descriptions of games that I got to see or demo. There were many, many more games there than what I have listed here, but I'm only going to write about the ones that I remember and feel like I have something informative to say about.

Bioshock Infinite- This game is still a while away, and I heard the creators talk about where they got their inspiration from more than I got to see any actual gameplay. Even so, I have full faith this game is going to be amazing.

Brink- Didn't get a chance to play this one (the lines were out of control), but looked interesting. It's not exactly what I had pictured in my mind, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. It actually reminds me of Team Fortress 2 more than Call of Duty or anything like that. It's definitely a class-based squad shooter, with stuff like medics, engineers that can build turrets, etc. It still looked fun though, and I'm sure there's a lot more to the game than the small multiplayer demo that they had on display.

Duke Nukem Forever- Didn't get the chance to play this one, but watched some other people play, and it looks like it will be exciting and hilarious. It's also definitely an adult game - don't buy this one for your kids or little siblings. The booth itself was hilarious, they had portraits hung everywhere of Duke in ridiculous scenes: climbing Mt. Everest, space-walking, smoking a cigar while holding a huge fish he had just caught, etc. The game will probably seem a little dated when it comes out, but I'm definitely still looking forward to this one.

Homefront- Played a single-player demo of this. It was cool, but the game handles and feels pretty much exactly like Call of Duty. The story looks like it could be powerful though, and I didn't get to see any of the multiplayer. Hopefully that will offer something fresh.

Hunted: The Demon's Forge- This is a fantasy hack 'n slash game, but it handles and play a lot like Gears of War. It really emphasizes two player co-op (also like Gears of War), and the short demo my friend and I played was cool, if not amazing.

Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning- This game looks very promising even though it's a ways off (scheduled to come out sometime in 2012). It's a pre-alpha build and already looks very good graphically. From the live demo I saw, it seems like it takes the best parts of both the Fable series and Oblivion and merges them together. This game is the first game coming from the studio Curt Shilling founded (38 Studios), and the story of both the game itself and the whole history and lore of the world of Amular are being written by R.A. Salvatore, one of my favorite fantasy authors. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of this.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North- Made by some of the people who made the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series, this game actually reminds me a lot of that, only with next-gen graphics and a Middle Earth setting/story. It's emphasizes three player co-op, which is kind of strange (you figure they'd make it so four people could play at once like most games). The characters you can control are an elven archer, a dwarven warrior, and a human who can do a little of both. The demo I got to play was cool, but like Hunted, I wasn't really blown away or anything.

Mortal Kombat- Didn't get to play this one (I'm not a big fan of fighting games anyway), but it definitely looked like they're taking this game back to it's roots, which is a good thing.

Nintendo 3DS- The two games I got try on this were Street Fighter 3D and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. While both of those games played well, the 3DS itself is what really blew me away. I've heard for a while now how awesome the glasses-free-3D technology is, and it really works. I actually tried this shortly after seeing a small demo of Crysis 2 on a giant 3D TV (using glasses), and while the 3DS obviously has a much smaller screen, the effect was exactly the same, but without the glasses on the 3DS. While the 3DS is awesome, I really cant wait until they perfect this technology enough to make big screen 3DTVs that you don't need glasses for. And I think we're a lot closer to that technology than the people who are buying expensive 3DTVs and glasses right now realize.

Rage- I got to see a live demo of some of the single-player for this game, and it did not disappoint. Let's just say that there has been a lot of hype for this game (especially in my mind), and what I saw in the demo did disappoint me in the least. In fact, I think I'm even more excited for this game now then I was before, I didn't think that was possible.

Red Faction: Armageddon- Played a small "destruction" demo, where you basically had to cause as much damage in as short a period as possible to win prizes (I got a t-shirt out of it). Obviously there will be more to the game than that, but as far as I could tell it looked and played exactly like Red Faction: Guerrilla, which was a good game when it came out two years ago. But I think a lot of people will be disappointed if Armageddon turns out to be Guerrilla 1.5. I really hope they've added a bunch of new stuff and improved on the first game.

Star Wars: The Old Republic- Saw a little bit of this game, but unfortunately didn't get to play the demo (like Brink the lines were out of control). It still looks promising, but the question now is when is it going to come out? First it was April or May of this year. That's obviously not going to happen now. All they'll say now is "still 2011", and some rumors have placed it coming out in September. Mass Effect 3 is also supposed to come out this holiday season, but I wouldn't be surprised if both these games wind up getting pushed back to 2012. Old Republic's been in the works so long now though, I feel like they need to release it sometime this year or else it's going to turn into the next Duke Nukem Forever. God forbid.

That's all I can remember seeing from PAX. Hope you found something interesting in here, and thanks for reading. As always, feel free to post any comments or questions you may have.

My Top 11 Upcoming Games For 2011

Although we are already two months into 2011, I present to you here my list of my most anticipated video game titles for this year. These are games that are currently set to come out in 2011. Video games often get delayed, and chances are at least one of these (if not more) will wind up coming out in 2012, but as of right now they are all slated to be released this year. Along with each game, I'll list which platforms it will be coming out for, and the current release date/window. Enjoy.



11. Brink - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - May 17


Brink is still somewhat of a mystery. It's a new IP (intellectual property) which also means it's the start of a whole new game franchise (assuming it doesn't bomb). This game has been delayed a couple of years now, but everything I've seen about it so far looks awesome and really ambitious. What's most interesting about Brink is that whether you're playing offline single-player, co-op with your friends, or online competitive multiplayer, you're always still playing the "story" mode. Assuming you have an online connection, missions in the story mode can actually be played against other people who are playing their own story mode at the same time. Like I said, the game is still very much a mystery, but if all the cool new things they're trying to implement come together and work well, this could be the start of a whole new genre in games.




10. Duke Nukem Forever - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - May 3


The Duke is finally back. I've played some of Duke Nukem 3D over the years, and while the gameplay and graphics are obviously dated (it came out 12 years ago), Duke himself still cracks me up. Duke was created as an over-the-top parody of a lot of 80's and 90's action heroes, so it will be interesting to see if he is still relevant and funny (my guess is yes, at least to the latter). The game, while in development for 12 years, was finally picked up last year by Gearbox (the makers of Borderlands) who will be finishing it. This game's legend has grown to epic proportions, and many people's expectations will probably be too high for what the game can actually deliver, but as long as this game makes me laugh and gives me a good time, I'll be satisfied. Hail to the King, baby.




9. Battlefield 3 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - Holiday


This game was only recently revealed, but everything I've read and the small bits of gameplay footage they've already shown are amazing. I really enjoyed Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (especially the multiplayer), and while this game will build on that, it looks like it's going to take it to a whole new level. The new game engine (Frostbite 2) looks amazing, and is really improving everything, like graphics, destructible environments, lighting, and even ridiculous stuff like individual bullet trajectories when you fire your gun (seriously). I have no doubt the multiplayer is going to be awesome; if DICE (the game's developers) can craft a great single-player campaign too, and add some fun co-op content, then Call of Duty might finally be dethroned as the king of military shooters.




8. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - PS3 - November 1


Uncharted 2 blew everyone away with its gameplay and story, and I'm sure Uncharted 3 will carry on in that tradition. The trailers for the game so far look very interesting, and there are very few things as exciting as a good Indian Jones-like story, which is what the Uncharted series mainly is. Not much about this game has been revealed yet, but don't be surprised if it gives Uncharted 2 a run for its money on how many "game of the year" awards a game can win (note: Uncharted 2 won like ALL of them in 2009).




7. Batman: Arkham City - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - Late Summer/Fall


Arkham Asylum was a huge surprise just because of how good it was. Past Batman video games have all been pretty bad, and while I didn't think Arkham Asylum would suck, I didn't expect it to be as amazing as it was. It turned out to be easily one of the best games of 2009. I have full faith that Arkham City, like its predecessor, will not disappoint. And who doesn't want to be the Bat?




6. Crysis 2 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - March 22


I've been looking forward to this one for a while. I never really played the original Crysis (I just recently got a computer that could even run it), but most of what I heard about it was that the graphics were amazing, the gameplay was really good, but that the story (while not bad) left something to be desired. While they've improved the game's engine (which will improve things like gameplay and graphics), a big focus for this game has been on the story and the single-player campaign, and everything I've seen looks really good so far. Crytek (the game's developers) have also gone on record saying that this game will have the most advanced enemy AI in any game ever. It still remains to be seen if that is true, but if it is, you can expect a really challenging game where the computer can actually tactically coordinate its attacks (hopefully not too well though, or else we might all wind up feeling as over-matched as Ken Jennings).




5. Portal 2 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - April 19


I actually just played through the original Portal again, and that has made me even more excited for this game. The single-player is a complete game all by itself this time around (the original came as part of The Orange Box), which means even more ridiculous puzzles, and more interaction with one of the greatest villains/misunderstood-self-aware-hilariously-murderous super-computers ever: GLaDOS. This game also features a seperate co-op campaign, which looks to be very interesting (it features the robots pictured above as the playable characters). Here's hoping this game will be a HUGE SUCCESS (hint: it will).




4. Dragon Age II - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - March 8


I loved the first Dragon Age, and this one looks like it's going to be even better. They've decided to take the series in a new direction with this game, with a darker art style and gameplay that is similar to Bioware's other big franchise: Mass Effect. I'm a big Mass Effect fan too, and now that I've played the Dragon Age II demo, I think this is really going to make the game that much better than the first one. They have limited your customization options (mostly in the fact that you have to play as a human now), but I think it will make for a much better story with a much more compelling main character (who can actually talk now).




3. Rage - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - September 13


A post-apocalyptic, open-world, first person shooter from the makers of games like Doom and Quake. It will also have a lot of driving/racing and vehicular combat. Like Crysis 2, this game promises to have great graphics, gameplay, and enemy AI. From what I've seen of the gameplay so far, if the story/world is half as good as those other things, this will be a great game that will consume a lot of my time. It also will include competitive online multiplayer, and possibly some sort of co-op mode.




2. Star Wars: The Old Republic - PC - Sometime in 2011


I'm not really a fan of MMOs, but I cannot wait for this game. It's like the perfect storm of gaming: Star Wars, George Lucas not being involved, Bioware, leveling up, and playing online with your friends - all wrapped into one. Like all the other games on this list, everything I've seen and heard so far has been really exciting, and even though this is Bioware's first attempt at an MMO, as far as I'm concerned they have a near-flawless record when it comes to video games, and that wont change here. Part of the reason I dont normally like MMOs is because of how much time you have to invest in them, but that's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make once this game comes out. Goodbye, marriage. It's been real.




1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - November 11


The semi-sequel to Oblivion, the next game in the Elder Scrolls series takes place around 200 years after Oblivion, when a great, ancient evil (dragons) has returned to the world and threatens to kill everyone, or something along those lines. While Oblivion was a great game, it did have some shortcomings (which are much more obvious if you go back and play it now, 5 years after it came out), and it looks like Bethesda has really made it their mission to correct all of those, while adding a lot of new stuff (and borrowing some ideas from their very successful game Fallout 3) too. They just released a trailer with some in-game footage, and the world is breathtaking. If the gameplay and story are as improved as they want them to be, then Skyrim will be one of the greatest games ever (at least in my eyes).




There's my top 11. Two games that just barely missed the cut are L.A. Noire and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Both those games also look like they're going to be awesome. Had I made this list in the beginning of the year Dead Space 2 definitely would have been on it, but because Dead Space 2 has already been released (and is amazing, by the way) I don't consider it an "upcoming" game anymore.

On an interesting side note, no games for the Wii made the list, or even came close. Seriously, what's coming out for the Wii this year? The only thing that comes to mind is the new Legend of Zelda game, Skyward Sword, but I'm not a Zelda fan so that doesn't really do anything for me personally. There are plenty of games that are going to come out in 2011 that haven't been announced yet; like obviously there will be a Call of Duty game in the fall (probably Modern Warfare 3), and there's also been a lot of rumors about a new Halo game being done by a new studio (possibly a full remake of Halo 1). If I don't know about a game, obviously it's not going to make the list. But besides Skyward Sword, there's nothing I can even think of for the Wii. Yeah, Nintendo is going to make a crap-load of money off the 3DS, so they'll still be okay financially, but I don't really do handheld games, so (like Zelda) I don't really care as much about that. What this leads me to believe is that Nintendo is going to announce a new home console at some point this year, probably at E3. That's right, you heard it here first. That's my prediction. Whether it's the Wii 2 or some completely brand new name, I think they'll announce it at E3, which means it wont actually be out until around the holiday or sometime in 2012.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always feel free to post here (or on Facebook) what you think. Comments, questions, discussion, and corrections are always welcome!