My Most Anticipated Games of 2012

I’m not going to lie, there’s still quite a lot of 2011 games that I haven’t played through, but from what I have got my hands on I can say 2011 was a great year for video games, and hopefully 2012 can prove itself as a fine year too. I know this may be a little way into the year to post this but come on, it was January, what have I missed? So, for those who have not already clicked away in horror at this self-centred display of video game enjoyment, here are my most anticipated titles of 2012.

Bioshock Infinite

A lot of people seemed to look down on Bioshock 2 in a way I didn’t. I suspect it was partly that I was just more into the gameplay and atmosphere, and partly because Bioshock 1 set the bar so high, but like most other people I think Bioshock Infinite looks to be a true return to form for the games, and from what has been shown Irrational seem to be displaying a remarkable ability to take the spirit of the original Bioshock and transplant in an ambitious new world, characters, and story. I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to finish 2012 calling Bioshock Infinite my game of the year. I only hope it can live up to the expectations set by what they’ve shown us so far.

Borderlands 2

For me Borderlands was far from a perfect game. I found the shooting felt better in most other FPS games, the attempts at story seemed tacked-on and unpleasant, and the environments never really caught my eye. That being said, Gearbox still did an admirable job of building a genuinely fun loot-driven FPS/RPG. There was a weird sense of fulfilment watching the numbers fly out of enemy’s heads, especially when you got to try out various new kick-ass weapons you’d acquired recently or when you dropped down a turret and watched it lay waste to your foes. If Gearbox could make another Borderlands up to the standard of the first one, that’d be pretty good, but if Gearbox could build a better Borderlands which fixes the parts of the original game that didn’t work so well, that would be awesome.

Halo 4

We have next to no information on this game and yet somehow that doesn’t stop me from keeping a close eye on it. I’ve been a diehard fan of the Halo franchise, and after Bungie left the series with Halo: Reach I’ve been crossing my fingers tightly and praying that 343 Industries don’t mess this up. It doesn’t sound like Halo 4 will be a particularly original entry in the series, but they still have every opportunity to prove themselves as skilled developers on this one and deliver another excellent Halo game.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

I’ve heard it said that we all remember Luigi’s Mansion being better that it actually was and in a way that’s probably true, but that fact still doesn’t dampen my interest in Luigi’s Mansion 2. I can’t even guarantee that I’ll get a 3DS at this point but if I do this game will be a must-have for me. While series like Mario and Zelda still stand up well today, I find myself somewhat weary of Nintendo’s repeated rehashing of the same games, but Luigi’s Mansion not only presents something unique as far as Nintendo games go, but also as far as video games go as a whole. With Luigi’s Mansion 2 Nintendo have my sense of nostalgia tightly gripped in their hands and they’re not letting go.

Mass Effect 3

Some seem to already be proclaiming a considerable amount of worry over Mass Effect 3, anxious that elements like the co-op mission and the seemingly heavy involvement of EA are indicators of a potentially disappointing last instalment to the Mass Effect trilogy. I think this is a possibility, but let’s not lose our heads. Bioware have proven repeatedly their ability to develop high quality video games, and Mass Effect 3 could well be finale the series deserves. I really liked Mass Effect, I probably enjoyed Mass Effect 2 even more, and if Bioware can bring us a Mass Effect 3 that does justice to the compelling world and characters laid out in those games, I’ll be a very happy man.

Duder, It’s Over

Of course, these are just the games I’m most fixated on, I’m sure the year will bring us plenty more interesting titles, and I’ve found that some of the best games of previous years have been those which I’ve not been particularly expectant for, but have come out of the blue and been such a big hit with everyone else I had to get them. I hope you’re looking forward to everything the rest of this year has to offer, and feel free to share the games you’re most looking forward to in the comments. Thanks for reading.

-Gamer_152

I’m not going to lie, there’s still quite a lot of 2011 games that I haven’t played through, but from what I have got my hands on I can say 2011 was a great year for video games, and hopefully 2012 can prove itself as a fine year too. I know this may be a little way into the year to post this but come on, it was January, what have I missed? So, for those who have not already clicked away in horror at this self-centred display of video game enjoyment, here are my most anticipated titles of 2012.

Bioshock Infinite

A lot of people seemed to look down on Bioshock 2 in a way I didn’t. I suspect it was partly that I was just more into the gameplay and atmosphere, and partly because Bioshock 1 set the bar so high, but like most other people I think Bioshock Infinite looks to be a true return to form for the games, and from what has been shown Irrational seem to be displaying a remarkable ability to take the spirit of the original Bioshock and transplant in an ambitious new world, characters, and story. I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to finish 2012 calling Bioshock Infinite my game of the year. I only hope it can live up to the expectations set by what they’ve shown us so far.

Borderlands 2

For me Borderlands was far from a perfect game. I found the shooting felt better in most other FPS games, the attempts at story seemed tacked-on and unpleasant, and the environments never really caught my eye. That being said, Gearbox still did an admirable job of building a genuinely fun loot-driven FPS/RPG. There was a weird sense of fulfilment watching the numbers fly out of enemy’s heads, especially when you got to try out various new kick-ass weapons you’d acquired recently or when you dropped down a turret and watched it lay waste to your foes. If Gearbox could make another Borderlands up to the standard of the first one, that’d be pretty good, but if Gearbox could build a better Borderlands which fixes the parts of the original game that didn’t work so well, that would be awesome.

Halo 4

We have next to no information on this game and yet somehow that doesn’t stop me from keeping a close eye on it. I’ve been a diehard fan of the Halo franchise, and after Bungie left the series with Halo: Reach I’ve been crossing my fingers tightly and praying that 343 Industries don’t mess this up. It doesn’t sound like Halo 4 will be a particularly original entry in the series, but they still have every opportunity to prove themselves as skilled developers on this one and deliver another excellent Halo game.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

I’ve heard it said that we all remember Luigi’s Mansion being better that it actually was and in a way that’s probably true, but that fact still doesn’t dampen my interest in Luigi’s Mansion 2. I can’t even guarantee that I’ll get a 3DS at this point but if I do this game will be a must-have for me. While series like Mario and Zelda still stand up well today, I find myself somewhat weary of Nintendo’s repeated rehashing of the same games, but Luigi’s Mansion not only presents something unique as far as Nintendo games go, but also as far as video games go as a whole. With Luigi’s Mansion 2 Nintendo have my sense of nostalgia tightly gripped in their hands and they’re not letting go.

Mass Effect 3

Some seem to already be proclaiming a considerable amount of worry over Mass Effect 3, anxious that elements like the co-op mission and the seemingly heavy involvement of EA are indicators of a potentially disappointing last instalment to the Mass Effect trilogy. I think this is a possibility, but let’s not lose our heads. Bioware have proven repeatedly their ability to develop high quality video games, and Mass Effect 3 could well be finale the series deserves. I really liked Mass Effect, I probably enjoyed Mass Effect 2 even more, and if Bioware can bring us a Mass Effect 3 that does justice to the compelling world and characters laid out in those games, I’ll be a very happy man.

Duder, It’s Over

Of course, these are just the games I’m most fixated on, I’m sure the year will bring us plenty more interesting titles, and I’ve found that some of the best games of previous years have been those which I’ve not been particularly expectant for, but have come out of the blue and been such a big hit with everyone else I had to get them. I hope you’re looking forward to everything the rest of this year has to offer, and feel free to share the games you’re most looking forward to in the comments. Thanks for reading.

-Gamer_152

I need you..to tell me..the release date of bioshock infinite so I can ask for that entire week off. Go work your mod magic please. 

@The_Laughing_Man said:

I need you..to tell me..the release date of bioshock infinite so I can ask for that entire week off. Go work your mod magic please.

No can do I'm afraid. I can unfreeze some of the Ken Levine clones in the back, but without being able to get the psylink to the real Levine up and running they can't give me a more definite date than "2012".

Good read, always nice to see some support for Borderlands 2.

I can't think of anything I really want. I'll just spend the time catching up on some games I missed and the games I have now and see what happens. I'm really looking forward to E3. This should be a very interesting year.

This reminds me I still have to finish Borderlands one of these days >.> Not a bad day, but for whatever reason I can only play it for like 30 minutes at a time.

Also yay for Bioshock Infinite. Definitely looking forward to that one.

Let me remind everyone, since it seems to be omitted from a lot of best of2012  list, Torchlight 2.

Ack, this list reminds me of just how badly I need to get that new computer >.<

Really looking forward to Bioshock Infinite. As for Mass Effect and Borderlands, I really need to get on their predecessors one of these days >.>

I still don't understand all the hpye around Halo 4. Reach pretty much perfected the formula and multiplayer options, and I doubt anything outside of a complete reworking of the series is going to be all that impressive.
 
I think people are also putting too much stock into a new Halo brought to you by the studio behind "That kind of all right meta-achievement hub on the Xbox Dashboard."

other than Bioshock, I'm drawing a blank on why I should be excited about anything this year.

Ugh.. still can't get behind Halo 4.

That's a solid list. I can't quite drum up the enthusiasm for Mass Effect 3 that I felt for its predecessors. Bioware seems to be at a crossroads in their games' direction - either they continue towards half-assed games like Dragon Age 2 aimed at the lowest common denominator (or dumbing down games like Mass Effect 2 to appeal to a wider audience, which is essentially the same thing), or they have a gradual uptick in game quality and a feeling of returning to their roots, as with The Old Republic.

@Hizang said:

Good read, always nice to see some support for Borderlands 2.

Thanks.

@me3639 said:

Let me remind everyone, since it seems to be omitted from a lot of best of2012 list, Torchlight 2.

This is by no means a best of 2012 list and I think anyone building a "best of 2012" list before the end of 2012 is doing it wrong. These are just the games I'm most anticipating and I've never really been into dungeon crawlers. I think Torchlight II has the potential to be seriously overlooked with Diablo III coming out this year though.

@LordXavierBritish said:

I still don't understand all the hpye around Halo 4. Reach pretty much perfected the formula and multiplayer options, and I doubt anything outside of a complete reworking of the series is going to be all that impressive. I think people are also putting too much stock into a new Halo brought to you by the studio behind "That kind of all right meta-achievement hub on the Xbox Dashboard."

I think you could have said the same thing after the release of Halo 3 but they still managed to do some impressive things. For me at least it's not hype but curiosity over how this is going to go. This is a new developer taking on one of the biggest video game franchises of the last decade and Microsoft have a lot riding on this one.

@Sparky_Buzzsaw said:

That's a solid list. I can't quite drum up the enthusiasm for Mass Effect 3 that I felt for its predecessors. Bioware seems to be at a crossroads in their games' direction - either they continue towards half-assed games like Dragon Age 2 aimed at the lowest common denominator (or dumbing down games like Mass Effect 2 to appeal to a wider audience, which is essentially the same thing), or they have a gradual uptick in game quality and a feeling of returning to their roots, as with The Old Republic.

Why are those the only two options? What stops them from making a game that really is just another high quality Mass Effect? With Dragon Age II at least I think too many people have taken that one game to be an indication of Bioware coming off the rails, it sounds like a bit of a mess up for sure, but one bad game is not indicative of a company beginning to lose what made them great.

Let me remind everyone, since it seems to be omitted from a lot of best of2012  list, Torchlight 2.

@me3639 said:

Let me remind everyone, since it seems to be omitted from a lot of best of2012 list, Torchlight 2.

People are making best of 2012 lists? Damn.

Ugh. I still need to finish up Borderlands, bought the Robolution DLC and haven't even touched it.

@Gamer_152: Aiming for the lowest common denominator cannot result in quality. Eventually the games would become a blase mash of the most basic fundamentals of genres, neglecting any real advancement of gameplay in favor of dumbing down the world, characters, and gameplay for the sake of selling more copies. That's not to say it will happen, but given that it did occur in both Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2, it's safe to say that it is a business model they're actively pursuing. I can't blame them - the almighty dollar rules everything. But it sure does suck to see such a great company reduced to pandering to a wider audience.

Now, like I say, that's option one. Maybe there is some way to dumb down their gameplay even further and strike a happy medium with quality, but frankly, I don't see how. Could Dragon Age 3 be a great game if it were reduced to, say, a single dungeon and an inn? I don't see it, but maybe it's possible. Could Mass Effect 4 be a great game if it's reduced to, say, just another 3rd person shooter with occasional conversation choices? Sure, I guess, but then it really wouldn't be true to the spirit, would it?

It's a good list, although the one game that I'm really excited about is Prey 2. The E3 demo they showed looked amazing.

@Sparky_Buzzsaw said:

@Gamer_152: Aiming for the lowest common denominator cannot result in quality. Eventually the games would become a blase mash of the most basic fundamentals of genres, neglecting any real advancement of gameplay in favor of dumbing down the world, characters, and gameplay for the sake of selling more copies. That's not to say it will happen, but given that it did occur in both Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2, it's safe to say that it is a business model they're actively pursuing. I can't blame them - the almighty dollar rules everything. But it sure does suck to see such a great company reduced to pandering to a wider audience.

Now, like I say, that's option one. Maybe there is some way to dumb down their gameplay even further and strike a happy medium with quality, but frankly, I don't see how. Could Dragon Age 3 be a great game if it were reduced to, say, a single dungeon and an inn? I don't see it, but maybe it's possible. Could Mass Effect 4 be a great game if it's reduced to, say, just another 3rd person shooter with occasional conversation choices? Sure, I guess, but then it really wouldn't be true to the spirit, would it?

I agree, aiming for the lowest common denominator is not going to result in the kind of games I want to play, and I also don't believe there's a way to perfectly please both fans of a "core" game series and more casual gamers at the same time, but I don't think Mass Effect 2 does pander to the lowest common denominator. The LCD don't want an epic space opera full of alien worlds, engaging character choices, and social and political turmoil, they're after something far less thought-provoking.

If you want to say Mass Effect 2 presented simpler gameplay than Mass Effect I think that's a fir statement, but I remain a little bemused by the argument that this ruined the game. Mass Effect was never a hardcore RPG and while 1 and 2 feel rather different from each other, did the non-regenerating health and lack of automatic skill point assignment really add that much to the game? I didn't ever feel it did. From my perspective the spirit of Mass Effect is experiencing a great sci-fi world filled with genuinely interesting characters and choices, not regularly applying medi-gel and sorting through which armor you need to equip.

Nice dude but why you no hype for RE6?

@DarthOrange said:

Nice dude but why you no hype for RE6?

I've never been into Resident Evil. I could picture me maybe liking 5, but I played 4 on the Gamecube and didn't have a very good experience with it.

Metro: Last Light

@Chojin said:

Metro: Last Light

I don't really feel any enthusiasm over that game since I didn't play Metro 2033.

@Gamer_152:

While the worlds and characters themselves did feel great (seriously, I'd love to see their next MMO be based in the Mass Effect universe), the story itself was definitely a marked decrease in quality from the prior game, much like Dragon Age II to Dragon Age I. I'm not saying that they've ruined either series - what I'm saying is that Bioware is at the point where they need to decide who they're making games for. Either they continue "streamlining" or they take (or are allowed, if it's EA pulling the strings) the time to make well-crafted expansive stories and games again. As to the issue of the gameplay, I don't believe that either game quite hit upon a sweet spot of gameplay. Mass Effect 1 could be clumsy, and the Mako segments were truly godawful. Mass Effect 2 tipped too far to the other side, making its skills and leveling up as stupidly basic as they could get away with and still call it an RPG.

I get the feeling this is something we're going to have to agree to disagree on, but I want to say this: I really like Bioware. I want them to put out great games that do strike that fine line. I'm just afraid that with co-op and the continued direction of the franchise, they're not exactly going to rock my world. Hopefully they prove me wrong.

im supirised you found the shooting in borderland better than most shooters id say that was one of the things i didnt like

@laserbolts said:

@me3639 said:

Let me remind everyone, since it seems to be omitted from a lot of best of2012 list, Torchlight 2.

People are making best of 2012 lists? Damn.

Haven't you heard? Halo 4 is the game of the year.

The only 2012 game I can actually remember is Syndicate and Mass Effect 3. I'm pretty in the dark about everything else.

@spartanlolz92 said:

im supirised you found the shooting in borderland better than most shooters id say that was one of the things i didnt like

I think you read the sentence wrong.

One thing I really want from Borderlands is a little more polish on its coop aspects. Playing through Dead Island with a friend made me appreciate even more what Borderlands did well, but it could still use work. Also navigating with the quick travel station was cumbersome without knowing specifically where certain things were.

I haven't spent much if any time thinking about it but, Halo 4 is probably my personal most anticipated game for 2012. Halo 3 was pretty much a perfect game for me, the franchise is one of the few that has really 100% suckered me in with it's story and characters to the point where It was actually a little melancholy at the end there for me. I mean, yeah the game ended with a pretty big "Oooh look at this planet, what could be next for this franchise????" but I still felt an immensely satisfying sense of closure. And the multiplayer, oh maaaan! If I could do a /played for Halo 3 It would be crazy amount of hours. I had so much fucking fun playing custom games with friends.

Basically, since Halo 3 neither ODST or Reach have quite scratched that same itch despite being a whole lot of fun. Halo 4 has some pretty big boots to fill, and I'm not confident that it will be able to fill them. I really hope it does though, I would love to have that experience again.

Also, I know it's become cliche at this point but if it doesn't have the classic Halo theme in it then straight up, not buying it. BEST THEME IN VIDEOGAMES.

@Sparky_Buzzsaw:I think this is definitely something we disagree on, but you're keeping a far more level head about this than some people I've seen. I don't think that the story in Mass Effect 2 had any significant drop in quality from what we saw in Mass Effect 1 and I really don't see them simplifying gameplay and them making good/complex stories as polar opposites, I think they are largely unrelated issues. Bioware may have to do some thinking about who their audience is going to be in terms of how in-depth their game mechanics go and how long they're willing to spend developing games, but couldn't they create a title with simple gameplay and a complex story or a simpler story with complex gameplay? The former is what I believe they did with Mass Effect 2 and I don't think anything great was lost by having the simple skill system they did. As I side note a Mass Effect MMO would be pretty cool but while MMOs are good for showing off worlds, they're never usually a platform for really showcasing good plot and characters.

@spartanlolz92: No, I was saying the opposite. I believed other FPS games had better shooting than Borderlands.

@Gamer_152: They could, in theory, though I tend never to root for oversimplifying stories. Like I say, I really do hope they stun me with this one and I'm completely wrong. Hell, I'm crossing my fingers for it - I really do thoroughly enjoy all their world creation work. Maybe all of this is just me being one morose son of a bitch, too. Hell, it's not like I've seen a lot to say, "Yep, this one's gonna be a stinker."

I am really excited for boarderands 2. I really hope they give a little more dept in the quest department this time around. I have a limited game budget but this is one game that is a deffinate buy for me. Unless they Fuck it up of xoutse, which in kind site means its not a definite but WHATEVER I do what I want!

I’m not going to lie, there’s still quite a lot of 2011 games that I haven’t played through, but from what I have got my hands on I can say 2011 was a great year for video games, and hopefully 2012 can prove itself as a fine year too. I know this may be a little way into the year to post this but come on, it was January, what have I missed? So, for those who have not already clicked away in horror at this self-centred display of video game enjoyment, here are my most anticipated titles of 2012.

Bioshock Infinite

A lot of people seemed to look down on Bioshock 2 in a way I didn’t. I suspect it was partly that I was just more into the gameplay and atmosphere, and partly because Bioshock 1 set the bar so high, but like most other people I think Bioshock Infinite looks to be a true return to form for the games, and from what has been shown Irrational seem to be displaying a remarkable ability to take the spirit of the original Bioshock and transplant in an ambitious new world, characters, and story. I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to finish 2012 calling Bioshock Infinite my game of the year. I only hope it can live up to the expectations set by what they’ve shown us so far.

Borderlands 2

For me Borderlands was far from a perfect game. I found the shooting felt better in most other FPS games, the attempts at story seemed tacked-on and unpleasant, and the environments never really caught my eye. That being said, Gearbox still did an admirable job of building a genuinely fun loot-driven FPS/RPG. There was a weird sense of fulfilment watching the numbers fly out of enemy’s heads, especially when you got to try out various new kick-ass weapons you’d acquired recently or when you dropped down a turret and watched it lay waste to your foes. If Gearbox could make another Borderlands up to the standard of the first one, that’d be pretty good, but if Gearbox could build a better Borderlands which fixes the parts of the original game that didn’t work so well, that would be awesome.

Halo 4

We have next to no information on this game and yet somehow that doesn’t stop me from keeping a close eye on it. I’ve been a diehard fan of the Halo franchise, and after Bungie left the series with Halo: Reach I’ve been crossing my fingers tightly and praying that 343 Industries don’t mess this up. It doesn’t sound like Halo 4 will be a particularly original entry in the series, but they still have every opportunity to prove themselves as skilled developers on this one and deliver another excellent Halo game.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

I’ve heard it said that we all remember Luigi’s Mansion being better that it actually was and in a way that’s probably true, but that fact still doesn’t dampen my interest in Luigi’s Mansion 2. I can’t even guarantee that I’ll get a 3DS at this point but if I do this game will be a must-have for me. While series like Mario and Zelda still stand up well today, I find myself somewhat weary of Nintendo’s repeated rehashing of the same games, but Luigi’s Mansion not only presents something unique as far as Nintendo games go, but also as far as video games go as a whole. With Luigi’s Mansion 2 Nintendo have my sense of nostalgia tightly gripped in their hands and they’re not letting go.

Mass Effect 3

Some seem to already be proclaiming a considerable amount of worry over Mass Effect 3, anxious that elements like the co-op mission and the seemingly heavy involvement of EA are indicators of a potentially disappointing last instalment to the Mass Effect trilogy. I think this is a possibility, but let’s not lose our heads. Bioware have proven repeatedly their ability to develop high quality video games, and Mass Effect 3 could well be finale the series deserves. I really liked Mass Effect, I probably enjoyed Mass Effect 2 even more, and if Bioware can bring us a Mass Effect 3 that does justice to the compelling world and characters laid out in those games, I’ll be a very happy man.

Duder, It’s Over

Of course, these are just the games I’m most fixated on, I’m sure the year will bring us plenty more interesting titles, and I’ve found that some of the best games of previous years have been those which I’ve not been particularly expectant for, but have come out of the blue and been such a big hit with everyone else I had to get them. I hope you’re looking forward to everything the rest of this year has to offer, and feel free to share the games you’re most looking forward to in the comments. Thanks for reading.

-Gamer_152

the only games I'm getting this year are Mass Effect 3, Armoured Core V and Naruto Shippuden ultimate ninja storm generations.