2012 in preview
Mass Effect 3 – PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Mass Effect one and two were epic games, wowing the crowds and earning many gaming awards, and the third instalment promises to be no different. For those unfamiliar with the Mass Effect trilogy, the games centre around a player created character, by the name of Commander Shepard and his/her mission to save the galaxy in a RPG style fashion. Third game will focus on the the final battle with the evil creatures known as the reapers as well as including co-op online, allowing you to battle along side your friends to take back earth
Resident Evil: Revelations – 3DS
Resident Evil is the first full Resident Evil game for the 3DS. While Mercenaries only offered score-based gun fest, Revelations offers the whole experience, complete with hordes of mutant monsters and arsenal of weaponry. The games see Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield explore a infested cruise liner and despite the 3DS small size still offers the survival horror aspects you would expect from a Resident Evil game.
Mario Party 9 – Wii
After the success of Wii party, Nintendo obviously needs to keep the party game momentum going. The 11th (including two games on handhelds) game in the franchise will once again see players trotting across Mario themed boards collecting coin and stars and playing minigames to try and be declared the winner. Mario Party 9 will introduce some new modes, including one where players get in a car and drive across the board as a team as well as a host of new minigames and bosses.
Diablo 3 – PC, Mac
Diablo 3 begins 20 years after the end of the Diablo 2 and sees evil once again rise in the land of Tristram. Players will choose a hero from five distinctive classes and will roam across the land killing demon hordes with all kinds of different weapons and spells.
Final Fantasy VIII 2 – Xbox 360, PS3
Set several years after the events of the previous game, final fantasy VIII 2 follows the adventures of Serah, a young girl living in Cocoon, as she sets about with a man called Noel to find the hero Lighting.
Halo 4 – Xbox 360
Halo 4 will be the first game in a new halo trilogy and will see the return of the “Master Chief” as the main character. The new series is called the “Reclaimer Trilogy” and takes place many years after the events of Halo 3. Halo 4 is being developed by 343 industries rather than by Bungie but will still offer the exciting, futuristic, fist person shooters experience of the halo series.
The Last Guardian – PS3
The last Guardian is a new adventure game from Sony computer entertainment straight from the minds behind ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. The game tells of a young boy and his loved, rather large, pet monster as the travel across a vast and unfriendly world.
Monster Hunter 4 – 3DS
Very little is known about monster hunter 4, all that has been revealed is a short teaser trailer showing interactive environments, more jumping and platforming-style elements and the ability to jump on monsters back to attack it, suggests there will be plenty of new features. The Success of the Monster Hunter series in Japan is also likely to bring thousands of 3DS sales when this launches
Tomb Raider – PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Lara Crofts popularity has declined over the years, once she was a gaming icon but a run of bad games has tainted her reputation. Tomb Raider wants to change that. The game will go back to Lara’s origins and tell of how she became the battle worn adventurer we all know and love. Superb gameplay and a gripping narrative will make this game one to watch.
Twisted Metal – PS3
Twisted metal is the longest running game in Playstation history and this nest instalment promises to be bigger than ever. The game is a cross between racing and fighting and sees you destroy opponent’s cars with all kinds of weapons as you compete to get the grand prize in the twisted metal tournament.
Borderlands 2 – PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Borderlands 2 is the explosive sequel to the 4-player RPG-style gun fest of Borderlands. The game will include heaps of new features ad well as giving players a chance to explore more of the borderland world.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss – PS Vita
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is Uncharted’s Vita debut and the game offers the cinematic experience of Uncharted on the go. The game sees the series main protagonist, Nathan Drake, uncovering the secret behind the 400-year-old massacre of a Spanish exposition with the usual highly-detailed environments, and special effects of the Uncharted games.
Paper Mario – 3DS
When most people think of Mario they probably don’t think of Mario as a thin piece of paper and yet Paper Mario is the fourth time Mario has gone papery. Paper Mario is an RPG rather than a platformer but it still has the same humour and fun seen in all his games. The battles in paper Mario are your standard RPG turn-based battles with Mario being able to perform huge screen-filling attacks using stickers that he finds lying about. The game is set to be one of the funniest and best games on the 3DS.
BioShock Infinite – PS3, Xbox, PC
The third game in the popular Bioshock series moves the game away form the underwater world of Rapture of the first two games and instead takes you to a city in the sky. You play as a shamed private detective living in 1912 America who is on the hunt for a young woman called Elizabeth who has apparently been taken on to an elusive floating city called Columbia. Once a icon of Americas success, Columbia has disappeared into the clouds. DeWitt knows how to find it, but over the years stories have been told about Columbia having unlawful weaponry and deranged citizens.
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D– 3DS
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3d is the 3D remake of the PS2 but revamped with 3DS features. The Game sees the main character, Snake as he crawls around the jungle creeps through enemy bases. The game uses the 3DS features better than most games, you use the gyro to keep your balance on tight ropes and you use the camera to create your camouflage. Need to keep hidden in the depths of the jungle just snap a quick photo of your hedge. The closer the colour match of the scenery to your picture the better camouflaged you will be. A huge plot and great use of the system will mean that this will be one of the best on the 3DS.
Soulcalibur V – Xbox 360
Soulcalibur V begins 17 years after the end of Soulcalibur IV with a host of new characters and old favourites meeting a huge battle against evil. The tale of Patroklos, son of Sophitia Alexandra, unfolds as his family’s destiny intertwines with the Soul swords. The game is a fighting game with lots of characters, fists and round house kicks to keep you entertained for hours.
Max Payne 3 – PS3, Xbox 360, PC
The Third instalment in the Max Payne franchise promises to be grittier and darker than ever. This time, the titular Max Payne away from New York, the setting of his last adventures, and instead the game takes place in Brazil. The dark settings, the cinematic cutscenes and the awesome bullet-time mechanics are all the ingredients for a great game. This game also introduces a multiplayer mode with lots of maps for players to battle it out in thrilling death matches.
Kid Icarus Uprising – 3DS
The last Kid Icarus game was released way back in 1992 and Pit is here to make his triumphant return. The game is split between epic on-rails flying sequences and action-packed battles on the ground as Pit takes on monstrous hordes with a variety of different weapons including huge laser cannons, mystical bow and arrows, and strange orbiting turrets. The game also has AR features where characters from the game pop up in your house ready to smash each other to bits.
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm – PC, Mac
The sequel to Blizzard’s spectacular game, Starcraft II, is nearly here and promises to be as good as the last game. The game takes real-time strategy approach and sees you take command of futuristic forces from several different races in order destroy enemy armies and win the war. New units, new gameplay elements and new abilities will make this one of the games of the year. It also promises more and more pro multiplayer maps - StarCraft II has a huge number of matches going on around the world.
Ninja Gaiden III -PS3, Xbox 360
Ninja Gaiden III is shaping up to better than any other game in the series that has come before. The game tells of the life of a Ninja called Hayabusa, showing what drives him to fight, and kill. Also the game features new play controls allowing new comers to be assisted in their journey with automatic guarding and evasion assists and for experienced players to go head first with no help at all. Team Ninja want players to experience how it feels to “cut someone down”. New story and new online features will make this game something no one wants to miss.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 – 3DS
The Sequel to the ghost busting game, Luigi’s mansion, will see Mario’s younger and less famous brother have turn in the spotlight. The game sees player exploring haunted mansions sucking up ghosts with his poltergust 5000. The game features more than one mansion, unlike its predecessor, with each mansion having a different theme. The game has tons of secrets, surprises, and bosses could turn out to be one of the best on the console.
The Wii U
Obviously a preview of 2012 would not be complete without a look at Nintendo’s upcoming home console the Wii u. Like the Wii, the Wii U is set to revolutionize the way we play games. HD was one the things that Wii gamers sorely missed out on and Nintendo fans missed out on some of the best games because the were too big to be able to run on the Wii. The Wii u will change that. With HD capabilities producing up to 1080p resolution, a powerful IBM POWER7 processor and a similarly powerful graphics processor capable of giving the Xbox 360 and PS3 and run for their money. As with the Wii the main talking point with the Wii U is the controller. The Controller of the Wii U looks similar to an tablet computer but has many differences. The large controller has a 6.2” touchscreen in the middle of it, similar to the DS’s touchscreen but a lot bigger. Beside the screen it has two analogue sticks, four shoulder buttons, ABXY buttons and a d-pad The Wii U controller can be used in many different ways. You can play, just on the controller allowing other family members to use the TV for something else. The controller can act as an in-game menu without pausing the action. The controller can attach to the top of the Wii zapper and be as a sniper’s scope or a thermal imaging camera for night-time raids. What you do on the contoller can have an instant effect on what happens on the TV like for instance there was a demo where ninja stars were flicked from the controller into the TV in order to hit targets
Wii U games
Obviously, games are the most important part of a console, you can have great specs but if you don’t have any good games it’s not a good console. Luckily the Wii U has a great line up of games already. These are the 100% confirmed.
Pikmin 3
Not much has been revealed about Pikmin 3 but Shigeru Miyamoto, at E3 2011, confirmed that it is coming to the Wii U and has been in development since 2008. Hopefully the four years in development should pay off and we can’t wait to see how the new controller is used. Pikmin 3 is shaping up to be Olimar’s best adventure yet.
Killer Freaks from Outer Space
Always ones to be first on the starting line, Ubisoft were quick to announce their Wii U exclusive Killer Freaks from Outer Space. The game is a first person shooter and sees your character defending London from evil Alien hordes complete with a large splattering of HD blood and gore. There is also a multiplayer mode were one player spawns monsters and the other kills them.
Ghost Recon Online
In order to compete with the PS3 and Xbox, the Wii U will need a wealth of online games. Thankfully Ghost Recon Online is here to deliver that need. The game is set to be an Ultra-realistic shooter with multiplayer in mind, with voice chat while playing online and touchscreen menu’s, Ghost Recon Online looks to be one of the best coming to Wii U.
Lego City Stories
There isn’t a console around that hasn’t got a Lego game on them, but they are far more popular on Wii than on any other console. Lego city stories is a Wii U exclusive and will play out like a grand theft auto game except brighter, funnier and more friendly than Grand theft auto.
Dragon Quest X
Dragon Quest may not be so popular over here but it is one japans most successful game series so is likely to shift more consoles over there than here. The game has also been confirmed for the Wii so those that aren’t ready to make the jump to Wii U can still buy it although the Wii U version will look far better. Both versions will be able to communicate so people with the Wii version can play online with those with the Wii U version
Super Smash Bros 4
Hardly anything is known about super smash bros 4 and even saying it’ll be out by Christmas is wishful thinking. All we do know is that it is coming to Wii U and 3DS and that the two versions will play differently. We may not know much, but looking at the series past the game set to be one of the best on the console
Tekken Wii U
Little is known about Tekken Wii U but as the new edition to one of the most loved fighting series of all time it should be one of the best. All that has been shown is the ability to draw on your character on the controller screen and then send them off to fight other people, either in single player or Online.
Marvel Pinball
Although a Pinball game may not sound very exciting to most of you, Marvel Pinball is the first game confirmed as a downloadable game. Nintendo have promised more games, apps and eBooks to join Marvel Pinball on the Wii U’s online game service
Darksiders 2
Dark and violent are two words that come to mind when we think of Darksiders. The sequel is set to be just as happy and jolly as the last game and sees you take control of death, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The game is an action adventure game with lots to explore and lots of things to kill. Titles like this sitting next to Pikmin on the shelf will mean that the Wii U has a diverse line up.