Here are my top 5 games coming up in 2012:
BioShock Infinite
At number five it’s BioShock Infinite. This time the action’s not sent in the underwater world of Rapture but instead on a giant city in the air called Columbia in 1912. You play as a guy called Booker DeWitt who’s not a French comedian but in fact a disgraced former agent acting as a lone wolf. The gameplay is the familiar mix of first-person shooting and role playing you’ve come to expect with the BioShock games and of course you’ll get some cool abilities to raise the stakes alongside the usual array of weaponry that fires bullets. This Bioshock game has been in development for over two and a half years now so hopefully this one will be the best of the lot.
Preorder: Buy BioShock Infinite from Amazon.com
Hitman: Absolution
At number four it’s Hitman: Absolution. We haven’t seen Agent 47 in a game for a long time now, the last time was in that movie which it’s best we all forget about. This is the first time you’ll be able to dress up and kill people on HD consoles and although not much has been given away in terms of plot, this gameplay trailer doing the rounds online shows off just how gorgeous it looks and that you can do familiar things such as garrotte people from behind, disguise yourself as policemen and the like in order to find your target or remain anonymous and a new ability where Agent 47 can see through walls. We may have seen some of these gameplay mechanics since the last Hitman game in games such as Batman and Assassin’s Creed but combined with the cold killing mentality of this slaphead assassin we could have a very special formula.
Preorder: Buy Hitman: Absolution from Amazon.com
Metal Gear Solid: Rising
At three it’s Metal Gear Solid: Rising. I have a love/hate relationship with the Metal Gear games because despite the wonky control method and massively over-indulgent cut scenes I do find them rather enjoyable. None of us really liked playing as Raiden in MGS2 but Metal Gear Solid 4 showed us that somehow he’d become a cyborg ninja badass! Quite how that happened to him we don’t know but in this game we’ll get to find out because it follows the events before he pops up in MGS 4, slices everyone up and then promptly appears to die in front of you. The game also apparently features sophisticated swordplay and for the first time Metal Gear Solid hits the Xbox 360 as well as Sony’s machine. Take that Link!
Preorder: Buy Metal Gear Solid: Rising from Amazon.com
The Last Guardian
At number two it’s The Last Guardian. Having just played through the HD re-masters of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus I’m just aching for more Team Ico action which is bound to be engaging, beautiful and emotional all at the same time. Once again it seems the action follows a young boy who’s trying to escape from the boundaries of a large castle but this time he has the help of a large eagle-type-dog creature called Trico. It won’t be easy though as Trico has his own animal instincts and it’s up to you to appeal those instincts in order to progress. The game was supposed to come out in 2011 but hopefully it will eventually hit the stores at the beginning of next year.
Preorder: Buy The Last Guardian from Amazon.com
Mass Effect 3
And at number one it’s Mass Effect 3. Electronic Arts are keen to point out that anyone can jump in and play this third game in the outstanding sci-fi RPG series and understand what’s going on. The game will be more action focussed this time around as The Reapers launch a full scale attack on planet Earth and Commander Shepard and his crew from the Normandy fight back with the result being a lot of fancy explosions! This time around there’s also a multiplayer mode called Galaxy at War where you can go on co-op missions to help the cause. The Mass Effect universe is as rich as any other popular sci-fi offering and I for one can’t wait to dive right back into it for the Mass Effect 3 release date of March 2012.
Preorder: Buy Mass Effect 3 from Amazon.com