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There are a fair few games coming out soon that I’m really looking forward to. Some more than others, of course. And as such, I figured I’d throw together this list. Enjoy.
10: Doom 4Released: December 31st, 2011
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
This is mostly a nostalgia thing, to be honest. Doom was one of the first games I played that wasn’t Felix or Wilf (and if anyone knows what I’m talking about, I’ll be very impressed), and it started me along a wonderful path. I never did play Doom 3, but I’ll be sure to do so before this comes out. I’m dying to find out what they’ve done with the series. Games these days require plot, and Doom never had much of that, so I can’t wait.
9: Fallout OnlineReleased: June 30th, 2012
Systems: PC
MMOs on the whole are not my thing. So far, I’ve only been interested in Tabula Rasa (died due to lack of interest), Hellgate: London (died due to lack of interest) and Eve Online (requires an economics degree to play with any form of competence). So imagine my delight when I learnt there was a planned MMO set in the Fallout universe. I love the Fallout games (although my first experience was 3, then New Vegas - I keep meaning to play the first two, but have yet to get around to them), and can’t get enough of them. An MMO could be terrible, but hopefully with a little effort it’ll be just like a multiplayer version of the games themselves.
8: Duke Nukem ForeverReleased: June 10th, 2011
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
Not long to go for this one, now. But it’s certainly been long enough. Fourteen years is an unbearably long time for a game to be in development. I never really played Duke Nukem at the time, but it’s been coming for so long, that I MUST see what they’ve made in that time. From the trailers I’ve seen, they seem to have gone back to the classic FPS formula of run, gun and fun. Sod realism, I want exploding hamster launchers and boobs EVERYWHERE.
7: Bioshock: InfiniteReleased: December 31st, 2012
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
I have yet to finish a Bioshock game, but not from lack of interest. The setting enthralls me - Rapture, an underwater steampunk city? How can I not love that? And Infinite takes it to another level - literally - with an airship-based clockpunk city, moving constantly around the skies. With more and better abilities to inject yourself with, and airborne equivalents of Big Daddys roaming the air, it shows a lot of promise.
6: Warhammer 40,000: Space MarineReleased: September 30th, 2011
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
The grimdark of the 40k universe calls out to me. It’s like living in a post-apocalyptic civilisation that spans a galaxy. With space cathedrals that take centuries to construct, psychic powers and a form of faster-than-light travel that involves FLYING THROUGH HELL, it makes for wonderful stories. The only thing I’m not looking forward to about this game is playing as the Ultramarines - but I’m sure mods to change that will abound.
5: Mass Effect 3Released: March 31st, 2012
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
Mass Effect has always interested me. It’s a semi-hard sci-fi setting with several interesting races and a whole host of different ways to play. Naturally, I’m always a cunt. I’ve always enjoyed alien invasion scenarios, and this seems to be the ultimate example. Must remember to finish playing the first two within the next year, though.
4: Deus Ex: Human RevolutionReleased: August 26th, 2011
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
Deus Ex is a classic of the multi-path RPG. However, it feels more like an FPS than a full-blown RPG - somewhat like Fallout 3 or New Vegas. This is what always appealed to me - until recently, RPGs didn’t grab me at all, and even now it’s only table-top, pencil and paper offerings that do so. So I’m very much looking forward to a modern version of Deus Ex. With all the new abilities current game programming can allow, I’m expecting what is effectively just Shadowrun done right. Which would be awesome.
3: Batman: Arkham CityReleased: October 21st, 2011
Systems: PC, 360, PS3
I recently picked up a copy of Arkham Asylum for a tenner. BEST. PURCHASE. EVER. It’s honestly one of the best games I’ve played in recent times. Sure, there are a couple of annoying niggling things, but overall it’s excellent. As such, a sequel can only be a good thing. Assuming they do it right. What’s needed is Arkham Asylum with more bad guys and a larger area, not a Batman-themed GTA. It could easily become that with the wrong people on the development team.
2: Silent Hill: DownpourReleased: December 31st, 2011
Systems: 360, PS3
When I saw the trailer for this game, I almost came. It just looks beautiful, and seems like it could well become a classic Silent Hill game. Moving away from the simply odd of the past few offerings, it seems to be returning to the disturbingly bizarre and just WRONG of the earlier games, the first and second especially. This very nearly made it to number one on this list, but it was narrowly pipped at the post by:
1: Sword of the Stars 2Released: August 16th, 2011
Systems: PC
OH GOD YES. SotS is easily the best 4X game I’ve ever played, and I’ve played a LOT. It’s the classic of the genre, the one others aspire to be. So my reaction when I learnt a sequel was on the cards was to almost have a heart attack. Introducing a larger ship class than even the dreadnought, and extending the power generation technology beyond antimatter, it looks to be a genuine improvement so far. Social interactions between the various races have also developed, leading to at least one strange alliance (Liir and Zuul? Really?), and the re-introduction of a previously only spoken-of race, the Suul’ka - the progenitors of the Zuul, and those that tampered with pretty much every other race in the galaxy. I have yet to find any gameplay trailers, but as long as they’ve not changed a winning formula too much, I can’t see this going wrong. Let’s hope I’m not disappointed.
Until next time,
CSquared
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