My Most Anticipated Games of 2012 Part 1 (Listed Alphabetically)

Hello readers!

My name is Adam Dawson and I am currently a junior at Indiana University. I am pursuing a degree in journalism and hope to be all finished up by spring 2013 (fingers crossed). I am originally from the suburbs of Chicago and have had a passion for video games my entire life. I hope to one day professionally write about video games for a living, but for now I will start small and blog about them.

Since the year is new and there are a ton of exciting titles to look forward to in the year 2012, I took it upon myself to begin my blog with a list of games releasing this year that I will potentially be putting hours upon hours of gameplay into

(Bioshock Infinite)- I remember seeing a demo for this game about a year or year and a half ago and my reaction was having my jaw drop to the floor. I have never seen a game look so unbelievably beautiful without being even close to finished. Though I do find it lazy that the setting is pretty much the opposite of rapture, I am extremely excited to see how that plays into the game, especially with the transportation system that looks like some kind of sky based railroad system in which the protagonist zips across with a cool mechanism that connects him to the rails and takes him on a ride through Colombia (the chosen name for the setting). As gameplay, it looks similar to the classic Bioshock formula with use of weapons and plasmids. Though the formula is the same, the weapons and plasmids are not. In the demo, the protagonist uses a scoped rifle that I haven't seen in either Bioshock or Bioshock 2. Also, the plasmid used in the demo calls in a murder of crows to well... murder your enemies. They aren't called plasmids in Infinite though, instead they are called vigors. The vigor may sound similar to the bee plasmid from the other Bioshock titles, but it looks a lot more brutal. One thing that I found impressive was the mass hordes of enemies that attack the protagonist as he fights his way through the bar and out onto the streets. At the end of the demo, the protagonist is united with a girl who seems to have some sort of telekinetic abilities amongst other powers. I am excited to see how that will be applied to the gameplay. I am also excited for the boss fights in the game because the humongous monsters they show in the demo look incredibly badass. Another demo was released at E3 2011 showcasing the combat, and it looks insane, so check it out if you haven't already. The game is scheduled to be released sometime during the 4th quarter of this year and will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

(Borderlands 2)- Most people who have played Borderlands would say that it is a damn near perfect FPS RPG. Naysayers that I spoke with about the game complained about it's cell shaded graphics and the overwhelming amount of things to do. These people aren't hardcore gamers and just don't appreciate this series for what it is. The visual style of the game fits so well with the style of the game that reminds me so much of a cartoon... a very gruesome cartoon. The game doesn't take itself all that seriously and the cell shaded graphics add to that atmosphere of the game. As far as the vast amount of quest in the game, no hardcore RPG player would ever dislike a game for that. There is a bunch of quest to be done in Borderlands and I expect the same from the second. Though there aren't many details that have been released about this game, players have all new characters, weapons, skills, environments, equipment, and enemies. Hopefully there is awesome DLC to accessorize Borderlands 2 like there is with the first. This game should be in stores by the 2nd quarter of this year and will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.


(Counter Strike: Global Offensive)- Do I even have to say anything about this game... it's fucking Counter Strike. I'd play this game just on the sole fact that it is a Counter Strike game. In this new addition to the Counter Strike series Valve teams up with Hidden Path Entertainment to once again make a tactical online shooter that plays just like Counter Strike Source with improved graphics, new character models, new weapons, and new maps. Of course Valve will include remakes of old CS maps in the game to please long time fans of the series. A closed beta was released on November 30th 2011 and the game is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of this year. Valve will not release the game until the fans are satisfied with it, and that is exactly why most Valve releases are phenomenal. It will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

(Diablo III)- Oh Blizzard, you are so good at making us wait and wait for your titles to be released. Sometimes I think you get some kind of sick pleasure from watching us squirm in anticipation for one of your incredible releases. Just like Starcraft 2, Diablo III has had a lot of hype and a long wait behind it. Diablo III will use a custom 3D engine so there can be a similar overhead camera angle as there was in it's predecessors, and it will also be using a custom in house physics engine instead of teaming with Havok.. Diablo III will also have multiplayer supported by Blizzards very own Battle.net service and there will be a feature in which players will be able to drop in and out of co-op games. There will be a brand new and enhanced quest simulator as well as a random level generator and a random encounter generator in order to keep the game fresh and exciting. A new feature to the game will be Skill runes, which are skill building and modifying items that are dropped from dead enemies. Hardcore characters will make a return to the game, there will also be two types of Artisans, a blacksmith and a jeweler. One thing that I found really awesome is the real world auction house that they will incorporate in the game. Here players will be able to sell items in their inventory for real world money instead of gold, and even gold can be traded for real world money. The five classes will be Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Wizard, Monk, and Demon Hunter, and they will all come with certain perks and abilities exclusive to their class. Of course there will be a PvP mode in Diablo III and I expect it to be awesome just like PvP in any other game created by Blizzard. Diablo III will be a PC exclusive and is hoped to be released sometime in the first quarter of this year.

(DOTA 2)- If you are a DOTA fan, then you know that it originally was just an online game mod from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne. DOTA 2 will actually be a full out game, and it is being developed by the good people at Valve. Instead of just being created on the Warcraft III World Editor, DOTA 2 is being developed using the source engine allowing for better texture design, lighting effects and sharper character models. As for the actual gameplay, not much will really be changed. The objective is still the same; beat the hell out of your opponents until you and devastate and demolish their ancient fortresses while protecting you own as well. The two sides battling are the Radiant and the Dire. The Radiant are based on the southwest corner of the map and the Dire are based on the northwest corner of the map. Each side will be assigned a hero and the heroes will be able to reach a maximum level of 25 based on experienced gained from combat. DOTA will  also come equipped with it's own musical soundtrack created by Warcraft III composer Jason Hayes and Academy Award winning sound designer, Tim Larkin, so it is bound to be epic. DOTA 2 has no official release date, but it is scheduled to be released at some point in 2012. It will be exclusive to the PC.


(Ghost Recon: Future Soldier)- The future is an unknown scary time. Apparently Ubisoft's prediction of the future includes a war between the United States and of course Russia. As cliche as video game wars between the United States and Russia have become, this game still looks like loads of fun. The game will play a lot like the G.R.A.W series (a personal favorite of mine) with a third person camera angle except for when using aiming sights or scopes, or firing from cover, then the game will switch to first person. Cover will be big in the game, and it will be destroyable, causing players to moves to different areas of cover instead of camping in the same spot. A nifty new feature of the game will be the ability to use optical camouflage; an ability in which the player will be able to go invisible to the naked eye for a short period of time. After seeing this during the demo at E3 2011, I was practically already sold being a fan of the Ghost Recon series. There will also be a weapon customization feature that can be controlled by Kinect. The Kinect hasn't impressed me much so far, so I am excited to see it be incorporated in a lot of big titles coming this year, especially this one. The game will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3. The PC version was cancelled in December and will be replaced by a project called Ghost Recon Online. Be on the lookout for Future Soldier when it releases on  May 22nd 2012.

(GTA V)- There hasn't been much information released on this game except for a minute long trailer with what seems to be the main character narrating over it. First and foremost, the game looks incredible, even better than GTA IV. I know it's kind of weak that Rockstar went with the whole recreating an old setting thing again, but I am still shaking with anticipation to get my hands on this game. From the trailer, you notice a lot of landmarks of Las Angeles recreated in the city of Los Santos. You also may recognize the main character as an older Tommy Vercetti... it's a bold assumption, but I would love to play through another fantastic GTA story line as Tommy Vercetti. There is no set release date, but this game is rumored to be released this year. If not this year, really early next year, so there won't be too long of a wait. This game will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.



(Halo 4)- It's another Halo game... what else needs to be said? I wish there was more for me to say actually, but there is so little known about this game that it is impossible for me to write an in depth summary about this game. All that has been released is a teaser trailer and a few concept drawings. Other than that, gamers are just going to have to draw excitement from the fact that it's fucking Halo! That's what I'm doing. The game is allegedly supposed to release on December 30th 2012 and it will be available exclusively on Xbox 360.

Part two will be coming in another post.