10 Big Games For 2012

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Heart of the Swarm is the Zerg expansion of StarCraft II, and picks up where Wings of Liberty left off. Specific plot details are iffy right now, but Sarah Kerrigan will be the protagonist of the game. Her quest is to resume leadership of the swarm while in her regained human form; it’s not going to be an easy task, since the Zerg have split up into different broods without her leadership.

For the competitive ladder climbers, Heart of the Swarm is expected to have its own ladder, separate from that of Wings of Liberty. New maps are also expected, along with a bunch of fun new multiplayer units.

A teaser trailer of Heart of the Swarm was released earlier this year, and can be viewed here. Heart of the Swarm is slated for release on the PC in 2012, but you know Activision Blizzard…



Diablo III





This expansion has been years in coming, and is finally knocking on our doorsteps. Diablo III gives you the chance to be a witch doctor, barbarian, wizard, monk or demon hunter, playable as male or female, and its beta looks and feels like the same old dungeon delver. There are small improvements throughout the game – as expected – and the plot is reminiscent of Diablo II’s, but it’s been enough to keep legions of fans salivating over gameplay videos.




Diablo III is slated for release in Q1 of next year. We refuse to believe that it’ll be ported to consoles.

World of WarCraft: Mists of Pandaria





We’re big fans of WarCraft lore, and one of our greatest dreams has always been to explore the South Seas. That was somewhat sated with Kezan and the goblin race, but now Activision Blizzard has done one better, and announced Mists of Pandaria. The best thing about this expansion isn’t the new continent; it isn’t the new Monk class. It’s the new race – the Pandaren! You can finally strut around muttering to yourself like the Brewmaster hero.


Mists of Pandaria’s release date is speculated to be in the summer of 2012, but since patch 4.3 is already on the PTR, we might be getting it earlier than you think!

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning





This single-player RPG’s executive designer was lead designer for Morrowind and Oblivion. Its universe and lore was created by R.A. Salvatore. Its artwork, by Todd McFarlane. I think that’s enough reason alone to play it. But read a little more about it before going off in a fit of fanboyism.

Kingdoms of Amalur will contain five distinct regions, four playable races and three class trees with up to 22 abilities per tree. What’s unique about its skill-tree is that it culminates in a ‘destiny’ – investing in a specific skillset will unlock a certain destiny, which acts as the game’s class system. While its gameplay looks very action oriented, Kingdoms of Amalur’s combat designer emphasises that “twitch skill is only going to get you so far. Strategy and proper RPG playing is going to get you farther.” Good news for RPG purists!

Kingdoms of Amalur is slated for release across the XboX 360, Playstation 3 and Windows platforms in February 2012.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive





This might just be the game every competitive Counter-Strike player has been waiting for. You might be gratified to find out that CS: GO has absolutely nothing to do with Counter-Strike: Online, and will contain classic content instead of guns you can buy with real-world money. Expect to see oldie-but-goodies like the classic Dust maps on top of new maps, new characters, and new game modes. Matchmaking and leaderboards will also be introduced, and cross-platform multiplayer has been confirmed.

Graphics are a noticeable step up, similar in realism to CS: Source yet lacking that hyperreal feel introduced by the Battlefield series. They rejuvenate the older maps, and give the new maps a fancy spin.

CS: GO is slated for an early 2012 release across the PC, Mac, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms. However cross-platform multiplayer is limited to PC, Mac and PS3 users.

Twisted Metal




I’m not sure this even needs a writeup, but for the uninitiated, think of the following few elements, combined: mad clowns, crazy cars, no-holds-barred demolition derbies, and did we mention uninhibited mayhem?

Twisted Metal is the longest-running Playstation exclusive franchise that has spanned sixteen years since 1995 to present, and this will be the eighth instalment. However, the roster on hand for the newest Twisted Metal hints at it being set in a brand new universe with four different factions: the Clowns, the Dolls, the Skulls and the Preachers, all inspired by characters from the previous games. Fortunately, it will also include the infamous Sweet Tooth and his iconic ice-cream truck.



Twisted Metal is slated for release on February 14th 2012, on the Playstation 3 platform. Expect to enjoy lots of crazy multiplayer action, with up to four players split-screen and sixteen players online.

Dota 2




Dota 2 is a stand-alone Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) sequel to the wildly popular WarCraft III custom Defense of the Ancients map. While it has been compared to the already-released Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends, it differentiates itself by being the only Dota sequel that developer IceFrog has had a hand in.

Dota 2 also recently debuted at Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, Germany, where sixteen Dota teams were invited to duke it out for a $1.6 million prize pool, with $1 million going to the winning team. Dota 2 has also won IGN’s People’s Choice Award, stealing the title from games like Battlefield 3, Diablo 3 and even Skyrim.

Dota 2 is currently in its beta testing stage and has an unconfirmed release date for 2012, on the PC platform.

Borderlands




Two years have passed in the real world since Borderlands; five have passed within the latter’s universe, and a new enemy is rising to strike Pandora once again! Venture forth into the wilderness of the post-apocalyptic Wasteland as four companions and savour the cartoony Borderlands graphics because Borderlands 2 is on its way!



Vehicle physic elements have been introduced in this sequel, along with a more expansive and customisable weapons system. Quest systems have also become more dynamic, with some of them having time limits, and some having outcomes that affect the course of your gameplay. The game world will also be interconnected, doing away with the loadable levels for each different region. The AI system has also been re-worked, so expect tougher fights, and more interesting, roaming NPCs!

Borderlands 2 has been announced across the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms for release in 2013’s fiscal year, which spans between April 2012 and March 2013.

Street Fighter x Tekken




Street Fighter x Tekken is yet another of Capcom’s infamous crossover fighting games, and will naturally feature characters from the Street Fighter and Tekken series. The game will utilise the 2D gameplay of Street Fighter, since Capcom is its producer.

Core techniques of the game will be similar to Street Fighter’s, with elements such as Super Combos and EX attacks. However Tekken players will also be able to perform combos similar to those executed via the Tekken 4-button system. Since each player will be allowed to select two characters, the tag team element of the game is also heavily emphasised, with players being able to tag their second character in a variety of ways. Unlike Capcom’s other crossover fighting games such as Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter x Tekken will make an attempt at explaining how the two universes came together!

SFxT is slated for release on the PC, Playstation 3, Playstation Vita and Xbox 360 platforms in March 2012, and will have system exclusive characters. For the more hardcore Tekken fans, Namco is also working on its own version – Tekken x Street Fighter.

Tomb Raider




Lara Croft returns in the 2012 remake of Tomb Raider! The game is unlike any of its predecessors, in that it is a reboot that emphasises on the origins of Lara Croft. However, when it comes to Tomb Raider, many are more interested in Lara, and less in the gameplay (because come on, it gets repetitive after a while).

[source and image credit: Yahoo!]

Posted in: 2012 Games