HomeGenreAction2012 Games with a Twist: Three 2012 Games that Offer Something Different

2012 Games with a Twist: Three 2012 Games that Offer Something Different

As the New Year looms, new titles are waiting to surprise gamers with everything they can offer – and then some. In the spirit of the coming New Year and the hardcore gamer’s thirst for something beyond the norm, here are three titles which will launch in 2012 that can offer their players some pleasant twists.

Combat Wings: The Great Battles of World War II

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and other flight simulation-cum-action games of the same ilk (and mainstream fame) might have been at the forefront this past year, but one main concern about these titles is the same old formula: modern aircraft and armaments in modern or futuristic conflict. There are a number of vintage aircraft available in most games, however, but for hardcore flight sim and combat players, the experience of just flying a propeller-driven plane is different from fighting a propeller-driven plane war.

Set to launch on the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PC on September 2012, Combat Wings: The Great Battles of World War II intends to deliver just that. Game publisher City Interactive promises to deliver an excellent World War II experience with avant-garde graphics and gameplay through Combat Wings, an something lacking in most flight sim games in recent years that seem to be only focusing mostly on supersonic aircraft and modern or futuristic missions. The game takes jet jockeys into action lifted right off history books in what is touted as one of the most faithful renditions of WWII aerial engagements. The title’s campaign mode will play out iconic WWII aerial battles across the world, from the Battle of Britain to North Africa to over and across the pacific to the Eastern Front.

Say farewell to your favorite supersonic and stealth aircraft for now and enjoy the much slower pace of prop-plane dogfighting. Lesser G’s on your barrel rolls don’t take away from the experience, however, as the aerial engagements in WWII were flashy and incredibly insane – perfect for a game, actually.

Gotham City Impostors

When the Dark Knight (and the Joker) is away, the Impostors will play. Gotham City Impostors borrows the familiar turf of the caped crusader and transforms it into a Wild West wasteland for characters impersonating Batman or Joker and trying to kill each other with powerful pistols, high caliber rifles, and even RPG launchers. Game developer Monolith Productions partnered up with Warner Bros. to deliver this FPS, download-only game by next month on Xbox LIVE or the Playstation Network.

There are several twists to take note of in this one. Perhaps the minds behind the game wanted to play on the success of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, or perhaps they just wanted to translate the chaos of Arkham City into an FPS game – either way, it’s a quirky concept that can turn heads. Better yet, the characters trying to cap each other off are ludicrous and the graphic and gameplay style is a cross between GTA and Twisted Metal, if you can imagine that.

Think Red Dead: Revolver meets Batman: Arkham City, and the players are all deranged Batman and Joker wannabes.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Initially touted as Metal Gear Rising only, the next installment in the Metal Gear franchise is also the first of its title – it is likewise the first Metal Gear game to place Raiden into the protagonist spotlight. While the current release date for the highly anticipated game (as in highly anticipated – it was announced two years ago and expectations are still running high) is set to TBA, it doesn’t hurt to be optimistic that it might be set to come out this coming new year. Konami’s got 12 new months to consider it anyway.

2012 release hopes ran rampant all the more when a 3-minute trailer of Raiden pawning everything in his path using his high frequency katana was released on the 10th of this month. Evidently, the story will be delving deeper into the mysteries of the bushido warrior Raiden while taking place around the timeline of events in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The question is: is the twist worth it?

The story and gameplay will be more action-packed compared to previous Metal Gear titles, and the game should hold well on its own. Gamers might recall Dirge of Cerberus – a Final Fantasy VII game in which the events occur after the timeline of the original FFVII. Instead of an RPG it was a third person FPS-slash-action game, and instead of Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine was the protagonist. That’s one twist worth commemorating on its own, but as part of a greater success, was it a good addition to the FFVII experience as a whole? Would Revengeance be a good addition to the Metal Gear enterprise?

Time will tell if the twist justifies – or even surpasses – the hype, but so far all signs seem to be saying this game is well worth waiting for.

There’s one flight sim, one FPS, and one action game, all with respective interesting twists to them, that you might want to watch out for in 2012. Just in case the same old same old is starting to get, well, old for you.

G Dino
G Dinohttp://www.thetypicalnaysayer.wordpress.com
I’m G Dino, a freelance content writing specialist. I write myriad sorts of Web content on various topics for many different people and companies. I enjoy doing what I do as much as I love learning on the job. When I’m not writing for a living, I’m writing for leisure. When I’m not writing for leisure, I’m reading or gaming for inspiration. When I’m not doing either, I hatch schemes to change or destroy the world.