Top 12 Games to Look Out For in 2012

As 2011 slowly comes to an end, we reflect on the great year of gaming it has been. A brand new year is set to begin just over the horizon, and with it comes a slew of great games set to be released not to long from now. So gear up and jump on board the hype wagon as we take a look at 12 of 2012’s most anticipated games.

12. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Developer: SCE Bend Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: Playstation Vita
Release Date: You might be lucky enough to be playing the game already if you’re in Japan right now, but for everyone else you’ll have to wait until February 22, 2012

So…what’s all the hype about?

From what we saw at E3, Gamescom and TGS, Uncharted: Golden Abyss looks fantastic. A launch title for Sony’s latest handheld console Playstation Vita, the game really shows off what this new handheld console is capable of. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is defiantly shaping up to be one good looking game that you can fit into the palms of your hands, sporting incredible graphics (which look as if they have been taken straight out of their Playstation 3 counterparts) along with the same mix of platforming and combat goodness with an added bonus of new characters and story all thrown in.

11. The Darkness II

Developer: Digital Extremes
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release Date: February 7, 2012 in North American and February 10, 2012 for Europe and Australia

So…what’s all the hype about?

In 2007, a first person shooter with a twist called The Darkness was released. Combining the mafia revenge story with demonic mythology, the result proved to be a unique and fresh take on both genre and narrative story telling in gaming as a whole. Now a sequel has finally emerged, Jackie Estacado is back to face the demons he left from the first game along with a new foe, The Brotherhood and players can once again take control of the demonic entity known only as The Darkness. The Darkness II is ready to raise the bar in violence with gruesome execution moves set to take main stage. Along with this, the game includes a brand new co-op multiplayer mode complete with its own parallel campaign.

10. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Developer: Sanzaru Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: Playstation 3
Release Date: TBA 2012

So…what’s all the hype about?

The long-anticipated fourth game in the series marks a return after a six year absents for Sly Cooper. Sly 4 aka Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was finally announced at E3 2011 and since then information has been slowly drip fed to fans. The first game in the series not to be developed by Sucker Punch Studios, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time promises to be even bigger and better than its predecessors with emphasis on free roaming in much larger environments than in previous games. Sly 4 will be the series first game built for the Playstation 3 and it will be interesting to see how its developers, Sanzaru Games, will take the series into the new generation of gaming.

9. Borderlands 2

Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release Date: July 30, 2012 (According to Amazon.com…)

So…what’s all the hype about?

The original Borderlands was a sleeper hit when it was released in 2010, mixing first person shooting with traditional role playing loot hunting. Now sure the game was not without its flaws and a general lack of story all round, but the fundamental core gameplay and art style was very solid. There was much to like about this game, and what better to have than a sequel set to improve on all the flaws of the original and improve on the parts that made the game so good.

8. Hitman: Absolution

Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release Date: TBA 2012

So…what’s all the hype about?

Hitman: Absolution the fifth game in the long running stealth action series is looking very good. We first got word of the new Hitman game with little more than a short teaser trailer back in May. But this gave us a clear indication that E3 would soon deliver the goods. Powered by IO Interactive’s Glacier 2 engine, this game pushes some very fancy graphics – just look at Agent 47’s bald head! Stealth games are always quite hard to get right but  IO Interactive by the looks of things are on the money with this one, paying attention to what players want out of a stealth game along with bring in new innovations to keep the game fresh.

7. The Last Guardian

Developer: Team Ico
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: Playstation 3
Release Date: TBA 2012

So…what’s all the hype about?

Originally announced at E3 2009, Team Ico’s long awaited follow up/spiritual successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus The Last Guardian was set to be released in late 2011 but was later on pushed back to 2012. So will we finally get to play The Last Guardian in 2012? Well we hope so. Just exactly how the game is actually going to be played is yet to be revealed. Will it be an action, puzzle or adventure game or a unique mix of all three? Well whatever it is, The last Guardian is sure looking like one incredibly unique game.

6.  Max Payne 3

Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release Date: March 2012

So…what’s all the hype about?

Just have a look at the debut trailer for Max Payne 3, and oh wow you can just tell that this is going to be something. Rockstar Games have made some damn fine games over the years and Max Payne 3 will be no different. Set years after the events of Max Payne 2 and in a new tropical setting of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Max Payne 3 is set to bring back the bullet time action that we all know and love. Some serious tech is going into this game, with its Euphoria engine once again set to overdrive and once again set to exceed our expectations promising a third person shooter with the fluidity and precision of a first-person shooter.