Modern Warfare 3 (November 8, 2011) – Add-ons and maps will come out on Xbox 360 first: The game looks as action pack and intense as ever and the battle in New York seemed interesting since there is now people above, below and across from you. However I’m still not sure if the remains of Infinity Ward along with Raven Software and Sledgehammer Games can produce a game that is better than Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops. Also I will not be paying for Elite because I still think it is unnecessary.
Tomb Raider: This is a reboot of the popular series and follows Lara Croft on her first ever adventure as a 21 year old lady not some badass battle hardened woman. The game is rated M because they wanted to show a dark and gritty world and it really shows. I’ve never been a fan of Tomb Raider but this game has really peaked my interest.
Tiger Woods 12 – Offers Kinect support
Madden 12 (August 30, 2011) – Offers Kinect support
Fifa 12 – Offers Kinect support: Will have a new feature called Football Club which will feature constant challenges as well as carry over your file from all Fifa games whether they are on the 360, PS3, PC, iPad or even Facebook.
Sims 3 Pets – Offers Kinect support
Family Game Night 4 – Offers Kinect support
Mass Effect 3 (March 9, 2012) – Offers Kinect support: Mass Effect is using the Kinect in the way it should be used. What way is that? To add to the experience not replace it, which is what the Wii, Move and now the Wii U keep getting wrong. Kinect isn’t meant to replace the controller, it isn’t intrusive it just assists in places where it feels natural. Like saying which of the speech option you want to select or issuing commands to squad mates like advance or Concussive Shot. The game looks incredible and the trailer at EA’s Press Conference was amazing. It’s called “The Fall of Earth” and it’s linked below.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Solider (March 2012) – Offers Kinect support: While this offers the ability to play the game using Kinect it also allows it to be integrated with the regular experience. When customizing the guns you can tell Kinect to optimize for close quarters or long distance and it will give you the best customization based on all of the equipment you have unlocked. The game supports full 4 player co-op and looks like it might be the best in the series. Also all Tom Clancy games from now on will feature Kinect support.
New Xbox Dashboard (Fall 2011): The new dashboard has a lot of new features: Youtube which is pretty self-explanatory, Bing which will allow you to either type-in or say what you’re looking for at which point Bing will get you all of the trailers, demos and content available on XBL, Live TV will allow you to watch certain stations that Microsoft has formed partnerships with and UFC PPV which allows you to watch the fight pick who you think will win and how then receive points based on how accurate you were and compete with friends to see who gets the highest score.
Gears of War 3 (September 20, 2011): The epic conclusion to the Gears trilogy is almost here and it looks like it will be going out with a bang. In addition to last year’s announcements about Horde mode and full 4 player co-op Gears will also have a new song performed by Ice-T and his band Body Count which reunited for the sole purpose of this song for Gears 3. Also during the demo a new vehicle was revealed; the Silverback. Silverbacks are mini mechs you get to hop in a mow down enemies with also your partner can hop into cover behind you when you’re standing still.
Ryse: Not much is known about this game, all I could see from the trailer was that the game is set in Rome, it is for the Kinect and kind of seems like a bloody version of Infinity Blade that might actually have a story.
Halo: CE: Anniversary (Nov 15, 2011): This is a re-mastered version of the original Halo. The game has a new graphical overcoat on the campaign so it doesn’t look anything like Reach but it looks way better than it did 10 years ago. Also because it is a coating at any time you can press back and turn off the new graphics so it looks just like it used to. The game will play just like it used to and have Xbox Live 4 player co-op but no online multiplayer. Instead it will come with 6 totally redone multiplayer maps from Halo: CE for Halo: Reach. You can play these maps on the disk like in ODST when it gave you maps for Halo 3 or download them so you can play them on your Reach disk. So the Pistol will not be the best weapon, just so we’re clear. If you are concerned about 343 Industries taking over the Halo franchise you should know that a lot of former Bungie employees who designed Halo are now working there including Frank O’Connor (the guy who made Master Chief) who is in charge. Also if that isn’t enough the game will retail for only $39.99 U.S. now I don’t know if that will be the same in Canada or if it will be $49.99 here but either way it’s a good deal.
Forza Motorsport 4 (October 11, 2011) – Offers Kinect support: Kinect will support voice commands for menus as well as head tracking so when you play from the driver’s perspective and you want to see a mirror or what’s up a head after the turn you just move your head and the camera will move for you. This is another example of Kinect not over taking the controls but helping in a very natural way. The game will have 16 player online races and monthly expansions to get you to keep coming back to the game.
Fable: The Journey (2012): This game is only for Kinect and allows you to use your hands to cast magic on your enemies. The demo shown at the Microsoft Press Conference was on rails but that is because they didn’t want the navigation to slow down the demo but Peter Molyneux said that you will be able to freely explore a huge open world in the game. This could be the hardcore Kinect title that fans have been hoping for.
Minecraft – Offers Kinect support: That’s right Minecraft is coming to the Xbox 360. The guy who made this game must be loaded by now.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures: This game gives you an accurate recreation of Disneyland to explore. You can interact with Disney characters and explore rides that are mini games in which you collect coins rather than go on the actual ride. So many parents are going to get there kids this to make up for the fact that they can’t go to the real place and it will probably end up making the kids want to go that much more.
Kinect: Star Wars: You use Kinect to explore and fight with all types of actions to perform specific moves. You can drive Podracers and Starships, use Force powers, slash, kick, jump, dash and deflect lasers. The game looks way better than it did last year but it still hasn’t sold me on it.
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster: This game is made by Double Fine the guys that brought us Psychonauts and Brutal Legends and you can take that any way you want.
Kinect Fun Labs: It is basically a small app store that can be accessed in the Kinect Hub and is totally free. There are cool features already available and more on the way. People Scanning allows you to take a picture of yourself and Kinect will make your avatar look like you and wear your clothes. Finger Scanning allows you to draw in 3D around pictures of yourself or objects. In Object Capture you take two pictures of an item one from the front and one from the back, than the item is rendered in 3D and you can control it by moving around. These are the types of amazing features that Milo showed us back at E3 2009 when Natal was first shown and while I wish they would make that game I’m glad they are finally using some of Kinect’s potential.
Kinect Sports Season 2 (Holiday 2011): Features Baseball, Golf, Skiing, Darts, Tennis and Football and you can send your friends your performance in games so that they can play against you without you being online.
Dance Central 2: Allows 2 players to dance at the same time, you can even join mid-session by waving at Kinect.
Halo 4 (Holiday 2012): That's right Master Chief is back in the new Halo trilogy. Yes you read me right, Halo 4 will be followed by 5 and 6. Now I am a huge fan of the Halo series but I have some apprehensions about all of this. It's not that I don't have faith in 343 industries because I do. They really care about the franchise so they aren't going to milk until it dies like what happened to Guitar Hero and no doubt will eventually happen to COD and they will have all the resources they could possibly need thanks to Microsoft. My concern lies with there being too many Halo games to close together. One of the big issues with COD is that it comes out every year. This doesn't give you the time you need to miss it. Like the whole "How can I miss you if you won't go away" sort of thing. When I played Reach I had been playing a lot of ODST's Firefight throughout the past year, whenever I was bored and didn't have a lot of time to play I would quickly play a round. You see to me the thing that makes Halo stand out the most isn't the epic sic-fi universe and story and it isn't the awesome characters like Master Chief, Arbiter and so on. What it really comes down to more than anything else is the gameplay. While all that other stuff is great and I love them the best part is when you play the game and you feel how tight he controls are and how well it all works together that makes you realize you are playing the best in the genre. That feeling isn't as strong when you are coming off of another Halo because while it is still the best it isn't as refreshing as it should be. It has even started to happen with Assassin's Creed with their new games every year. While it is continuing a strong narrative it is preventing me from enjoying it as much as I should because I get the feeling of "I just did this". With Halo Anniversary on its way later this year, Reach last year and ODST the year before that I am afraid that Halo 4 won't feel as incredible as 2 and 3 did when you had 3 years in between to build up excitement and desire to play.
Dead Island (September 6, 2011): In Dead Island you have an entire island that you can explore freely. You also get to level up and each character has certain status and abilities to change up the pace of combat. Drop-in/drop-out co-op has been added so people can come onto your island and help you fight the zombie infestation as a team.
Saints Row: The Third (November 15, 2011)
Prototype 2: Alex Mercer who you play as in the first game is now the villain of the story as you now play a man named James Heller who was infected by Mercer’s virus and has lost his wife and child and now seeks his revenge on Mercer for all that he has caused. The idea of hunting down and killing the protagonist of the first game is very interesting and I’m curious as to how fans of the first game will react to it.
Battlefield 3 (October 25, 2011) (Open beta in September): This as everyone knows is the series that looks to take down COD and while it might not sell as well it looks like it could be the better game. One of the ways they intend to compete with COD is through their new feature Battlelog, which keeps track of stats, allows for friend-lists and clans like COD: Elite except Battlelog is free. Take that Activision! Also they have added 2 player co-op missions outside of story mode much like Spec Ops.
Bioshock Infinite (2012): The game’s combat seems to be much faster and more intense than the first. Also the Skyline system allows players to travel freely with ease which not only seems really cool but also lets you choice how you want to approach missions.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (November 11, 2011): The combat has been improved so that it is faster and more dynamic than before. Now rather than selecting a few main skills at the beginning you can level up whatever you want and further each skill through a perk tree. There are over 150 dungeons to explore and all kinds of stunning dragons to fight.
Hulk Hogan’s Main Event: I don’t know much about this game other than it is a wrestling game which uses Kinect which seems quite complicated to do.
The Darkness 2 (October 5, 2011)
Need For Speed: The Run (November 15, 2011): In the latest NFS you will race from San Francisco – New York and for some reason are being hunted by the mob and the police. For the first time in a Need for Speed game you will be able to exit your vehicle. In the demo it happens at a specific point where you end up in an accident and must escape through a series of QTEs until you end up in another vehicle and continue your race. The weird thing was that the police helicopter was shooting at you in the middle of the street and blowing up other cars, which is really over the top and unrealistic for a NFS game.
Bastion (July 20, 2011)
Captain America: Super Solider (July 19, 2011)
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (November 15, 2011): Like I mentioned in the part about Halo 4 I wish that there would be a little bit larger of a break between games in the same series. While I am excited to see the conclusion of Ezio’s story I hope that when they finish up this series in number three they wait two years, give us enough time to miss it and go out with a bang. Also it had better be in Desmond’s time which means that this game has to set a huge stage for the final confrontation between the Assassins and the Templars. There are some new items like bombs and a hook-blade as well as some returning features like the ability to call upon other assassins and an improved multiplayer mode.
Dark Souls (October 4, 2011): This is the spiritual successor to Demon Souls a PS3 exclusive that became known for its high difficulty level and innovative multiplayer which is supposed to be improved in this new game that has no connection to Demon Souls in terms of story or world.
From Dust (Summer 2011)
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (July 26, 2011): That is an amazing name; I mean it really rolls of the tongue. All kidding aside the game seems really interesting, each level is supposed to be almost completely different because they are created by the different angels you will be fighting. The demo is available now and according to one of the people who worked on the game easy mode is designed so that people who don’t play games can beat it and normal is Ninja Gaiden level difficult. That is the steepest curve I have ever heard of, why would they make the gap that large?
Jurassic Park: The Game
Rayman: Origins (December, 2011)
Ninja Gaiden 3 (Early 2012): The story in the latest game is supposed to be like a reboot the others won’t play into it and it will focus more on Ryu Hayabusa as a character. Also the game will not only have co-op it will have competitive multiplayer both of which I am really interested in seeing how they will be worked in.
Prey 2
SSX (January 2012): The new SSX uses NASA satellites to develop mountain ranges from all around the world with spectacular levels of realism. There will also be three game modes including Race It, Trick It, and Survive It. The first to are rather obvious and the third is where you have to survive avalanches that will behave differently every time you play because they are all physics based not pre-scripted.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (2012): This is a new game designed by Ken Rolston who made Morrowind and Oblivion, written by New York Times Best-Seller R.A. Salvatore and brought to life by the art of Todd Mcfarlane. It is an open world Action-RPG where your choices of how you play and level up are supposed to change the story and world you are in.
Overstrike: This is Insomniac’s long awaited cross-platform game and is about four elite agents from a government organization who battle armies and apparently robots. Not much else is known about the game but judging from the trailer below it looks like a lot of fun.
Batman: Arkham City (October 18, 2011): This is one of my most anticipated games of the year because Batman: AA was amazing and I am a huge fan of Batman. Combat is supposed to be improved so that you can battle up to 25 or 30 enemies at once and the main story is supposed to be around 25 hours with around 2.5 hours spent playing as Catwoman.
Call of Juarez: The Cartel (July 19, 2011)
WWE 12 (November 22, 2011)
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (October 11, 2011)
Skull Girls (2011)
Zombie Apocalypse 2
Street Fighter x Tekken
Driver: San Francisco
Farcry 3 (2012)
NBA 2K12 (October 12, 2011)
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4: This appears to be an Inglorious Bastards esque take on the series all about over the top characters having a blast killing Nazis.
The Adventures of TinTin: The Game
Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking (November 8, 2011)
Just Dance 3
Rocksmith (Fall 2011): This game is designed to teach you how to play guitar. I know you might be thinking that Rockband already does that but apparently Rockband just starts you off while this one will make you a real musician. You plug in your guitar with a special cable you have to buy and then you play the guitar while matching the buttons on the screen. It is also supposed to be good for young musicians who can’t afford an amp because they just plug their guitar into their Xbox and it becomes the amp.
Darksiders 2
Metro: Last Light
Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 (November 2012)
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record
Rage (October 4, 2011): This is the latest game from ID software the guys behind Doom and Quake. The game kind of looks like a realistic version of Boarderlands. The game has an amazing level of detail in the graphics and the world that they created which has got me pretty interested, also there will be multiplayer that consists of 2 player co-op in the open world and versus mode which only has vehicle combat.
Silent Hill: Downpour (October 2011)
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike (August 31, 2011)
UFC: Personal Trainer
UFC: Undisputed 3 (January 2012)
Spider-Man: Edge of Time (Fall 2011): This is the next Spider-Man game from the makers of Shattered Dimensions. It is about Spider-Man 2099 trying to change time and prevent the original Spider-Man’s death. It is supposed to have the best story of any Spider-Man game and for the first time you can battle Anti-Venom. I love Spider-Man and while I don’t think it will be as good as Arkham City it still seems interesting.
Dragon’s Dogma (2012): The story of this game is that a dragon stole your heart literally by ripping it out of your chest. Oh and you have to get it back.
Lord of the Ring: War in the North (2011): The game takes place during the events of the 2nd and 3rd movies and you are headed north to fight a different war than the characters in the movies and books. The game is rated M which is unusual for a LOTR game and supports 3 player co-op.
X-Men: Destiny (September 2011): In this new X-Men game you will play as one of three young mutants who are just discovering their powers. The game has RPG elements so that you can level up your mutant’s abilities and while you can’t play as members of the X-Men you will meet them and do side quests and possibly main quest fighting alongside them.
Star Trek (2012): Not much has been shown about this game other than it’s a third person shooter and that you can play as Kirk and Spock who will be modeled after the actors who portrayed them in the latest movie.
Asura’s Wrath (2012):
Inversion (February 7, 2012): This is a 3rd person shooter where you use gravity manipulating weapons along with regular guns to defeat your opponents.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines (September 2011): This is a 3rd person shooter that doesn’t have a cover system like Transformers: WFC but also has full close quarter combat moves unlike other shooters where you just press bash or stab.
Hitman: Absolution
Aliens: Colonial Marines (2012)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (August 23, 2011): This game is one that a month ago I hadn’t been paying much attention to but ever since the latest trailer showed off some of the story, gameplay and world I have been getting more and more exited for it. The game takes place 30 years before the first Deus Ex game which I’m happy with because it means while those who played the others will probably know what more about the story and what comes of certain characters, you don’t have to play the old ones in order to understand a prequel which means I can hop right in to this game. The game will also have all the standard RPG elements you would come to expect by now from upgradeable abilities and weapons to side quests.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Winter 2011): I love RE4 & 5 so I was really excited for some more Resident Evil and while this game seems cool it isn’t what I had been expecting. The game plays like a typical 3rd person shooter which kills a lot of the tension that was built in the past with the slower moving gameplay that allowed for incredible precision so you could conserve ammo. The game takes place during RE2 & 3 and you now play as one of six playable characters that work for Umbrella allowing you to rewrite history by killing off characters like Leon S. Kennedy, the protagonist of RE4. The game has 4 player co-op as well as competitive multiplayer in which you will battle both players and CPU zombies. In the game you can become infected which can be used as strategy in multiplayer because once you are infected zombies don’t attack you because they think you are one of them and you are immune to everything except for headshots. Of course there is a down side, after you become infected you turn and once that happens the computer takes over for you and attacks anyone and everyone including your own team. So when your friend turns will you trust them to make it to the enemies in time and attack them or will you put a bullet in their head to keep yourself safe?
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Early 2012)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Early 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment