Which game are you most excited about for 2012? The Spike TV VGAs wants you to vote on it.
With only a couple more days left until the VGAs, we wanted to check out the other fan voting category for Spike's big show: the Most Anticipated Games of 2012. The big surprise here is that there are only five titles on the list (I remember someone grousing in an article somewhere that 2012 might be the most boring year for games ever or something similarly goofy). But I think looking at the bigger picture, 2012 will be one of those years where there are fewer high profile franchise/sequel releases, so we might have to muddle through the year with a bunch of—gasp—original games next year.
Anyway, here are the list of anticipated titles for next year as chosen by Spike, and here's what I think of 'em.
Mass Effect 3
Boom, here's your winner, we're done here.
Okay, I'm kidding here but only a little. In Mass Effect 2, I really dug the mix of what we should henceforth call "space grit": gnarly, potentially ultra-violent intergalactic scenarios that threatened to constantly become situations in the universe created by Bioware. Sure, the whole thing is part of a template, the characterization can get a little rote (okay, really, two damaged, sexually laissez-faire female crew members on the Normandy?), but the general unpleasantness and tension of a future where it seems like pretty much no one likes humans made for a compelling piece of space opera. Better still, it felt like "The Dirty Dozen-ish in space," and if you know me, you know that's something I'm into.
And with part three supposedly refining and tightening up the combat (I can take or leave multiplayer at this stage) joined to the cataclysmic invasion of Earth, you've got reason for me to be excited for Mass Effect 3.
Diablo III
The only PC-only title on this list and one of three that we can't really say for certain will be hitting this year (at least, it doesn't have a preorder date with any of the online retailers as of this writing). So what's the big deal? Why is everyone so excited about a hack-and-slash RPG with lots of dark fantasy bits. Blizzard's audience, that's why. These guys have kept Diablo II servers going strong for the better part of a decade and they've been champing at the bit to see what's next for the series.
Which each and every little tantalizing bit of info—a character class here, a detailed mechanical tweak there—it feels like one of the most heavily-scrutinized titles of the current gaming generation. And the fact that Blizzard's "we'll release it when it's ready" approach lends the whole thing this air of rock star cockiness means fans are waiting to see how big the World of Warcraft developer is going to go with their latest.
The Last Guardian
The regard for The Last Guardian's predecessors Ico and Shadow of the Colossus borders on cultish in some corners. Some gamers—and a few game developers—talk about these games with the hushed tones of the reverent, and there's almost an air of preciousness to the whole thing that can be kind of off-putting to everyone else. See also: Flower, and for the mass-market edition of this phenomenon, Final Fantasy VII. Like Diablo III, this is another title that's been long in development for a little while (albeit not nearly as long as Blizzard's game), but the slow drip of information has been even slower from Team Ico, with not a lot in the way of video or images out there to start forming much of an opinion.
Lacking a solid release date, I suspect this PS3-exclusive might make it into 2012—in Japan. As for a release date here in the states? Well, I'm betting we'll have to wait a little longer.
Halo 4
Alright, so here's the thing: I've worked on the next Halo title, albeit in a limited capacity, so it would be messed up for me to weigh in in any way here. Without getting into what the game is like or what 343 Industries has planned for Master Chief's return, I will at least tell you that the team behind next year's release is made up of a lot of passionate Halo fans, and I'm pretty excited to see how fans react to the final game.
Bioshock Infinite
That E3 trailer/maybe-sorta-gameplay thing may have been watched more times, scrutinized by more gamers I've talked to than any other title on this list. Common responses: "Was it all gameplay?" "Of course, it couldn't be, it looked to scripted. Did you see the part with the sniper?" "Man, that looks crazy." Of course, much of what we saw there had to have been guided by the 2K Games team, but that doesn't make some of the big ideas in Ken Levine's return to Bioshock any less intriguing. Featuring floating cities and a turn of the last century take on the franchise (it's not clear if it's connected at all to the other two games or simply borrowing some of the same ideas).
With the new abilities, and an imperiled/helpful companion and an open-ish map, there's so much here that I want to check out whenever Bioshock Infinite makes its debut.
You can vote for your favorite title over on the VGAs page. The Spike TV VGAs will premiere LIVE on Spike TV, MTV2 and Spike.com on Saturday, December 10 at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.
Related Posts:
New 'Amazing Spider-Man' VGA Teaser Trailer, And Details On The Game
Dress Your Batman With the New 'Arkham City Skins Pack'
--
Discuss this story in our Gaming forums! Follow @MTVGeek on Twitter and be sure to "like" us on Facebook for the best geek news about comics, toys, gaming and more!