Top 5: Most Anticipated Games of E3 2012
Most people say Christmas is their favorite time of year. I laugh at the thought.
There’s a reason why gamers around the world get uncontrollably excited this time every year. That’s because it’s coming. Like the inevitability of the sun rising and a new Call of Duty every year, there’s one gaming event that stands above the rest. It makes headlines, has us glued to our computers, and sets out the next year of a gamer’s life.
It’s time for the Most Anticipated Games of E3 2012.
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5. The Last of Us
Anything made by Naughty Dog in the current gaming landscape will make a splash, which is why it should be no surprise to find The Last of Us on this list.
The Last of Us stars Ellie and Joel, who gamers have certainly seen in the trailers thus far, in a post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh doing whatever it takes to survive the “The Infected” and other survivors of a deadly virus. There are still dozens of questions to be answered about the intriguing plot, but the biggest one that will be answered at E3 is about the gameplay. And we’ll know that answer by Monday night at the Sony press conference.
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4. Wii U Mario
Nintendo hasn’t even officially announced the title of this game yet, but I’m already excited to see what Miyamoto has in store for the new console.
It could be a new Mario Galaxy game or another New Super Mario Bros. title. Even better, in my opinion, would be another Paper Mario, Mario Golf, or Super Mario RPG. The magical new Wii U controller will be only the latest portal to fun from the big N and gamers should keep a very close eye on what the Italian plumber does next. The next release of Mario will be a defining moment for the Wii U.
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3. Dead Space 3
If you haven’t experienced a Dead Space title yet, you’ve managed to avoid one of this generations best franchises. Dead Space 2 was one of last year’s best games and developer Visceral Games only continues to get better with each title.
There isn’t much known about the new game except that it’s set in a frozen world and features new Necromorphs, human enemies, and bosses rumored to be the size of skyscrapers. The inclusion of co-op could be a genre defining moment because of the difficulties with creating scares while a partner tags along.
Survival-horror has seen some rough years, but Dead Space 3 continues to be a ray of hope in the genre’s consuming darkness.
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2. Halo 4
While many would doubt why Halo 4 should be on this list there’s only one reason you need to remember: Bungie isn’t developing the Master Chief’s next adventure.
I could give this reason alone and it would be enough to justify placing one of gaming’s biggest franchises as a most anticipated title. Throw in that 343 Studios has quietly amassed a large team of amazing developers and that Microsoft has thrown one hundred percent of its enormous weight behind the shooter.
It’ll be very interesting to see how the final product turns out, how the story can possibly continue on after the defeat of the Covenant, and whether the Master Chief can win back fans to the trademark multiplayer of the series.
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1. Tomb Raider
Before I witnessed the reboot of Tomb Raider last year, I would have completely ignored a new entry in Crystal Dynamics’ bloated franchise. Since seeing the young, vulnerable Lara fighting for her life on a desolate island against bands of bloodthirsty mercenaries, I haven’t been able to stop salivating.
The new game seems to get rid of the old linear stages and the cave spelunking in favor of death-defying action sequences and rough, emotional scenes. Tomb Raider also appears to borrow some of the cinematic features of the Uncharted franchise, which sounds like a match made in heaven. We really haven’t seen any combat to this point and it isn’t clear how the survival features play into the title, but that won’t stop me from marking March 5, 2013, on the calender.
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This is my own personal list and each gamer will have their own games to watch for. I’ve also passed over a huge number of great games, such as Bioshock Infinite, PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, Metal Gear Rising and Pikmin 3, and I couldn’t include games that won’t be at E3 like Grand Theft Auto V (which would’ve been number one otherwise). But this list has rules and just five spots, all of which are taken.
