04. Max Payne 3

Remember how cool the original Max Payne was with bullet time and the crazy comic book cutscenes? I do, but that’s not at all why I’m really excited for Max Payne 3. What has me buying this game on the first day it’s the kind of story it’s going to be. I’ve been craving a truly adult-oriented game for months, if not years. Neither Heavy Rain nor LA Noire did anything for me, that’s why I really need something to fill this void – there’s been a lot of great RPGs, fighters, racers, platformers lately, but no actual story for grown men who don’t necessarily want them to take place in fantasy worlds. This is where Max Payne 3 can come in and save the situation, providing high quality mature content. The question is, will it really? There’s no telling yet, but I want to say yes, and that’s why I’ll definitely buy Rockstar’s newest.

03. Catherine

It’s not out in Europe yet! I don’t know how this is even possible, but for some reason they pushed its release date to 2012 here. I’ve seen the videos, read the interviews and ate my teeth knowing that the rest of the world is already done with this game, while all I can do is wait. Catherine is a very important game for me, so I won’t feel complete until I actually spend plenty of time with it. It’s important for a number of reasons – its unorthodox style and innovative drive are vital for progress in the industry. I believe Catherine is just the first of many games that will slowly change how we think about storytelling in games. It’s a great eye-opener in a way, most definitely broadens horizons. Catherine is also important, because the players themselves respond to the game with very strong feeling. I know people are treating it very seriously, they identify with Vincent and put the games story in their own life perspectives. This level of depth of interaction with an audience was reserved for books, because movies never lasted long enough. Catherine is proof that books have been dethroned in this respect. I already know these things. All that’s left now is actually playing the game.

02. Lollipop Chainsaw

I know what you’re thinking. I am going to be frustrated by bad camera and gameplay issues (most probably broken combat), I already know that, and I accept that. In a way, I want to be frustrated. It’s just been so long since I last played a Japanese game that I actually enjoyed. I think this game is going to be spectacular, Japanese 101%, with a character created out of raw sexism, tongue-in-cheek action, and the real bad taste. The perfect B movie of video games. When Wet came out, people we’re really bitching about it, but I enjoyed it, and Lollipop Chainsaw is probably going to be a similar experience. I think it’s either going to be broken but still fun as hell, or it will be the most technically flawless game ever made. The latter seems unlikely, but let me tell you a little secret from my homeland – the Japanese don’t care much for games being broken. Sure, some stuff is just simply unplayable, but generally we’re a very passionate people. For example, we don’t care how broken most of our third person action games are. We fall in love with the characters and the stories to a point when the technical issues of games just get lost somewhere in the sea of polygonal goodness. I guess it’s that hopeless romantic samurai kamikaze part of me that wants to play Lollipop Chainsaw so badly. Yes, boobs are part of the why as well. But mostly the first thing.

01. Diablo III

I remember how insane it was when Diablo II hit the shelves. It was the game for that time. Games were evolving rapidly, and American developers proved to me that not only the Japanese know how to make great RPGs. Diablo II was the most relevant title of those times, and it aged really good. It’s definitely still playable today, and that’s just incredible, because so few games can do that. Not surprisingly, I can’t wait for the new Diablo game. I’m genuinely excited for killing hordes and hordes of imps, skeletons and rakanishus, but above that I’m curious to see whether Blizzard can pull it off yet again. I know everybody has extremely high expectations, mostly because we’ve waited so long, but also because it’s Blizzard. Can they make something that’s not superb? I sure hope not. Perhaps it’s too early for such statements, but now hear this – if Diablo III is every bit as good as its predecessor, it’s a guaranteed Game of the Year.

10. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Okay, so this one’s a little bit strange. I don’t believe there was a single instance where I wasn’t skeptical of this project, and after the revision we saw at the VGAs, I’m even more concerned about how this title is going to turn out. My worries have nothing to do with Platinum Games. I love their work, and if you want a fast-paced, intuitive action title, there’s no better studio. Yet, the trailer was plain terrible; combining an over-saturated look with a bad 1980’s feel. The music was cheesy, and I don’t know who honestly thinks that the term “Revengence” is cool. So, why am I still anticipating this game? It has Metal Gear in the title, and no matter how many reservations I have, I’m still extremely curious in the final product. Dropping the Solid from the title at least shows that they understand this is a very different product, but I just hope it all comes together when it releases this year. I got my fingers crossed.

09. Uncharted: Golden Abyss

This may just be another case of hopeless fanboyism, but I think I’ve come to grips with it. I still plan to purchase a PlayStation Vita, and without a doubt, this will be the first game I start up. I’ve loved every Uncharted game to come out on the PS3, and while it’s Bend Studio and not Naughty Dog behind this project, I still have faith that Nathan Drake will continue his fantastic work. Sony needs a strong first impression for its latest handheld, and I truly believe that this game will show what the Vita can achieve. I don’t care how many little gimmicks they throw in there – I’ll still play the hell out of it. As long as there’s a solid story, group of beautiful environments, and pile of dudes to shoot, I’ll be one happy gamer.

08. Dota 2

I’ve never actually had a chance to explore the many (or probably three) lanes of the original Dota, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t sunk enough hours into League of Legends for the both of us. I may not be the best player in the world after hundreds upon hundreds of gaming, but I’ve really developed an appreciation for this style of PC title. It doesn’t matter that there are only one or maybe two maps available; each and every game feels wholly unique. With Valve behind Dota 2, I feel confident that more players will be able to understand and enjoy this MoBa game than ever before. They’re great at crafting games with wide appeal, as well as taking what should be a complex mechanic (portal gun) and making it feel accessible. So maybe I will have to start back at square one and learn another life-consuming game all over again. Fine. I’m ready to sacrifice the time, and more than anything else, I’m ready for Dota 2.

07. Max Payne 3

I almost feel dirty. When I first saw some screenshots of what Rockstar was doing with Max Payne, I had no interest. Make him bald and pack on a few pounds? To be even more honest, I was upset. I loved the original title, and while I never had a chance to spend much time with The Fall of Max Payne, I was sad to see this gripping franchise take such a strange turn. It then went dark, and for quite some time. My slight anger faded, and Max Payne left my thoughts for the moment. That is, until some gameplay and story bits were graciously parceled out. He’s still bald and in need of a visit to a gym, but I can’t stop myself from getting excited about how the game looks and handles itself. Smooth, gritty, fun – everything that made me love the first title is there. There’s still more convincing that needs to be done, but Max Payne 3 is a game that I’ll be closely following in 2012. More than any other developer, Rockstar has earned my trust, and I now almost feel bad for doubting them.

06. UFC Undisputed 3

I’m a big fan of the UFC. I mean a huge fan. If I wasn’t currently writing about video games, I’d probably be ranting online about why GSP is the top pound-per-pound fighter in the world, or how Anderson Silva is a cocky asshole that doesn’t deserve to represent the sport. I’m not doing that, though, so I’ll instead tell you why UFC Undisputed 3 is going to be so fantastic. Much of my hype stems from THQ’s past success with the license. All the best fighters have been available, and the MMA itself is challenging yet satisfying. Punching someone in the face just feels right, and executing that perfect takedown can spur you to jump up and cheer. The few issues I do have with the games, namely the lackluster feeling of the crowd and incompleteness of the ground game, are said to be fixed in this latest iteration. Also, Yukes took a year off before putting out a new game, so I’m even more confident that this will be much more than a simple yearly update. I won’t bore you any longer with talk of the UFC, though. I just want to play this game now, and thankfully, February is almost here.

05. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

So, I just wrote an article about why I have difficulties getting sucked into bigger, more open games. Just looking at the map in Skyrim overwhelms me to a point where I don’t even care to give it a try. Reckoning is an open world game that promises massive scope and has been compared numerous times to The Elder Scrolls franchise, and it’s close to the top of my list. Why? Well, the combat has me terribly intrigued. It looks to play like God of War or Devil May Cry, which sounds like heaps of fun in this style of game. I never enjoyed the first-person sword swinging of Oblivion, and I think that may be one of many reasons I couldn’t get into it. I also don’t believe that the game will be nearly as terrifyingly-huge as Skyrim. There seems to be a more focused world here, and that excites me. Lastly, I can’t help but root for new studios going for something this ambitious. Both Big Huge Games and 38 Studios are putting their all into this game, and I for once salute them. The amount of time and lore invested into this possible franchise is daunting, and while there’s a chance I may get just as overwhelmed as I have in the past with such open games, I’m still excited to give it another try.

04. OverStrike

While I would’ve once hissed and booed at Insomniac making a multiplatform game and not giving Sony exclusive rights to everything they’ve ever created, things have changed for me. I’m not a rampant Sony fan anymore, as I now own a 360 and take pride in being a mostly neutral gamer. So because of this, Overstrike interests the hell out of me. Do we know much about it? No, as all we’ve had is a single, wonderful trailer that was released at last year’s E3. What we can say about it is that it seems to have four player co-op, a colorful cast, and plenty of personality. Besides that, we can only continue to guess. It looks to be a third-person shooter, but with Insomniac also having some serious first-person credentials, I can’t guarantee anything. This is exactly what makes me anticipate the game so much – it’s an unknown. I have plenty of faith in the studio, and while no release date has been announced, I’d bet we’re going to hear some exciting news about the game in the coming months.

03. The Last of Us

No matter how much I love Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and all its narrative brilliance, one thing became very clear after witnessing the final cutscene and watching the credits roll – I don’t want to see another Nathan Drake adventure on this generation of consoles. Naughty Dog has perfected this style of game on the hardware that’s available, and that’s just fine. We’ve been given what I see as the strongest trilogy of games to ever be released on a single system, but I’m overjoyed to see that both Sony and Naughty Dog have decided to move on to something different. The Last of Us is that “something different,” which is a strange thing to call what looks to be a zombie game. Yet, considering the developer, I just can’t wait to see more. There’s an obvious I am Legend vibe coming from the recent trailer at the VGAs, and while I have a bad feeling that the leading female character could grate on the nerves(pre-teen drama isn’t exactly up my alley), the concept of an individual who has seen nothing of the Earth besides the aftermath of a relentless fungus is compelling. If it really is coming out this year, consider this my early pre-order. I will play this game, and if I had to take a guess, I’d say I’m going to love it.

02. The Last Guardian

Damn you, The Last Guardian. This is the second straight year that you’ve seen this list, and as of right now, I actually feel less certain of when you’re going to see the light of day. After the departure of Ueda from Sony and short-lived rumors of cancelation, I find myself concerned over this title’s future. With such turmoil taking place at Team Ico, it’s difficult to believe that they’ve been able to put all their greatest efforts into making another classic. We’ve just seen so little from this game, so who knows where it currently sits in the development cycle. Yet, even after saying all of this, The Last Guardian is my second most anticipated game of the year. Hopefully, that shows how much I want to experience this game. I discovered that Ueda is a genius after playing Shadow of the Colossus, and still expect his latest title to be a shining example of games as a narrative vehicle and art form. His talents are unlike anyone else’s in the industry, and while my worries and concerns continue to heap on with every bit of sad news, my gut tells me that The Last Guardian will be an experience to remember. I just hope we actually get to experience it in 2012.

01. BioShock Infinite

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I consider the original Bioshock one of the most memorable and complete experiences on this generation of consoles. Even though I played it two years after release, I still couldn’t put the game down. It’s a shooter that stands out not for its gunplay, but for living city and well-constructed story. Also, after seeing what a few of my fellow journalists have to say, I think it’s safe to say that Bioshock Infinite is the most sought after and followed game that’s coming out this year. While I usually find a very unique and even strange game topping my lists, I just couldn’t bring myself to put anything above Ken Levine’s current labor of love. Everything about it, from the city in the sky to the beautiful cast of characters, has me blown away. It can pass for a game that belongs on a far-off generation of consoles, but somehow, we’re lucky enough to have it on our current hardware. Irrational Games is showing other developers what can still be achieved on the technology we have, and since this game’s been in development for almost five years, I know there’s plenty more it hasn’t yet shown us. I don’t need multiplayer, co-op or an open world to make me happy – it’s Bioshock Infinite’s narrative promise and improved gunplay that have me the most excited in 2012. There’s just nothing else out there that looks this good, and quite honestly, I don’t know how anything would even be able to stack up.

Honorable Mention: Starhawk, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Grand Theft Auto V, Twisted Metal, Dragon’s Dogma

Brace yourselves, people – I’m not in this Podcast. Nope! I’m too busy battling a horrendous ear infection right now, so I had to miss out on the delight that is the Reaction Time Podcast. But don’t worry; you’ve got Josiah Renaudin, Tommy Eyler, Michael Fossbakk, and Chris Sheridan here to help those journeys on public transport seem less grim than they really are. There will be games, games, and more games, and maybe even some news. As always, give Simon Viklund a visit over at his website simonviklund.com as he was gracious enough to lend his supreme talent by making that awesome intro/outro music you hear every fortnight. Seriously, check him out!

As you may have heard recently, a couple of developers aren’t too happy with the way Zynga operates their company, specifically when it comes to making original games. NimbleBit, for instance–developer of Tiny Tower–sent a letter last week to Zynga, “wishing them luck” on their upcoming game Dream Heights and noting how miraculously similar it looked to their own tower-construction game.

After a week of silence from the Zynga in the face of other “copycat” claims, co-founder Mark Pincus has finally responded, though denial wasn’t necessarily the first thing on his mind.

“You should be careful not to throw stones when you live in glass towers,” said Pincus, who ranks at number 212 on Forbes 400 with about a $100 million stake in Zynga. “”When you pull the lens back, you saw that their (NimbleBit’s) tower game looked similar to five other tower games going all the way back to SimTower in the early 1990s.”

The interview from VentureBeat goes on to address the other copycat criticism brought on by Buffalo Studios. Buffalo has accused Zynga of using their game, Poker Blitz, as inspiration for Zynga’s Bingo Blitz.

An internal memo from Pincus brings to light what can be seen, to some degree, as his full defense against these accusations. In it, he writes, “Google didn’t create the first search engine. Apple didn’t create the first mp3 player or tablet. And, Facebook didn’t create the first social network. But these companies have evolved products and categories in revolutionary ways.”

NimbleBit’s Ian Marsh responded to news of this interview and his competitor’s message with the following in a statement to Touch Arcade. “It was a smart idea for Mark Pincus and Zynga to try and lump all games with the name ‘Tower’ together as an actual genre whose games borrow from each other,” said Marsh. “Sharing a name or setting does not a genre make.”

Though no legal action has been threatened at this point, this conflict between companies is certainly escalating and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the issue taken to court. As it stands (and as they pointed out in their initial letter), NimbleBit consists of three developers, while Zynga is a multi-million-dollar enterprise, so a legal battle may not be in the best interest of the former.

While previously denied by the higher-ups, it’s now official: Kaz Hirai is the new President and CEO of Sony. It was only last June that Hirai was named Chairman, but due to his powerful leadership skills, he now sits at the top of the Sony tower while  current President Howard Stringer will become Chairman of the Board of directors in June.

“As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position,” Kaz said. “I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees.”

Hirai understands the issues Sony currently faces in different sectors of the business, but as always, his head’s held high. “As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position,” Kaz said. “I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees.”

He continued to discuss his hope “to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.” Encouraging to hear, but how things pan out at the PlayStation headquarters is still cloudy. Keep posted for more news on the company shuffling.

Source: Game Informer

10. Asura’s Wrath

Look, I know there are bad things being said about the demo and whatnot, and that things aren’t exactly great or refined yet, but hear me out. The box art makes the guy on the front look like Gene from God Hand. Therefore, I’m buying this by default, because God Hand was one of the best, most solid games of all time. This game looks camp as Hell, and even if it’s bad, I’m probably still going to enjoy it. It’s just going to be ‘that game that’s funny as Hell that I invite people over and we fail to finish it,’ yet there’s still something solid enough to look forward to. That’s the vibe I get, and that’s why I’m looking forward to it.

09. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Of all the PS2 platformers, my favorite was Sly 2 (with all due respect to Ratchet and Jak, who are fine in their own right). Sly 3 was… um… well it wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t anything near ‘good,’ either! I’m expecting, or at least hoping, for a return to form from the series here. From what I’ve seen, there’s going to be a ton of great set pieces, as is customary with Sly games, and there appears to be a lot of love put into it. Also the teaser had Dimitri, and that’s more than good enough for me.

08. BioShock Infinite

I’ve tried to avoid spoilers on this for the most part, but I did watch a fifteen-minute playthrough… thing once, and damn I’m pretty impressed. The idea that the story is going to be driven by a romantic, kind of Fifth Element-ey interest with a traumatized girl as your love interest, plus a driven main character who actually speaks is really interesting to me. Bioshock was excellent because of the illusion of choice that it gave the player, and how all the ‘choice’ and ‘morality’ aspects it hyped up were meaningless in the face of the actual plot. Seeing 2K go with a straight narrative in addition to their established ‘awesome cities that are really screwed up’ set pieces and atmosphere really makes me curious. I don’t think I’ll be a big fan of the gameplay innovations – the grapple thing they took from Metroid Prime 3 looks kinda dumb – but consider me intrigued, Bioshock.

07. Luigi’s Mansion 2

Luigi’s Mansion always felt like an inspired tech demo for me. Of all of the PS1/Xbox/GCN release titles, it felt like it had the most going for it graphically and artistically; animation was beautiful, there was a lot of detail work put into the mansion itself, and Luigi’s reactions were really nicely done. Seeing the sort of ghost busting concept being taken into a game that isn’t “oh look at us we’re Nintendo ooohhh Luigi oooohh not a Mario game but we’re Nintendo so we can get away with it” is going to be really fun for me. I especially like the concept of multiple mansions. I don’t expect the world out of this game, but Luigi’s Mansion’s length was really the only thing that kept it from being a really inspired title, so I want this game to make me care about it.

06. Resident Evil 6

I never thought I would list a Resident Evil game on one of these lists – I like 4 and all, but I’m not its biggest fan or anything, and 5 is just a terrible game every second that Wesker isn’t on-screen. However, my eyes kind of lit up when I heard about the possibility of ‘six player co-op.’ Now I like me some Left 4 Dead, but I don’t feel like it quite gets the ‘zombie holocaust movie’ feel right; it feels very self-aware the whole time, and that sucks some of the fun out of it. With Resident Evil, there’s going to be a terrible plot going in, that much is certain. Being able to experience something that awful with others, riffing on the game all the while, is just a special kind of joy that I think this game can provide. It’s subject to rise or fall when I see how Capcom screws this one up based on game mechanics or DLC or something; ball’s in your court, Capcom.

05. Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney

This has only gone down because it’s been a while since I’ve played one of Phoenix’s games. I adore going through a Professor Layton game almost as much as I enjoy going through a Phoenix Wright game; putting the two together just made me drool over the keyboard again. Not quite sure how the two will mold gameplay-wise, since Phoenix is about putting together little things to solve one large, overarching puzzle while Layton is about a bunch of small puzzles and Layton’s fetish for creating puzzles for anything, but my God the animation looks absolutely gorgeous and I really want to see this game unfold.

04. Skullgirls

I honestly didn’t expect a fighting game to get this high; I guess blame Marvel Vs Capcom 3 for my sudden interest in the genre. But this… honestly looks like the only case of an ‘indie fighter,’ if I can call it that, that I can really sink my teeth into. It’s a campy title with absolutely gorgeous animation, a fun looking roster, and the interesting mechanic of choosing how many members of a team you have and how that affects their health. There’s a lot of dark humor, a lot of cute references, and Peacock, who is just the most fun, original character in a fighting game I’ve seen in a long time. I’ll probably spam quotes from this game for a few months after it comes out, so enjoy being annoyed by it.

03. Lollipop Chainsaw

Hey, Suda. Remember how I said I loved the gameplay of No More Heroes 2, but loved the story of No More Heroes, and that if you combined the two, I would be your best friend forever? Oh, what’s that? You made a game with a funny, self-aware story that doesn’t try to take itself seriously at all, like NMH2 and Travis’s “character development?” You put a hot chick as the main protagonist and gave her rainbows? And she’s voiced by Twilight Sparkle? You clever bastard, it’s like you actually WANT my money this time!

02. Anarchy Reigns

I freaking loved Mad World. I loved the aesthetic, I loved the creativity, I loved how every stage had a new way to kill things to keep things fresh, I loved the difficulty curve’s steady increase, and I freaking adored Bender and… Not Bender commentating on how awesome I was in the most immature manner possible. So now they’re making it competitive; with multiple characters, including the Black Baron, who was my personal favorite character from Mad World. An all-online brawler focused around style, substance, and learning how to master the controls… I can see so many ways this could go wrong, but I have faith in Platinum.

01. Persona 4: The Golden

So there’s this game, Persona 4. And it’s the best game ever made. And they’re making it better. Atlus can really just take my money now.

10. Borderlands 2

Gearbox has been keeping oddly silent about the sequel to their wildly popular and incredibly fun shooter, but there’s no reason to think that the sequel won’t be just as addictive and entertaining. New characters, even more guns, and better mission structure are a couple of the things Gearbox has hinted at, and if they can retain that same sense of fun the original had, it’ll be another gleefully insane ride.

09. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike. Counter-Strike. One of the best online games in existence is getting another upgrade, and while it’s not necessarily a brand new game, the newest installment is bringing updated graphics, more game variations, more maps, and cross-platform play, which will allow PS3 gamers to play with their PC friends. I loved the game when it came out and got the bug again during the holiday Steam sale. This year, it’ll happen all over again.

08. The Last of Us

Almost nothing is known about Naughty Dog’s latest besides the post-apocalyptic setting and perhaps a focus on scavenging with some monsters thrown in. Of course, this being a Naughty Dog game, we can expect the same fantastic graphics, gameplay, and characters that the Uncharted series is famous for. All of Naughty Dog’s sky-high production values, including the developer’s now-trademark blistering action sequences, should be more than enough to give the post-apocalyptic genre the shot of adrenaline it needs.

07. Dishonored

Only good things can come of a game developed from talent that’s worked on Thief, Deus Ex, Dark Messiah, and Half-Life 2. There are a ton of interesting features promised in Dishonored, including open-ended progression, telekinesis, brutal first-person hand-to-hand combat, possession, time control, nonlinear traversal, and countless other goodies. It’s a deeply tantalizing collection of ideas and I can’t wait to jump into it.

06. Darksiders II

The first Darksiders game was a wonderful mixture of God of War combat and Legend of Zelda dungeon crawling with excellent art design and a great story about one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse being blamed for the end of humanity. It was a risky mixture that paid off in spades. The sequel stars another Horseman, Death, and brings with him a more fluid combat system, loot, more versatile upgrade paths, a larger game world, and Death’s mount. While little of the game has been revealed besides that list of features, developer Vigil should score another home run when this releases later this year.

05. South Park: The Game

This Obisdian-developed RPG is notable chiefly for being directed by the minds behind the South Park television show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They’re writing and voicing the game, and every development decision goes through them first, which is what sets the game apart from other South Park video games released in the past. It also means players should expect the high level of quality that the show continually delivers. Even though Obsidian is infamous for glitchy games, I feel that Parker and Stone’s involvement will invite a deeper level of care and a more technically solid game.

04. The Darkness II

The original Darkness video game, based on a comic book series, was one of my favorite shooters of this generation for its focus on narrative, its creative mechanic of extinguishing light sources to become more powerful, and brutal violence that did not pull any punches. While it’s unclear exactly how the sequel will pick up after the ending of the original game, Digital Extremes has been open about the new abilities Jackie will possess, including “quad wielding” (two guns and two Darkness heads) and finishing moves. Other features include an impressive skill tree and a very attractive hand-painted art style. The story looks even darker, with Jackie even more consumed by the ancient power and a society known as the Brotherhood desperate to rip it from him. And that demo? Awesome.

03. Mass Effect 3

Bioware has heard its fans, and promises to deliver a Mass Effect that’s better than the other two have been. If that holds up, this should be an RPG for the ages. Hopefully, they’ll be able to even the balance between classic space opera and breakneck action adventure that defined the first two games respectively, but if Bioware can give a solid finish for some of my favorite characters in recent memory, along with the epic scope promised in the trailers, this will end up being one of my favorite games of the year regardless.

02. Twisted Metal

Despite my initial protest to Eat Sleep Play’s decision to remove the main cast of characters and reduce it to the mere trio of Sweet Tooth, Baby Doll and Mr. Grimm, it is impossible to deny that director David Jaffe loves his fans and his series, and is dedicated to delivering a product that fans will love, even going so far as to gather opinions on level design by asking questions on Twitter. The numerous videos in which Jaffe excitedly describes everything going into the game only serve to make me more excited from some blistering car combat when the game releases in February.

01. Tomb Raider

I’ve never been a fan of the jarring, forced sexuality of Lara Croft. Nor did I care for the grid-based traversal system that the earlier games had. Though Legend, Anniversary, and Underworld fixed those problems a little bit, they were never truly great. A complete reboot takes a younger, desexualized Lara, borrows platforming from Uncharted and mixes it with gritty survival elements, and adds some extremely cringe-inducing sequences (courtesy of a rumored M rating). If the E3 demo is any indication, Tomb Raider should be a very tense and exciting experience when it releases in the fall.

Being a video game player in January can be very frustrating. If you’re serious, you’re already done with the games released in the holiday season, and there’s just nothing coming out at the moment. With the first so-called important releases of the New Year scheduled for February, you have plenty of time to just sit and stare blankly at the wall; thinking about the current state of gaming and the point you’re currently at in your personal gaming journey.

You might think I’m crazy, or just stupid, but the only game scheduled for release this year I care about other than Diablo III is Lollipop Chainsaw. Indeed, the upcoming action game from Kadokawa is probably going to be just like all the other games in this fashion – very mediocre at best. You’d be right to expect a broken camera and perhaps various technical issues preventing this game from reaching a score higher than seven. I know all this, and I still want to play this game more than anything else this year, with the above-mentioned exception of Diablo III. I mean, it’s Diablo and it’s just been so long since the last one. Say what you will, Torchlight is not Diablo – never even intended to be.

What does the above paragraph say about me? That I’ve become bitter and cynical, just like so many others in the industry? Perhaps that is the case, but there must be something more to it. I think the problem I have with games now is that I expect entirely too much out of them. 2011 was a really good year for games, at least in my opinion. My very steep requirements have been met – a game came out that in a way changed my life, because that’s what The Witcher 2 did. I realized that there was no limit to what can be done.  And this is where my personal expectations ruin almost all other games for me: because of The Witcher 2, I expect all games to look at least as good as it does, and to be at least as gripping. Preferably more. If they don’t, I’m having a really hard time enjoying them.

That said, I still don’t think it’s all just me. Because honestly, what games aside from The Witcher 2 and Skyrim can you name that are going to matter in a year’s time? You can say Saints Row: The Third and be somewhat right, but I’m willing to bet that nobody’s going to care about it in not more than four months. That’s just it with games these days, isn’t it? They don’t last long enough, aren’t unique enough (except for possibly Bastion) for you to care longer than one playthrough, maybe a second spin when some non-bullshit DLC comes out. This is hard to do for game developers as well, because when’s the last time you could say that a piece of DLC you purchased wasn’t bullshit?

People who know me and talk video games with me often ask, “Lollipop Chainsaw? Man, Mass Effect 3 is about to come out!” Yes, it’s about to, but for me the only reason to spend money on it is to see the awkward digital sex scenes, which BioWare is generous with. Unfortunately, I will have to suffer through the Xbox version, as SWTOR, another BioWare product, fried my PC. I remember being excited about Mass Effect 2, when that game was still relevant. It was a good experience, but some parts of it really pissed me off. Mining was the worst. The Femshep (what?) cult was probably just as annoying. The problem is there are so many space games out there at the moment. If I hear another laser cannon blast I’ll probably go insane. Besides, what more can they do? They’re going to end the story in some way, if we’re lucky it’s going to be as exciting as Gears of War 3 was. But I wouldn’t count on that too much. Mass Effect is just one of many. It’s going to be good, perhaps even great. But that’s not enough for me to care about it. Just another space game. Obviously The Illusive Man is behind everything.

OK, you’re probably sick of me ranting at this point, so here’s something completely different. I have really high hopes for CD Projekt RED. These guys, if enough money is invested in them, will crush everybody else. They made the best looking game in the history of the industry, and they made it in Poland, where everything is given like 20% of the funds it would receive in the US. Imagine what would happen they got a deal with a real publisher? Sorry, Atari just isn’t it, not anymore. If EA ends up buying CDPR, it will be the best and worst thing at once. They’ll have all the money in the world to make amazing games, but at the same time, they will have to put up with EA’s bullshit. What’s interesting to me is how these guys would handle something that’s not Witcher related. The Witcher, mind you, is not their IP. They just have a license, the majority of the characters and the world already existed in other fiction. So, what would happen if they had their own idea for an RPG, built it from the ground up, and released it with EA? I’d pay serious money to see that. Shit, I’d sell a kidney.

Another thing I think I have to mention is Catherine. For those of you who don’t know, the game’s not out in Central Europe yet (which is a nice way of calling the goddamn Eastern Block). Now, even though the game itself didn’t receive the best scores, there’s a lot of love for it in the industry. Plenty of people featured it in their list of top 2011 games. Catherine is an important game for the industry. It’s something that wasn’t really done before. If we want to see video games evolve as an art form, there’ll have to be more games like Catherine. Games that are not afraid of touching on subjects that aren’t so mainstream in the puritan western society.

Stop making games for children. Make more Catherines. Make the players sweat because of the sex and the choices they have to make. Seriously, if a guy posts a blog about how he got in trouble with his girlfriend because of a dialog choice in a video game – you’ve won. Your game is the shit, you changed something. Stop making copies of copies. Make something new. Make people feel new things when they play your product. Fuck a shooter, make a game that makes a player cry his eyes out and contemplate life. Make another Bastion, not another Battlefield. Make an RPG that makes you have nightmares, wake up in the middle of the night to boot the game up just to see whether it might have been something else.

In essence, there should be more Catherines, more Bastions, etc. But if the standards are going to change, you know what we need? More Love Plus. Yeah. Because no other game ever made a dude care more. If you want to change the game, learn from the guys who make games addictive like drugs. If that’s not your style, go ahead and make another Call of Duty, and then ask what happened, why nobody cares anymore. It’s probably because you’ve got to evolve if you want to be respected. Instead of counting them dollaz and being a whore for ten years, make something actually worth giving a fuck about.

I’m probably not even going to buy anything else other than Diablo 3, Catherine and Lollipop Chainsaw this year. I need a break from the mundane, and if that means playing less games, so be it.

Look at that image. Look at that sexy hunk of a man. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what Mega Man is all about. In its latest attempt to alienate fans as much as possible, Capcom has announced that, in the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita versions of the upcoming Street Fighter x Tekken, Mega Man will be playable. The Mega Man from the US Box Art of the original game, that is -- an overweight dude with a gun that some artist drew in an hour. Oh also there are some other characters -- Pac-Man in what looks like Robot Mokujin, Cole McGrath from inFamous, and two kitties from some Japanese advertising thing I’m too lazy to look up --  but let’s not pretend our attention is going past Mega Man. This absolute genius in the art of trolling has given me a newfound respect for Capcom, and I might actually buy this game just so I can use a Mega Man/Kuma team.

Street Fighter X Tekken will be released stateside on March 6th of this year, and in the UK shortly after on March 9th.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MFkGo-hsCY

As sad as it may sound, I have contacted friends many a time while on holiday or some other situation in which a computer isn’t available so that they could inform me what the Steam deals were on that day. I don’t want to miss out, do I? Now I have the comfort of being able to access the money burning service straight from my phone. If you want in on the beta, simply download the app from the App Store or Android Market and login. You’ll be unsuccessful because you won’t have beta access, but it’ll let the people at Valve know that you’re interested.