2012 Gaming Preview: Part Two

 
And we’re back. Coming up is our final look at what other gaming goodness this year has to offer us, and of course will a dash of my fanboy bias and yearning throw in for good measure. If you didn’t see part one, then you’d best catch up, there’s going to be a test at the end*.

*There’s not going to be a test at the end.

 
Tomb Raider

 

 
As much as it pains me to admit, if there’s one series that is in dire need of a reboot, it’s Tomb Raider. The last entries in the series, while decent, only proved that the once polygonic-breasted Lara was flagging behind and more befitting of actually being in a tomb herself. Enter this reboot with no ties to the past, and telling an origin story of how Lara became a, yes, Tomb Raider. A staunch fan since the beginning, this needs to be done, and from what we’ve seen so far, it looks amazing and could give Uncharted a run for its money. Plus, it packs more pseudo-orgasmic-tennis-player grunts per square inch than any other game to date – at least from what we’ve seen, so yeah, it really is a Tomb Raider game.

 
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

 

 
To right the wrongs wrought by the Cataclysm – of which I can’t completely bag as it also did a lot right – it’s goodbye Deathchin and oh-god-these-heroics-are-actually-raids-and-it’s-only-Deadmines, and hello Pandaren and their lush and verdant home and Pokémon! Although the haters will hate, and will likely continue to do so until they do bloody play it, Warcraft absolutely needs this expansion right now. Five more levels, Monks, new ways to earn Valor and more to do PVE-wise at levelcap; plus Raid Finder out or the box; I’m almost certain, if holding out hope, that MoP will bring the fun back to WoW. Plus, my Magnificent Flying Carpet is going to look amazing set against the backdrop of Pandaria. You know, when my Mage is lvl90 and can fly, after probably paying for Southern Skies Flying or something.

 
Max Payne 3

 

 
Just shy of a decade being away from our computers and consoles, Max Payne is back and is trading in the modern-day noir setting of New York for sunny São Paulo. That’s not the only thing to change – Max goes bald and goes gunning down in a vest. Oh, and Remedy is no longer the game’s developer, instead Rockstar are at the helm. If there is a games studio that can imbue the game with the same soul, it’s them. Bullet-time makes an obvious return, but the new fun is in the physics and life-accurate animations that’ll allow Max to shoot 360 degrees. It may not sound a lot, but when you see it in action in the trailers. And yes, they’ll be painkillers.

 
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

 

 
It’s looking to be a good year for Blizzard with their three IP’s vying for your undying attention. The first of two expansions for StarCraft II, it focuses on Sarah Kerrigan, the once Human turned Zerg turned Human again – kinda – and her attempts to take control of the swarm and seek out revenge. Twenty new missions, eight new multiplayer units and more RTS action than you can shake a tentacle at, this will be huge when it lands for the StarCraft fans and it’ll get the e-sports teams fired up once more.

 
BioShock Infinite

 

 
The original Bioshock was groundbreaking in terms of atmosphere, and this non-sequel and non-prequel is certainly kicking the atmospheric up a considerable notch. Gone is the murky vintage splendour of the ocean, its all clear skies and steampunk from here out. It’s not all about graphics, though it does help, but being a title in this franchise, Bioshock Infinite doesn’t disappoint when the story is involved. Columbia, the floating city setting, is another dystopian society that you must traverse to rescue a young women, who teams up with you for a sort of Prince of Persia partnership – you know, the cell shaded one. Plus, time travel and mutant powers!

 
Grand Theft Auto V

 

 
It’s back, and it’s back in a big way. Well, okay, not as big as San Andreas, but big enough. Again, going from the trailer, but this is GTA, it’s just going to be huge, right? Unlike the other games in this tentative roundup, and in true Rockstar fashion, not a whole lot is known about GTAV other than you return to Los Santos – the game’s equivalent to Los Angeles – but if we dissect the trailer we know a few things: it looks beautiful and utterly dripping with style, it’s open-world, it could possibly have multiple stories, bench pressing is back and it looks like animals are going to make an appearance. Just don’t tell those animal guys who sharn’t be named.

 
Lollipop Chainsaw

 

 
This game. I… I simply must possess it. Seriously. It’s the next title in development from Suda51 and his Grasshopper Manufacture studio. Its grindhouse, it has a cheerleader wielding chainsaw zombie slayer as a main character who goes to San Romero High School, and who must battle the undead and their zombie rock and roll lords. RE: I simply must possess it. The games that Suda51 has put out have been niche and resoundingly brilliant, inventive, original and have stood out in the vast sea of games. Plus the pop-culture references and direct influence only serves to add to the games’ charms. Need now, thank you.

 
The Last Guardian

 

 
Providing Ueda’s departure and the rumours don’t spell a true death knell to the project, The Last Guardian will be released at some nebulous time this year. One of the most eagerly awaited titles of the last few years, the game is the spiritual sequel and next step in the Team Ico series of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. An amalgam of the two previous game’s concepts and gameplay, you have the action-adventure-puzzler aspects as well as the emotional partnership and scaling a giant, where you assume the role of a boy who comes together with a mythical creature to escape from a ruined castle. If you’ve played either of the two other games, then you’ll understand. If not, then think playable Studio Ghibli.

 
Seriously, but the time that 2012 is out, us gamers are going to be so gorged on virtual-gaming-crack-awesome that 2013 is really going to have to pull it out of the bag.