Video Games to Watch Out For in 2012 Part #6

How times change.

As it’s a start of a new year, new video games are coming out to look forward to. Over the next few days or so I will be listing nearly thirty games that you should watch out for this year.

Each part will have around six games that you should look out for. In no particular order.

This is likely the last part unless I think of some more.

Read more to see the video games to watch out for in 2012 Part #6.

This part includes the following games:

Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Guild Wars 2, Animal Crossing 3DS, The last Guardian, Diablo III and X-COM Enemy Unknown

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Enemies need more detail.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the title of an entry in the Uncharted series released on the PlayStation Vita. It was developed by SCE Bend Studio, with development overseen by Naughty Dog.

The story is set some time before the events of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Nathan Drake is once again the protagonist of the story.

Uncover the dark secret behind the 401-year-old massacre of a Spanish expedition as Nathan Drake follows the murderous trail of an ancient and secret Spanish section.

Caught in the middle of a rivalry between Jason Dante, his old friend and Marisa Chase the granddaughter of an archeologist who has mysteriously vanished without a trace. Nathan races into the treacherous river basins, undiscovered temple ruins and karst caverns of Central America in search of a legendary lost city, only to find himself pushed to the edge of the Golden Abyss.

The game was released as a PSP Vita launch title in Japan on 17th December 2011.

It is due for release in Europe and North America with the system launch on 22nd February 2012.

Guild Wars 2

The happy couple.

Guild Wars 2 is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in development by ArenaNet.

Set in the fantasy world of Tyria, the game follows the re-emergence of Destiny’s Edge, a disbanded guild dedicated to fighting the Elder Dragons, a Lovecraftian species that has seized control of Tyria in the time since the original Guild Wars. The game takes place in a persistent world with a story that progresses in instanced environments.

Guild Wars 2 claims to be unique in the genre by featuring a storyline that is responsive to player actions,something which is common in single player role-playing games but rarely seen in multiplayer ones. A dynamic event system replaces traditional questing, utilising the ripple effect to allow players to approach quests in different ways as part of a persistent world.

The combat system, which aims to be more dynamic than its predecessor by promoting synergy between professions and using the environment as a weapon, as well as reducing the complexity of the Magic-style skill system of the original game.

As a sequel to Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 will feature the same lack of subscription fees that distinguished its predecessor from other commercially developed online games of the time.

It is due for release in 2012.

Animal Crossing 3DS

Best reason to get a Nintendo 3DS.

Animal Crossing 3DS is an upcoming video game for the Nintendo 3DS console. It is the latest game in the Animal Crossing series, where the player character lives in a rural village populated with anthropomorphic animals.

First announced at E3 2010, very few details have been released about the game, but it has been confirmed that the player will be working as the mayor of the animal village.

A trailer released at E3 2011 showcased features new to the Animal Crossing series that will be implemented in 3DS.

Players might begin living in a tent, rather than a house, that will eventually be upgraded and expanded. Customization, a major facet of the series, particularly in the player’s ability to modify the character’s appearance and furnish the living space, has also been enhanced: the character’s pants and shoes can now be modified in addition to their shirt, hat, and accessory; and the ability to hang furniture on walls has been added.

Features previously used in the Japanese exclusive Dōbutsu no Mori e+, such as benches and lamp posts, which had been removed from following releases, have returned. Another addition is the player’s new ability to swim in the ocean that borders the village

It is due for release in 2012.

The Last Guardian

Basically a mix between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

The Last Guardian, previously referred to by the working title Project Trico, is an upcoming video game developed by Team Ico, to be published exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console by Sony Computer Entertainment.

The title is being designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, and is expected to share stylistic, thematic, and gameplay elements with his previous titles, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, though it is unknown whether it will be directly related to either.

In May 2009, a purported proof of concept trailer became publicly available online, weeks before an updated version was formally revealed at E3 2009.

The story follows a boy who is trying to escape from a setting resembling the ruins of a large expansive castle. The game will revolve around the developing friendship between the boy and a giant, feathered creature resembling a griffin named Trico. The name of the creature can be taken to mean prisoner. Trico has spears and arrows stuck in its back, and is initially bound by a chain. Later, it is freed and is shown attacking an armored soldier.

Trico will at first be hostile toward the boy, but during the course of the game, the two will develop an emotional attachment to each other.

The Last Guardian was originally given a late 2011 release date internationally at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, but was pushed back to 2012 on 20th April 2011.

It is due for release in 2012.

Diablo III

Threes a crowd you know.

Diablo III is an upcoming dark fantasy/horror-themed action role-playing game in development by Blizzard, making it the third installment in the Diablo franchise.

The game, which features elements of the hack and slash and dungeon crawl genres, was first announced on 28th June 2008 at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France. The game has not been confirmed for release on consoles.

The game takes place in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II, heroes who, having survived the onslaught brought by the armies of the Burning Hells, have gone mad from their ordeals. It is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary.

Players will have the opportunity to explore familiar settings such as Tristram.

The only confirmed NPCs are Deckard Cain,who has appeared in both of the previous games, and his niece, Leah, a new character who accompanies the hero in quests from time to time.

The plot will revolve around two surviving Lesser Evils, Azmodan and Belial, and an artifact known as the Black Soulstone.Diablo’s world map is composed primarily of two main continents with several small islands in the Northwest region.

The world of Sanctuary has been dramatically changed by the events of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, for the destruction of the World Stone underneath Mount Arreat has reshaped the world’s geography.

It is due for release in Q1 2012.

X-COM Enemy Unknown

GTA (Grand Theft Alien).

X-COM: Enemy Unknown is an upcoming strategy action video game published by 2K Games and developed by Firaxis Games.

The game was officially revealed on the cover of Game Informer’s February 2012 issue on 5th January 2012. Unlike 2K Marin’s first-person shooter revival of the franchise in XCOM, this game will feature the return of the classic strategy and action gameplay the series is known for.

Its the first game developed by Firaxis Games not to feature the Sid Meier name.

It is due for release in 2012.

Source: Information help from Wikipedia.

Previous Part: