Grizzly Gaming's Most Anticipated Games of 2012

Welcome to 2012, gamers. 2011 was a great year for games and whether or not you’re still playing Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Saints Row 3 or Gears of War 3 (there were a lot of third installments of series’ in 2011, weren’t there?), you’re not gonna be playing them forever. You may not have looked ahead to see what this year has in store but fear not, I’ve got you covered.

Being a die hard gamer since I was old enough to form coherent memories, I enjoy reading up on what’s coming soon just as much as I enjoy playing what’s out now. In this first part of a multi-part series, I’m going to outline a few of my most anticipated games for 2012. Be sure to be on the lookout for the next few parts in this series as I go over games I’m moderately excited about, games I have my eyes on as well as games that we may or may not see in 2012. Also, keep in mind that no matter how concrete a release date may seem, developers and publishers can push a game’s release back at a moment’s notice so any release date listed is subject to change. Oh and, just so we’re clear, this list doesn’t cover everything coming out this year – just what has caught my attention the most.

Well…what are we waiting for? Let’s dive into My Most Anticipated Games of 2012! (Part 1)

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Slated release: March 20 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

The “Resident Evil” series has become the series known for creating the “survival horror” genre. Staples of the series were tight corridors, unsettling situations, finite resources as well as a little puzzle solving for good measure - a formula that has been used by games like “Silent Hill,” “Dead Space” and “Eternal Darkness” to great effect. Though other titles may have perfected the genre, Resident Evil will always be considered by many to be the first survival horror series.

Though the last two major console releases, “Resident Evil 4” and “Resident Evil 5,” have taken major steps away from the format the series has become famous for inventing, they have been two of the most critically and commercially successful games in the series. Embracing a much more action oriented style of play, the “RE” series has evolved to a point that not many could have anticipated. Capcom and Slant Six Games, however, aren’t done shaking things up in the “RE” universe and with the next title in the series, “Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City,” giving gamers an entirely new experience.

USS member Vector making good use of a zombie

In “ORC,” players find themselves on the other side of the conflict, that is to say, working for the globe-spanning pharmaceutical company Umbrella, rather than against. Set during the events of “RE2” and “RE3,” “ORC” will give gamers a different view on the events of those two games and could, possibly, rewrite series history.

As a member of the Umbrella Security Service, you’re tasked with erasing all evidence of Umbrella’s involvement in the Raccoon City disaster taking on tasks like burning evidence, silencing witnesses but the most important task you’ll undertake is hunting down and eliminating “RE2” protagonist Leon Kennedy. And since this game is taking place during the Raccoon City outbreak, members of the USS will have to contend with hordes of zombies as well as other Umbrella bio-weapons like Lickers and Nemesis-esque monsters. Not only will they have Kennedy and scores of zombies to worry about, but the USS must also contend with members of the U.S. Special Forces, who are working to expose Umbrella’s involvement in the outbreak.

I don't know who this guy is. Nemesis' brother?

Ever since I first heard about this game, I’ve been dying to play it. Just the concept alone of playing as a member of Umbrella intrigues me and the more I look into it, “ORC” gets even better. Players have a choice of taking up the mantle of any of the six members of the USS. Each character has different perks, attributes and abilities to suit different styles of play. Typical classes such as the heavy weapons expert and sniper are available while others, like the medic and scientist, should offer some interesting offensive capabilities. For instance, the scientist will be able to make use of Umbrella’s BOWs (bio-organic weapons) to crush any opposition.

Just four of the six USS members you can play as

“ORC” will also offer multiplayer where the USS will take on the Special Forces in different game modes, though details on specifics are still scarce. One interesting concept that caught my eye is the danger that your character can become infected and turn into a zombie. When a zombie gets too close they’ll engage your character who will have a chance to shake it off. If you aren’t fast enough you can become infected and if your infection is allowed to flourish, you can find yourself attacking your former teammates until they put you down. So not only will “ORC” allow you to take Umbrella’s side for once, but also letting you see what it’s like to be a zombie too. Do I really need to say any more?

Resident Evil 6

Slated release: November 20 on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Ok so I literally just heard about this game the today (Friday, the 20^th) and it looks incredible. I have no idea what the story will be about, whether its T-virus zombies or Las Plagas zombies or what but I do know from the trailer that both Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield are in it – perhaps both as playable characters. The trailer looks sick – I’ve already watched it a handful of times and will probably watch it a few more times. Check it out here.

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Bioshock Infinite

Slated release: August 1 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite games are or what are the best games out there right now, one of my first responses will undoubtedly be “Bioshock.” 2K Games’ FPS, action-adventure title set in the underwater city of Rapture is not only one of the most well-written and well-crafted games I’ve every played, but it’s also one of the most engaging, fun to play and inventive FPS titles ever made. Taking gamers on a journey of amazing discovery of not only an incredible, nigh-unbelieveable setting but also of self-discovery, Bioshock remains a ‘must-have’ title, despite the fact that it was released all the way back in 2007.

What made Bioshock so engrossing wasn’t any one particular aspect of the game but how it combines numerous different gameplay and story elements into a fluid adventure. From the very first minutes spent in Rapture, the city feels alive – teeming with places to go, things to do, and a tragic history just begging to be uncovered. Being set in the 1960s, Rapture’s architecture has a strong Art Deco influence, an artistic style not often seen in video games which only helps to enhance the unique setting.

"Bioshock Infinite" isn't short on inventive enemies

Bioshock was also enthralling because of the freedom (rather, perceived freedom) it allows players. The most intriguing mechanic from Bioshock was the Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic. The duo, which are seen in every area of Rapture, harvest gene-altering material called ADAM – a substance which can be harnessed and used to increase all manner of physical and mental attributes. Despite a civil war that ravaged the city and turned a majority of its population into mindless Splicers (those who abused ADAM), the Big Daddies and Little Sisters continue to harvest the material and how to deal with the pair is one of the most important decisions players will make in the game.

After a lackluster sequel, (Bioshock 2, developed by 2K Marin) the property is back in the capable hands of designer Ken Levine and Irrational Studios (briefly known as 2K Boston, the dev that created the original). “Bioshock Infinite” literally moves in a different direction from Rapture, with the game taking place in the floating city of Columbia. Set around the turn of the century, Bioshock Infinite shares many similar themes with the original Bioshock, though any other connections between the titles are, as of yet, unknown.

Colombia - bright, colorful and a far cry from

the dank, dreary corridors of Rapture

In “Bioshock Infinite,” players take on the role of Booker DeWitt, a disgraced Pinkerton agent, hired by shadowy sources to infiltrate the city of Columbia and rescue a woman named Elizabeth. Though the floating city was originally built to showcase American exceptionalism and ingenuity, once aboard the city, DeWitt finds little but utter chaos as multiple factions have risen up, all vying for control of the city.

Elizabeth is the target of numerous

factions and wields untold power

Though not much of the game has been shown off yet, there are few new aspects of the game I’ve been able to glean from articles and videos. Being that “Infinite” takes place years before the original game, ADAM has yet to be discovered which means plasmids won’t have a place. But players will have access to powers to supplement their firearms in the form of vigors and nostrums. Vigors allow limited use of a new power or ability while nostrums add permanent effects. Also, being that Columbia is a city comprised of numerous floating structures, the preferred method of transportation between said buildings are Skylines – metal beams, originally used to transport materials – which can be hooked onto (with a special device) and allows the player to quickly zip around the game’s wide open locales.

But DeWitt isn’t the only one after Elizabeth. Apparently, she has incredibly strong psychic powers (that may or may not be natural) and is the object of every faction in Columbia’s desire. In a long, gameplay driven video I watched on Infinite before, after a long battle to keep Elizabeth safe from a rebellious faction aboard Colombia, she and Booker are attacked by a gigantic, winged creature named Songbird. We come to find out that Songbird is Elizabeth’s protector and goes absolutely homicidal when they are apart. As in the original Bioshock, Inifinite’s story will take place all in real-time, in-engine (meaning no cutscenes), a method to help keep players in the moment which makes encounters with Songbird all the more intense. Apparently, Songbird and Elizabeth has a sort of preliminary Big Daddy/Little Sister relationship, though, obviously, Irrational has been tight-lipped in regards to story details.

New details about Infinite, such as the ultra-difficult 1999 mode, are finding their way onto the internet all the time. Each new morsel of info make the game seem like it has, somehow, a broader scope than the original title – especially considering that creating rips in the time-space continuum is a central mechanic of not only the story but of the gameplay as well.

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Borderlands 2

Slated release: (UPDATED) September 18 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Borderlands 2, even though it is third on this list, is pretty much the game that I’m most looking forward to in 2012 (and hopefully it is released in 2012). The first game expertly combined first person shooting with RPG character progression of a game like Skyrim and the massive amounts of randomized loot of games like Torchlight and Diablo into a genre developer Gearbox terms “role-playing shooter.”

Though Borderlands featured four distinct characters who specialized in various forms of firearms and who each were touted as having a different, unique reason for being on Pandora (a backwater, undeveloped world and setting of the Borderlands series), their backstories were never fleshed out and had little to do with the actual plot. Hell, the actual plot had little to do with anything besides “These guys are on Pandora looking for treasure and get mixed up in all sorts of nasty, violent hijinks.” And despite the paper thin plot and the fact that missions ran the gamut from “go here, collect something, bring it back” to “go here and kill everything you see,” I found myself returning to Boderlands more than almost any other game since I started playing Skyrim.

Salvadore, the gun-zerker, takes on a few Bandits

Perhaps it was the four play co-op (which also supported split screen co-op), perhaps it was bright, colorful cel-shaded art style, or perhaps it was the incredibly tight, fluid controls. Aw, who am I kidding – it was the loot. All that sweet, sweet loot. One of the selling points of Borderlands was the game engine’s ability to randomly generate an unbelievable amount of custom weapons to be discovered on your journeys across Pandora. One estimate I found on the web has the number of possible combinations of weapons (based on factors like weapon type, clip size, scope, color and elemental powers) at over 17,750,000. And from what I’ve read, Borderlands 2 will have even more – even though that barely seems possible.

And the new additions to weapons will be immediately apparent. Each weapon in Borderlands can be attributed to a certain manufacturer, with each company producing different styles of weapons. For instance, Jakobs guns tend to be incredibly powerful but have a low rate of fire while Maliwan guns all have some kind of elemental power attached. For Borderlands 2, Gearbox is looking to make these manufacturers even more distinct in both looks as well as characteristics of their weapons. For example, bandit weapons (now their own class) have a cobbled together look and usually have a faster rate of fire as well as extremely large reserves of ammo. Tediore weapons, which were characterized by their fast reload speed and rate of fire in Borderlands, are now meant to be disposable. In a video Gearbox showed off, we saw new character Salvadore using a Tediore weapon and instead of reloading it, would just toss it aside and pull out a new one. They also stated that with this particular type of gun, when discarded with extra ammunition still inside creates an explosion that can damage enemies. Little tweaks to the way weapons are procedurally generated should help immensely in keeping gamers coming back to Borderlands 2.

A small sampling of the new Bandit weapon class

I just hope that Gearbox puts a little more effort into creating an intriguing storyline this time around. From early reports I’ve read about Borderlands 2, it seems that each character could follow their own story arc and that how players carry out and complete missions can affect the way that mission or even their storyline plays out. Also, Gearbox has only revealed one new character who also happens to be a new class – Salvadore, the gun-zerker. It seems like the gun-zerker is replacing the berserker class from the first game and whose special power will be being able to dual wield any weapon in their inventory – two rifles, two pistols, two rocket launchers or even two sniper rifles. I think another character has also been revealed, though she is a siren – a class from the first game. The other two characters (and whether they are new classes) haven’t been revealed yet. Also, Gearbox has stated that the original cast of characters will appear in Borderlands 2 in some capacity but not as playable characters.

The Hyperion Corporation now employs robots to fight its battles.

These robots can even augment others' abilities in combat.

Gearbox has also stated that they’re retooled the co-op aspects of the game so that menus are more easily navigable when playing split screen. Also, though I haven’t read anything about this, I’m hoping Gearbox addresses the issue of players of various levels being able to play with one another. In Borderlands, it wasn’t so much that you couldn’t play with characters who were above you in terms of level progression so much as if you did, you would find yourself getting destroyed left and right when playing with people who were just a few levels above your own. If Gearbox were able to address this problem of level scaling, players would find it much easier to play with random people or jump into and out of friends’ game.