I’m slowly plugging away on my own GOTY list, which I’d like to think will be out by the end of this week. In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead to what 2012 will bring.
I came into 2011 with high hopes that it might be one of the greatest years in gaming history. I’m not entirely sure that ended up being the case (and we’ll get to that later), but 2011 certainly offered up a lot of top-shelf quality.
2012, on the other hand, doesn’t quite seem to be as chock-full of jaw-droppers as 2011 did. I can’t help thinking that this is because the publishers and developers are reluctant to throw out new IP this close to the beginning of a new console cycle (as all rumors currently have the new Xbox (and presumably the new PlayStation) coming out in 2013-14). That being said, the good stuff looks awfully good.
The GOTY Front-Runners. This assumes, of course, that Diablo 3 and GTA5 actually come out in 2012; no release dates have been given, or even hinted at.
- Mass Effect 3
- Diablo 3
- Bioshock Infinite
- GTA 5
The Must-Plays.
- Torchlight 2
- The Last Guardian
- SSX
- Darksiders 2
- Max Payne 3
- Kingdoms of Amalur
- Tomb Raider
- Prey 2
- Borderlands 2
- the Tony Hawk HD thing
The Definite Rentals:
- Dragon’s Dogma
- Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- Final Fantasy XIII-2
- Twisted Metal
- Darkness 2
- Asura’s Wrath
- Ninja Gaiden 3
- Metro: Last Light
- Witcher 2 (360)
- Far Cry 3
- South Park RPG
Keeping Fingers Crossed:
- XCOM
- Half Life 3
UPDATE: Can’t believe I forgot my 2 downloadable darlings:
- Fez
- Journey
Shouts From The Couch 