2012/2013 Video Game releases anticipation thread

[Mr Silver]

So what is everyone looking forward to?

I've mentioned a few times that I'm anxiously awaiting the announcement from SE regarding the next game in the Final Fantasy series, whether that be Versus XIII (which will hopefully be multi-platform) or XIII-3 (which is a 99% sure thing, surely?!).

It's unlikely that XIII-3 will see a release in this gaming year, however Versus XIII is definitely a possibility given that it's been announced since 2006 and has been in production from at least that time. Of course, one might call vapourware given the sheer amount of setbacks in the last couple of years regarding it's release.

As for games that are definitely being released, I'm looking forward to (which doesn't mean I'll have to play them or buy them!):

Borderlands 2
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Assassin's Creed 3
WWE '13
Black Ops II
Hitman: Absolution
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

[Jeff O'Connor]

Final Fantasy's my favorite series and Metal Gear is close, but I'm not really looking forward to either XIII-3 or Rising. XIII and, from watching someone else play XIII-2, really aren't my cup of tea, nor does Platinum Games really sell me when it comes to storytelling, and I play Metal Gear primarily for its storytelling prowess. I do look forward to the far-off MGS5, however, as Hideo Kojima has officially announced it's under development with his shiny new Fox Engine.

As far as big, giant anticipation is concerned, there's really precious little on the horizon for me right now. I'm awaiting games like Mario and whatnot, but they're not the sort of thing that really gets me going. I have a lot of games I still need to play, though, like Red Dead Redemption, Fallout: New Vegas and, well, I need to replay Skyrim now that I have a gaming PC. I also need to finish Xenoblade and start up Uncharted 3, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Revelations, and finish my file on Lost Odyssey.

But yeah, as far as the horizon is concerned? Nothing I'm aware of, just hook me up with another Mass Effect sometime and I'm good for a while.

Versus XIII... I have serious doubts, but I'll save the rant. I will pick it up, though, most likely. Tetsuya Nomura knows how to make great gameplay if nothing else, even though I'm more into stories with FF as well.

[Mr Silver]

I feel that FFXIII is an extremely underrated game, but I do accept that XIII-2 wasn't to everybody's taste. I enjoyed the game, but found the story incredibly lacking and filled with light hearted moments that really took away from what was established in XIII, it reminded me a lot of FFX-2, which was essentially a farce manga masquerading as a Final Fantasy game.

Maybe this is where my desire for XIII-3 comes from, I want a game to conclude the story fully without giving into silliness like Chocolina, monster allies that can wear ridiculous outfits and big lipped aligator stuff like a casino that exists outside of time and forces you to play extremely boring games. XIII left a profound impact on me, just like any good FF game has done and I would like XIII-3 to return to this method of storytelling where characters, plot and setting is more important than writing stuff in for shout outs (DLC, The arena, etc) and merchandising opportunities (Mog, different outfits, etc).

I just cannot bare to play a Mass Effect game because I fear the hype and glowing critical receptions will give way to disappointment, particulary if I play Mass Effect 1. I don't like the idea of the game, but surely I have to play it in order to receive the maximum story benefits? Honestly, I've thought about just ignoring ME1 and starting with ME1.

I've ignored MGS2 and MGS3 because I just couldn't work with the camera system and the awkwardness in controlling Snake. MGS though, was one of my favourite games on the PSX and I'm slightly miffed as to why Konami didn't include it in the HD collection. I'm hoping Revengeance will take inspiration from other recent action/stealth games such as the Arkham games and Human Revolution, rather than just being Metal Devil Gear Cry.

[Jeff O'Connor]

X-2 is pretty much my ultimate moment of completely headcanoning something out of existence; I really adore FFX's ending and that game, with its absurdly upbeat J-Pop dance club feel and "yes, Yuna, you really can have everything!" bubblegum finale really fly in the face of all that. It's one game I just... ignore entirely. :P

As for XIII, sorry, but no way, not for me. I did give it all the chances I could, and I did finish it, but I felt like a whole lotta nothing happened for a big, long time, and when things did happen, they were needlessly convoluted. The game's cast of antagonists was a particular sour note, and while none of its heroes really bothered me all that much, I felt like their arcs went around in circles for 80% of the game, and the resolution was garbled. XIII-2 is in many ways the X-2 of XIII, yeah, and I echo your sentiments regarding its story; it took the things about XIII I had wished received (IMO, IMO) better treatment and flung them around with lighthearted silliness.

Myself, when it comes to Final Fantasy I'm mostly just hoping Hiroyuki Itou eventually announces he's been working on a game. Sorry, I'm one of those guys who knows all the creators' names, heh. Maybe you are too, though, who knows. But anyway, he directed FFVI and FFIX, and had a lot of impact on FFVII as well, and in general I just really like his contributions. He's been mysteriously absent for years, but it's been confirmed he's still on the company payroll, and rumors have been flying around for a long time that he's secretly in charge of XV. I liked VI, VII and IX a lot, too, so that'd be swell. I'm not big on Motomu Toriyama, though, the guy who's been writing the XIII series. Something about his style just isn't for me.

Whew, lots of text. Sorry to bore ya.

As for Mass Effect, I would highly suggest you start with ME1. It's... quite possibly the most cohesive trilogy in gaming, story-wise, even if ME2 does open by flinging a couple of ME1's aspects out the window in favor of another take on them. You'd be doing yourself a tremendous disservice to skip ME1. What is it about ME1 that so irks you, though? The gameplay, I assume? If so, well, if it really gets to you, you can always catapult yourself through it with cheats of some sort if you're playing on PC. (The specs aren't bad.) I suppose as a last-ditch alternative you could just watch someone else play the game on YouTube, but most fans get pretty attached to their Shepard, and their decisions, so yeah, I dunno.

I also wouldn't really suggest skipping straight to Revengeance regarding MGS, and I'm a bit perplexed as to the difficulty of the camera system, mainly with regard to MGS3. Well, the original MGS3's camera was awful, actually, but Subsistence (which is the same thing that's packaged into the HD Collection now, by the way) has some amazingly smooth camera controls. But yeah, skipping to Revengeance... well, do what ya wish, of course! But the main thrust of the MGS plot really beefs itself up with MGS2, and then 3 is an excellent prequel, and 4 wraps up most of the arcs. I have little confidence in Platinum Games' ability to do much with Revengeance's plot, but I'd recommend being vaguely familiar with what's happened in the series' universe first, really.

Also, the latest trailers for it really enhance my doubts toward its stealth components that were already in the back of my mind when Platinum Games literally announced they'd thrown most of them by the wayside in favor of a full-blown action experience... >_>

[clint g]

I really don't get why Square-Enix continues to go down the FFXIII route. I would much prefer they cut their loses and get FFXV up and running.


That aside, what I'm really looking forward to is Resident Evil 6 and Bio Shock Infinite. I'll probably also pick up a Vita when Persona 4 The Golden comes out.

[bullethead]

Out of Western stuff, I'm only really looking forward to X-Com: Enemy Unknown - I built a gaming rig for it and preordered the PC collector's edition. I might get Crysis 3, the new Star Trek game, or something else but I'm not going to be getting a lot of new games.

I've got a few Japanese Gundam games I'm interested in, but like 90% of their output, their PSP only unless they get Wii ports announced right before release.

[Kelthaz]

There's a few rare exceptions, but for the most part I dislike Western games. With the collapse of the Japanese market, it's hard for me to find games that I like these days. I had some hopes for the Vita, but that crashed and burned almost as fast as the Virtual Boy.

I absolutely loved the DS last generation, so as soon as the 3DS gets going I should have something to look forward. The new Paper Mario should be good as always.

[Kirkman1987]

Deadly Premonition Director's Cut, That is all




well, actually the Star Trek game looks pretty good and I might check out Colonial Marines if it rises above being a generic shooter (I doubt it).

I'll get Black Ops to play with friends online and may check out Resident Evil 6, although I'm one of those people who really preferred the old school fixed camera survival horror style.

[CaptJack]

Sleeping Dogs (PS3)
Forza Horizon (PS3)
007: Legends (PS3)
Assassin's Creed III (PS3)
Black Ops II (PS3)
ArmA III (PC)
Dust 514 (PS3)
SimCity (PC)
Bioshock Infinite (PS3)
Star Trek (PS3)
The Last of Us (PS3)
Watch Dogs (PS3)

and above all else, Grand Theft Auto V (PS3)

[Jeff O'Connor]

I'm kinda surprised by how many mostly-Japanese gamers are here on TrekBBS. On another Western-franchise sci-fi forum I visit (BioWare Social Network) there's a lot of antipathy toward Japanese games. But I guess it's different, what with that being a site exclusively devoted to a Western game company. Heh. I just tend to get Star Trek fans and Mass Effect fans all jumbled in my head sometimes, so it still surprised me a little.

Anyway, Paper Mario does indeed look good. And I'll give a nod to GTA V, The Last of Us, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed III and BioShock Infinite as well.

[clint g]

It's not really all that surprising. BioWare started out on the PC side of the house. PC gaming has generally been more western oriented. Many of us on TBBS started with console gaming, which was Japanese dominated up until the early 2000s.

Me personally, I can play anything so long as it's good. I'll play some Deus Ex one day and Persona the next

[AlphaMan]

Borderlands 2 (PS3) (Vita)
Assassin's Creed 3 (PS3)
Assassin's Creed 3 Liberation (Vita)
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PS3)
Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified (Vita)
Dust 514 (PS3)
Hitman: Absolution (PS3)
Halo 4 (360)
Devil May Cry (PS3)
Deadspace 3 (PS3)
Bioshock Infinite (PS3)
Crysis 3 (360)
Grand Theft Auto V (PS3)
The Last of Us (PS3)

[bullethead]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

---

I'm kinda surprised by how many mostly-Japanese gamers are here on TrekBBS. On another Western-franchise sci-fi forum I visit (BioWare Social Network) there's a lot of antipathy toward Japanese games. But I guess it's different, what with that being a site exclusively devoted to a Western game company. Heh. I just tend to get Star Trek fans and Mass Effect fans all jumbled in my head sometimes, so it still surprised me a little.

Actually, there's quite a few people open to Japanese games and anime on BSN, they just lay low because every thread that has anyone talk about a Mass Effect anime (in general) usually gets tons of flack by people who dislike anime for whatever reason. General scifi forums are more likely to have an even balance of Japanese and Western game players since they aren't so narrowly focused on one thing.

That said, I'm willing to give Japanese games a try, but like Western games, very few pique my interest, and the ones that do generally tend to not get released in the West and/or are not on platforms that I own (PSP mostly). It irritates me greatly that Japan (for whatever reason) ignores PC gaming (aside from indie visual novels), since it solves that whole "HD console development is too expensive" and "we might not get enough sales in the West" problem (plus it actually means games could get translations without a licensor).

[Jeff O'Connor]

Heh, well said, clint g.

bullethead, hmm, good points. The Japanese are very, very into handhelds, and as the Eastern sphere of gaming has fallen down several notches this last several years, it's become rarer to get a lot of their games again. I got into gaming beyond a few Sonic titles around 1997, with FFVII, and I remember people much older than I was celebrating how that was changing. Now I can sigh right along with them as it reverts...

Ah well, there are a great deal of good games in the West, now, at least...!

[Sysyphyx]

Most of all, my nipples are really hard for The Last of Us on Ps3. Primarily because l need to get my trophy count up, but basically, because it just looks so Fallout 3/The Road sort of BADASS.

Also, Aliens: Colonial Marines is on my motion detector radar. Even if it does turn out to be just another shooter, it definitely looks to be a step above the last few games in that particular genre.