S. Samuel
[As 2012 fades away, SOHH's dropping a daily list of the 13 biggest things to look for in '13. Today, we're stepping back and letting the experts dish out the top must-buy video games to look out for this year.]
1. Grand Theft Auto V
The GTA 5 release date for Xbox 360 and PS3 is fast approaching. Rockstar has confirmed the game’s launch for spring 2013, and the latest rumor is that rapper “The Game” may show up to the next “Grand Theft Auto” party. The GTA 5 release date is still months away, but that hasn’t stopped “Grand Theft Auto” fans from getting amped up from even the smallest GTA 5 leak or rumor. Hardcore gamers have already recreated a full Los Santos map andharassed a prospective key voice actor. Now there’s a whole new reason to get excited. (iDigital Times)
2. BioShock Infinite
The producer’s job must have been interesting, as BioShock Infinite’s release date was pushed back from October 2012 to February 2013, and then back again to the end of March. To say BioShock Infinite is long-awaited is true, and perhaps true on more levels than Irrational might like. However, as Satoru Iwata once said, “A delayed is eventually good, but a bad game is bad forever”. Of course, this quote neglects the common phenomenon of games which are both delayed and bad. As the delays mounted on BioShock, a kind of undertone of anxiety also grew that perhaps this was indicative of deeper problems within the game. Then the box art was released, and everyone got distracted by arguing about that. Ah, video games. (Forbes)
3. God of War: Ascension
The release of God of War: Ascension is less than two months away and Sony is making sure gamers know what they’re in store for. The publisher has already opened a multiplayer beta for the title, and those who bought the Total Recall re-make (horror) on Blu-Ray have already gained access to the demo that debuted at last year’s E3. Today, Sony announced that a “full-fledged” single player demo for God of War: Ascension will be released sometime in late February. True, that isn’t too far from the game’s March 12 release date, but at least gamers won’t be in the dark when evaluating their purchase. To accompany the announcement, Sony also released a new teaser trailer for the single player campaign. It features plenty of boss-slicing and a semi-surprise monster at the end. (Web Pro News)
4. Lost Planet 3
Lost Planet 3 is an upcoming 2013 third-person shooter video game developed bySpark Unlimited and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windowsand Xbox 360. The game is the prequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Lost Planet 2 takes place on the same planet of E.D.N. III albeit before the events of the first two games. The game will take a more story-driven narrative approach to the campaign similar to the first game. Unlike previous games in the series, which were developed internally by Capcom, the game will be developed externally by Spark Unlimited though series creator, Kenji Oguro, is still game director. This follows a recent trend of Capcom games being developed by Western developers rather than internally, such as DmC: Devil May Cry. (Wikipedia)
5. Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
Visceral Games has put out another new trailer for its co-op-focused action game, Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel. This one shows an “explosive encounter” when RPG Specialist ‘Thug’ – who’s apparently a “connoisseur of explosive art” – gets to work in the battlefield. In the Visceral-developed shooter, players take to the deadly streets of Mexico as Alpha and Bravo, two operatives working for a private military company that drops them in the middle of a drug war conflict. Publisher EA has confirmed an Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel release date of March 26 in the US, with a European launch to follow on March 29. (Computer & Video Games)
Be sure to check back tomorrow when we look at what brewing rap beefs will dominate this year!
