Thursday, 24 January 2013

Looking forward to 2013

2013 has the potential to be a very special year for us video gamers. I am going to leave the subject of New Playstation 4's and Xbox 720's until they have been announced and there is more to know about them. I am more interested in what is coming to current generation consoles we have now. Usually, The period after Christmas is quiet on the gaming front. Not so this year the has started off with a couple of big releases, including this...

DmC: Devil may Cry (Xbox 360, PS3) - Out Now



Ninja Theory have recreated Capcom's classic demon hunter, Dante and rebooted the Devil May Cry series. The biggest shock to fans of the series was the reveal of Dante's new look. Gone is the trademark white hair and red coat, replaced by a emo inspired punk look to "relate to the kids". This parallel version of Dante still has the ability to kick all kinds of ass, all across Limbo City. Ninja Theory have made something very special here a game that pays homage to the original series whilst taking the series to a new level. Best of all it is out right now!

Ni No Kuni - Wrath of the White Witch (PS3) - 1st February



What do you get when you get one of Japan's most prominent RPG studios and get them to collaborate with a legendary animation studio. No not Kingdom Hearts! You get Ni No Kuni (or The Second Land), the creation from Level 5 (of Professor Layton and Dragon Quest fame) and Studio Ghibli (the legendary studio behind animated films like Spirited Away and Princess Monoke). The game follows Oliver, a little boy, who after a tragic loss finds solace in stuffed toy, that turns out to be lord of the fairies. It really is classic Ghibli tale and the game looks amazing. Looking forward to playing this with the kids, as they already like the look of it. The 1st February cannot come quick enough.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengence (Xbox 360. PS3) - 22nd February



A new Metal Gear game, which focuses on action and features everyone's favorite cyborg ninja. Developed by Kojima Studios and Platinum games (of Bayonetta), this new chapter of the Metal Gear franchise steps out of the dark and slashes its way in to action. Featuring a revolutionary sword mechanic, which lets you slow down time and aim the angle and slash of your sword. This means you can literally slice and dice your way through wave after wave of enemy cyborgs and leave in itty bitty pieces. You can try for yourself now, as the demo has just been released on both Xbox Live and PSN. See how pieces you can slice a melon in to!

Tomb Raider (Xbox 360. PS3, PC) - 5th March



Chris Nolan has set the trend for the 'Reboot'. Last year we saw it done wrong (Syndicate) and almost perfectly (XCOM). 2013 has already seen one much loved series get the reboot treatment (see DmC above) and coming up in March is the eagerly awaited Tomb Raider reboot. Set before Lara became the heroine and adventurer we know. It is her coming of age tale. Shipwrecked on a remote island, where the locals appear to be hunting her and the other survivors. From a demo I played last year it seems that Crystal Dynamics have taken the Tomb Raider format and added a large dose of Uncharted and hint of Assassins Creed III. I have very high hopes for this and I am already hoping that this will be a game of the year contender.

Gears of War: Judgement (Xbox 360 Exclusive) - 22nd March



You cant keep a good COG down and in this new spin off featuring Baird and the rest of Kilo Squad. Set in the aftermath of Emergence Day and acts as the first prequel to the Gears of War series. Epic Games are developing this with People Can Fly, and are focusing on injecting something new into the Gears formula. Multiplayer has two new added modes, Over-run and Free-for-all. Oh! It is worth noting that GOW: Judgement comes with a Digital copy of the original Gears of War. Amazingly over half of Gears of War 3 players have never played Gears of War, according to Epic.

Bioshock: Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) - 26th March



The true successor to 2008's Bioshock sees you emerge from the oceans and take to the skies. The flying city of Columbia is the location this time and sees the player take on the role of Booker DeWitt. He must travel to Columbia to locate and rescue a young woman called Elizabeth. The city is at war though, and the two warring factions stand in their way, the Founders of Columbia and the Vox Populi, a renegade group representing the common American. Combat sees you use a variety of guns, gear and powerful enhancements know as "Vigors". This game has already won a multitude of awards and looks set to be one of the hottest games of 2013.

The Last of Us (PS3 exclusive) - 7th May



Naughty Dog's newest IP is set for release in May and is quite a departure from Nathan Drake and his fortune hunting adventures. Set in a world destroyed by a virus, pockets of survivors huddle in military controlled quarantine zones. The game follows Joel and his journey to take a young girl, Ellie away from the military rule and to safe haven across the wastelands that are what is left of America. They will need to survive against the environment  bandits and what remains of the infected population. Stealth based survival horror is a new direction for Naughty Dog, but from what has been so far this looks like it could rival the Uncharted games as their finest game yet.

Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) - Spring 2013



Rockstar... New GTA game... San Andreas! Is there any need to say anything else.

Beyond: Two Souls (Sony PS3 Exclusive) - TBC 2013



Finally, Quantic Dream are actually going to release two games in one console cycle. After the amazing Heavy Rain (which I have only just started playing.), David Cage and his team are back again with another interactive thriller. Not a tremendous amount is know about this game so far. All that is know is it features Hollywood actress Ellen Page as Jodie and the game will allow players to follow her life from 8 to 23 years old. Billed as a psychological, spiritual thriller and looking at the trailer, it certainly has something M. Night Shyamalan about it. We just have to wait for later in the year to find out more.

So there you have the games to look out for in 2013. Even with this bumper load for titles I still didn't have time to mention Dark Souls 2, Disney Infinity, Remember Me, GRID 2, Injustice: Gods among us, Dead Space 3, Crysis 3 and Persona 4:Golden. Its going to be a year to remember.

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