On the Subject of 2012

Some lovely new year boobs

As a shiny new year begins, let's have a look at what happened to those predictions I made for 2011, and concoct some new ones for the coming year.

Crisis 2
"Don't expect CryEngine 3 to be nearly as revolutionary as its predecessor ... This game is definitely on the "meh" list."

Pretty much hitting the nail on the head, I'm sure you'll agree. Crytek wanted to become console stars this year, but with gameplay never being their strong suit and ancient console hardware not doing justice to their tech expertise, neither the console nor PC audiences were terribly impressed.

The Witcher 2
"it's looking good, and even if it's no better than the original, it will still be a great game"

The Witcher was always going to be a tough act to follow, and like Portal 2, TW2 suffers from following in its predecessor's footsteps rather than blowing up out of nowhere. But it managed to be a solid and entertaining game in its own right, as expected.

Mass Effect 3
"Personally I doubt that this will see the light of day in 2011"

Damn, I'm good.

Dragon Age 2
"it could be a vast improvement over an already serviceable game, or else it could be more console trash"

Not so much console trash, as it turned out, but a pretty uninspired and rushed game by most accounts. I didn't bother with it in the end.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
"I guarantee old-school RPG players will find loads of shit to complain about"

Funnily enough I haven't really noticed many complaints about the actual mechanics of the game, although that might just be because (PC) players take it for granted that they will be able to modify the game to their heart's content. Of course I'm yet to play it myself so it's hard to judge but it appears to be a pretty solid effort, even if it features Bethesda's notorious (lack of) quality control with respect to bugs.

Rage
"it will massively fail to live up to expectations"

Did it ever. As predicted, Rage was largely console trash. What was more surprising was how it suffered from a lack of Id's usual technical excellence, and the PC version had various issues at launch. Even the die-hards began to fear that they had lost one of the last bastions of hardcore PC gaming.

Diablo 3
"Another game which I'm not sure we'll see in 2011"

And we didn't, although there was various beta activity should you give a shit. I don't.

Guild Wars 2
"Who knows if we'll see anything from Arena Net in 2011"

We saw various profession videos, but as yet it has been all quiet with regard to an actual release, or even a beta.

So as usual, pretty much on the money. But what does the discerning gamer (and console monkey) have to look forward to in 2012?

Mass Effect 3

Slated for March, this is my big one for the coming year. As I recall, ME was supposed to be a trilogy so in theory this should tie up the central Mass Effect story arc, although I don't imagine for a second that they won't continue to milk this franchise for many years to come. As I suggested a year ago, I still suspect that there will be much less to differentiate ME3 from ME2 than there was with the first two games. But I'm a fan, and as I said when I covered ME2, I just want it to go on forever, so the more the merrier.

Max Payne 3

I initially dismissed this as a shitty cash-in on the original (and excellent) Max Payne games, but I'm finding myself strangely optimistic about this Rockstar-developed take on the MP series. I don't know much about it, but I'm tempted to support any game from Rockstar which is released on the PC (excluding the mediocre, and late, LA Noire).

GTAV

Which brings us to GTAV. The question isn't whether there'll be a PC version any time soon, so much as will there be a PC version ever? For some reason Rockstar thought it would be worthwhile porting the over-hyped LA Noire to the PC, even though it was long after anyone stopped caring about the game, but the potentially much more impressive Red Dead Redemption is still MIA, and will be indefinitely according to the developers.
I was a latecomer to GTA4, but it was a landmark gaming experience and one I'd be keen to continue.

Guild Wars 2

It looks likely there'll be some action on the GW front this year, although whether it's a succession of betas or an actual release remains to be seen. I don't really know any more about it than I did this time last year, but if they make it, I will come.

Alan Wake

Apparently there's going to be a PC version. Of the game which was originally supposed to be a PC exclusive and Windows Vista showcase title. Meanwhile Microsoft threw enough money at Remedy to make it a 360 exclusive, the game was seriously compromised to make it accessible to the console Neanderthals and so it'll probably be a load of old shit when it finally does make it to the PC. Too little, (much) too late, Remedy.

Diablo 3

Seems to be progressing towards an actual release, via closed betas. It'll be a colossal mountain of hype, expectation and now doubt disillusionment when it does arrive, but that's less to do with the quality of the game and more to do with idiot gamers and expert marketing.

Metro: Last Light

I think I have Metro 2033 in my Steam library after some sale or other, but I haven't got around to playing it yet. Sounds like some sort of STALKER-meets-Crysis linear shooter, but many people have good things to say about it. Some of the trailer footage for Last light looks pretty sweet, although that doesn't mean much. I would expect it to be serviceable as a game, and quite likely capable of bringing a high-end machine to its knees.

In fact there aren't really many noteworthy titles to look forward to this year. Maybe a few surprises will pop up out of the blue, and I already have enough of a backlog to deal with.