Most Anticipated Videogames of 2012

Why We?re Excited: The first two BioShock games were smart, gorgeously art-directed explorations of an underwater city. Infinite moves the action backwards in time and up in the air, sending you on a mission to the fascinating steampunk air-metropolis called Columbia. It’s like a secret adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day!
Expected release date: August (rumored, and all dates are subject to change)

Why We’re Excited: The first two Twisted Metal games were PS1 highlights. With original director David Jaffe returning, we’re hoping this reboot can help the vehicular-combat franchise move into the new console generation.
Expected release date: February 14

I want to play through both Mass Effect games — and journal about them for EW — before the arrival of Mass Effect 3. —Jeff Jensen

Why We’re Excited: A PlayStation Network exclusive, Journey doesn’t look or feel like any other videogame. You play a robed figure who wakes up in the middle of a huge desert. In the distance, there is a mountain, which seems to be glowing. As you walk along, you might meet another robed figure — who is actually controlled by someone else on the network. Things happen. Indie game designers Thatgamecompany worked on the similarly poetic Flower, and Journey looks like it could be the Videogames Can Be Art debate topic of 2012. Hey, not everything has to be a sequel.
Expected release date: Spring

Why We’re Excited: After three Renaissance-era games about tragic badass Ezio Auditore, the Assassin’s Creed franchise will move into a new, presumably-historical setting for its release in late 2012. Insiders claim it won’t be World War II. So let’s spend the next few months pondering what time period we’d want the clever, lushly designed franchise. Industrial Revolution-era America? Vienna in the late 19th century? Tsarist Russia?
Expected release date: November (rumored)

Why We’re Excited: Because a significant proportion of the young gamer population lost an entire summer in 2000, when Diablo II was released. Because in the ensuing decade, developer Blizzard has continually dominated computer gameplay with Starcraft and Warcraft. Because it feels good to slay godlike personifications of evil.
Expected release date: Late Winter

Why We’re Excited: The latest iteration of Rockstar Games’ open-world crime franchise returns to the sun-dappled Bizarro Los Angeles last seen in 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Supposedly, V will also mark a return to San Andreas-style tomfoolery (remember Area 51) after the relatively sober antics of GTA IV. Expect lacerating deconstructions of the American media scene, and also rocket launchers.
Expected release date: Summer

Why We’re Excited: Halo 4 will bring back series protagonist Master Chief, and there are rumors that the game will feature less shooting and more exploration. The franchise just celebrated its 10th anniversary, and with a new developer taking the reigns, Halo 4 could be proof that the franchise can (or can’t) survive in the new shooter universe.
Expected release date: November 2012

Why We’re Excited: Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series brought a glitzy, cinematic flare to adventure games, and the trailer for The Last of Us indicates that the developer is making an intriguing move into survival horror. At this point, Last of Us is currently an office favorite for Game Most Likely to Be Delayed into 2013…but we can dream, can’t we?
Expected release date: Late 2012, hopefully

Why We’re Excited: The typical videogame protagonist is a callow, nobly inclined young person excited to set off on a quest for goodness. And then there’s Max Payne, who returns eight years after Max Payne 2 a fat, broken alcoholic with a shaved head and a dirty tank top. Also intriguing: The franchise is moving from the noir-gritty urbania of the first two games to glittery Brazil.
Expected release date: March

Why We’re Excited: The Metal Gear franchise was always famous for its emphasis on the stealth. Based on the hyperkinetic, blood-drenched trailer, Revengeance is taking a decidedly different tactic. There are plenty of reasons to doubt this game: It’s the first Metal Gear game not directed by Hideo Kojima; during the long development process, it transformed from a prequel to a sequel; the title of the game is Revengeance. Still, such a complete break from the franchise’s main mode of gameplay — and the slight suspicion that the whole thing is supposed to be over-the-top — make this one to watch.
Expected release date: Late 2012

Why We’re Excited: Eternally delayed and captivatingly mysterious, The Last Guardian is the third game from designer Fumito Ueda and Team Ico. We’re guessing it will be worth the wait, since their first two works — 2001’s Ico and 2005’s Shadow of the Colossus — are two of the best and most distinctive videogames ever. Sony recently announced that Ueda has officially left Sony to focus on personal projects, though he’s apparently finishing work on Guardian in a freelance capacity. Guardian might be his magnum opus…or his overreaching Apocalypse Now. Either way, it sure beats Call of Duty.
Expected release date: Someday, maybe

Why We’re Excited: The Fifa Street trilogy was sort of an afterthought in the mid-00s. The upcoming reboot — designed by some of the same people who worked on this year’s great Fifa 12 — promises to be a complete rethinking, including more realistic character models and a more cerebral approach to gameplay.
Expected release date: March

Why We’re Excited: A fascinating exercise in creative cross-pollination, or just a shameless cash grab? Either way, the decision to create two separate mash-ups of the iconic Street Fighter and Tekken fighter-franchises — one designed by Street Fighter developer Capcom, the other by Tekken creator Namco — makes for an interesting experiment. Capcom’s version will arrive next year, and come on: Who’s not excited about the Zangief-Kuma showdown?
Expected release date: March 6

Why We’re Excited: The eye-popping VGA trailer for Fall of Cybertron demonstrated the game’s fascinating visual aesthetic: an intriguing blend of retro-chic cartoonishness and bleak grit. (Also: F—ing Grimlock!) This might just be another Dead Island — a great trailer for an eventual mediocrity — but the game promises to expand and improve on 2009’s War for Cybertron. And aren’t we do for something good to come out of the Transformers universe, already?
Expected release date: Fall

Why We’re Excited: Indie game hero Jonathan Blow created the poetic Braid, 2008’s eerily profound side-scroller. His follow-up is a puzzler set on a mysterious island. Blow’s devotion to a DIY philosophy is inspiring — he occasionally tracks the game’s progress on his blog — and The Witness could prove to be a showcase expansion for all his ambitions.
Expected release date: Late 2012

Why We’re Excited: Nintendo’s new game console promises to integrate the expanding industry of mobile gaming. The fascinating new controller comes with a built-in touchscreen that can also function as its own console. It’s an interesting gamble…although it’s arguably less crazy than the Wii motion-controllers, which helped usher in a mid-decade casual-gamer revolution. Rumors indicate that the launch titles will include the return of Shigeru Miyamoto’s pet project, Pikmin. With overall industry sales suffering a bit in 2011, the Wii U could be an exciting step forward into the videogame future.
Expected release date: Summer