Happy New Year! Ease your hangover with this compilation of our most anticipated games of 2012. It’s looking to be another cracking year for videogames.

There’s so many other games I wish I could put on the list but in truth I’m just not looking forward to them as much, Monaco, FEZ, Spy Party, Botanicula, The Witness…All amazing games but  right now I’d rather play them after these:

10. Hawken

With graphics so good that they’re almost arousing, this looks to be one heck of a multiplayer shooter. Due to it being made by an indie studio I’m hoping for some interesting team based game modes that go beyond just deathmatch. I also hope there’s a good deal of customisation and persistence for the Mechs that we will pilot. The above trailer has also single-handedly makes that old Mechwarior teaser which came out three years ago look like complete balls.

9. Bioshock Infinite

This game is looking to hit the same beats as Half Life 2: Episode 1, with a AI controlled co-op partner that you actually care for set in (quite litterally) a rollercoaster ride of an action adventure. I just hope that the world feels more alive and interactive than the unnecessarily hostile world of the first Bioshock.

8. Prey 2

I’ve not seen this in person but everything I’ve read about it sounds awesome. I’ve built up a mental image of a blend between Mirrors Edge, Blade Runner, Strangers Wrath and Chronicles of Riddick for an ultimate nirvana of Sci-fi gaming. While the game will realistically never match what I imagine it could be, I’ve a strong feeling that this will be an interesting genre blend set in an already impressive looking universe. All those naysayers saying that this game doesn’t stand a chance simply because of its name can just go fuck a hologram.

7. Guildwars 2

I don’t like MMO’s and I’m not a fan of fantasy based RPG’s but from the hour I’ve played for this and the three presentations I’ve been to, this one really looks to be breaking the mould. This is set to be a true ‘next generation’ MMO and I think will make the recent KOTOR feel dated as soon as it’s released. I’ve two articles on the game: http://crudepixel.com/2011/09/playing-guild-wars-2/ and http://crudepixel.com/2011/09/watching-guild-wars-2/

6. Planetside 2

I was there, I was there! The first Planetside felt impossible even as you were playing it, some would say that due to the constant lag and connection issues that the game was impossible. But let’s hope that close to 10 years of technological development between then and now will make for a game that works, if they can pull it off this will take the multiplayer FPS world on by surprise.

5. rFactor 2

Considering that the first rFactor and the engine it was made on spawned a countless number of successful sim racing franchises such as GTR and iRacing, the fact that a new game and engine is being released this year is a big deal in the world of simulated motorsport. It’s the community however which will take full advantage of this as thanks to the countless number of mods and addons made for the first rFactor, the game has remained as one of the most popular racing games for the last seven years running.

4. Journey

I wanted it last year, I guess it’ll have to be this year. The new graphical improvements they have made since the last time they showed it are breathtaking. I feel a genuine, child-like flutter in my heart in my anticipation for this one.

3. The Last Guardien

I wanted it last year, I guess it’ll have to be this year. With recent news of lead designer Fumito Ueda’s departure from the studio earlier this month and because of the many delays; its easy to feel unease about the quality of this title.  I’m keeping the faith though and considering that Shadow of the Colossus is one of my personal favourites, I’m just blindly assuming that it will be brilliant.

2.  Dishonored 

I know least about this game than I do any others on this list but holy shit does it sound good. With veteran developers credited to have worked on Deus Ex, Thief Deadly Shadows, Dark Messiah and Half Life 2, this game has some incredible pedigree. The main studio in charge of the game is Arkane, the guys who make the highly ambitious and mostly successful Dark Messiah back in 2006. Dishonored looks to be artistically beautiful, bold and mechanically playful to a degree no other game on this list can claim. I hope I’m not wrong on this one.

1. Arma 3

What can I say? I don’t think I’ve played a game more than I have done Arma 2 since its release in 2009, even this weekend I was playing it. There’s always something to do, recently for me it has been teaching myself how to pilot a helicopter. There’s an incredible thrill about flying 6 multiplayer team-mates, past AA guns and safely landing in a hotzone only to fly out and do it again for another bunch. I stand by my statement that Arma 2 is the most ambitious videogame made in the last five years and the fact that the game falls to pieces when it comes to netcode, AI, performance and narrative just doesn’t matter.

Arma 3 I have high hopes for and to be honest there’s no evidence that any of my dreams will be realised. What I want is a persistent multiplayer character with stat tracking, I want better mission structures which don’t rely so heavily on trying to build up whatever batshit crazy plot or wonky character development they try and force on the player. This game isn’t Call of Duty – stop trying to be. I want an engine that is optimised to run on current systems, even 4 years after release my new(ish) £1000 PC can’t run some spots of Arma 2 past 30FPS even on the lowest graphical settings.

If Take on Helicopters is anything to go by, Arma 3 will be none of these things and just have more of the same brilliant, admirable, gorgeous, miserable, hopeless and embarrassing traits which constitute Arma 2. You know what though? I’ll still play the fucking shit out of it.

About the author

Michael Manning

Michael is a sound designer and composer working in the games industry. His portfolio can be found at www.manningaudio.com