Sunday, December 23, 2012

My Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2013 (In No Particular Order)

So 2013 is looking to be a fantastic year for gaming, especially all of the releases in March of next year. Accordingly, many people have been naming their most anticipated game of the next year, and generally, they are big name titles such as Grand Theft Auto V. While I am looking forward to playing these games,  I can't say that they are the games I am most excited about. These games are slightly against the mainstream in terms of anticipation, but regardless, these are my most anticipated games of 2013, in no particular order.



Tomb Raider

This upcoming title is an entire reboot of the original Tomb Raider series. Without those horribly aged polygons, Tomb Raider can, and hopefully, meet its full potential as the ultimate action adventure game that may even give the Uncharted series a run for its money. Considering that the majority of this genre's audience is male, there is one thing that Tomb Raider has that Uncharted can't do, a sexy, butt kicking heroine no guy will not enjoy looking at, Lara Croft. (Although admittedly, I do have a man crush on Nathan Drake......) This game delves into the origin story of how Lara Croft became a complete BAMF that makes even Indiana Jones look like a muppet. The guys over at Square Enix are running this show, and I have three words for that: THANK THE LORD. Square Enix is one my favorite company, so I am very bias towards this, but I have not seen many games to come out of them that are less than fantastic, even though they sometimes like to drag their players for the longest time to get a game that they have been dying for......Kingdom Hearts III....sigh. Back on topic, this game looks amazing. Visually, it is breath taking. You are on a tropical island venturing through the jungle, while it is entirely an open world game, yet is still cinematic in the way Uncharted is known for. From first gameplay videos, the combat system seems to run very smoothly, making killing enemies that much more enjoyable, because who doesn't love awesome and new ways to kill people?! So there you have, Tomb Raider. Did I mention the voice actress is British?


Fire Emblem: Awakening

Yes, this game did come out in 2012 in Japan, but the localization is slated for release in North America on February 4, 2013. Let me start by saying, I LOVE FIRE EMBLEM. It is my favorite series in one of my favorite genres, Tactical RPG, even more than Final Fantasy Tactics. The last game to come out in North America for the series was Shadow Dragon on the DS, a remake of the very first game in series featuring Marth, who many know from Super Smash Brothers. This was sort of a let down, compared to the games I have come to love with Sacred Stones for their story and character, to Radiant Dawn for its impressive visuals and overall difficulty. Shadow Dragon lacked this, yet is reasonable since it is the first game in the pretty old series. That being said, it has been a whole since I have gotten a truly amazing Fire Emblem entry, from what I have seen of this game, it will not disappoint. With a much longer campaign, higher difficulty on the general setting, expanded game and battle mechanics, DLC, revisitation of beloved characters through the DLC, amazing visuals due to the realization of the 3DS's amazing capabilities and the possibility of having the most engaging story of any game to come from this series, I will definitely be spending hours upon hours on this game, just to fully enjoy everything this has to offer. Oh, and you can now do double team attacks. WHAT?


South Park: The Stick of Truth

If any of you know me, you know that South Park is one of my favorite shows on television. The fact it can run this long, and get away with having the most foul mouthed 4th graders ever do the things they do, the creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have created something truly remarkable. The crude humor is absolutely essential to everything they do. It is why this show is so successful. Yet, every game that South Park has been featured in, has been anything but successful. This will change everything, Remember those classic episodes where the boys go on a Lord of The Rings-esque quest to return an adult video to the videostore, the episode where the boys play World of Warcraft, or the episode where the boys buy ninja weapons and go on their own ninja adventures? We all wish we could do those things that our favorite 4th graders get to do, and with this game, we do! It is an RPG like none other. Similar to WoW and The Elder Scrolls, with magic and summons like the Final Fantasy series. The difference is, it is South Park. It is as if you are playing an actual episode of the show, with all of its charm. You can summon Jesus armed with heavy machine guns and firepower, to Mr Slave who will eat the enemy with his expansive.....butt hole..... and even Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo'stidal wave of poo! With classes such as Kyle's High Jew Elf and Cartman's Grand Wizard (surprised he wasn't an Imperial Wizard.....), this brings the RPG genre back to its roots, with that irresistible South Park charm. This game is voiced by all of the television voice actors and the visuals is taken directly from the animators of the show! It also takes a time restricted turn based party fighting system, much like some great Final Fantasy titles. So when Kenny (who is a Princess) dies while fighting with him, you can also say "OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY!" Please, just watch any trailer. Please.



Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD

I know, I know. It has a March 2013 release for Japan. But considering that this game is a remastering of 2 games, and HD cutscenes of another, it can realistically be released in North America within a month or two after the Japanese release. While these aren't new games by any means, 1.5 HD fully remasters Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the "perfect" version of the original game Americans never got, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and all of the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 385/2 Days into glorious high definition for the Playstation 3. I won't go into much detail about the games themselves only because they have been out for a very long time, after all, it is Kingdom Hearts' 10th Anniversary. Anyway, Kingdom Hearts may be my favorite game series ever. Take Final Fantasy, throw in a whole lot of Disney, and you have one of the funniest, moving, cutest, emotional journeys you will ever experience with Sora and his best friends Riku, Donald, Goofy and Kairi. After recently playing through most of the games in the series before I get Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for Christmas (expect a review for that!), I have fallen in love with everything this series is. When this game does drop in America, and it will, do not hesitate to buy it, whether you are a series veteran, or someone new to the series that hasn't had the chance to play it until now.


Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

I can relate to Mario, he has an annoying, wimpy little brother. Although his brother actually has some awesome Ghostbuster skills. The Gamecube title Luigi's Mansion was one of my all time favorite games to come on the mainly overlooked Gamecube console that is tossed aside by the like of its predecessor the Nintendo 64. However, this game was so charming, funny and great, Luigi triumphed over his older brother as the King of the Gamecube. (I did not like Super Mario Sunshine) Now that this game is coming to the 3DS, owners of the relatively new handheld gem will have something to overjoy about. Instead of just one mansion that you are trying to de-boo-ify, you have multiple mansions to send Luigi running into as scared as always. The battle system has been changed a bit, this time stunning the boos then being able to whittle away at their health with your stroboscope. I think this is a welcome addition, making the battles a bit more exciting and possibly even more difficult, but not too hard! The circle pad pro is also an option for gameplay, which is exciting news considering the success it has had with previous titles. It is slated to release in the spring of 2013 for North America!

So there you guys have it, my most anticipated games of 2013. This was quite a hard list to create considering the vast array of games coming out in the next year, but I will list some honorable mentions!
BioShock: Infinite
The Last of Us
Rayman Legends
Dead Space 3
God of War: Ascension
Remember Me
Pikmin 3
Mega Man I-VI 3DS e-Shop (just because I can)

Thanks for reading! Comment with your thoughts and share!

~Jordan Bolduc


So This Is Real, Huh?

If you are reading this, then thank you! I have been saying that I would make and maintain some type of blog for quite awhile now, the difference is, I am actually doing it. Video games as a whole is one of those things that everybody can find enjoyment out of, whether you are a hardcore gamer that plays religiously, or even somebody that just kills time by playing an app they downloaded on their smartphone because they were bored sitting in class. What I want to do here is to write about whatever I want and enjoy, because quite frankly, big industry "professionals" such as the guys over at IGN or G4 (R.I.P.) aren't always completely agreeable, and tend to overlook some titles that are truly great. Whether it be a Top list, analysis article, review or even humor/parody articles, I promise to bring you material that you will enjoy reading/watching/listening etc. Also, I would love to get pieces from everybody else and post them, possibly even making weekly segments! (*coughBrandoncough*) Just let me know on facebook and we can work something out, because I can't play every game out there, nor would I enjoy every game out there that many of you may love! So with that, welcome! I hope you continue reading!

~Jordan Bolduc