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Shooters
Aliens: Colonial Marines – Gearbox Software, TimeGate Studios (OnLive, PS3, Wii U, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
February 12, 2013
What is it?
Gearbox will be packing players into cryotubes when February rolls around to welcome players back to LV426. Gearbox is handling this one and with Fox considering this as part of the Aliens canon as a sequel to Cameron’s film revisiting famous locales such as the Sulaco in orbit to the remnants of the colony on the ground, it promises to be raise the bar early next year when it comes to expanding the mythology of the series in the way that Ghostbusters did in 2009.
Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel – Visceral Games (PS3, Xbox 360)
Game site
March 26, 2013
What is it?
EA’s third-person bromance shooter is coming out for a third outing, hopefully with a more coherent story than the last game. This time, it’s two new bros that are heading into battle together in Mexico as part of a PMC group going up against a drug cartel called La Guadana. Expect plenty of shooting, explosions, and brofists to go along with the bodies left in their wake.
Battlefield 4 – EA (Windows, PS3, Xbox 360)
Official Battlefield site
Fall 2013
What is it?
With a beta slated for the autumn of 2013, it’s safe to assume that the game will be coming out shortly afterward for the usual platforms if their previous history is any indicator. Little else is known about the game such as what new things will be added in or where it’s even going to take place. But fans probably won’t care as long as it keeps its team-based multiplayer as fun as they have made it with oodles of extras.
Crysis 3 – Crytek (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows)
Game site
February 19, 2013
What is it?
Crysis 2 saw the alien menace smash into New York and plunge players into a conspiracy involving the super armor they wore which made them stealthier, deadlier, and slightly more bulletproof depending on what they wanted it to do. The third game promises to deliver even more do-as-you-like action backed by Crytek’s sparkly new CryEngine 3 as they head back into what is left of New York, now sealed like Tupperware inside a mysterious dome.
Earth Defense Force 2017 – Sandlot (Vita)
Game site
February 12, 2013
What is it?
It’s a port of the same game which was released for the Xbox 360 in Japan in 2006 and later in North America in 2007. Big bugs, UFOs, guns, and lots of shooting coupled with plenty of unlockable weapons made this a cult favorite on consoles, so it could be interesting to see how it uses the Vita’s hardware to enhance the experience.
Gears of War: Judgment – Epic Games (Xbox 360)
Game site
March 19, 2013
What is it?
Another series joins the prequel bandwagon as Gears of War recruits players into the early days of the Locust War, fourteen years before the first game, as a youthful Lieutenant Baird. One of the new additions to multiplayer is the OverRun class-based mode pitting attacking Locust players against defending Gears. Players hoping to play as a Medic resurrecting fallen team members or as a sneaky Scout spoiling enemy positions might find even more reasons to hit this up when it arrives next year.
Killzone: Mercenary – Guerrilla Games (Vita)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
A shooter for the Vita which will apparently focus on playing nice alongside both Helghan and ISA forces as a merc for hire doing the dirty work no one wants. The really dirty work. The live action trailer at Playstation’s blog above brings out its basic concepts and a bit of what the actual game looks like, but there hasn’t been anything else coming out of Guerrilla about the title or from anyone else since then.
Lost Planet 3 – Spark Unlimited (PS3, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
The third installment is in the hands of Spark Unlimited, a developer whose history has been stacked with plenty of vision teetering atop arguably shaky execution. But Capcom is banking on their talent for delivering ambitious ideas into a solid, open-world prequel for their struggling series which will feature a stronger emphasis on its story as well as side missions for players looking to squeeze a bit more out of the third-person gameplay. A lot is riding on this one.
Metro: Last Light – 4A Games (PS3, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
March 2013
What is it?
The terrifying follow-up to the first game promises more post-apocalyptic action in the bowels of Moscow’s subway network where bullets are traded as currency, horrors lurk above and below, and where civilization has made city-states out of the vast stations tying the tunnels together. The first game was a surprisingly refreshing shooter with a number of interesting tweaks to the formula turning a typical FPS into a gritty adventure colored with horror and survival in 2034.
Rise of the Triad – Interceptor Entertainment (Windows)
Game site
Q1 2013
What is it?
A reboot/revival of the original Rise of the Triad from ’95 by 3D Realms, now featuring Unreal Engine 3 powered gibs and all of the crazy weapons like Drunk Missiles soon to explode on players’ screens in this PC exclusive. Solo players can play through 20 levels across four episodes of action, or skip it and head straight into multiplayer. An international team pulling disciplines from around the world is working on this nostalgic super-trip into gibland and more than a few old school players are waiting to see if it sticks to the no regenerating health, zero cover flavor of the bloody original.
Shootmania – Nadeo (Windows)
Game site
January 23, 2013
What is it?
An FPS based on Nadeo’s TrackMania series, it hopes to bring in the same level of creativity into building stages, setting game rules, and letting players go crazy in blasting each other with whatever they can get their hands on. If you have a level designer itching to get out, Shootmania might be the game to share those ideas with the world.
Sniper Elite V2 – Rebellion (Wii U)
Game site
March 5, 2013
What is it?
The Wii U port of the re-imagined sniper title from Rebellion which came out in May for Windows, the PS3, and the Xbox 360. It’s hard to not see it as part of the push to entice “hardcore” gamers with its eerily violent bullet vision as well as another hand-me-down from the current generation. Still, not a bad game if you like sniping titles.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 – City Interactive (Windows, PS3, Xbox 360)
Game site
January 15, 2013
What is it?
Built using Crytek’s CryEngine3, this sequel to what I thought was a mediocre shooter promises to improve upon everything that was broken in the first game. Instead of being stuck in a jungle yet again, the game promises to take the player around the world.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6: Patriots – Ubisoft (PS3, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
The latest Rainbow 6 game will apparently be channeling populist anger at Wall Street via a group of terrorists that call themselves the “True Patriots” whom Team Rainbow have to try and stop. Little else has been shown or revealed about the game since then, although a number of leads had all been ‘restructured’ out of the team behind it including the Creative Lead. I’m tentatively holding onto the hope it’ll be out in 2013, but it’s only a guess.
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct – Terminal Reality (PS3, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
This is the action-packed take on AMC’s phenomenally popular show, The Walking Dead, featuring the Dixon brothers as they fight their way through Georgia on their way to Atlanta. Players will apparently be able to blast everything in sight or sneak by zombies while meeting up with people that are probably just as desperate as they are. It’s expected sometime in 2013.
XCOM – 2K Games (PS3, Windows, Xbox 360)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
Not to be confused with its strategic squad-focused cousin which came out in October, this one was intended as a first-person tactical shooter which has been swirling around in development hell for the past six or so years, trading developers several times since 2006. Die-hard fans and veterans of the original series weren’t too impressed by its initial trailers which seemed to throw away everything that the series was and it soon disappeared into relative obscurity as attention was focused on Firaxis’ version which was much more faithful to its source. With rumors that it could now be a third-person shooter similar to Republic Commando, rumblings seem to also push the idea that 2K might simply be moving to “cutting its losses” and unload the game in whatever shape it’s in now.