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Simulation
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Nintendo (3DS)
Game site (Japanese)
Q2 2013
What is it?
The newest installment for Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series is coming out for the 3DS featuring new art designs that retain the colorful and cartoony feel of the game’s charming world along with a host of features including new villagers, stores, and challenges as the town mayor in making it the best place to live. Go you!
ARMA 3 – Bohemia Interactive (Windows)
Game site
ETA 2013
What is it?
The follow-up to the tactical military shooter sim takes place in the Aegean Sea in the midst of a conflict between NATO and Iranian military forces. ARMA’s open-world sandbox promises to take its military sim shooter roots even further with two islands, Limnos and Stratis, where the fighting will take place. Vehicles, hardcore levels of military action, and everything from wide open spaces to urban battlezones will be waiting for players and fans when this finally arrives. One unexpected piece of news surrounding the game that came up in September was the arrest of two of the developers by Greek authorities on suspicion of espionage while on a visit to Lemnos, a charge that their friends and co-workers at Bohemia Interactive vehemently deny. Currently, they’re still being held awaiting trial despite efforts by the Czech government on their behalf.
Medieval Mayor – Tilted Mill Entertainment (Windows)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
Tasked by the king to build a glorious new city during the Middle Ages, it’s up to you to house your people, research new upgrades, feed everyone, and trade your way to victory. According to the official site, the game is being made by veteran devs whose work includes Children of the Nile, Caesar IV, and SimCity Societies, so sim fans eager for something a little different might find themselves right at home. It’s expected to be out for PCs but could also work its medieval magic on tablets in the future.
Project Godus – 22 Cans (Android, iOS, OS X, Windows)
Kickstarter
Q1 2013
What is it?
It’s Peter Molyneux’s latest project, a reinvention of Populous which he had also created spurring the god-game genre 22 years ago. As another successful Kickstarter project, this one is being built up using everything that Molyneux and his team have learned since then, polishing it with modern tech while leaving it an open sandbox of god-like powers driving your followers to spread across a world you will mold into your image.
SimCity – EA (Macintosh, Windows)
Game site
March 5, 2013
What is it?
It’s the long awaited return of the urban sandbox now bolted with social options which include multiplayer regions containing other player-built cities. It has also met with some controversy from fans upset by its expected DRM requiring an internet connection to play making that concern the top rated comment in an AMA the dev team hosted on Reddit.
Strike Suit Zero – Born Ready Games (Windows)
Game site
January 24, 2013
What is it?
This indie title had a very successful funding run on Kickstarter in November allowing it to move forward for an anticipated release in January. Players will be flying a space fighter that can transform into a hulking suit of armor to destroy enemies in pitched battles between enemy fleets. There will be explosions, laser beams, missiles, and huge ships duking it out with you in the middle. If it sounds a lot like Robotech, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially when the guy designing the mech is Junji Okubo (Steel Battalion, Appleseed). Sounds like a fantastic reason to dust off the old flightstick.
X Rebirth – Egosoft (Windows)
Game site
TBA 2013
What is it?
A year later and there’s still no sign of Egosoft’s newest space sandbox although they’re still hard at work on it and have been sharing info on their progress. As I’ve mentioned last year, it’s being built from scratch and is the fifth game in the X Universe series allowing players to explore, exploit, expand, and exterminate their way through a storyline or their own actions outside of it. Piloting everything from small fighters to gigantic carriers and building mercantile empires fitted with space factories, the X series has something for everyone…though it has had its share of criticisms that haven’t made it the most accessible of sims. Hopefully, Rebirth will change all of that.