Games of 2012

**Journey (PS3/Q2 2012)**

_Journey_ is the latest brainchild of ThatGameCompany – the illustrious studio that brought us the achingly pretty and cathartic fLOw and Flower games. The real beauty of these games was not present in the style-drenched pastoral aesthetics, but in their intrinsic desire to drive the birth of unique gaming experiences, by transcending traditional genre conventions.

Flower, in particular, was a keen proponent of this minimalist philosophy. A purely visceral game that circumvented the need for pages and pages of exposition, by allowing the flow of narrative to be driven by your own emotional ties with the game. You were presented with very little aside from a primitive theme (the dark cloud of industry siphoning the life and light from nature) and a basic mechanic through which to explore your surroundings (the six-axis motion control). This reductive approach was gloriously refreshing, so it’s pleasing to see the tonal similarities between Journey and Flower.

Journey places you in the sand-scoured shoes of its excessively-robed protagonist. Thrown into a shimmering bronze, desert expanse, and with no substantial points of reference bar an ominously-sketched mountain, your destination is clear – but that’s what not matters.
What matters is the journey and therein lies the most intriguing aspect of the game: it can be shared with another anonymous player, but there exists no means of communication between the two of you, except through character-initiated gestures. The hope is that this interesting dynamic will serve up some truly organic and satisfying scenarios, whilst maintaining that thin veneer of immersion that’s integral to games such as Journey.

One thing’s for sure, it will definitely be one of the best looking games of the year.

**Mass Effect 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC/March 6th)**

Commander Shepard is back this Spring for the latest instalment of the stellar _Mass Effect_ series, bringing with it that delectable blend of intergalactic quasi-politics and high-octane RPG/FPS hybrid gameplay.

There’s a lot of loose ends to resolve, and so the conflation of all these tangled threads
commences on Earth (Shepard is on trial – a consequence of your actions in the Mass Effect 2 DLC), before expanding into a universe-wide assimilation of forces in preparation for a final showdown with The Reapers.

This time around you have the option to play the campaign in three distinct modes: Action Mode, Story Mode, and RPG Mode. Ostensibly, the Action and Story Modes reduce the complexity of the dialogue-trees and combat, respectively. The RPG Mode is effectively playing the game as it was designed to be played. It perplexes me as to why anyone would want to dissociate themselves from one of the greatest strengths of the game – the meticulously judged character progression – but then again, I guess it doesn’t hurt to have more options at your disposal.

The inclusion of multiplayer is another feature exclusive to this iteration. It takes on the form of a series of missions, separate from the campaign, with a gameplay style not too dissimilar from Gear’s of War’s Horde Mode. As with the campaign, there’s an independent character levelling-system, with a full roster of alien and human types for you to peruse through and assign to your party.

Definitely potential GOTY material.

**The Last of Us (TBA)**

_The Last of Us_, unveiled at the back-end of 2011, is probably the game you’re least likely to have heard of on this list. All you really need to know is that it’s being developed by Naughty Dog (The Uncharted series), so it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a game worthy of your attention.

I Am Legend meets Ellen Page. That would honestly be the most apt description of the game based on the 2 minute teaser trailer (take a look for yourself; the resemblance is uncanny). You definitely get the sense that this will be a zombie survival game aiming to place a greater emphasis on character development and narrative, than has previously been attempted.
It’s notoriously difficult to gauge an opinion of how a game will operate from a theatrical trailer (the Dead Island premiere trailer for instance suggested so much more than eventually materialised), but I have faith that Naughty Dog will deliver on the initial promise that’s been exhibited.

If The Last of Us can tactfully avoid the pitfalls of the sub-genre (chief among them being poorly-judged pacing promoting a real sense of blasé) whilst introducing ingenious new layers to an already saturated field, then I’m confident it could be the ‘sleeper’ hit of the year.

Just missed the cut: Guild Wars 2, Bioshock: Infinite, Dishonoured, The Last Guardian.