The games of 2012

A reader sent me a request to write about what games I am looking forward to in 2012. He asked particularly for Diablo3, World of Warplanes, Mass Effect 3 and Guild Wars 2, so let's start with the one game I am *not* looking forward to: Mass Effect 3, coming out in March. Sorry, I never really go hooked on ME1, didn't even start ME2, and after having played SWTOR I feel no desire whatsoever to play another SciFi RPG with companions and dialogue wheels. Other than that my list looks like this:

Diablo 3 I plan on playing, although probably not months and months. I expect it for the second quarter of 2012, although with Blizzard you never know.

Also in the second quarter I'm waiting for Bioshock Infinite. While it might surprise you that there is a shooter on this list, Bioshock is "my kind of shooter": Not overly difficult, and heavy on story. So I'm looking forward to a new Bioshock outside Rapture.

In June the will be The Secret World from Funcom. I give Funcom credit for trying hard, even if their previous MMORPG attempts weren't unmitigated successes. I do like the idea of a MMORPG in a fresh setting, which has neither orcs & elves, nor space ships.

Somewhere in summer we should see Guild Wars 2, and I plan to play that. I would like to see whether all that hype is justified, or whether we will get just another coat of paint on a tired concept.

Second half of 2012 should bring us World of Warplanes. While instinctively planes interest me less than tanks or ships, I'll certainly check that one out. I love the idea of World of Tanks, Warplanes, and Battleships all sharing the same account, free xp, and virtual currency. And maybe the game is more fun than I imagine, even with a third dimension and clouds instead of terrain.

Somewhere towards the end of 2012, I expect Q4 rather than Q3, there will be World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria. Perfect opportunity to check into that game again after a long absence and see whether that expansion is any good.

Also towards the end of 2012 we might see both XCOM games, the "shooter" version of 2K, and the more classical turn-based version XCOM: Enemy Unknown from Firaxis. I'll play both.

And while it isn't confirmed, the end of 2012 might also bring Wildstar, another MMORPG I would like to have a look at, because it appears to be somewhat different.

So, that's it, my list of games for 2012. What games are you waiting for?