While World of Warcraft may be my bread and butter of gaming consumption, I, like many of you, often like to play a myriad of other games in my spare time. After a very awkward transition into 3D gaming, it feels like games are finally getting back into another golden era where creativity and ingenuity has caught back up with technological advancement. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited for so many upcoming releases, and I thought I would share what I believe is some of the best stuff coming our way in the near future.

5. Dead Space 2

Dead Space was a modern masterpiece. It was the first truly cinematic gaming experience for me. Now, when I use the term cinematic in this case, I don’t mean in the way we are typically used to hearing it in association with games (such as with something like Grand Theft Auto or Heavy Rain). After all, there are no cut-scenes in the game at all and it’s not stylized to look like a film with fancy edits, filters, or angles. What I mean is that it’s the first game that made me feel like I was living a film. Everything was being meticulously orchestrated around me as I was driving a story forward while keeping me completely and utterly engrossed, and of course, terrified. First was the setting, a somber, zero gravity Titanic ripped straight from Ridley Scott’s Alien complete with it’s haunting isolation and it’s horrific use of lighting. Then there’s the sound design, from the pin drop silence, to the maddening whispers, to the percussion heavy orchestral score. And then on top of it all, the game mechanics themselves. The game is absolutely unforgiving (particularly if you play it on Hard your first time through, which I highly recommend). The game takes advantage of the fact that you’re already terrified and then amplifies that tension by forcing you to be pin point accurate with combat, as the only way to quickly dispatch enemies is to sever their limbs instead of plugging away aimlessly at their bodies. Throw in an absolutely bottom of the barrel scrap amount of ammo for the first half of the game and you’ve got yourself a total package.

It’s rare that a new franchise gets it so right on it’s first go around. Gaming, unlike film, usually improves with it’s first few sequels. The only real danger here is that the developers won’t be able to replicate what was so fantastic the first time around. Either way, I cannot wait to see where they take this series.

4. I Am Alive

There’s very little actually known about this game other than a promise and a premise. The game, developed by the producer of the first Assassin’s Creed, is supposed to be a first person adventure set in Chicago during the aftermath of a 10.5 earthquake that had rocked the 6 days prior. The MacGuffin is simple enough, you are separated from your fiancé and you vow to find her. It kind of reminds me of what a videogame adaptation of Y: the Last Man could be like. Even with very little information about game play, color me intrigued.

3. Sorcery

I find it funny that it took Sony ripping off the Wii to finally make a gaming experience that the Wii should have had from day one. Sorcery was unveiled this summer as an upcoming game for Sony’s Move platform, essentially their advanced Wiimote controller for the PS3. Now, like most people, I was totally stoked about the Wii when we first heard about it. I got one, of course, and it has been collecting dust ever since. For me, the Wii never delivered on the immersion it promised. It was never more than a glorified lazer pointer with an accelerometer built in. Dreams of one to one motion were never realized and I just ended up disappointed. And then I saw Sorcery for the PS3. It seems like we may finally have our first game that delivers on this promise. Finally, we’ll have a game that moves just like you do, points where you point, shoots at what you shoot. For goodness sake, it even changes color as you shake up a potion and lets you drink it with an actual gulping motion! If this gameplay demo doesn’t bring out the kid in you and get you at least a little excited – there is no hope for you!

2. Diablo 3

If you spent a good couple years of your life mindlessly clicking your mouse for SoJ’s, this next entry should be of no surprise. The first Diablo was groundbreaking for modernizing the gameplay of Gauntlet that we all grew up loving in the arcades. Then Diablo 2 came along and addicted us with it’s modernization of itemization and our compulsive need to collect. Years later it is still played and beloved by millions of gamers, all of them waiting for the day D3 drops on our doorstep. I have had the privilege to play Diablo 3 at the last two Blizzcons and I’m happy to report that the core gameplay is as great as ever. The design philosophy is very much in line with the recently released Starcraft 2. The core gameplay is very much the same, but exceptionally refined. It’s been polished and perfected with just enough new added to it without changing what we fundamentally love about Diablo. Most of the apparent changes are matters of convenience. An improved user interface, and more streamlined talent system (though this seems to evolve even more every year we see it), etc. The game itself looks great, keeping the same isometric perspective we know and love but adding detail and depth unlike we’ve seen before.

I feel like I don’t really have to say much about Diablo. It’s one of those things that most people have gotten around to playing at some point in their lives. But for those of you who haven’t yet had a taste, you’re in for a real treat.

1. Portal 2
It amazes me that there are still people out there, even avid gamers, who have not played Portal. I hold to this day that is it one of the finest games ever crafted. What made Portal so unique and amazing was the masterful way that it used what would have been in any other case a simple puzzle game as a vehicle for telling a compelling story through exploration and discovery. A first time player has absolutely no idea what is in store for them as the game progresses, and I can’t imagine that anybody could have anticipated the climactic finale when they fired up the game for the first time. It was a perfect and delightful surprise. To make things better, the puzzle game play was actually good! The puzzles started out simple and grew in complexity, teaching you things in phases and forcing you to evolve your thinking as the game went along. It had a perfect level of challenge. The game never felt too simple or too complex.

Next year we will finally get our hands on Portal 2. Portal 2 promises to be longer and to introduce all new mechanics to challenge us in ways we can’t even dream up. It was recently announced that Stephen Merchant will be voicing a new AI in the game which makes me even more excited which I didn’t think was possible. If you haven’t yet experienced this fantastic game, I highly recommend you head over to Steam and download it to experience it for yourself before Portal 2 releases next Spring. And for those of you who have, I highly recommend picking up a new game called Limbo (currently only available as an Xbox Live Arcade title) to tide you over.

Games that almost made the cut:

Rage
The Last Guardian

What other games are you looking forward to?

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