Upcoming action games of 2012 - I

If you love fast cars, big explosions and relentless action, these games are for you.

Now that we’ve seen the shooters releasing in 2012, we dive into the next most popular genre, Action games. And since the list was rather huge, we’ve divided it into two parts. Amazing Spiderman (Xbox360 PS3 PC) What! I'm not flipping you off. I swear. The Spider-Man games have been in a steady state of decline, ever since Spider-Man 2. Now it seems Activision is trying to recreate that magic with yet another open world game based on the new Spider-Man flick. Developed by Beenox Entertainment (same guys behind both Shattered Dimensions and Edge of Time), the Amazing Spider-Man will allow players to roam around New York City as the web crawler cleaning up its streets, one block at a time. The game doesn’t have a concrete release date yet, but it’s expected to coincide with the movie that will be hitting theatres worldwide by the 4th of July, 2012.  Prototype 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Prototype may not have been the most refined and polished game out there, but it was brutal and satisfying. As Alex Mercer, a mutated resident of New York City, players used a plethora of devastating abilities to find out who caused the outbreak in this open world game from developer, Free Radical. For the sequel, you’ll step into the boots of Sgt. James Heller, a retired war veteran whose family was slaughtered by Mercer. Now mutated and consumed by his lust for revenge, Heller must use his new found powers to hunt the man down responsible for ruining his life and wiping out half his city.  Ninja Gaiden III (Xbox360 PS3) There are a few games out there that pride themselves on being ridiculously tough. Pretty much every Ninja Gaiden game belongs to that group. A third person hack and slash game at heart, Ninja Gaiden allowed players to step into the boots of ninja Ryu Hayabusa as he embarked on a bloody crusade. For the third iteration, Team Ninja has decided to tone down the gore, so you will no longer be able to decapitate people to your heart’s content. Instead, they want you to experience the act of stabbing someone with a sword. How that doesn’t result in decapitation is beyond us.  Grand Theft Auto V (TBA) GTA V was unveiled via a one and a half minute video on the 2nd of November, 2011. Since then, the Internet has imploded with speculation and rumour mongering, a common side effect of any GTA trailer. Details are still sketchy, since Rockstar, as usual are keeping mum on the whole deal, but at least now we know the game will take place in Los Santos, a fictional recreation of Los Angeles. There’s no doubt that this will probably be Rockstar’s most ambitious open world game yet, as players will be able to roam around and explore the neighbouring country side, surrounding hills and beaches.  True Crime Hong Kong (TBA) Destination Hong Kong Enjoyable in its own right, the True Crime series never quite reached the popularity attained by Grand Theft Auto. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that you actually played a cop in those games and had to abide by the law. Either way, we’re glad to see this franchise return after a rather turbulent few months. You see True Crime HK was nearly ready for release when it was canceled by Activision, as they deemed it not fun. Since then the franchise has been picked up by Square Enix who’re all set to release it this year, under a new name.  Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City (Xbox360 PS3 PC) In Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City, the action has now moved back to Raccoon City where players must face off against the blood thirsty horde purging the streets from anything that’s well dead. You’ll get to play as both a Special Operations team, the good guys as well as Umbrella Corporation’s Security Service, the shady guys who basically have to clean up Umbrella’s mess. You’ll also get to impact future Resident Evil games by making big choices, such as killing Leon Kennedy, the protagonist from Resident Evil 4. Besides a multiplayer component, the game will also feature co-operative play for up to four players. Devil May Cry (Xbox360 PS3) A reboot of sorts, Devil may Cry will be the first DMC game to be developed outside Capcom. Taking over development are Ninja Theory, an English game developer best known for the PS3 exclusive, Heavenly Sword. The game will take place in a parallel universe, featuring a younger Dante as he makes his way through a twisted city that’s full of demons baying for his blood. Ninja Theory received major flack with their revamped ‘emo’ Dante design after which they changed the way he looks. And even though he’s not as badass as we remember, he thankfully has lost all resemblance to Edward Cullins. Tomb Raider (Xbox360 PS3 PC) After the rather lacklustre reception to recent Tomb Raider games, developer Crystal Dynamics have decided to reboot their franchise in a gritty way. Tomb Raider tells the story of a younger Lara Croft who just so happens to get shipwrecked on a dangerous island off the coast of Japan. Not only will she have to cope with the island and all its perils, but she will also have to deal with a brutal, cunning and relentless enemy who will do everything in their power to snuff her out. Besides a more mature story, the game will also allow players to upgrade their abilities, learn new skills and craft their own weapons of death. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Xbox360 PS3 PC) If you’ve played any Ghost Recon game in the past, you know the drill. You’re an elite terrorist/crime fighting solider who gets the drop on his enemies with some sweet technology, courtesy Uncle Sam. With Future Soldier, the Ghosts have now been upgraded to even sweeter technology like the ability to completely turn invisible. The game like the newer Rainbow Six games will play out from a first person perspective, shifting to a third person one as and when you take cover against objects.   Inversion (Xbox360 PS3 PC) From the guys who brought you the rather enjoyable time manipulating shooter, TimeShift, comes a new third person, cover-based shooter in which you manipulate gravity. Think of the run and gun mechanics from Gears of War, only now you have the ability to alter the environment by literally turning it upside down. You play as one Davis Russel, a cop with a short fuse who along with his neighbour must protect the planet from an unknown force. If taking on a race of technologically advanced enemies sounds like too much for you, enlist your friend(s) in the battle as Inversion supports co-operative play for two players.