<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Grinding Down&#8217;s most wanted videogames in&nbsp;2012]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3128" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/grinding-downs-most-wanted-videogames-in-2012/do-want-2012-games/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg" data-orig-size="500,325" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="do want 2012 games" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg?w=500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3128" title="do want 2012 games" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg?w=500&#038;h=325" alt="" width="500" height="325" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg?w=150&amp;h=98 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/do-want-2012-games.jpg?w=300&amp;h=195 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>The other night, as I curled up in bed under the heated blanket and the security of wrappings, I began to think about the games I&#8217;m most excited for in 2012. And sadly, I could only come up with two titles off the top of my head. That can&#8217;t be right&#8230;<em>right?</em> I mean, I know 2011 was a huge year full of big ol&#8217; videogames, but there had to be some other solid stuff still in the pipeline. And yeah, after scouring the Interwebz, I found a few more that I&#8217;d like to try out in the new year. <em>Whew.</em> And so I now list &#8217;em below for your convenience:</p>
<h3>Animal Crossing 3DS</h3>
<p>Not sure if <strong>Animal Crossing 3DS</strong> is going to be the actual title of the latest edition of Nintendo&#8217;s cutesy life sim, but at this point, it might as well be since we&#8217;ve had nothing else to go with for so very long. But I&#8217;m so ready to get back into the swing of daily living, collecting furniture and talking to neighbors and fishing and special town events and so on. Heck, after the lame <strong>Pilotwings Resort</strong> and the ultra difficult <strong>Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked</strong>, this will probably be the <em>third</em> retail game I purchase for my Nintendo 3DS. Crazy, huh?</p>
<p>Please come out sooner than later.</p>
<h3>Borderlands 2</h3>
<p><em>Pew pew pew.</em> I loved <strong>Borderlands</strong> for its setting and shooting and silly characters, not its story, and that&#8217;s all I&#8217;m looking forward to in the sequel, more setting and shooting and silly characters. <a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/games-completed-in-2011-23-–-borderlands-claptraps-new-robot-revolution-dlc/">Minus evil Claptraps though.</a> Hey, if they <em>add</em> a story in this time, that&#8217;s even better, but I&#8217;m not expecting much. I just want to get back on Pandora, shoot some bandits, and collect a crazy amount of guns. No solid release date yet for this beast.</p>
<h3>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</h3>
<p>I don&#8217;t know. It&#8217;s more fantasy-themed RPGing with a really generic name. I get a <strong>Fable II</strong> vibe from it with a stronger attention to combat, but with a much larger world to explore. And you can be sneaking, too. I&#8217;m in.</p>
<h3>Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century</h3>
<p><em>Sigh.</em> I was so excited when I caught wind of a new <strong>Suikoden</strong> game coming out. And then I learned it was only for one system, and a stupid one at that. I think I&#8217;m almost at the point that I&#8217;ll buy a stupid PSP just to play the newest <strong>Suikoden</strong> game. Those things should be dirt cheap now that the PS Vita is coming out next month. Maybe? Maaaaaaybe&#8230;</p>
<h3>Game of Thrones</h3>
<p>Not the RTS game, silly. There&#8217;s an RPG coming out just before season two kicks off on HBO in April. In this one, we get to play as new characters&#8211;one&#8217;s a shapeshifter and the other a red priest&#8211;and see some known Westeros events from their eyes. I have to wonder if it&#8217;ll feel too videogamey for its own good, but maybe it&#8217;ll be fun. I know George R.R. Martin has been involved in the project somewhat and even ends up making <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/pabba/status/149570699357458432/photo/1">a cameo as a maester (with glasses).</a> Given my love for the books and the show and <a href="http://allofwesteros.wordpress.com/">the many, many characters,</a> I am a little worried that I will over-scrutinize the thing and hate it for not being perfect.</p>
<h3>Fez</h3>
<p>A puzzle platformer with a unique style and perspective-shifting mechanic to it. The protagonist, a creature named Gomez, rocks a fez of its own and is obsessed with collecting hats, which sounds about right to me. <strong>Fez</strong> will be out on XBLA in early 2012, so maybe this month, maybe next month, or maybe the one after that. I&#8217;ll keep my eyes peeled for it nonetheless.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>Now, many of you are probably wondering why I haven&#8217;t included such heavy-hitters like <strong>Mass Effect 3</strong> or <strong>BioShock Infinite</strong> on my latest <em>do want</em> list. Well, first things first, I&#8217;d probably have to finish <strong>Mass Effect 2</strong> to get excited for the next adventure, and while I did eventually learn to enjoy <strong>BioShock</strong>, that kind of gun gameplay is too stressful for me. Too many times did I just sit in a corner of a room, listening to the noises around me, afraid to move a centimeter forward.</p>
<p>But what about y&#8217;all? What new games coming out in 2012 are you most excited for? Tell me below and convince me I should want them, too.</p>
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