The year 2012 is about to arrive and already games such as Assassin's Creed III and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier have been announced that will feature ground-breaking graphics and realistic storylines of revenge and adventure.

While most of them are either sequels or prequels, a few will take a differently new road to present an existing game in a new format with improved AI and more hack and slash.

Here’s a list of the top 15 upcoming games of 2012.

Mass Effect 3 –

Scheduled for a March 6 release, Mass Effect 3 is the will witness the final chapter in the Mass Effect Trilogy and complete the story of Commander Shepard. The game is set to continue from where it left the Mass Effect 2 DLC expansion, Arrival, and will follow Shepard in his fight against the Reapers. This time the game’s combat has been refined and changed to give a more realistic look. Expect a new cover system and more options for moving around inside the arena. Be aware that the AI of the game this time has been drastically improved and a four player multiplayer co-op mode will also be available. Prepare to deal with Cerebus as well. Once you finish the game, a New Game+ option will be there so that players might continue playing after the main story ends.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City –

Operation Raccoon City takes place during the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis where the people of Raccoon City have been infected by the outbreak of the T-Virus. The game will allow you to make major what-if decisions such as killing Leon Kennedy, who is one of the main characters of Resident Evil 2 and also the protagonist of Resident Evil 4.

There are a total of six playable characters in the game – Vector, Beltway, Spectre, Four Eyes, Bertha and Lupo with each having their own unique abilities. If you get bitten by a zombie, the only way to respawn is by getting shot in the head by one of your team members whom you attack after your transformation. Additional enemies include Lickers, Tyrants and Hunters whom you can also control under certain circumstances.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier –

Future Soldier takes place in Norway, the Middle East and Asia where Russia went into war. You shall be in charge of a 4-man Ghost team that will consist of a sniper expert (Pepper), an engineer (Boss), a commando (Kozak) and a reconnaissance expert (30k), and will fight the ultra-nationalist force that took control of Russia and are now attacking the neighboring countries.

A new feature, Optical Camouflage, has been introduced this time which is a form of an active camouflage which allows the Ghosts to become instantly invisible. The system also works with the Xbox Kinect which allows you to customize your gear. Voice control can also be used to create weapons in addition to movement of hands. According to writer Gabrielle Shrager, it is also possible to control drones.

Assassin's Creed III –

Nothing much is known about the third part of this very popular game. But in the previous interviews with some of Ubisoft Montreal's developers, it was revealed that Assassin's Creed III will release eventually.

The game will have an entirely new setting with a new playable character. According to Cory May, co-founder and President of Sekretagent Productions, a production company based in Los Angeles, California working in the film, video game, and internet industries, the new game will not take place during the World War II which was previously speculated.

Patrice Desilets, former series' creative director said that the new title shall focus on Assassins' quest to prevent the end of the world in 2012 and their race against time to find temples built by Those Who came Before.

In Assassin's Creed, we set up a timeline with this whole end of the world plot in December 2012... That's fast approaching, and the story we have to tell, we obviously need to do it before we arrive at that point. It would be stupid of us to be centering a game on a semi-reality and then have that conclusion happen after that date in real life, said Alexandre Amacio, game director of Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 –

The Furious 4, which is set for a 2012 release, was unveiled at the E3 2011. The game will take a very different approach to the subject of World War II and will follow four wacky of an unnamed unit who will go after Hitler himself.

Although the title was previously compared to Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, it is now clear that the game is an out-of-the-box combination of games like Borderlands and Bulletstorm.

The four protagonists of the game are Chok, a Native American soldier who uses hatchets to kill his enemies; Montana, a large lumberjack turned Nazi slayer who is armored with a chain gun; Crockett, a native of Texas who uses a cattle iron to brand fallen enemies; and Stitch, a mentally disturbed Irishman who shocks enemies with a custom made taser.

Halo 4 –

There is a still a lot to be found about Halo 4 which is the eight installment in the Halo franchise and is intended to be the first title in a brand new trilogy, the Reclaimer Trilogy. The game continues after the end of Halo 3 and witnesses the return of Master Chief and a more active participation of Cortana. Expect the game in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Far Cry 3 –

“Did I ever tell you the meaning of insanity?” This is enough to describe the game in one line. The game will take you back to the tropical island setting somewhere at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Your only goal is to escape from the island which is filled with crazy and dangerous inhabitants.

The game will run on the Dunia Engine that previously powered Far Cry 2. You take up the character of Jason Brody, a tourist who has been stranded on an island chain that has been in the middle of a violent local conflict for many years and your enemy, according to the video, is Vaas, who is the insane leader of the group. More details are yet to be found.

Hitman: Absolution –

The fifth installment in the Hitman game series, Hitman: Absolution will run on the Glacier 2 Engine with a brand new gameplay feature. The only confirmed facts about the title state that this Agent 47 will have a close relationship with his handler, Diana Burnwood and the player will be able to set traps. A new instinct mode has been introduced, much like the Batman games’ detective mode and you will not be able to save the game manually anymore. A precise release date is yet to be announced.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive –

Global Offensive is targeted for release in early 2012 and will feature classic content, such as old maps, as well as brand new maps, characters and game modes. Everything remains the same but with a touch of improved graphics that will give it a more realistic look. Expect brand new weapons and improved AI to fight your guts out.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss –

Golden Abyss is set just before the events of uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and will only release for PlayStation Vita. It is said that the game will feature touch and motion based controls for navigation and aiming. More updates about the game are yet to be revealed by the developers. A Feb. 22 release date has been confirmed however.

Prey 2 –

Prey 2 will be presented in an open world format and will follow U.S. Marshal Killian Samuels, who starts the game on a passenger flight which crashes onto the Sphere that was shown in the original Prey. It later shows that Samuels is now a bounty hunter on the alien world Exodus and has practically no memory of what happened earlier. He is also destined to run into Domasi Tommy Tawodi (the protagonist of the original Prey).

Metal Gear Solid: Rising –

This time the Tactical Espionage Action will be opted out in favor of Lightning Bolt Action to describe Riaden’s, the protagonist, abilities in the game. Rising, supposedly, is an interquel set between the events of Sons of Liberty and Guns of the Patriots. The game will feature intensive hack and slash, which is more appropriately cutting down enemies into pieces and rejuvenating from the parts of the dispatched robots and cyborgs. A free slicing mode has been introduced to cut down the enemy in a very cruel manner.

Ninja Gaiden 3 –

The third part will explore Ryu's more human side as he descends into a hellish realm. It will deal with the sword of the Archfiend from Ninja Gaiden II. Ryu's right arm, which was previously cursed in Ninja Gaiden II, will play an integral role in the game's story, and due to this, he no longer wears his right gauntlet. His toes are now covered with metal that are to be used for his new Kunai Climb, that will enable Ryu to climb on to certain walls with the use of kunai and attack enemies from the above.

Prototype 2 –

Prototype 2 will feature a new protagonist, Sergeant James Heller, who is on a quest to destroy the Blacklight Virus. Heller is seeking revenge and wants to kill Mercer after his family was killed in the outbreak of the Blacklight Virus. Heller can do everything Mercer could in the previous game. The concept of BioBomb has been introduced where Heller can inject the virus into unsuspecting human enemies that will blow them up and anything near them. Tendrils now sprout from Heller's arm and can be used to smash objects into other objects, such as a car into a tank or vice-versa.

Diablo III –

Diablo III will take place in a Sanctuary which is a dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II who, having survived the onslaught brought by the armies of the Burning Hells, have gone mad from their ordeals since. Now it is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary. The plot will revolve around two surviving Lesser Evils, Azmodan, Belial, and an artifact known as the Black Soulstone. The five accessible characters include the wizard, the witch doctor, the Barbarian, the monk and the demon hunter, who have their own specialities.

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