My review of the Dungeon Siege series have been delayed a bit. I've been distracted by other things when I've been at home, and Dungeon Siege 2, which is the one I'm currently playing through, wont run on my laptop for some reason. So, in the meantime, I thought I'd write up some thoughts about the games I look the most forward to in 2012.
1. Diablo III
Diablo III is, of course, the number one game I look forward to in 2012. Not just because I was such a fan of Diablo II (I never really played Diablo I), but also because this is just the type of game I really, really enjoy; Action RPG. I am a big fan of RPGs in general, but some of them get a bit too slow at times. In my opinion, games like Diablo, Torchlight, Titan Quest, etc, is the best kind of RPGs, as there is little to no "downtime", like there is in games like Neverwinter Nights, Skyrim and Dragon Age.
1. Diablo III
Diablo III is, of course, the number one game I look forward to in 2012. Not just because I was such a fan of Diablo II (I never really played Diablo I), but also because this is just the type of game I really, really enjoy; Action RPG. I am a big fan of RPGs in general, but some of them get a bit too slow at times. In my opinion, games like Diablo, Torchlight, Titan Quest, etc, is the best kind of RPGs, as there is little to no "downtime", like there is in games like Neverwinter Nights, Skyrim and Dragon Age.
One of the main reasons why Diablo II was such a big success, to me at least, was the random maps with randomly spawned enemies. Even though the game was very linear when you really look at it closely, the random maps feature made up for it by making you have to explore the world anew with every playthrough, never knowing where the path to next area was or where a random mini-boss might show up. Another big reason was the random drops. You never knew what kind of equipment you would get. It could make the game very frustrating at time, but also very interesting.
Other features that will enhance replayability is the addition of random quests and events. Other features that will make Diablo III even more interesting is the Artisans; Different crafters that will join you on your journey and create things for you based on what recipes you discover, and the Followers; Slightly customizable companions that will follow you into the battlefield.
And last, but not least; Customizable skills. Every skill and ability has the option of having a runestone added to it which will change it in one way or the other, everything from simply increasing damage or reducing resource cost to completely changing the mechanic of it. A good example is the Wizard spell Hydra, which you might remember from Diablo II, that summons a three-headed Hydra who spits fireballs at your enemies. Depending on what type of gem you add to this skill, the element and attack of the Hydra will change.
All of this will ensure that every single playthrough will be different.
There's not much known about the story yet, as far as I know, other than that it will have something to do with at least one of the Lesser Evils, Azmodan, and something called the Black Soulstone. Also, only one of the classes from Diablo II will return; The Barbarian. The other four classes, the Wizard, the Witch Doctor, the Monk and the Demon Hunter, are completely new, although there will be some similarities to the old Diablo II classes, particularly the Wizard will have some spells that are very similar to the Sorceress' spells.
2. Torchlight II
In many ways, Torchlight and Torchlight II is very similar to the Diablo-series. Compared to Diablo III, it's almost the same. Despite that, I'm still looking forward to it. I enjoyed the first game, but felt it lacked real depth, and the lack of multiplayer was definitely a big drawback. Many of the skills weren't too interesting either, to be honest. But it was a decent game, and I got quite a lot of playtime out of it.
Torchlight I was very similar to Diablo I, in that the entire game took place beneath a single town, going deeper and deeper underground until you reached the final boss. And just like Diablo II, Torchlight II will expand on the first game by taking you out into the world of Torchlight. Torchlight II will also have the same type of random maps, monster and drops, and maybe even events and quests, as Diablo III has. And considering that the guys who founded Runic Games were the same guys who founded the no longer existing Blizzard North, who created the first two Diablo-games, this is not really a surprise.
As for game length, they estimate that the entirety of Torchlight I could fit within the first 2/3 of the first act of Torchlight II. Quite an improvement, particularly considering that the game will cost the same as the first one.
It has also been said that skills will be improved a lot from the first game. First of all, none of the old classes will return, there will be four entirely new classes. Second, Torchlight 1 had many passive skills that were shared by all classes, which were honestly quite boring. In Torchlight II these passive skills have been removed, the bonuses they provide might be in some way included into stat bonuses (kinda curious about how), leaving room for more active skills, none of which are shared between several classes. Spell scrolls will still work the same way, as in anyone can use them.
Pets will also be improved somehow, but I can't find any specifics about it.
3. Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm
It hasn't been confirmed that Heart of the Swarm will actually be released in 2012, but it really should be. Part one, Wings of Liberty, was released in July 2010, and if it takes more than two and a half years before the expansion is released... That's just too long, particularly considering that there's also a part three, Legacy of the Void.
I am not interested in the multiplayer aspects of the Starcraft games, I play them for the campaign. The only multiplayer I'm really interested in is playing with friends against the computer. But it's mostly the campaign I'm interested in, so that's what I'm gonna talk about.
Heart of the Swarm starts off where Wings of Liberty ended, only this time you're controlling Kerrigan and the Zerg. Even though Kerrigan has regained her human form, at least partially, she still has some kind of power over the Zerg. It would seem it is no longer as strong as it used to be, as several Queens have taken control of smaller Zerg broods, and the first part of the game is apparently focused on Kerrigan defeating these Queens and uniting the Zerg.
Much like the Wings of Liberty campaign, there will be some sort of "hub" you go to between missions, where you can upgrade, or evolve, both Kerrigan herself and the different units. Unlike Wings of Liberty, however, Kerrigan will play a huge part in the missions themselves, being a playable unit in most, maybe even all, missions. Her skills will apparently vary according to which "battle focus" you choose before a mission. No information on what these battle focuses are, though.
All in all, I'm excited to play through it. I'm curious about the RPG-ish elements of Kerrigan, and very excited to see where the story goes.
4. Borderlands 2
When I first tried Borderlands, I didn't have high expectations. I didn't think it was a game for me, as I'm not really that big a fan of shooters, but I was pleasantly surprised by the RPG-ish elements in it, and particularly the random drops. All of this will return in Borderlands 2, and that is really enough for me to want to play it.
The characters from the first game will not be playable in Borderlands 2, but will show up as NPC's throughout the game. Instead there will be four new characters, of which two has been announced; Salvador the Gunzerker and the Maya the Siren. Salvador is very similar to Brick, except that he doesn't go berserk with his fists, he goes berserk with guns, allowing him to dual wield any two weapons for a short duration. There's no info on Maya's skills yet, only that she will not phase-walk like Lilith, the Siren in the first game.
One of the main features of Borderlands, the immense amount of randomly generated weapons, will of course return in Borderlands 2. And there's even more possible variations this time. Also, some of the weapon manufacturers from the first game are gone, as a direct result of the events in the game, and others have come to take their place.
One of the things that I didn't like about Borderlands, although not really too big an issue, was the colors of the environment. Everything was mostly brown or grey, which fits with the sort of post-apocalytic feel of the game, but is ultimately really boring to look at. Fortunately, in my opinion, it seems that things will be more colorful in Borderlands 2. And still in the same cartoony cellshaded style, of course.
Another things I didn't about the first game was the stupidity of the enemies. There was no real cooperation or tactics behind what they did. This has also been fixed in Borderlands 2. Enemies will take cover when wounded, work together by flanking you, interact with each other in order to heal or boost shields, be able to climb obstacles or traverse difficult terrain to get to you, etc... Which makes for a more interesting game.
5. Grim Dawn
To be honest, I didn't even know this game existed until I started doing research for this list, but after reading a bit about it, I gotta say I'm really looking forward to it. This is a game created by Crate Entertainment, which was founded by former members of Iron Lore, the people who created Titan Quest. It is also created with the Titan Quest engine, and has many of the same features, so it might be considered a form of sequel to Titan Quest.
Like Titan Quest, you will be able to combine two different classes in this game as well. They expect to have five classes to choose from at launch, with new classes being added with expansion packs, which they plan to release every six to ten months. Unlike Titan Quest, there will apparently be synergy modifiers between skills, not only within a single class, but also across classes, which means that upgrading a skill in one class, will also enhance skills in the other class.
Unlike Titan Quest, this game is not set in any variation of our world, or even based on any mythology. It's set in a dark, post-apocalyptic style world that is loosely based on the Victorian Era. There's no mention of whether the game world will be randomly generated or not, but as the game is created with the Titan Quest engine, I highly doubt it. I'm guessing that both the world and enemy locations will be static. Two major differences from Titan Quest is the addition of destructible objects, which can be used to fight your enemies, and weather effects.
There's no information about the story yet.
The loot will, of course, be random, and supposedly with a lot less junk loot than in Titan Quest. They have also made sure that boss-drops are more rewarding, probably by dropping higher level items. There will also be blueprints one can collect to combine "salvaged components" into usable items, although there's no mention of what "salvaged components" actually are.
As for quests, there will apparently be a system where you can choose between several quest paths and rewards through conversation choices. There's also a faction system, and gaining reputation with a faction will unlock new quests and stuff to buy. Of course, gaining reputation with one faction might reduce your reputation with another.
There's no release date on this game yet, so it might not be eligible for this list, but it's rumored to be released sometime in 2012.
