E3 2012: Top 15 Hottest Game Rumours 

Do these excite you?

by David Hilton

©2012 David Hilton

I love rumours.

I love hearing that a player might be coming to the team I support.  Or rumours that the interest rates might be dropping.

Most of all I like rumours that a favourite franchise’s next iteration will be announced at E3, like Thief 4 was awhile ago (where are you Thief 4???)

Here are 15 Games that are rumoured to be announced at E3 2012 and my feelings associated with them.

You have to decide yourself if these games being announced would excite you or not.  Feel free to comment below.

Top 15 Hottest Game Rumours

15. Assassin’s Creed III for PS Vita

Really?  Yes, according to early (now removed) GAME  and Zavvi pre-order pages.

We all know Assassin’s Creed 3 was coming for non-portable consoles, and we all know that there was going to be an Assassin’s Creed game on Vita, but the choice of Assassin’s Creed 3, if true, seems a bit silly.

I mean those who get it for the main consoles are hardly going to want to fork out and get it again on portable.  I know I won’t.

A different game, like the PSP Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines would have been a much better idea.

Unfortunately there have been earlier rumours that AC3 was on Vita, so I’d say this rumour is true.

Am I excited: Not unless it is a different Assassin’s Creed game.

14.  Ghost Recon: Final Mission for PS Vita

This was also outed by those above mentioned websites.

This will obviously be some offshoot of the recently released Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and is also due around October 2012.

Where porting AC3 to Vita seems uninspiring, this is much more exciting.

I’d love to see how they make a Ghost Recon game on Vita, and it would be another core game franchise making its way to Sony’s portable.

Together with a announcement of a price cut to Vita, this might make more seriously consider buying the console.

Am I excited: Yes.  Want to see more though.

13. fiv5 by Quantic Dream

Quantic Dream, makers of the PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, are yet to announce their next title.

It is very heavily rumoured to be something called fiv5, registered as domain names and trademarks by Sony and Quantic Dream.

A Linkedin job description also mentions “Five”.

They will have learned a lot from their Heavy Rain experiments and the recent tech demo they released looked absolutely amazing.

Their story focus is always very welcome in this industry full of incomprehensible illogical plot-lines.

This is likely to be another hit new IP from Sony, who have been making a habit of not just rehashing old exclusive IPs, but also adding new ones.

Am I excited? Oh yes I am.  If it’s real.

12. Killzone 4

Yawn.  Inevitable.

The ending of Killzone 3 left it obvious that another game was coming, and it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see Killzone 4 announced this E3.

With another Halo being showcased, Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s exclusive shooter IP must be shown.

With a suitably explosive premiere trailer of course.  Starting with the voice over:

My sons and my daughters, today we take the first step toward our imperial future. …(see if I’m right)

I have long given up understanding the appeal of this series, which seems derivative, monochrome, and just….boring.

There’s no doubt that the game is technically excellent and the cover mechanics are awesome, but I just can’t get excited by yet another one.

Am I excited?  Zzzzzzzzzzz

11. Dragon Age 3

It is about right in the development cycle of a franchise to see Dragon Age 3 announced for a 2013 release.

It’s a popular franchise with dragon in its name, and as we all know, dragons are hot these days.

Dragon Age 2 lost a lot of the RPG elements, only had one city, but still provided fun combat.

My concern is that there are a hell of a lot of RPG games that are starting to look or feel similar with Skyrim and Dragon’s Dogma being notable for their fantasy environments, magic and slashing combat, and dragons.

Am I excited: Not really. But I know a lot of people would be.

10. InFamous 3

The rumours around this title surfaced a short while ago.  Sucker Punch were working on something.

This was automatically presumed to be Infamous 3, despite there being a photo of motion capturing being done on a person with a gun.

If I were Sony right now, I’d be looking beyond the Infamous franchise and try something else they are famous for: new IPs.

Look at how excited people were for The Last of Us when it was announced as being made by Naughty Dog?

Infamous 2 struggled with initial sales, probably mostly due to the fact it isn’t a multiplatform title and it didn’t really realise the potential everyone saw in it.

I certainly won’t be interested if the playground is another U.S. city.  Time to play somewhere else.

Am I excited: No, not unless it has a good story and I get to play in a sandbox  environment outside the U.S.

9. Mirror’s Edge 2

Looked to be coming soon, then shelved, this title has never officially been announced or canned.  It lives in the middle ground waiting for inspiration.

Mirror’s Edge was a creative new IP that struggled to make a lot of money for EA, but had a devout cult following who appreciated the fluid free-running and clean environments.

And EA could use the positive publicity that this announcement would bring.

It was something unique in a sea of ever-increasing 1st Person Shooters.  Is it time to revive it?

There have been constant rumours about Mirror’s Edge 2 being announced, and with a few tweaks to make the game appeal more to the mainstream, this game may be announced.

It has a popular strong female protagonist and non-apocalyptic near future setting which would lend themselves to a new chapter, if only it becomes a bit more accessible.

Am I excited?  Possibly.  I’m one of those who enjoyed it for the fresh appeal it had, but lost interest pretty quickly.

8. Doom 4

iD and the game Doom are legends of the shooter genre, forever sealed as Hall of Fame definites.

With Dead Space making deep inroads in the shooter horror genre, Doom may want to recapture its audience with another outing.

Certainly there are rumours that another Doom title will be announced, but can the name alone create a frenzied demand to want to buy?

Only if the game looks good, keeps its infamous atmosphere, and has some sort of point of difference to other shooters cluttering the shelves.

Am I excited? Possibly.  If it’s more of the same, no.  If it has a twist and different look with the same focus on atmosphere, yes.

7. EA Sports: Gladiator

WTF?

Yes indeedy, there is a rumour that EA Sports will take to Spartacus territory with Roman Colosseum and gladiator combat.

Playstation Gamer League reports:

The single player aspect of the game will allow you to play as one of two slaves, Titus and Magnus. This will probably serve as the way to get people adjusted to the multiplayer.

In the multiplayer aspect, you the player will be able to create your own Ludus. For those that aren’t familiar with Ancient Roman history, a Ludus is basically a school where slaves and gladiators were trained on how to fight in the Colosseum.

While it seems a bit odd, and certainly as an EA Sports title, usually reserved for real sports simulation, I can see this being a blast to play, especially with friends on a couch.

Am I excited: Oddly, yes.  I’m not sure what that says about me.

6. Dead Space 3

Stuck in space, nobody can hear you scream…except monsters on your ship.

Dead Space started fairly slow as a franchise but is now firmly entrenched as the survival horror game of this generation since Resident Evil went more action oriented and zombie games became a bit of a joke.

This game may only be a rumour but it makes complete sense to announce it. It has established itself and so should make money, and a release on all consoles, with new uses with Wii U’s tablet, would be widely welcomed.

I would hope that it moves beyond where it has been before and try and create the same tension and visceral gameplay  in a new environment, sort of like Bioshock has moved from under water to the air.

Am I excited: Possibly.  It would have to look new to me.

5. Just Cause 3

Rumours started on this title when job advertisements were spotted indicating Avalanche Studios is working on a new title, and possibly for the next-gen consoles.

Then yesterday Avalanche revealed they would indeed be working with Square-Enix on a new “groudbreaking” open-world game.

Like with many of those listed here, there is the possibility that developers will announce game franchises that will make their debuts on Wii U, the next Xbox and PS4, meaning we won’t see ‘real’ footage of them until next year.

Just Cause, while never attracting the biggest attention of gamers, is always considered fun as a sandbox game, with a lot of crazy things you can try.

It has so far been situated in South America, but could relocate to make things fresh.

Or it could be new open-world title and not Just Cause at all.

Am I excited: Maybe, if the fun factor is still the focus.

4. Eternal Darkness 2

I know what you’re thinking: Silicon Knights is in permanent denial and for some strange reason decided that the success of the first Eternal Darkness way back on Gamecube means that there shouldn’t be a second.

They have tried to get away from it with their Too Human action game in 2008, and again much later with the 2011 X-Men: Destiny game.

For those of us who were  huge fans of the first Eternal Darkness, we had all but given up hope that Silicon Knights would go back to where they won so many of us over.

However, with a much smaller team reduced by half and a need for success, could they be considering a return?

Certainly a spokesperson quoted by Kotaku offers some hope, saying:

The company is currently refocusing and returning to its roots, working on one of its most requested titles for the next generation

Surely they don’t mean another Too Human, a title that was received with disappointment by many and led to Silicon Knights getting into a court spat with Epic?

Surely this is the long awaited Eternal Darkness 2?  Please?

Am I excited: For sure.  An Eternal Darkness 2 announcement might confuse new gamers, but most gamers have at least heard of it.

3. Splinter Cell 6

This title is definitely in the works, though there has been no official unveiling of the game or its title.

We however first outed the possible title of Splinter Cell: Retribution in 2011, here.

Will it return to a more stealth oriented approach after Conviction went a bit more action-oriented?  Not likely.

Will it have the popular Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer restored?  Hopefully.

Here’s hoping that the story is strong, the locations diverse and that there are a greater variety of ways to tackle situations as with Metal Gear Solid 4.

Am I excited: Yes. But with Hitman returning, it needs to evolve further by having more flexibility in missions.

2. Half-Life 3 (or Half-Life 2: Episode 3)

Valve promised that we’d get three ‘expansions’ to Half-Life 2 in order to give us more content in a smaller amount of time, versus developing a whole new title.

However,  games that have come out since Orange Box include Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, Portal 2 and soon there will be Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Ricochet 2.

One might think that they are too intimidated to release a Half Life title in today’s Call of Duty dominated environment.

There are still rumours every E3 that Valve will pull out the title that will make gamers around the world jump for joy.  Be it Half Life 2: Episode 3 or Half Life 3, it would be an instant sensation.

And they know it.  Half Life 2 was a fantastic title with gameplay that few games have successfully been able to replicate.  It remains as one of the most treasured shooters in gamers’ hearts.

With a Source 2 engine likely being produced and the franchise so popular it would make money no matter what, it just may be that it is finally announced.

Am I excited: Yes.  Just announce the thing already!

1. Star Wars: Battlefront 3

We did an article about the status of the game awhile back, and you can find that here.

Recently, we re-investigated the topic, and we found a surprising amount of new evidence to near-definitively say that it will see the light of day.

E3 is the time to announce it, and I know there is a lot of buzz that there will be a Star Wars title announced there.  Which one?  That I don’t know.

This game has had a very troubled existence, but an announcement that it is coming is still very much sought.  My family  still plays the originals- they enjoy them that much.

It seems like a big waste to keep making Star Wars: Force Unleashed and such and not give the gamers what they have long desired.

Am I excited: Hell YES!

©2012 David Hilton

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, E3 2012, Events, Game Industry News, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, PC News, PS3 News, Rumor Mill, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Assassin, Assassin's creed, Assassin's Creed 3 Vita, Dead Space (video game), Dead Space 3, Doom 4, Dragon Age, Dragon Age 3, EA Sports Gladiator, Electronic Arts, eternal darkness 2, Fiv5, Five, Ghost Recon: Final Mission, infamous 3, Just Cause 3, Killzone 4, Mirror's Edge, Playstation Vita, Quantic Dream, RPG, Sony, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Vita, Wii U