Developer THQ has announced its list of upcoming releases. Sneaking out first on February 17 is UFC Undisputed 3. Then comes the company’s fiscal 2013 slate, which includes Darksiders II in June, South Park: The Game and a new WWE title in Q3, and Metro: Last Light and The Devil’s Third in Q4. In 2014 and beyond, THQ plans to release an unnamed game from Turtle Rock, inSANE from Volition, Homefront 2 (Crytek), the new game from Patrice Désilets’ THQ Montreal, and Dark Millennium Online, which will be completed with the aid of a “partner,” company boss Brian Farrell has revealed. On top of these, THQ has four unannounced core games in development for release in fiscal 2014.

If you have set aside your February 7 to relax with your favorite Ubisoft games, you might want to rethink your plans. According to Eurogamer, most of the developer’s games will be unplayable or otherwise impacted when the company starts the process of moving its game servers. Some of the games that will go totally dark include HAWX II and The Settlers 7 (PC), and Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell: Conviction (Mac). Console games and certain PC titles (Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Driver: San Francisco) will be unaffected by the move, but all games that require Uplay authentication will be unplayable. No word was offered on how long the work will take to complete.

Another MMO seems to be released or switches from subscription to free-to-play almost every month. Up until now, only the venerable EverQuest has stood strong and resisted the FTP tide. But after almost 13 years, the time has finally come for the last of the classic MMOs. Sony announced today that EQ will be moving to the FTP business model starting sometime in early March. Lead producer Thom Terrazas said in the EQ Player’s Blog that growing the player base was a prime reason for the decision. “With the gaming landscape changing every day, we want to ensure we continue to evolve the game to keep players engaged and bring in even more new players to further expand the community.” If you’re already a paying subscriber, you might be tempted to demand a refund, but don’t worry; your subscription fee gives you a number of advantages over the free players. A detailed comparison of free, silver and gold memberships can be found here.

Earlier this week, executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi characterized Resident Evil 6 as being the largest project undertaken by Capcom so far. “Between the 150 staff members in Japan and everyone around the world, we have more than 600 people involved. A lot of work has gone into this game,” Kobayashi said. “Resident Evil 6 is by far and away the most ambitious game in the series.” Also, producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi indicated that the game will be a blend of action and survival horror, which the team is calling “dramatic horror.” The latest instalment will feature a split plotline, with one thread focusing on Leon S. Kennedy in the US, and the other following Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Redfield in China. The game is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 20.

Gearbox has decided to make you wait even longer to see if anyone can hear you scream in space, announcing that Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed from a spring release to a tentative autumn 2012 one. According to an official statement from the developer, “Aliens: Colonial Marines is a process of creativity and invention, and those don’t necessarily follow the structure of an assembly line. While setting clear goals, deadlines and predictions is helpful, they are often subjective. We don’t want to sacrifice the creative process just for the sake of following a blueprint. We prefer to have the creative discovery shape that blueprint, because our goal is to make a great game.”

rComplex, a tense, ominous platformer from 2009, is getting an HD overhaul in its upcoming debut on iOS devices. In this frenetic action game, you play an unnamed figure being constantly chased through seven levels of varied environments by a shadowy squid-like creature, with no immediate idea of what the enemy is or why it’s pursuing you. The game is being developed by InterWave Studios (Nuclear Dawn). InterWave general manager Igor Raffaele points out that the simplicity of the game’s controls aids the player in figuring out what’s going on. “With no gimmicks to distract from the intuitive control system, rComplex is all about survival and unraveling the mystery.” rComplex will be available for the Apple mobile platform at the end of February, with versions for Android, PC and Mac coming later in the year.

Today THQ announced that it would be refocusing its business strategy towards more profitable sectors. To do so, the publisher will be trimming its branches. Currently, that means its sizable kids entertainment wing. THQ has developed and published many games based on popular entertainment properties for children, such as Spongebob Squarepants, Avatar: The Last Airbender and AC-130 Gunships.

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The best way to describe the hit indie game Minecraft to a stranger is that it’s like exploring and building in a world made of LEGOs. Naturally, this has caught the eye of The LEGO Group itself. Initially proposed last December, the project has garnered official approval. An official release states, “We’re happy to announce that the Minecraft project on LEGO CUUSOO has passed the LEGO review and we are now developing a concept that celebrates the best aspects of building with the LEGO system and in Minecraft.” CUUSOO is a site where LEGO fans can campaign for their favorite designs to become retail products.

It might be awhile before players can start indulging in real-world Minecraft fantasies, according to LEGO. “We can’t wait to show it to you—but we aren’t ready just yet. These things take time, so we appreciate your patience.“ Hopefully we’ll see an adorable LEGO creeper leaping through a steampunk Death Star before too long!

— Ian Davis

Source: LEGO Cuusoo

What do you get when you cross Minecraft with castles and Legos? Well, you could get one cool idea, or you could get Castle Story. While the game is still in the early phases, it’s shaping up to be a really awesome game. An early trailer has been released showing many of the ideas being incorporated into the game, and while everything is not there yet (a la early Minecraft), it still shows a lot of promise. Check out the demonstration trailer. So many great games in the works. With 2012 supposed to be the end of the world, at least I’ll die with a smile on my face and a game on the screen.

Did I not just say 2012 will be known as the year of the X-COM? Well, here it is! A real X-COM game that’s not an FPS is on the way from developer Firaxis. Not only did we get the great news of the game, but a whole series of pictures to peruse. X-COM was one of the first games that I purchased for my Amiga and PC. While the sequels failed to live up to the original, I have high hopes for this one.

This little gem is coming for the iPhone and Android sometime in 2012. You design and control a spaceship and explore the galaxy, meeting and blowing new species to bits. You also hire and manage your crew. Generally, you attempt to take over the universe, with a view style and gameplay very reminiscent of X-COM (aka UFO: Enemy Unknown) and a graphic style similar to Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters.

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Written by: Chip Henson

Back in 2004, I had the pleasure of going to E3 and seeing new games like Silent Hunter 3 and Darkwatch, and consoles like the Phantom and the PSP. Hidden away in the basement area, Kentia Hall, a game called Nexus: The Jupiter Incident was being shown. It featured stunning graphics and seemed like it was made exclusively for fans of the space genre. The game’s creation went through a lot of problems, though, and a release was looking grim.

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Mass Effect 3. I’m not going to sugar coat it, or pretty it up with words. My most anticipated game of 2012 is, hands down, Mass Effect 3. Why the plain reveal? I feel ME3 is a very popular “most anticipated game” choice, and chances are, you are already feeling anything I could describe. I don’t want to leave you with nothing, though, so I’m going to change it up and report on my most anticipated gaming… thing of 2012.

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Written by: Ed Humphries

What goes around comes around. Two years ago, I was asked by my editors to kick-start the year by gazing ahead and predicting the one title I thought would be the best game I would play all year OR might be the biggest disappointment to come. I decided to open Door #2 and selected Bioshock 2 as a title I had yearned to play since completing my first trip through Rapture yet something in my bones told me a return visit would yield nothing but vacant, faded memories – the same feeling anyone gets when touring a beloved property gone to seed. Knowing that game had been given the fast track for a sequel purely based on the massive coin dropped in 2K’s coffers – and most importantly – knowing that Bioshock’s true father, Ken Levine, had nothing to with the sequel – I just felt a sinking dread wash over me. So, I called it out as the one title destined to disappoint me that year. And despite the earful I received from some ticked-off PR rep, my prediction came true. The sequel was a faint echo of a once compelling siren song; one I thought I would never fall for again.

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Written by: Jason Pitruzzello

In some ways, 2011 was the year that kept on giving. If you are a PC gamer with console playing friends (or a console jockey with PC gamer friends), it was the year of cross-platform fun. Love it or hate it, Skyrim became the common language of PC and console gamers. Limbo ported over to the PC this year, and I was even more impressed with playing it on PC than when I first saw my brother-in-law play it on Xbox. Aside from the common ground PC and console gamers shared, we had some much anticipated strategy titles appear on PC. Total War: Shogun 2 was a pretty good release for those who love tactical battle. Sengoku was a great budget title in the tradition of grand strategy games. 4X gamers found themselves finally getting the SOTS II (and all its problems). Heck, it wasn’t a new game this year, but new to me was Torchlight, which I purchased in May. This little gem reminded me why I invested hours in the original Diablo.

With all that being said, it almost seems anticlimactic to talk about the titles we can expect in 2012. But since gamers are insatiable in their appetites, and since developers and programmers need paychecks, new games are going to show up on our virtual doorsteps. What am I looking forward to? Let’s take a look.

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