Star Wars: The Old Republic

Also called TOR, this game is a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by BioWare, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. TOR has two novels incorporated in its gameplay, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams and Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived by Paul S Kemp.

The Old Republic does not dramatically diverge from traditional MMORPG gameplay. Players control an avatar in third-person view, interacting with the various elements of the game world and other players, and will have their own starship as an in-game base. It has also been revealed that PvP will occur in warzones, either Jedi vs Sith or Republic vs Empire.

However, BioWare has decided to place emphasis on the story element of the game, something that the company feels is lacking in other MMORPGs. The new characters are expected to choose one of two factions waging war on each other — the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. Several gameplay elements differ between the factions, such as story and available classes.

Portal 2

Portal 2 is a first-person action/puzzle video game, developed by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2007 video game Portal. Portal 2 will be released by Valve, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X; PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will be distributed by Electronic Arts.

In Portal 2 the player returns as Chell, having been in stasis for several hundred years while GLaDOS and the rest of the Aperture Science facility has fallen into disrepair. Chell is awakened by one of GLaDOS’s personality cores, and inadvertently wakes GLaDOS; GLaDOS is immediately displeased at Chell’s return and begins testing her again through numerous chambers as she rebuilds the dilapidated facility.

The game challenges the player through numerous platforming and physics-based puzzles using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, which can create a temporary wormhole between any two flat surfaces. Other gameplay elements are added to Portal 2 including tractor beams, laser redirection, and special paint-like gels, taken from the Independent Games Festival-winning DigiPen student project Tag: The Power of Paint, that imparts special properties to objects it touches such as increased momentum.

Portal 2 also includes a two-player co-operative mode, each player-character a robot that has become self-aware from GLaDOS’ influence, and requires the players to work together with their own portal guns to complete each level.

Mass Effect 3

This action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is scheduled to be released this year and will mark the third and final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games.

Mass Effect 3 is currently in development. EA Games revealed that the story will centre on saving Earth from the Reapers by rallying civilisations of the galaxy together. A number of gaming websites have listed Mass Effect 3 as the most anticipated game of the year

The developers have imported from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 as to keep continuity within the series. It will pull over 1,000 variables from those previous titles to shape how players experience the final chapter.

Max Payne 3

Max Payne 3 is a third-person shooter video game in the Max Payne franchise developed by Rockstar Vancouver and will be published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written by series creator Sam Lake.

According to Rockstar’s Sam Houser, they are starting a new chapter of Max’s life with the game. “This is Max as we’ve never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever.”

Thor: God of Thunder

This third person single-player video game is based on the upcoming film Thor developed by Sega and co-written by Matt Fraction, the Eisner Award-winning writer of the comic book series. Thor: God of Thunder marks Thor’s first standalone appearance in a video game and will be on all major video game platforms except the PSP and PC.

Thor battles through the numerous worlds of Norse mythology to save Asgard. Players will wield the iconic Mjölnir, Thor’s legendary hammer, to fight enemies of an immense scale while controlling the elemental storm powers of lightning, thunder and wind to vanquish enemies. Thor must overcome monstrous foes lifted from the pages of the comics, including Ulik, Ymir and Surtur, as well as other daunting enemies.