Reviewer Rodeo: 2011, Shmoothousand11… 2012 is where it’s at!

Welcome to the ZTGD Reviewer Rodeo. Each week, we’ll grab on to the hottest issue, hold on for dear life, and wrassle it to the ground.

2012 is getting off to a pretty intense start, with major releases and the North American Playstation Vita release right around the corner. This week, our team chimes in on their most anticipated games of the first half of 2012.

Drew “Frustrated Fury” Leachman
I would say Mass Effect 3, but after doing some research, I’m really hyped for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. That game looks like an open world Dragon Age. That is right up my alley. I really can’t wait for that game. They claim of 200 hours worth of content with a main quest line that can take you 50 hours to complete. Also, with the unique class and proficiencies system in place, you can easily have a completely different experience in a second play through. February 7th can’t get here sooner.


John “Dubya” Whitehouse
I think it is safe to say that the game I am looking forward to most of all this year is one that may be on many a GOTY year list in 12 months time.

Mass Effect 3 has got me so excited. After hating the first game, but coming around for the second, I cannot wait to see what Bioware has in store for us with the third part of the franchise. I am not worried about the addition of a multiplayer component, so long as the quality of the single player story matches or exceeds the last game.

However, with both Batman: AC and Uncharted 3 failing to please me as much as their predecessors last year, I can’t help but worry slightly!

Michael “PaladinXII” Futter
Like Drew, my interest in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is piqued. I’m cautiously optimistic about it. Syndicate is also looking better and better with each and every “Deep Dive” video that they put out and, if it weren’t for Mass Effect 3, it might very well be my most anticipated game of the first half of this year.

I’ve been pretty vocal about my love for the Mass Effect series (yes, I even enjoyed the first game). Mass Effect 2 holds a spot as one of my favorite games of all time, possibly topping the list. I’m sorry there wasn’t a video camera pointed at me when I finished the final mission the first time around, getting the best possible ending. I jumped out of my chair, excited in a way that few games have managed to make me.


You also may have heard the episode of the N4G Podcast on which I discussed my experience with the accidentally leaked demo. I love where Mass Effect 3 was heading, even in the very roughest of forms. It seems they are building on all the things we loved about Mass Effect 2 and ramping up the intensity for the conclusion of this story.

Kelsey Rinella
Mass Effect 3. ME2 was the first game in a long time I strongly considered playing again immediately after I finished, and the addition of co-op is very appealing, indeed. Given that I review iOS games, though, I should probably at least mention that GMT is bringing some standouts from its catalog of physical boardgames to the iPad. They have announced development, rather than release dates, but I’d love to have Twilight Struggle or Dominant Species in the first half of the year.

Who’m I kidding–I’ll love having them whenever they’re ready.

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