Gamescom 2012 Wish List

Well, it's that time of the year again! For those of you who aren't sure what I'm talking about, Gamescom is held in Cologne Germany every year. What is it, you ask? It's "the world's largest trade fair and event highlight for interactive games and entertainment". Each year this expo gets bigger and better, and has proven to be one of the most reliable trade shows around.

If you haven't listened to Gaming Gourmand's Episode 2, go check it out. Ryan and I discuss why we think E3 is getting worse, and why Gamescom is getting better. Every year I will have a wishlist of things I'd like to see shown at Gamescom. Last year, I had a pretty sweet wish list, and just about everything on it came true. It's my pleasure to share with you my Gamescom 2012 wish list. In no particular order:

Assassin's Creed: III - Liberation

Meet Aveline De Grandpre. The first female, and best looking Assassin in this series.

I picked Assassin's Creed: III - Liberation for a number of reasons. The main reason is I felt like the Assassin's Creed series was becoming the same game over and over with each addition of Ezio's story. I now understand why they created three games based off of Ezio, and used the same engine each time, but I am so excited that Assassin's Creed III, and AC: Liberation are going to be running on brand new engines, with much better graphics. Liberation is the very first stand alone AC title on a hand held device. There have been several attempts to make a hand held AC, but none of them look quite as sleek as Liberation does, nor did they come with a full out story of a completely unique character. The player gets to experience what it's like to be a female assassin outside of mulitplayer. When I watched the premiere trailer for this title, I was stumped. I was already excited for ACIII, and now I have another AC game to look forward to. Lucky for me, I get to play both of them when they launch on October 30, 2012. The reason I want to see more of this title at Gamescom is because so little has been shown at this point. It was revealed at Comic Con this year that more of Liberation will be seen at Gamescom 2012, and it's a good thing because I am hungry for more on this title.

Borderlands 2

KABLAAM!!

Ah yes. Borderlands 2. This is a highly anticipated game of 2012 for me. I actually haven't ever played the first game, which is probably a sin in the world of games, but you can bet I plan on playing it before this beauty comes out. If you know nothing about Borderlands, you're in luck! Our writer/editor, Austin, wrote an article on it about a year ago! Check it out! The reason I put Borderlands 2 on my wish list is because Gearbox has been keeping a tight lid on it. We know that the famous co-op from the first game will be back, and even better than before; That there will be an almost limitless amount of weapons available, that there will be new vehicles, new classes of characters to choose from, and new enemies. But what we haven't seen a whole lot of is actual gameplay. Borderlands 2 comes out on September 18, 2012, and there just hasn't been very much shown on it. Maybe Gearbox is releasing as little as possible so that the final product has as many surprises in it, as there are guns, but I want to see some more gameplay footage!

Call of Duty: Black Ops II



Shhhh!! Don't bug him! He's deep in thought...

Black Ops II is looking like the most promising Call of Duty title since COD: 4 - Modern Warfare. We actually know quite a bit about Black Ops II's story. What has been announced, and shown has stunned me. The one thing I can't get my head wrapped around is that there will be multiple endings depending on the player's choice during the campaign. This has never been done before in the COD series, and adds a whole new element that is similar to what you'd see in a Role Playing Game. During the campaign will be a side story called the "Strike Force Missions" which allow the player to unlock several war assets such as unmanned aerial vehicles, jet fighters, and robots. Treyarch has confirmed that Zombies will return in Black Ops II, and will feature it's own campaign. This is a first since it's debut with Call of Duty: World at War. The multiplayer engine will also be added to Zombies to add a deeper community experience than before. One more thing being added to Zombies is the ability to have eight players instead of four, making it one feature I'm greatly looking forward to! So why did I pick this title for my wish list, if so much as been revealed? Well, not a whole lot has been shown on multiplayer, or Zombies. Don't get me wrong, I am happy that Treyarch seems to be putting just as much effort into the story as the multiplayer, but I am champing at the bit to see some new footage showing Black Ops II multiplayer, and Zombies game modes in action! This game is slated to be released on November 13, 2012.

Assassin's Creed III



Haven't met Connor Kenway? His birth name is Ratonhnhaké:ton. Can you pronounce that? I sure can't...

I initially wasn't going to put ACIII on my wish list because I already have Liberation up top. I then decided to add it to my wish list because just about nothing has been shown on ACII's multiplayer. Trust me, I'm all about the story with these games, but Ubisoft has shown that they can create a rich multiplayer experience with in the Assassin's Creed universe. There are several new features with ACIII's single player that have been shown to the world, and I am tickled red, white, and blue about this game (see what I did there?). I've played every Assassin's Creed title up to this point, and plan on diving deep into ACIII's story, and multiplayer. AC:Brotherhood, and Revelations both had awesome features for their multiplayer, but I hope that Ubisoft improves a lot of things. Especially with the new engine they are using for the story. If that can be integrated into the multiplayer, I'll be fine. Just give me some gampeplay footage!

Grand Theft Auto: V



Screenshot released on July 12, 2012

 This one is really a shot in the dark. Rockstar is keeping things so hush-hush with the media that it's sort of frustrating. I understand they don't want to show a product until it meets their satisfaction, and that's fine by me. But there has to be more screenshots at least, right? The shot you see above was posted on July 12, 2012, and is one of two released that day. All I'm asking for is another trailer. The first trailer for GTA:V was released in November of last year. That is why this game is on my wish list. There has been just about nothing since November. The least Rockstar could do is release some news and screenshots, but ultimately I want a trailer with some more goodies!

Well, that's my Gamescom 2012 wish list. I hope you enjoyed it. There are several other games that could be mentioned in this article, but majority of them had new stuff at E3 2012. Gamescom 2012 will be held on August 15 - 19, and the public will be allowed in on August 16, 2012. It is certainly looking like it will have a lot of really cool stuff for us to feast upon with our eyes, and all I can say is that I'm seriously pumped up for it. What's on your wish list?

Until next time, keep on gamin' on!

Update:
After a lot of thought, I have decided that I'd like to add two games to this wish list. Medal of Honor: Warfighter, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Both of these games showed some incredible reveals at E3 2012, but neither of them showed enough! EA/Danger Close, and Ubisoft sure do know how to tease us, don't they?! MOH:W is set to be released on October 23, 2012 in the US, and SC:B is set to be released in spring of 2013.