The Top Ten Video Game Sequels for E3 2012

The end of Halo 3 did not make it clear, but the presentation video that opened the Microsoft Pre-E3 Briefing to thunderous effect suggested that Cortana was reaching the very end of her projected lifespan, with the trailer for E3 2012 following up on the all-too-brief threads that were dangled at E3 the previous year focusing largely upon the newest and proudest ship in the fleet to be launched -- a powerful battle cruiser that is attacked by something... From somewhere... As it is being launched on its maiden flight and, as a result somehow ends up crashing onto the surface of the very planet that the Master Chief is on -- and how cool is that?!

The focus of the new trilogy that begins with Halo 4 is a very different story than that of the war with the now defeated (or mostly anyway) Covenant, and based upon the slim information that has been proffered so far represents more of a mystery-solving exploration-oriented sort of adventure than an outright battle for the survival of the universe, though events from the "gap" games that came between Halo 3 and Halo 4 have a marked effect, with a lot of the information that we have about Halo 4 actually springing from hints and intentionally planted information in the terminals in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition (which if you did not play I strongly recommend you do play before you play Halo 4!).

Landing in the Number 2 spot on the list was something of a difficult call -- in fact it very well might have been Number 1 if not for the difference between the tightly-withheld details for Halo 4 as opposed to the overwhelmingly positive and open exposure of new content for the title that did land as Numero Uno!

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: IO Interactive

Platform: Xbox 360 / PC / PS3

Release Date: 20 November 2012

It is fair to say that most gamers who are fans of the Hitman series feel that this next adventure could have come sooner, but it is also fair to say that it is a welcome game regardless! Square Enix and IO have been very pragmatic in sharing information about the game beginning with its open reveal from last E3 (2011) at which gamers were treated to a very stealth-centric trailer and the revelation that Agent 47 had been betrayed by The Agency (but not why).

When we left him at E3 2011, Agent 47 was trapped in an abandoned library in Chicago that was crawling with Chicago Police as well as agents from Interpol, and an implied mixture of Federal LEA's that might include Homeland Security, the FBI, and the US Marshals, and possibly the Army's CID, and the Navy's NCIS, all of whom in addition to a countless number of foreign police agencies want a piece of 47 -- dead or alive -- and it develops have a recent photo of him by which to judge their success in capturing him!

In the 2011 trailer and briefing we watched as 47 made use of his remarkable skills for a combination of stealth-based evasion, kills, and escape in order to have his escape, but very little beyond his removing himself from the immediate area was really conveyed. As 2011 slowly ticked over into 2012 more information in the form of trailers that highlight different aspects of the game and game play were revealed -- in fact we do a mighty fine job of collecting and sharing those with you in the feature article "An in-depth look at Hitman: Absolution @ E3" (http://www.gamingupdate.com/articles/144/An-in-depth-look-at-Hitman-Absolution-E3) that includes the complete E3 2011 Library Demo, the E3 2012 Stage Demo, the early-release version of the Saints Trailer, and the infamous "Skin" Trailer!

In the month leading up to E3 2012 Square Enix and IO announced a special pre-order incentive in the form of a mini-game called Hitman: Sniper Challenge, codes for which were being given to gamers who pre-odered Hitman: Absolution from GameStop in North America, and select retailers elsewhere in the world, and in addition to covering that and related news in-depth on Gaming Update we also provided you with first-hand coverage of the mini-game in the feature piece "Hitman: Sniper Challenge First Impressions" (http://www.gamingupdate.com/articles/136/Hitman-Sniper-Challenge-First-Impressions) on May 11th.

Based upon the tremendous amount of email that we have received with respect to our coverage of the mini-game as well as the news relating to Absolution just for the past three months it is increasingly clear that we are not the only ones who feel that Absolution will climb like a bullet when it is released in November of this year, making it very likely to be one of the most requested and most gifted games for the 2012/2013 Holiday Season -- but it was the extended alternate demo that featured the mission to assassinate the leaders of the street gang in an urban area of a village near Chicago in which both the enhanced "Instinct" system and a variety of alternate executions and assassin's techniques served as the primary vehicle for the hand's-off portion of the official behind-doors demo at Square's private meeting room, while an extended hand's-off demo and hand's-on playable demo in the exhibit space on the main floor helped to cement our firm impressions as we first watched and then made our way through Chinatown, and executed The King there!

Of all of the games that were presented at this year's E3, Hitman: Absolution was the one game that we found came up the most in conversation -- again and again -- whether between other games journos or gamers and fans, a fact that should easily help in understanding why Hitman: Absolution ended up being the Number One title for our Top Ten Video Game Sequels in the first segment, Out with the Old.

Posted: 15th Jun 2012 by CMBF
Tags: Hitman: Absolution, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, PlayStation 3, PC, Halo 4, Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed III, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Borderlands 2, Gears of War Judgement, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, ARMA 3, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2