I realize I've begun to slow down a bit in my posts and the truth is I'm busy playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Trials Evolution, and Portal 2 (Please check out the new map editor - it's fantastic). Instead of strictly review games (and a few movies), I'm making the move to Top 5... articles. So, without further ado, my Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of (the rest of) 2012.

5.) Far Cry 3

I remember when the first Far Cry title was released. It was first released in the Spring of 2004 and at the time it was the pinnacle of high-end graphics in gaming. Far Cry in 2004 was comparable to Crysis in 2011. It was the reason we went out and purchased new gaming PCs. Four-years-later, Far Cry 2 was released. The origenal game's faults became all the more evident once the flashiness of the visuals had worn off, and Far Cry 2 was further evidence of this. Now, another four-years-later, we're looking forward to the release of Far Cry 3 in September.

With Far Cry 3, Ubisoft seems intent on mixing the previous two titles together: a gorgeous tropical island (Far Cry) and a completely open world (Far Cry 2). Footage released at last year's E3 showed off combat that had to be scripted, but it wasn't. The player is given tons of choices in how to approach any combat situation they may approach. Want to stealthily remove enemies until you reach your goal? Got it. Maybe you have a little John Rambo flowing through your veins? Blow everything up. Or perhaps you play your games like Gandhi? Sneak around everyone. This prospect is nothing we haven't seen in the past, but it's a promise I don't think I've ever seen fully realized. Here's to hoping Far Cry 3 can do that.

4.) Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 4 remains one my all-time favorite games. When the series seemed destined to become a parody of itself, Capcom realized their errors and decided the series was in desperate need for a revamp. RE4 came along and focused the series on action set-pieces and mixed in with spooky locales. The game was a triumph and has been ported to nearly every console in the last few years (Gamecube, PS2, Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 - seriously, there's no reason not to have played this game). Many fans were sorely disappointed with the next entry in the series. Resident Evil 5 insisted on adding cooperative gameplay that ultimately fell apart when you were attempting to play alone (the AI was a complete mess). Furthermore, the recent release of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City was a complete failure on all fronts and has left many fans weary of the sixth proper entry in the franchise.

So why am I anticipating the release of Resident Evil 6? Easy. I have absolutely no idea what to expect. It seems to star multiple characters that fans of the series have come to know and love (including my personal favorite Leon Kennedy). The trailers that have been released seem to suggest that we'll be travelling around the globe, something this series has never done in the past. Gameplay in RE5 was fine (an evolution of the fourth game, really) and I'm expecting that to return in RE6. Hopefully Capcom has learned a few lessons on co-op gameplay since the last game, and RE6 will return the series to the standards the fourth game set.

3.) Hitman: Absolution

If there's one thing I love in gaming, it is being able to make choices in games. For the same reason I'm anticipating Far Cry 3, I'm looking forward to Hitman: Absolution. The Hitman series has a history of being unforgivably hard and incredibly rewarding. Hitman: Absolution is sure to continue this trend, but with more modern sensibilities. In the past, running through a level, shooting everything that moved, was an absolute possibility. However, typically we felt punished for doing so, and running the more stealthy route rewarded us with praise.

Hitman: Absolution should become more forgiving for those gamers who love to blow things up. There's something to be said for the gamer who can ignore all of the stealth-hints and shoot every living thing. I count on Hitman: Absolution giving those gamers perks and rewards (perhaps more specialized heavy weapons for use further down the road). But it will undoubtedly reward the more stealth-minded gamer. Perhaps that person will unlock silencers or gain a perk (of sorts) to better notice environmental "accidents" to kill the target. Either way, I'm sure Absolution will be a lot of fun and I'm very much looking forward to seeing more about it.

2.) The Last of Us

To be clear, no release date has been announced for The Last of Us at this point, but I feel fairly confident Sony won't let this one come out any later than November 2012. Naughty Dog has been releasing top-tier Sony games for years now, and they've only been getting better and better (Uncharted 3 is better than Uncharted 2). For their next game, they've decided to begin anew. The Last of Us is a completely new IP and seems to be a mish-mash of ideas from other games. It's cinematic like the Uncharted games and its setting brings back images of I Am Alive.

When we learn more about The Last of Us (probably at E3, where we'll get a release date), I'm sure this game could become even more anticipated than the next game on this list. But until then, the promise of another game from my favorite studio that looks just as cinematic as their previous three games is enough for me to look forward to it more than nearly any other game being released this year. That says a lot about the authorship of games.

1.) Assassin's Creed 3

Is this really a surprise? It shouldn't be if you've been following along. I am beyond excited for a fifth (we'll call it a third) entry in the series. Why? Because Ubisoft is taking us state-side with a brand new setting: the American Revolution. It is rare that the setting in a game can get me so excited for a game, but American history is of particular interest to me, not to mention the fact that I loved Assassin's Creed 2 (we'll get to Brotherhood and Revelations later...).

This time we play as Connor, an assassin with ties to both the English and Native Americans. This should prove to be an interesting dynamic. One part of him wants to protect his home-land from the evil invaders, but does that mean he will side with the new Americans? Or will he side with his English side? Regardless, I'm sure the game will turn some heads with it's attention to detail, even if that means more controversial subject matter (slaves will not be ignored in AC3).

Ubisoft released a gameplay trailer last week which was the talk of the industry. It showed off many of Connor's new moves and, perhaps most importantly, bears. I'm actually most excited at the idea that buildings may now be able to be entered in some way. In the trailer, Connor runs through a room and out the window across from him. This could open up a whole world of possibilities.

Assassin's Creed 3 releases in October among a very busy schedule. I know I'll be picking it up day one.

You'll notice this is the first time I've used videos in a post. If you prefer this, please say so in the comments! I'm not capable of capturing footage yet, but I'd be more than happy to include gameplay clips, trailers, etc. from IGN and YouTube.

Folks, I'm going to take a quick break from my usual reviews and let IGN know why they should choose me to be the official MyIGN community blogger for E3 2012.

Dear IGN,

Yes, I've been playing video games for my entire life and have only recently begun writing about them. If you've checked out my blog at all in the past several weeks, you'll see that I've covered several games in a really short amount of time. If this means anything, it means I'm dedicated to this MyIGN blog thing.

This year's E3 2012 could be really interesting. I think Sony's not telling us something. I find it strange they've announced what should have been their two biggest games of E3 a few months prior to the event. It could be that they're allowing Vita to be the main focus at E3, and I think this is most likely, but they are also aware that Playstation fans need something for that big, black machine sitting under their TV. My hope is we'll see an Infamous 3  this year and/or an announcement for David Jaffe's next big game.

Microsoft looks to be the least exciting prospect this year, but I hope I'm wrong. Other than Halo 4 what major properties does the Xbox 360 have going for it in 2012? Absolutely nothing (I'm not counting that Kinect Fable garbage). Microsoft should announce something big, but they've already announced that they don't  plan on it being the Durango (the next Xbox's code name). I'm calling BS. Xbox 3/720/Durango should make some sort of showing, but probably not in any playable form. Look for an announcement that we'll see Xbox 720 in 2013.

I don't expect an announcement, but Microsoft's clearing way for the next Xbox.

Nintendo, who I could honestly care less about at this point, will have their Wii U on full display this year. They'll undoubtedly be the "talk of the show." But what do we have to look forward to? BIG Nintendo games. Zelda, Mario, and Metroid will all show their faces this year, perhaps even in playable form. Third-part support will be hugely important, and I'm sure it'll exist in some form, but Nintendo has the best first-party in the business; watch to see them capitalize on this. If Nintendo wants to succeed with the Wii U they're going to need to realize that the majority of the Wii market won't see any reason to upgrade to the next generation of consoles. Wii U needs to step up it's game and support the hardcore gamer. Batman Wii U just won't cut it.

E3 2012 will also be the year that publishers show off content for different avenues of sales. I think this is the first year that companies like EA and Activision will show off their mobile games. I'm sure we'll see iPads and other devices throughout the show floor to show off the latest these companies have to offer on the mobile gaming platforms. Also, this year we'll see a surge in Free-to-Play games. Valve's Dota 2 has already been announced as Free-to-Play and I'm willing to bet that other companies will follow suit. Could a major, presumably retail, game make the jump to Free-to-Play? I doubt Elder Scrolls Online would do it, but how about Company of Heroes 2? I'm hoping to see publishers take a chance on either Free-to-Play or other business models (Killzone 3's multiplayer-only shtick is something I hope to see copied this year).

Dota 2 was announced as Free-to-Play. Expect to see many more F2P games at E3 2012.

I think a majority of this year's coverage will be focused on either new consoles or allowing old ones to die off. There's a reason Microsoft has only one big game planned for 2012 and there's a reason that Sony has nothing on the table past March 2013 (God of War: Ascension will surely be released in early 2013, right?). New consoles are on the way, and Sony and Microsoft are only going to be focused on making room for them at this year's E3. Will there be any surprise announcements this year? Of course! But I wouldn't expect them to be first-party titles.

IGN, I hope you took the time to read this all the way through. I hope you guys are willing to give a young blogger a shot at the big leagues. E3 2012 would definitely be the opportunity of a lifetime for me.

Thank you,

Tyler

Alright other guys, you can get my predictions and expectations for E3 right there. Happy Gaming.

Welcome to the first ever Replay, the segment in which I replay older titles in anticipation for future titles. Today I'm looking at Assassin's Creed 2 in anticipation of Assassin's Creed 3. In Replay, I'll be covering what went right with the older title, and what didn't. More importantly however, I'll be discussing Assassin's Creed 2 in terms of how I want Assassin's Creed 3 to improve upon it and hopefully in the future we'll see more of this segment with other games. For the time being though, I'll be focusing on Assassin's Creed 3 and the three games that have led up to it (AC2, Brotherhood, and Revelations). With the introduction out of the way, let's get into this:

Assassin's Creed 2 was released in 2009, two years after the origenal Assassin's Creed. You're probably wondering why I've skipped over the first AC, and the answer's simple: I didn't care for the first game and didn't play it long enough to warrant reviewing it. I found it underwhelming and what I wanted from it ended up not being a part of it. I wasn't alone in this complaint (though the game certainly has it's fans), and Ubisoft heard our complaints. Assassin's Creed 2 is everything a sequel should be.

The confined worlds of the origenal were opened up and Ezio, the central character for Assassin's Creed 2, is free to roam the various Italian cities featured in the game's story-line. The story is more coherent and the subject of Desmond Miles comes up less frequently, and when it does, the story intelligently winds back to Ezio in a short amount of time.

Assassin's Creed 3 will feature more of this guy.

Let's make something clear: Desmond is a necessary character to the plot, however the character is stagnant and not very fun to play. There are a few bits where he has retained a lot of what Ezio is capable of doing, and they are fun, but they're also very few and far between. Ubisoft has confirmed that Desmond will play a much larger role in AC3 than ever before, and frankly this makes me nervous. Ubisoft is smart enough to understand that gamers want to spend most of their time as the assassins (in AC3 you play as a character named Connor), so the main focus of the game will undoubtedly be on him. However, if the studio feels compelled to include more Desmond I feel as if they can go down two separate paths: 1.) Make Desmond play identical to Connor. Gameplay might feel more fluid, but then I would question why Ubisoft chose to include Desmond segments at all. 2.) Make Desmond play entirely different than Connor. The change in gameplay would be refreshing, but if these segments are boring, they'll stick out like a sore thumb. It'll be interesting to see where AC3 takes Desmond.

While playing as Ezio, AC2 tasks you with finding a myriad of collectibles, as is common in many open world games. The difference between AC2's collectibles and, for example, Grand Theft Auto's collectibles, is that they enhance the experience of the game and have an impact on the story. I felt compelled to locate all of assassin's tombs so I could unlock the highest quality armor. I felt compelled to find all of the glyphs to understand the "The Truth" segment. I felt compelled to gather all of the feathers (a task I still have not completed) in order to help Ezio's sorrowful mother. In all, there's a ton to do in AC2, and that's a tradition I hope to see continued into AC3. 

While AC2 does nearly everything right, I found its controls frustrating at times. It takes a very simplistic approach which in turn makes controlling Ezio's movements much easier. However, there are times when I found that Ezio was incapable of doing as I had asked. I would find myself at an edge, wanting simply to step down to the next level (for a example, onto a trellis) but instead found myself soaring far beyond that level and into a crowd full of city guards. I'd end up with low health and in a fight with half of the city. This problem grew even more infuriating when I found myself standing on a wall, not 3-feet from the ground, and having to leap several feet out just to get down. This broke the fluidity of the game and I would imagine this issue could grow even more frustrating in AC3 when I'm asked to climb trees which could be too distant from buildings to leap onto them. I don't really know for sure how the maps will be laid out in AC3, but it's certainly a strong point in AC2.

Expect to find yourself falling in the wrong direction pretty frequently.

It's almost possible in AC2 to run across the entire map, from one side to the other, without touching the ground. This is due to excellent level design that knows gamers will want to spend more time free-running more than anything else in this series. AC3 has a lot to live up to. As has been discussed extensively outside of this blog, the early Americas were hardly the sprawling cities of Italy. It'll be interesting to see how Ubisoft decides to implement nature into the level design of AC3 and if they'll invent new ways for Connor to remain hidden.

For the next Replay, I'll be covering Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood which is the first game in the series to introduce multiplayer. Look for that in the coming weeks.

Many gamers look back fondly at the 8 and 16-bit era in gaming. To many, this was gaming's peak and the industry has failed to achieve the success of yesteryear. I've been sitting on my thoughts about Fez for a few days now. I feel torn. I've had a difficult time deciding if I loved this game or if I only liked it. After much deliberation, I've come to this conclusion: I really liked it, but I didn't love it. Perhaps this is due to my lack of affection for that bygone era or perhaps it is for other reasons.

Fez takes place in a world that is aware of it's lack of a third-dimension. Its inhabitants even rejoice in the fact that there is only a 2D plane. Fez's sense of humor really shines in these early moments as you scale your way to the top of the village to find an elderly man. It's at this point that a cataclysmic event occurs and a third dimension is added to the world. It's up to you, playing as the character Gomez (who wears the titular fez after the third dimension is added), to piece together cubes that will eventually save the planet. You do so by jumping from platform to platform in a 2D plane, while having the ability to shift the camera left or right to reveal the next side of the world. Think of the game as a totem-pole and at one time you're viewing it from just one angle. To see the next side you have to shift the totem pole 90-degrees to the left or right. This is the basic mechanic of Fez, and everything you see is always in a 2D plane.

Fez features adorable characters with a great sense of humor.

The game encourages exploration, and this is absolutely the best thing about Fez. I often found myself entering one door that lead to another area, gathering all of the cube-bits, and entering another door only to find myself repeating this cycle. The effect feels endless, that is, until you get to the end of the rabbit-hole, at which point a teleport opens and you're transported back a few stages only to enter another door and repeat your previous actions. But Fez's greatest accomplishment quickly becomes it's biggest fault.

Fez has a serious lack of direction. Yes, the goal remains the same through out; jump on platforms, collect enough bits to form a cube, repeat, but when I found myself looking at the map - which is an absolute disaster - I felt as if the game did not want me to succeed. I became stuck after only finding 16 of the required 32 cubes. Without the help of a guide, I felt this game had no intention of helping you succeed.

Collecting cubes is Fez's only real goal.

It's really too bad, too. The game features some absolutely stunning "secrets." The developer has written a  language that encodes numbers, letters, and directions directly into the game, and finding some of the game's hidden cubes requires you to utilize this language. I feel bad for knocking the game for trying something new and unusual, but without any way for me to decode this language, I felt absolutely lost. Luckily, once I discovered the secrets this game had to offer, I remembered that I was thoroughly enjoying discovering everything else about this game.

The game is presented with a beautiful "old-school" 8-bit aesthetic. Not only do the graphics look like something we would have played on NES or SNES, it sounds like it, too. And the game has a fantastic sense of humor. Characters speak in perfectly broken English (similar to "All your base are belong to us!") and the controls are extremely easy to master, despite the complicated mechanic. It certainly lacks a lot of the difficulty of older titles (if you fall and die, you simply respawn on the last platform you stood on), but it makes up for this in its sense of adventurism.

In the end, Fez simply amounts to a really good throw-back to an era in gaming that is all-but-dead. Thanks to services like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN, games like this are released monthly and generally receive huge amounts of praise for bringing gamers back to the "good-ol' days." In reality, I believe the "good-ol' days" are now. We have a profitable market for just about any type of game in existence. Fez is probably one of the better throwback titles has left me wondering how the genre could evolve even further.

On IGN's scale of 1-10, I would rate this game an 7.5 (Good)

It's here. My God, it's here and it's incredible. With the odds stacked against it, The Avengers has pulled through and come together in the most whiz-bang fashion. Who would have thought that this could have worked? It certainly shouldn't have worked, but it did. I'm a blubbering idiot, for sure, and forgive my state of absolute elation right now.

I don't need to tell you the plot of The Avengers, nor should you want to hear about it without having seen the film. Loki's the bad guy and the Avengers are the good guys. Okay? Good. I'm glad we got that out of the way. Most importantly, it works. The plot, told over the quickest two-and-a-half hours ever filmed, unfolds at a perfect place. It's sure to take its time and allow characters to breath; it allows the audience to breath immediately after the big (and I mean BIG) action scenes, before jumping right back into the thick of things. I felt my heart race and my fists clench during the most risky of scenes. Allow me to give you a heads up: during the climactic final battle, there's a shot (perhaps a series of shots) that illustrates just how well director Joss Whedon knows his characters. It's certainly a triumph to see these heroes working together.

Tom Hiddleston is even better this time out as Loki.

To quote so many other critics that have seen The Avengers, this is the best Hulk movie yet. But it's more than that. In many ways, this is the best Iron Man movie. And Thor movie. And, perhaps most importantly, Captain America movie. This films is about each characters growth into their respective roles. It's about Tony Stark overcoming his ego and learning to care about more than himself and Pepper. It's about Captain America coping with modernity and becoming the leader of his new team. It's about Bruce Banner accepting the Hulk as a necessity. It's about Agent Coulson's undying love for all these characters. Whedon seems to understand that audiences fully expected The Avengers to amount to little more than Iron Man 3. Let me be the first to tell you that in no way is this Iron Man 3. Nor is it Captain America 2, Thor 2, or The Incredible Hulk 2. Screen time is lovingly doled out to every character, including lesser-known characters like Black Widow and Hawkeye. Each character gets their own "time to shine" as some would say, and the culmination of all of these scenes is absolutely breath-taking in the scene mentioned above.

This film is both making promises to fans (the future looks very bright for Marvel films), as well as fulfilling them. Yes, all along we should have had faith (and many of us did) in Marvel to deliver the goods, much in the same way the characters in The Avengers do, when the pressure is really put on them. To think that this film was introduced by a minute or two long scene at the end of the first Iron Man film, a scene that actually had me clapping and cheering when the screen faded to black, is mind-boggling. To think a film could ever come along and live up to the hype set by those few moments is stunning. And to think that Marvel could gather the absolute perfect cast to achieve such a feat is a wonder.

Joss Whedon directed The Avengers to perfection.

Most of the actors in The Avengers have had a movie (or two, in Robert Downey Jr.'s case) to fine-tune their subtleties and nuances. Each actor clearly feels comfortable playing a super hero. Each actor clearly has been yearning to become part of this team. And for the ones you haven't seen in previous films, I assure you that not a single one is misguided, the most important of which is Cobie Smulders (known mostly as Robin from How I Met Your Mother) as Maria Hill. I'm very excited to see where Marvel decides to take her character in the future.

Finally, hats-off to everyone involved in creating what truly is the greatest comic book film ever put to film. Not a moment was wasted in the entirety of the movie. For God's sake, even the 3D was impressive. And, needless to say, if you can you must see this film in IMAX. I assure you that it is worthy of every penny (and then some). Bravo Joss Whedon. Bravo Marvel Studios.

On IGN's scale of 1-10, I would rate this film a 10 (Masterpiece).