There was a time when being a geek wasn’t the coolest thing, but looking at the events calendar for 2012, it’s evident there’s a lot happening that will appeal to fans. Movies, big events, exciting hardware and spectacular games fill the calendar. Here are our top picks:
Movies
The Amazing Spider-Man,3 July
Comic book nerds have a lot to be excited about because summer 2012 has Spider Man coming out with what promises to be an outstanding film. The ‘Spider-Man’ series is getting a reboot, so we can expect to see the original story again, but with some fresh twists. This film is also being shot in 3D, unlike some others such as
‘The Last Airbender’ or
‘Clash of the Titans’, so don’t worry about shoddy work.
The Hobbit, 14 December
A prequel to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (‘LOTR’), the beloved children’s novel is getting the cinematic treatment from ‘LOTR’ director Peter Jackson, and the first teaser video is now available. If you haven’t been able to see it yet, breathe a sigh of relief and rest easy. The clip looks amazing, with the kind of detail ‘LOTR’ had.
The Dark Knight Rises,20 July
We’re six months from the third film in Christopher Nolan’s
‘Dark Knight’ series, but the expectations surrounding it are ridiculously high. Set eight years after the second film, the movie brings together Catwoman and Bane. Some fans aren’t satisfied with the casting of these two characters, but the first trailer released in December seems to have silenced the cynics, for now.
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Games
Diablo III, expected January-March
Blizzard is called the Pixar of video game development, and with good reason. The level of craftsmanship in their games is unmatched, and what little we’ve seen of ‘Diablo III’ so far is incredible. We can only hope that the game releases in the first quarter of 2012 as announced—Blizzard has had many delays already.
Borderlands 2,7 June
‘Borderlands’ was a sleeper hit that no one was expecting in 2009. The sequel, however, risks angering fans if they make too many changes, or not enough. Early pre-release videos and developer interviews have been very positive and it seems that the developers have been paying close attention to fan feedback.
The Last Guardian, date not known
‘The Last Guardian’ should have released in 2011 but got pushed owing to development issues. It’s being made by the same team that created ‘Ico’ and ‘Shadow of the Colossus’, and ‘The Last Guardian’ seems to be living up to those impossible standards. Despite the delays, hopes remain high for this game, which has been directed by Fumito Ueda, one of the greatest minds in the industry.
Kingdom of Amalur:Reckoning,10 February
Reckoning’ has a boring and generic title, but it’s being made by one of the most talented teams ever. The game is designed by Ken Rolston, who was earlier lead designer with Bethseda for ‘The Elder Scrolls III’ and ‘The Elder Scrolls IV’. The art is by Todd McFarlane, the creator and artist for
‘Spawn’, and the story is penned by R.A. Salvatore, whose
‘Drizzt’ novels are essential reading for all fantasy fans.
‘Reckoning’ might be the only RPG with higher expectations attached to it than
‘Diablo III’.
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Events
CES, 10-13 January
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the biggest showcase of gadgets. Held every January in Las Vegas, it sets the tone for the rest of the year in all kinds of devices—LG’s already started showing a lot of televisions, while Nokia is keen to talk about Windows phones and Microsoft is expected to give us a look at Windows 8 tablets.
E3, 5-7 June
The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is the biggest event in gaming anywhere in the world. All the top games of the year are revealed for the first time at E3 in Las Vegas. Some of the big announcements that we’re expecting are the new Xbox game console, hands on with the Wii-U and maybe, just maybe, ‘Half-Life 3’.
Wii-U’s launch, expected June-December
The Wii-U was announced last year and a final unit is expected for this year’s E3. The hardware is polarizing, expected to have slightly less raw power than the Xbox 360 and PS3, meaning it will be far behind other consoles in the next generation in terms of power. On the other hand, it’s got a unique controller that is a tablet computer when it’s not a gamepad, and it could be used in a number of unique ways, just as the DS was.
