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" With our barren bank accounts and backlog of video games, not to mention 2011&amp;#039;s games of the year continuing to keep us busy, we were half hoping for a bit of a lull during the early stages of 2012. Instead, we&amp;#039;ve got a flashy new handheld console, bucketload of high-profile sequels, one or two reboots and the conclusion of what is arguably this generation&amp;#039;s finest gaming franchise - and that&amp;#039;s all before the end of spring! Welcome to part one of Digital Spy&amp;#039;s look ahead at 2012 in video games. Resident Evil: Revelations Release date: January 26 (UK), February 7 (North America) Continuing the recent trend of high-profile and hotly anticipated releases for the ever-improving Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations is the first game of 2012 that we truly can&amp;#039;t wait to play. And while cosmetically it may share similarities with recent games in the series, Resident Evil: Revelations returns the franchise to its survival horror roots. 3DS users have already had a taste of what&amp;#039;s in store thanks to a demo released with Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, which, while short-lived, left us craving more, a sure-fire sign of its quality, or the fact that we&amp;#039;ve gone zombie.  Final Fantasy XIII-2 Release date: February 3 (UK), January 31 (North America) The next title in Square Enix&amp;#039;s long-running role-playing series is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, which was released to high praise from Digital Spy back in 2010. With Lightning missing, Serah and newbie Noah must travel through time to track her down, a plot device sure to conjure up some interesting gameplay scenarios. Throw in some sprawling towns, quaint villages, random battles and chocobos, and you have all the ingredients of a classic Final Fantasy game. &amp;gt; Read our Final Fantasy XIII-2 preview  Soul Calibur V Release date: February 3 (UK), January 31 (North America) The Soul Calibur series has remained a console staple since the release of Soul Blade on the original PlayStation back in the late 90s, building a large fanbase thanks to its deep yet accessible fighting system, complemented by a diverse cast of combatants and heightened sense of drama. With a brand new story mode set decades after the last entry and lots of new characters - including Ezio from Assassin&amp;#039;s Creed - Critical Edge moves (think of the hyper combos from Street Fighter) and one of the most comprehensive customisation suites that we&amp;#039;ve ever come across, Soul Calibur V is looking sharper than the edge of Siegfried&amp;#039;s sword.  The Darkness II Release date: February 10 (UK), February 7 (North America) Continuing the story of mobster Jackie Estacado and his demonic powers The Darkness - ably voiced by Faith No More&amp;#039;s Mike Patton - this upcoming sequel features the same blend of conventional weaponry and supernatural powers, set against a darkly comic backdrop. The Darkness II also contains a brand new story-driven co-op mode, which sees up to four players partake in Left 4 Dead-style hi-jinks with individual Darkness-infused weaponry. Expect an all-out war between Jackie and mysterious new enemy The Brotherhood, who want The Darkness for themselves. &amp;gt; Read our preview of The Darkness II &amp;gt; Read our multiplayer &amp;#039;Vendettas&amp;#039; co-op preview of The Darkness II  SSX Release date: February 17 (UK), February 14 (North America) Featuring multiple real-world mountains meticulously recreated using NASA geotagging technology, SSX returns five years after forgotten Nintendo Wii title SSX Blur. But don&amp;#039;t let the authentic mountain ranges fool you, SSX remains as insane as ever, with gravity-defying jumps and tricks still the order of the day. In addition to sprawling routes and objective-based gameplay, SSX also features numerous &amp;quot;deadly descent&amp;quot; courses, adding unique hazards such as avalanches and reduced visibility to individual mountain ranges.  PlayStation Vita Release date: February 22 With a launch lineup consisting of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048 and Everybody&amp;#039;s Golf, the PlayStation Vita is looking like an attractive prospect indeed. Featuring motion functionality, a 5&amp;quot; OLED touchscreen, innovative back touch, quad-core processor, optional 3G support, two cameras and a partridge in a pear tree (couldn&amp;#039;t resist), the PS Vita is one serious piece of hardware. Launching almost a year after the Nintendo 3DS, it will be interesting to see which portable device ends 2012 on top. Judging by its launch lineup, the PlayStation Vita stands a really good chance. &amp;gt; View pictures of PlayStation Vita&amp;#039;s Japanese launch line-up  Syndicate Release date: February 24 (UK), February 21 (North America) Originally an isometric real-time tactical game set in a cyberpunk future, Syndicate returns 18 years later as a first-person shooter set in a cyberpunk future. In a world where corporations rule and everybody is chipped, players control EuroCorp prototype agent Miles Kilo, who must embark on an epic battle with bio-engineered enemies and corrupt businesses. Facing the tricky task of appeasing fans and enticing newcomers, Starbreeze Studios has included a separate co-op mode, choc-full of levels from the 1993 original. Whether this is enough to please Syndicate veterans remains to be seen.  Mass Effect 3 Release date: March 9 (UK), March 6 (North America) While we can&amp;#039;t wait to finish the story of Commander Shepard and put a stop to the Reaper invasion of the entire galaxy, we&amp;#039;d be lying if we said that we aren&amp;#039;t just a little bit sad that our time with the Commander is coming to an end. Having seen Shepard form relationships with every man, woman and alien in the galaxy, battle foes, sacrifice friends and even come back from the dead, we&amp;#039;ve grown quite attached, you see. The final game in the Mass Effect trilogy pulls all of those choices from the first two games together and wraps up the epic quest once and for all. Adding Kinect features and a brand new multiplayer mode, Mass Effect 3 will undoubtedly be the biggest and best one yet. &amp;gt; Read our Mass Effect 3 multiplayer preview  Street Fighter X Tekken Release date: March 9 (UK), March 6 (North America) We&amp;#039;ve seen the guys and girls from Street Fighter duke it out with Marvel super heroes and SNK stalwarts, but never with the iconic bunch of bruisers from Namco&amp;#039;s Tekken series. The first of two planned crossover games containing the respective sets of fighters, Street Fighter X Tekken will feature gameplay similar to Street Fighter IV, but with a tag-team twist. Finally we can see who&amp;#039;s the better wrestler between Zangief or King, and intimidate the boys with a Chun-Li and Nina Williams dream team.  Max Payne 3 Release date: March 2012 Almost single-handedly responsible for the bullet-time craze that swept the PlayStation 2 back in the noughties, Max Payne returns in an adventure that takes the titular hero to hell and back in an effort to exorcise his demons. Packing more heat than a paranoid mobster on a gun run, Max must lay waste to double-crossing locals and criminal gangs in S\u00E3o Paulo, Brazil. With new moves, weaponry and an online multiplayer mode, Max Payne 3 should resurrect the franchise with a bang.  Additional releases Also expected during the first half of the year are Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Luigi&amp;#039;s Mansion 2, Kid Icarus: Uprising and Ridge Racer Unbounded, not to mention the return of David Jaffe&amp;#039;s Twisted Metal, which will be released for the PlayStation 3 in February. Expect plenty of game-related announcements at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June, the time of year when we find out what we&amp;#039;ll be playing come Christmas. Join us tomorrow (January 1) as we&amp;#039;ll look at what games and hardware will be releasing in the second half of 2012. What are you looking forward to? Add a comment to the space below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a356359/20-reasons-to-be-excited-about-gaming-in-2012-part-one/>