Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
The newly renamed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has now jumped developers to Platinum Games. Whilst series fans have expressed dissapointment in this shift, this is the same developer who brought us Bayonetta, so Rising isn’t exactly going to be a slouch when it comes to style. Bayonetta had some of the most arresting visuals we’ve seen in a while, with some truly memorable level and character designs. Expect Rising to get a similar treatment.
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is set to get yet another franchise reboot in 2012 and, if the released trailers are anything to go by, it’s going to have production values that are through the roof. The series has always been a technical innovator since its initial entry was one of the first games to pioneer 3D back in 1996, so we’ll hopefully see echoes of this tradition in the in-game visuals of the upcoming sequel.
Dream Machine Part 4
The fourth part of an already established indie title might not seem like a full release but, when you consider the incredible delays that have kept us waiting for each new instalment, each part has felt like the dawn of a completely new experience; quality and all. The uncanny and macabre hand crafted style graphics have engaged us since the first part of Dream Machine released earlier this year, and the award winning visuals are likely to keep us hooked throughout 2012.
The Last of Us
As far as console graphics go, Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series has been regularly showing competitors who’s boss. The thought then of how another new Naughty Dog franchise will look is mind boggling. Set in a modern world that is being torn apart by a plague, Naughty Dog have promised us a character driven title that will blend survival and action gameplay in new and exciting ways. If this bad boy gets released by the end of 2012, we can also expect the usual level of visual polish that only Naughty Dog can provide.
Max Payne 3
Though the Max Payne series has never really been much of a graphical powerhouse, Rockstar have been outdoing themselves in the visual department recently in titles such as Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption. With Rockstar taking the reigns on Max Payne 3 then, expect some slick graphics to accompany the bullet time antics of everyone’s favourite cop on the edge.
