Top 20 Xbox 360 Exclusives of 2012

Last year was simply enormous for Xbox 360 fans. The system
celebrated record sales numbers for hardware, massive cross-platform
games, and huge exclusives like Gears of War 3, Forza Motorsport 4, and Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary. With all of those successes, Microsoft
would have a tough time topping itself the following year. However,
looking over some of the awesome games set to release exclusively on the
console this year, you can see how it just might be able to pull it
off.


Here's a look at some of the great exclusives that Xbox 360 owners can look forward to this year.



Halo 4





It's been five years in the making, but Master Chief will finally grace
us yet again in the proper sequel to 2007's Halo 3. In the hands of a
new development team at 343 Industries,
everything we've seen out of Halo 4 has been telling of a crew that not
only understands the Halo franchise, but is poised to create the most
personal and compelling story the series has to offer. Its darker
approach to established characters like Chief and Cortana, as well as
some awesome new multiplayer features. The separate four-player co-op
campaign dubbed Spartan Ops and customized loadouts will undoubtedly
make for an experience that Halo fanatics won't be able to wait for, if
they could already.




Forza Horizon





Not much is known about Forza Horizon yet. A teaser trailer with a
desert setting and club-party vibe are all we have to go on. What little
else we've learned is cause enough to get excited. Horizon is the first
title being developed by UK racing developer Playground Games,
a supergroup of sorts composed of Codemasters and Bizarre Creations
vets. Horizon will be a more arcade-style spin-off of the series rather
than a proper sim entry to the series.



Fez





A project several years in the making, Fez is a visual and aural treat
unlike anything you've likely experienced. The game's
perspective-shifting puzzle mechanic is only the tip of the iceberg that
makes Fez such a standout experience. The fully realized world,
beautiful aesthetic and amazing soundtrack all speak to the full
experience. The game is brimming over with personality, rife with
detail, and forces you to think outside the boundaries of the game
itself to solve its ingenious puzzles. Fez is a long-time coming, but
lives up to the hype; it's a gaming experience no one should miss this
year.







Minecraft





Okay, so it might not technically be an exclusive, having made
itself a household name on PC, but if you want to play developer
Mojang's uber-hit on a console, Xbox 360 is the only way to go. Building
your own world is a blast in Minecraft, and the Xbox LIVE Arcade
version will offer some brand new features like four-player split-screen
co-op. If you missed the boat on PC, then Minecraft on XBLA will
definitely be a fantastic chance to let your imagination run wild.



Alan Wake's American Nightmare





This spin-off shines a brand new light on the titular author. Combining a
more action-oriented approach in lieu of the suspense and terror of the
first game, American Nightmare's pulpy take on the franchise is
probably not what you'd be expecting on the heels of the original Alan
Wake. However, more adventurous types will find the experience
entertaining as hell, with slick controls and exciting combat, and a
really addictive arcade mode in "Fight Till Dawn". The story might not
dazzle you and you won't be terrified to the edge of your seat, but good
times will be had in this trip to Night Springs.



Akai Katana





CAVE has been making its name in Japan with an insane brand of bullet
hell shmups, but is just now starting to get some attention in the west.
Awesome shmups like Deathsmiles are available on Xbox 360, and there
are even more on iOS (crafty importers can even get their hands on
region-free versions of some of their hits), and Akai Katana will bring
even more intense bullet hell action to Xbox 360. CAVE fans know what
they like, and Akai Katana is poised to deliver.



Sine Mora





The project of coveted Japanese dev Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality,
Sine Mora is an awesome shoot 'em up with a great story, unique time
shifting gameplay mechanic, and some gorgeous design. The game's art
direction is sublime, and ranks up there with anything released on Xbox
LIVE Arcade. Simply check out the game's concept art and compare it to
the final look of the game and you'll see just what makes Sine Mora such
a fantastic game to see in action.



Trials: Evolution





The original Trials HD ranks as one of the best XBLA games available on
the platform, and arguably one of the best on the Xbox 360. Now, the
long-awaited sequel is finally set to launch, and is set to offer even
more insane stunts and trick-based gameplay. Everything in Trials
Evolution is bigger and better than the original, and thanks to an
awesome new track editor you'll be able to turn the game into your own
personal playground with seemingly limitless customization options.
Trials HD was a phenomenal game, but Trials: Evolution looks to outpace
it at every turn.



Steel Battalion Heavy Armor





Foregoing the dauntingly huge controllers of past Steel Battalion games
in favor of a Kinect/standard controller hybrid scheme, Heavy Armor is
probably the most wholly unique mech game ever created. Going beyond
simply putting you in control of a combat mech as you carve your way
through enemies and their vehicles, you'll find yourself engulfed in the
minutia of commanding your crew and maintaining your mech's internal
integrity. You'll put out fires, give your crew water when they're in
danger of dehydrating, examine other mechs for supplies and so on.
Keeping control over the smaller scale emergencies is key to your
survival in Heavy Armor, making for a unique and compelling experience
as you're likely to find in the mech combat genre.



Fable: The Journey





Fable: The Journey's ultimate aim is to challenge the way you look at
games and the way you approach them. A completely Kinect-powered
experience, Fable: The Journey doesn't waste precious gameplay time
holding your hand through a tutorial. It instead relyies on your own
intuition to learn what you should be doing to take care of your horse
and command it, fend off attackers using magic, and even shout to power
up your attacks. Fable: The Journey attempts to not only to redefine
Kinect as a gaming peripheral, but change the way that we look at games
and become immersed in them.



Crimson Dragon





Formerly known as Project Draco, Crimson Dragon, Capcom's Kinect-infused
dragon action game, is finally coming. The game bears more than a
passing resemblance to the beloved Panzer Dragoon series, boasting some
fantastic art direction and action-packed dragon-based combat. While it
remains to be seen how much of a benefit the Kinect will be to the
gameplay (and vice versa), there are plenty of reasons to be excited for
this lush XBLA game.


Charlie Murder





Keeping with tradition while changing up the tone, Ska Studios'
next brawler trades the darker vampire themes from The Dishwasher: Dead
Samurai for punk rock humor. The side-scrolling Charlie Murder is as
violent as creator James Silva's past work, of course, with bloody
punches, shotgunnery, vehicular homicide, and bar-room brawls with
katanas. And, because it wouldn't be a Ska game without nutty stuff,
you'll ride on brooms to shoot witches, belt out bitchin' guitar solos,
and ride beasts with drum sets on their backs. Why not? This indie
studio doesn't just like 2D brawlers, it fully grasps what makes them
tick. Its past games indicate a deep respect and understanding for
wicked, twisted fun, and Charlie Murder is definitely cut from a
familiar cloth.



Deadlight





This 2D platformer, set in a post-apocalyptic Seattle, brings some heavy
stuff to the table. It's unapologetically morose, and the depressing
atmosphere weighs on the player as they make their way through abandoned
buildings and discover long-dead lost souls. Its element of threat is
the undead. Hordes of zombies shamble through the rainy streets and
around bleak-looking buildings just waiting for something to eat.
Specifically, you. Using the environment to either kill or evade the
enemy is clutch here. Deadlight doesn't want to empower players. This is
a thriller where vulnerability takes precedent over action, and it
carries an immense amount of potential. Look for it in summer 2012.




Fable Heroes





Heroes is an adorable offshoot from the Fable we know and love, and it
does a great job of retaining the core while doing plenty of new stuff.
The board-game stage select and leveling system, puppet doll characters,
and familiar Fable bad guys work really well together in the context of
a Gauntlet-esque hack-and-slash. Fable Heroes is more of an interesting
experiment for Lionhead Studios than its next big thing, and it's nice to see a major Microsoft
developer bringing important franchises to XBLA. The cartoony graphics
may turn off fans of the often-dark story of the Fable games, but just
embrace the whimsical charm, would you? Truly, that's always been the
heart and soul of what made the series great, and now it's presented in a
simpler, made-for-fun form.



Wreckateer





Great Kinect games are in short supply, but Wreckateer understands how to use motion for fun
rather than exhausting input. The XBLA-exclusive isn't about complex or
repetitive gestures. It gives you a simple task: smash castles by
flinging bombs. Players can manipulate projectiles mid-air, steer bombs
with wing attachments, and detonate explosives early using appropriate
inputs. It's a simple game with an addictive flair and variety
reminiscent of Angry Birds -- blowing stuff up rules, and playing an
active, physical role in bringing down buildings should make for one of
the more entertaining Kinect experiences in 2012.



Hybrid





After Scribblenauts, Lock's Quest, Run Roo Run, and Drawn to Life
established 5TH Cell as a creative team with truckloads of charm, Hybrid
looks like...a departure for the developer. Originality and innovation
are key to the studio's vision, so expect this sci-fi shooter to play a
bit unlike what we're used to. It's heavily jetpack based, with combat
occurring in the air, on-the-move, and upside down. Cover is prominent
but rarely effective -- if you're relying on it rather than using it for
moments at a time, you're doing it wrong. Although it uses a
future-apocalypse story for its backdrop, the draw will definitely be
the intimate 3v3 multiplayer. The multiplayer beta starts this month.



Spelunky





Randomly generated dungeons, exploration, explosions, Indiana Jones,
treasure, rescue...these are all great chunks of Spelunky's greater
whole. The upgraded HD version of the indie PC darling is coming to Live
Arcade with multiplayer, both co-op and competitive. This should make
Spelunky all the more challenging and chaotic than its side-scrolling
action-y platforming already was. Making your way deep into the world is
a difficult proposition because this is similar to a roguelike --
players bring just one life into the underground, and dying means
they're done. Failure sends you back to the start, which would be
frustrating if not for the addictive rewards. Like most awesome XBLA
games lookin' good this year, Spelunky's hitting summer 2012.



BattleBlock Theater





Man, Castle Crashers was super-good, wasn't it? It also super-came-out-in-2008, which was fully four years ago. It's about time The Behemoth
brought something new to the table -- fans have been getting hungry for
Battleblock Theater for a couple years at this point. The co-op
platformer requires players to work together to throw each other up high
ledges, use traps and enemies to your advantage, and solve the puzzle
that is each world. Also, you can grief each other (say, with an
ice-cube gun that'll freeze anything it hits) until your friendship
implodes.



Bloodforge





The most interesting thing about Bloodforge has little to do with the
way it plays -- having a third-person action game (a la Devil May Cry or
God of War) on Xbox Live Arcade is certainly welcome -- but with its
presentation. It's a weird world, almost dreamlike, inspired by the
darkest side of Viking lore and its own original ideas. The hero is a
ruthless warrior who disembowels and decapitates bizarre enemies. This
comes from Climax, the developer behind Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
and Silent Hill: Origins, two decidedly grim games with fascinating
themes throughout. With any luck, the dev will capture some of that
essence here, too.



Mark of the Ninja





Klei Entertainment,
the developer behind Shank and its superior sequel, is taking a sneaky
side-step with Mark of the Ninja. Set for release this summer, the
stealth game aims to nail the feel of becoming a ninja. Rather than
fulfill power fantasies, Mark of the Ninja makes players feel in
control. Guards in the modern-day city setting patrol with machine-guns,
which would give them a significant advantage if not for the ninja
protagonist's deep skills. Traps, distractions, stealth kills, and the
art of evading altercations altogether lend an interesting pace to an
atypical side-scroller. The gorgeous art, serious story, and thoughtful,
slower-paced gameplay should give gamers a deeper understanding of
Klei's capabilities.