The Big Action/Adventure Games of 2012

With the current generation of consoles coming to a close and the
next one just around the corner, the year ahead is shaping up to be one
of the most exciting the gaming industry's ever seen – and the quality
of the new releases just over the horizon looks better than ever, too.

All this week we're highlighting some of our favorite upcoming titles
scheduled to release before the end of 2012, breaking them down by
genre to help you get up to speed on what you'll be playing between
today and New Year's Eve.

On Monday we kicked things off with the Racing genre. Yesterday,
Strategy games. And today, for our third installment, we're jumping into
the versatile action/adventure genre.





Assassin's Creed III

Few action games have ever enjoyed the amount of hype and
anticipation that Ubisoft's next Assassin's Creed has already amassed,
and that excitement will only escalate as the game's October 30 release
date draws closer. You already know the breakdown for what this third
numbered sequel in the on-going series is going to offer, but just in
case you've been asleep in the Animus for the past several months and
somehow still don't know, here it is again:

Colonial America. The Revolutionary War. A new assassin who's half
English and half Native American, with no allegiances to any particular
side in the conflict unfolding before him. Dual-wielding. Archery.
Canoes! Assassin's Creed III will have it all, and it's more than worthy
to claim this leading position in our list today.







Resident Evil 6

Before we have a chance to step back in time to kill the Redcoats of
the Revolutionary War, though, we'll get a new opportunity to slay more
hordes of the undead. Resident Evil 6 was positioned for an early
November debut, but Capcom recently made the rare move of pushing the
game's release date up to early October instead – and we're grateful, as
that will give us a few weeks to work through its zombie-blasting
campaign before Ubisoft comes calling again.

This is another game that's been so well presented already that
you're likely perfectly familiar with its scenario too, but it's another
that's worth bullet-pointing again to keep the hype train moving:
Playable Chris. Playable Leon. Playable new third character, all mixed
together in one complex storyline complete with new partners and bolder
action than ever. Through in a new breed of zombie that can form groups
to coordinate attacks, wield weapons and recover from damage and you've
got the next major numbered sequel that will be depleting the numbers in
our bank account reports.







Dishonored

Not every action/adventure game we're excited about through the end
of the year is a numbered sequel to an established series, though. Case
in point: Bethesda's Dishonored, a first-person stealth design that taps
into the world of steampunk.

The title gives you a clue about the status of your playable hero,
Corvo Attano, who was once a well-respected bodyguard to an emperor and
is now a shamed assassin out for revenge. The game will let you seek
retribution for your disgraced reputation by exploring a vast open
world, stalking and either killing or non-lethally disabling every foe
you encounter. If that sounds interesting to you, start setting aside
extra cash now – because this one is positioned right between Resident
Evil 6 and Assassin's Creed III on the release calendar, and wallets
will be hurting.







Hitman: Absolution

For a more modern-world take on what it's like to be an assassin, the
on-going Hitman series has always been a fan favorite. It's been a
while since we last caught up with the iconically bald and cold-blooded
Agent 47, as his last game launched back in 2006. But Hitman: Absolution
looks ready to bring him back in style.

He's out for a bit of revenge himself, too, though he ended his last
game not as a man dishonored but a man deceased – he faked his own
death. Now he'll be back to turn his guns against those who forced him
to take such drastic action, even targeting former allies from previous
games for assassination. The blood will flow in Absolution on November
20.







The Amazing Spider-Man

If you're beginning to fear not being able to make your rent this
Fall, we'll give you a bit of a breather here by presenting a game
shipping a whole lot sooner – just next month, in fact. The Amazing
Spider-Man video game will hit stores the week before the new film of
the same name, and once again we'll be commanding everyone's favorite
friendly neighborhood superhero to swing through skies, punch street
thugs and get vocally quippy all the while.

The game will wisely tell a different tale than the movie, picking up
after its events and continuing to develop the story of this most
recent reboot of the webhead. If you're worried about spoilers for the
film then you'll probably want to wait an extra week before picking up a
copy, but it's hardly any kind of spoiler to say that there will still
be supervillains wanting to pick a fight with Spidey after the movie
credits roll – villains like good old Rhino, who seems a man-rhino
fusion more in line with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' mutated
Rocksteady than just a guy in a rhino costume this time around.







Lollipop Chainsaw

If you're needing an action fix even quicker than Spider-Man's end of
June, you could always invest in the manic cel-shaded zombie-carving
action of Lollipop Chainsaw. This one's set to debut around the globe in
just a couple of weeks, meaning North America, Europe, Australia and
Japan will all pretty much simultaneously be getting our brains melted
by the visual of a high school cheerleader using a heart-emblazoned
power tool to mow through hordes of shambling ex-students.

If you've never played a Suda51 game, be prepared for some of the
most twisted action your mind will ever struggle to perceive – but even
if you feel like you're losing your head, you'll be better off than our
hero Juliet's boyfriend Nick. He actual did lose his. He's that
decapitated guy hanging off her belt right there (and somehow still
alive).







Sleeping Dogs

This year's winner for weirdest video game name will almost certainly
go to Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs, as it sounds more like the name of a
cutesy PIXAR short film than an M-rated action video game. That wasn't
its original title, though. It was first announced as a True Crime
sequel, "True Crime: Hong Kong," three years ago.

Development trouble struck and it got cancelled at one point, but
Square Enix rescued it from the abyss (and gave it that wacky new name.)
Regardless of what it's called, though, the content will be compelling –
featuring gaming's first open-world recreation of the island of Hong
Kong and a mission to make yourself into a member of the infamous Triad
organization.







Darksiders II

Last up for today's list is a game that would have been in our hands
next month if it wasn't for last month's delay, but we still will be
able to play it three months from now. Follow all that? Good. Darksiders
II is coming in August.

2010's original Darksiders drew praise from gamers and critics alike
with its inventive blend of an apocalyptic scenario, a hero who was an
actual horseman of the apocalypse and an adventure progression that
mirrored many of the best elements of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda
franchise. Darksiders II is back to do it again, this time with new
horseman Death at the helm – and those Nintendo connections will be all
the more appropriate when the Wii U launches, as a tablet-enhanced
version of the game is set to serve as a launch title for that new
hardware before year's end too.






Action/Adventure is our strongest genre category so far, and there's
surely something for everyone to love among the eight options we just
featured. We still want to know your thoughts, though, and which of this
bunch you think will be the best. Share your opinion through the
comments box below, then come back for our next installment tomorrow –
Thursday we'll be looking at upcoming Shooters.