January 2012: The Month of Gaming Spin-offs
Well here we are, another year and another release schedule. If I was 2012 I would be concerned right now; 2011 is a tough act to follow, as far as video games goes. January is always a tough month, straight after the Christmas release window when so many great titles are released. However, it is a prime buying window. People have gift cards and vouchers burning holes in their pockets, just waiting to be spent…
But it might be wise to save those pennies, because January has little to offer. There are five titles I think are worth a mention, but even so, they are a bit stale compared to what we were playing a few weeks ago. One thing is if you like your spin-offs, then January will keep you very happy indeed! Here are the five ‘biggest’ games of January 2012:
4 January – NFL blitz
EA Sports has had great success with the NBA Jam brand, and so in true EA fashion, they have decided to do a similar thing with their ever-popular NFL series. Yes, NFL Blitz is a lovely little spin off game for American football addicts everywhere. If one NFL game was just not enough for you each year, fear not because EA has your back!
Maybe if this title does as well as EA hope they will expand and do seasonal versions… anyone for a game of NFL Blitz Spring Break?!
10 January – Gotham City Impostors
This game is probably the most random of the January lot. The GCI is similar in style to Valve’s Team Fortress 2 set within what is apparently Gotham city. Everyone plays either a Batman or Joker wannabe and they fight with guns, laughing gas and a whole host of other gadgets.
With Arkham City still in recent memory, it’s hard to imagine any but the most devout batman fan wanting to play this mediocre, albeit humorous shooter. If you have completed Arkham city and you still crave a Batman fix then maybe you’ll get a kick out of this little title.
31 January – Final Fantasy XIII-2
The first big day this year in terms of game releases has to be 31 January. Not one, but three big games from three very large Japanese publishers. There is a pretty decent mix of genres and it’s nice to see Japan leading the way in 2012 after a very disruptive and unfortunate 2011. Although many will be wary of purchasing the latest Final Fantasy offering (which is also a spin off… see the theme here?!) Square Enix has promised a much improved experience to that of XIII.
31 January – NeverDead
NeverDead is the latest serving from Rebellion, a great British developer more commonly known for the Aliens Vs. Predator series. This game is shaping up to be one of the more interesting games to kick start 2012, combining interesting action, adventure gameplay with some decent writing and humour thrown in for good measure. This title seems to be a bit of a tangent from Rebellion’s usual projects, but hopefully it will do well and give Konami the excuse to let Rebellion flex more of its creative muscles.
31 January – SoulCalibur V
The final game to mention from the 31 January listing is the latest installment of the SoulCalibur series from Namco Bandai. Always a solid beat ‘em up, I always pick up the SoulCalibur games – maybe not at launch, but soon afterwards. The brilliant blend of incredibly-refined fighting mechanics, and the role-playing narrative style of the main game mode makes SoulCalibur games quite unique. As always, each format version of the game has a “cover girl” character added in to help sell the franchise to format fan boys. I have fond memories of killing nightmare with Yoda in the last game of the series…
Although this month still seems bleak compared to the last quarter of 2011, January 2012 is not totally without merit. The variation of games out this month is quite refreshing, and seeing the big Japanese publishers pushing their titles out and kick starting the year is a positive message for the industry. Some of these games deserve a play, but some will benefit from a lack of other options more than the actual quality of the titles.
Roll on the rest of 2012. Big things are waiting just around the corner…
