Console Gaming – What to expect in 2012

Halo 4 – Xbox 360 Late 2012

Another likely bid for the 2012 Christmas #1 spot, 343 industries first fully fledged Halo title since they took over the franchise from the games original creators, Bungie.

Halo 4 will be the first main story sequel to the franchise since Halo 3 in 2007, not counting the side story of Halo: ODST, which was originally intended to be DLC for Halo 3, but gained enough of its own steam to make it as a full retail release, then Halo Reach, the prequel to the original trilogy.

Picking up after Halo 3, with Master Chief and Cortana floating through space aboard the wreckage of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn for an as yet unknown amount of time, find themselves near an unknown Forerunner planet, ready to fight in another far flung corner of the galaxy to save humanity.  Halo 4 is planned as being the first in a whole new trilogy, to ensure we will be tossing sticky grenades on our Xbox 360 and its eventual next gen Xbox console successor for years to come.

Kinect Starwars – Xbox 360 April 2012

In Kinect Starwars, you play as a Jedi and one of several new characters, where you can embrace the usual Kinect features to lift and throw objects with the Force or wield a lightsaber, use body movement to control X-wing starfighters and podracers.

The Game takes place in the prequel trilogy timeline of the Star Wars universe, beginning shortly after Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and concludes during the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.  The game also includes settings from the original trilogy, such as the planet Bespin featured in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. The player will also fight Darth Vader in the game.

If you love Kinect and know even a little about Starwars, this will be a welcome addition to your collection, if it doesn’t suck of course.