Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
While it reportedly sold more than two million copies, the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior received mixed reviews with complaints about its mediocre story, moronic AI, buggy gameplay and lousy run-and-gun sequences. For all its faults, many thought the game’s sniping elements were decent, and it seems that’s what City Interactive is focusing on this time around, with talk of realistic bullet physics that take into account variables such as distance, wind and heart rate, new equipment for stealth gameplay, authentic rifles, and feedback from a spotter.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Sam Fisher and his iconic night vision goggles return for the sixth installment of Ubisoft’s stealth-action shooter, which sees the corrupt Third Echelon’s demise and the formation of a new agency commanded by Fisher who’s tasked with halting an anti-US terrorist plot. Although Blacklist will feature similar action mechanics introduced in Conviction, it will also revive classic elements such as the ability to drag bodies and bait enemies by making vocal noise, as well as the Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer mode – all of which were absent in the last game.
Star Wars 1313
LucasArts technically hasn’t confirmed any platforms for its latest Star Wars project (inviting speculation that it could be a launch title for next-gen consoles), but we’re hoping PC gamers will be welcome to the crime-laden subterranean Coruscant metropolis of Level 1313 – a veritable playground for the game’s protagonist, a bounty hunter equipped with “exotic” weapons (no Force or lightsabers, though). Based on the few gameplay clips available, it seems like you can expect Uncharted-like action sequences, cover-based shooting and pretty visuals.
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
The second chapter of StarCraft II will focus on Sarah Kerrigan (aka “the Queen of Blades”), a former Terran agent infested and mutated into a powerful human/Zerg hybrid. Along with advancing the single player story with 20 missions set two years after Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm will introduce seven new multiplayer units: Terran gains the Widow Mine and Hellbat, Zerg gets the Viper and Swarm Host, and Protoss receives the Mothership Core, Oracle and Tempest. The expansion will also add features to Blizzard’s Battle.net 2.0 platform.
Survarium
Undiscouraged by the demise of GSC Game World and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, a team of former GSC developers rebounded quickly with the formation of a new studio (Vostok Games) and the creation of a new post-apocalyptic title that incorporates many elements from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series into a free-to-play MMORPG shooter of sorts. There will be several factions and at least three modes: co-op, which lets players complete a series of missions together, team combat, which sounds akin to capture the flag, and freeplay, a DayZ-like survival sandbox mode.
