And with that, we need to smack you with this obvious disclaimer: many interesting upcoming titles were excluded from our list, which is admittedly subjective and impossible to complete without adding everything due in 2013, but that would totally defeat the purpose of a “most anticipated” compilation. As always, you’re more than welcome (encouraged, even) to hit the comments and tell us what we’ve missed and why you think it’s important – just make sure it’s a PC game coming out in 2013 or be ready to take your lumps.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Set after the second film in the series and deemed an official part of the Alien franchise’s canon by 20th Century Fox, Gearbox Software’s first-person shooter intends to be the true spiritual successor to 1986’s Aliens. Along with a fully featured single-player campaign that includes memorable weapons, enemies and locations from the films, Colonial Marines will support drop-in, drop-out co-op gameplay for up to four players online or two players locally, as well as a competitive multiplayer component with 4v4 objective and 6v6 deathmatch modes.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
Produced by Frictional Games and developed by thechineseroom (who’s also working on a successor to Dear Esther titled Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture), the follow up to 2010’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent will return to the same creepy world but takes place 60 years later in 1899 and follows Oswald Mandus, a wealthy industrialist who falls unconscious for months after being struck by illness on a trip to Mexico. After dreaming about a “dark machine” during his coma, Mandus awakes to the roar of an engine as a mysterious machine fires up.
Arma III
Along with a fresh single player campaign that sees Iran attempt to invade the Aegean islands of Lemnos and Stratis during the 2030s, Bohemia Interactive’s latest sandbox military simulator is equipped with the developer’s new Real Virtuality engine, which promises tons of improvements over previous builds. Key features include DX10 and 11 support, Nvidia PhysX 3 effects, a 20km view distance, ragdoll physics, underwater environments, improved lighting, a better flight model, weapon and uniform customization, and an enhanced mission editor.
Battlefield 4
Little is known about Battlefield 4 except that it exists and it’s coming soonish. Leading up to Medal of Honor: Warfighter’s launch, EA ran a deal that guaranteed Warfighter preorder customers access to BF4’s beta, which is expected to kick off sometime in fall of this year and suggests that EA is aiming for a holiday release. For reference, Battlefield 3’s beta ran from September 29, 2011 through October 10, and the game hit shelves in North America on October 25. There’s no trailer out yet, but here’s one Battlefield fan’s wish list for BF4:
BioShock Infinite
BioShock’s third installment exits the abandoned underwater metropolis of Rapture and introduces players to Columbia, a floating city suspended by blimps and balloons. It unfolds in 1912 – prior to the events of previous entries – and players control ex-Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt as he rescues a young woman named Elizabeth (a companion character) who has been trapped in Columbia for most of her life. Along with the new characters and environments, Infinite will encourage players to explore weapons more and touts proper PC support.
