5) Dev's First Studio Album
Okay, this thing has been a long time coming, and it better get here dammit. Dev, for those of you who don't know, is an up and coming American Pop singer whose previous association has been with Electro Hip-Hop singers, The Cataracs. Some of her more famous discographies include Like a G6 with the Far East Movement, On Top of the World with the Cataracs, and Dancing in the Dark. The album was originally scheduled to be released in September of 2011, on the same day as Gears of War 3 but has since been pushed back, first to January 10th, 2012 under the reasoning of adding more songs to the American release of the album (the European and Australian releases were successful on September 5th, 2011).
Later in December Amazon announced that the album was being further delayed until March 27th, 2012 for reasons unknown. My best speculation is due to the fact that she is pregnant, and doesn't want to have a release tour while still carrying. Her Style and Lyrics are very similar to a mix between Ke$ha and Lady GaGa with a hit of Easy Listening thrown into the mix. She has a couple of fast and upbeat party songs (Bass Down Low, Dancing in the Dark) and a couple of slower, more subtle songs (Kiss My Lips) on her upcoming album The Night the Sun Came Up. Hopefully this years March release will be the last and official release date for the album because I, for one, could not take another push back in an album I've already been waiting for about 8 months already.
4) The Dark Knight Rises
Okay, so I'd be crazy not to be excited for this movie, especially with all the hype its been getting lately around the net with the whole "Bruce Wayne is going to die!!!1!!!1" thing. But honestly that's not why I want to go see it, the biggest reason is because its going to wrap up the Batman Trilogy, with hopefully no cliffhangers. Yes, I do not anticipate it to be better than Dark Knight, I do however anticipate it to be one of the best movies of the year. Christopher Nolan has an unprecedented ability to add a very human side to Batman, yet still make him larger than life in the process.
From the first previews of it last summer to the launch of it July everyday the movie just keeps looking better and better. The movie posters are out to which is only adding to the excitement. Long story short, if it can hold up to the previous two installments this is going to be a great movie. Oh and the inevitable return of Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul makes me want to squeal like a school girl.
3) Mass Effect 3
Okay, I know what you thinking, why the hell is this at number 3 and not at number 1. And well the reasoning is quite simple, the number 1 and 2 positions are filled with things I've been looking forward to for longer than I have for the end to the Mass Effect series. Mass Effect is still fairly young and despite it being really awesome, there's more that I want to come out more. But for those of you who don't know about Mass Effect 3 its BioWare's final installment in their epic space universe set around the player controlled hero Commander Sheppard.
Mass Effect 3 starts as the Reapers are now in the Milky Way about to gather the technology of the currently evolved races, and then proceed to destroy them. As Sheppard you are the only man who stands in their way, you and your teammates. The game launches in less than a month on March 6th, which when you think of it gives people not a whole lot of time if they don't like their Sheppard to get everything fixed. Fortunately I do like my Sheppard so I don't really need to do a bunch of grooming. If you haven't played Mass Effect before, now is the time to pick it up because you don't want to be left out when ME3 launches in March.
2) The Avengers
Yes, last years action hit Captain America finally spilled the beans of the first Avengers Trailer to be officially released, and we as the internet cheered. The Avengers has been a long time coming, I think my first idea of an Avengers movie was when they released the first X-Men movie back in 2000. With the new line up for 2012 The Avengers is going to be awesome, and I don't mean "Oh man the Simpsons are finally getting a movie" awesome, I mean "Oh hey look a South Park video game, and you get to make your own character!!!" Yea, that awesome.
Lefts face it this has been at the top of everybody's wish list since the first Iron Man movie when Samuel L. Jackson showed up as Colonel Furry. But this movie has an even bigger implication than that. Its showing that even superhero movies are getting the positive attention that they deserve and that the comic book industry will be able to move forward as a whole because of it. More awareness means more acceptance, which also leads to larger fan bases. But regardless of its implications, its going to be awesome.
1) SSX
The worlds greatest Snowboarding Video Game franchise is finally back, and hopefully better than ever. For those of you who are unfamiliar with SSX it's a snowboarding video game series whose first title launched in 2000 on the PS2. It was much different from other snowboarding games till then in the fact that the most advanced tricks were unrealistic in nature and required the rider to often dismount his or her board in mid-flight. The game was incredibly polished and smooth. Since its release there have been 4 more to come after, SSX Tricky (still one of my top 10 games of all time), SSX 3, SSX on Tour, and SSX Blur. This years release of SSX is particularly important to me because of the fact that its been a good 5 years since this game as seen light and its the first time that it will be available for XBox LIVE play.
Now I know I've said that I'm not a huge fan of sports games but for some reason I feel much different about SSX, especially this time around. Its been a while since I've been able to really sink my teeth into a good SSX game and feel like its the first time so this is going to be pretty cool. If you're looking for a really good, really high flying game I'd definitely recommend that you give this a go later this February (the 28th to be exact). I know that I'll be playing this long into the coming months.
Definitely check these out, they're all gonna be pretty awesome, really fun and most importantly a great time. This is just a small list too, there is no way that I could get everything I was looking forward to this year covered here so I had to pick and choose. None the less this year will be a good year, and the end of February and Beginning of March will be a very hectic time for us all. Till next time guys.
