Where Are These Games?

So I'm currently working on a hub highlighting the big game releases for 2013 (which will be posted towards the end of December). As I was checking next year's release schedule, some long announced games came to mind that haven't in quite a while. That got me wondering; just where the hell are these games, anyway?

The Last Guardian has been in the subconscious of gamers since 2008 and it's been as mysterious as its feathered beast. After long periods of little to no new information on the project, Team Ico mastermind Fumito Ueda left the developer in December 2011 (though continues to work on the project on a contractual basis). Executive Producer Yoshifusa Hayama departed as well. It was later announced that team members from Santa Monica and Sony Japan Studio (among others) were lending a hand to help speed up development. To say the least, it's been a bumpy road, but Team Ico continues to assure everyone that The Last Guardian is will still release this console generation. Instead of us, you need to worry about convincing poor Trico up there, guys. The poor fella's slipped into a boredom-induced coma from waiting so long.

Where. Is. This. Game. Seriously, where is it? It was announced at the same time as Final Fantasy XIII (back in 2005) and not only has XIII seen the light of day, but its sequel has too! For over six years Versus XIII has been kept under wraps with a handful of videos and breadcrumbs of information sprinkled about during that time. Now that I think about it, "kept under wraps" is an understatement. A more apt description would be that Versus has been "bound and gagged, a loaded gun to its head, and a ransom note threatening to fire if even an inkling of a release date gets out". The title has been so reclusive that it was recently rumored to be cancelled until Square set us straight, saying no such nonsense could never occur. The fact that Versus' possible demise didn't bother me as much as I'd thought made me realize that my once overwhelming excitement is rapidly deteriorating.

No, not Enemy Unknown. That game actually happened. This XCOM is a re-imagined reboot that was announced months before Enemy Unknown. This version is a major departure from past entries, as it ditches the turn based strategy in favor of tactical FPS action and takes place in 1960's American suburbia instead of the near future. XCOM has seen numerous delays since it's 2010 reveal and currently sports the always disappointing "TBA" release label. XCOM: Enemy Unknown released in October to rave reviews, so hopefully the warm reception is enough to light a fire under their asses to finish this intriguing project.

Prey was one of the premier shooters of 2006, so as you'd expect, fans can't wait to play the sequel. Bethesda has successfully made hypocrites of them all. Prey 2 was announced spring of 2011 and after some impressive demos and trailers, not much else has surfaced in some time. Now that's perfectly normal for many games, but what really raised some flags were the numerous rumors of it's cancellation since then. Bethesda has cited slow development progression and unmet quality standards as reasons for the delay. Hopefully those issues can be rectified in time for a 2013 release.

Wait...this was cancelled a long time ago. F**k.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this hub, please check out my other reviews and video game articles and feel free to comment below!