At the end of November, Ten Ton Hammer asked its readers to vote for their favorite
games in each of two categories--Most Anticipated MMOG of 2012 and Most
Anticipated RPG of 2012. About 78,000 votes poured in to help us determine the winners
and finalists in each category. (If you haven't already, check out our "http://www.tentonhammer.com/polls/most-anticipated-games-of-2012">Readers' Choice
Awards announcement.)

After the polls closed, we decided to pit the winners against one another. We were
curious as to what would happen when we put a long-awaited sequel like "http://tentonhammer.com/gw3">Guild Wars 2 up against the rock-solid franchise
represented in Diablo III. We wondered whether our Most Anticipated MMOG of
2012 winner, Firefall, whose community rallied to give it the number one
position by casting repeated votes, could hold its own when we limited voting to once
per day.

Interestingly enough, although we know our readers also play single-player and
console RPGs, our polling proved once again that our readers' loyalty to the massively
multi-player online game is strong--our top three finishers were all in
the MMOG category.

Before we tell you our winner, let's take a look at the finalists, in order of votes
received:

Most Anticipated Games of 2012 Finalist

Most Anticipated Game of 2012 Finalists

First Runner Up - Firefall

Red 5 Studios' upcoming free-to-play team-based action MMO shooter, "http://tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2731">Firefall, was able to edge out
Guild Wars 2 for "http://www.tentonhammer.com/polls/most-anticipated-games-of-2012">Most Anticipated
MMOG of 2012 in our preliminary voting. Although the vote was close, and the fan
loyalty was fierce, in the finals round Firefall landed a few thousand votes
behind the victor. Even so, this game has proven that it's community stands strong and
offers its unyielding allegiance. If you haven't looked into Firefall yet,
it's high time you did.

Second Runner Up - PlanetSide 2

MMO shooters proved popular with Ten Ton Hammer readers, and Sony Online
Entertainment's sequel, "http://tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2868">PlanetSide 2, was a strong runner
in our first round voting, managing to hold a first place position several times before
becoming our second runner up. We have to wonder, though, whether it would have
shown even stronger if "http://tentonhammer.com/planetside2/news/planetSide-2-re-launches-website-with-beta-sign-ups">
beta sign-ups had been announced a little earlier in our voting process.

Third Runner Up - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur:
Reckoning
, the open-world fantasy RPG from 38 Studios, shares the same setting
as its currently off-the-radar MMO counterpart in development, codenamed "http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/883">Project Copernicus. Unlike
Project Copernicus, Kingdoms of Amalur has a launch date--
we'll see it in early February, 2012. This game can also name drop like a social
climber at an Elton John after-party. Its executive design director is Ken Rolston,
perhaps not a household name, but nonetheless the design force behind beloved RPG
titles such as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV:
Oblivion
. Kingdoms of Amalur is also based on the concepts of renowned
fantasy author R. A. Salvatore and the creator of the Spawn comic series, Todd
McFarlane. We hear a lot about the 38 Studios design and writing pedigree, and our poll
demonstrates that our readers believe this pedigree could be primed to produce a
best-in-show winner.

Fourth Runner Up - Diablo III

Diablo III, the
hotly anticipated continuation of Blizzard's beloved action RPG juggernaut, landed
squarely in our number four position, a result some might find surprising given the
weight of its franchise. There's no doubt that gamers everywhere can't wait to get
their hands on Diablo III, and those gamers flocked to Ten Ton Hammer in
droves for the chance to win one of a small quantity of beta keys this fall. Is
Diablo III's position the result of over-confidence on the part of voters who
assumed its supremacy was assured? We'll never know for sure.

Fifth Runner Up - Mass Effect 3

That BioWare's third installment in its popular Mass Effect series landed
in the fifth runner up position in our poll just as players were queuing up for early
access to that other little BioWare game, "http://swtorhub.com">Star Wars: The Old Republic, doesn't surprise us much--BioWare fans were too preoccupied to vote. But we're certain our readers
will be just as eager to take a break from their lightsabers and blasters in order to
put Commander Shephard through his paces when Mass Effect 3 launches in March,
2011.


The results of our Most Anticipated Game of 2012 Finals poll did more than help us
crown a winner. they proved to us that we already know what our readers like. In fact,
our winner already has a community home on Ten Ton
Hammer
. So, drum roll please...

Most Anticipated Games of 2012 Winner

Most Anticipated Game of 2012 - Guild Wars 2

When it comes to "fanticipation," our winner took the prize handily. It doesn't seem
to matter that ArenaNet's Guild Wars
2
is currently in a bit of a news lull, and that no release date has been set,
fans are clamoring for a return to Tyria and the promise of an interactive, dynamic
world where each character can have his or her own "http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/editorials/personal-story">personal
story. (And have we mentioned the elder dragons? Yes, here there be dragons. Cool
ones.) If you haven't made a point of following Guild Wars 2 yet, our GW2
community site provides some great "http://tentonhammer.com/gw2/guides/world">starting places. If you have, keep an
eye on Ten Ton Hammer for news and more from the Most Anticipated Game of 2012!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Guild Wars 2 Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Karen is H.D.i.C. (Head Druid in Charge) at EQHammer. She likes chocolate chip pancakes, warm hugs, gaming so late that it's early, and rooting things and covering them with bees. Don't read her Ten Ton Hammer column every Tuesday. Or the EQHammer one every Thursday, either.

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