Not that we need any reminding, but just in case, here’s a rundown of expected releases for this year. For movies, prequels and sequels rule the screen: “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Avengers,” “Underworld: Awakening,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “John Carter,” “Prometheus,” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.” Not to mention the “Judge Dredd” and “Total Recall” reboots (reportedly starring Karl Urban and Colin Farrell, respectively) that are going in production this year.
For video games, “Diablo III” tops everyone’s must-play list this year, no doubt about it. This is closely followed by—surprise!—more sequels: “Halo 4,” “Grand Theft Auto 5,” “Soul
Calibur V,” “Mass Effect 3,” “Max Payne 3,” “Final Fantasy XIII-2,” the “Kung Fu Panda”-like “World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria,” and a repackaged version of the yet-unreleased “Metal Gear Solid: Rising” (now called “Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance”). Stay tuned for updates; there’s bound to be a lot more coming over the next few months. Don’t you just love 2012 already? Angela V. Ignacio