Top 10 most anticipated iOS games of 2012

People love New Year's Eve for a variety of reasons. It's a great excuse to drink copious amounts of alcohol, stuff your face with food, and dance your socks off, for example.

Here at Pocket Gamer Towers, we love New Year's Eve because it signals the beginning of another 365 days. Or more specifically, another 12 months of quality iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch game releases.

Two iOS titles in 2011 - Anomaly Warzone Earth and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing - managed to earn a prestigious Pocket Gamer Platinum Award when they passed by the trained eye of our hardened reviewers. Let's hope the iOS Class of 2012 can match that tally or even exceed it.

These are the ten yet-to-be-released games we're most looking forward to filling our Apple devices with this year.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
By Warner Bros

Publisher Traveller's Tales promised that the iPhone and iPad version of Harry's final three years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would hit the App Store in the "holiday season" of 2011, but it's still nowhere to be found.

While we don't know for sure what new gameplay mechanics will feature in this highly anticipated sequel, it's safe to assume that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the gang will be playing out the events of J.K. Rowling's last three books.

If Warner Bros magically nails the game's controls first time around (we grumbled about them in Years: 1-4, you see), we could be looking at another great and witty Lego-based iOS platformer.

Pocket God: The Runs
By Bolt Creative

Pocket God is one of the App Store's most updated games. In fact, it has more than 42 upgrades under its belt. A pretty impressive feat.

It's one of these many, many updates that has inspired Pocket God: The Runs - a side-scrolling endless-runner that contains dozens of levels spread across a variety of themed worlds.

Bolt Creative hasn't been entirely forthcoming with game details, but the developer promises that the new title will "fit nicely within the Pocket God universe".

League of Evil 2
by Ravenous Games

League of Evil 2 may be ditching its predecessor's cutesy pixel-art graphics in favour of colourful hand-drawn animations, but Ravenous Games has said that the franchise's "tight controls, short bite sized levels, and fast action gameplay" will all be back for another round.

At launch, the hazard-filled platformer will pit you against a range of old and new foes across 100 levels and five unique environments.

The rock-hard League of Evil is a favourite among some of the staff here at Pocket Gamer, so colour us very excited about the upcoming sequel.

Topia
By Glenn Corpes

Former Bullfrog head of technology Glenn Corpes - who has worked on the likes of Populous - is bringing a unique world-shaping and animal-herding title to the App Store this autumn in the form of Topia.

If you follow the link above and check out the short video, you can see how easy it is to transform the world's landscape with rivers, seas, mountain ranges, and hills.

And all it takes is some simple swipes and taps. Marvellous.

Naked Gun: International Crime Unit Police
By Gamecentric Media

Naked Gun: International Crime Unit Police is predicted to hit Apple devices in February as a six-part Sam and Max-style episodic adventure, which parodies the likes of CSI and NCIS.

It'll also poke fun at Angry Birds and L.A Noire. For some reason.

The title's plot has been put together by Naked Gun veteran writer and producer Bob LoCash. Gameplay is said to include old skool game mechanics and a host of social features, such as integration with a Facebook tie-in.

Battle Buddies
By Supercell

Freemium titles usually mean long slogs, grinding, spamming your buddies, and a focus on in-app purchases, but Finnish developer Supercell is hoping to buck this trend with its forthcoming Battle Buddies.

This social game charges you with taking control of six customisable cartoon soldiers and battling it out across a variety of top-down destructible maps by drawing lines on your device's screen.

Battle Buddies will allow you to compete against your Game Center friends, as well as your Android-toting acquaintances.

Star Command
By War Balloon Games

Star Command - initially due last summer - is an intriguing pixel-art mix of Game Dev Story and sci-fi classic Star Trek.

Like the aforementioned Star Trek, your outer space adventure sees you explore the universe, discover new planets, uncover new races, and overcome the numerous dangers that you encounter.

You're also in charge of outfitting your vessel with the requisite bays and weapons, and hiring staff - each with unique skills - to man your craft.

Reckless Racing 2
By Polarbit

Polarbit's sequel to Pocket Gamer Silver Award-winning Reckless Racing was expected to swerve onto the App Store last month, but it's yet to leave the developer's showroom.

This follow-up will pack in more tracks than its predecessor, a structured single-player campaign, and a wealth of yet-to-be-revealed game modes.

Each of the game's tracks will also be bigger and grander than the original's circuits, meaning you'll be slipping and sliding around various venues for considerably longer.

Hunters 2
By Rodeo Games

Like Reckless Racing 2, the sequel to Bronze Award-nabbing Hunters: Episode One is set to introduce an all-new single-player campaign to the turn-based franchise.

Expected in spring 2012, Hunters 2 will reportedly feature a revamped graphics engine, even more guns and gear, and a new protagonist: Caius Black.

In Rodeo Games's upcoming sci-fi strategy epic, you'll battle numerous enemy races across new environments, as you attempt to complete several scripted missions.

Lost Mars
By Tiger Style

Ever wondered what you might get if you manage to successfully combine one part Metroid, one part 1970s-era sci-fi films, and one part gardening? No, we haven't either, but the answer is Tiger Style's Lost Mars.

A gameplay video released back in September shows you travelling through dangerous underground caverns using a jetpack, collecting different seeds, and subsequently planting them to spread alien life throughout the caves.

We're not entirely sure why you're doing this, but the reasons should be revealed closer to the game's release date. We hope.