Joystiq's Fall Release Cheat Sheet: October 2012

There are far, far too many games in October this year. It's a good thing the month is almost finished. Even though it seemed we had a steady year of games, there are still enough new things coming in the holiday season to overwhelm even the most avid game fan.

We've highlighted a selection of October games to help you keep track – from the massive AAA products like Dishonored to niche experiences like the Vita action-RPG, Ragnarok Odyssey. Here's what you should be playing this month, or go back to play when you find the time.

October 10, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3
"Dishonored is something special. It's a self-contained first brick in what is sure to become a larger universe; a stealth action game that lets you play as a creeping assassin, or abandon that notion and go through it as a first-person shooter with mystical powers. Don't want to kill anybody? That's a perfectly executable idea. There are so many options that revisiting the full story more than once for various outcomes is part of the experience." – Joystiq's Dishonored Review

October 10, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3
"The fact remains that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is an exemplary turn-based strategy game. Firaxis has deftly blended management, tactics and the sort of gut-level, throaty encounters usually reserved for fast-paced action games." – Joystiq's XCOM Enemy Unknown Review

October 16, 2012 – X360
"Despite the expanded multiplayer options and a beefed-up story, the game's greatest value for returning fans is that it's essentially a supersized track pack. Those tracks span the last five decades of pop music, from disco to whatever LMFAO was, with a greater focus on the past than the first two Dance Central games. " – Joystiq's Dance Central 3 Review

October 16, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3
Any space marine can go through hell and back, but it takes a special breed to willingly sign up for such a mission again. Doom 3: BFG Edition is an HD remake of Doom 3 for consoles, including an improved checkpoint system, lighting and visual overhauls, plus an extra single-player campaign called the "Lost Mission" that was previously only available in the Resurrection of Evil expansion pack. On top of that, Doom 3: BFG Edition tosses in 3D support and the first two games to start it all, the original Doom and its sequel Doom 2.

October 16, 2012 – PC (Download) / Also Available on X360 (Download)
"Though Mark of the Ninja's informative design makes it easy to obtain that perfect stealth run, there's still a healthy amount of fear throughout. You'll still hold your breath as you peer through vents, fiddle with locks, shatter lights, freeze in the face of motion detectors and dangle from the ceiling like some kind of amazing, fantastical man who exhibits spider-like traits. You'll feel confident and in lockstep with your avatar because you understand how the game reacts when you poke your nose in, not because you're being handed victory on a platter." – Joystiq's Mark of the Ninja Review

October 16, 2012 – Vita
Not in your most restless of dreams could you have imagined Silent Hill as a top-down, multiplayer action RPG. But that's what Konami and developer WayForward have made, after much deliberation.

October 21, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3, Wii, 3DS / November 18, 2012 – Wii U
Skylanders has enjoyed big sales for the last year. Now, with the release of its sequel, the toys will get bigger as well. With even more potentially down the line for the series, it's clear that Activision is taking the adorable franchise very seriously. It's a good thing the games are fun.

October 23, 2012 – X360
"When it comes down to it, some automotive enthusiasts just want to jump into the car of their dreams and go for a long drive through the country, and Forza Horizon delivers that simple pleasure on a silver platter. The fact that a solid racing game is included doesn't hurt either." – Joystiq's Forza Horizon Review

October 23, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3 / Also Coming to Wii U
Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the sequel to 2010's reboot from Danger Close Games, brings back Preacher and some of his fellow Tier 1 Operators as they hunt down terrorists across Pakistan, the Philipines and Somalia. This time around Danger Close has taken cues from real-life headlines, including the story of the "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.

October 24, 2012 – 3DS, Vita
The puzzle-oriented deathtraps and mysterious numbered watches from 999 return, putting a new crew of strangers together in a deadly game. Nine people awaken in an abandoned warehouse, and are forced to play the Nonary Game: Ambidex Version, which makes them earn points by solving puzzles and working together – or against one another. Like the predecessor, the numbered watches hold the power over life and death: anyone who loses all their points is instantly killed.

October 28, 2012 – 3DS
Professor Layton appears in 3D for the first time, in a newly polygonal, newly stereoscopic puzzle solving adventure. The top hat has depth now. Layton, Luke and Emmy visit the town of Monte D'Or, home of a spectacular carnival, to investigate the appearances of a mysterious masked figure. Expect the mystery and its solution to be conveyed in the form of logic puzzles.

October 30, 2012 – X360, PS3 / November 18, 2012 – PC, Wii U
Assassin's Creed 3 cloaks the American Revolution in a conspiratorial tale, with the 18th Century obscuring another anachronistic artifact sought in the secret war between the Templars and those who go SNIKT in the night. SNIKTING this time falls to Connor, a new protagonist with a personal and political stake in America's freedom. Assassin's Creed 3 takes to the seas and trees with a new traversal system, more fluid combat, more intricate environments and a massive load of muskets.

October 30, 2012 – Vita
Assassin Aveline de Grandpré plies her murderous trade in 18th century New Orleans. Ready to get meta? This game is supposedly a "product" designed in the Assassin's Creed universe by Abstergo Industries. Meta levels have reached maximum.

October 30, 2012 – PC, X360, PS3
The folks over at Criterion Games have been working to reboot Need for Speed: Most Wanted as a fresh title for a modern audience, and in doing have created an open-world game wherein virtually all cars are available from the start. You can also drive through billboards of your friends' faces, which sounds pretty excellent.

October 30, 2012 (Recently Pushed) – Vita
Lunar developer Game Arts adapts the world of Ragnarok Online into a multiplayer, monster-hunting action RPG for the Vita's gorgeous screen. What's not to get excited about?