As you probably noticed last week that 2012 was a momentous year in gaming, it is time we take a step back to let it all sink in. (momentary pause) Well now that that’s over, it’s 2013 and everything is ready and rearing to kick off.

The early part of 2013 is packed with huge games like Bioshock Infinite, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Lost Planet 3 and of course the juggernaut of Grand Theft Auto V. But there is a lot we don’t know about 2013 still, especially with an uncommonly light release schedule for the last few months of the year. So, here are The Flickcast Five top gaming predictions for the year, 2013.

1. Cliffy B Will Open a New Development Studio

In late 2012, Cliff Bleszinski announced that he was leaving Epic Games. During the revival of Epic Games, Cliffy B would become a figurehead for the company, making one of the most memorable E3 entrances when he cut through a wall to make his way onto stage using a Lancer. Having been with the company for so long though, Ciiff decided it was time to part ways to explore future endeavors. While we don’t think there was any bad blood between Cliff and his old team, he would have most likely been pigeonholed into working on titles that Epic wanted him to as opposed to being given the freedom to start his own new ones. While he might remain quiet for the early part of the year, before 2013 ends we think Cliff will be gathering a new team to launch his own studio. Think of it as the same scenario as the guys from Infinity Ward creating Respawn… minus all the lawsuits. With a creative genius like Ciffy at the helm, don’t expect just a Gears of War clone. But it is probably safe to expect things to be a little bloody.

The Bitcast returns this week with their record setting 8th Episode featuring the Flickcast’s own version of Mario & Luigi, though JC and WallE will both always lay claim to being the star of the episode.

In the News of the Week, JC and WallE discuss the upcoming Spike Video Game Awards show and speculate on the upcoming announcement from Epic Games, the makers of Gears of War and the Infinity Blade franchises. They also discuss the 10th Anniversary of Grand Theft Auto III coming to iOS before getting into detail with South Park: The Game coming from Obsidian. They even talk Beta numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic and announce the current and upcoming DLC for Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, sadly with the absence of Sean Bean.

In the Long Grind in Skyrim this week, JC gets in detail on both the dragons and music of the Elder Scrolls V.

For the Topic of the Week, WallE shows that he can handle both movies and gaming as he discusses the scores composed for some of the most influential titles in gaming history.

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There’s been a lot of sequels to the Kingdom Hearts franchise ever  since the first game hit the Playstation 2 in 2002, and while Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep won’t be the last, it certainly looks to be the best Kingdom Hearts game we’ve seen in awhile. I fought the crowds and cosplayers at San Diego Comic-Con and made my way to the Square Enix booth, where I was able to play a few short (but very sweet) minutes of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.

Firstly, I couldn’t help but notice how vibrant the graphics were in Birth By Sleep. Maybe I’ve been playing too much of Kingdom Hearts: 356/2 Days on my Nintendo DS and I’m just used to lower resolution, but the PSP is definitely one powerful portable and Birth By Sleep looks great. I demoed the Lilo and Stitch level, Deep Space, and the backgrounds and characters were super detailed and vibrant.

In Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, you play through three different scenarios as characters Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. While playing, I found that the standard hack and slash gameplay was pretty standard and I was finding everything unfamiliar. But a huge problem I had with the gameplay was using the analog stick instead of the D-pad.

While this sounds like a simple change, it won’t be easy for someone like me who’s played a ton of similar RPGs like Final Fantasy on the PSP and is used to using the D-pad. I was constantly accidentally using the D-pad to run around and as a result selecting things I didn’t mean to, which was wasting some of the short time I had to play. This isn’t something that is going to deter me from playing the game straight through, it’s just something annoying that needs some getting used to.