To some college students, video games and free time make a match from heaven for those who need time away from their vigorous studies. As the fall season of 2012 rapidly approaches, more and more new games are being revealed that are sure to make this one of the greatest gaming years we’ve ever seen.

As the list is constantly growing, this year’s releases are once again giving us evidence as to why gaming is such a popular hobby. Some of the biggest-hitting titles have already been revealed that will surely eat up some of our time near the end of the year and beyond. There’s surely something for everyone on this list of hot upcoming titles.

For shooter fans, “Call of Duty” has probably been a staple in your gaming life ever since “Modern Warfare” struck incomparable gold with its revolutionary multiplayer formula back in 2007. In the series’ fifth game since then, developer interviews have advertised the formula millions know and love (but are starting to grow tired of) is being completely rebuilt. “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” has promise to bring new ideas to the series, and should definitely be on competitive gamers’ radars (so to speak) this year.

“Halo 4” is also something that many gamers are keeping their eyes on. With a revamped multiplayer taking the legendary series in another direction, the new developer behind the franchise is aiming to make this the biggest Halo of them all, and the multiplayer demos people have been playing make it seem to be just that. Xbox users will get this exclusive this year.

“Medal of Honor: Warfighter” is also shaping up to be another great online experience just like its predecessor (“Medal of Honor”) and its cousin (“Battlefield”). With the DICE team behind multiplayer development once again, we can be assured of sound game design and gaming experiences being presented to us when the game is released. Shooter fans should also keep an eye out for the plethora of “Battlefield 3” downloadable content coming out in the next few months, as the DICE team adds numerous maps to the already impressive list of warzones.

For open-world gamers, this holiday season just gets better and better as the genre gets to see more and more exciting reveals. First of all, “Grand Theft Auto V” has been announced and looks absolutely stunning. With a return to our beloved San Andreas, we will no longer be bound to just city life like we were in “GTA IV.” Instead, the massive countryside as well as the city will be our playground of destruction. The game has a very low chance of releasing this year, but it’s on this list because it might still happen.

“Dishonored,” Ubisoft’s surprise reveal at E3 2012, is an open-world game where hacking electronics is how you traverse, manipulate and destroy the city you (a detective) are trying to protect. The game is indeed getting released this year, so if October is too long a wait for you, checking out the gameplay demo should soothe your open-world cravings.

Still not your exploratory fancy? “Guild Wars 2,” a game that is taking the MMORPG world by storm, will be released right as school starts, which should more than hold over anyone waiting for other releases. Those that can’t wait for the game and want to experience “the greatest MMO ever created” for years to come will be playing it extensively as soon as the end of August hits and the game goes live. If games like “World of Warcraft” and “Star Wars: The Old Republic” are growing boring to you, “Guild Wars” is the way of the MMORPG future.

More epic open-world games? Keep ‘em, comin’, Ubisoft. A title many gamers are stoked for is the third installment to its “Far Cry” survival-exploration series. In “Far Cry 3,” players get to go back to the roots of what made the original so fun, while everything that made the second one mediocre is gone. With Vaas, a new villain whose name is terrifying just to hear, the series looks like its got its greatest entry right around the corner.

There are many more titles coming out in the fall; these only scratch the surface. As the weather cools, gamers everywhere will experience a season full of titles that we’ve waited years for.