Every once in a while I like to write about something that is not a press release, news post or video game review. Today I’d like to take a quick look at the year ahead of us and why it may be the best one yet.
We have had plenty of great years in gaming and this clearly is the subjective opinion of one person, so take it with a grain of salt, but 2011 has the potential to become a year we look back on and say, damn that 2011 was the $#%@.
While we wont be getting a lot of new IP’s delivered onto the systems we play and love, there are tons of sequels to be excited for. Dont believe me? I could name a few if you’d like.
To start of the year we will get Killzone 3, Bulletstorm and Crysis 2. Three shooters of great quality and distinct features. While the ISA is looking to escape planet Helghan and wrap up the trilogy, players can get excited for the Nano Suit 2.0 and an Alien invasion battle on a whole new scale. And, of course, there is Bulletstorm. One of the few new IP from People Can Fly and Epic. This game has some great potential, especially for those players who like killing for points… lots of them.
If you are not playing the insane amount of community levels Little Big Planet 2 brings to the table then you might want to think about the other upcoming releases and get your calender sorted out.
The spring period is just as loaded as every other season in 2011. Dragon Age II is closer than you may think. Are you ready to experience another massive story in a huge and deep universe? Whatever your answer may be, I can think of a few other games that you are looking forward to such as Homefront, the next big game from Chaos. This alternate time line future warfare game with giant multiplayer levels is one to keep an eye on.
The month of May alone is loaded with gaming goodness. Rockstar has another giant game this year in LA Noire. This open world detective based shooter/adventure game boasts some of the best facial animations we have ever seen in a video game. If 1940’s police work is too subtle for you, then get ready for the Duke! Duke Nukem Forever is a thing and actually coming out. Gearbox will be finishing the game along with staff from the former developer in order to make this something of quality. A new IP from Splash Damage, Brink, will be coming out this month as well and is a very promising mix between Mirror’s Edge and Team Fortress 2.
For the racing fans out there, DIRT 3 is the title to watch. Codemasters is putting the rally back into this classic series. After playing it recently I can promise, you wont be disappointed.
Lets jump into the fall and winter seasons. Most of these games wont need much introduction. Resistance 3, Insomniac’s gritty and epic conclusion to a battle we have been fighting since 2006. Get ready for an even bigger, badder and more bad ass game to start off the holiday season. One of my most anticipated games for 2011 is id Software’s RAGE, the post apocalyptic shooter which blew us all away when it was shown off at E3 last year.
Be warned, this is where it gets serious. Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3 and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are three games you will not want to miss and probably all of these games will make it onto every GOTY 2011 list at the end of this year. Commander Shepard, Nathan Drake and of course, your created character in Skyrim are three of the protagonists you’ll have the most fun with this year.
I have already gone over plenty of games that will take gamers hours and hours to finish and fully experience but didn’t even mention Portal 2, the Nintendo 3DS, Sony NGP (PSP2), InFamous 2, SOCOM 4, Battlefield 3, Forza 4, Batman Arkham City or Gears of War 3.
Please remember, this is a subjective list and nowhere close to complete or all encompassing, simply a jump start to point out how great 2011 will be for gamers everywhere.
What are some of the games you are looking forward to? What did I not mention and should have. Curious to hear your thoughts.
