Thanks to our good old friend Jack Frost, our winter wonderland has been warped into a flood of treacherous streets, mind-numbing winds and blinding blizzards. But from a gamer’s point of view, white gold is cascading down — with each snowy flake and whispering wind, there’s more reason to stay inside and spend some time with some of the amazing titles ready to hit the shelves in 2011.
And all this begins in January with PlayStation3 owners getting the first taste of an unprecedented year in gaming. This week alone sees both the sequel to the limitlessly creative Little Big Planet — rave reviews are already flooding in — as well as the arrival of the action-packed, sci-fi opera Mass Effect 2. Two other previously exclusive titles will see their sequels come to both the PS3 and 360: the futuristic horror-survival game Dead Space 2 and the immense medieval role-playing game (RPG) Two Worlds. For Wii owners, January will see a keen focus on family fun with the releases of Tangled and Yogi Bear.
With January unleashing a hoard of great titles, it’s no wonder there are only a handful of big titles planned for release in February. Wii owners will have a break from family fun, seeing the return of an award-winning shooter with the release of Conduit 2. But the big news is for PS3 owners. Killzone 3, the intense, squad-based shooter series, is one of the three big-name exclusives of 2011, complete with Move-enabled gameplay that already has PS3 players salivating.
Edmonton-based developer Bioware, with its world-renowned reputation for unparalleled quality in RPGs, follows up January’s Mass Effect 2 in March by unveiling Dragon Age 2. This sequel stands ready to add dynamic twists to both plot and combat without losing the focus on rich storytelling and engrossing gameplay found in the first. For those with a sweet tooth for horror shooters, F.E.A.R. 3 will come screaming into stores as well, complete with co-op play. Sports fans will also revel in March with Fight Night: Champion, Tiger Woods 12: The Masters, and MLB 11.
April looks like slim pickings, but there is a dynamic duo of diamonds in the rough ready for release. One of the biggest games of 2007 was The Orange Box, a bundle that included a mind-blowing gem of a game called Portal. This April, almost four years later, a full-length, modernized, stand-alone sequel will be warping its way through gamers’ imaginations. Another phenomenon is reappearing the same month in Driver: San Francisco, which takes the immersive fun of the original, skips the barrage of issues with the PlayStation 2 version and leaps to all three major consoles. With more than 200 miles of open road to explore and the addition of licensed cars for the first time in the series, Driver is one of the most anticipated driving titles of the year.
May is by no means spectacular, but the names contained within are dearest to my heart. Lord of the Rings: War in the North is poised to breathe new life into one my favourite epics. This, combined with Captain America: Super Soldier and with the Thor: God of Thunder movie tie-in game, May is going to be a re-emergence, across five platforms, of some of my favourite childhood characters. For gamers who do not share my enthusiasm for the either the Tolkien or Marvel universes, Red Faction: Armageddon will keep you sated with plenty of shoot ‘em up action.
And now on to the summer lull. Usually, June, July and August are as dry as a winter wind in Alberta. We, however, will not leave you hanging. Look to LA Noire to provide a unique gaming experience as it is part of the film noire-style of mystery games that have begun to emerge. Driving fans will be happy to hear about Shift 2 Unleashed: Need for Speed and 360 owners are ecstatic to hear that the PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid series will have its debut on the Xbox with Metal Gear Solid: Rising, though sadly players will play as Raiden instead of donning the headband of Solid Snake.
The complete lack of anything significant coming out of August is the deep breath before the plunge into one of the biggest months of the year for releases — September. On the Xbox 360 we have Forza Motorsport 4 as well as Gears of War 3, which will add four-player co-operative play to its visceral, visually rich formula. On the PS3 side of things, Resistance returns with its third sequel and the intense blend of alternate history and alien invasion gamers love. Batman: Arkham City is the follow-up to 2009’s brawny, bone-crunching smash. A new name will also emerge this September: Rage. This massive post-apocalyptic action title from Oblivion developer Bethesda already boasts impressive screen shots and a dynamic range of gameplay elements, including driving dune buggies.
Bethesda, like Bioware, is another developer pushing two major titles this year. Following the release of Rage in September, Bethesda will be returning to its signature series in November with the sprawling, epic RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One reason for the push could be Bethesda looking to compete with Bioware’s release of its own jewel Mass Effect 3 this month. November’s Uncharted 3 rounds out the trio of highly anticipated PS3 exclusives planned for 2011 with Nate Drake continuing his blend of combat and platforming as he battles his way across desert landscapes towards a lost city.
With December comes one question: Will Wii owners see the next Zelda game before the end of 2011? Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a prequel to Ocarina of Time, will be full motion-control enabled, but with no definite release date yet announced, it is unclear whether it will arrive before the holiday season or whether it, like other December-rumoured releases like Prototype 2, Twisted Metal, Bioshock 3, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and the next Call of Duty game will simply float into 2012.
For now, with the barrage of brilliance lined up, the motion-controlled technology recently revealed and PC gems like Diablo 3 and Crisis 2 ready to roll, 2011 is primed and ready to leave gamers in drooling anticipation of yet another amazing year in the ever-expanding world of video games.
When he’s not teaching junior high, St. Albert Catholic High School alumnus Derek Mitchell spends his free time attached to a video game console.
