back to article 2011 Games Preview

Despite continuing 2009's sales dip, 2010 was still a great year for videogames. While the trend showed gaming wasn't impervious to global recession, the sales figures also proved it is firmly established as the world's leading entertainment medium. So how to improve upon a year that saw Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mass Effect 2 and …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Storm of War: Battle of Britain

    You RPG and FPS'ers have it far too easy! We WWII flightsim addicts are lucky to get a couple of releases a decade.

    Come on Oleg, we've been waiting since 2006. SoW:BoB is the Duke Nukem of flightsims.

    1. Flybert
      Thumb Up

      why AC ?

      Seems Storm of War engine and BoB are pretty close now ..

      Still having great fun With IL-2 1946 4.10 and UltraPack 2.01 though ..

      Gonna take a long time for BoB or anything from the SoW engine to match the depth IL-2 has ..

      Helping work on WWI planes for IL-2 myself .. ( hidden forum over on SAS ) , hoping that will lead to working with SoW engine for a WWI sim by 2015 .. hahahahha

      WWFlybert .. WingWalkers .. once .. always .. since 1992 ..

    2. Rattus Rattus

      re WWII flightsim addicts

      Agreed about the FPS players, although RPG players don't really have it all that great. Most RPGs these days are distinctly light on the RPG aspects and heavy on the action in an attempt to draw in the slack-jawed shooter crowd.

      And how about us SCI-FI flight sim addicts? We generally get bugger-all. There's been very very little released in that genre over the past decade other than the very mediocre X series.

      Well, at least I have some RPG-ish goodness to look forward to in the form of Elder Scrolls V, though I'd happily trade it all in for a new Independence War game.

      I blame the great unwashed masses (console gamers, that is).

  2. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

    May I be (one of) the first to say

    You forgot Half Life 2 episode 3?

    http://www.halflife2.net/half-life-2-episode-3

    Assuming of course, that this doesn't turn out to be the new Duke Nukem Forever and take a decade to appear...

    1. StooMonster
      Grenade

      Yeah but...

      ...hasn't been announced for 2011 has it?

  3. Si 1

    No offence, but...

    ... isn't it about time to stop trotting out the "this will be the year of the PS3" line? I think we've heard it every year it's been out so far.

    Anyway, my preorder list this year is full of sequels and remakes, but hopefully they'll be good sequels and remakes so I'm not too worried about the lack of originality (last I checked none of these have slipped to 2012):

    Mass Effect 3

    Deus Ex Human Revolution

    Arkham Asylum 2

    Gears of War 3

    ICO/Shadow of the Colossus remake

    The Last Guardian

    LA Noire

    Forza 4

    Duke Nukem Forever (finally!!!)

    Portal 2

    Rage

    Ace Combat Assault Horizon

    The 3DS is also on my list, but Nintendo have displeased me by announcing they're going to region lock it. So I will have to decide if I'm going to import one from the US...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Errm..

      Because the PS3 has the best games. These are not single site bias, this is meta scores across lots of sites to get rid of fanboyism.

      Anyone that calls themselves a gamer in 2011 and does not own a PS3 is lame.

      2009: Best system: PS3: http://features.metacritic.com/features/2009/the-best-games-of-2009/

      2010: Best System: PS3 http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-games-at-midyear-2010/

      2011: PS3 lineup best in gaming history of all consoles... http://www.play.tm/news/32703/analyst-ps3-s-2011-exclusive-line-up-one-of-the-best-in-gaming-history/

      2011: 20 games you will only play on PS3: http://www.videogamer.com/news/20_games_youll_only_play_on_ps3_in_2011.html

      1. Chris Harrison
        WTF?

        On the other hand...

        "Anyone that calls themselves a gamer in 2011 and does not own a PS3 is lame."

        Though not as lame as someone who would post such a comment .

        Whenever I read posts such as yours I'm left wondering - Are you really so insecure about owning a PS3 that you have to troll the web looking for positive comments on your purchase and then reposting them?

        Who are you trying to convince?

      2. Ed Courtenay
        FAIL

        Obvious Troll Is Obvious

        "Anyone that calls themselves a gamer in 2011 and does not own a PS3 is lame."

        Thanks for letting me know that Anonymous Coward - I'll just rush out immediately and spend money I don't have on a PS3; after all, I can't play the consoles I already own because that'll cast doubt on my manhood - or something...

        Twunt.

      3. Barticus
        FAIL

        I guess that makes me lame then...

        BTW...can the PS3 run user-made mods for games like The Elder Scrolls and The Witcher? No? Awww, that's even lamer than not owning a PS3!

        Skyrim and Assassins of Kings pre-order FTW! (pre-ordering is fine when I know the game will be worth the wait and financial loss...Egosoft, Bethesda, Firaxis, CDProjekt please form an orderly queue...EA, sorry, your name's not on the list you're not coming in)

        1. Ben Holmes
          Thumb Up

          +1

          +1 for Egosoft. Literally hanging on Tenterhooks to find out what TNBT is

          (Aramaye)

          1. Anonymous Coward
            FAIL

            Here is another for the braindead Xbox fanboys.

            IGN's top 10 Xbox games of 2011 has 8 multiplatform titles in it (compared to only 4 in the PS3 list). Go figure....

            Xbox Top 10 for 2011 (* Denotes console exclusive not on PS3)

            http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/114/1140284p1.html

            *GEARS OF WAR 3

            DEAD SPACE 2

            L.A. NOIRE

            *CHILD OF EDEN

            DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION

            RAGE

            ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM

            PORTAL 2

            BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

            MASS EFFECT 3

            PS3 Top 10 for 2011 (* Denotes console exclusive not on Xbox

            http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/114/1140658p1.html

            BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

            RAGE

            *THE LAST GUARDIAN

            *KILLZONE 3

            DEAD SPACE 2

            *INFAMOUS 2

            *RESISTANCE 3

            *LITTLE BIG PLANET 2

            MASS EFFECT 3

            *UNCHARTED 3

            I can understand why the Xbox owners are so upset now, Microsoft have found the key to making money, charging subscription fees for Xbox Live and delivering a server-less P2P network that costs nothing to run, at the same time making Kinect for £30 and selling it for £130 and then filling the shelves with Kinnect Kiddie titles that are nothing but Nintendo-style shovelware.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Flame

              Seriously though

              Literally nobody cares. Nobody is crying themselves to sleep because some other console has some games. It just doesn't matter. If they cared at all they'd buy a PS3. If they don't want to, they won't. Nobody is so desperate to justify their purchase that they list all of the games available on only their single console and lords it over people who purchased one of the others. Nobody except schoolchildren whose parents refuse to buy them more than one console, that is.

      4. tsdadam

        Facts Shmacts

        Why anyone who calls themselves a gamer would have any reason to trawl through sites finding 'reasons' why the PS3 is best is beyond me. Get them all, enjoy all the best games. It doesn't matter what's released on which system that way.

        There's no point taking sides in an industry in which any one of them would bend you over and dry-hump you for more sales.

        I bought far more games on 360 than PS3 last year, but that's just because there was more I preferred on it. This year it's looking like Child Of Eden, La Noire, Arkham Asylum and possibly Brink that I'm most excited about so far.

      5. BongoJoe
        FAIL

        Er, no

        "Anyone that calls themselves a gamer in 2011 and does not own a PS3 is lame."

        I have the full function of all my legs, thank you, and not only that I think it's going to be hard to play EVE on a PS3.

  4. adnim

    pre-order

    Isn't that where one gives money to a multi-national corporation in advance of receiving a product so that they can earn interest on monies that could be earning interest for oneself, whilst getting a new weapon or new skin for the main character in return? In effect one pays up front for a game that may just be a poor console port with a shabby control system and awful optimisation for PC systems.

    Methinks I'll stick to earning interest for myself thank you and wait for a trusted review of such titles.

    imho pre-order is just another scam.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      No it isn't

      With most if not all online retailers if you pre-order your money is taken when the product is shipped not when you place the pre-order....

      1. adnim

        If that is the case...

        I have never pre-ordered a game, nor will I ever do so. However, if it is the case that monies are only taken when the game is shipped I withdraw my statement about losing interest on that money and I consider myself a little more informed than I was several hours ago.

        I do stand by the fact that one is paying for something up front that could turn out to be a lemon.

        1. Citizen Kaned

          you can also

          save a fair bit of cash on pre orders sometimes. if its something you know you want you can often save money by pre ordering. you also get additional content sometimes (like i did with fallout:new vegas).

        2. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

          Deposits paid @ high street shops

          Some shops here (down under) will take 10 bucks to the full price of the game when you preorder.

          Now for guaranteed releases I guess 10 bucks is a bearable amount to plonk down, but for something like diablo III where the release date is still not certain, I think taking pre-orders is a bit much.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @ adnim

      Also, pre order sales are the very reason that the focus of the large software houses EA, Ubisoft and the rest has shifted from making a good stable game that works to creating pre-release hype of biblical proportions.

      Then, later on chucking out a post release patch that might fix some of the bugs.

    3. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD

      Yep... totally agree

      EB's here are taking out preorders on diablo III can you imagine?

      I mean, for crying out loud, sure it's gonna be popular, but given that assumption, you're not going to be without it for long even though you don't make it to the shop on time on Day 0 and it's sold out...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Badgers

    Episode 3

    ..any news therein?

    Episode 3 is taking a leaf out of Duke Nukem's how-and-when-to-deliver-a-product book, it would appear.

    1. The Original Ash
      FAIL

      HL2:E3 is a lost sale for me

      I've lost interest. I'll check Wikipedia for the plot, but I won't buy it. It's been too damn long.

      Next HL game I'm getting will be Black Mesa (Strictly a mod, but I'd pay for a full Source port of the original HL).

      1. Greg J Preece

        Heard this before

        "I've lost interest. I'll check Wikipedia for the plot, but I won't buy it. It's been too damn long."

        Didn't everyone say that about Half Life 2? It took 6 years, everyone was wondering WTF, and then it was one of the best games ever made. And again with EP2. "Where is it? It'll be shi-...oh, it's awesome."

        Valve do this, but the end result is always worth it. Patience, young padawan.

        1. The Original Ash

          A TITLE IS HERE

          The wait between HL and HL2 was for a complete new engine, which then required new artwork, level design, testing, all of the other gubbins I have no idea about when it comes to creating a game engine. THEN it was the building of the game itself on top of that.

          We already have Source, it's over half a decade old, HL2: E1 and E2 came out within 18 months of each other (June 2006 and Oct 2007). HL2: E3 has been over 3 years in the making.

          Seriously. I've lost interest. I'll get the synopsis.

  6. Avatar of They
    Thumb Up

    No mention of?

    What no Halflife 2 - Episode 3? (Come on Valve, just finish the story already)

    Duke Nukem better be worth the wait.

  7. Greg J Preece

    You missed a couple

    My first two pre-orders of this year are for Return of Alice, given how brilliant the original was, and Child of Eden, again given how brilliant the original was. Child of Eden might even get me buying a Move.

  8. James Hughes 1

    3DS? £250?

    And they expect to sell how many?

    That's an awful lot of cash for handheld. which is basically a DSi with 3D. And bad battery life. Double the price in fact.

    1. Greg J Preece

      I was thinking that!

      I thought Nintendo made the cheap consoles? I can get a PSP for £30 and I'll wager it'll still be more powerful than the 3DS. Better games, too.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        re price

        The only price that has been announced so far is for Japan so it's just a guess at the moment what it will cost here, Im not sure they will risk going over £200 for a handheld console.

        Games are a matter of personal opinion but I find there are more interesting DS games, I had a PSP briefly but couldn't find much I wanted to play on it.

  9. Smallbrainfield

    That quote was nicked

    from They Live.

    1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Indeed it was

      Lets hope the new DN game also has an unfeasibly long punch-up in an alleyway due to an argument over putting on a pair of sunglasses.

  10. bcollie
    FAIL

    Missed the most important RPG release

    The next installment of Elder Scrolls, Skyrim is surely the most important release this year for RPG fans.

    Fail for the obvious reason

    1. Barticus

      2/3 the way down page 2

      Nuff sed.

  11. MJI Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Expensive year

    Some of the top series, I am looking forwards to finally using the Move controller for more than stacking blocks. There are rumours Portal 2 MAY support Move. But it will get used on Helghan anyway.

    But the best for me is in November when Uncharted 3 comes out, gives me time to Platinum Drakes Fortune and Among Thieves and to try to get to level XXX (currently X).

    First purchase is LBP2 for the children.

    Got to say must be the best year so far to own a PS3.

  12. Ian Stephenson

    Guild Wars 2

    No further comment needed.

  13. Citizen Kaned

    pah

    im personally looking forward to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (the last 2 have been excellent and the mrs really gets into them too!), killzone 3 (fancy playing that with a ps move machine gun :) - fps on consoles suck compared to PC kb/mouse but the accuracy of the move is amazing so i think it could work well), fifa12 (as long as they dont fuck it up like the last version which was shite)

    @"... isn't it about time to stop trotting out the "this will be the year of the PS3" line? I think we've heard it every year it's been out so far."

    - i dunno. for me the ps3 is the easy choice, im not into fps on console so i want games like tombraider, fallout and drakes fortune. not even sure xbox really has any advanture game exclusives and the last 2 drakes have been some of my favourite games of all time.

    im not getting into a flame war as im too old for that. if i wanted to play poor immitation fps on a console pad against racist 13 year olds i would get an xbox too :)

    btw - sold wii ages ago. psmove kicks its arse bigtime and i dont feel like ive gone into a time warp back into the world of terrible graphics.

  14. Connor

    Oh don't tell me....

    That Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed another year? It wasn't mentioned and after the disappointment of Alien Vs Predator I was looking forward to it. It's been five years already.

    1. Citizen Kaned

      ditto

      was looking forward to playing this. im a massive fan of the alien films - especially aliens.

      hopefully it will have psmove support (else i will buy for pc) as i fancy building some kind of pulse rifle for ps move. there are some decent guns/rifles available but none let you access the buttons on the move wand easily. i think i will buy a want and take it to pieces)

  15. npupp 1

    ookamiden! child of eden! last guardian!

    the games to be released in the near future that i'll buy. unfortunately they're all sequels (albeit spiritual in 2 cases)

  16. mr-tom
    FAIL

    King Of Vapourware? Nah.

    Sorry, but that's got to be Elite 4... 16 years and *still* counting...

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Internet Connection, forget it

    I'm kind of sick of PC games that require an internet connection and username and password to play.

    Grand Theft Auto IV did my head in. I needed THREE, yes THREE f*$#ing separate online accounts just to play the f*$#ing game in single player mode.

    Since then I've complete lost interest in PC games.

    1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

      Agree

      I agree completely.

      Besides, PC is the best platform for gaming - nothing can beat mouse and keyboard for precision + superior graphics and more memory...

      So, that means I'm not interested in consoles and if I cannot buy PC games because of stupid DRMs - you lose, game developers!

      And you know what? - screw you! If you want my money - put pressure on your publishers to stop playing silly buggers.

      1. Citizen Kaned

        i take it...

        you only play FPS or geekfests like WOW?

        racing games, sports games are vastly superior on a pad (of course racing is even better on a wheel). not to mention the new psmove which blows the wii out of the water.

        its horses for courses. even though i have my PC rigged upto my 42" TV and home theatre i cant be bothered to play with mouse and keys. i generally play games like fifa, drakes fortune and tombraider (and fallout which would be better on pc but i play with the wife), which are much better sat on my couch with a ps3 pad.

        1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

          re: I take it...

          FPS and some flight sims. Hate WOW and MMORPGs.

          Even so, I used to buy PC games on impulse - just walk into an HMV, look at the pictures, buy a bunch of games, most of them I would never probably even install later on...

          Now - I can't buy anything without having to research first what kind of DRM is on it, and if there is an online activation and similar restrictions I will not touch it. So, the loss to the industry is ... great, as I used to buy a lot of games and am now buying bugger all.

        2. Rattus Rattus
          Thumb Down

          "...are vastly superior on a pad"

          Pfft. NOTHING is superior on a pad. Those crappy controllers are one of the primary reasons I will not buy a console at all. The other main reason, of course, being console gamers themselves.

          1. Citizen Kaned
            Flame

            really?

            i take it you use a mouse and keys to play football games etc?

            get off your high horse before you fall off

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              re: citazen caned

              like me he probably uses a game pad to play some pc games, you can get them quite cheaply. I even used to play flight sims using a force feedback joystick, proper force feedback too, not just a bit of a rumble. On occasion, i have also been known to plug the cheapy wired 360pad i have, specifically bought a wired second controller because i could do this, into my pc.

              You can use any control method you like on a pc, i could even use a pen on a graphics tablet! But keyboard and mouse is used primarily because, a) you have it by default and b) it's a bloody good setup for a large chunk of games.

            2. Rattus Rattus

              @Citizen Kaned:

              Mouse and keys for most games; joystick for flight sims and racing games; shitty, imprecise, RSI-inducing gamepad for NOTHING.

              And I think I'd sooner play Hello Kitty Online than stoop to football games or any "sports games."

    2. CADmonkey
      FAIL

      GTA IV (PC)...

      ...requires and has always required only ONE unique username to play 'offline'. No accounts, no passwords. Save at safehouses, same as GTA San Andreas. I've had this grossly under-rated game since release, and have played it this way since the install. Same went for the EFLC titles.

      I can't believe there are so many numpties out there that can't/won't read installation instructions. They sure can write an amazon review, though!

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Kinect Forza 4

    Even more irritating to use than Mario Kart Wii with the WiiWheel then.

    I'll stick to the Mad Cats wheel.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ccp?

    no mention of dust 514 which is meant to be out this year. the same year that incarna is meant to be added to eve:online

  20. RyokuMas
    FAIL

    Here's a novel idea...

    ... how about someone release a game that's FUN, rather than all this pretty-looking, got-to-have-two-weeks-free-to-play, murder-simulating twitchware that seems to be hogging everything up these days?

    Fail. Because this is what the vast majority of games I have tried playing in the last couple of years have done in attempting to entertain me.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      I'd say the Uncharted series are fun

      Great sense of humour and very well written

      1. Citizen Kaned

        +1

        great games. a level above tombraider. decent grown up story too. pity xboxers cant play it as they are truly great games.

  21. Big_Boomer Silver badge
    FAIL

    Duke Nukem ForNever

    Sorry but I just checked availablility for Duke Nukem Forever on Amazon.co.uk and it lists a release date of Sept. 2012. If that's accurate then they are wasting their time and would be better off to just drop it. By then most of us who remember chewing ass and kicking bubblegum will have retired and be playing who can drool the farthest instead.

  22. JimiQ
    WTF?

    That quote was nicked #

    Posted Tuesday 11th January 2011 15:14 GMT

    from They Live.

  23. Fading
    Happy

    Fun?

    I thought Portal was a lot of fun - I hope Portal 2 will be as well. Oh one little thing to the PC gamer bashers - you do realise you can use controllers/steering wheels/joysticks on a PC (normally via USB) as well as mouse and keyboard?

  24. max allan

    My god, this is like iPhone vs Android...

    This argument is almost as good as an iPhone vs Android argument, except here there are 3 sides, PC, PS, Xbox.

    1. fatchap
      Grenade

      Always 3 sides

      In the phone arguement also has 3 sided but us BlackBerry users are too busy efficiently working to stoop so low as to put forth an opinion!

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    So ...

    ...apart from crap sequels to overhyped crap games, are there any NEW games coming to market ?

    Guess not.

    Selling up the console and swapping the PC to Linux is becoming more attractive ...

    1. MJI Silver badge
      Grenade

      Overhyped!!!!

      So what if there are a lot of sequels, perhaps it is because they are good series.

      Portal is anything but overhyped, I just hope Move support is added as I prefer comfy settee to sitting at the PC.

      Uncharted - well it is possibly the best console game series of this generation, or it could be Mass Effect?

      Lots of really good games, so what if they are sequels?

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Games for 2011

    Whilst I wait for HL2: Episode 3, I can at least look forward to Portal 2.

    Other than that - the only probable other game will be Lego Star Wars 3 - Clone Wars on the Wii. http://www.lucasarts.com/games/legostarwarsiii/index.jsp

    My son (6 years old) loves the other Lego games.

  27. BongoJoe
    Alert

    You are in a...

    ...maze of twisty passages

  28. Goat Jam
    Headmaster

    Consoles? Pah!

    Anybody who suggests that any autoaim assisted FPS played with a fricking console controller can APPROACH even a mediocre shooter on PC can be discounted as a clueless teen who has no idea about gaming.

    Now get the hell off my lawn!

  29. David 15
    Pirate

    I can't believe that no-one has remembered

    ...Diablo III. OK, so it's not been officially given a release date yet, but all indications are that it will ship in Q4 2011.

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