The Year So Far - 2011

I thought it was probably about time I did a proper blog on the games that have been or are being released over the course of the year. As I’m sure you all know autumn is almost upon us and as such the Holiday Season brings with in the majority of the AAA titles each year. At the turn of the New Year all the leading publications, websites and gaming conventions give out their awards for the highlights of the previous year, so what is likely to do well.

Before I discuss the year ahead I should probably give a shout out to the great 360 games that have already been released during 2011. There have been some titans out there with the puzzle game Portal 2 being one of the best of the current crop. This wacky game came from Value who are known for trying lots of new things. Portal 2 took the original concept and toyed with it even further to give gamers a brilliant feeling of achievement as they progressed through the difficult programs. If you don’t pull all your hair out then you are likely to have had a very good time.

Another great game is the fantastic L.A. Noire from Rockstar the makers of Grand Theft Auto. This detective thriller brought with it many new ideas from the fully facial recognition system used on NPC’s to the brilliant detective dramas of the interrogation rooms. Rockstar did well to create a fully organic city that gave the player an immense sense of depth.

Dead Space 2 was released at the beginning of the year and is still a brilliant addition to anybody’s collection. This survival horror has Issac Clarke face off against the Necromorph’s once again but gives the player a much more varied experience with space fighting and a wide selection of weapon upgrades. This has personally been my favourite game of 2011 so far.

Obviously all the games have great elements within them but vary in content quite dramatically. 2011 has already been a great year for new releases and doesn’t look like slowing down yet. We can still look forward to Deus Ex coming later this month and Gears of War 3 in September. We will also see the releases of the Batman: Arkham City, the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Halo Anniversary, Dead Island and many more before the year is out. On top of that least we forget the AAA title showdown in November when Battlefield 3 comes head to head with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

I will follow up on these great games with another couple of posts soon to give you some information on exactly what to look forward to in the coming month.

What has been your game of the year so far? Is there anything you are particularly looking forward too? Anyone got an early prediction for the 2011 game of the year yet?