The 2011 Finale

With Christmas just a few months away the Video Game season is here in full force. The last few months have provided the build up on all the different platforms with the releases of Resistance 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dead Island and Starfox 64 3D.

From now on we can expect a big release almost every week for the rest of the year and there are some fantastic games coming our way. I thought now would be a good time to give you a breakdown of the games I’m most looking forward to.

Notable Mention - Battlefield 3 - Release Date: 25th October

The Battlefield series has always been at war with Call of Duty that it has always lost due to the massive popularity of its competition. EA knows this better then anyone and has decided that it does not want to lose this time around; at the very least it wants to significantly reduce the COD market share.  I’m a massive fan of Bad Company 2 and feel it is the best online FPS currently available on the Xbox 360. The large maps house hectic battlefields and vehicles capable of destroying everything in sight. I love the whole experience and can’t wait to see the tweaked Frostbite engine in action. Battlefield 3 looks to add a new level of realism to the FPS genre and I believe it will score higher the MW3 within reviews and in my personal opinion rightly so.

#5 Gears of War 3 - Release Date: 20th September

We know its coming – we heard it over the hill. Epic Games and Microsoft made the right choice when they pushed back the release of Gears 3 until now. The multiplayer Beta earlier in the year played like a retail version and showe4d a large amount of details and polish environments would be on display when GOW3 is due to be released. Since this is the finale to the trilogy expect Epic to pull out all the stops and make sure we play GOW3 for years to come. There is an awful lot of content in the new game and I expect it to be one of the big contenders for game of the year.

#4 Dark Souls - Release Date: 4th October

When Demon’s Soul came out it game gamers a different perspective of the gaming experience. It made for a deeply challenging adventure with a very solid fan base. The sequel is set to do the same thing with new challenging ideas that really require players to think in order to solve problems. I first heard about this game a few months ago after missing the originals whole release (meh PS3 only) but I won’t be missing this. The action horror won’t be the biggest or the best game this year but I certainly expect it to sell well and continue the franchise for a third instalment.

#3 Batman: Arkham City - Release Date: 18th October

Arkham Asylum marked the first game under the Batman name that was actually any good. The large scale, immersive story and solid gameplay gave players a reason to finally play a superhero video game.  It took concepts that are a usual addition to most action games now and added the dark prison island to it. Plus I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t wish they were Bruce Wayne. This time it’s set in Gotham City and provides an even large world to explore. The successful gameplay of the original will be tweaked for the large scale game and promises some of the best action of any games coming out this year. I think this will be a massive seller but I still don’t think it will grab the top spot.

#1 Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Release Date: 11th November

Just a moment – breathe in Tamriel again. Remember running through the world of Cyrodill in Oblivion? Of course you do, we all do. Now what you’ve just been thinking about is the reason why Skyrim will be or at least should be the biggest selling game this year. The Elder Scrolls series has given gamers several amazing worlds to explore over the years and Skyrim for me has personally been the one I’ve always wanted to play in. For me the Nordic world will bring on a better sense of the race and their ways as I always play Nord first in each of the games. While Oblivion was a great open world game, Skyrim will take it one step further with much more to explore and many more tasks to complete. The radiant story should also ensure that the whole experience is unique for each person. Bethesda has taken their time crafting this world and when it is finally released into the world, everyone will remember why they are the king’s of this genre.