11 videogames you need to play in 2011

It’s the start of a new year, and already there are at least sixteen thousand games I want to play. So yes, this list is tinged with a touch of personal bias, but I’d like to think there’s something for everyone here, no matter what your gaming tastes. So here we go, then – my most eagerly anticipated 11 games to play in 2011 (plus a long list of honorable mentions at the bottom, because I’m an indecisive bugger):

? Child of Eden (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Q Entertainment)
When this music-based shooter was revealed back in June, I immediately proclaimed it one of my games of E3 2010. Compatible with Kinect, PlayStation Move, and (thank gawd) a standard controller, Child of Eden is an on-rails shoot-’em-up with gorgeous trance music, surreal visuals and jaw-dropping bosses – its wonderful E3 trailer must be watched!
Release date: Late-2011

? The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3DS (Nintendo 3DS | Nintendo)
It’s the most critically acclaimed action-adventure game of all time. In 3D. ‘Nuff said.
Release date: 2011

? Batman: Arkham City (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Rocksteady Studios)
Batman: Arkham Asylum rewrote the rulebook for superhero games. For so long a genre populated by industry jokes (Superman 64) and lazy cash-ins (almost everything else), here was a superhero game worthy of the label: beautiful, muscular, and sleek. The visuals, the style, the setting, the combat, and the feeling of actually being Batman: it was all pitch-perfect. Arkham City sees the Dark Knight take to the streets of a city beseiged by rival gangs run by Two-Face and Joker. Watch out for a Catwoman appearance.

Release date: Quarter 3, 2011

? BRINK (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Splash Damage)
BRINK immediately stands out thanks to its cartoony, Team Fortress 2-style characters, but it’s more than just a pretty face. In Splash Damage’s game, single-player links seamlessly with multiplayer (allowing up to eight players to drop in and out of its co-op mode), while previews have long talked of a nuanced yet brilliantly balanced class system. There’s also the SMART button (standing for ‘Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain’), a single button that lets you effortlessly leap, sprint, and vault around the game’s gorgeous environments.
Release date: Spring 2011

? Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, OnLive |Eidos Montreal)
2003’s Deus Ex: Invisible War was by no means a terrible game, but as a sequel to the acclaimed Deux Ex, it didn’t feel worthy. Eight years on, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution looks like the sequel Invisible War should have been, with a teeming futuristic city and the Deus Ex spirit of exploration and discovery fully intact.
Release date: April 2011 or later

? The Last Guardian (PlayStation 3 | Team Ico)
To say The Last Guardian comes with a bit of a pedigree is like saying the Pope is a bit religious, or that Lionel Messi might be a bit good at football. Developer Team Ico has the acclaimed Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2006) on its resume, and The Last Guardian seems to borrow heavily from each, with a dreamlike atmosphere, gorgeous, atmospheric visuals, puzzle-based adventuring, and a loyal companion to help you through your quest (in this case, a giant feathered beast resembling a griffin).
Release date: Quarter 4, 2011

? Diablo III (PC, Mac | Blizzard)
Diablo III has been public knowledge for two and a half years now, even appearing on the 2010 equivalent of this list. However, there is serious hope for a 2011 release, with leaked documents from within Blizzard suggesting a Quarter 4 launch. Diablo II (released in 2000 – man, I’m bleedin’ ancient) is still regarded as the king of strategy hack-and-slash, so Diablo III‘s inclusion here should need no explanation. The game’s markedly more colorful appearance has already inspired the wrath of blowhard idiots who want a return to the darker, dingier looks of Diablo II, yet I’m betting they’ll be first in line to part with their cash.
Release date: Quarter 4, 2011

? Portal 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac | Valve)
Portal is now rightly considered first-person shooter royalty amongst gamers, a supremely clever, original beast that was the highlight of 2007’s The Orange Box. The 2011 sequel is a chance to flesh out the three- or four-hour original, and Valve is throwing everything at it: a longer single-player campaign, a bigger cast, co-op modes, online play, and a host of new environmental features. Given: (a) Valve’s track record and (b) the fundamental ingenuity of the portal gun, it’s hard to imagine this being anything beneath stellar.
Release date: April 21st, 2011

? Pikmin 3(Wii | Nintendo)
Okay, so we don’t actually know if this is landing in 2011. Since it was first confirmed by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto in mid-2008, barely a word has been uttered about the third game in the wonderful plant people series. But that was 2008, so it must be close … right? All we know is it’s coming, it’ll be on the Wii, and it shall be amazing. FACT. Also, I am a thirty-year-old man who freely admits to owning Pikmin plushes, so I may be a little biased about this.
Release date: ???

?Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PlayStation 3 | Naughty Dog)
The Uncharted games do big, ballsy, blockbuster gaming better than every other franchise out there, and the third game is promising more of the same. The footage shown so far of hero Nathan Drake escaping a collapsing, burning chateau is hugely promising.
Release date: November 1st, 2011

? L.A. Noire (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Team Bondi)
There’s a reason L.A. Noire is the only game on this list I’ve illustrated with a video clip: because I’m convinced its animation techniques could be revolutionary for games. With facial animation and lip-synching that comes astonishingly close to bridging the uncanny valley, Team Bondi’s crime epic does something no other game has asked of you: ascertain when another character is lying, based solely on individual tics and expressions. In my book – and excuse me if I sound like a press release here – that could be pretty amazing.
Release date: Quarter 2, 2011

Honorable mentions:

Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury (Xbox 360)
Bulletstorm (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii)
Crysis 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
de Blob 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS)
Dead Space 2 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)
Ico Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection(PlayStation 3)
I Am Alive (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii)
Killzone 3 (PlayStation 3)
Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
LittleBigPlanet 2 (PlayStation 3)
Mass Effect 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
Nintendogs + Cats (Nintendo 3DS)
Okamiden (Nintendo DS)
Patapon 3 (PSP)
Rage (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac)
The Witness (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)
Tomb Raider (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC)