January is always a time of looking back while looking forward, preferably without tripping over the cat. So here’s my Games pick of 2011…
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim set the RPG world alight in November. With its vast geography, excellent graphics and immersive story, dragon slaying has never been so fun. Meanwhile, in 1940s LA…
- L.A. Noire broke new bounds, merging the worlds of cinema and games for the first time. An ensemble cast of movie and TV actors are on hand as Detective Phelps tries to clean up the streets, and motion capture technology shows a suspect’s every twitch and nervous gulp.
- Portal 2 offered more puzzle delights, albeit those involving a maniacal robot and a gun that shoots holes in space. Lateral, three-dimensional thinking is required here – it’s funny, frustrating and endlessly brilliant, and worth all the hair pulling, especially for the song in the end credits.
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Fortune saw straight-up adventure fare with Nathan Drake, fortune hunter extraordinaire. Gorgeous to look at and with gameplay to match, Drake is on a daring trek in search of the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’. Finally: soldiers, shooting, explosions… but no whiff of the words ‘Duty’ or ‘Call’, it’s…
- Gears of War 3, with even more of the steroid-infested stuff we loved about the prequels. The plot may not be entirely original but the characters and the action more than make up for it.
And so to 2012, and the games I’m ready to sacrifice a goat for in the year ahead…
- The Last Guardian, from the people who brought us Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, promises more beautiful imagery and clever gameplay.
- Bioshock Infinite set in a city floating in the sky, and – if the previous games in the series are any indication – likely to be another immersive and stunningly beautiful shooter.
- Aliens: Colonial Marines may finally come out, after years of waiting, and any game that lets me act out scenes from Aliens has to be a good thing.
- Halo 4 is also, possibly, on the cards – it goes without saying that it’ll sell like hotcakes. And last, but very much not least – it is, in fact, my most anticipated game of 2012…
- Mass Effect 3, an intergalactic, shooter-adventure-RPG, beautifully mashing game genres to amazing effect. A malevolent alien race called The Reapers has invaded our galaxy, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Only Commander Shepherd and his crew remain to take on this menace, and the price of failure is the total destruction of Earth. The weeks can’t go fast enough, because it’s due in March.
And notable mentions should also go to Street Fighter X Tekken, Grand Theft Auto V, Max Payne 3, and the rumoured Assassins Creed III. With this lot on the way, 2012 looks like being another great year for the gamer. Let me know what you’re most looking forward to…
Alexa Muir, UK Merchandising Manager
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