2011 Autumn - Winter Games Round-Up

Well, here we are again… August. That wonderful threshold after which, every year, the gaming release schedule goes bat shit crazy. Forget the rush of releases between January and March by developers too afraid to set foot in Q4 – this, the beautiful, chaotic space between the last week of August and the first week of December, is where it’s at. I’d be brave enough to bet that 9 out of 10 people reading this post either have one of these titles pre-ordered, or intend to have in the next few months.

It will all kick off on August 26th when Deus Ex: Human Revolution stealths its way onto the shelves. Currently picking up review scores between 8 and 10, a lot of gamers already have DE:HR down as their pick for Game of the Year – and it’s not even out yet. Cast as cybernetically-augmented security operative, Adam Jensen, Human Revolution will see you shoot, sneak, sabotage and sweet talk your way through Detroit, Michigan and Hengsha, China as you dig through a corporate conspiracy that I’m betting goes all the way to the top.

September

Anyone who remembers the Criterion-developed FPS Black, released at the tail-end of the last generation, will be fairly excited for September 2nd, the announced launch date of Codemasters’ Bodycount, the spiritual sequel to Black. As the first game was considered one of the finest shooters of the last gen (though sadly overlooked thanks to the timing of its launch), there’s every chance that Codies (comprised of many former Criterion team-members) will produce something quite special. 

September 9th sees the arrival of one of 2011’s many massive threequels in Resistance 3, continuing the hugely successful Playstation-only franchise chronicling mankind’s battle for survival against the extra-terrestrial Chimera. Promising a new protagonist whose inclusion walks hand in hand with the “more personal” storyline, Resistance looks to be “doing a Gears 2” and attempting to temper its gung-ho action with some touching human drama.

The same release slot is also occupied by THQ’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.  Developed by Relic Entertainment, W40K boasts a fast and frantic combat system as your eight-foot-tall Ultramarine, Captain Titus, faces off against Orks and Chaos Marines with a combination of 3rd-Person gunplay and brutal melee action. Cover-systems are for pansies. 

One developer hoping that their beautifully-haunting pre-rendered trailer secures them a few extra sales on 9/9 is Techland, who’s paradise-gone-bad zombie nightmare Dead Island also hits the shelves alongside Resistance 3 and Space Marine. Gameplay demos and hands-on time have split opinion amongst various games journo bods recently, but if Dead Island can combine Dead Rising’s sense of urgency, Left 4 Dead’s creativity and Resident Evil’s constant dread, they might just produce a game that lives up to that amazing trailer.

But of course, regardless of what else is emerging in September, the big money is on humanity’s last stand against the Locust Horde in Epic’s incredible third Gears of War title. As Marcus, Dom, Cole and Baird are joined in the field by velvet-voiced comm-link cutie Anya Stroud and a whole new squad of Cogs, the Locust are assaulted by the Lambent, the supercharged, glow in the dark by-product of Delta Squad’s actions during Gears 2. A last, desperate three-way fight for survival is the perfect way to end the trilogy – and the new, improved Horde mode is looking good enough to set Xbox Live alight, as anyone who played the beta will attest. Bigger, badder, bloodier and ballsier than what’s come before, Gears 3 is absolutely certain to be September’s biggest hitter.

October

PS3 RPG fans will likely be familiar with From Software’s bastard-hard dungeon-crawler, Demon’s Souls, a hardcore roleplayer exclusive to Sony’s console. Although something of a cult hit, this under-marketed, overlooked masterpiece has been give then sequel treatment – sort of. Dark Souls, a multiplatform follow-up, is scheduled for an October 7th release. Promising to be even harder than its predecessor and boasting a gorgeous open world, Dark Souls will not be for the faint of heart. Rage-quitters, casual gamers and nancies need not apply.

Exploding into stores on the same day is Id Software’s Rage, a post-apocalyptic sandbox shooter that seems equal parts Metro 2033, Fallout 3 and Borderlands. On a ravaged future Earth devastated by a meteor strike, small pockets of humanity duke it out for whatever natural resources remain, quite possibly whilst wearing leather S&M gear and swearing a lot. A stunning graphics engine, huge world and incredible vehicular combat mark Rage out as an FPS to watch this year.

Incoming on October 21st is Rocksteady’s follow up to 2009’s BAFTA-winning Batman: Arkham Asylum. In Arkham City, we’ll see the groundbreaking combat system upgraded to allow Bats to tackle multiple foes, catch and repurpose projectiles and employ a host of new stealth moves and gadgets – whilst retaining everything he picked up in the Mad House. Up against the likes of Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange and Calendar Man (whose AI will apparently use your console’s calendar to plan dastardly events), Bruce Wayne will have playable help in the form of the curvy Catwoman and a Robin who isn’t played by Chris O’Donnell. If anyone can make the Boy Wonder cool again, it’s Rocksteady.

But despite demon slayers, extinction level events and caped crusaders, the big game on everyone’s lips in October is Dice’s Battlefield 3. Moving away from the Bad Company storyline, BF3 aims to give a certain other military-themed shooter a decent fight this winter. Unlikely to surpass the 8th Call of Duty in terms of sales, many fans are nevertheless predicting that BF3 will be the better game. The environments and atmosphere showcased in the eye-popping E3 trailer highlight the care and attention that Dice are lavishing on their new baby, and the shiny new tech at work will be giving Activision far more cause for concern than last year’s under-achieving Medal of Honour reboot.   

November

The first of November’s big hitters hits the shelves straight out of the gate, as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is set to smooth-talk its way into the charts on November 2nd. Continuing Naughty Dog’s tradition of compelling, likeable narrative and slick action, Nate’s third adventure promises a more personal storyline focusing on the relationship between Drake and his craggy old mentor, Victor Sullivan. In addition to the campaign (which I’ve no doubt will be worth the asking price alone) Naughty Dog are also improving on the multiplayer element first experimented with in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, using the game’s excellent cover system and various acrobatic moves to create a unique multiplayer landscape for both competitive and cooperative modes.

Also launching that week on the 4th – in a move that bravely or stupidly puts it in the path of the Skyrim wrecking ball – is Warner Bros. and Snowblind’s action RPG, Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Following the goings-on at the top end of the map concurrently with the story of the Fellowship, War in the North boasts new characters, new areas and a brutally-satisfying combat system. This is Lord of the Rings for grown-ups, minus whiny hobbits and endless Ent walks. With 3-player co-op and plenty of opportunities to combine class skills to increase the carnage, War in the North may satisfy the more-casual market left behind by Skyrim.

Following closely on Snowblind and Naughty Dog’s heels, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer prepare to take the sales chart by brute force on November 8th with the powerhouse that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The only game that can stand against Battlefield 3, MW3 will once again trade longevity (and, arguably, substance) in the campaign for more superlative multiplayer gaming. Continuing the story of Price and Soap and introducing several new protagonists in its globe-trotting campaign, MW3 will be nothing if not epic in the action stakes. But then, for many CoD fans the campaign is secondary to the incredible online element. Either way, even releasing in the same month as some of 2011’s hugest games, the 8th Call of Duty is likely to steamroll every other title in the sales chart. 

But for RPG fans, the most important date this year is 11.11.11, the morning that Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim thunders into our lives. A new combat system, an incredible graphical overhaul thanks to the shiny new Creation Engine and the AI-Director-like Radiant Story creating dynamic quests, Skyrim is looking like the pinnacle of console RPGs. Allegedly boasting 2 – 300 hours of gaming, 150 unique dungeons, five cities, ten playable races, free-form class progression and infinite dragons, Skyrim will steal your life come the 11th – and you’ll let it. For more info, read my in-depth The Elder Scrolls feature and mammoth Skyrim preview here.

Should you somehow free yourself from Bethesda’s clutches, however, then you’ll find a hell of a lot more to look forward to around the 15th. Saints Row The Third continues to bait Rockstar and the Daily Mail in equal measure, as Volition leave Stilwater and move to sunnier climbs. Assassin’s Creed Revelations spins the conclusion to Ezio’s tale, featuring a 50-year-old Ezio, Altair and Desmond as playable characters – hopefully paving the way for Assassin’s Creed 3 and a new protagonist. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ezio Auditore de Firenze, but after three games it’s time for a change of setting and pace.

Also out on the 15th is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the HD-skinned re-release of the ten-year-old Combat Evolved. Featuring re-skinned environments built in the Reach engine, Anniversary is 343 Studios’ attempt to introduce Halo to a younger generation of gamers who missed the original first time round. As the game that arguably defined the FPS for last decade, CE is a must-have for fans of the modern shooter and is an excellent reason to revisit the world of John-117 and Cortana.

So there you have it, my round-up of the biggest incoming games for the rest of this year. There are many other releases that I haven’t included on this list as these are really what I consider to be the most exciting and anticipated, so feel free to comment, disagree or add to the list if there’s anything I’ve missed that you feel strongly about.

Good luck choosing what to spend your money on – and happy gaming!