Get ready to spend some mula

In this Huge post we talked a bit about some cool games releasing in 2011. That was April, so before E3, Gamescon, and so much new information that has been released about your favorite upcoming games. These are just a few of the games I pointed out.
Infamous 2 - Already Released. Owned! (Unopened too.)
LA Noire - Already Released. Owned! (Unplayed!)
Resistance 3 - September 6th
Uncharted 3 - November 1st
Yugioh World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus- Already Released. Owned!
Dark Souls - October 4th
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 - Already Released.
"Sonic 20th Anniversary Project" - November 1st
Disgaea 4 - September 6th

This is merely scratching the surface of all the good games slated for Q3 and Q4. Besides this, there is also a new system, the Playstation Vita to pick up and then buy games for. I tried to count how many games I added to my library last year. Once I hit 10, I gave up, figuring that I had miscounted in some way. So far, I have gained:
Dead Space 2
Marvel VS Capcom 3
Portal 2
YGO WC2011
LA Noire
Infamous 2
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2
DJ Hero 2

That is already 8 games, so it is no surprise that I bought (well) over 10 games last year. This isn't even counting Digital Downloads. Granted, some games are gifts, and there is no way I would be able to pay for every game I have. The next releases for this year are so good that I have no idea how I am going to play them all. Besides actually getting the games, playing them is a challenge in itself. After work, yugioh, and other hobbies, it is hard to find time to play all the games that I have. As said earlier, I have an unopened Infamous 2 sitting on the cable receiver, just waiting to be played. I wan't playing that because Chelsea and I needed to finish up Dead Space 2. As awesome as Dead Space 2 is, I had to stop playing that because I needed to finish Resident Evil 1: Director's Cut before Resident Evil: Code Veronica HD is released. I had planned to play through the first 3 games so that we have a better understanding of the events that take place in the game. Of course, I haven't been playing RE1 faithfully because of all the League of Legends. In fact, LoL takes up far too much of my time, perhaps I need some organization  so that I can actually accomplish something.

I won't hold my breath, though. With so many good games I plan to get, the backlog is just going to grow more and more daunting.

Sonic Generations

Dubbed "Sonic 20th Anniversary Project," Sonic Generations is one of the best ideas to hit the Sonic scene in a long time. The game is a tribute to the 20 years of great levels by recreating them from 3 different "eras": The Genesis era, the Dreamcast era, and the Modern Era. So far, we do not have many levels revealed besides Chemical Plant from Sonic 2, City Escape from Sonic Adventure 1, and the classic Green Hill zone. In these levels, you have stages for Modern Sonic to play and stages with Classic Sonic. Classic Sonic is exactly like the original Genesis version, where your only tools Spin Dash and Roll, and Roll cancel. Modern Sonic has his Homing Attack, O Button slides, Boost, Spin Dash, Roll and Roll cancel. People wanting a return to fun stages with less filler in between should be excited to Generation's return to pure platforming. Of course there are some scenes here and there, but so far there is no hint of Adventure zones, npcs to do "quests" for, or objects to hunt down.

Most Sonic fans and Sonic haters will tell you that all they want in a Sonic game are fun levels to play with not much in between. This is probably the answer to most of our wishes and we can only hope that Sonic Team takes their time to make this one the best in years. I personally hope for:
-Better frame rate on the PS3. The frames in Sonic Unleashed were abysmal and there is no excuse to have it that way in Generations.
-Multiple ranks for levels such as in Sonic Adventure 2. In Adventure 2(expanded from Sonic Adventure 1's 3 rank system), every level in the game had 5 ranks, essentially 5 different missions to do in the same level. It went from Beat the level->Beat the level with a certain amount of rings->Beat the level within a certain time limit->Find a Hidden Object in the level-> Beat the level on "hard mode." The player is graded on their performance with a grade of A-E, where A is obviously the best. Getting A ranks on all stages is excellent replay value and is something I would love to see again.
-Downloadable content in Sonic Unleashed was sub par. Players could spend money on new missions for levels they already have. Once completed, there was no reason to ever do them again. I am hoping that Download Content in Generations is in the form of new levels, new characters and other things that players will enjoy buying. Even if they are skins of Sonics friends, I for one would love to play through levels as different characters if I had the choice.

Silent Hill Downpour

I believe Downpour is the 8th iteration of the Silent Hill Series. In this original game you play as Murphy Pendleton, a convict that has an unfortunate bus accident, stranding him in Silent Hill. As you can see in the video, the settings are still amazing with a great musical score to go with it, just as all the other games. In Downpour you have a number of people you can meet and do things for. Based on the latest videos, the Silent Hill town seems even grander than what we are accustomed to.

Of course, in 2011 gamers are plagued by many refutable feelings. The worst, and one that has dropped the ratings of the more recent Silent Hill games is nostalgia and the idea that "if the latest version of a game isnt as good as the first time I played it when I was 13, then that new version is automatically a bad game. The go-to complaint is that the modernized controls in our more recent Silent Hills are what kills the game. Some even say that the early games are scarier because the controls are so limited that you have no choice in how to react in most situations. The tension of the moment is multiplied by the terrible control scheme and the lack of defense in these older games. Now we have something like Homecoming, where next generation consoles can combine awesome visuals with a spectacular soundtrack. But once your put the camera on the Right Analog Stick and give your character knowledge of how to defend yourself(and no we aren't talking about Rocket Launchers, plasma grenades and rifles that shoot chainsaws), then the game is instantly bad. Let us not forget that some "Action Horror" games like Dead Space are actually good, and our latest Silent Hills are no where near the level of action in Dead Space. But alas, Vatra Games did make a couple of great changes to keep the most fickle of reviewers satisfied.

Murphy can actually fight, but finding a weapon during a frantic chase will often be too stressful. Chairs, bottles, iron bars, book cases, and other environmental elements can be used to slow, inhibit, or even combat the devilish creatures of Silent Hill. The goal is that most players will probably run in fear of most things, but you can actually be brave and take evil on with a little improvisation. Other subtle horror elements return too, like fixed cameras in certain areas and an aim-able flashlight. Honestly, as long as the story and atmosphere is good, you can't really go wrong with this game. People who base their reviews on 10 year old games should probably rethink how they analyze "fun."

Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3

I know what you're thinking. "You just got Marvel vs Capcom 3 this year, and Ultimate is releasing this year too? Don't you find that a little ridiculous?" While it does seem bad to support a developer that pushes out games this way, you have to remember that Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom would have been download content released over the course of the last few months. Every character pack of 2 could be anywhere from 8.99 to 14.99 per set, then there are new moves and gameplay balancing that would have been done via multiple large patches. Ultimate MVC also has a new interface, new stages, a spectator mode for online matches, and possibly more additions that we have not been told about. In any case, the characters alone are enough to spend $39.99 on. All shoppers should be trying to get a deal on their games anyway. If you shop at the trade-in place, you can get a discount on your Ultimate MVC that way. If you shop at big name retail place, you probably got a gift card for buying "vanilla" MVC that you can use towards Ultimate MVC...and get another gift card back.

We only have gameplay videos of Strider Hiryu, Firebrand, Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange, and Nemesis. The remaining characters that need gameplay videos are Phoenix Wright, Rocket Racoon, Iron Fist and Frank West. All of them look really really good and I for one can not wait to try out Nemesis. In the latest videos, Nemesis is shown having awesome bounces, command grabs, and a level 3 Hyper combo that murders low HP characters. He is also one of the tallest characters in the game, giving him outlandish hit boxes(for you and your opponent!). My team of Jill, Trish, and Captain America haven't shown any changes yet in the latest videos. I do hope someone gets new attacks though, or else Nemesis is getting a slot.
Cap Trish Nemesis?
Jill Trish Nemesis?
Jill Cap Nemesis?
How can you not be excited for this?

There are even more games to talk about this year and I simply don't have the space to do it all, or the time for that matter! The 3 listed above are most likely day 1 purchases for myself. You can find me on the leaderboards for Sonic or in lobbies for Ultimate MVC as Ealdnarche(PSN) or maybe some Youtube videos of Downpour under BoogiepopPhantom05. I know Tumblr will love some horric pics of the game on my VeeDotMe Tumblr blog.

EXCITE.

Tera Online - The True Action RPG

Most my readers probably do not know this, but I used to play MMORPGs religiously. My very first was Final Fantasy XI at its NA PS2 launch. At that time, FFXI had a very, very narrow fan base as the game was pretty difficult to just pick up and play. Shortly after, WoW came out and the population for FFXI remained steady for a number of years. Currently, it has received a number of great updates and the fans that are playing are having more fun than ever before. FFXI will always be an amazing game to me, despite its age starting to show(no thanks to PS2 limitations). But even in 2011, the PC version of FFXI has great environments, great music, and iconic monsters.

I'm the one in the middle. I'm directly under the flag with the swirling blue around me, denoting Level 99.

The next MMO I picked up in early 2006 was Ragnarok Online. RO is one of the masters of the old fashioned Korean Grind. The first private server I played had experience rates that were 3x the official rates, and back then, that was a very small increase. If I remember correctly, it took me 7000 stings(Giant glove monsters that are made of mud) to get from level 98-99 for my first class. It is a cute, easy game with a lot of replay value. It even has a very competitive PVP mode that I haven't really seen in any other game. Unfortunately, PVP in RO is a war of numbers, where the guild with the most bodies to lose will USUALLY overpower the smaller guild. Believe it or not I was the Guild Leader for our little group for a long, long time(after the original one stepped down in 2007. My time as leader took us across multiple servers and left a HUGE impact on each one. Ragnarok also holds a special place in my heart for other reasons, as it is where I met my significant other. Needless to say, I feel like I have "beaten" that MMO, so the chances of me going back(despite Chelsea asking me every 3 months) are slim to none.

So that brings us to what this post is really about, MMO's in 2011. WoW is still going strong, and I did give it a try. The solo grind of quests is pretty entertaining, but you can't do the "fun" raids with just an Orc Warrior and a Blood Elf. Aoin looked cool for a while too! I didn't get a chance to try it, but the game is gorgeous and definitely cutting edge. Our friends on BlueGartr do say that the grind is just like all the other Korean MMOs, depressing. After that, the entire story, much like WoW, is based on PVP. Chelsea and I are sort of burned out on PVP at the minute.

Author: Cloudius

What is this awesomeness??

Author: Cian

FAIRY WOODS ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

TERA is still a Korean MMO, but it goes in an entirely new direction. First off is the Mature Rating. The game has a big storyline, and there is blood and gore. After that, there is the lack of clothing that you will see on a few of the characters. Don't worry, they aren't naked. Its just that the game has evolved beyond "stand there and get hit while you judge your DPS versus the monster's." TERA is all action, so you move around and dodge attacks. Your attacks are non-targeting also, so just like the coolest action games, you simply attack in the direction you want. With all the dodging, who need's a full set of body armor anyhow? But characters aren't the only things that look good, many enemies are huge and all of them have great detail to them.

I believe that TERA has a full game in Korea now, with a Japanese Closed Beta coming soon. There will be a NA release, and everyone is waiting for a Beta of that. The developers believe that TERA's localization for Western Audiences is very important, and it seems like they are taking in a lot of feedback. There are many interviews on the web that can give you a good idea of what to expect from this game. One thing that is focused on in a lot of interviews is how easy "Western" MMOs are, and how that makes us want to play them(Such a slap in the face I know, but they are right lol). David Noonan from En Masse has an interview on the official Tera website, that explains how TERA already feels very Western. He says that all players should be able to solo if they want to, and group leveling is also an option. Some skill is required to play, even for healers, but even those who aren't fully committed(for example: those without fully upgrade gear only dropped from instanced fights), can still play the game and help out their friends. There are PVP zones in the game and a whole "Political System" made out of it.

There seems to be a lot of choice in TERA too. As of right now, there are 8 playable classes and lots of races to play them. Besides the scantily clad women and Cat-girls, there are huge beast/rock things, demonoid looking people, even small racoon looking things. There is a bit of choice in the classes, as each "staple of combat" can be done with more than 1 class. Range combat has always been split between magic users and rangers, but things like Healing isn't just restricted to "Healer." I'm actually unsure of what class or race I would play in TERA, everything just looks awesome. Keep an eye out for this game though, I feel like it will be the next big thing. I for one, need a new computer for these games. I couldnt run FFXIV higher than 1 FPS, and I know that TERA will murder it too. So sad, I want to play this game lol.

Author: FriskUni

2011 is Going to be HUGE!

Correction: Every year is huge for video games. Why is that? Because every year we get a new basis on what is great. Take for example Infamous. Great game. Huge hit when it came out. This year(June specifically) we have Infamous 2 coming out, which will also be amazing. This is because developers have successful platforms to build games upon. Some people say this destroys innovation, but with so many games on the market, Quality surpasses Quantity. I'm not really sure what I plan to buy this year, everything just looks so good. In no particular order, here are some of my hottest releases coming this year(or Q1 2012)

Infamous 2
Infamous was one of the best semi-sandbox action adventures available. The amount of carnage you can wreak was great, and is heightened in Infamous 2 in June. Cole gets new powers, more choices to make that affect story progression, and more things to do. They even added a Mission Creation mode that you can share with others online.

L.A. Noire
A friend of mine talked to me for a while about how Noire tries a bit too hard. "The game wants to feel so realistic, that it becomes unconvincing." The acting in this game is probably the low point of my anticipation, the gameplay trailers are what really excite me. One of the games Chelsea and I rented a few years ago was Condemned 2. Condemned had 3 things they REALLY wanted to emphasize: 1) Brutal Combat uses all sorts of weapons. 2) Scary atmosphere(which became Scary-Grunge instead of Scary-Horror). 3) Problem Solving a la detective work. The case solving was by far the best(if not the only) good thing in that game to me, and L.A. Noire uses a system very similar to this. Aside from vintage bar shoot-outs, chase scenes, and exploration, there is case solving that you have to do that sounds like hours of fun. There are interviews to do that not only have you comparing statements, but also watching facial expressions to pick up on their "ticks." You examine evidence just like in Condemned, where small details could be the biggest clues. Quite frankly, I could care less about anything else in the game. I honestly just want to pick up envelopes and find lipstick marks on the adhesive. (Everyone says I should play Phoenix Wright. No thanks.)

Resistance 3
Resistance games have always been underrated in my opinion. They get outshined by other games where the fights are Epic and you are also some big, burly alpha-male that can kill aliens in his sleep. And those games are fun, don't get me wrong, but the fights in Resistance are Epic in their own way. Not only are the enemies and circumstances ridiculous, but you are just a lowly soldier against these insurmountable odds. You get a real sense of "invasion" rather than "Aliens are here, but we're better than them." Resistance 2 also had ONLINE LOCAL CO-OP that was hours of fun for us. You basically did Missions with up to 8 people, and you can have 2 of them on the same PS3, on the same couch, in the same house. It has already been said that R3 will have local co-op, just hoping that it will be just as much as R2.

Uncharted 3
More games to buy holy crap. Uncharted has always had great acting, but unlike L.A. Noire, it is designed to be a full entertainment experience. There is comedy, serious moments, and high-speed action, and we expect the same from U3. For myself, I have always been a fan of acrobatics in games like Tomb Raider. U3 has this, but with a control scheme that doesn't punish you with its 8-way movement. Actually, U2 had a lot of different things in it, which combine to make a great game. There was tactical combant like Metal Gear, gun fights like Gears of War, platforming and treasure hunting like Tomb Raider, and online multiplayer like nothing else. Can't wait until November.

Yugioh World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus
Best Yugioh game ever? I still want the Xbox Arcade one to come out on the PSN so I can buy that too. WC2011 features cards up to Storm of Ragnarok and most of the Duel Terminal Series. For those who don't know, I played 2010 all day every day. I played it in bed when I woke up. I played it on my lunch break at work. I played it driving to and from work(not recommended). All to unlock every card and every opponent WITHOUT using cheat codes. WC2011 will get the same special treatment as playing any deck against any deck is a glorious experience. Unfortunately the game doesn't come out until May and if you want to import it, it will cost you double MSRP plus shipping.

Dark Souls
I talked about Dark Souls last time in this one of the best games ever post. If you haven't at least tried Demon's Souls, you should, as most retailers have it for cheap. Dark Souls will be multiplatform, and I REALLY hope the development doesn't take a hit because of this. Demon's Souls had beautiful environments, but its character models were lacking(unless you were decked out in armor). Hopefully there won't be any "Hardware Limitations" for the new game late this year.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3
New Gameplay modes? Check.
New Combat Abilities? Check.
Harder Enemies? Check.
More Diverse arenas? Check.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083? CHECK!
Gundam Wing Deathscythe Hell and Tallgeese II? CHECK!!!
Gundam 00? Check I guess?

Sonic 20th Anniversary Project
I am very excited for this and, unfortunately, 95% of the gaming community doesn't share my enthusiasm. Why? Xbox. Just kidding. I talked a bit about Sonic in this Good Games You Thought Were Bad post. As I said before, developers now have platforms that work very well and can use that to build better games. For Sonic Team(and Havok?) they have the engine from Sonic Unleashed, made better in Sonic Colors to use toward this Xbox/PS3 game. So how can they make they game as good as they can? Here are a few of my own ideas:
1) Keep Sonic's top speed the same as in Sonic Colors or slow it down even further. Removing his Boost Run may be the ultimate answer and does seem like a step backwards but it really isn't. If they re-implement the standard roll attack and roll cancels from Sonic Adventure, this will keep Sonic at a maximum speed that is manageable by even the most casual players.
2) Keep worlds diverse and try not to use too many of the same things. An example is in Sonic Unleashed with the Robot chase scenes. Too easy the first couple of times. The last time should have been the first. Then each time they wanted to use that chase, add in something else like QTE bouncers, low walls, short hops, etc.
3) 80% of the people who complain about Sonic games complain about new characters. If new characters are introduced, they're levels have to be exciting. Sure they can do things 100% different than Sonic, but if they are too boring(Werehog), or outrageous(Shadow from 2006), then no one will like it. Toning down Sonic's top speed should indirectly help this.
4)Download Content. Both Unleashed and 2006 had this, and it was good. Downloading Extra Hard, Rank SSS, etc levels are great for "hard-core" players.

Disgaea 4
I never got the Platinum Trophy for Disgaea 3. Some say it is easy but it does require a bit of a grind and I had too many other games to play! Disgaea 4 is supposed to have even MORE end-game content than 3 did. That means my 120 hours of playtime will have to be 180+. If that sounds like as much fun to you as it does to me, then you should pick up Disgaea 4 too.

There are TONS more games coming out that I'm interested in that supposedly come out this year too. I can't write about them all so here is just a bit of the action. I'll give them a buyers rating: 5-Day one purchase, 4-I just bought something else, so I'll get this next, 3-I won't get it on day 1 unless there's a good deal, and I probably won't play it until I have time, 2-Low chance I'll get it unless something changes my mind, 1-Probably won't get it, but the game still seems like fun.
- Playstation Move Ape Escape (3/5)
- Socom 4 (3/5 Looking at you MAG)
- Portal 2 (2/5)
- Twisted Metal (2/5)
- Ratchet and Clank All 4 One (4/5)
- The Agent (1/5)
- Silent Hill: Downpour (5/5)
- White Knight Chronicles 2 (2/5)