5 Most Anticipated Video Games: Holiday 2011
This holiday season is jam packed with great video game title releases. While you can never know which games will prove to be the best, you can guarantee these sequels will hit the mark for a holiday gift. Expect some of these games to sale out fast, so get your copies while you can.
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed exceeded expectations to start with. This game truly took 3D platforming to the next level, and stealthily assassinating opponents from a ledge was a unique change of pace from repeatedly mashing buttons to hack them to death. The story plays out too much like a conspiracy theory for my tastes, but the gameplay and characters more than make up for any ancient alien nut feel the writers tacked on to the series. Each addition to the franchise has added improved mechanics for using the character's unique tool set. In Revelations Ezio will utilize a hook blade for a variety of stylized executions and the use of zip lines throughout the cities. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood included the first rendition of multiplayer, and Ubisoft promises to deliver an improved version with more customization this time around. This game is a must have for any Assassin's Creed fan, and will definitely be one of the top performers this holiday season. Expect Assassin's Creed: Revelations to hit shelves in November.
Modern Warfare 3
Last year's Call of Duty entry Call of Duty: Black Ops was the bestselling game ever. This series consistently delivers the most popular bestselling games, and this year is no different. This year development duties have been given back to Infinity Ward. Concurrent with the Metacritic scores of 94 for Modern Warfare 2 and 87 for Call of Duty: Black Ops, I have found that the general consensus among gamers is that Infinity Ward's incarnation of Call of Duty is superior to Treyarch's. Consider first that the Kinect pushed X-Box sales this year to a diverse crowd of gamers. Now consider Modern Warfare 3 is a direct sequel to Modern Warfare 2 with the same company that developed the most popular installation in the series on board. You have drawn both the hardcore set as well as the casual set into a perfect storm of events that will allow Modern Warfare 3 to overtake all previous sales records. I'm not talking about a slim margin either, I expect this year's Call of Duty to surpass Black Ops first week sales by at least 2 million copies. You can pick yours up on November 8th.
Battlefield 3
After successes with the Battlefield Bad Co. spin offs, EA is finally delivering a proper sequel to Battlefield 2. They have made it clear in many interviews that the PC players that made the franchise popular will be taken care of first and foremost, however the console port is sure to please all the fans of Bad Company. Expect to see improvements on more of the same this time around. The Frostbite 2 engine has been optimized for quicker level design, and upgraded the way objects render light reflection. The team has also made movement of your squad mates more fluid and realistic. The most innovative feature to expect is destructible environments with improved physics, mechanics and realism. Sometimes promising too much can backfire on an ambitious project like this, but without playing all their cards the Battlefield franchise will never catch Call of Duty. EA has even decided to launch ahead of Call of Duty. Battlefield 3 drops on October 25th.
Mass Effect 3
BioWare's final installment of the Mass Effect is slated to drop on March 6, 2012. You can still pre-order the game as a holiday gift, which I'm sure will be much appreciated. Some RPG fans believe that having your decisions from previous levels and games in the series carry over to determine outcome is the most innovative feature developed in this generation of consoles. At a time when games without multiplayer components are at a distinct disadvantage, The Mass Effect series has played on its strengths to keep the games fresh, and provide a better experience each time out of the gate. Through the use of downloadable content, Mass Effect 2 feels like it was released yesterday (In fact Arrival, the last DLC was just released last month). With this installment, your decisions will play a much larger role in the outcome of not just the fate of your squad, but the fate of entire civilizations as well as the galaxy as a whole.
Gears of War 3
The first entry into the market this holiday season will be Epic's Gears of War 3. Marcus Fenix is back, and like other titles coming out this season odds are overwhelming. While Gears will look more like it's previous incarnations, most agree that the game is still fun. The Multiplayer has been re-worked, and several new executions have been added. During the beta it was obvious that movement was more precise, and inputs harnessed more control over your player near cover. More of your favorite characters will be playable, including Adam Fenix as an add-on for the limited and epic editions. The Development team was much bigger this time around, and the game is said to be the most polished Gears of War ever. You can catch it in stores on September 20th.
Game Informer Issue 218, June 2011- Assassin's Creed: Revelations Preview
Game Informer issue 215, March 2011 - Battlefield 3 Preview
Game Informer issue 217, May 2011- Mass Effect 3 Preview
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed exceeded expectations to start with. This game truly took 3D platforming to the next level, and stealthily assassinating opponents from a ledge was a unique change of pace from repeatedly mashing buttons to hack them to death. The story plays out too much like a conspiracy theory for my tastes, but the gameplay and characters more than make up for any ancient alien nut feel the writers tacked on to the series. Each addition to the franchise has added improved mechanics for using the character's unique tool set. In Revelations Ezio will utilize a hook blade for a variety of stylized executions and the use of zip lines throughout the cities. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood included the first rendition of multiplayer, and Ubisoft promises to deliver an improved version with more customization this time around. This game is a must have for any Assassin's Creed fan, and will definitely be one of the top performers this holiday season. Expect Assassin's Creed: Revelations to hit shelves in November.
Modern Warfare 3
Last year's Call of Duty entry Call of Duty: Black Ops was the bestselling game ever. This series consistently delivers the most popular bestselling games, and this year is no different. This year development duties have been given back to Infinity Ward. Concurrent with the Metacritic scores of 94 for Modern Warfare 2 and 87 for Call of Duty: Black Ops, I have found that the general consensus among gamers is that Infinity Ward's incarnation of Call of Duty is superior to Treyarch's. Consider first that the Kinect pushed X-Box sales this year to a diverse crowd of gamers. Now consider Modern Warfare 3 is a direct sequel to Modern Warfare 2 with the same company that developed the most popular installation in the series on board. You have drawn both the hardcore set as well as the casual set into a perfect storm of events that will allow Modern Warfare 3 to overtake all previous sales records. I'm not talking about a slim margin either, I expect this year's Call of Duty to surpass Black Ops first week sales by at least 2 million copies. You can pick yours up on November 8th.
Battlefield 3
After successes with the Battlefield Bad Co. spin offs, EA is finally delivering a proper sequel to Battlefield 2. They have made it clear in many interviews that the PC players that made the franchise popular will be taken care of first and foremost, however the console port is sure to please all the fans of Bad Company. Expect to see improvements on more of the same this time around. The Frostbite 2 engine has been optimized for quicker level design, and upgraded the way objects render light reflection. The team has also made movement of your squad mates more fluid and realistic. The most innovative feature to expect is destructible environments with improved physics, mechanics and realism. Sometimes promising too much can backfire on an ambitious project like this, but without playing all their cards the Battlefield franchise will never catch Call of Duty. EA has even decided to launch ahead of Call of Duty. Battlefield 3 drops on October 25th.
Mass Effect 3
BioWare's final installment of the Mass Effect is slated to drop on March 6, 2012. You can still pre-order the game as a holiday gift, which I'm sure will be much appreciated. Some RPG fans believe that having your decisions from previous levels and games in the series carry over to determine outcome is the most innovative feature developed in this generation of consoles. At a time when games without multiplayer components are at a distinct disadvantage, The Mass Effect series has played on its strengths to keep the games fresh, and provide a better experience each time out of the gate. Through the use of downloadable content, Mass Effect 2 feels like it was released yesterday (In fact Arrival, the last DLC was just released last month). With this installment, your decisions will play a much larger role in the outcome of not just the fate of your squad, but the fate of entire civilizations as well as the galaxy as a whole.
Gears of War 3
The first entry into the market this holiday season will be Epic's Gears of War 3. Marcus Fenix is back, and like other titles coming out this season odds are overwhelming. While Gears will look more like it's previous incarnations, most agree that the game is still fun. The Multiplayer has been re-worked, and several new executions have been added. During the beta it was obvious that movement was more precise, and inputs harnessed more control over your player near cover. More of your favorite characters will be playable, including Adam Fenix as an add-on for the limited and epic editions. The Development team was much bigger this time around, and the game is said to be the most polished Gears of War ever. You can catch it in stores on September 20th.
Game Informer Issue 218, June 2011- Assassin's Creed: Revelations Preview
Game Informer issue 215, March 2011 - Battlefield 3 Preview
Game Informer issue 217, May 2011- Mass Effect 3 Preview
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