20 Most Anticipated Games of 2011

After the highs, and many disappointing lows, of 2010, 2011 is looking to be a BIG year for gaming. It's the year where there are so many games coming we'll all need second jobs just to be able to afford it. There are 20 hot games listed below, but this is merely a handful of what the year promises. With unmentioned titles plus all the surprise announcements that are yet to happen (Call of Duty 8), could 2011 be the most exciting year for games ever? In alphabetical order:

Assassin's Creed 3 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

Although it hasn't been officially announced, Ubisoft has already revealed there will be a big Assassin's Creed game in 2011. After the recent Brotherhood, it only makes sense that this will be Assassin's Creed 3. If so, expect a new time era, a fresh character and a new country to put through the paces. After the excellent Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed is certainly a franchise to cause anticipation and excitement.

Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

After the success of Arkham Asylum, it really is tough not to be excited about the sequel, Arkham City. It may sound a bit odd that the title is Arkham City and not Gotham itself, but the devs aren't ready to unleash the full city upon us yet. Instead, Arkham City is a city-like prison built within the slums of Gotham. Here villains are free to roam around as long as they don't attempt to climb over the walls. Naturally Joker, plus many other infamous villains, have plans for this city prison. No rest for the bat, which is great news for us.

Crysis 2 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

The first Crysis may have promised much and delivered very little, but this time developer Crytek (Far Cry) are promising and aiming to deliver. Early videos are indeed looking promising, and with no Halo game due, Crysis 2 could potentially be the FPS to look out for in 2011.

Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

There's one thing us survival horror fans loathe to hear when developers are talking about a sequel: “More action based.” That's exactly how Visceral Games has described Dead Space 2. Is this a problem? No. Think of the movies Alien and Aliens. The first one was a tense horror film, which then evolved into the action-packed (and excellent) sequel. If the same happens to Dead Space 2, then we potentially have the horror game of the year on our hands. Prepare to have shivers sent down your spine as you lurk the dark creepy corridors. Exactly what we want on a cold January evening.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

After a great start to the life of the Deus Ex franchise it's gone a bit downhill over the years. Square Enix has decided that 2011 is the time to resurrect the franchise and aim to deliver game of the year material. It's looking promising to say the least. Set in an eye-candy futuristic world playing as a character with special abilities, Human Revolution is set to please fans of sci-fi, stealth and shooters. Game of the year potential if you love all three.

DMC – Devil May Cry (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

After the dreadful (yes it was) Devil May Cry 4, Capcom are going about the sequel the right away and completely reinventing it. DMC, as they're calling it, is a prequel to the previous three, featuring a young unrecognisable and moody Dante. Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword, Enslaved) are developing, so it's hard to know what to expect. This year's best hack n' slash, Bayonetta has set the standards, so let's hope DMC can come close to, if not exceed, the quality of that. One thing is for sure, we'll all be queuing up for this one when it's released.

Duke Nukem Forever (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

Yes, Duke Nukem Forever is FINALLY coming. We've anticipated it for many years, only to be disappointed, but Borderlands developer, Gearbox Software has their hands on the game and are very much going to deliver. After the excellent and stylish Borderlands, Gearbox are by far the right devs to give us Duke Nukem Forever. Many are expecting to be disappointed after the long wait, but I trust them to deliver another Duke 3D. Bring it on.

Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)

Perhaps we know exactly what to expect from Gears of War 3, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. Marcus Fenix and pals are set on putting an end to the Locust wars. Expect it to be cinematic, with top cover and shoot action, some high five buddy moments, and a spot of tugging on the heart strings. Multiplayer is also set to be an improvement, and if the previous two are anything to go by, it'll all be kick ass.

Killzone 3 (PlayStation 3)

With the exception of the unannounced Call of Duty 2011, if anything is going to spoil the Crysis 2 party it will be Killzone 3. The original Killzone may not have lived up to its “Halo beater” tag, but many feel Killzone 2 annihilated it. Of course, with Halo being an Xbox 360 exclusive and Killzone only on PlayStation, these arguments are always going to occur. It's safe to say that the third outing against the Helghast is definitely going to be one to play.

L.A. Noire (Xbox 360/PlayStation)

Rockstar Games + 1940's Los Angeles Gangsters = going to be awesome. Some developers / publishers you just know are going to deliver the goods, and the ones who'd appear at the top of the trust list are Rockstar. An open-world, film noir-style detective story, L.A. Noire could be 2011's Red Dead Redemption: a surprise masterpiece of a video game. Think a Raymond Chandler novel in game form. That is what L.A. Noir promises to be.

LittleBigPlanet 2 (PlayStation 3)

Sony's PLAY, CREATE, SHARE began with the addictive platform / game design adventure, LittleBigPlanet, and the sequel is set to expand it further. One one hand you have a challenging and fun single player side scrolling adventure, and on the strong hand there's the level design. This time the design is set to be much bigger and better, giving you the ability to create mini games within a level, and then share them online. Who wants this? Anyone who owns a PlayStation 3 if they have any sense.

Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

To many gamers Mass Effect 3 is the one to have in 2011. Only announced recently with a trailer to get us all excited, your Commander Shepard is fighting a war much closer to home, on Earth. The trailer shows London being attacked, while Shepard looks on from the safety of space. “But I don't want it to be set on Earth,” says many disappointed fans. Those fans should know better. Expect to see a lot of space travel in an epic adventure, and not just another generic battle to save our little planet.

Max Payne 3 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

Max Payne 3 is so overdue now, with an initial release date for early this year. In fact it's becoming a forgotten about game. With Remedy devoting themselves to Alan Wake, Rockstar have taken the reigns for Max Payne's third outing. It's been a while since they mentioned him, or released screenshots, but new Max looks a lot more sunny and more hardcore in the gun department. Let's hope Rockstar start revealing more in the coming months.

Okamiden (DS)

The only handheld game on this list shouldn't really be a handheld game at all in many people's eyes. Okami is one of the few PS2 classics that deserved its port over to the Wii. Although the original and the Wii port never took the sales charts by storm, Amaterasu and his painting Zelda style adventure has gained huge cult status. A console sequel would have been preferred, but the fact that it's even getting a sequel is a delight. That's why Okamiden on the Nintendo DS is not only one of the hotly anticipated handheld games of 2011, it's one of the hotly anticipated games period.

Portal 2 (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

This is a triumph. A full feature length sequel to one of the biggest and best surprises of 2007. When all we wanted was Half Life 2 on the Xbox 360, with the anticipated Episode 2, we were also given Portal. A game that delighted us all with its mind boggling puzzles and unique voice over. Portal 2 aims to raise the standards set by the first, and there's cake in it for us too. Valve are still keeping quiet on Half Life (Episode) 3, but Portal makes up for the wait... Plus it's much more appealing than Left 4 Dead 3.

Rage (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

You may or may not have already played the iPhone version of id Software’s Rage. A frantic on-rails shooter that throws hordes of mutants at you in derelict locations. Expect more of the same in the console version, but much much bigger and with more freedom. Rage is an open post-apocalyptic world, with awesome guns and Mad Max style vehicles. There may be a hint of Borderlands here too, but that can only be a positive. We trust the makers of Doom and Wolfenstein to deliver a great slice of gaming. Doom 4 would be on this list if it was confirmed for 2011.

Silent Hill 8 (Working title) (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3/PC)

Perhaps more of a personal choice than popular anticipation. Konami are once again handing out development duties outside of Japan. Czech-based Vatra Games have the privilege of bringing shocking horror to us once again with the eighth instalment of the popular survival horror game, Silent Hill. Not too much is known, but the reveal video shows off a typical dark town, and also shows that the game...