Most Anticipated PC Games of 2011

Dungeon Siege III Release Date: March 22, 2011 | Genre: RPG | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Dungeon Siege 3 is said to "seamlessly blend intuitive action gameplay and a robust RPG system in an immersive world." As the story goes, the delicate balance of power between the Kingdom of Ehb's powerful factions has fallen apart. You’re one of the few remaining members of the disgraced protectors of the land, the 10th Legion, and it is up to you to rebuild the once great Legion and stop Ehb from falling into darkness. Along the way you'll recruit companions and make decisions that shape alliances and affect the ultimate outcome of the story. Dungeon Siege III is a fantasy role-playing game where players choose a character class and ability set to level up through hack'n'slash'n'spellcast gameplay. It’s the first in the series to be published by Square Enix after it acquired the complete ownership of the Dungeon Siege franchise and will reportedly feature a new and more interactive multiplayer campaign which includes drop-in, drop-out cooperative play. Homefront Release Date: March 8, 2011 | Genre: First-person shooter | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Homefront is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ. The story is set in the year 2027 after a decade-long energy crisis and that led the economy to the ground. Reduced to a mere shadow of the super power it once was, the U.S. became the target of a now-nuclear armed North Korean takeover. American malls, suburbs and city streets are now battlegrounds as the civilian resistance fights for freedom. The game immerses players in an interactive and cinematic FPS experience where they will assume an infantry role or take command of a wide variety of aerial and ground vehicles. In addition to the single-player experience, Homefront will deliver a robust multiplayer mode that introduces in-game currency to allow players to purchase weapons, gear and vehicles. The PC version of the game will reportedly feature exclusive content and dedicated servers. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Release Date: Q1 2011 | Genre: First-person shooter | Exclusively on PC Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is the upcoming WWII themed sequel to Ostfront 41-45, developed and published by Tripwire Interactive. The game will focus on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations from July 1942 to February 1943. Players will be able to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history from the Axis side in a German single player campaign, as well as gritty, vicious combat in multi-player and co-op modes. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad will contain many new features including a new first person cover system combined with blind firing, first person collision detection, true to life weaponry, as well as an entire new system of statistics tracking and enabling player development. Test Drive Unlimited 2 Release Date: February 8, 2011 | Genre: Racing | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Test Drive Unlimited 2 aims to redefine its genre by adding the persistency, progression and customization of the latest multiplayer games to the auto racing experience. The game is set in the Mediterranean island of Ibiza and Oahu, Hawaii (the setting of the first game), with over 2,000 miles of roadway and back roads full of new challenges and races. The game blends single player and multiplayer experiences, creating a dynamic world of evolving competition. There will be a storyline for players to follow and in order to progress throughout the game they will have to earn experience points to level up through the 60 levels. These points are earned by racing, completing challenges, making friends in the game, joining clubs, discovering all roads, buying new cars and houses and so on. The game is designed to bring massive-multiplayer online sensibility to traditional digital driving, with features such as co-op or a new out of car mode where you can walk around shared spaces and interact with other players. Sims Medieval Release Date: March 22, 2011 | Genre: Simulation | Also on: Mac The next installment in the popular Sims franchise takes the series back in time and puts a twist on the classic gameplay. The Sims Medieval offers players a chance to build up a medieval kingdom and populate it with characters like Kings, Queens, Knights, Blacksmiths, Bards, and Wizards. Each of these classes will have different storylines and users have to make sure they carry out their daily responsibilities. In a departure from previous titles, it seems like this version of The Sims will be extremely story-driven, as users will have to choose an ultimate goal for their kingdom and then fulfill quests that contribute to that goal. EA claims it's not just a different time period and new content, but rather a brand new game within the series with an all-new feature set. Two Worlds II Release Date: January 25, 2011 | Genre: RPG | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360, Mac Two Worlds II: The Temptation is a role-playing game developed by Reality Pump and published by TopWare Interactive as a sequel to the original. Taking place shortly after the events portrayed in Two Worlds, The Temptation takes place in Eastern Antaloor, in the regions surrounding Oswaroh and the Drak’ar Desert. It features more intricate missions, improved voice-overs and animations, and a new game engine that delivers improved visuals. The combat system has also been revamped, with an active blocking system, a completely new means of transport, a much-enhanced reaction system and other tweaks. Along with the many improvements made to Two Worlds II, Reality Pump has put a great amount of effort toward crafting interesting multiplayer modes with a co-op quest line, a 'village' mode, as well as various deathmatches and duel modes on offer. Although it’s just being released in the U.S. this month, Two Worlds II has been available in Europe since December and is getting much better reviews than its predecessor. Brink Release Date: Q2 2011 | Genre: First-person shooter | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Brink takes place on the Ark, a man-made floating city at sea that was designed as a prototype of the perfect city, with renewable resources and no pollution. However, as the threat of a global environmental crisis become real, many refugees enter the city growing its population to the point that there aren't enough resources to go around. The island now exists in complete isolation from the mainland and on the verge of a civil war. The game is set to be an immersive shooter that blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer gameplay into one seamless experience, allowing you to develop your character across all modes of play. The game features four class types, each with different traits and abilities, designed to promote teamwork. You decide the role you want to assume in the world of Brink as you fight to save yourself and mankind's last refuge for humanity. Deus Ex: Human Revolution Release Date: Q2 2011 | Genre: First-person shooter | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be the third game in the first-person role-playing series and a prequel to the original title. Set in 2027, the story follows a security specialist named Adam Jensen who works for a major corporation that specializes in cybernetic modifications. Nanotechnology augmentations as seen in the first game still haven’t been fully developed, but instead people affix mechanical augmentations to themselves to enhance perception and combat abilities -- all while there’s an element of civil discontent as citizens protest the practice of modification. The game begins as a group of armed mercenaries break in and kill the scientists Jensen was hired to protect. Being severely injured himself the only way to survive is to be artificially augmented – although he never gets to make that decision. You're able to upgrade Jensen's abilities as the game progresses in four areas -- Combat, Stealth, Technology and Social -- and the abilities you decide to focus on can dramatically affect your approach to every situation. Driver: San Francisco Release Date: Q2 2011 | Genre: Racing action | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360, Mac Driver: San Francisco is an upcoming sandbox-style action driving video game developed by Ubisoft Reflections. The game takes place a few months after the events of Driv3r, with players taking the role of Detective John Tanner on a relentless manhunt for crime lord Charles Jericho through the hills of the City by the Bay. There’s a new gameplay feature that allows players to shift from a car into another car and continue the mission or engage in side missions. The game will include over 120 fully damageable licensed vehicles including Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Ruf, Dodge Challenger, Pagani Zonda F and the DeLorean DMC-12. Online multiplayer will also be available for the first time in the series with nine different game modes. So far, only the Trail Blazer mode has been announced, where players have to follow the trail of an AI-controlled car to accumulate points. F.E.A.R. 3 Release Date: May 2011 | Genre: First-person shooter | Also on: PS3, Xbox 360 Following along the storyline started with the previous games, F.E.A.R. 3 is pitched as a “heart-pounding paranormal horror first-person shooter”, packed with all the usual compelling narrative and intense combat we’ve come to expect. Point Man, the genetically-enhanced super soldier introduced in the first game, is now playable in single-player or co-op mode, while his brother, the psychic cannibal Paxton Fettel is also playable if you want to take things into co-op. Both have distinctly different abilities that affect their own play as well as the experience of their co-op partner. Long-time fans will know that these two are the sons of Alma, so you can expect a few more scares from the spooky and psychically powerful girl. The game had originally been lined-up for a winter 2010 debut, but back in August 2010 it was moved into 2011 before getting a firm March 25 release date in the U.S. Unfortunately, that date has been moved once more until sometime in May. At least horror fans have the highly anticipated Dead Space 2 coming out this month.

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