My 25 Most Anticipated Games for the Remainder of 2011

So, I totally intended to write some more blog posts after introducing myself… I’ve been busy. However, there were a few staples of my blog in its previous incarnation that I intend to continue, including a top 10 most anticipated games list at the start of each year and again after E3.

The last couple were not top 10 lists. There were too many games I was interested in. I had to go to 15 and then 20. Now, thanks to Destructoid spotlighting even more quirky, under-the-radar, brilliant looking games for me… I can hardly contain them in a list of 25. And this actually annoys me. Seriously. I want to finish all the games I have on the go so I can finally go back and finish Majora’s Mask.

It’s never going to happen…

#25: Saints Row: The Third (November 15 – PS3)
I haven’t played the previous games in the Saints Row franchise, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about 2. It’s Grand Theft Auto but a whole lot stupider and with more to do which is great and Yahtzee Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame called it his game of the year. In the demo I saw of 3, the dude hit old ladies with a dildo, struck random poses, and then got in a car that sucks up pedestrians and shoots them out a canon. It doesn’t look brilliant but it looks like a hell of a lot of stupid fun.

#24: Silent Hill HD Collection (Fall – PS3)
I’m not a fan of horror games, but I’ve heard so many amazing things about Silent Hill 2 that I’ve decided I have to play it. And I don’t think it’s very easy to find a PS2 copy at my local EB games any more. Which is why I got excited when I heard of a HD re-release. However, I am rather sceptical after hearing that they’re changing the voice actors and stuff because I want to experience the game in the way that’s made it a classic in the first place. If I’m told it’s the definitive version though, I’ll gladly buy it.

#23: Catherine (July 26 – PS3)
Catherine is a game I hadn’t heard of until I came to Destructoid and found that a lot of people were really, really excited for it. They’re mostly excited I guess because it’s from the people who made the Persona games (another series I haven’t played but intend to try if 3 or 4 come to the 3DS or something), but also because it looks insane. I have reservations about buying a game with scantily clad anime ladies on the cover, but talking nightmare-sheep are an easy sell for me, so overall I’m not totally sure. The game could go either way for me personally at this point but it’s certainly piqued my interest.

#22: Mario Kart 3DS (Holiday – 3DS)
It’s Mario Kart. The original DS version was my favourite Mario Kart game. This looks like that. The flying and underwater stuff looks cool too. I’ll probably play it. I’ll probably like it. It’s not super-exciting but it also can’t really go wrong.

#21: Retro City Rampage (2011 – WiiWare)
This looks like those old top-down Grand Theft Auto games but way better. There also appears to be a lot of throwbacks to other retro games and a great sense of humour. It looks like it could be a lot of fun. Also there’s a Destructoid level and Jonathan Holmes is in it. Which is amazing.

#20: Ni No Kuni (2011?! – PS3)
I haven’t seen much on this game in a while. I’m also sceptical it’s even coming out this year. It hasn’t even been announced outside of Japan. I’m also not sure I’m interested in playing another JRPG. But it’s Studio Ghibli! That they’re making a video game is ridiculously exciting in itself and the game looks gorgeous. It’s also the Professor Layton guys co-developing, and… and… well I’m sure I’ll end up buying this when and if it comes out no matter what so it deserves a spot on this list.

#19: No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise (August 16 – PS3)
No More Heroes is one of my favourite games and now it’s being ported to PS3 with a new high definition art style and some cool bonus features. It will be my great pleasure to buy this game again.

#18: Kid Icarus: Uprising (Holiday – 3DS)
I’m not entirely sure what this game is going to be. I fear it’ll be like God of War, which I don’t like, but I could easily be completely wrong about that. Kid Icarus was my most anticipated 3DS game when I thought it was going to be a launch title because it looked unique and it looked like it was going to be Nintendo’s showpiece for the system. It still does. I still don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s actually pretty exciting not knowing what a new Nintendo game’s gonna be.

#17: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (August – XBLA)
This game looks insanely gorgeous and atmospheric and also like quite a lot of fun in the same vein as the Pixeljunk Shooter games. It looks fantastic.

#16: Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax (June 29 – XBLA)
Half-Minute Hero is possibly the PSP game I want the most. I’m not entirely sure why. I don’t know that much about it. It’s published by XSEED which is always awesome. And it’s unique and fun, and very funny, poking fun at different game genres and stuff. So I’ve heard. It got amazing reviews but flew under the radar for most people, and it just sounds so fantastic. If I had a PSP I’d have been all over it. But now I don’t need a PSP because it’s coming to XBLA. So, that’s awesome.

#15: Codename D (2011 – XBLA)
I’ll buy a Kinect for this game. So help me I will! All we know about this game is from a trailer in which a whole bunch of people wearing huge animal masks walk out and this guy throws a flaming baseball at them and they all explode. It’s a Suda51 game. That’s all I need to know.

#14: Kirby Wii (Fall – Wii)
Besides Skyward Sword, there are very few upcoming Wii games I’m interested in or can even think of really. One first-party game that Nintendo doesn’t seem to be pushing very hard at all but was at E3 and looks great nonetheless is the new Kirby game. From what I’ve seen I’d say it looks at least as good as New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and possibly more fun than Epic Yarn. It looks like another top-notch Nintendo platformer and what could be the last such one we get on the Wii.

#13: Cave Story 3D (August 9 – 3DS)
I’ve heard such good things about Cave Story that I’ve decided I have to get it. But there are so many versions that I didn’t know which to get. I’d rather play it on a portable system so I held off on the WiiWare version, and then when the 3DS eShop came out I found out about the DsiWare version, which I thought might be better than the 3DS version because it had the original sprites and was probably cheaper (but then why not get it for free on PC), but then I decided to hold off on that until I found out more about the 3DS version. And anywho, now that I have, I’ve settled on the 3DS version. I look forward to it.

#12: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D (Winter – 3DS)
MGS3 is considered one of the best PS2 games and perhaps the best MGS game, and I look forward to playing it for the first time on 3DS. I really liked (though wasn’t a gigantic fan of) MGSIV, and I think I could like this one even more.

#11: Beyond Good & Evil HD (June?! – PSN)
This came out months ago on XBLA and it was supposed to come out at the same time on PSN but then the PSN version was delayed and then it was supposed to come out on June 8th and that date has come and gone and I don’t know where it is and I could just get in on XBLA but I’d rather have it on PSN and, and… But yea, it should be here soon, I guess. It’s a critically acclaimed, commercially unsuccessful type of game that’s developed a following and also it’s supposed to be like Zelda kinda so I must play it.

#10: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (November 1 – PS3)
The Uncharted games aren’t very deep and I don’t care about most of the story or characters the way a lot of people do but the games are nonetheless incredibly polished and gorgeous to look at and really a lot of mindless fun. I even really liked the multiplayer in the last game. So there’s enough reason for me to look forward to the third instalment there, but funnily enough, what excites me most about Uncharted 3 is the story. See, this one apparently draws from the writings of T.E. Lawrence, the subject of one of my very favourite movies, which also means it’s set in the desert, and with “more Sully”, I think it could be really interesting.

#9: Luigi’s Mansion 2 (2011 – 3DS)
Luigi’s Mansion is an odd game from Nintendo that I’ve always been really curious about. It’s a unique game for Nintendo and one that gives Luigi his own starring role. To me, it looks like all the charm and polish of a Mario game brought to a completely new kind of game and I’m really excited to try it out in what looks to be a much improved sequel on the 3DS. It looks great.

#8: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (June 19 – 3DS)
Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask are among my favourite games of all time even though I’ve never finished them. Now that Ocarina of Time is coming to the 3DS and it looks amazing, this is for me a great excuse to not only finally finish it (hopefully), but to re-experience it entirely for the first time in a decade. The memories and sense of nostalgia these games are capable of evoking in me is beyond comparison. I just hope I don’t still need a walkthrough…

#7: Ico & Shadow of The Colossus HD Collection (September 27 – PS3)
Shadow of the Colossus is an amazing game, and I’m sure it will look amazing in this collection, but the real reason I want this game is undoubtedly to play Ico. Ico, unlike SotC, is almost impossible to get a hold of these days, and after playing SotC, I want so badly to play Ico. This is kind of the answer to my prayers.

#6: Super Mario (Holiday – 3DS)
It’s the big Mario game for 3DS. Hell, it’s the first big 3D Mario game on any portable system. Better yet, the return of the tanooki suit and little Mario and a lot of other stuff not seen since to 2D Mario games looks really cool. And, uh… it’s Mario. Mario games are always amazing.

#5: Journey (2011 – PSN)
That I’m putting this game so high on my list is surprising even to me, right now. There’s so little I know about this game. It looks incredibly intriguing. But while thatgamecompany’s previous games, flow and flower are beautiful and interesting, I didn’t think they were brilliant. Maybe it was Hamza’s preview of Journey in which he said it gave him the same feeling he got when he played a videogame for the first time – I didn’t even read past the first couple paragraphs. That’s all I need to hear. This is my most anticipated downloadable game.

#4: Fez (2011 – XBLA)
Err… 2nd most anticipated downloadable game. Fez just looks way too amazing. Seriously! Thank Christ for Destructoid and Jonathon Holmes because otherwise I’m pretty sure I would never have heard of this game. Seriously! OMG! Have you seen it? Doesn’t it look incredible?! Like, holy shit! Right?!

#3: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Holiday 2011 – Wii)
The Zelda series is absolutely my favourite game series, and this is the first proper console instalment since 2006. That said, like many people, I haven’t had much to go on in getting excited about it besides that last statement. This years E3 demos got me excited. No it wasn’t the motion controls, though I think they could be bloody cool. It wasn’t the bird-flying mini-game or whatever. It was, like, the characters in the background. The setting... What are these places? Who (and what) are these characters? I caught a very tiny glimpse of a world to explore, rife with imagination and possibilities. This is what I love about the Zelda games. This is why I’m excited for Skyward Sword.

#2: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (November 11 – PS3)
Fallout 3 is my favourite game of this console generation. Never before have I thought that a game world felt so alive and real. And never before have I felt so much like I embodied the main character. The world Bethesda created and the quality and variety of genuinely interesting quests, locations, and characters is amazing. Playing Oblivion afterwards felt like a huge step backwards. Playing New Vegas felt like a smaller step back. Skyrim looks like a huge step forward. This game looks so packed full of amazing shit that it’s unbelievable. I have no fucking clue where I’m going to find the 100+ hours I’ll surely need to devote to it with all the other games on this list, but I’m gonna have to, obviously.

#1: Shadows of the Damned (June 21 – PS3)
I was a bit let down by No More Heroes 2 last year after calling it my most anticipated game of the year, but I don’t care! Suda51 is my hero and goddamnit his new game looks incredible! Have you seen the GDC trailer?! It’s ridiculous! Now whenever I see more from the game I’m like OMG THAT WAS AMAZING DON’T SHOW ME ANY MORE PLEASE. Did you see that gun called the “Big Boner”? Like, WTF? AMAZING. I can’t wait. It’s a brand new Suda IP with all the insane creativity that brings. AND IT’S ONLY FOUR DAYS AWAY. FOUR DAYS!!!!!!*



*Chad Concelmo-inspired enthusiasm

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