So Here we go!
2011 kicks off with the latest attempt at a successful superhero MMO. DC Universe comes to us from Sony Online Entertainment, creators of Everquest. The game centers around heavy customization of your character like City of Heroes or Champions, though the difference is you choose a mentor that your character receives quests from and progress through your city. DC has been working with Sony to make this feel as much as a superhero experience as possible. You are mentored by a villain or hero (the big ones are Batman and Superman, or Joker and Lex Luthor). There is a lot of potential in this title but with World of Warcraft still chugging along strong and Star Wars The Old Republic set to launch this year it will be hard to grab and maintain a strong user base. I think as long as the combat system is fluid, you never get long periods of grinding, and Sony adds new content on a regular basis this can MMO can get a good standing in the genre. DC Universe comes out January 11th for PC and PS3.
Little Big Planet 2 is shaping up to be one of the most creative games in a long time. The first game debuted as a platformer with great customization to create your own levels. LBP 2 is looking to expand from that and not only allow you to create great levels for platforming, but create just about any kind of game you want. It has been in beta for a few months now and videos have been emerging showing some testers turning LBP 2 into anything from a fighter, to first person shooter, to a puzzle game. This is really becoming a designer's dream as not only are these options possible, but from the footage they are executed quite well. This is the kind of game that can last quite a while, from the content that you can play right away off the disc, to whatever you create yourself, to the vast online community and the creations they put online. It's hard to NOT recommend this to anyone that owns a PS3. Little Big Planet 2 will be out on Playstation 3 January 18th.
Now I know Mass Effect 2 came out last year on XBOX 360, but this January PS3 owners will finally be able to experience this franchise and I feel that's big enough to add it to this list. Mass Effect in my opinion is the biggest franchise success Bioware has had since KOTOR. The first game focused more on the RPG and conversation elements then the game play. Though in my opinion the story was so strong that it balanced out the weak game-play of the first. Mass Effect 2 vastly improved the game giving it more of a 3rd person shooter feel on the same level as Gears of War with the RPG elements toned down a bit. Bioware really took all complaints to heart and stepped up with part 2. The best part about the PS3 version of ME 2 is they get to run through a motion comic of the first game, making all the important decisions that effect the 2nd game. That way they do not miss out on the experience of how your decisions effect play through. Mass Effect 2 hits the same day as Little Big Planet 2, January 18th.
Ending out the month on January 25th is Dead Space 2, sequel to the surprise hit original that came out over 2 years ago on 360 and PS3. This game takes place 3 years after the original and continues with protagonist Isaac Clarke. The big appeal of this game was the survival horror factor. Survival Horror had really dropped off as a strong genre as Resident Evil started swinging into more of an action game and Silent Hill just...started sucking. Dead Space gave you a real sense of fear because you had no idea what was after you, where it would be coming from, how aggressive they would be, and it was terrifying. The other cool factor was you were not a mercenary, or a government agent. You were a miner, using mining tools to dismember these creatures and kill them. This gave the development team a lot of creative freedom with the weaponry. Dead Space 2 also offers the game's debut attempt at multiplayer. It is a 4v4 concept pitting Miners vs Necromorphs. The miners are out to complete an objective while the necros are out to kill and stop the miners. The game will feature an experience system used to obtain better weapons as you progress. If the sequel can maintain that sense of terror and give you a bunch of new weapons then this can definitely carry on the franchise to further success.
What's a better way to begin the month of February then another whoring out of Mario and friends to another sports game!? In all honesty Mario Sports Mix (coming out February 7th) looks to be a lot of fun. Brought to us by the folks at square enix, Mario and pals face off in your choice of basketball, volleyball, dodge ball, and hockey. Square Enix was the team behing Mario Hoops 3 on 3 which was a very good title for the Nintendo DS. This game shows a lot of promise for a strong party game experience. All of these sports have not been done for a Mario game on the consoles which should be a little bit of a breath of fresh air. Lets hope this title provides a worthwhile experience.
Rounding out part 1 of this editorial is the game I am personally looking forward to most in quarter 1 of 2011. MARVEL vs CAPCOM 3! a game 10 years in the making is finally upon us. MvC3 is the highly anticipated sequel to one of the most popular fighters in creation. The focus on this entry is a graphics style similar to Tatsunoko vs Capcom of 3D cell shaded characters on a 2D field of play. It will keep the 3v3 tag system as well as imprementing level 3 super moves that are a little more cinematic and epic then the last go around. Capcom and Marvel have been working hard on coming up with a roster of characters that are filled with old favorites as well as new entries. So far the roster is up to 34 characters but with the collectors edition coming with a code for 2 additional fighters, this shows the potential for DLC down the road. With it being unlikely that we will see an MvC 4 any time soon it's good to see the potential of Capcom maintaining part 3 with fresh content for a while. This bad mama jama will be dropped to the world on February 15th.
Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow! :D
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