The 18 Best PC Games of 2011 That You Don't Know About
The 18 Best PC Games of 2011 That You Don't Know About
Posted 02/01/2011 at 12:05pm
| by Nathan Grayson
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2011 is finally starting to get under way, and you know what that means: roughly 20 million identical lists from your old pal The Internet telling you which games should have your clicking fingers and WASD-claws aching with excitement. Here's the problem, though: you've heard it all before. Even without the aforementioned list avalanche, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out when Call of Diablo: Crysis Effect 3 is dropping.
Granted, rocket science is also largely unnecessary when dealing with these games (we had to consult NASA, like, twice), but odds are, you probably know them about about as well as you know how to put a man on the moon. So, in that spirit, we thought we'd give you the scoop on some great-looking games that – prior to this very moment – were well on the road to passing you by.
Find out what you've been missing after the break!
Achron
Publisher: N/A
Developer: Hazardous Software
Release Date: TBA 2011
Website
Whether it's because of ill-advised tactics or fingers that languidly crawl around on the keyboard like an obese spider, every RTS player's made their fair share of extremely regrettable mistakes. The obvious solution? Learn from your mistakes Time travel! Achron gives you the ability to manipulate the forces of time in your favor, potentially opening up innumerable new tactical options in your quest for strategic domination. For instance, you might tell a unit to move someplace in the past and – presto – it's suddenly there in the present. Or – if you're like us – you can undo your 527-cart pile-up of ill-advised tactical train wrecks. It's a complicated wrinkle in time all right, but we're certainly excited about the possibilities.
Darkspore
Publisher: EA
Developer: Maxis
Release Date: February
Website
Ever wonder what Will Wright's intelligent design sim Spore would look like if it was also adopted by Diablo and nurtured into a fine young hack 'n' slasher? Neither did we. But that's the almost-jarringly unexpected turn Maxis decided to take, and to the developer's credit, Darkspore's looking like a mighty fine warm-up for Blizzard's third descent into the other burning down under. On top of that, the ever-popular (and frequently abused) Spore creature creator's making a triumphant return, so even if you only play for a few minutes, Darkspore will probably haunt you for years.
Fate of the World
Publisher
Developer
Release Date: February 15
Website
In Fate of the World, you have one simple objective: stop the world from killing itself. Different scenarios see you warding off different apocalpytic catastrophies – you know, fun things like rapid climate change and overpopulation – through use of a simple, effective menu interface. “Simple,” however, is the last word we'd use to describe the moutain of competing factors you'll have to sort through turn-after-turn. After all, you may be forced to rub multiple countries the wrong way in order to save one. Some might stop listening to you altogether. And then – poof – there goes earth in a brick-thick cloud of its own gasses. Intense, right? We, however, break out into cold addiction sweats just thinking about it, so here's hoping the game delivers on its boatloads of promise.
Firefall
Publisher: Webzen
Developer: Red 5 Studios
Release Date: Q4 2011
Website
A high-flying, hard-shooting MMO from some of the brightest minds behind World of Warcraft and Tribes, Firefall certainly has quite the pedigree. From what we've seen, it's a Frankenstein monster that's equal parts Tribes (jetpacks!), Borderlands (guns!), and WoW (loot!). Promising? Definitely. Here's hoping that each of its parts comes together to form a coherent whole – and not an ugly, needle-and-thread-stitched attempt to cash-in on more successful titles.
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niceperson_90
December 18, 2011 at 8:02am
Call of Duty has it's own flock of sheeple so there's no doubt that they'll make some cash off of this. I won't have anything to do with Call of Duty so it doesn't matter to me, but it's sad to see companies taking advantage and sucking as much money as possible from it's customers.Bungie offers the same feature abosolutely free. Except for that fact that if you want more than what they provided, you have to pay. Now that's fair.What Activision is doing is bullsh3t. Only TRUE COD fanboys would go for that kind of rubbish offer. That's my opinion about this option subscription thing btw. Blogposts service
aldabright
March 15, 2011 at 8:41pm
the name of the fisrt game---Fate of the World let me think of the Japan earthquake happened sevaral days ago, what really the fate of the world be? Is 2012 really real? I think I'm more asured of it now.
http://www.copygames.org/
Ceadderman
March 06, 2011 at 1:44pm
I've been waiting on Homefront since I first caught a glimpse of the 1st review. I'd all but given up hope that it would be released. Even now, I don't believe it. But then I think back to Duke Nukem and remember that was scrapped. And then I praise the gaming gods that Homefront doesn't suffer the same fate.
jkyarr
March 05, 2011 at 6:45pm
I find the omission of Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic to be hilacious oversights bordering on unforgivable! What gives?
Thursday
March 06, 2011 at 10:35am
I think you missed the part that said "...that you don't know about."
ajfranquiz
February 28, 2011 at 12:21am
I for one am looking for better games and better production and distribution. I was just having a conversation about the state of business affairs and at least in arts and development it seems that people are willing to take passion and personal investment into consideration over, past experience or publisher names. It's a good thing. I for one just got hooked on the Penumbra series, I love a good scare but can never find it and the Amensia title really really hooked me. It's good to see that there are a lot of people willing to take a chance on what they love to do.
samduhman
February 02, 2011 at 9:53am
Red Orchestra 2! I'm assuming this is flying under the radar for most. This will be a PC EXCLUSIVE FPS aka if BF1942 where developed today. There a great interview from the Dev with PC Gamer magazine. Check out their website, I believe they also put it online. Talks about how todays FPS are great acheivements for console but not for PC and how as PC gamers we are expected to accept less than we have in the past and with more restrictions.
bmomjian
February 02, 2011 at 8:52am
The new layout now causes the "print" page to close the tab as soon as you decline to print, meaning you can't view articles as a single page anymore. Is this web site that desparate for ad impressions? :-( Perhaps they should spend their time on comment spam removal first!
sybert
February 01, 2011 at 11:55pm
Already knew about Home Front. Featured on Steam for a couple days.
It looks good, and I hope they don't screw it up.
Biggins
February 01, 2011 at 3:24pm
North Korea invades the USA? Is that really plausible? Maybe if North Korea invaded South Korea, but not NK invading the USA.
I was considering buying Homefront but took it off my list after reading the plot. If they can't get the geopolitics right, what else are they going to screw up?
Biggins
February 03, 2011 at 12:05pm
Hey I've got an idea for a game...
How about Mexico invades China? Or Haiti invades all of South America. That could totally happen, right?
/Sarcasm
k11k
February 01, 2011 at 5:50pm
Beside don't assume anything is false. Like how we thought China couldn't develop a stealth fighter till 2020. Who knows what going on behind closed door is all I'm saying.
Houndf
February 01, 2011 at 3:43pm
Yeah I know. When I heard the plot I sometime prior I laughed. They couldn't even bring an army to the US, much less without being unnoticed. Half of them would defect as soon as they saw that we don't eat babies and haven't any slaves crawling the streets.
someuid
February 01, 2011 at 4:14pm
They would probably defect as soon as they crossed their own border. May that regime topple in our lifetime and we can show them what they've been missing out on all these decades.
Ceadderman
February 01, 2011 at 8:00pm
Well Egypt just had a successful revolt, so one can only hope that North Koreans see this(in some form or other) and decide now is the time to take junior down before things can get out of hand. That guy almost ended the tenuous cease fire that has been in existence for over 50 years. We can only hope anyway.
someuid
February 01, 2011 at 2:23pm
Well, they better not release anything until Dec 2011. I bought so many games from Steam during their November and December holiday sales, I'm busy for a solid 11 months.
lunchbox73
February 01, 2011 at 3:15pm
Ha! I hear you. I loaded up on Steam games over the holiday season and then just got Just Cause 2 and Mafia 2 free with my new GPU. I haven't even gotten my $15 worth of game time from BFBC2 Vietnam yet and I bought that the day it was released. I guess too many games to play is better than the opposite.
someuid
February 01, 2011 at 4:09pm
I have a friend who's been playing Just Cause 2 and loves it.
As for $15, it is amazing what kind of game you can get for the money these days if you're willing to wait 6 months after the hype settles down. I think the most expensive game I bought was $25 or $30. I was happy as a clam at high tide.
logicmaster2003
February 01, 2011 at 2:52pm
same here !! I also took advantage of the Steam's daily deals during the month of December !
Out of all these 2011 games, only ONE interest me == HOMEFRONT ! but they better have mods/map support ! otherwise it will be garbage just like Bad Company2
someuid
February 01, 2011 at 4:07pm
I might notice Diablo 3 when it is released, but it is really hard to say. My brain is thinking Borderlands 24x7 these days, and I still have Half Life 2, Warhammer 2, and Fallout to play, not mention an obsession with AI War the size of a runaway forest fire.
Where was I the last several years? I was playing EVE Online and nothing else got my attention.
OhSoCheesy
February 03, 2011 at 7:19pm
HL2 was more than "several years" ago! Welcome to the 21st Century...maybe someday you can catch up to the second decade :)
pc_load_letter
February 01, 2011 at 1:54pm
Have to say, this comment threw me for a loop...."Kaos Studios' formidable pedigree"
Eh, what? They made a mod then completely failed at FrontLines. Not to mention letting all the FFOW users die a slow death on a vine.
Nah, I predict, despite the great story material, this game will be forgotten by May.
PCLL
D00dlavy
February 01, 2011 at 1:52pm
Who the f--k doesn't know about The Witcher? Maybe Wiitards and Call of Duty players, but everyone else...
Oh wait, we're the minority.
Aksparks04
February 01, 2011 at 1:48pm
Yeah, Ive been anticipating the Witcher 2 for some time now. The original was great -- the Enhanced Edition fixed some of the issues that plagued the original as well. I loved the dark-themed content/environment and the pacing kept you interested.
carnivorousslushee23
February 01, 2011 at 1:12pm
I disagree with only one thing in this article. For me, Frontlines: Fuel of War sucked as much ass as it is possible to suck. Immensely unsatisfying shooting mechanics, lukewarm graphics/animations, and an even more meh storyline. I'm glad I got it in the THQ pack on Steam instead of actually buying it separately, because I found it to be a complete load of junk. Oh, and I would disagree with the article's title, because I've heard of half of these things already, and have followed several of them as well.
Other than that, I've been following the Witcher 2 for a while now. It looks quite good; I recently bought the first one on Steam for $5, and it's better than I expected. I hope to complete #1 before I try Assassins of Kings, just so I can get a feel for Geralt's character and the gameplay style. It's still a bit new to me.
lunchbox73
February 01, 2011 at 3:19pm
Agreed. When I finally got that game patched and running smoothly on my system I realized it was a crap game and stopped playing. Got it for free a couple years ago with my video card.
Fecal Face
February 01, 2011 at 2:35pm
Heheh, Frontlines did suck. I can't complain though, since I bought the THQ pack for $49.99
God I love steam..
OhSoCheesy
February 03, 2011 at 7:23pm
I love Steam too...but don't let your internet die...you can't play ANYTHING! My FiOS box crapped out with the rolling blackouts in TX and it took them a (VERY F'ing LONG) day to fix it. None of my Steam games would play Single Player because I couldn't connect to the Steam servers. Other than that...I love Steam and all the great deals. Plus after a couple hardware issues, it's always easy to reinstall your games.
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