Print
Magicka
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios
Release Date: January 2011
Website
This four-player co-op hack 'n' slasher looks to be equal parts chaotic and hilarious, putting a focus on strategic spellcasting while gleefully lampooning just about every fantasy trope you can think of. How can you not love a game that opens with “once upon a time in generic fantasy world which was of course in trouble, only up to four wizards had the power to make a difference”? And of course, it looks like wicked fun, with hordes of enemies testing your magical prowess at every turn.
Monaco
Publisher: N/A
Developer: Pocketwatch Games
Release Date: TBA 2011
Website
Monaco's a brilliant little puzzle-action game that gleefully crosses the line between cooperative and competitive over and over and over. You (and a few friends) play as thieves attempting to pull off an elaborate heist, and how it goes down is completely up to you. Do you create a distraction? Do you hide in a toilet? Do you focus on building up one of your teammates' powers at the cost of your own? Do you kick teamwork to the curb, sell out your buddies, and make a mad dash for the loot? It's all your call in a game where watching everything fall to pieces is nearly as satisfying as seeing a plan finally come together.
Natural Selection 2
Publisher: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Release Date: Early 2011
Website
The original Natural Selection was one of the best Half-Life mods around, and this standalone sequel looks to continue that tradition and then some. Top to bottom, it's a brilliant-looking fusion of FPS and RTS, pitting high-tech marines against icky-sticky aliens. Pick a side, make a plan, and then leap right into the action. If you're looking for something different to scratch your multiplayer itch after dominating Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Black Ops, this is your game.
NightSky
Publisher: N/A
Developer: Nicalis
Release Date: January 6
Website
Games have been known to frequently excite and startle players, but rare is the game that kicks back, relaxes, and slowly melts all your stresses away. NightSky's not exactly a trip to the spa, but its focus on ambient sights and sounds, challenging puzzles, and the simple act of rolling a ball helps the game achieve a similar affect. It's quiet and simple, sure, but well worth a look.
Comments are closed on this article
bolod
December 27, 2011 at 5:22am
I became anticipating intended for this type of write-up so I currently have attained various valuable details made by this web site Appreciate your sharing giving this level of detail, There is absolutely no far better strategy to grant details to opportunity seekers than you are on in this way.
bolod
December 23, 2011 at 12:10pm
I love to surf and my initial source for information is the blogs which have always helped me in my education. This blog is one of them
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.
