What’s coming out in 2011 that looks like a winner?

Quite a lot as it happens.

Over to wikipedia for the detail:

Total War: Shogun 2 is an upcoming strategycomputer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is the latest installment in the Total War series and returns to the 16th century Japan setting of Shogun: Total War. The game is set for release on March 15, 2011. Shogun 2 will have a combination of real-time strategy and turn-based strategy gameplay, a staple of the Total War series. The player plays the role of both the clan leader and general, alternating between the “campaign”, where the player manages his land and armies turn by turn, and the “battles”, where the player takes control of the army on the battlefield in real-time. In the “campaign”, the player will need to oversee the development of settlements, military production, economic growth, and technological advancement. The armies and units will be organized and moved around the stylized campaign map by the player to carry out battles with other factions. In addition to fighting, the player will be able to engage in diplomacy, political maneuvering, and special agents to gain the upper hand. Ninjas and geishas are confirmed to be included in the game as spies and assassins. The “battles” of Shogun 2 will involve large-scale skirmishes between armies that meet on the campaign map, taking place on land or on water. The game engine can reportedly support up to 56,000 soldiers in a single battle. The developers are paying particular attention to re-designing the naval and siege battles appropriate to the new setting. In contrast to European castles and forts, the castles in feudal Japan had multiple tiers, and thus the siege battles in the game will put less focus on wall defenses but more on courtyard brawls and tactical maneuvering. Also, the players will fight naval battles with unique Japanese ships resembling “floating castles”, and take into consideration melees on ships, arrow fire, coastal terrain, and many factors.

Brink is an upcoming first-person shootervideo game developed by Splash Damage and inspired by the Seasteading movement, scheduled for release May 17, 2011 in the US and May 20 in Europe. It offers team-based multiplayer missions with authored narratives, persistent player characters and an approachable nature. It is also developer Splash Damage’s first original title, as past titles were part of franchises. In Brink, two sides, “Resistance” and “Security”, fight in the previously utopian city known as The Ark, a floating city surrounded by the waters of a flooded Earth. The Ark was designed as a prototype of a perfect city, with renewable resources and no pollution, large enough to support 5,000 residents. However, due to many refugees entering the city from other parts of the world, its population has grown to 50,000, meaning there are not enough resources to go around – resulting in the city being on the brink (hence the name of the game) of a civil war. Brink is a first-person shooter built around a story mode playable online with up to 8 players in a co-operative style, against bots, or in competitive team-against-team multi-player.[1] Full cosmetic customization of characters is possible via gear bought with experience points earned by completing objectives. Brink also features Splash Damage’s SMART (“Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain”) System. It allows players to maneuver around complex environments without equally complex input by analysing their position and judging what they are trying to do. The movement style is that of parkour, similar to that as seen in the Mirror’s Edge game. The game features four class types, each with different traits and abilities, designed to promote teamwork.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (previously Deus Ex 3) will be the third game in the first-personrole-playing gameDeus Ex series, and a prequel to the original game. The game takes place during the year 2027, 25 years before Deus Ex. Nanotechnological augmentations have yet to be developed and biomechanical augmentations are the current state of the art. Human Revolution deals with the ethics of transhumanism, and carries an overarching message of humanity’s reach exceeding its grasp. “Mankind is using mechanical augmentations,” director Jean-Francois Dugas said before the game’s release, “but there is still much to be determined in terms of their effect on society and the ultimate direction it will lead us in.” The Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus appears in Adam Jensen’s dreams as an allegory to this thought, and also—given that both Daedalus and Icarus were the names of artificial intelligences in Deus Ex—an intellectual bridge to the original game. The pace of technological development is reflected visually by a Renaissance theme. Characters who support the advances of human augmentation dress themselves and decorate their homes in reinterpreted late-medieval Italian style, and the game as a whole has a sepia-tinted colour palette reminiscent of historic manuscripts. In contrast, characters who oppose or are of neutral opinion to augmentations wear clothing that is more or less current-day. As was the case in Deus Ex, conspiracy theories and immensely powerful corporations feature strongly, but nothing is currently known about them.

Mass Effect 3 is the upcoming third and final game in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games developed by BioWare, and published by Electronic Arts with a tentative release date of “Holiday 2011” Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race. As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth. The game’s director, Casey Hudson, commented that Mass Effect 3 “will be easier [to develop] because we don’t have to worry about continuity into the next one,” and that the game’s development will follow a timeframe similar to that of Mass Effect 2. Decisions will still be imported from the two previous titles to Mass Effect 3, as to keep continuity within the series.

Guild Wars 2 is a fantasyMMORPG currently in development by ArenaNet, as a sequel to their episodicGuild Wars game series. The game takes place in the Guild Wars fantasy world of Tyria, 250 years after the players defeat the Great Destroyer in the Eye of the North expansion. Five elder dragons sleeping beneath the continent have awoken, causing widespread destruction to Tyria and corrupting its inhabitants. The once dominant humans of Tyria are in decline, supplanted from most of their land by disasters and war, and the dwarves are all but extinct. Old and new races alike have begun to rise in the resulting power vacuum. Old cities have been destroyed and rebuilt, kingdoms seized and reformed by new rulers. In PvE content Guild Wars 2 will use a persistent game-world but still utilize instanced content as a story telling device. Instead of quests in this game-world, the persistent area will have a set of scenarios, or events, which dynamically occur depending on player actions in the area. These in-game events are designed to allow characters of all levels to continuously interact with the game-world. Underwater areas are being added for players to explore. Some areas are half underwater and about a third of the game’s playable area is underwater. Earlier in development, a companion system was considered, but it was decided they did not need it due to diversity of the professions and how they can work together. Items, such as weapons and armor, are intended to have a larger effect on PvE game play. A more elaborate crafting system and other non-combat interactions are also being added to the game. PvP combat will also change from the original series. The popular guild vs. guild matches from the original series will continue to be available, but Guild Wars 2 will introduce large scale world vs. world matches in the in-game setting called the Mists. Players will be able to join this worldwide PvP battle in a variety of roles, with rewards commensurate with their success.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an upcoming role-playing game and a sequel to The Witcher, developed by CD Projekt RED. For the sequel, CD Projekt had developed their own engine this time, unlike the first installment, which used a modified version of Bioware’s Aurora Engine. Until now, only select areas of the game have been shown using the engine with the developers highlighting the various improvements they have made. Along with the engine, the developers have changed the combat system. Although these changes have not yet been publicly displayed, various gaming sites like IGN have reported that the combat is no longer like it was in the first game, which used a timed mouse-based system. On March 25, 2010, the first gameplay video was shown to audiences. This gameplay footage showed the various methods that a player could use to complete the level. The demo at GamesCom 2010 also showed many different levels and characters for the first time. It has been rumored that the game has 16 different endings. The game still retains its signature delayed-consequence system, which was well-received by the gaming community and critics alike. The game features a branching dialogue system with full voice acting which was cast, directed and recorded in London The game has been scheduled for release on May 17, 2011 for the PC. The developers have hinted that there could be some possibility of a console release after the game is released first for the PC, but for now the game is strictly a PC title. The game will also be released simultaneously on Good Old Games and Impulse without any DRM.