First Article from our New Gamer Girl CRUX - Most Anticipated Video Games of 2011

So, a new year never really refers to upcoming time to me. Instead, I count my days in anticipation of the new games that the industry has in store for me. For months, and even years, I sat and read about upcoming titles...I get all the little tidbits about game play and screenshots that leave me bouncing in my seat...down to getting that one little minute of trailer-time that just leaves me hyperventilating. You guys know that feeling, I know you do!

The past few years has given us a plethora of amazing games to choose from with the release of the next generation systems and peripherals. This year is once again looking to be abundant in riches stored on those little flat discs.

So what are some of the most anticipated games coming out for this year, you ask? What are the games that are going to take up your time and life, put your job and relationship at risk, and blow your mind? I, honestly, don't think I could tell you...this year is looking to be just THAT good! 

Here in January we have some games that have already come out, or are going to come out very soon; Back to the Future has been released this week, a game of which I've been watching closely and will be reviewing shortly. I mean, come on, the 80's nostalgia is running over your adulthood with a Delorian at 88 miles per hour...admit it!

Mass Effect 2 will finally be released for the Playstation 3 on January 18th. The game itself is absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see it running on the PS3's core processor. Commander Shepard will have some huge competition this day, however, as he/she shares a release date with the much loved Sackboy in Little Big Planet 2(PS3). Give the little guy some N7 armor and those puzzles are toast.

After that, we have Dead Space 2 releasing on January 28th for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. Like the first one, it seems like it's goal is not to kill you, but scare the living hell out of you. You can download the Demo now on the Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network, which I am currently watching being played as I write this. It has already freaked us out. Game: Mission Accomplished. 

Then we come to one game that I've eagerly been awaiting: DC Universe Online. I ended up being able to play the beta thanks to a generous friend of mine and regardless of the bugs, I've fallen in love with this game. I'm an avid comic reader, and a long-time Batman fan, so when I got into game with Batman as my mentor and heard Kevin Conroy from the WB Animated series address my character I was in heaven. The game is unlike any other MMO out there, which is refreshing. Now, there's a bit of confusion as to when this game is to be released, I've heard it's the 11th of January, however, my friends at my local Gamestop where I dropped my preorder down have it down for a release of January 31st. Either way, I'm stoked! You can play this sack of awesome on either the Playstation 3 or PC. 

February and March is going to kick you in the face and leave you wanting more! With February we have Marvel vs. Capcom 3 slamming itself onto the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on the 15th. With my love for fighting games, comics, and the fact I can beat out my boyfriend on any of the Marvel vs Capcom games makes me all sorts of giddy for this game. And Deadpool, guys. EFFING DEADPOOL! Guaranteed to break the fourth wall and your controller! 

Along with the Fate of Two Worlds, the battle of other worlds is also released on the 15th with Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. The cute brick-ified world of Lego Star Wars returns as you guide your favorite characters through the adventures of the Clone Wars cartoon and more. You can build your own prequels...or destroy them...on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, PC, PSP, and Nintendo DS.

Killzone 3 ends the month on a bloody, action packed note on February 22nd for the Playstation 3 and is one of the earliest games to be 3D enabled, and with motion control using the Playstation Move peripheral.

Rift, another fantasy MMORPG, is set for release on March 1st for the PC. We'll see if it can best WoW or if it goes down like Aion. At least it looks pretty!

Pick up your Pokéballs, because your Pokémon fighting ring will be at it again when Pokémon: Black/White comes out on March 6th. We all know Michael Vick will be all on that one.  You can Catch 'em All (and put them into an existence of harsh fights and living in a tiny enclosure) on your Nintendo DS.

March 8th arrives to pit you in the middle of a war between good and evil with Dragon Age 2 for the PC, Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3. This game has come highly anticipated and it seems that Bioware really can do no wrong. I mean...the game is just awesome looking. The trailer always leaves me breathless. 

The cult series Yakuza returns on March 15th with Yakuza 4 on the Playstation 3, followed by The Sims: Medeval for the PC and Mac where you can build and live in your own kingdom in the Dark Ages (can't you just smell the Bubonic?), Crysis 2 for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3, and the highly awaited Fear 3, where you honestly have to wear diapers to keep from peeing yourself in fright (don't worry boys, we won't tell, your masculinity is in tact with me).

March 31st marks the release date of two of the most beautiful, and my most favorite, games in existence on the Playstation 3, remastered for HD and in a double pack: ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. If you have never played these games, you've yet to see what video games can really be. I've never played a game more epic in it's game play, visuals, and musical score than Shadow. It proves that video games are truly an art form. 

Mortal Kombat returns to us on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 26th, thus proving you can never pull a fatality on this franchise.

April also holds a special treat with the return of GLaDOS on the 16th with Portal 2, available on the Steam Network for PC and Mac, and the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. GLaDOS is out to prove she can best Chell with her puzzles and scathing sarcasm, and waiting for you. Portal 2 includes new obstacles, two-player co-op, and maybe you'll get to see your best friend, the Companion Cube, again. Just remember...the cake is a lie...but how could we forget? 

After nearly 15 years, we finally get to see the release of Duke Nukem Forever on May 31st on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC...and realize that "Forever" meant the wait we've all had to endure.

June 3rd marks the day that we figure out how Raiden got so awesome in Metal Gear Solid: Rising for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. I know this one is definitely on my list of absolutely MUST PLAY, as I've become a big Metal Gear Solid fan over the past few years. The game play looks absolutely amazing and streamlined...I know I cannot wait! 

The Resistance franchise returns with Resistance 3 on Sept 6th for the Playstation 3 and the continuation of the popular Uncharted series returns for it's third installment in November. It seems like a take on Lost with the plane crash...Nathan Drake, you are off the island. Be thankful. 

Infamous 2 (Playstation 3-may include the Playstation Move peripheral) and Twisted Metal (Playstation 3) returns to players in December in time for Christmas as well as having an expected friend in the eagerly awaited Mass Effect 3 (tentatively) for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. 

And then we fall upon the most anticipated games of the year that have yet to be given a release date, though everyone is crossing their fingers for sooner rather than later.

Gears of War 3 will be returning to our Xbox 360s in the fall, pushed back from an April release...but never fear, there will be enough Locusts to slice and dice with your chainsaw gun. And enough of a chance to play the other side with the new Beast mode multiplayer. 

Finally, we come to the game that I, personally, am ALWAYS bouncing in my seat for:

will be coming to the PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox360 sometime later in the year. This game...I...I just have no words. I played the first on both consoles and fell in love with the game play, the puzzle solving, and the story. I was a fangirl through and through as I made my way through Arkham Asylum, listening to the insane taunts of Mark Hamill as the Joker...it was everything a Batman game should be.

Imagine my excitement when they eluded to a sequel. And finally the announcement of Arkham City. What was this? Arkham Asylum...set in the entire city of Gotham? Holy game-play-and-multiplayer-possibilities, Batman! YES, PLEASE! So I had been sitting for months, awaiting news eagerly...until EA and WB Games released this: 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How...HOW could that be CG?! As an artist who sometimes dabbles in 3D art and imaging, working on polygons and textures...I felt my ears leaking blood as my brain promptly exploded in my skull and I sat there just wondering HOW. It. Looks. AMAZING.

With a plot involving all your favorite villains, I'm all the more eager to find out if we'll finally get to play alongside other heroes such as Robin and Nightwing(Oh, please, please, PLEASE!)...and then we finally got our major villain: Hugo Strange. 

For those who don't exactly read or know Batman very well, Strange is a mad scientist, one of Batman's first reoccurring villains, who is obsessed with trying to prove that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Seeing such an old enemy of Batman as a main villain in Arkham City is brilliant and I'm so excited about it.   

This game is truly turning out to possibly one of the best games this year has to offer! 

There are many other games coming out this year, many others I didn't mention or don't have a release date yet. If I missed one that interests you, I'm sorry, and let me know. Regardless of what I did or didn't miss, however, this year is really turning out to be a gamer's paradise. I'm glad to be a part of all of it, and you should be too! The good stuff just keeps coming! 

- CRUX