Top 5 games

While Nintendo fans are being ripped off by the 3DS and rubbish games, we thought we’d show them just why they need to have a PS3. Here’s our list of top 5 games coming your way in 2011.Try not to rub it in to the Ninty fans faces too much though...

5. The Last Guardian – TBC 2011

In what seems like an eternity, The Last Guardian was originally announced at E3 way back in 2009, known simply as Project Trico. Now, players can rejoice knowing the game will be out sometime in 2011 – I'm guessing it will be around December, as the previous instalments Ico and Shadow of The Colossus are being buffed up in stunning HD with 3D support for a re-release in November. Yippee!

Still not much is known about The Last Guardian, director Fumito Ueda is keeping tight lipped about the details, stating the story is: “open-ended, and for you guys to figure out”.

What we do know is the game will be centred on an unnamed boy, trapped in a castle like setting, similar to the one in Ico. As the boy tries to escape, he will need to work with a huge, feathered creature that is trapped in the castle as well, named Trico. At first, Trico will be difficult to control – you must use the boy to feed Trico and entice him to different parts, in order to gain access to higher areas. Ueda came up with the idea of using Trico, after seeing his cat playing and that the game could be centred on the relationship between the boy and Trico who will become more responsive as the game progresses. Ueda States: “"each player will have a different Trico to work with depending on how he or she chooses to interact with him". I think this means, that as a player, depending on what level of care you take of Trico, you will receive the same in return.

So far, what little of the game has been shown looks stunning. And if Ueda’s previous games are anything to go by, The Last Guardian will be an emotional, powerful and unique experience. There are hints that there could be a demo of the game included in the HD remakes, so fingers crossed!

4. L.A. Noire – Out May 20^th 2011

From the people who brought you Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire is a violent crime thriller set in Los Angeles in 1947. Taking inspiration from classic film noire of the 1940s and 50s, the game centres on Cole Phelps, an LAPD who must uncover the truth behind a string of arson attacks.

 According to publisher Rockstar’s website, the LA in 1947 is where “Corruption is rampant, the drug trade is exploding, and murder rates are at an all-time high” – sounds like a lovely place to be, eh? The game itself looks absolutely draw dropping, with thanks to a new animation technique known as MotionScan, where actors are recorded with 32 cameras to capture every facial animation. Sweet!

Unlike Grand Theft Auto, L.A. Noire isn’t an open ended sandbox game. Instead, players must solve crimes at their own pace, in the way they think is right, which could alter the game play experience as a whole. Sounds interesting enough.

As if that’s not enough to wet your appetite, Rockstar are offering exclusive content to anyone who pre-orders the game now. Depending on which retailer you choose, you can receive different missions in game, such as 'The Naked City' where Phelps must investigate the apparent suicide of a fashion model. It may not sound much, but it’s a clever marketing ploy by Rockstar and could be made available through DLC.

3. Alice: Madness Returns – 17^th June 2011

It’s been eleven years since the original Alice game was released on PC. Created by American McGee, this macabre vision of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland sees troubled Alice released from the Rutledge Asylum only to be taken into the care of a psychiatrist in London. As her parents traumatic death still looms over her, Alice returns to Wonderland, to find it twisted and warped. She now must save the residents of Wonderland and discover who is behind the evil causing it.

All the cast from the previous game are set to return, with new characters being introduced such as the Dodo and Jabberwock. I can’t wait to see what horrors lay in Wonderland, as weapons such as the Vorpal Blade, Hobby Horse and Teapot Bomb are available to use and can be upgraded by collecting “teeth” throughout the game.

The recent trailer sees Alice wandering in Victorian London, hinting the game may switch between Victorian London and Wonderland, depending on Alice’s insanity. The trailer ends with a voice asking, “Alice, what have you done?” Hmm...

 So far, the game looks just as it predecessor did – beautifully twisted. So you’re late, for a very important date indeed!

2. Tomb Raider – 14^th October 2011

Details on Lara’s latest outing are scarce, yet this could be one of the most shocking and controversial Tomb Raider games yet. Dubbed as a reboot of the series, we see 21 year old Lara journeying to Japan onboard a ship (Aptly named “Endurance”) which fails to withstand an unforeseen storm. Lara is separated by anyone on board and washes ashore an island unconscious. She wakes to find herself tied up, with no weapons or equipment...

Lara has been totally transformed in appearance; she’s more realistic looking than ever, as the game has a grittier and darker look. The game play looks set more around survival – the official websites depicts a bloodied and dirty Lara with the words, “A survivor is born” above the new logo.

 Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher said, "Forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider, this is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other"

1. Batman: Arkham City – 21 October 2011

The Bats is back! Taking place around a year after the events of Arkham Asylum - Quincy Sharp has cornered off a part of Gotham City to detain prisoners and villains who can no longer be accommodated at Arkham or Blackgate prison.  The perimeter is guarded by military contractors known as Tyger, creating Arkham City – where criminals and villains can be left to their own devices as long as they don’t try to escape. Sounds like a good idea...

Dr Hugo Strange is a psychiatrist hired to oversee the city, but appears to have his own agenda as he knows Batman’s true identity! (Eek!) Meanwhile, Batman is keeping an eye on the goings on of Arkham City, only to enter the place when Two Face threatens to kill Catwoman. Aww, the Bats has a crush!

So, where’s The Joker in all of this? Well, the official trailer shows (a slightly more curvy) Harley Quinn nursing The Joker presumably from his wounds from the previous game. The Joker is seen with torn clothes and a rotting face, spluttering and coughing away as he plots his revenge. However, not much is known at present, but I think he will end up trying to kill The Dark Knight somehow.

There are a lot of new characters in Arkham City, such as Mr Freeze, Calendar Man and the anti-heroine, Talia Al Ghul. Interestingly, as Arkham City will be 3 times larger than Asylum, different areas will be covered by different villains, which the player will see through the different environments.

Also, this time around The Riddler will be physically in the game (as opposed to setting cheap riddles over a head piece) and once again, players can have the choice to find secret clues left by him in side missions, or can capture villains in order to find The Riddler’s whereabouts.

I like the idea of the game being open ended, side missions will open different stories and extra things to do. The game itself looks even better than the previous instalment and all voice actors are set to return.

With so much going on in Arkham City, we simply cannot wait to get our hands on Bats’ gadgets...

Tokyo Game Show 2010 (TGS)

I am close to bursting. I am literally, going to burst. Not because of food (this time) but bursting with excitement. I am experiencing Playstation overload – and thought I would let you lucky peeps in on the big news... courtesy of the Tokyo Game Show 2010. Whatever social life I had before is seriously going to be wiped out thanks to Sony!

The Tokyo Game Show has (sadly) been and gone…. leaving behind so many frenzied gamers in its wake. The TGS is one of the many reasons why I love gaming – and you will love it too. Prepare your senses for what you are about to read and what happened at TGS.

 It ran from 16-19 September and is hosted in Makuhari Messe – Chiba, Tokyo by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA). With thousands of tourists, gamers and what’s known as Cosplayers – gamers who dress up as their favourite videogame characters – attending, the TGS is the definitive place to be for videogames. And 2010 has been one hell of a show!

One of the biggest gaming news came from publishing giant Capcom. The major publisher had a lot of exciting games on show – the biggest being Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of two worlds. Set for release early next year, MVC3 is the third instalment of the Marvel Vs Capcom franchise – where it pits famous characters from Marvel (Spiderman, X-Men and the like) to battle it out against Capcom characters (from games such as Street Fighter, Viewtiful Joe and even Resident Evil) with explosive results. The original games were jam packed with explosions on screen – punches, kicks and multiple hits created dazzling displays in one of the fastest fighters known to man.  The third instalment delivers the same, only better. With faster fighting, more characters and better tweaked moves – this will be huge when it comes out.

The visuals look brilliant in full HD – the characters have a cool cel-shaded 3D look in a 2D environment – similar to Street Fighter 4.

The character roster is looking very good too – with many returning faces from previous games– Wolverine, Spiderman, Ryu etc to new characters such as Joe from Viewtiful Joe, Chris Redfield (Resident Evil) and even Thor (Marvel comics). There were many demos and videos released at TGS – some of them showing Trish (Devil May Cry) and Wesker (Resident Evil)battling it out – sending fans ballistic with excitement – and I am with them!

Capcom also treated us to a teaser demo of the new Devil May Cry game known simply as DmC. The demo is set in the present day and shows a young guy being tortured in a chamber – as an unknown voice asks for his name. The view quickly changes to a familiar character in a red coat – poking a cigarette into a monsters eye and shows off some spectacular moves on other beasts. It changes back and forth to the guy in the chamber – his name still being demanded by the voice. By the end, the guy shouts “My name is DANTE!” (Shock horror etc). It’s supposed to be a re-imaging of the series, rather than a prequel according to Capcom managing director Keiji Inafune. I don’t care what they call it – I want it ASAP!

 Not only were Capcom pulling out the big guns, there was also plenty of news of Final Fantasy Versus XIII: Advent Children, Batman Arkham City, Alice: Madness Returns, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Killzone 3, Tekkan Tag Tournament  2 and Mortal Kombat to name but a few.

The biggest news for me was the about Ico and Shadow Colossus Collection – a 3D HD re-release of two of PS2’s greatest games and I need to play them – now! Ico was released originally in 2001 - it was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a "boy meets girl" concept. The game was (at the time) visually ground-breaking and so emotionally strung story-wise. Unfortunately the game had a minimal release – forcing gamers to pay sky high prices for this fantastic game. It suffered from poor box art and alien game play – the unusual concept of fending off ghosts with a stick whilst holding a ghost girl’s hand. Sounds odd, but the game itself was immersive as well as innovative. The sequel or “Spiritual successor” as the designers wish it to be known, Shadow of the Colossus had gamers fighting gigantic beasts in a huge environment and looked the business.

Now, these two little gems will be packaged together in a 3D HD game to celebrate the release of the third instalment – The Last Guardian. News is a little sparse, but there was a new video unveiled at TGS which showed a boy and a strange gigantic dog like beast which can fly – trapped in a huge castle. It looks like you will need to work together to help each other out like in Ico. But, as mentioned before, confirmed news is sparse, so expect to hear more in the coming months.

So, I have officially died and landed into Play station heaven. I have been waiting for news of The Last Guardian since it was first hinted at in late 2005 – and to be treated with the previous games packaged in glorious HD and 3D support – well, you spoil us Mr Sony!

As if that’s not enough – the new Silent Hill has been confirmed and a new video was shown – displaying a convict escaping into the odd and horrifying world of Silent Hill. Sweet!

Playstation is consuming my life once more – and I am sure, it will consume yours too – best just to give in and obey….. I know I will!

Finally, I will be attending the Eurogamer Convention in London this October – so expect more news and pictures from the event right here on The Gaystation