TotalRoundTable: Resisting the Uncharted Waters of Insane and Deadly Descents

Sir Gordon:

Is there going to be a new announcement tomorrow? I could be wrong, but I think it's more Uncharted 3, which I'm not going to complain about. The actual gameplay in that trailer was short and quick, but – damn – it looked good. Their texture detail is ridiculous.

Interestingly, the Mass Effect 3 trailer said nothing about Xbox, which implies a day-and-date release on PS3 to me, which is great. The impending release of ME2 on the PS3 definitely hinted at this, but there was always the possibility of a timed exclusive.

While Uncharted 3 was my highlight, just barely behind that was the Skyrim announcement. I sat up and leaned forward when Todd Howard walked out on stage, and that certainly wasn't a disappointing unveil. I would have, of course, liked to have seen some inkling of gameplay, but I'll take it. Man, Uncharted 3 on 11-1-11 and Elder Scrolls V on 11-11-11. Keep in mind that those dates are right when we should expect the next Call of Duty...

2011 is going to be incredible.

Shaun:

Honestly, I think I'm going to have to get stock in either Starbucks or NoDoz, because the lineup of games that were announced at the VGAs will easily keep me up for most of the year. I expected Arkham City to look awesome, and it didn't disappoint at all. Neither did Resistance 3 or Mass Effect 3 in any way, which both look like phenomenal experiences. I'm just glad that there will be a break of about three months between the two of them, because I will definitely go through a lot of replays of those two.games.

Portal 2 – what can you say? It's Portal 2. You know it's going to be awesome. I can say the same about Elder Scrolls V, which is going to dominate my Thanksgiving; I've already told my wife not to expect me at the table for turkey when I have more of Tamriel to explore. That's after I spend ten days flying through Uncharted 3, which just looked phenomenal. And don't even get me started about SSX: Deadly Descents – I literally started bouncing off the walls in my house when they started showing that trailer. I, and a ton of other people, have been waiting too long for that franchise to return, so I can't wait for it to come out.


Unfortunately, I can't say that I have the same kind of response to all of the games. While I liked Prototype more than other people did, I don't know that placing a sequel in the exact same setting as the first game (with a somewhat similar character) works as a strong plot choice. While I have faith in Del Toro, the lack of any specific footage of Insane, combined with the fact that it comes out in 2013, makes me give pause about how good it might be. At least Forza 4 should be good, even if there wasn't anything significant shown.

Overall, though, I can't wait to dive into the games of 2011. It's going to be one hell of a year – possibly even one of the best.