TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 Recap: 45 – 41

Well, here we are again for another collection of titles from our Top 100 of 2011 list. This time around, there’s an action strategy game that never made it out of Japan, an FPS that needs to put a few pennies in the swear box and one very disappointing cancellation that we’re trying not to dwell on. Read on!

45 – Valkyria Chronicles 3

Valkyria Chronicles was a great example of a new IP that was a fantastic game but didn’t set the sales charts alight. It should have, it really was an excellent game. Fortunately, Sega knew it had something special and went ahead with a sequel, albeit transported on to the PSP. That second installment was an improvement on the first in almost every way (in spite of what the Metacritic averages would have you believe) with new battle systems and loads of new, tightly tuned missions.

The third game in the series sticks with the portable platform and promises more improvements. In fact, it was released in Japan way back at the start of the year and was received very positively. Unfortunately, and you may have already guessed this part, it hasn’t had a western release yet. Not only are we still waiting on a release here in the west, we haven’t even heard if there will ever be one.

All we can do is cross our fingers and hope this one doesn’t fall through the localisation cracks.

44 – Bulletstorm

Ahh, Bulletstorm. It was like the spiritual successor to Duke Nukem 3D. Big, brash and unapologetically developmentally stunted in its humour and dialogue, Bulletstorm was nevertheless a solid game. It scored 8/10 in our review and has a respectable Metacritic score of 82/83/84 for the PC/PS3/360 versions, respectively.

It was an exciting, action packed stampede of solid gunplay and interesting extra mechanics with a protagonist who, despite the dialogue that felt like it was written by someone who was new to the concept of swearing, was likable.

Surprisingly, considering the juvenile scripting and general reveling in puerility, the narrative was interesting and engaging, right up to the cheesy ending which reeked of cheesy inevitability.

Bulletstorm is definitely worth your attention though, especially while the videogame release schedule is a little quieter than usual.

43 – Warhammer: 40,000 Space Marine

Warhammer 40k is perhaps one of the most complete, interesting universes in gaming. It’s a shame that it has never quite had a game which could match that unmatched depth of fiction in its quality. Space Marine might just be that game.

It’s not out yet but has generally had favourable previews and is built around mechanics which should work very well for the kind of characters we’re sure to see. The only problem with Space Marine is that it comes from a fiction which has been heavily borrowed from for games like StarCraft and Gears of War, among others. So, if Space Marine finally does bring a Warhammer 40k game worthy of the fiction, will it feel like we’ve seen it all before?

We don’t have that much longer to wait, Space Marine is due for release in the second week of September.

42 – The Agency

The Agency has been cancelled. Thanks to Sony Online Entertainment studio closures and restructuring, it is no more. SOE said that they cancelled the game in order to focus on more MMO goodness in the form of EverQuest and PlanetSide, as well as concentrating on existing games like DC Universe Online.

It’s a shame, the game was an interesting prospect and was far enough along the development track that we’d seen screenshots and trailer videos. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t to be.

41 – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Zelda is a system seller. So, it is perhaps unfortunate for this game that it comes at a point in the system’s lifecycle when it really isn’t likely to have much of an impact. The Wii is on its way out, to be replaced with the vaguely mysterious touchscreen wonder box, the Wii U. Skyward Sword looks quite likely to be the last major, first party release for Nintendo’s world dominating little white box of tricks.

It’s had its delays though. It seems like Skyward Sword, which was first talked about at E3 back in 2009, has been perpetually pushed back. The latest we’re hearing is that it is still scheduled for a Q4 (October, November, December) release but with no fixed date, that might easily slip into next year.

Of course, without Skyward Sword, there’s no flagship title to lead Nintendo’s charge into what will probably be the Wii’s last assault on Christmas, a period it has ruled over since that first year when it was more difficult to get your hands on than rocking horse poo.

Join us again tomorrow for another little bundle of games we were looking forward to.