UKIE has revealed the software sales charts for the entire year of 2011 for UK, and surprise- the highest selling game is not, contrary to what many expected, FIFA 12. No, the highest selling game of 2011 in UK was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With less than two months on the shelves, that’s impressive. This is the third year in a row that Call of Duty has topped this chart, with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 and Black Ops in 2010.

FIFA 12 took the second place, and Battlefield 3 came in at number 3. Other not-so-surprising entires include Zumba Fitness- which topped the UK charts for several weeks before Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out-, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City, at 4, 7, 5 and 10 respectively.

Just Dance 3 at 6, L.A. Noire at 8 and Saints Row: The Third at 9 rounded off the top 10.

Given below are the full tp ten charts for all-formats and each platform separately.

2011 All Formats Chart
1.    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2.    FIFA 12

3.    Battlefield 3

4.    Zumba Fitness

5.    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

6.    Just Dance 3

7.    Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

8.    L.A. Noire

9.    Saints Row: The Third

10.  Batman: Arkham City

2011 Nintendo Wii  Chart
1.    Zumba Fitness

2.    Just Dance 3

3.    Just Dance 2

4.    Mario Kart Wii

5.    Wii Sports Resort

2011 Sony PlayStation 3 Chart
1.    Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2.    FIFA 12

3.    Battlefield 3

4.    Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

5.    Assassins Creed: Revelations

2011 XBox 360 Chart
1.    Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2.    FIFA 12

3.    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

4.    Battlefield 3

5.    Gears of War 3

2011 Nintendo DS Chart
1.    Professor Layton And The Spectre’s Call

2.    Pokemon White Version

3.    Pokemon Black Version

4.    Art Academy

5.    Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo

2011 Sony PSP Chart
1.    FIFA 12

2.    FIFA 11

3.    Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

4.    Gran Turismo

5.    Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines

2011 Nintendo 3DS Chart
1.    Super Mario 3D Land

2.    Mario Kart 7

3.    The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D

4.    Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever

5.    Rayman 3D

2011 PC Games
1.    Football Manager 2012

2.    Football Manager 2011

3.    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

4.    The Sims 3

5.    Battlefield 3

I think you’re all pretty tired of hearing just how great a year for gaming 2011 was by now. That face has been pretty much established by now. We’ve done so many lists and features over the past one month, recapitulating everything that was good about 2011, but the one thing we haven’t done, surprisingly enough, is talk about what were the best games that we played in the past 12 months. To be truthful, many of us have been avoiding that topic, because it’s hard to pick just a set number of games. 2011 was, at the risk of being repetitive, an absolutely wonderful year for gaming, and we got to play so many good games. Picking just a few of those (25, in this case) and actually ranking them would be a huge pain in the ass, and we would have to, no matter how much it hurt us, leave out a lot of the games that may deserve to be up here, if not as much as the ones that did make it.

But we managed to do it, somehow. It was hard. As I said, we left out plenty of games, and we weren’t all too happy about not including them, but at the end of the day, picking just 25 good games out of what is nothing less than an entire battalion can be a bit tough. So if you don’t see a lot of games up there that you might be expecting (Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Saints Row 3 and others), don’t get mad at us. Just leave us your feedback and let us know which games we missed out. That’s why we have a comments section, after all!

25. Bastion

Published: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | Developed: Supergiant Games | Systems: Xbox 360, PC | Release Date: July

Bastion is, most probably, one of the best Xbox Live games ever, up there in the rankings with the likes of Shadow Complex, Limbo and Braid. It’s action packed, it’s deep, it’s addictive, and it hasimmense amounts replay value- you’ll be returning not just to play through the multiple endings, but to start a new game with your old data via “New Game +” as well. One thing is for sure- once you bask in the glory and magnificence of Bastion, you won’t want to pull out (no innuendo intended).

Read our Review

24. Total War: Shogun 2

Published: Sega | Developed: The Creative Assembly | Systems: PC | Release Date: March

The team at Creative Assembly have truly whipped up a masterful game this time round. Setting out to restrain some of the excesses of previous titles, Shogun 2 takes a step back and retreads the ground of its youth in Feudal Japan. A game as smoothly coded as it is streamlined, it is easily the most immersive Total War since Rome and will delight long-time fans of the series and invigorate an entirely new set of followers.

Read our Review

23. Dead Space 2

Published: EA | Developed: Visceral Games | Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Release Date: January

Dead Space 2 is a game that you should invest your money in, without any second thoughts. The single player campaign is exhilarating with even more scares and chills than there ever were in the first game. The game also manages to take a look at the tragic life of Clarke and hence puts more emphasis on the storyline this time around, one of the things that we think was missing in the original. Add to that some amazing zero gravity sections and insane weapons, and you have a winner on your hands. It will be interesting to see what direction the series will take with the inevitable Dead Space 3.

Read our Review

22. FIFA 12

Published: EA | Developed: EA Sports | Systems: A shitload of them | Release Date: September

FIFA 12 is about as close a football game can get to realism without being on the field itself. With a host of new features, the same great presentation that FIFA is known for and a ton of refinements to the already strong gameplay of the FIFA series, FIFA 12 is a must buy for all people who have even the tiniest bit of knowledge of the sport. FIFA 12 not only manages to beat FIFA 10 as the best in the series, but also comes out as the best game in the sports genre yet.

Read our Review

21. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Published: Ubisoft | Developed: Ubisoft Montreal | Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Release Date: November

Revelations is a great game, an excellent game. It does nothing new, it’s very formulaic and very similar to Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed II, and the engine is definitely starting to show its age- but at the end of the day, all that is far outweighed by the pros of the game. An excellent story, memorable characters and great mission structure make Revelations a force to be reckoned with, and the best game in the Assassin’s Creed series, better even than the awesome Assassin’s Creed II.

Read our Review

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/gamingbolts-top-25-games-of-2011/feed 1 59967 https://gamingbolt.com/2011-is-the-best-year-in-gaming-since-2007-ken-levine https://gamingbolt.com/2011-is-the-best-year-in-gaming-since-2007-ken-levine#respond Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:31:34 +0000 http://gamingbolt.com/?p=59685

I think we all agree that 2011 has been a fantastic year in gaming. We’ve gotten the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Uncharted 3, Gears of War 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and so much more. BioShock creator Ken Levine believes that 2011 has not just been a good year for gaming, but probably the best in a long time.

“[It’s] a year to be proud of,” he told Eurogamer. Skyrim has been his favourite game this year.

“I always make time for games,” he continued.

“That’s important. If you’re not playing games you’re compromising your ability as a game developer to make good games.

“It’s been an interesting year. It’s the best year since – and I’m not just saying this because of my game – 2007. A lot of great games, like Portal, came out that year. It’s the best year in a very long time.

“There have been a ton of games I’ve been playing. I play more games right now mostly because there’s just so much good stuff to play.”

“[2011] is a year to be proud of our industry,” he continued. “It’s a year to be proud of the Uncharted guys. It’s a year to be proud of Epic. It’s a year to be proud of the Call of Duty guys. It’s a year to be proud of everybody because people are delivering this year in a way the industry hasn’t delivered in a very long time.”

Do you agree? Tell us in your comments below.

The time what most PC gamers love is here, Steam sales have begun. The first day’s deals are shown above in the picture.

You know the usual drill when it comes to sales like these. Just Cause 2 at $5 is an incredible buy, and we won’t list everything here, so head over to Steam and check it out.

The deal is from December 19th to January 2nd, so you have plenty of time.

Wallet am cry indeed. There has been a lot of indie games released this year, and this is your chance to get it for cheap.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Paradox Interactive have announced their most up to date release schedule for 2011.  It includes titles coming in 2012 and is subject to change.  Here you have it:

(Correct as of June 22nd 2011)
All titles are PC only unless otherwise stated

JUNE
Magicka PVP (free DLC) June 21st
Hearts of Iron III: For the Motherland (digital download expansion) June 28th

JULY
Supreme Ruler Cold War July 19th

AUGUST
King Arthur: Fallen Champions TBC
Pirates of Black Cove August 2nd
Sword of the Stars II: Lords of Winter August 16th

SEPTEMBER
Sengoku September 13th
King Arthur II September 20th
Defenders of Ardania (PC, iPad, PS3, Xbox) September 27th
Hearts of Iron The Card Game (online) September TBC

NOVEMBER
Hearts of Iron III Collection November 15th Q4
Gettysburg: Armored Warfare (online) TBC

2012
Naval War: Arctic Circle Q1
Magna Mundi: An EU Game Q1
Mount & Blade Collection Q1
Victoria II: A House Divided (digital download expansion) Q1
Salem (online) Q2

It’s almost time folks. E3’s less than twenty four hours away, at the time of this article going live, and the excitement is palpable.  This year’s E3 is looking to be the best ever yet – the run in seems to be afloat with rumors, that range from the genuinely believable, to the mildly incredulous, to the outright impossible, with everything from a new Grand Theft Auto and Star Fox game to the revival of retro favorites such as Road Rash and Killer Instinct, along with the reveal of Half Life: Episode 3, having been discussed as being revealed this E3. However, even without all the mad rumors, there’s a lot of stuff that is definitely confirmed to make an appearance at the conferences that is exciting. Sony’s NGP, for example, their new super powerful handheld that will join Nintendo’s 3DS in the newest round of the handheld wars. Nintendo, on the other hand, is unveiling their newest console, rumored to be codenamed Project Café, which will mark their foray into HD gaming. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the Café will reportedly also be more powerful than any other console till date, be supported extensively by third parties, have a traditional controller (although with the usual Nintendo twist), have a robust online service, and will mark the return of several Nintendo franchises long given up as dead. That sounds too good to be true.

On the games front, we know stuff like Gears of War 3, RAGE, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will all be making an appearance. In addition, we know we can count on some surprises from Sony and Nintendo (Nintendo more than Sony, since there are bound to be some unexpected titles on their new console), and Microsoft for the Kinect, if you’re into that sort of thing.

It all sounds exciting, doesn’t it? You’d be right if you answered with a yes: E3 is probably the best time to be a gamer, and it is a time when all of us come together regardless of our fanboy alliances to celebrate the advancement of gaming together-

No, wait. That’s not what we do at all. Actually, we gamers somehow manage to reduce what is merely a series of media briefings followed by a grand convention to a competition, somehow declaring a ‘winner’ every year out of the three platform holders. Huh, it’s weird, but we’re gamers, all we do is compete, whether against the computer or against each other, so what do you expect?

So, what with me being two things: a gamer, and a true blue Nintendo fanboy – I hereby present to you my list of reasons/rumors/whatever that will definitely win Nintendo this E3. Mind you, if everything I write here happens, it might be too awesome to be contained within one universe, setting off a chain of events that shall ultimately end in a cataclysmic doomsday on the 21^st of December, 2012.

… the list, then.

PROJECT CAFÉ

Certainty: Confirmed

If Nintendo gets the specs right, the Cafe could legitimately steal away a lot of wind from Microsoft and Sony's sails

Okay, so there are five things Project Café needs to do to be an uncontestable success, one of which is assured. It needs to have great first party games; it needs to have proper third party support and all the multiplats that will be released, as well as some exclusives if it can get those; it needs to have a robust online service, at least on par with PSN (albeit without the entire ‘your credit card data has been stolen’ part); it needs a proper, traditional controller, with two analog sticks, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons; and most of all, it needs to outpower current generation consoles if it wants to be taken seriously, and remain relevant.

So, the one thing that, above all else, would win Nintendo this E3 would be an exciting reveal for their new console? A proper controller, HD capabilities, on par online, assured third party support… now that would be the ultimate console, wouldn’t it? With all the third party multiplats and exclusives, in addition to the incredible first party backing of Nintendo exclusives, that are arguably without equal?

The ball is in Nintendo’s court, and they’re in the perfect position to perform a coup de ètat. They just need to play their cards right. All the pieces need to fall into place. Everything needs to go right, and that is something that hasn’t happened for Nintendo since 1996.

Still, it’s high time it happened now. If it did… well, that’s an easy E3 victory for Nintendo.

A LinkedIn profile of Sean Popejoy has revealed that Ubisoft might be preparing to announce a new Rainbow Six game soon.

According to his profile he developed Pro Tools sessions from Ubisoft audio for the game demo of Rainbow Six (2011).

Also, a quick WHOIS search reveals that Ubisoft owns a domain by the name of www.rainbowsix-BD.com, which suggests that this might very well be true.

We’ll send Ubisoft an email and check if they have anything to say.

Gamescom 2010 was a huge success and it seems publishers are already preparing their show for this year’s event.

The first batch of publishers which will be showcasing their products during the event have been confirmed.

It includes the likes of Bethesda and EA.

Here’s the full list:

• Bethesda
• Namco Bandai
• EA
• Deep Silver
• Valve
• 2K
• Ubisoft

GamesCom will be held this year in Colonge, Germany from August 17-21.

THQ’s boss, Danny Bilson’s confirmed that the company will be making a “huge announcement” next month.

He said that the announcement will come in the second week of March along with plenty of content.

Here’s what the tweet read:

“Look for a HUGE announcement from us the second week in March! Will come with lots of content.”

Does anyone else think it’ll be related to Saints Row 3?

We have established by now that 2010 was a great year for gaming, and even more so for the Xbox 360. Not only did Microsoft’s home console get unforgettable multiplatform titles like Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2, it also got some decent exclusives, like Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction and Fable III, and an exclusive that ranks high amongst the games in 2010- Halo: Reach.

If it’s even possible, 2011 looks to be an even better year for the Xbox 360. Huge titles like Mass Effect 3, The Elder Scrolls V and Batman: Arkham City were recently announced, and others like Gears of War 3 and Child of Eden have been confirmed for a release this year a long time ago.

Below, we will have a look at some of the most notable games coming out on the Xbox 360 next year, and then we will be doing an in-depth analysis of how 2011 will turn out for the system. Sit back and enjoy!

Bulletstorm

Publisher: Electronic Arts | Developer: Epic Games, People Can Fly | Release Date: February 22nd

Of all the First Person Shooters coming out in 2011, Bulletstorm looks to be the craziest, most fun and most innovative. The violence, for once, doesn’t feel unnecessarily tagged on, and the usage of the environment in gameplay seems like a very novel idea. The pulling, kicking, shooting, dismembering looks a hell lot of fun, and should  be even more so to pull off. Add to that the fact that the game is being developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games, who have a great track record, and we have a winner on our hands.

Some Notable Stuff About The Game:
The Skillshots, over-the-top action, the huge weapons

Crysis 2

Publisher: Electronic Arts | Developer: Crytek | Release Date: March 22nd

Welcome to the urban jungle.

“Crysis 2 is being consolized” has been a major concern for all fans of the original Crysis. But is it being “consolized?” We do know that the requirements of Crysis 2 are less than the original Crysis, and that it is being somewhat stripped down so that it can fit on the consoles. And if the game is going to be equally good on all three systems, will it be a half-assed sequel to the awesome Crysis back in 2007? And if it is better on the PC, will it be a crappy port on the home consoles, just a way to rake in some cash using a huge brand name? We do not know, but we do know that it looks amazing nonetheless. The awesome gameplay from Crysis is being retained, Nanosuit 2 looks great, the graphics are awesome… what else do you want from a Crysis game?

Some Notable Stuff About The Game:
Nanosuit 2, “Urban Jungle” setting, graphics look better than real life

Portal 2

Publisher: Valve | Developer: Valve | Release Date: April 18th

I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.

Oh boy, how we have missed you GLaDOS. You and your one-liners that had me in splits. And just one look at the first trailer of Portal 2 had me awaiting its release like crazy. I simply loved the puzzle solving in Portal, and to know that there will be more of that, and even better than that, in Portal 2 just makes me want the game more. Add to that the fact that the game has two separate campaigns, one for co-op and one for single player, each with a different story, and I may even kill to get my hands on Portal 2 as quickly as possible.

Some Notable Stuff About The Game:
Co-op, Two campaigns with different stories, GLaDOS

Gears of War 3

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios | Developer: Epic Games | Release Date: Q4

Marcus is back. He looks angry… well, he always does.

Gears of War is one of the best franchises this generation of gaming has given us. Amongst all the other great franchises released this gen- Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Resistance, Uncharted, Professor Layton- Gears of War will probably remembered the most, for having a game that revolutionized the entire Third Person Shooting genre. Gears of War was an awesome game that introduced the brilliant cover based shooting gameplay to the TPS genre. Gears 2, while a bit disappointing, was an epic installment with a larger focus on story and presentation. Gears 3 looks all set to merge the two together into one single experience, and become the ultimate Gears experience. With its four player co-op, its overhauled online, its great campaign, Gears 3 looks all set to send of the Gears franchise in style.

Some Notable Stuff About The Game:
Four player co-op, four new playable characters, three of them are female, Beast Mode

Duke Nukem Forever

Publisher: GT Interactive (1997-199), Gathering of Developers (1999-2001), Take-Two Interactive (2001-1009), 2K Games (Present) | Developer: 3D Realms (1997-2009), Triptych Games, Gearbox Software, Piranha Games | Release Date: May 3rd (Hopefully)

“What? Did you think I’d be gone forever?” Actually…

Duke Nukem Forever is aptly named. It has taken forever to get released… and it still hasn’t been launched. And in its thirteen years of development, it has had four developers and publishers work on it. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. We’re finally getting Duke Nukem Forever, and this time, it’s official. What is best is that Gearbox are acting like- “We know we took long. We don’t care.” Just have a look at the new trailer, it’ll have you in splits, and it will have you so excited, you’ll want this game right away. And if Gearbox can actually deliver, I see no reason why this game will not be worth the wait.

Some Notable Stuff About The Game:
Every. Freaking. Thing.

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