The Games of 2011

Diablo 3

Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Platforms: PC Exclusive
Release Date: Q4 2011

Diablo 3 admittedly hasn't been officially confirmed for 2011, but Blizzard’s internal documents hint that it’s at least on the cards, although fans will still have to wait until the end of the year to get it.

Sadly, there’s still not information about Diablo 3 available at this point. What's more, the information that has leaked out has been focused on the minutiae of the game design and balancing, rather than the broader strokes. We know that the Barbarian will be the only returning player class from Diablo 2, for example, but not the deeper details of the story.

Still, it’s probably safe to assume that the world of Sanctuary gets plunged into some sort of peril as a result of rampaging demons. We would also bet that Only You Can Save The World.


The four new character classes that Diablo 3 is set to introduce are the Witch Doctor, Monk, Wizard and Demon Hunter – the nomenclature of which suggests that Blizzard is trying to make the next Diablo darker and bloodier than ever before. That’s certainly the impression we were given when we played it at GamesCom 2010 last year.

Diablo 3 will also see the introduction of Artisans, a new type of NPC that can be recruited to your cause by running specific missions on their behalf. At their most basic, Artisans are little more than shopkeepers, but players who persevere through their quests will be able to use them to forge new items, provided they collect the raw materials. There are three types of Artisan; Blacksmiths, Mystics and Jewellers. Frankly, we’re not sure what use a jeweller is going to be when you’re staring a dread demon in the face, but we’ll probably find out closer to release.

Mass Effect 3

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Release Date: Q4 2011

‘Earth is burning,’ says the official synopsis for Bioware’s final chapter in the acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy, which sees the Reapers launching an all-out assault on their greatest threat – humanity. As usual, only you can save the world.


Carrying on directly from Mass Effect 2, the third game in the series will see Shepherd once more assembling a team of fierce combatants and searching for ways to repel the Reapers – this time, for good. A race of super-massive sentient machines, the Reapers are responsible for civilisation in the galaxy, having seeded and culled all organic life in the cosmos countless times. Now they're trying to do it again, striking from their hibernation in deep space.

What excites us most about Mass Effect 3 isn’t just the chance to finish the fight and finally see off the Reapers once and for all, though. Instead, it’s the opportunity to finish Shepherd’s personal journey. We've got extraordinarily attached to our hand-crafted character after carrying him over from the original Mass Effect and into the sequel. He has a history that we’ve helped to build, and a complex web of personal relationships. The fact that Mass Effect 3 will allow us to import our saved games once more and bring it to a natural conclusion is hugely exciting.

Again, there still aren’t a lot of details released about Mass Effect 3 yet, and it’s unclear which characters will be carried over into the final game, and which will be left at the wayside. That’s one of the main reasons that we’re so anxious to get a closer look at Bioware’s opus.