Welcome to the new year, gamers! It’s time to get back in the saddle after we’ve all grown (more) fat from stuffing our faces with holiday cuisines. It’s also likely that our wallets are a little thin right now. No worries, January is actually a pretty light month for gaming as we bounce back from the holiday season. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few heavy-hitting releases to kick off 2011!
Lost in Shadow
Developer: Hudson Soft
System: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: 1/04/2011
The beginning of the new year sees the release of the shadow-manipulating Wii exclusive, Lost in Shadow. In Lost in Shadow you play as a young boy’s shadow separated from his host body. Your objective is to reach the top of the massive castle you were cast down from and reunite with your tangible self. Over the course of Lost in Shadow you’ll solve puzzles scattered through the environment, as well as fight terrifying shadow beasts impeding your progress.
Lost in Shadow is a Wii-exclusive action-platformer with a unique graphic style and gameplay hook: you can only interact with the shadows of the environment. However, concept isn’t everything. We’ve played a little bit of Lost in Shadow and it honestly didn’t blow us away, as the concept was quickly overshadowed by the monotonous gameplay. But the final retail release of Lost in Shadow could prove to be a different experience altogether and a fantastic Wii exclusive. Wii owners, keep your eyes on this one.
DC Universe Online
Developer: Sony Online Entertainment (Austin)
System: PC, PlayStation 3
Release Date: 1/11/2011
A massively-multiplayer online role-playing game set in the DC universe. Brilliant! DCU Online is Sony’s latest attempt to wrestle some of that cheddar away from Blizzard in the MMORPG market. And with the talent involved in DCU Online, we think they might have a shot. Comic artist legend, Jim Lee, serves as the game’s Executive Creative Director, while comic writer extraordinaire, Geoff Johns, acts as the principal writer on the game.
Watch the glorious CGI intro.
If you’re looking for a new MMO to take your mind off all the cataclysming in World of Warcraft, DCU Online might be the ticket, especially if your a huge comic fan.
Mass Effect 2
Developer: BioWare
System: PlayStation 3
Release Date: 1/18/2011
PlayStation owners finally get their crack at one of the best action-RPGs ever made; Mass Effect 2 hits the PlayStation 3 this month! For those not in the know, Mass Effect 2 was our third best game of 2010, and for good reason: excellent storytelling, memorable characters, streamlined and intuitive gameplay, and infinite replayability.
Get ready for the epicness.
The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 even comes with a few extra bonuses. The game will come packed with all three of the expansion missions that sold separately on Xbox 360 -- Kasumi’s Stolen Memory, Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker. Also included will be an interactive comic written and drawn by the folks at Dark Horse and narrated by Commander Shepard that catches PS3 players up on the Mass Effect story leading into Mass Effect 2. This interactive comic also lets players make the vital decisions from Mass Effect 1 that help shape your Mass Effect 2 game. Finally, Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 will look even better than it did on Xbox 360 since it makes use of BioWare’s updated graphics engine; the same engine that Mass Effect 3 will run on.
If you own a PlayStation 3 and have yet to give Mass Effect 2 a whirl, buy this game. No questions asked.
