Anticipation, I Has It.

Yes my friends, 2011 is upon us and with it comes a new slew of titles and expansions for us gamers to enjoy. Unfortunately there are far too many of them for me to name check them all. Sad, I know. However I can still countdown a list of the ones that are garnering the most interest from me. So without further adieu, here is my list of games to keep an eye on in 2011.

Marvel vs Capcom 3

Do you even really need to ask about this one? MvC3, as it's lovingly shortened to, has been a decade in the making. Fans still clamor over Marvel vs Capcom 2 to this very day. With a new graphics engine and a slew of new characters, Capcom hopes to recapture the hearts of the fighting game community. If initial reactions from Capcom tournament events are any indication, this is a sequel that is well worth the wait. Expect this to hit shelves in February.

DC Universe Online

Over at fellow blog,  Femme Gamer, I recently chronicled my time with the DC Universe beta. If MMOs are more your speed then this is a game you'll want to explore. Step into the shoes of a superhero and fight along DC's greatest characters or join the fray as a villain and fight against them. And don't worry, there's enough loot and customization options to keep you busy for a long time; per the $15 a month subscription fee that is. You'll get your money's worth with promised expansions and continued support beyond the launch date. As of this post, DC Universe Online is available for both the PC and PS3.

L.A. Noire

There's no possible way I could leave Rockstar Games off this list. After delivering one of my favorite games of 2010 in Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar promises to innovate the industry again with Team Bondi's L.A. Noire. Though this game doesn't follow the normal Rockstar formula as you won't be playing an outlaw but rather a cop on his way up through the ranks in the 1940s. Team Bondi's biggest boast of course is their new motion capture technique that can capture the most subtle facial expressions and mannerisms. Being able to read those facial expressions during interrogations will be key to your investigations. Sounds pretty nifty to me.

The Last Guardian

You're probably asking yourself right now, "What the hell is the Last Guardian?" Very little is known about this game other than that it's sporting some gorgeous graphics and that it features some sort of giant bird/cat hybrid animal. Sure that's not a lot to go on but gamers in the know are aware that the team behind this game created two of the most highly regarded Playstation 2 titles, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus (both of which will be featured as HD remakes for the PS3 later this year.) That fact alone is enough to at least keep an eye out for this one. I'd expect more info and at least another trailer by the time E3 rolls around.

Gears of War 3

A year after the X-Box 360 launched, EPIC Games dropped the console defining Gears of War. It was a game that boasted great visuals, unique game play, and solid character design. It was also the first in their Gears trilogy. In 2011, EPIC plans to finish that trilogy with a game that features even more weaponry, new characters (fan requested female soldiers), and refined multi player. Gears fans can expect to rev their chainsaws once again in the fall and,  to steal a line from Halo 3's marketing campaign, finish the fight.

Batman: Arkham City

Most gamers know that it's almost impossible to make a good title out of licensed property. Movie tie in games are almost always terrible and made simply to cash in on the movie marketing. Rocksteady Games endeavored to change that years ago and the result was one of the best games of 2009, Arkham Asylum. Two years later they're hoping to expand on what they've created with the follow up title, Arkham City. This time gamers won't be confined to the island housing the sanitarium. Instead the streets of Gotham itself will be Batman's playground as you investigate the strange ongoing plot of Batman's foes. To help you'll have even more gadgets in your arsenal, advanced interrogation techniques, and tweaks to the free-flow combat. I fully expect this to be good enough make a serious play at being the game of the year.

Of course those aren't the only games I can feature, but I don't want this article to be extraordinarily long. It's pretty big as it is. So just like I did with my best of 2010 list, I'll give a nice list of honorable mentions that will be under my radar in 2011 as well. They're not must buys yet, but they could end up in that column. 

• LittleBigPlanet 2
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• Mortal Kombat
• Infamous 2
• I Am Alive
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Silent Hill: Downpour

And there you have it. I'm sure some of your interests may overlap with mine and that's cool. If not, maybe I've given you some ideas of titles you might want to investigate and follow as the year goes on. Either way, you can expect 2011 to be just as packed as with content from the industry as 2010 was. Get your wallets ready folks.