As a PC gamer, there's a lot in 2011 to be excited about. On Monday, Hamza and Nick gave you their most anticipated 360 games. Yesterday had Jim and Samit telling you about what's going to be hot on the PS3. Today, Jordan Devore and I bring you a list of the PC games we're most excited about.
One thing you may notice about all our lists this year, particularly more so than in the past, is that there are simply fewer exclusive games across all platforms, and as such we have fewer exclusive games on our lists. Many of the games on this particular list will be coming out for console as well, and will be great purchases no matter what platform you get them for. However, they're here on the PC list because we think that the PC versions will be either exceptionally well done, or the definitive experience.
Exclusive or not, there's a lot of stuff releasing in the next year that you'll want to keep your eye on. Hit the jump to find out what we'll be waiting for.
Jonathan Ross
Guild Wars 2 (PC)
Developer: ArenaNet
Publisher: NCsoft
To be released: 2011
I've been incredibly pumped about Guild Wars 2 ever since I got an hour-long demonstration back at PAX. Dynamic quests in a constantly-changing world, a legitimate story where your actions actually affect your character and his or her personal story, and a combat system that actually forces you to dodge attacks and maintain careful positioning make this an MMO to watch out for.
Based on what I've seen already, I'd happily pay a monthly fee for this game. The fact that there isn't one makes Guild Wars 2 even more appealing.
Torchlight II (PC)
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Perfect World Entertainment
To be released: Spring 2011
With Diablo III coming out god-knows-when, Torchlight II is going to fulfill my obsessive clicking desires. The original Torchlight kept me absorbed for hours, and Torchlight II is going to be even bigger, with more areas to explore, more items to collect, and more classes to choose from.
My short hands-on with the game earlier this year was supposed to be a twenty-minute meeting, but I ended up playing for almost an hour. The only reason I stopped was because I was demoing the game on a small laptop, and the tiny portable laptop mouse started giving me hand cramps. Torchlight II may be bad news for people already suffering from arthritis or carpal tunnel, but it'll be great news for gamers (and doctors who specialize in repetitive stress injuries).
Dragon Age II (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
To be released: March 8, 2011 (NA) / March 11, 2011 (EU)
Sadly, I ignored the original Dragon Age when it was first released -- I played it for a few hours, and then got distracted by some other game. I finally made my way back to it this summer, and once I got into it, I obsessively played it for two weeks straight until I completed it. It now ranks as one of my top RPGs of all time.
I was nervous when I heard the tactical view would be missing from Dragon Age II, but after reading some interviews and talking to Joseph Leray, who went up to Canada to look at the game recently, I'm reassured. At this point, I'm pretty confident that the PC version of Dragon Age II will be a worthy successor to the original, and not just another lazy console port.
Batman: Arkham City (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros.
To be released: Q3 2011
Arkham Asylum was one of the biggest surprises I've ever had as a gamer. I don't generally like third-person action games, I don't know anything about Batman, and I went into the game expecting a generic, licensed bore-fest.
Man, was I wrong.
The gameplay is fantastic no matter what platform you play it on, but the real advantage of the PC version of the game was its brilliant use of PhysX. If you're not familiar with what PhysX does to the game, I suggest you watch this comparison video, and note this is just the maxed-out PC version with and without PhysX on -- it's not even a console comparison. Sure, it doesn't fundamentally alter the gameplay (although I will admit to spending a bunch of time cutting down banners with batarangs and running around with the torn banner draped over my head until it fell off), but boy, does it add a ton of atmosphere.
Rocksteady has proven that they not only know how to make amazing games, but that they also know what they're doing when it comes to PC gaming. I'm incredibly excited to see what they're able to do with Arkham City.
Mass Effect 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
To be released: Q4 2011
To be blunt, the original Mass Effect is one of my least favorite games of this generation. I hated the combat, hated the Mako, hated a good portion of the characters, and hated the repetitive "dungeon" sections. Fast-forward to 2010, and Mass Effect 2 was my personal game of the year. BioWare took virtually everything that was wrong with the first game, and fixed it. I may have some minor quibbles with the morality system in the sequel, but on the whole, Mass Effect 2 is an absolutely stunning game, and I'm willing to bet Mass Effect 3 will equal, if not surpass, its predecessor.
It's already a pretty series on console, but on the PC, the Mass Effect games are absolutely gorgeous. Add superior mouse controls for shooting and managing your inventory, significantly faster load times, and the ability to quicksave, and the PC version of Mass Effect 3 seems like a clear choice to me.
Honorable Mention: Anything Blizzard chooses to release in 2011
I've given up even attempting to predict when Blizzard will actually release any of its games, so this year I'm not going to embarrass myself again by anticipating a game that won't see the light of day for another two years. Instead, I'll just say this -- if Diablo III, or the next StarCraft expansion, or a new MMO, or some other secret mystery game happen to release in 2011, I anticipate them. A lot.
Jordan Devore
From Dust (PC, Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network)
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Publisher: Ubisoft
To be released: 2011
I love any game that lets me watch over and control a virtual ecosystem -- one that feels real, and can function on its own to some degree. Technology hasn't yet reached the point where the game of my dreams can be created, but Eric Chahi's From Dust may be the closest anyone has ever come.
There isn't anything I can say that will get the point across better than this tech demo, so please, watch it if you haven't done so already. From Dust is easily my most anticipated game of 2011. (That we've seen footage of, that is. Sorry, Pikmin 3.) I'll be staying up super late to grab it the moment it goes live, no question.
Dawn of War II: Retribution (PC)
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Publisher: THQ
To be released: March 2011
Having gotten into Dawn of War II in a huge way recently, the series is fresh on my mind. These games are challenging -- but fair -- and the loot system is incredibly satisfying. I love the fiction, and I'm glad we'll be able to play the single-player campaign as someone other than the Blood Ravens this time around.
All that said, nothing has me more excited for Retribution than the decision to drop Games for Windows LIVE for Steamworks. The aforementioned system has been nothing but trouble for me, and I know I'm not alone in my experience there. Forget Achievements, I just want to be able to play.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (PC)
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Publisher: Atari
To be released: May 17, 2011
The Witcher is another game I am only now trying out for the first time. While I'm not very far in yet, most of the elements people seemed to like about it have already become apparent -- to the point where I almost just want to stop playing and wait for The Witcher 2.
That's because it already looks that good -- even in its relatively early state -- and from the sound of it, the developers know where they went wrong with The Witcher. But I can't do that; there's save importing functionality. Drat.
Rage (PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
To be released: September 13, 2011 (NA) / September 15, 2011 (EU)
Post-apocalyptic wastelands are still fascinating to me, which means Rage essentially has to make this list. After New Vegas, I'm ready for something different, and the id Tech 5 engine alone looks to be quite the departure from the recent Fallout games.
Rage will be one part first-person shooter, one part car combat. Upon hearing that the former will be the focus of the game, I let out a big sigh of relief. id has talked about the story having a drastic shift of some sort near the halfway point. I'm excited to see what that's about, and hopeful that we won't get too caught up with trying to guess the twist beforehand.
Dota 2 (PC, Mac)
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
To be released: 2011
The custom games of Warcraft III ate up hundreds of hours of my life, including the occasional round of Defense of the Ancients. I haven't gotten into any of the spin-off games, thanks to the, well, let's just call them "serious" players. They sure know how to take the fun out of it.
There's a chance Dota 2 could attract those same users, and I'm sure it will, but Valve has always been pretty good about making intuitive games and encouraging certain play styles and teamwork through smart design choices (look at Team Fortress 2). Plus, you have to imagine the Valve name will bring on a whole new group of players who don't know what DOTA even is.
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Additional staff picks for the PC:
Hamza Aziz: Crysis 2, Fez
Chad Concelmo: Portal 2
Samit Sarkar: SpyParty
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You can tell we have a lot of PC gamers on staff.
This is just a selection of our most anticipated games for the PC. There are a ton of great games coming out next year, and we want to hear from you what YOUR most wanted PC game of 2011 is (use this giant list to help you figure out what's coming out). Leave a comment telling us the games you want the most, and we'll tally up your votes to reveal on Monday what the most anticipated games of 2011 are from the Destructoid community.
Contest:
4:00 PM on 12.29.2010 | 
I LOVE the series.
1.TW: Shogun 2
2. (if my computer can handle it) Knights of the old republic
3. Anything I can hit up on steam
I considered TOR, but I decided I simply hadn't seen enough about the game for it to be up there. I like Star Wars, but not at the level a lot of other people enjoy it at, which I think makes TOR somewhat less appealing to me. I also haven't seen enough gameplay to know if it's really going to do anything new in the MMO space. The reason Guild Wars 2 ended up there is because, from what I've seen of it, it really looks like it will be brining something new and fresh to the genre. Like a lot of other games that didn't make the list, I'm looking forward to trying TOR out, but I can't say it's one of my most anticipated games. I'm really happy for all the huge Star Wars fans though, because I think they'll end up loving the shit out of TOR.
@Uzeless
Truth be told, I haven't been super happy with Bethesda. Elder Scrolls IV was the last game I really got into, and it had its share of problems. With Fallout 3, I was really turned off by the short length of the main story (after I accidentally finished the game, thinking I was only 25% through), and Fallout New Vegas corrupted my main save about 15 hours into the game with a well-documented game breaking bug in Come Fly With Me.
That said and bugs aside, I think they make good games, and I'm sure I'll get and enjoy Skyrim. The clunky interfaces (SCROLL SCROLL SCROLL SCROLL) of their recent games, the numerous bugs (cosmetic and game-breaking, PC-specific and general), and some relatively serious PC performance issues (i.e. having to reinstall a super old version of DirectX to get New Vegas to run properly because they apparently didn't change a single thing from Fallout 3) I think have made it clear the consoles are their primary focus, and that's fine. I have no doubt Skyrim will be good, but I'm a bit wary of what the PC version will end up like.
Of course, what would trump these all is HALF-LIFE THREE AW MAW GAW
TOR should be appealing to you despite whether or not you're into Star Wars. It's the biggest game Bioware has ever done. It's bound to be a lot of fun.
That's right, I'll buy Brink twice, damnit.
Oh, and DOTA 2.
I see plenty multiplats.
Anyways
F.E.A.R 3
Crysis 2
The Witcher 2
Diablo 3 assuming it gets released
Mass effect 3
Dragon Age 2 (assuming they don't fuck it up)
I may play Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic.
I think I read somewhere Rage will not gave dedicated svrs. If true the game is dead already on the pc.
Whatever indie games comes out.
...I'm interested in Guild Wars 2 as well but hopefully I won't waste as much time on that as on the first one.
"One thing you may notice about all our lists this year, particularly more so than in the past, is that there are simply less exclusive games across all platforms, and as such we have less exclusive games on our lists. Many of the games on this particular list will be coming out for console as well, and will be great purchases no matter what platform you get them for. However, they're here on the PC list because we think that the PC versions will be either exceptionally well done, or the definitive experience."
On PS3.
The best of Wii list might be the best if only for exclusivity.
The Witcher 2 is probably the one I'm looking forward to the most.
Also, this one is probably one of the best lists in terms of exclusivity - if you look at the multiplatform games, nearly all of them have experiences that will be the best available on PC - Dragon Age 2 will have extra features on top of everything on consoles, and mod support - Arkham City will have PhysX support (have you seen the video Jon posted?? It's insane! - Mass Effect 3 will look insane on PC with the new engine, on top of the ability to choose between a 360 controller and a mouse+keyboard.
The only real comparable PC/Console title is From Dust.
As for the other games you guys are mentioning, one of us (or both) likely would've chosen them had our lists been longer.
That said, 2011 looks to be an utterly amazing year for videogames. Utterly, utterly amazing.
WAAAAAAAAAAGH
And this From Dust game looks pretty incredible.
Wanna see how From Dust will be like, but I am not sure if my PC will be able to run it.
Jon said "any Blizzard game in 2010" - meaning Diablo III. If it even comes out in 2010.
Bethesda games are always better on PC for one reason - mod support. Seeing the range of graphical, technical and content updates for Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout 3 should make anyone buy the PC version, even if they've played them once on consoles.
Bioware games are simply better on PC too for the reasons you listed - Mass Effect was actually enhanced with a lot of features that ended up in Mass Effect 2. ME2 less so, but Dragon Age shouldn't even be considered on 360/PS3 unless you can't run it. Dragon Age one had mod support, better control and more tactical combat. Dragon Age 2 is the same, except they've revamped the console combat so it is extremely derivative.
@Spaz: FEAR3 I'm not looking forward to because it's not Monolith making it (they made the first two), it's Day 1 Studios, the developer that made the terrible Fracture.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution I have high hopes for.
BRINK
Bulletstorm
Battlefield 3
3 main ones I'm looking for.