The first half of 2011 is coming to a close, and I think it's a wonderful time to sit down and compare on some of the bigger and better things that have happened in the gaming world this year, and some of the disappointments. 
 
The year started off strong with Dead Space 2, EA's answer to a giant release to start off the year (last year started off with Mass Effect 2). The game saw the return of Issac Clarke, this time with an actual voice.  The story was great and the action unparalled: the only downfall of the game was the ending was a disappointment. Yes, there will be a third game. 
 
In February we got the release of two major titles: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Bulletstorm.  While Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 proved to be a great entry into that series, Bulletstorm failed to really impress me.  Its absurd, over-the-top humor and overall short campaign mixed with the inability to play it in co-op was a gigantic step backwards for gaming, and one that made me feel like a fool for purchasing it at a full, $60 price tag.  Sure it came with a week's early access of that Gears beta, but it wasn't worth that. 
 
March saw the release of two very high profile games.  While I enjoyed the little bit of Dragon Age 2 (a game that has gamers pretty evenly divided), I didn't play nearly as much of that game as I probably should have.  It is one of my summer ventures though.  Toward the end of March we saw the release of Crysis 2.  Sporting some of the most fantastic and jaw dropping graphics, Crysis 2 actually made more sense on consoles then everyone previously thought.  In fact the only downfall of that game is its muliplayer, which is nothing more then a rip-off of Call of Duty. 
 
April was perhaps the biggest month of this year so far, with a few very high profile releases.  We finally saw the return of two major franchises in Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. I'll be honest here though, I seriously have no interest in Portal 2 and I skipped that game.  I am recognizing it as a great game, I'm sure it is, but honestly it just doesn't interest me.  However, Mortal Kombat has become the true success and surprise story of 2011 so far.  It is by far not only the best game released this year so far, but it also is one of the few games to get the whole nostalgia feel absolutely correct.   With a great story mode (the best a fighting game has ever seen) and classic gameplay everyone remembers, Mortal Kombat will surely be remembered as being one of the best of 2011. 
 
Finally we have May, which saw the release of "L.A. Noire".  While I applaud the game for having the awesome facial recognition and its extremely adult oriented story, the end of that game made me shake my head in disgust.  Seriously Rockstar, your game is good, but you missed achieving greatness by writing a terrible ending to an otherwise amazing game.  Still, no one should skip Noire. 
 
Finally, it goes without saying that in June, at E3, the biggest announcement happened with the return of Master Chief in Halo 4.  While no plot details or gameplay footage have been announced or shown, it doesn't matter at this point.  All anyone cares about is that the chief is back!
 
However the coming months look to be promising.  With Gears of War 3, Dead Island, Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3, a Metal Gear Solid HD collection (amongst various awesome HD collections), Assassin's Creed Revelations, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and finally, and what I am already calling will be the game of the year, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 2011 is perhaps the biggest year gaming has seen yet!