Mom's Minute

2011 was a stellar year for video games.  What awaits us in 2012?

As we bid farewell to 2011, and welcome with open arms, 2012, it is fitting to take a look back at the news or the major video game stories that may have caught your interest.

The stories that will probably stand out for you may be the appearance of a rivalry, albeit friendly,  between two of the biggest video games of the year, Battlefield 3, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 pictured here.

Battlefield 3

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Or maybe the video games news that you remember the most in 2011 were the ever flowing new video game releases toward the latter part of the year.  A common video game headline was of new releases in 2011 as demonstrated by the graphic below.

A record number of new video games were released in 2011.

Or maybe you recall the unexpected video game wins and awards at the VGAs in 2011 or other  news, including innovative new hardware, or other video gaming news.

Regardless of your perception of the most talked about video game news in 2011, I think we can all agree that video game players were on the winning side as players were courted and catered to by the video game industry.

As 2011 nears to an end, let's remember it as being an epic, winning year for video games as shown by the illustration below.

Video games, in my opinion had an astounding successful year in 2011.  

If 2012 will be anything like 2011, I personally cannot wait to see what the video game industry has to offer in the bright new year ahead of us.

Happy New Year everyone.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim won the Game of the Year at the Video Game Awards and was recognized as being the best Role Playing Game (RPG).

This is the fifth version of the game and is playable on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

It won this award over tough competition from other strong contenders such as Batman:  Arkham City, Uncharted 3 and The Legend of Zelda:  Skyward Sword.

Here is a dragon scene as well as a scenic landscape graphic from the award winning game.

This game is published by Bethesta Games Studio, which also won an award -- as the best studio of the year. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, although award winning,  is not perfect.  Bethesta Games Studios recently released patch 1.3 in the hopes to address some of the performance problems of the game.

 Star Wars: The Old Republic, Courtesy of IGN

If you have been waiting for Star Wars: The Old Republic to be released, your wait is over.  Star Wars: The Old Republic was released for the PC on December 20, 2011.

This game has been compared to another Role Playing Game (RPG), the World of Warcraft, the online fantasy game by Blizzard Entertainment which has a very large number of video game players.

Here are scenes from Star Wars:  The Old Republic.

Star Wars:  The Last Republic, Courtesy of IGN.

Battle scene from Star Wars: The Old Republic

There is quite a bit of voice acting in this game -- unlike the World of Warcraft. 

Here are the numbers:  Over 320 actors, with many in recurring roles; more than 4,000 characters and over 260,000 lines of dialogue-- which may be more voice acting than any other massive online video game to date.

You have a choice of various characters such as a bounty hunter, a Sith Inquisitor, a Sith warrior, an imperial agent, and many others. 

Star Wars: The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, and you must choose sides between the Old Republic and the Sith Empire.

Enjoy and may the force be with you. 

Star Wars 1313 focus will have a mature theme-- different from previous installments of the video game

Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron

Are you a Tansformers video game fan?  Then you may be happy to know that a new trailer showing impressive graphics have just been released for Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron. 

Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is the sequel to Transformers:  War of Cybertron and is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2012.  We were given a peek of what to expect in the way of graphics.

Here are pictures of a scene  and Optimus Prime from the video game.

Tansformer's Optimus Prime

Based on the trailer and the graphics, Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron may be destined to match or exceed the success of its predecessor, Transfomers: War of Cybertron.

Ms. H's Preview video game news: Coming soon.  The Elder Scrolls V. Skyrim Wins Big

Dance Central 2 for the Xbox 360 Kinect

Are you ready to learn some new dance moves for your holiday parties?  Three new songs from the recording pop and R&B music artist, Rihanna were released as Downloadable Code (DLC) on December 20, 2011.

You can dance using the Xbox 360 Kinect to songs from Rihanna's 2010 album, Loud.  The new songs are "What's My Name", featuring Drake, "Only Girl in the World", and "S&M".  These songs join some of  her current songs on Dance Central 2, such as "Rude Boy" (on disc with game), "Pon de Replay" and "Disturbia" (importable from Dance Central).

Here is a graphic from Dance Central 2 for the Kiinect and cover art.

Dance Central 2

Dance Central 2 for the Kinect Cover

How much?   Rihanna's three new songs for Dance Central 2 are available for 240 Microsoft points each, or you may opt to save 80 points by buying the set for 640 Microsoft points.