Untangling The Games Of 2010 From The Games of 2011

We’ve been hearing about all kinds of big, exciting games in the last few weeks, all seemingly on the horizon. But they’re not all coming out that soon. Let’s face reality and sort the 2010 games from the 2011s.

Some of the following 2011s are set to come out in early 2011. But they are still next year’s games. Look on the left for games you will probably be able to play by Christmas. Look on the right for games you’ll be playing after you practice your ability to count down to 1 and embrace the person next to you.

Note: These are North American release dates.

2010

Halo Reach

Fable III

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Driver San Francisco

Call of Duty Black Ops

Medal of Honor

Crysis 2

Epic Mickey

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Donkey Kong Country Returns

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Gran Turismo 5

Fallout: New Vegas

Mafia II

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Dead Rising 2

Castlevania Lords of Shadow

Castlevania Harmony of Despair

Dance Central

Final Fantasy XIV (PC version)

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

GoldenEye

Vanquish

Civilization V

True Crime

Wii Party

Rock Band 3

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

L.A. Noire

Test Drive Unlimited 2

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

NBA Jam

F.E.A.R. 3

DC Universe Online

Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions

Sonic 4

Sonic Colors

Splatterhouse

Metroid: Other M

LittleBigPlanet 2

Ghost Trick

Super Scribblenauts

Kinect

Move

2011

Gears of War 3

Infamous 2

Rage

Motorstorm Apocalypse

Dead Space 2

Bulletstorm

Portal 2

Killzone 3

Sorcery

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Okamiden

Twisted Metal

Brink

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Dragon Age II

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Red Faction Armageddon

Mortal Kombat 9

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Child of Eden

Final Fantasy XIV (console version)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Spec Ops: The Line

Homefront

X-Com

Guild Wars 2

Pokémon Black and White

Mario Sports Mix

Who-Knows-When

Max Payne 3 (any time after October 31, 2010)

Nintendo 3DS (before April 1, 2011)

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (2010ish?)

Metal Gear Solid Rising

The Last Guardian

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2

Diablo III

I didn’t list every game that is slated to come out in the next two years. I skipped most of them, including most of the expected sports stuff. But hopefully this helps you sort out the games that are near from those that are far away.