2011 was without a doubt a standout year in video games. From the early hits like, Dead Space 2, and Little Big Planet 2, to the awesome summer releases like LA Noire, and Infamous 2. And of course the highly anticipated holiday titles like, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and the long awaited new installment of The Elder Scrolls series: Skyrim. And who could forget the (often heated) battle between Battlefield 3, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3?

I don't know how this year is going to  compare to last year, but it does seem to be shaping up pretty nice. Here are the games I'm most excited for.

10.

Risen 2: Dark Waters

Release Date:  May 22nd

I'm gonna be honest here, I have absolutely no idea how this game is gonna turn out. It could be a perfect ten, or just plain  awful. So why is it on my list you ask? Simple. Use your fingers and count. How many open world pirate RPGs can you think of? If you get past the first hand, I'll mail you a cupcake. Simply something new is enough to get me interested.

9.

Halo 4

Release Date: November 6

Before you start throwing stuff at me for this being so low, let me explain. I didn't have an Xbox until just over a year ago. So I got into Halo pretty late. And was mostly lost. I've thought about going back and playing the older ones, but first person shooters usually don't age very well. And I already have a nice scary backlog. With that said, what I've seen and read about this one really seems cool. I'm especially interested in the co-op stuff.

8.

Borderlands 2

Release Date: September 18

The original Borderlands was a blast with friends. The nonstop loot, insanity, and crazy action made for a good time. And Borderlands 2 is looking to be a nice improvement over that. The better environment and gun variety is definitely welcome. And pretty much everything I'm seeing has me excited.

7.

Luigi's Mansion 2

Release Date: 2012

Luigi's Haunted Mansion was a game I was sad to miss. And one of the few games that made me wish I had a GameCube. Because, the idea of Luigi going all Ghostbusters really caught my interest for some reason. Anyway, Luigi's Mansion 2 was one of the last pushes for me to pick up a 3DS. I can't wait for a more solid release date.

6.

Far Cry 3

Release Date: September 4

I have yet to play a Far Cry game. That's something I'm hoping to fix come September. I've always loved sandbox games. And everything I've seen so far has me excited. I'm loving the atmosphere, and the crazy action we've seen so far. Hopefully it'll turn out as good as it looks.

5.

Dragon's Dogma 

Release Date: May 22

I'll admit, I wasn't very excited foe this until recently. But from the gameplay videos I've seen, it seems to have quite a bit of variety. Something not many RPGs pull off well. From fighting huge monsters out in the open fields, to the undead in nearly pitch black caves, it's looking pretty great. And it'll be awesome to have another RPG to give me a break form Skyrim. Because I'm kind of ashamed to admit how much time I've spent in that game.

4.

The Last Of Us

Release Date: TBA

As far as I know, The Last Of Us hasn't officially been confirmed for 2012, but a man can hope right? After playing and loving the Uncharted series, knowing Naughty Dog is behind this has me more excited than anything. They've already proved that they can create believable characters that you actually care about. And I think that can go a long way in a survival type game like this.

3.

Assassin's Creed 3

Release: Date: October 30

The Assassin's Creed series has become one of my favorites. And I haven't been looking forward to the next one this much since Assassin's Creed 2. At first I was kinda skeptical about some of the changes, but the more I've read into it, the more I think they're for the better. Moving through forests and hunting your enemies really sounds cool. I have almost no doubt that it's going to be great...well as long as this doesn't happen.

2.

Resident Evil 6

Release Date: November 20 October 2

Honestly, I don't even know what to say. Resident Evil 5 is probably my favorite co-op game of this generation. And this one doesn't look like it's going to disappoint. The creepier dark areas from the trailer is fueling my excitement as well. Plus Zombies! Zombies are back! This is one of those games that makes the whole year move slowly. October can't get here fast enough. Though for more than one reason...

1.

Bioshock Infinite 

Release Date: October 16

I simply can't wait. Bioshock is one of my favorite games of all time. I could ramble on for the rest of this page on why I love it. And as sad as I am to say goodbye to Rapture, I can't wait to explore Columbia. Everything I've seen from gameplay to the "Heavy Hitters" videos just look phenomenal. And knowing Ken Levine is once again behind Bioshock gives me no doubt that Infinite is going to be mind blowing.

So what do you think? What games make your list?

And as always, thanks for reading!

*Note* I apologize for any mistakes I probably made. I had to retype this after accidentally hitting a shortcut while proof reading to delete everything apparently.