As the past year of 2011 slowly grows ever more distant in our memory now is a good time to cast our minds back to the Xbox’s version of 2011 and reflect on what titles made 2011 an ‘X’-tra special year for Xbox owners.

Without further ado, here are the top games for 2011 based on unique users connected to Xbox LIVE or the number of full versions purchased between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2011.

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El33tonline’s gamescom team got back from Germany early this week, and while we were away we were extremely busy attending developer demonstrations of unreleased games and roaming the halls of the Koelnmesse (… in Cologne), unable to spare even a moment to look over what’s been happening in the world of videogames.

And there’s been quite a bit happening, by the looks of it, but there are a few news stories in particular that we’d like to catch up on. A new version of Counter-Strike? A new design for the Wii? A delay for Kinect Star Wars?

Let’s take a look:

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The Age of Empires franchise has been around for a long time. I played it and enjoyed it, but other than the cool eagles flying around and beating natives into submission, I don’t have many memories of it, other than this one time a girl beat me at it in an office LAN game. But I’m sure she cheated.

Age of Empires Online (AOEO – the acronym that sounds like a yodel!) will certainly feel very familiar to Age of Empires veterans. A big part of the game is played in the very familiar RTS mould of building bases, harvesting and conquering levels. It’s everything that happens in between, however, that will really get you excited.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Age of Empires Online.

Microsoft’s next foray into the world of free-to-play online gaming, Age of Empires Online, has received an official release date, but don’t be fooled - this is no Facebook experiment.

Imbued with the rich heritage of the Age of Empires series of strategy games, and meticulously crafted by both Robot Entertainment (formed by Ensemble Studios members) and Gas Powered Games (home of strategy master Chris Taylor), Age of Empires Online is a fully-featured strategy and civilisation building game.

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Age of Empires is a legendary series of real-time strategy titles from Microsoft and the defunct Ensemble Studios, and ever since the first entry to the franchise in 1997, it was effortlessly able to carve its own (massive) niche in the burgeoning strategy genre.

Now after almost a dozen retail releases the Age of Empires franchise is moving into the realm of social connectivity and digital distribution with Age of Empires: Online – a brand new and extremely intriguing take on the classic series!

Age of Empires: Online is currently in public beta, which means you have a chance of experiencing the game ahead of its full release later this year, and El33tonline is giving away no less than sixteen Age of Empires: Online beta codes to get you into the taster as soon as possible!

Simply head on over to El33tonline’s Age of Empires: Online competition page for a chance to claim one of sixteen beta codes!

Hint: First come first served, so you had better get in there now!

On a gloomy, wet and cold day in Cologne, Germany, El33tonline set off on an adventure through the streets of the city on a quest to discover the location of Microsoft’s pre-gamescom event, the ‘ Play Day,’ a product showcase that was said to give games media extended (and first time) hands-on time with a slew of Kinect titles, two blockbusters, and a few recently announced games and initiatives.

Once we found the event (situated in a peculiar location, in a row of highly unassuming buildings housing factory equipment), we also found that we hadn’t been led astray – there were indeed a host of upcoming Xbox 360 and PC (Games For Windows LIVE) titles available to play.

And play was done.

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