There has been a recent explosion of new videos games in the past few months. Staying up all night to “duty,” slaying dragons and more is all that’s talked about. Recently, instead of hearing, “Let’s party tonight,” the only thing heard is, “I think I would rather stay home and Duty.”

   “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3(MW3),” was anticipated at least six months before its release on November 8^th. The game is centered on finding the Russian terrorist, Vladimir Makarov. Billy Hackenberg, junior, who attended the midnight release, says he was looking forward to “MW3” the most this year “because Black Ops was such a disappointment and I wanted to see if this game was better.” On the first day it was released, starting at midnight, the game sold 6.5 million copies. “MW3” is the eighth installment of the “Call of Duty” series.  The game is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.  

   Those who find dragon slaying and mythical lands more exciting than past wars, “Skyrim” is probably the game to pick up. “Skyrim” came out only three days after “Modern Warfare 3,” selling 3.5 million copies in the first two days. The game revolves around the character of the players choosing trying to destroy the main antagonist, Alduin, while Skyrim is in the middle of a civil war. However, the player can choose to explore the world of Skyrim and delay the main mission if they choose. “Skyrim” is a part of the Elder Scrolls saga and is the fifth installment. “I was excited for ‘Skyrim’ because it has been five years since ‘Oblivion (The Elder Scrolls IV)’ came out,” says Antonio Morelli, junior. The game is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

   Those who find the PC more appealing than a game console should check out “Minecraft.” “Minecraft” is mainly a PC game with low quality graphics. Every animal, land and creature in the game appears as 3-D cubes. The most appealing part of the game is the fact that it is a sandbox-building game, meaning that the player can freely roam the generated world and build as they choose. The main idea of the game is to survive. Players are given a character in a randomly generated world and they can make their own house and lands. To survive, they must collect materials and create items like axes to build and create their world. The game seems to be very addicting. Zack Petzel, junior, says he plays it, “10 or 11[hours], maybe more,” a week.

   2011 was a booming year for video games. Even though these games are still hot on the market, you can start looking forward to the games set to be released in 2012 such as, “Grand Theft Auto V,” “Halo 4” and “BioShock Infinite.”