Borderlands 

Uncharted 2 
PixelJunk Eden 
Brutal Legend  Half-Minute Hero 
Flipnote Studio 
                
With Demon's Souls on hold for now. Videogames!

Bit early for restrospectives and there may be more on the way deserving of this list, but here they are so far. Maybe I should visit my local GameStop, where I can buy and sell used games!
 
Saint's Row 2 - I just could not get into this game.  
Star Ocean: The Last Hope - Just really mediocre in every way except for combat. Couldn't get more than a few hours in. 
Far Cry 2 - It felt like just another FPS to me, did not enjoy it as much as I expected to. 
Sacred 2 - Jury is still out on this but I'm already regretting it, at least playing it on a console. 
Guild Wars - Thought this might scratch the ol' MMO itch. It did not.
Maboshi's Arcade - This seems to get a lot of praise but I still haven't gotten around to playing it, so I probably could have done without it. 
 
Everything else I picked up this year? We cool.

It's old news now. Anticipated and most likely ready-for-release games have been getting delayed, pushed back, strategically placed, etc. into early 2010 with new announcements seeminlgy by the day. Or they were already scheduled to arrive in early 2010 in order to avoid the holiday rush altogether. Meanwhile I just picked up Sacred 2 because *nothing* worth playing seems to be getting released for consoles right now. No love for August, developers?
 
It's getting a bit stupid, especially when publishers cite "less competition" as the reason for the new release window, such as with the statement regarding Singularity. I don't have the money or time to play through all this stuff at once, and personally I'm not entirely interested in spending a shit ton of time with Modern Warfare 2 like the rest of the world, or even picking it up at launch. It'll be there when I want it, and let's be serious here, it's just another quality FPS, which I've played quite a few of over the past few years. 
 
Anyway, here's what I'm interested in playing in this now silly crowded Q1 2010:
 
Mass Effect 2
Starcraft II
Dark Void
Bayonetta
Alan Wake (yeah, right)
God of War III
Bioshock 2
Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth
Heavy Rain
Red Dead Redemption
 
It's full of awesome and it's sure to shrink or grow due to critical and public reception, not to mention further delays. One can only buy so many $60 games. I'm also excluding some big hitters like Splinter Cell: Conviction, Dante's Inferno and Monster Hunter 3 because my interest just isn't there (yet). And just for good measure, of what's left for the coming months here's what will likely find their way onto my shelf:
 
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Scribblenauts
Assassin's Creed II
Brutal Legend 
Borderlands 
Dragon Age: Origins
GTA: Ballad of Gay Tony
The Beatles Rock Band (purchased!)
Modern Warfare 2 

Hmmm. That's more stuff that I anticipated. Maybe publishers do have a point here trying to avoid what looks to be an already expensive holiday of gaming. Sorry Forza Motorsport 3, Uncharted 2, Halo 3 ODST, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Phantasy Star DS, Alpha Protocol, and the The Saboteur. Maybe sometime early next year, once the busy holiday season winds down, y'know?

is for Anno 1404.
It doesn't seem like it's for sale in the U.S. but it comes complete with:


-Anno 1404 game DVD
-Exclusive bonus DVD
-72-page art book
-A panoramic poster
-Old-fashioned compass
-A bag containing 6 almond seeds
-Wood and leatherbound box

And it's currently in stock on Amazon.co.uk for  £ 29.99, which is around $42.00. I'm trying to pick one up now, doesn't seem like they want to deliver to my office but lo, I shall find a way. Currently playing and enjoying the DS version of Dawn of Discovery to hold me over until that time.

I just finished pirating* through the first episode from Tales of Monkey Island, a worthy addition to the series and one that I can't wait to continue over the next few months. It has the potential to be Telltale's most enjoyable title yet when all is said and done. It's also got me in the mood to play through the original once again, which will happen soon enough over Live Arcade. Not bad for a series (and genre) that seemed all but dead until recently.