"Sparky's Update? Did you say Sparky's Update? Cheese and crackers, that blog is like a big, endless bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch! It's amazing!" - The 'Noid in an interview with Men's Fitness, circa 1995.

I'm sitting here wrapped up in a blanket and sipping from a mug of tea hot enough to burn my throat. Ugh. Colds suck. I also haven't done a bit of "real" gaming all week, save for some brief Rock Band Blitz shenanigans and a brief hunting spree in ACIII. So instead, I thought I'd use this week's blog to highlight what I'm looking forward to most in the coming year. I'm also going to apologize up front for not taking the time to fix my award blog's editing problems. Blame it on laziness, but I still haven't bothered fixing up the headers properly. Truth be told, I probably won't, either.

My amazing brother gave me an iPad this year for Christmas, so I've been playing a lot on that this week. My crack of choice is mostly Bloons, with a bit of Simpsons: Tapped Out, Tiny Planes, and Worms Crazy Golf thrown in for good measure. Yeah, I double-dipped on Crazy Golf, but trust me, that game is good enough (and more importantly, cheap enough) that I don't really care. It actually plays a bit better on the iPad too, something that baffles me. Maybe it's just that I can pull the iPad closer nad see it better? I don't know. In any case, that machine is awesome. Sure, there aren't a whole lot of affordable "real" games on it, but there are countless, insanely cheap ways to help kill a few hours here and there. If any of you have any RPG or tower defense recommendations, I'd love to hear them. I'm not a fan of endless runners, but I'd be open to other suggestions as well so long as you provide an adequate description of the game and why I should try it.

Anyways, on with my...

Bodacious List of Groovy Stuff I'm Looking Forward to Most in 2013

New Systems

Of course this is the biggie on every serious gamer's mind. With the Wii U just about set to leave its "launch window" (winner of the Most Hated Ambiguous Term of Recent Years) and new systems from Sony and Microsoft sure to be announced sometime this year, the big 3 will be the obvious focus. But what will they be? That's the most delicious question of them all, boys and girls. Will Microsoft continue trying to eat away at the family-friendly market Nintendo has dominated? Will Sony continue to woo the regular gamer with exclusives?

And there's another question too, one that likely won't be answered in 2013 - how long will current consoles be supported? This leads to more questions, like how will DLC and XBL/PSN games be transferred over, if at all? This is going to be a year where Microsoft and Sony will have to walk carefully on eggshells. We know what we can expect roughly from the new consoles by examining current trends - both will continue to push graphics and memory updates. I'm willing to bet Microsoft will also introduce Kinect 2.0. But what about Sony? Will they take the lessons learned from Move and the Vita and focus in on creating a gaming console first and foremost, or will they push more and more gimmicks and features in their hardware? Obviously, both companies will continue to push the idea that the console can do everything a person would want in an entertainment center, so we'll also likely see limited exclusivity for browsers, video apps, and music.

None of that honestly really matters as much to me as the games. We're very likely to see something announced from most of the major companies. I'm willing to bet we'll see a preview of whatever game is going to be made from that stunning Square-Enix tech demo before 2013 ends, Watch Dogs certainly looks like a lock for next-gen consoles as well. But it's the unknown games that really get me excited, and not just for Microsoft and Sony. Which leads me to...

Hey Big N, Whatcha Got Cooking?

Animal Crossing: New Leaf looks like good ol' Animal Crossing fun, and we'll see Pikmin and that Monster Hunter 3 re-re-release. But it's what Nintendo is holding in the wings for E3 and their own version of fireside chats that intrigue me. Will we finally see a new F-Zero? Some new IPs? We're almost certainly due for a new Metroid game sometime in the next year or two, and I can't imagine the year will end without a new Mario game being announced to combat the new console releases.

But what about continued 3rd party support? Wii U versions of games are drying up fast, and soon, they'll almost be certain to be lagging behind in terms of performance, so Nintendo needs to make this their continued focus in the new year. They have maybe about eight months of relying on ports from current console games to shore up their 3rd party sales, which should nudge them to reveal long-term strategies this year in order to appease investors and gamers. Nintendo also now recognizes the need for a strong fanbase, so I suspect they'll come at this hard. But will 3rd party developers commit to creating Wii U exclusives? I don't know.

It's not just the Wii U that will need to make a killing this year. What about the little 3DS? What does Nintendo have planned for it? Will we see it become another haven for JRPGs (please say yes)?

The Games for Current Systems and PCs

Very likely, none of what I said above will matter much to me personally, since I won't be buying a new console anytime soon. I don't think I'd buy day one even if I was flush with money - tech issues from this generation taught me that lesson - which is probably a good thing, since there are so many good-looking games this year for current consoles. You can see a list of the games I'm most anticipating in the first half of 2013 in my List section, but here's a quick rundown on my three most anticipated games of 2013 for current consoles (and the PC).

-Ni Nu Kuni looks like a return to (RPG) form for Level-5. Having loved Rogue Galaxy and Dark Cloud, I was a touch upset when I spent my hard-earned cash on the stinker that was White Knight Chronicles. It was a mess, mechanically, and it lacked the love and charm of Level-5's better efforts. Ni Nu Kuni looks to fix all that, or so I hope. The game looks stunning visually, and after watching a lengthy Gamespot video on its early sections, I think the gameplay looks good too. It's the only game in 2013 I've preordered, and will likely stay that way.

-SimCity has me stoked. It looks accessible and colorful in all the right ways. EA will no doubt try to find a way to strangle pennies out of players, but for now, it looks terrific.

-I know practically nothing about Dead Island Riptide, but just the fact that it exists has me excited. If it's more Dead Island, I'll be perfectly content.

And that's really about it for this week. Have a great New Year, folks. What new games, movies, and books are you looking forward to in the new year?