Sequels... a bit of a video game ramble

Lets talk about sequels... video-game sequels are pretty commonplace, and for a good reason.  First, they are safe for developers.  These games cost untold amounts of dollars to produce, so they want to spend it on a game they know is going to sell.  Its less risky.  Its also less risky for the consumer, since they are more likely to drop $60 on a game they know they will like, than one that is alien to them.  The only disadvantage is that with developers focusing their attention on sequels... we get fewer original and new IP's. 

That said, I just finished one sequel, and I am in the middle of another.  I finished Mass Effect 2 over the weekend and it was a brilliant game.  Better than its predecessor, and better than most games I have played in a long time.  A truly fantastic game... immediately after finishing it, I "rolled up" a new character and started again.  My second play through didn't get far due to the arrival of Bioshock 2.  Now here's a game that didn't need a sequel, but got one anyway (the developers would have been stupid to not capitalize on the first one's success).  So far it is a great game, I am not sure how it stacks up to the original just yet (need to play it more) but it is enjoyable... same great atmosphere and gameplay, with a couple new twists.  The thing that bugged me about it was that it was so similar to the first game.  But after 5 hours or so in I realized that that was a good thing, and I liked it more for that reason.  It felt like a more "in-tune" continuation of the story.

I got to thinking... maybe this is the best way to go about sequels... for example, take Halo 1-3.  Same basic style, and gameplay, but different story and setting.. all of which were enjoyable and fun.  then you have Halo:ODST, easily the best of the bunch, but not a true sequel.. same style and gameplay, but very different setting and characters form the other 3 Halo games.  More like an "off-shoot" than a sequel.  and Take Bioware (my fav. game developer of all).. they had Star Wars:KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2...  for all intents and purposes, they are all the same game.  Same style of play, same story progression structure, combat is tweaked with each one, but mostly they are the same game just in different settings with different characters and stories.  And they are all brilliant.  A lot of game are being sold as trilogies, Mass Effect among them, which is cool.  You know that you get three games to tell a story, and then, (like ODST and the up-coming Halo:Reach) you can get some off-shoots set in the same world.  This is the way to go.. and I look forward to Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2, and subsequent off-shoots in their respective universes. (I really want Mass Effect 3...like now)

and of course we have the king of all sequels...  Final Fantasy!   and lucky number 13 comes out in a few weeks!  woohoo! (already got mine pre-ordered at Amazon)

awesome...

BIOSHOCK REBORN!!

I am already behind on my games... still in the middle of Dragon Age, fully entrenched in Mass Effect 2... but I cannot wait for this!!

some things this week

Well, its been a quiet week here. I was totally enthralled by Dragon Age : Origins. Its a fantastic game, and lives up to the pedigree that precedes it. Let me explain it this way...The only thing better than KOTOR was Mass Effect. The only thing better than Mass Effect is Dragon Age. Which leads us to infer.. the only thing thats going to be better than Dragon Age is Mass Effect 2. So, in summation, Dragon Age has made me more excited for Mass Effect 2 than I was before. Bioware is awesome.

That being said... Monday evening, as I prepared to continue my journeys in Dragon Age.. my 360 gave me the Red Rings of Death. So now my console is in Texas being repaired. Hopefully it'll return next week and I can continue to protect the world from the foul Darkspawn. In the meantime.. I am going to get a bunch of painting done... and get some work done on Earthynn. I bought Campaign Cartographer 3, and have been fiddling around with it. Its a complex program, but not unusable. My biggest hurdle is getting used to the very non-Windows control scheme. The tools it provides are very cool though, and I cant wait to get my map done. I also need to finish up prep work for our next adventure.

On the plus side... I contacted Xbox Support and they said they will ensure that all the problems with my console are fixed. So the problem with Halo 3:ODST that I (and many others) have been having may finally be rectified. So at least I can kill two birds with one stone. Also, I will say that Microsoft made it really easy to get a repair done on my console. I have had it for 3 years with no problems, and its still under warranty. So after three years of use, I can still get it repaired and shipped back for free. They certainly had some issues with their hardware, but at least they do a good job of taking care of it.

SSF4

Video Game - E3 2009 - Video Game Trailers

The new modes look really cool. Team battle especially.

Dragon Age!

Video Games - E3 2009 - Video Game Trailers

It soothes the pain of ODST...

A real post this time!

Well, haven't done a new honest to goodness post in quite sometime...so how about we do one now? Eh?

So, in the tabletop gaming scene... there's some cool stuff going on. We have played a couple more games of Pathfinder, now using the official release rules. I do not own the book yet, but since the game is written using the Open Gaming License the rules are available online via Paizo's PRD. We just finished a cool story arc involving a "haunted" mansion, and now we are moving on to the big city... we are playing through one of Paizo's published "Adventure Path" modules (a series of published modules all linked together) Apparently there is a fight at the end of this current module that is the most difficult one in the entire adventure path... can't wait. :) So far, my cleric has dropped to negative hit points every adventure...(never said I was good at playing clerics...heh)

My Earthynn campaign got started at GenCon, and our next game is coming up in a couple of weeks. We were trying to get some online gaming done via MapTool; however, we have been having server issues, and at least one of the party is not very computer literate.. so it has been difficult getting it set up. We are still determined though, so it'll happen eventually. But the up coming game looms, I still have some work to do on the story... it is going to be kind of a mini dungeon. They will be trying to free an old abandoned Dwarven Gate Hold from the hands of an Ogre and rescue the poor captured Thri Flamebeard. These are just level one characters so they not meant to fight the ogre... I am setting that encounter up as a skill challenge. Ogres are stupid so talking/tricking the ogre should be fun. Also, I wanted to make sure I had a dungeon-y adventure so we could take advantage of our Dwarven Forge terrain! woohoo! And to make the night even more geeky... I ordered a 12 pack of Dungeons and Dragons Soda for us to guzzle during the game! (see how nice of a DM I am?)

Also, in another great move, Privateer Press has released the official Warmachine MkII rules online for FREE. They are very stark, just the text, no artwork or diagrams.. but they are free, and available months before the rulebook actually comes out (January) The rules are great.. streamlined, cleaned up, clarified.. I can't wait to try them out.Again, a great company who thouroughly support their game. They also now sell art prints in their online store, and just announced the Iron Kingdoms RPG books (which have been out of print for some time) are now available in PDF. Awesome. Oh, and you can now follow them on twitter: @privateerpress

In the electronic gaming front.. I have really been enjoying GameFly. I have gotten to play several games that I normally would not have bought. Currently I am playing Prince of Persia. Its a fun game with some cool mechanics.. the world is also really beautiful... although it hasn't been able to hold my attention. Its basically a big 3D platformer.. you jump around in a complex environment collecting glow-y orbs, and then there are interspersed combat segments, which basically play out as quick-time events. I also have Assasin's Creed, but I have not played it yet. The big news however, is Halo 3 ODST. I ordered it up from Amazon and it came on Tuesday.. I had been waiting a long time for this game and was really excited. But sadly, the damn game doesn't work. The disk keeps giving me "Disk Read Errors" every time it goes to load a cinematic or I attempt to load up the Firefight mode. I can't even get past the second mission without this happening. So Tuesday night I contacted Amazon for a replacement. They sent me a new one right away, and it arrived Thursday. Sadly, I got the same problem... so after a quick internet search.. I discovered it wasn't just me. Turns out the problem is with the game itself and not the disks. A trip to Bungie's own forums yields a thread over 30 pages long with lots of people reporting the same problem. No solution as of yet, and Bungie and Microsoft have yet to say anything "official" about it. And it seems to be a random occurrence, and mainly striking people with older 360s. Like me. So, I have a brand new $60 game that I can't play. (and man, I really want to... the little bit that I could play was awesome...) A game of this caliber.. having this kind of release problems? Someone dropped the ball...

Lets see.. what else... After a long boring slow summer at work, this past month has been crazy busy. Which is great for business because our numbers have been pretty low. We had one employee laid off, and run the store on a bare bones staff (3 people total, including the owner).. but at least the days are flying by now and I'm getting a little bit of overtime. (and I am gonna need it to buy the Retribution models coming out next month)

Think that gets me caught up.. will hopefully be blogging on a much more regular basis soon...

ODST is almost here

Halo 3: ODST at IGN.com

FEZ

This really cool indy game is coming to Xbox Live Arcade in early 2010! I love it when they bring these "experimental" games to the Arcade. :) Much better than some of the old re-tread crap the shovel onto there...

FEZ TRAILER 2 from fish on Vimeo.

Getting caught up... (long post.. get a snack)

Lots of things have happened since I was away from the internet... Xbox Live got grown up, babies were born, quasits were encountered, games were played, holidays went by, and holidays approach... lets get caught up!

Basically things haven't really changed all that much.  Still living in one half of a partially remodelled house.  It took forever to get an internet connection, I was on the phone with ComCast many times.. but eventually just gave up.   So no cable TV, but I got a DSL line from the phone company, and so far its a pretty fast connection (I have only ever used cable modems before and wasn't sure if this was equal to it or not, seems to be though).  It was also really easy to setup.  I think I can even get an upgrade to the speed as well...

Was finally able to upgrade my Xbox to the New Xbox Experience (NXE) and I have to say I am impressed.  They really cleaned up the interface.  The avatars are kinda silly, but cool.  I was actually able to get mine to look like me, as did some of my friends... though Chaosturtle looks like a Mexican...   Some other features I really like are the "Install to Hard Drive" feature which lets you load a game onto the HD of the 360 instead of running it from the disc.  I speeds up load times, and keeps the 360 from making so much noise when it spins the disc.  A really nice feature.  And one of the best features is Netflix.  Being able to watch TV and movies from the Netflix library, streamed instantly to the 360 is awesome.  between the 360/Netflix and iTunes/Hulu.com on my computer.. I really have no need to cable TV.  Instead of paying money for a crapton of channels that I never watch, I can pay (or stream for free at times) only the shows I want to watch.   I have been playing a couple new XBLA games as well, mainly Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (long title) and its pretty awesome.. but I have to say.. Akuma is a fraking bitch.  I cannot fraking beat him... I spent (literally) an hour trying to defeat him today (mainly to get the achievement) and could not do it.. and this is on the EASY difficulty people.   I salute those of you who may be able to do it.  I also went online to play a few ranked matches... it plays soo much nicer online that the other Street Fighter did over Xbox Live... this one played buttery smooth.  Though I did not exactly play quite as smoothly... I went 4-4 for the day.. and I think I am ranked somewhere in the 28,000s... but there were some great matches.  I had an awesome match with Chun-li vs. Ken (in which I came back from a two round disadvantage, the ranked matches are all best of five rounds), and a real tough fight against M. Bison using E. Honda... good fun.  This should tide me over until Street Fighter 4 comes out.  Speaking of which... the special collector's edition of the game was announced...  I gave up buying these limited editions of games because after a while I realized that most of the stuff in the box/tin I never use.  That being said... Street Fighter 4 is all together different... and I already pre-ordered the Collector's edition. :)  (it comes with anime and action figures!)

 

I also bought Castle Crashers... which is a ton of fun.  Basically a re-done gauntlet.. hack-n-slasher... its very funny and has some awesome music.  Can't wait to try it co-op sometime...  I am still playing Fable 2 , which is simply fantastic.  I beat the game with my good aligned character, and have started again as an evil character.. though after you beat the game it doesn't stop, it just keeps going, there are still loads of things to do in the world... so I am playing both my characters at the moment... and I also bought one of the most original games I have played in a long time.. a game called Mirror's Edge.  Its hard to describe... its like an FPS, but without the guns.  And it is awesome.

Beyond getting caught up on my gaming.. I have been watching the Clone Wars episodes I was behind on... and man, there were some awesome episodes in there... one in particular called Cloak of Darkness, was just awesome.  It featured one of my favorite characters, Assaj Ventress, as well as, Luminara Unduli, a pretty cool jedi who had been featured (albeit very briefly) in Episode 2 (and in the original Clone Wars cartoon).  This exploration of only glimpsed at charcters (maoinly jedi) was one of the things I was most looking forward to.. hopefully more jedi are on the horizon.  I am still hoping Shaak Ti will make an appearance sometime in the series.  She was in the original Clone Wars cartoon, and is one of my favorite jedi.  I have always liked the design of her character.  

She was killed in one of the deleted scenes from Episode 3, but since it was a deleted scene it is not considered canon.  And then she turns up in The Force Unleashed videogame (which is canon) and she dies in there too... you actually kill her when you play, she is one of the bosses...  but these all happen after the Clone Wars.. so she can still show up in the cartoon... I hope. :)  (in an interesting aside.. Shaak Ti's name comes from the Hindu word shakti which means "sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that move through the entire universe. Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as The Great Divine Mother" --  from wikipedia).  Back on topic, the Clone Wars cartoon is good, very enjoyable, especially if you are an un-jaded Star Wars fan.  

The other show I have been downloading and watching is Legend of the Seeker.  Which really surprised me... because it is really good.  Very rarely do these fantasy 1-hour dramas ever turn out good on TV... but this one, so far, is excellent.  They, of course, mess with the plot from the book quite a bit... but once you get over that fact, you realize that the characters are very true to the way they were in the books.  I was very pleased with the actress playing Kahlan.. besides being gorgeous, she fits the role very well.  I was; however, not pleased with the gar.  Gars are one of the signature creatures of the Sword of Truth series... but man, it looked crappy in the show...  There are of course some staple issues that turn up in all these fanatsy shows that you just have to get used to... there always seems to be a snarky/goofy character that shows up in a bit part every once in a while, and there are alot of flat character actors filling in the villains... oh, and all the women in this world have perfect breasts (and all of their dresses are cut low in the front) unless they are playing an old woman.

On top of those two shows.. the only other things I watch with any regularit/importance are Mythbusters and BSG.  Holy frak BSG!!!  The final episodes of the show start next month... there are webisodes playing now at SciFi's website, prepping for the final epiodes... man I can't wait... easily the best show I have ever seen, I just love it.  The sci fi show to end them all.  (if the upcoming Star Wars live action show is even half as good as this... I will be happy)  SciFi Channel also just announced that they finally gave the green light to the BSG prequel series, called Caprica, which woll be cool.  I am not expecting it to be as good, but interesting none the less.  Who is the final cylon???  Starbuck? Roslin? Seelix? Gaeta? Who knows... I gave up trying to figure it out....

 You Will Know The Truth 

And if things go well.. the future holds some amazing TV... HBO has bought the rights and is making a pilot episode of A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin.  One of the best series of books I have ever read, one of my top favorites.. and a perfect show to be on HBO.. its gritty, dark, sexy, and at times quite brutal.  You couldn't do it on any other network...  seen Rome? seen Band of Brothers?  HBO makes damn good TV.  This is good news indeed.

Lets see... what else is going on...  played another game of DnD a few weeks ago.  We ended up stopping in the middle of a big fight (we were losing too), folks needed to go home, and we were already running late.  So our next session will pick up in the middle of that battle... we were fighting a particularly nasty quasit...   I am starting to get the hang of this cleric thing... kind of...  Coming up early next month my core gaming group will finally be able to get together to continue our Iron Kingdoms 4e campaign.. its been a while since we played it.. but I am looking forward to continuing the story.. of course that means I need to finish writing the adventure...  Did a bit of miniature gaming as well...  played some more Infinity and Warmachine (had a great first battle with my pirate army!).  And Infinity, I am finding, is awesome... a really intricate and stylized game... and amazing models (I can't wait to start painting mine, if only my painting list wasn't so gosh darn long!)...  couple of the guys in our group are building a space ship board for us to play on... it will be sweet.  And check out the Akira inspired bikes! (and they belong to my army!  yay!)

I will be going home for christmas , but only for a few days.  I went home for a almost a week over Thanksgiving, and it was simply too long.  I love my family dearly...  but I can only take them in short bursts...it would be nice if I could see them more often, but with a 6 hour drive home.. its just not possible.  I am glad I have close friends who live near by...  gives me someone to hang out with every once in a while...  (though when all my friends have families and I don't, it can , at times be difficult)  instead of just hiding away in my room...  it seems so much of the contact I have with other people is digital... don't get me wrong.. I am grateful for it.. communication has never been easier than it is in our age...  but I miss having lots of friend and interesting people around (college), and I miss regular gaming with friends (Columbus), and having family nearby (when I lived with my sis)... this is certainly the most stable my life has been since I left college... but its also the most solitary.  What does that say about me?

Lets see... musically I haven't done much.  I just bought the new album from I Am Robot and Proud.  An amazing peice of work... beuatiful music.  That guy does awesome stuff... one of my new favorites...  and I am in no way a "fan" of techno... I am a fan however, of good music.  If you heed anyones musical advice this year or next year.. HEED MINE.  Go and listen to I Am Robot and Proud!   Beyond that... I haven't gotten much music... Amanda Palmer's new album was great.  And I'd like to hear the new Ben Folds album, but haven't gotten it yet...

Chrsitmas also means my Chrsitmas bonus at work!  :)  I already have plans for it... lets just say I am tired of playing games in standard definiton... and 32 inches of HD gaming are on the horizon...  my pal Mike is searching the interwebs for me to find the best deals (he's the audio/video guru of our group)...

whew... I think that gets me caught up for now.... I can now return to regular sporadic posts, and short posts with trailers or YouTube videos in them...  :)

Too Many Frakin' Games! Too Little Money!!

I decide to create a list of all the video games on the horizon (or ones that are already out that I haven't gotten around to yet) to see just how many awesome titles are releasing in the next few months.  What I realized is that there are far too many games coming out!  A lot of these I will have to pass on for a while until I can pick them up used or after a price drop...these are all for Xbox 360 or the XBox Live Arcade.  I am glad I only own one game console.. if I had to shop for a Wii or PS3 games too?  yeesh...

(blurbs are taken from 1up.com)

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So before I start with the games upcoming... lets start with a few I am currently playing.

Soul Calibur 4

Namco Bandai's fifth installment it its popular fantasy-based fighter, Soul Calibur 4 packs in over 30 characters (including a platform-specific Darth Vader and Yoda), multiple modes, tweaked character creation, and an all-new Critical Finish system.

Still love this game...This is a fantastic fighting game... despite the "not as cool as you might hope" Star Wars characters, the core fighting game is unparralleled on the consoles at this moment.  I am still playing this a bunch, tyring to work my way up and down the tower... just wish I had better internet to play with friends online.

Lost Odyssey

An RPG from well-known Japanese creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu and Takehito Inoue.

I have had this game for a while, but haven't finished it.  I really enjoy it, and its been awhile since I played a good JRPG... great graphics and cool story for this one.  I am looking forward to finishing it up.  I love reading the dreams.. even if it is just reading a story.. and it has great music. (no surprise considering its Nobuo Uematsu)

Star Wars: Force Unleashed

The saga continues in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a videogame developed by LucasArts, which casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice". The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III and Episode IV. Force Unleashed also uses LucasArt's new Digital Molecular Matter graphics engine.

Just got this one earlier this week.  I really enjoy it.  Very cool story, some moments are a bit "huh?" but its pretty cool.  The action is fun, combat is often challenging and the Force powers are very cool.  So.. cool characters, nice graphics, good story, Star Wars = fun game.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness 

The first chapter of Penny Arcade's episodic, Lovecraftian adventure series for Windows, OS X, and next-gen consoles. With a script and art direction by the comic's creators, it should remain true to the source material.

I love Penny Arccade so this one was a no brainer.  A fun, hilarious, and surprisingly hard RPG on the XBox Live Arcade... can't wait for the second installment coming later :) You even get to continue using your same character!  Karleton is ready for some more adventure! (after I finish this one of course...)

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Alright... and then we have the games I don't own... that I want.  Lets start with the XBox Live Arcade titles... they are easier to take since they are cheap(er) :)

Portal:Still Alive (forth coming)

Portal: Still Alive is a "1.5" version of the popular Portal game with some extras for the XBLA from EA and Valve.

Expansion to one of the best games of 2007.  nuff said.. its more Portal!

Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (forth coming)

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, originally developed by Capcom for the arcade, makes its downloadable debut on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Revamped version of Street Fighter II Champion's Edition (Cammy, DeeJay, THawk, Bruce Lee), the graphics are being "drawn" by the people at Udon Comics... they look awesome.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (out now)

A curious hybrid puzzle/RPG game, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords includes four classes of character -- knight, warrior, wizard, and druid -- and over 100 quests.

Really great puzzle/RPG hybrid game.  I have been playing this for a while, and this is the expansion for it.. new character classes, quests, etc.. a solid upgrade to a solid game.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (forth coming)

D3 Publisher brings the sequel to the popular Puzzle/RPG hybrid game, Puzzle Quest.

Sci-fi version of Puzzle Quest.  Yes please!

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 (out now)

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is the sequel to the popular XBLA shooter from Microsoft and Bizarre Creations.

I loved the first one to death (very addictive game) ... and this one looks great.  New game modes, multiplayer (local only) and of course... the same arcade style shooter action.  and lots of tiny shapes trying to kill you.

Castle Crashers (out now)

Beat 'em up game from The Behemoth.

A cool stylized hack-n-slasher.. with multiplayer!  Kind of a Gauntlet for the modern age.

Braid (out now)

Number None Inc. brings you Braid an action platformer game.

Mario Brothers on drugs.. awesome art style and really interesting story and gameplay.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed (out now)

A remake of Capcom's classic platformer, Bionic Commando: The Plot to Revive Master-D adds new features like two-player co-op, new hidden areas, and ties to the next-gen title.

A revisiting of a classic game.  Its very old school still, just with some graphical and gameplay tweeks... very cool.  I love when they re-do these old games...

Galaga Legions (out now)

Namco Bandai brings a new version of their arcade classic, Galaga with Galaga Legions for the XBox 360.

See above game... another classic re-done.

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Now onto the big boys... the $60 games you buy from your local retail store (or in my case, Amazon.com)  In no particular order...

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (out now)

Tend to more pinata animals in this colorful gardening sequel.

I really enjoyed the first one, and this one fixes alot of the problems that plagued it.  I traded in my old copy, giving me all the more reason to pick up this one :)

Dead Space (October)

Dead Space, a new IP from EA's Redwood Shores Studio, puts gamers into a rich third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that delivers psychological thrills and a whole lot of gruesome action.

A sci-fi horror game... looks really cool and interesting.  And more good sci-fi in video games is a good thing...the AI on the enemies is looking to be very interesting...

Fable 2 (October)

The sequel to Peter Molyneux's rulebreaking RPG, Fable 2 is set 500 years after the events of the original. Offering even more choices and features to the game, all while building on the core gameplay of the original, your character will now truly be defined by their actions.

The first one was really great, albeit a bit too short and too easy.  This one has certainly fixed that.. can not wait for this one!

Halo Wars (January)

Take control of human UNSC armies in Halo Wars, the latest addition to Microsoft and Bungie Studios' best-selling Halo Universe. A real-time strategy game produced exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series, Halo Wars moves the fight back in time to the first encounters with the deadly Covenant. From initial skirmishes to all-out war, this dark and cinematic Halo prequel is built from the ground up to take advantage of all the best aspects of RTS games.

The Halo universe done RTS style... Ensemble Studios makes good RTS games, so there are good omens for this game.  I like RTS games.. I like the Halo universe.

Mirror's Edge (November)

EA's Dice studio -- the folks behind Battlefield -- create an original first-person action adventure title for next-gen systems and the PC.

A new take on the FPS.. just take out the S.. a first person action game.. looks really cool.  It is nice to see an original idea instead of yet another sequel.  Running along rooftops, dodging enemies, more of a running game than a fighting game... hard to describe, look up the trailer and check it out.

Left 4 Dead (November)

A co-operative multi-player action game developed by Turtle Rock, creators of Counter-Strike. Left 4 Dead is built atop the most advanced version of the Source Engine and introduces version 2 of Turtle Rock's artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology.

This game looks sweet.. 4 survivor's struggling to escpae a city full of zombies..4 player co-op for the win!  And if you don't want to play a sa survivor you can jump in and play as a zombie to take out others!  mmm. brains... ( and Valve is partially behind this game...so you know it'll be high quality)

Fall Out 3 (October)

The third game in the cult role playing game set in the near future after a devastating nuclear war. Developed and published by Bethesda for PC, 360, and PS3.

Post-apocaluptic role-playing/shooter.  Huge world, lots of cool ideas and gameplay... an impeccable history of quality with the franchise... this game is gonna rock.

Gears of War 2 (November)

The sequel to the smash hit by Epic Games and Microsoft.

The first was good, and had amazing graphics.   This one looks just as good. Though considering how many games are coming out... I may pass on this one.

Street Fighter 4 (February)

Street Fighter 4, the long-awaited fourth (true) installment in Capcom's ground-breaking fighting series.

This one is still a ways out... but holy crap... a new Street Fighter!

The four new characters (Crimson Viper, Abel, Rufus, and the Mexican guy..) all look kinda lame.. but the original Hyper Fighting characters are all present.. and there might be a few others added (Cammy and DeeJay have been hinted at).. can't wait for some more Lighting Kicking, Spinning Bird Kickin' and Kokosho-ing action with my girl Chun-Li!  

"You're spikey wrists, your bogus hips, your rapid kick, I'm lovin' it!"

 - Man factory

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Honorable Mentions

These ones I most certainly will not be able to afford(though some are old, and therefor cheap atm)... but I would still like to play them some time:

Too Human

Lost Planet: Colonies Edition

Tales of Vesperia

Infinite Undiscovery

Last Remnant

Burn Out Paradise

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So... can anyone lend me some cash?  Thats about $1200 worth of games...   :)

awww.. aren't they cute?

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:af0e0dcd-5cff-43a2-bd32-4841fe6a89d1&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=shared" target="_new" title="Avatars in the new Xbox experience">Video: Avatars in the new Xbox experience</a>