A holiday season unlike the rest

It was around this time last year that I compiled a list of all the big holiday season titles I was looking forward to. There were plenty to chose from, and many that didn't make the list for one reason or another. I had every intention of doing the same this year, but there's just one problem: There really aren't a whole bunch of games I'm excited about. It's strange, but looking over a list of release dates reveals only a handful of titles that I would consider "must buy", at least for me, anyway. There are plenty of other games that I'm semi-interested in, but will probably only purchase if they get good reviews.

What's the reason for this weird absence of quality titles? Delays could be a part of it, with many big releases pushed back until 2010 (such as Bioshock 2), but I think there's another reason too. You see, many of the big games slated for holiday '09 are sequels to popular titles of recent years: Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Uncharted 2, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and so on. While there are plenty of folks who are anticipating these sequels even more than the originals, I'm not one of them. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I find new titles much more appealing than follow-ups, and I'll always put these on top of my priority list.

So what titles am I looking forward to for the rest of '09? Well, let's start with the Xbox 360: On August 19th we see the release of Shadow Complex, Epic's side-scrolling, Metroidvania-style shooter on Xbox Live Arcade; September 9th brings us Beatles Rock Band, which will allow us to live out our decades-long fantasy of stepping into the shoes of the Fab Four; and October 13th brings us Brutal Legend, Tim Schafer's rock and roll action game starring Jack Black. These are my only must-buys, but we'll also be getting DJ Hero on October 27th (which is a little too pricey for me), Modern Warfare 2 on November 10th (which I may buy, even though I've played none of the other Call of Duty games), and Left 4 Dead 2 on November 17th (which sounds a little too much like the original for my taste).

So how about the DS? August 24th brings us Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, the follow-up to 2007's excellent puzzle-adventure; and September 15th sees the release of Scribblenauts, in which you solve the levels by using any object you can imagine (probably my most anticipated title, by the way). Apart from these, there are a few RPGs I'm interested in: Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. However, I wouldn't be surprised of one or more of these titles were pushed back until next year.

As for the PS3 and Wii, there's really nothing. Okay, that's not entirely true, as many of the 360 games I'm looking forward to are also coming out on Sony's box, but this isn't where I'll be purchasing them. The only PS3 exclusive that looks good is Uncharted 2 on October 13th, but I highly doubt I'll be buying that on day one for two reasons: First, I haven't played the original yet (I will as soon as it goes down in price), and second, it comes out the same day as Brutal Legend. Fail! The only interesting Wii title is New Super Mario Bros. 2, but this doesn't have a release date yet, so who knows if we'll even see it before the end of the year?

So that's it. As you can see, there are only a handful of titles that I'm super-excited about, and a whole bunch that I may play, but only if I have nothing better to do. However, as the games I want most are spaced-out from each other, I may actually be able to give them the time they deserve, instead of rushing through them to get to the next release. Lets just hope I can finish them all before the end of the year, as the first quarter of 2010 is starting to sound just as crazy as any holiday season....