It’s a strange world we live in where the changing of seasons isn’t so much marked by a shift in weather or temperature but a shift in our buying habits. Rather than the changing color of the leaves, fall is marked for gamers by the suffocating deluge of great games releases. Last week alone we saw Resistance 2, Gears of War 2, Quantum of Solace, EndWar and Valkyria Chronicles. This week it’s Mirror’s Edge, Red Alert 3, Wrath of the Lich King, Call of Duty: World at War, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Mortal Kombat vs. DC. And that’s just the AAA titles. Drowning would be putting what we’re going through lightly.
Because of this, we’re put into a rather interesting situation. Rather than playing the games we want, we have to choose which games to play now and which games to wait on. It’s almost a game unto itself, and like any great game it can be as simple or as deep as you want it to be. Sure you could just pick the games you want most and move on, but what fun is that? And herein lies the part where I explain to you why I haven’t played LittleBigPlanet;
I’m dying to play LittleBigPlanet. Like — dying dying. For once the chest pains aren’t exclusively related to my high-blood pressure and poor diet. But here’s the thing — if I play LBP now I’m not going to play anything else this holiday season. I know what I’m like, and having played the beta I know the potential LBP has to suck every last free minute out of me for the next hundred years. I had to think strategically, so I’ve chosen to put LBP off until the fall deluge of games is over. If not, you’re reading list of Jim-penned articles would consist exclusively of LBP raving and ranting, and while that’ll make great material during the dry spell in the new year, it’s not necessarily what you’re looking for right now.
So Sackboy, to you I say “sorry,” I had to make a grown-up decision. I waited more than a year for you. Another few months won’t kill us to be apart. It won’t be much longer now, as I’ve already tackled much of what I cared about this fall. The reviews of Fable 2, Rock Band 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift are behind us now, and while I’m currently knee-deep in Gears of War 2 and Bejeweled Twist, still looking forward to Left 4 Dead next week, and would eventually like to tackle EndWar and Prince of Persia, I can’t help but feel that the time for us to be together is almost here. Besides, some time to yourself will give you a chance to grow. When we meet you’ll have so much more to offer in the way of user-generated content than you would have at launch. I look forward to our time together with eager anticipation.
Oh - and Fallout 3 can eat my hog. You’ll notice it wasn’t mentioned in any of my ramblings. That’s because I’m only somewhat interested and completely aware of the time-commitment involved. Something tells me I can hold off on that one until I’m looking for something to kill time with next April. Besides, I’ve only just started playing the original one (still available for free), so I’ve got a ways to go before I feel the need to tackle number 3.
