It has been a rather long time since I wrote anything.  I generally have a big break from writing then come back with some kind of ‘hey guys I’m back post’. This time may actually be for real but who knows. My life has been a strange one for the last 5-6 months but I won’t bore you with the details as this blog is about gaming.

Games have been an interesting part of my day to day life. For a start I have been working in a computer games shop and spend most of my days selling crap Wii and DS titles to spoilt kids. However the odd customer comes along who actually values my opinion and wants to buy some real games, so the job is pretty awesome. I have also down sized the amount of gaming i do in my spare time. This is mainly because I haven't had spare time, but also as my photography and musical sides of me have become much more relevant. For various reasons I no longer have a Wii so must rely on Freckled Moon to keep me in that loop, but still enjoy our weekly gaming and podcasting sessions, and hope that you will tune into Forced Feedback every week.

For me this year could be pretty impressive as far as titles are concerned. As my current gaming life consists of Star Trek Online and Sega Racing I thought I would bore you with what I am personally excited about for the next year instead of what I am currently enjoying. In no way is this a complete list of quality titles for the year, however these are the few which really jump out at me and my personal gaming flavours. 

Just Cause 2 – 26th March – If you have ever listened to Forced Feedback, you are most likely aware that I am very excited about the return of Rico. Simple ass kicking in an open world and base jumping off everything and anything. I like big explosions, pointless grind missions which give you added Kudos for various factions and I like to steal helicopters while they are in the air. When I play JC1 I feel happy inside. I hope this will make me feel the same if not better.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – 28th May – I love the Lego platformers. Travellers Tales did a fantastic job on the Star Wars, Indy and Batman titles. Here comes Harry Potter’s turn. From what I have seen in videos and current screen shots this will be more of the same but with the story of the first 4 books/films. I loved the game mechanics and setups of the previous games and I like Harry Potter. Therefore I’m sure I will be one happy wizard when this comes flying into my life in May.

Blur – 28th May – I’m currently playing the Beta version of BLUR and I love it. Fast like ‘Wipeout’ with the crashing and bashing of ‘Burnout’ and the weapon pickups of Kart racers makes this an amazing mix. What is more interesting is I heard rumours that It will be free for Xbox Live Silver players and it should be cross platform multiplayer so finally Xbox, Playstation and PC fan boys can live and fight in harmony. This is one to look out for!

Naughty Bear – 4th June – Introduced to me through Spirit of Jazz and Freckled moon, this game has got me rather excited. You are a Naughty Bear in a land of perfect teddies. Some sandbox style game play added with the dark twisted humour which I'm sure i will love. This will be the territory of Freckled Moon so I don’t want to give to many features away, however keep listening to Forced Feedback as we will be discussing this master piece in great detail.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 11th June – This game will make me get a Wii again. I have 3 months to save up because this game is essential. I loved number one and even if this is simply more of the same, I don’t care!I have a kind of unjustified hatred of Nintendo at the moment, however Galaxy stole my heart and I am assuming that the production values and game play of the sequel will be the same if not heavily improved. I am looking forward to the cute stars, crazy upside down platforming and riding Yoshi around like nobodies business.

Crackdown 2 – July 8th – Crackdown made me lose around 200 hours of my life, if not more. I was hypnotised by the jumping, orb hunting and disregard for civilians. The art style was stunning, the game play was fun, the explosions were big. What can be improved? well lets add 4 player Co-Op, new weapons, a prettier engine and more Crackdowny goodness. I may book a week off work for this release. I just hope that Freckled Moon sorts her internet/Xbox live out before July as the Wizard/Moon Crackdown ass kicking team may be no more!!

Halo: Reach – Q3, September Maybe – I am a raving Halo fan boy. I need to say no more to why I ‘need’ this game. The multiplayer will improve again on what is still the most popular multiplayer of all time. The story to me will answer questions which appeared in the Books and previous titles. I love the universe and the 5th FPS in the series will stun us all. My only criticism is that the Multiplayer Beta is going to be a bit of a farce as people will treat it as a demo or sneak peak and may not actually report bugs, however I’m sure Bungie will sell loads of more copies of ODST in the weeks before May 3rd.

Other games I am excited about include Star Craft 2, Diablo 3, Medal of Honor, Star Wars: Old Republic and The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf. But it may be far to soon to be able to get really excited about these titles. I have a busy few months to get my gaming back on form and look forward to reading and writing about all the moments and news surrounding.

Keep on reading and Tune into Forced Feedback each Monday night (except tonight that is).