How excited are you about gaming right now?

[toblix]

Re-Volt was awesome!

[Noyb]

Seems like all of the games I was looking forward to this spring have been delayed to the fall, except for Super Paper Mario and a random shareware abstract puzzle game. Luckily, I don't have much time this Spring for video games. Still excited for Bioshock, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Zelda DS, and whatever first party Wii games are still coming out this year.

[SpiderMonkey]

So I guess if everyone had lots of time and money, the poll's average would be around 8 or 9?

Heh, yeah I guess so. I think people are still making enough good games to keep everyone busy. And on top of that, there's dozens of games from the past decade that I'd love to have time to catch up on.

[Nachimir]

I'm fairly excited but distracted by moving house, etc.

Wasn't very excited about the PS3, but my boss was telling me some things about Motor Storm that have me intrigued. I'm less excited about the Wii than I was when it first came out. With PC, Stalker and BF2142 are both tugging at my sleeve.

Dunno, there's a lot of stuff I'm curious about, but not exactly sweaty over. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with AI on next gen consoles; whether it will be yet another typical bullet pointed marketing extravaganza or genuinely step closer to being more convincing and sophisticated.

[manny_c44]

Of games coming soon Bioshock is the only one I was really looking forward to, perhaps only for its setting. I'm always optimistic about the potential of gaming, the abstract idea I mean, but the upcoming commercial releases aren't inspiring.

But then again there are some far-off or nebulous titles that look intriguing: A Vampire Story, Insecticide, Braid, The Party (from the academic team that made facade- does anyone know what's happening with this?), anything Tim Schafer, Fallout3, Ico team's next project. Maybe Portal, Mario Galaxy, MGS4 (they've been getting worse), HL2 Ep:2, Spore.

Time and money are definitely a factor, as Marek said, but often times there is just nothing current that looks interesting.

[twmac]

It took many months of convincing to get Sega to license that out. It was a relief when they finally agreed and Ubisoft picked it up

In that case thank you SEGA and thank you Ubisoft. Little disappointed, it would nice if had had a big SEGA logo on it.

Going on a SEGA spree on Thursday, getting Phantasy Star Universe (don't care if it is rubbish I know people who want to play it as a group), Virtua Tennis 3 (if it isn't broke it'll be great) and Armoured Core 4 (heard some dodgy stuff about this in terms of online but From Software haven't let me down so far).

Also Tenchu Senran is floating about at the moment, if they sortout the dated control system it could be good.

[miffy495]

I'm a seven at the moment. Haven't had time for much other than Guitar Hero since the winter term at uni kicked into full gear, and honestly haven't been following the news too closely either. Xbox Live Arcade seems to have something I want to play every week now, so I'm keeping up with that, but otherwise I'm just waiting for the end of April when my exams are over so I can get back into stuff. Also, money is an issue right now. Another thing coming at the end of April is that I'm picking up a second job for the summer, so gaming may actually become affordable again as well. Both would put me up to an 8, maybe 8.5. I don't know if there's really enough on the horizon for a 9 right now, but considering I'd still like to pick up Bully and God Of War II before retiring my PS2, there's some last-gen games I'd be playing as well.

[Ginger]

I'm a three, there is very little that excites me at the mo, that could be because I have a lot of time on my hands and everything worth playing gets digested very quickly. There is a lot in the future that I'm getting me going, like most people Bioshock is near the top, as is quake wars and team fortress, I really want to PC game again. Bit excited about the new pokemon, I've never played one before. But at this current time I feel very meh about gaming and most games I check out give a transient break from the meh and don't leave me with that feeling that I've played something epic.

Is it just me or has the novelty of the Wii multiplayer worn off, I feel the need for a multiplayer game on it that has that Mario Kart formula; being instantly accessible and fun, but takes a bit of effort to master?

[baconian]

I'm already excited about GTA4. 7/10. And the tingly anticipation of my first next gen console choice is looming. I'm seriously considering a ps3. The wii doesn't really interest me, even though I've always been a nintendophile. I just don't feel part of the expanded audience, I guess.

The clincher is that I know the ps3 will have everything that the 360 has, plus some great exclusive stuff. And Sony has so much clout in the movie industry, the bluray player may turn out to be a good idea.

[Marek]

Wait. Your take on the 360 and PS3 is completely opposite of reality. PS3 has the exclusives? There's only two high-profile exclusives I can think of: LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid. And there's only a small chance that MGS remains exclusive. Maybe you're counting games like Motorstorm and Warhawk but I'd be surprised if you considered those system sellers.

360 has several high-profile exclusives, plus all the stuff PS3 gets (Devil May Cry, GTA, Resident Evil 5, etc.). It's the main platform for most publishers now (the one that the other stuff is ported from).

Can't argue with BluRay, if that's important to you.

[Thrik]

It's certainly the case now, but do note that his post was referring to it in the future tense. I'm betting the PS3 will get a considerable number of exclusive titles over the coming years that will be great, just like the PS2 did -- most of which we can't really use as examples because they'll be fresh IP.

The PS3 has had a really rocky start but that's no reason to think it won't repeat history in other respects. I'll be incredibly surprised if it doesn't get a number of exclusive, original system-seller titles.

Of course, as always the only way us enthusiasts will get to play every game we fancy is to just buy all three consoles.

[nsps]

Well, I voted a 5, but that's probably just because I'm bitter that I have no time to play.

I got Wii Play, which has some good stuff but isn't as awesome as Wii Sports, and I have a stack of DS games to catch up with (including Phoenix Wright 2 and Feel the Magic, just for Miffy).

I'm occasionally digging Wario Ware (which has way better darts than monkey ball, in another parenthetical aside to Miffy), but that's about it. I still haven't played enough Twilight Princess to get into it. So that's where I stand right now.

[Marek]

Thrik: I somehow missed the future tense...

In that case the PS3 may be worth buying for whatever the likes of Fumito Ueda and Tsutomo Kuono come up with. I'd feel super sad if I bought a PS3 now though. The cool stuff won't emerge until much later.

Also PS3 looks to be getting the least games in general, so you'd really want to have some guarantees that it will have the exclusives you're interested in.

[Wrestlevania]

Right, I'd like to retract my vote and recast it as something like an 8 or a 9. Here's why:

I've been pretty depressed with gaming lately, truth be told; I thought retreading games I'd not previously played or hadn't completed would dispell this, but if anything it's just made it worse. Moreover, the fact my previously-uber laptop now isn't capable of playing games that were released in the latter half of last year has deepened the drudgery. And that broken PS2 I was given has been silently tormenting me, as my efforts to bring it back to life have utterly failed.

Having stewed over (read: wallowed in) that for more than a few weeks now, I've decided to ditch PC gaming - including the prerequisite hardware paperchase (thank fuck) - and move my gaming wholesale over to consoles. Or 'console' rather--I'm going to sell my DS. Can't say I'm all that bothered as I think I've gotten most of what I could out of the system already, and don't really play it anymore. There's also just one title I'm looking forward to for the foreseeable future - Phantom Hourglass - and that's getting shifted around all the time anyway. Moreover, it was either that or the Dreamcast--and you can prise SEGA's finest from my cold dead hands, not before!

So yeah, GameStation have a superb deal going at the moment which is too good to pass on:

• Xbox 360 'Premium'
  
• + Gears of War
  
• + Crackdown
  
• + GRAW2
  
• + PGR3
  
• + WWE Smackdown
  
• + Xbox Live! Arcade Unplugged
  
• + extra wireless controller
  £304.99 (approx. $495 US before tax)

I'm going to pick that little lot up at lunchtime today (all being well), so to say I'm now simply "excited about gaming" would be an understatement.

Edit: GRAW2 isn't actually in this particular bundle.

[Oath]

360 stuff.

Looks like you're set for a while there, but make sure you keep Viva Piñata in mind for the future!

[Roderick]

Wow, great deal. I wonder when shops start dropping around deals like that here. It seems like they've mutually cooperated in not doing anything special with consoles, ever. I guess because most of the shops are all owned by a single mother retail company

[twmac]

It might be different in Europe, but in Canada they do go a little nuts when a big title is dropped.

I expect they'll do something for Halo 3.

Wrestlevania, you have there a respectable bundle of games, top tip, to get the most enjoyment out of Gears, play it on Hardcore straight away. The game is too easy otherwise.

PGR3 I found unplayable without a HDTV, the text is tiny and alot of stats were indistinguishable from their background. Just a warning.

[miffy495]

Powered on my 360 when I got home from class tonight and found your friend request. Sad to hear your DS had to go for that to happen, but as others have said, you got yourself a pretty sweet deal there. If you're up for Gears, Crackdown, or PGR3 multi sometime (and I'm not at work or in class, which is kinda rare. *sigh*) I'll have a go. Have been focusing on Crackdown lately, but the other two are fine games as well. Enjoy your new console.

[Wrestlevania]

To get the most enjoyment out of Gears, play it on Hardcore straight away. The game is too easy otherwise.

Thanks. Traditionally I never play FPS games on anything less than medium/hard as a rule, but I'm struggling to translate my well-practised mouse movement into just moving my thumb around right now, so I wasn't enjoying the game all that much at that difficulty.

I played Gears co-op last night with a friend and he set the game up on the easiest difficulty; there's definitely a big difference, but it was also more fun to progress steadily through the game, rather than having to replay sections over and over.

PGR3 I found unplayable without a HDTV, the text is tiny and alot of stats were indistinguishable from their background. Just a warning.

Well, I've absolutely no plans to get an HD TV any time just yet. I've not had any difficulty with on-screen text so far though, in Gears, Crackdown or PGR3.

Powered on my 360 when I got home from class tonight and found your friend request.

Heh, I'm already chasing your top score on Geometry Wars! When I set my machine up the other night I already had a friend request from Aussie Ben (cheers dude), which was pretty cool. (I've already beaten his top score though, mwah-hah-hah-ha!)

If you're up for Gears, Crackdown, or PGR3 multi sometime (and I'm not at work or in class, which is kinda rare. *sigh*) I'll have a go. Have been focusing on Crackdown lately, but the other two are fine games as well. Enjoy your new console.

Yeah, sounds good. I've been playing multiplayer since the original Doom and co-op has always been my favourite mode by miles. It's because Xbox 360 looks like it's going to lean towards having plenty of co-op support that I went for the system over anything else (oh alright--the Wii). I really enjoyed playing Gears co-op last night, but it's Crackdown that I keep hearing so much about so that would be cool.

I just hope the time difference (I'm on GMT+1) won't get in the way.

[miffy495]

Yeah, I always forget that a bunch of you guys are 8 hours ahead of me. I'm GMT -7 here in Alberta, so could be an issue.

Oh, and the score to beat in Geometry Wars belongs to n0wak. No idea how the hell he managed to pull that one off.

[BigJKO]

I just bought Wind Waker again (sold my copy some time ago, without ever finishing it; triforce hunt...) and I've got some days off from work before Easter, so I'm pretty fucking excited for gaming right now.

Impulsive, huh..

[Wrestlevania]

Impulsive, huh.

Why the fuck not??? Good luck.

[Thrik]

I've finally started playing Twilight Princess properly now I've got a TV in my room, and I must say it's a really caught me in its web now I've gotten to and beyond the first dungeon. Before that I thought it was a bit, I dunno, lacking soul.

That's changed though. Now suddenly it feels like a true Zelda, and the first dungeon (Forest Temple) typically has great atmosphere. The twilight areas are similarly cool, kind of like the

visit to Hyrule

in Wind Waker, except not. Looks like I'm going to enjoy this game a lot as usual.

I'm also really confused about people bitching about the soundtrack on certain forums/blogs, as I think the music is actually really good and effectively conveys the mood of any area/scene. Sure, the melodies aren't as memorable as they have been in the past, but many great soundtracks don't have hugely distinct melodies (Grim Fandango, Metal Gear Solid).

So yeah, Twilight Princess combined with replaying all three MGS games has me in an excited mood about gaming in general. As far as the future picture goes though, I'm also very excited thanks to the various Nintendo games due out this year, plus the rare plethora of good-looking PC games. Plus there's the PS3 with its MGS4 and whatnot, which while I hate to admit it will probably turn out to be a great console overall and might be worth a purchase closer to Christmas.

I've got a new PC getting towards being bought/built too, which has been slowly coming together. I've not bought any core components until crunch time though as obviously the prices will go down; however, in the meantime I've got the Stacker 830 case (Huge!) ready to go. This naturally has me very excited about future PC gaming.

[baconian]

I'd like to change my vote from 7 to 10, because of Ninja Gaiden on DS!

Ninja Gaiden on DS! yeah! fuck yeah! Dragon Sword, it's like they planned it all along.

The Ryu Hayabusa present in Ninja Gaiden DS is the speediest of all the Ninja Gaiden games in existence.

Motherfucking yeah!

[twmac]

Wrstlevania - Good to hear you aren't having any problems with PGR, dunno whats wrong with my TV then, I returned my copy because it was so bad.

SNK vs Capcom: Cardfighters Clash DS has just been properly slated for the 24th of April. I'm even happier now.

Virtua Tennis 3 is awesome, the graphics aren't great but it doesn't matter. My thumbs hurt so much from having played for 3-4 hrs every night since last thursday.