We don't care about the young folks

Now this caught me by surprise. I'd been looking forward to Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood for a while and I've nearly finished it. In fact I'm fairly certain I'm on the last level,
ominously set in the same fort I bitched about recently. I was also really enjoying Fallout 3, which is still very new. Plants Vs Zombies also took up a bit of my free time too.

And then, out of nowhere, I got hit with a retro vibe. Instead of finishing Call of Juarez, I've returned to Return To Castle Wolfenstein. Instead of killing Super Mutants with my dog friend in Fallout 3, I've got back into the Clone Wars in Republic Commando. Instead of killing Michael Jackson as a zombie (ahem) I've insulted pirates and enslaved monkeys in Secret of Monkey Island.

Of course I'm blaming LucasArts for most of this. Releasing a load of their old classic games of Steam along with a really cheap Special Edition of one of the greatest and funniest games ever made? Sold. Wolfenstein's Activision's fault though, delaying the game for two weeks and reminding me how much I preferred RTCW to Medal of Honour.

Now with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 up to fifty-fucking-five pounds I'm actually looking forward to Raven's attempt.

Although I'm sure I'll get halfway through it and start playing Blood instead.

Self Indulgent Games of 2009 Post!!

In a desperate attempt to wrestle this blog back to non-random-musings territory, I thought you'd like to know (you want to know, you need to know) the games we're most looking forward to this year.

We'll try to keep out too many big obvious names, but some will inevitably sneak in. We'll also leave out the games that have no chance of coming out this year, like Rage, Mass Effect 2 (sorry Brax, knew you were looking forward to it), Diablo III etc. We'll also keep it down to just five games so to keep it tight.

Anyway's here's mine:

THE TINGLER'S MOST WANTED GAMES OF 2009:

Batman: Arkham Asylum

I've always loved Batman and videogames. The trouble is that there's never been anything better than an 'okayish' Batman game. Arkham Asylum finally looks like the game I've always wanted (if not that cool freeform one I really want). Dark, gritty, with excellent comic/series writer Paul Dini doing the story and series veterans Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their spot-on roles as Batman and the Joker. Can't wait.

Wolfenstein

This choice may surprise people. I love id Software's FPS games, and while Raven as a developer isn't anywhere near as talented they still make good, solid games that I enjoy. Quake 4 was great fun. I also don't mind the idea of alternate dimensions and aliens in a series that previously gave us Nazi zombies, centuries old super-soldiers, and Robo-Hitler.

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures

Wallace & Gromit, in the hands of Sam & Max and Strong Bad comedy adventure extraordinaire developer Telltale. All we need now is Doctor Who to be given to Revolution and my adventure game loving self will explode with excitement. Sorry Sam & Max Season Three, I'm looking forward to you too, but there can only be one (Telltale adventure in this list).

Fatal Frame IV/Project Zero IV

Another surprise perhaps? Well, with Bioshock 2 a long way off, Silent Hill Homecoming sucking like mad, and Resident Evil 5 not being scary anymore, this instantly gets promoted to my most wanted horror game. A Wii exclusive. Wow. If you haven't heard of the series, imagine that ghost level in Vampire: Bloodlines expanded to four games. Damn scary stuff, and I likes me good scares.

Ghostbusters

Aha, the big one for me. I'm still cursing Activision's name for stopping me playing it last October (my birthday ruined, you bastards!). This is the game I've always wanted. This is wish-fulfilment of the highest order. A new Ghostbusters story with all the cast, with me playing a fifth member. I get to fight Slimer, Stay Puft etc. Drool. Despite Harold Ramis and Bill Murray possibly giving a phoned-in performance, nothing will stop me enjoying this game. Nothing.

Honourable mentions: Brutal Legend 360 (if it was on PC you'd be on this list, mate), Indiana Jones & The Staff of Kings Wii (can't help it, I'm obsessed), FEAR2: Project Origin PC (I love you Monolith, but you better perk up soon)

(Okay Dave, Nick, take it away with yours!)