My Backlog Blog

Note: I’ve linked each game’s title to its TSA review or the article most pertinent to that game. Hopefully this will help serve as a recap for some reviews – and games – you might have missed throughout the year so far.

It’s a fortunate situation I find myself in, as we careen headlong into the coldest, darkest months. Just as the outside world becomes frigid and bleak I find myself with potentially the quietest month of the year stretched ahead of me and a large (and growing) pile of games to play.

You see, I have missed a few of the big titles. Even a couple of games that I was really keen to play have passed me by as I was kept busy with other review commitments. I’ve missed Fable III and Call of Duty: Black Ops thanks to the Kinect coverage. I didn’t get around to finishing God of War III because I was busy with Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII. As great as it is to be able to play lots of games and call it work, I often miss out on my most anticipated titles because I’m busy with something else.

So what am I planning to do with my December? Well, I’ve got some racing to do with GT5 and I’ll pick up Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as soon as I can justify the time it will take up. I can’t spend the whole month behind the wheel though, so Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Vanquish and Call of Duty: Black Ops are sure to be a welcome salve for my action itch. I’ve even got God of War: Ghost of Sparta ready and waiting in case I get left in the car while my wife tries on handbags or whatever it is women do for hours on end in Next.

Auditorium HD and Flight Control HD will satisfy most of my urge for smart puzzlers and casual games but I’ve also got Plants Vs Zombies sitting, half finished, on my iPhone and Bejeweled 3 is appealing quite a bit too. I might even try to make time to finally finish New Super Mario Bros. Wii and start Super Mario Galaxy 2 (I know…). Metroid: Other M, Epic Mickey, GoldenEye 007 and Donkey Kong Country Returns all came out (or are about to) on the Wii this year and I’ve missed them all so far – something I’m keen to remedy as soon as possible.

I’m really keen to get back into StarCraft II and I just picked up Football Manager 2011 for a bargain price too. So my PC will see some gaming love this December, before the inevitable Steam Christmas sale mugs me again and I spend January wishing I had time to play all the games I’ve bought for next to nothing.

I’m keeping an eye out for RUSE and The Fight at good prices so I can use Sony’s magic wands a bit more and I’ve got Dance Central for Kinect if I ever manage to get drunk enough to play that with a group. I’m also looking into some of the fitness software (aside from The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout) for all the motion control systems for January, when I will inevitably need to shed the extra weight I fully intend putting on over the holidays.

So, with TSA’s Game of the Year discussions going on behind the scenes and a long, dark month (ending with a festival of gift-giving!) just upon us, we’re interested to know what you’re looking forward to catching up with and what games would you recommend to others for the holiday period?