New Video Games on the Horizon

Probably due to the hype over the launches of the PS/3 and Wii in the last week, I've been thinking about video games again for the first time in awhile. I've spotted three, just in the last several days, that I think would be fun to play.

I sort of knew there'd been a new addition to the Half-Life 2 series, called Episode 1, but I couldn't tell you exactly when it came out since I'd ignored video games for a good part of the year. Anyway, I saw a copy of it at FutureShop while Christmas shopping, and thought, "Yeah, I forgot just how much I loved playing Half-Life 2. This'd be fun." And then I put the box back down, like a good boy, and left the store empty-handed (see the final paragraph for the reason why).

The other two games are similar, so I don't know if I'd really want both. They're DC's Justice League: Heroes and Marvel's Ultimate Alliance. The first is a PS/2 game while the latter's newer and targetted for the PS/3. Each allows you to play as various heroes of the respective universe, which has some appeal but isn't actually the deal-closer for me. What really interests me is that each has a 2-player cooperative mode, which means Vicki and I, or Tammy and I, could enjoy it the same way we did similar Baldur's Gate versions. Our favourite console games are the ones we can play together, and typically those are the ones we spend the most time at. So I imagine I'd try one, and if we finished it and really loved it, maybe I'd then get the other.

It's good to have such things to look forward to! And of course, at this time of year, I'd be taking my life in my hands if I bought myself anything like this. There's Christmas, then Valentine's Day, and then wedding anniversay and birthday in March, after which I'm set free to buy whatever I didn't get over all those gift-exchanging events. But treating myself between early October and mid March is pure folly in these parts!