While the rest of the gaming playerbase is on pins and needles, I couldn't be less interested in high-profile games like Resident Evil 6, Crysis 3, Halo 4, Generic Shooter 3, and Brand X Adventure 4. It's all become a blur of "me-too" first-person shooters and third-person action adventure than elicits a yawn, at best. But Indie games can still blow up my metaphorical skirt.

Metaphorical means that I'm speaking figuratively, I'm not actually wearing a skirt. Not even on weekends.

Oh, shut up.

Limbo, Super Meat Boy, Bastion, Braid, Trine- compelling Indie titles are less expensive, almost always more interesting, and take bigger risks. It is also a little-known Indie title that recently compelled me to preorder a video game for the first time in over thirty years of gaming (though I probably would have preordered Dragon Warrior II if they had such a thing back in the days of the NES). Behold, Quantum Conundrum:

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Granted, developer Airtight Games has some serious backing from Square Enix, but it's still a small developer with only one decent (but not great) third-person action game under its belt. But it's got wonderful art direction and Kim Swift, creator of Portal. The original Portal needs no introduction, and its sequel had one of the best narratives of any game ever made, so if Quantum Conundrum is even one-tenth of Portal 2, I will be a happy camper.

In the meantime, I've got some loot from Team Fortress 2 to show off in-game as part of the pre-order bonus.