Without any real games coming out that can push the current-gen systems, one might think this holiday season will be devoid of great games because of the Xbox 360 taking resources from the top developers and publishers. That's simply not the case. In fact, this holiday season is full of great games all around making those not ready to move on very happy gamers. This month especially contains several great games that will attract a majority of gamers to spend more money on games than they'd intend. It's a challenge to decide where our money goes, but it's better to have a large amount of great games to choose from than a small amount of decent games. Here's the lists of games that are planned to come out for the next three weeks:
October 11, 2005:
SSX On Tour (Multi)
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)
Serious Sam II (Multi)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
L.A. Rush (Multi)
NCAA March Madness 06 (Multi)
October 18, 2005:
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (PS2)
F.E.A.R. (PC)
Quake 4 (PC)
Age of Empires III (PC)
Blitz: The League (Multi)
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Multi)
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GC)
Shining Force NEO (PS2)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Fable: The Lost Chapters (Xbox)
The Con (PSP)
The Warriors (Multi)
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (Multi)
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Xbox)
Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
Major League Baseball 2K5: World Series Edition (Multi)
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life Special Edition (PS2)
Wild Arms Alter Code: F (PS2)
Crash Tag Team Racing (Multi)
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy (PS2)
Dig Dug: Digging Strike (DS)
October 25, 2005:
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP)
Call of Duty 2 (PC)
Civilization IV (PC)
Soul Calibur III (PS2)
Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (GC)
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Multi)
Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2)
Metroid Prime Pinball (DS)
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (PSP)
The Legend of Heroes (PSP)
The Sims 2 (Multi)
Gunstar Super Heroes (GBA)
Spartan: Total Warrior (Multi)
Fatal Frame 3 (Xbox)
Taito Legends (Multi)
Nintendogs: Best Friends Edition (DS)
We've got 7 games that came last week, 21 coming this week, and 17 coming next week. I'd probably need a couple grand to be able to get all the games I'd want this month, but that's really not possible. I'm looking to get DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Shadow of the Colossus, Fable: The Lost Chapters, and maybe Soul Calibur III. There's no way I can afford them all at once, so hopefully I'll be able to get a majority of them by the end of the year. November doesn't look as good right now, but once we get closer, the release picture will become more clear.
What do you think of the surge of good games this month and how will it affect your usual game-purchasing decisions? Which games do you think you can realistically get and what would you get if you were had the money to get any that you'd like?