I never thought that I would say what I’m about to say, but there are just too many awesome games to play this year. Right about now, I should have been gearing up to play Grand Theft Auto IV, which I’ve been waiting on for a long time and which was one of the main reasons I bought an Xbox 360. Like everyone else, I was seriously disappointed when it was pushed back, but now I’m kind of relieved. Even if it did come out this week, when would I have time to play it? Somewhere between playing Blue Dragon, Halo 3, and Phantom Hourglass? Of course, I’d have to be done with it by November, when almost all of my ridiculous list of reserved games are going to be released. I don’t think I’ve had a breather between games at all this year. Ever since last Christmas, it’s just been one incredible new release after another. Can we just slow down a little bit, please? Maybe I sound like an old lady or something, but I can’t keep up! The sheer number of games isn’t what’s killing me, though. Hundreds of games are pumped out every year for the systems on the market. However, I can’t remember the last time we had this many phenomenal new releases in such a short amount of time. Every other game seems like it might be the Game of the Year. Halo? BioShock? Orange Box? Let’s not forget that we haven’t even seen the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect yet. And hey, that’s just for the 360—I’ve got a Wii too, and I’ve finally got some games coming out for it that I’m excited about, like the new Trauma Center, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and Super Mario Galaxy. The PS3 doesn’t want to be left out, either—it’s actually got some nice exclusives coming out before the end of the year, giving holiday shoppers a little more incentive to actually buy the damn system. When am I going to have time to rock out in Guitar Hero III and Rock Band? Why is this happening? The answer seems pretty obvious. This is the first full year that all three next-gen systems are on the market. Last year, the PS3 and the Wii barely made it out before the holiday season, and the 360 was still a fledgling new system, but everything changed this year. I usually spend a good portion of the year between big blockbuster releases waiting for something new to play, but in 2007, there was always something coming out for me, no matter what system I had or what kind of game I was looking for. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining; it’s fantastic that developers are constantly making quality games. However, I’m looking forward to when things slow down a little, just so I’ll have time to catch up. This may have been the best year in recent history for video games, but it was also the year of too damn many new releases.