June Bugged

It was supposed to be a great month.  The dawn of the second age of gamekind, the month the great games came upon us all.  And then there were none.  The plump hits started dropping off like dead parrots from a perch and suddenly, June is looking decidedly unappetising.  Batman Arkham Asylym has been snatched back after making us salivate and has now been plonked squarely at the end of the year to taunt us a second time, which was bad enough.

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Now Sony have stepped in at the last minute (presumably with a very fat wallet) and bagged Ghostbusters as a PS3 exclusive in Europe.  How and why this happened when it has long been acknowledged as multiplatform title is both mystifying and disappointing to say the least.  So that’s two down…what next?  After all, two of the three big titles which were to swallow my life in June are now gone, leaving but one.  Sims3.  Arguably this title, if it hasn’t been screwed up, could potentially swallow more time than the other two put together and multiplied by a googol, but I was hoping for some variety, some relief from the neighbourhood of Pleasantview.  Where better to look for variety than the dark bedlam of Arkham or the Staff Puft stained streets of NYC, but sadly, no longer.

I have never been one for outlandish conspiracy theories, but perhaps EA have performed some secret curse (possibly involving a rubber chicken, sans pulley) and are forcibly trying to make sure that I play Sims 3 and only Sims 3 until the next wave of games in the Autumn.  At this rate, it seems that that is exactly what will be happening.  Light heartedness aside though, this is a worrying trend and one which I sincerely hope won’t catch on for the rest of 2009’s promised titles, otherwise Hydrophobia will be washed away, Red Dead Redemption will vanish without shooting it’s load, and Heavy Rain will become a Wii title in which you have to play a series of WiiMote mini games to avoid a Nintendo-censored serial killer who smothers his victims with candy floss.

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It does seem to be one of those years though…Alan Wake is camping out at June’s farthest reaches at the moment, but given it’s skittish flirting with an actual solid release date, this is to be taken with a handful of salt – now more so than ever and will likely slip back.  Other half’s gift-to-be of the Two Worlds sequel has already been dragged back to the third quarter after a previous slip, and my lustful eyeing up of Aliens: Colonial  Marines is bound to end in heartbreak before the year is out.  A sane mind won’t even consider the now likely defunct Duke Nukem Forever or the eagerly awaited Final Fantasy 13 this side of the year end.

June is going to be a bittersweet month – the games that do escape into the open to be enjoyed will have a sad tinge to them as I consider what I was supposed to be playing.  Looking into the mists of third and fourth quarter ’09 seems as much an exercise in hope as it is patience… so here’s hoping that by the time June comes and goes, it’s once proud line up, now perched forlornly at the end of the year along with everything else, doesn’t slip from the fingers of 2009 entirely.


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9 responses to “June Bugged”

  1. The Rook avatar
    The Rook

    The June schedule was a dream given form, a place where gamers and AI could work out their diferences with fists and proton packs.

    It is disappointing for such great games to be taken away from us, although I still have plenty I can catch up on. 2007 was hailed as the best year for gaming, the end of 2008 was a gaming heaven too, what’s happened to 2009?

    We’ve had some great DLC (Fallout, Tomb Raider, PoP, L4D, Burnout) but where are all the new games. I just hope the second half of the year brings us gaming bliss as so far this year it’s all been quiet, too quiet.

  2. The Rook avatar
    The Rook

    Just noticed… first pic on this blog is Batman and Joker and the blog was posted at 7:55. It’s a sign I tells ya.

  3. Michael avatar

    Heh, I never noticed that either! And another is lost to 755… *sad face* w00t! Agatha Christie reference as well! 😀

    Oh, I hope most of those games DO arrive shortish though, I’ve had my eye on a few for an absolute age!

  4. MarkuzR avatar
    MarkuzR

    Is that a very young Colm Meaney playing around with the Sims there?? I never really considered how much upset the putting back of games would cause until you see them all together and, contextually, the balance shifts entirely.

    I’m looking forward to Sims 3, although I know I’ll get bored with it very quickly after I spend most of my time trying to get people to go to the toilet before having to pull a “Radcliffe” in the middle of the streer. The Batman game… well… everyone who knows me already knows that He is perhaps the only man alive I’d choose as my adoptive father (except Trump… I want to see what’s under that hair) but I just tend to get let down by games that involve my heroes. We’ll see.

    Tell you what though… this quote from Mr Rook was excellent:

    “The June schedule was a dream given form, a place where gamers and AI could work out their diferences with fists and proton packs”

    You da man.

  5. Lorna avatar
    Lorna

    Go Rook, matching my twist of a Babylon 5 intro quote there…Respec’ 😉 If I’m not mistaken it was Michael O’Hare in the season 1 intro? 😀

  6. The Rook avatar
    The Rook

    When I read the blogs, if I see a certain style, theme or quote, then I like to pay respect to the writing by being inspired to comment in the same manner.

    You know it Lorna. The year is 20-0-9, then name of he place is Ready Up. 😉

  7. markBOSS avatar
    markBOSS

    its quite a bummer how much stuff has been disapearing into the video games abyss that is ‘TBC’, but hey Id like to think in the whole its for the benefit of gameplay quality.

    This of course doesnt include the mockery that is Sony’s puechase. Or Aliens Colonial Marines, which I remember being a future release on the ps2 back in the last gen. Thanks to the new AvP game this year, Marines is most likely to be postponed for a little while. And Alan Wake was unfortunatley left in the closet by Remedy for thier Max Payne movie which was not the best ever.

  8. Celeste avatar
    Celeste

    Luckily I have a PS3, but I used to experience the same exclusivity problem with 360 titles – fable 2, halo etc. It really sucks when devs release only on one console and not the other.

    The Sims 3 is also set to consume my second half of the year 🙂

  9. Lorna avatar
    Lorna

    Glad I’m not the only one Celeste!

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