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A week or two ago, I read a post on the Penny Arcade gaming forum that keeps knocking about my head. Basically, the poster was lamenting the fact that he now has lots of disposable income but not nearly the amount of time he used to enjoy as a child.

It really made me start thinking about the glut of games that I purchase every few months. For instance, in one year, I’ve purchased an amount of games that dwarves the collection of games I had as a child. Back then, I maybe played two or three games a year, and when I did, I loved those games. I worshipped them. I appreciated every little nuance about them. I played them, until there was nothing left to do in the game.

Nowadays, I find myself purchasing a couple a month, blowing through a game, racing to the end, enjoying the novelties of it, and then throwing it to the wayside without exploring every nook and cranny. That’s no way to spend my money.

I want to buy games I love, not games I enjoy and throw away. So, in that spirit of wonderment, I’m refusing to buy any game in the next three months, unless it’s a multiplayer game that all my friends are raving about. I have enough single player material to sate even the most hardcore of all gamers, and I need to recapture that lovin’ feeling for the games I have.

I’ve spent a lot of time gaming in the last three months, and it seems that gamers like myself have been particularly blessed with an abundance of high-quality gaming options. In fact, I’ve been so involved, I’ve neglected informing you, gentle reader, as to what is hot-or-not.

Dead Or Alive 4
The best and only fighter fix you can currently get on the 360. It fills that void well, but not perfectly. Fast is fun. Questionable character balance. Hit or miss level design and graphical quality. Many of the outdoor levels are stunning, while some of the indoor levels are wholly uninspired.

Project Gotham Racing 3
Slightly improved gameplay over predecessors which translates to a safely fun and generic racing game. Online community is great, and the graphics are amazing. A solid (if timid) multiplayer local or online game. I think Ferrari was unnaturally favored by the developers. Next version will be, “Project Ferrari Racing*”. Seriously, too much Ferrari love.

Call of Duty 2
Multiplayer sucks. Needed two patches to even make it playable with friends. Oozes atmosphere because of the authentic sound and well designed and varied mission objectives. The AI is frustrating when they decide to do run in front of your firing weapon, causing the mission to end. Veteran is hard but beatable, be warned.

Perfect Dark Zero
Meh. Not bad, but everything else is so much more enticing.

Playstation Portable
Double meh. Going back to Liberty City is fun, but the DS keeps stealing my attention.

Mario Kart DS
Best kart racing, evar. Better than any MK to date. Highly addictive. Missions are great addition.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
This light turn based strategy game is the most fun I’ve had since Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri.

Guitar Hero
Rocked, partied, loved it. Sharing the love by lending to a friend was done to allow me to focus on playing other games. Highly addictive and satisfying. Everybody loves it, even non gamer friends.

Marble Blast Ultra
Impulse buy for the win. Everyone loves to armchair coach this game. Damn Microsoft Points! They’re *like* free money!

Geometry Wars
2d crack. I suck, but still love this game. My high score isn’t even above 1 million. One day….

For the record, I have copies of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Burnout Revenge, and Metroid Prime Hunters. I am toast.

*coined elsewhere, though a quick search doesn’t show where I originally read it.