I guess after the almost magical year for computer games, more specifically 2007, the pace and frequency of really great games have slowed down for a bit.

WoW is still huge (although not my favourite, the few MMO tendencies I have is treated with EVE online), Bioshock is arguably still one of the best games in recent years and Forza 2 still hold the crown as the best driving "simulation" game out there. Butwhen the talk comes to new games, 2009 still hasn't showed us truly great games yet.

Is that a bad thing? Not really. It has given me time to look at some of the niche games made in recent years, or big titles I've previously ignored in order to play the next great thing. Even games that had some mixed reviews upon release has been tried, and it has given me some good surprises as well as total letdowns.

Take the Need For Speed series - I've been avoiding the series since Carbon on the PC, mainly due to some horrible technical flaws (and driving mechanics). Well, I gave Carbon and ProStreet a chance on the trusty Xbox360 - my reasoning was, that EA must have ironed out the technical flaws on the console. The short answer is a resounding NO, both Carbon and ProStreet has a really flawed engine, which runs really bad on the consoles as well... Stuttering framerates (with really low dips) is an unforgiveable achievement on consoles, and especially driving games should be silky smooth - anyone who has played Forza Motorsport2 knows what steady 60 fps does for your driving skills.

So, if you really want an Urban themed driving game, look for Midnight Club: LA, which has much more stable framerates than any NFS game in recent years, and at the same time MC has somewhat similar (if notbetter) gameplay than the almost classic NFS: Underground 2 game - which is classic, because IMO its the last great game in the NFS franchise I can remember.

Other games that have surprised me? Well, Blue Dragon is a worthwhile experience if you're into the old-school JRPG games. The art direction might seem a bit bland, but I'm still impressed by the very clean look of the game, which comes from thevivid colors, Depth of Field effects, the character designand liberal use of AA. Gameplay-wise the game has some interesting ideas of how tocombine skills, and the 'shadows' of your main characters (basically magical avatars), has an interesting role in the game. Blue Dragons is not a great game, but neither is it as bad as some reviews would suggest.. Its a matter of personal taste and expectations, really, as sometimes a finely tuned, workable, game with its own distinctive charm, can supply many hours of fun.

So, while we wait for the next wave of great games, I suggest you browse the local gamestore for some of the games you've probably missed in the last hectic years.