I haven't had many interesting developments to note from the past week, so I thought I'd share something I want to accomplish this year. There are a lot of great-looking sequels and follow-ups on the horizon, so in order to capture the spirit of each of the respective game series, I want to make an honest attempt to replay through each one prior to the newest installments. Here's a list of what I've cooked up so far:

1. Condemned - Well, I'm getting started a little late on this one, but I just started the first Condemned in response to all the great feedback I'm hearing about the recently released sequel. Better late than never!

2. Metal Gear - Yes, I left out the word "Solid" on purpose. My plan is to play ALL the Metal Gear games, in sequential order (or is it chronological...i dunno): MGS3, MGS: Portable Ops, Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, MGS, and MGS2. My good friend jimb0 frowns upon the idea of sequential gaming (at least for this series) as he feels that it's not the way it is meant to be played, and his reasoning is very valid. Countless references are made to both previous and future installments throughout this series, which I assume is Kojima's way of keeping each chapter tied together as one plays them upon their respective releases. I haven't played through MGS: Portable Ops, Metal Gear, and Metal Gear 2 before, but since I've completed every piece of the puzzle "surrounding" these 3 games, I have a good understanding of the Metal Gear universe and, therefore, justify my reasoning to play them in this order. All of this is, of course, a means to the grand finale, Metal Gear Solid 4, due out in June.

3. Alone in the Dark - I'm a big survival horror buff, and the new Alone in the Dark looks to be quite promising. I've managed to get my hands on all but the very first game, and the PC version of Alone in the Dark 3 that I have doesn't run on my computer very well. I think I might just play through the 2001 "revival" of the franchise, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, which I think is sufficient.

4. Star Wars - I can't say I've ever gotten excited about a Star Wars game, but I can't wait to get my hands on The Force Unleashed. Now, I don't have the gall (or the time) to play through every Star Wars game as a prerequisite to TFU, so I'm still debating as to which game(s) to tackle. I'm not necessarily looking to experience the timeline leading up to the events of TFU; just having a good time and getting a feel for the Star Wars universe will suffice. My roomate wants us to play co-op through Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, so I'll probably go with that. I eventually want to play through Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 after thoroughly enjoying BioWare's mega-awesome Mass Effect.

5. Resident Evil - I absolutely adore Resident Evil. The original was the second game I owned for the Playstation and I've loved it every step of the way. I honestly would have taken no issue if Capcom stuck with the same old play style for RE4, but what they did was spectacular. Resident Evil 5 looks to follow in the footsteps of its 2005 predecessor by keeping the over-the-shoulder, trigger-happy gameplay with a next (current)-gen facelift. My infatuation with the series is certainly a deciding factor to RE-experience (yeah, I know...I'm sorry) the zombie fest. I've played the original countless times, so in its place will be the GameCube REmake . Sequential gaming is again the plan here, but it's not so much an issue as the series has progressed in a linear fashion (with the exception of Zero): RE0, Resident Evil (GameCube), RE2, RE3, Code:Veronica, and RE4. [Sidenote: I'm actually boycotting all media for RE5 leading up to its release. A while back, jimb0 and I discussed how, in our younger days, sitting down with a brand-new game with hardly any knowledge of its content was such a great experience. The media boycott experiment was the result of our discussion, and I chose RE5 in an effort to be that much more "wowed" by it when it releases. ]

6. Starcraft - I'm pretty horrible at real-time strategy games, but I always have a lot of fun playing them. My lack of skill usually piques my interest in the solo campaigns, and, lucky for me, Starcraft has a really interesting story. I never actually finished the Brood War campaign, so getting through these before the highly-anticipated sequel is a must. Now, if my computer will be upgraded in time for its release is another matter...

Now, in case anyone was wondering, I've intentionally left out side-stories and spin-off games. My focus is on the main continuity of each series, though this mostly pertains to Metal Gear and Resident Evil. For example, I'm leaving out games like Resident Evil: Survivor and Metal Gear: Acid.

Yikes...I rambled on quite a bit more than I meant to. That ought to do for now, heh. Let me know what you think!