Is this happening to anyone else recently? 4th quarter is here, and with it so is the avalanche of highly anticipated holiday titles, but I don't find myself getting excited about any of them. Sure I pre-ordered Crysis and Halo 3 months ago, along with Bioshock, Stranglehold, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Guild Wars Eye of the North and a bunch of other titles, but I'm just not jumping for joy to finally be getting my hands on them. I know I should be happy, but I'm just not.

I returned my copy of Bioshock, as soon as I found out it had SecuROM on it, because SecuROM is just as evil as Starforce, and I refuse to have that crap on my computer. I know I am missing out on a timeless gaming narrative, and sure I could pick it up off Steam, or get the 360 version. However, my issues with Steam's security aside, to me downloading the game defeats the purpose in getting it. I might as well just pirate it. I want a physical copy, you know? I want something tangible for my money so I'll have something that will take up more shelf space in my library, and I won't feel like I am just wasting my hard earned cash. I could get that with the 360 version, and from what I am told the 360 version is very, very, very good. It's just as good as the PC version in fact. However, my problem with the 360 is that almost every game available for it is also available on another platform, be it PS3, or PC, or whatever. Furthermore, on those other platforms I can ultimately get more out of it, be it better graphics, mods, or what-have-you. When Microsoft was touting the 360 before it launched, they said the games would be on HDDVD. However, it has been almost two years since the system launched, and not a single Xbox 360 game has been released on HDDVD. The system doesn't even come with an HDDVD drive! All Xbox 360 games are on standard DVD 9's. Yet, Microsoft charges as much for them as SONY does for their PS3 games. The only difference is that PS3 games are on Bluray, which means they have better graphics and sound both now and in the future. You can't mod on the 360 like you can on the PC, because Microsoft doesn't allow it unless it goes through them, and once it does they want you to charge for it. Why should I buy Bioshock for the 360, or any game for the 360, when I am ultimately paying more for less?

I canceled my pre-orders for Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon, because they just look bland, clichéd, and unexciting. They look like PS2 JRPG's carried over to a next gen platform. Why should I spend $60 for them when they received less than rave reviews in Japan, and are receiving less than rave reviews now that they are coming out here? I could spend $50 for something on the PS2 with the same graphics, albeit slightly grainier, and have a better gaming experience.

This leaves me with Guild Wars Eye of the North, Halo 3, and Stranglehold. All three of which I am debating over whether I really want. I did the preview event for Guild Wars last Friday. I devoted the whole day to it, and it took me about seven hours to complete. However, if I had to describe the event to you in one word that word would be disappointing. I don't know why I felt let down playing it. Perhaps I got too caught up in Arena.net's marketing jargon and expected too much. What I played was really good. The only problem is that I already own all three of the stand alone Guild Wars games and have played through them, which made what I experienced last Friday feel like I had done it before. More importantly, it had been done before just as good if not better. The new areas, heroes, enemies and so on are cool, but I just can't get excited about them. Plus, now that the Mesmer class is getting AOE hexes I feel like I can't get excited, because it makes me question the games balance among other things.

The big problem here though is that it's not fresh, or at least it doesn't feel fresh. That goes for everything that is coming out this holiday season. Bungie didn't change the mechanics of Halo again for Halo 3. So, when I once again don the guise of Master Chief, as many other gamers will do, and set out to save Earth by blowing tiny little aliens to itty bitty bits, I know what to expect in the game thanks to the last Halo game, a game I despised. The only difference is that the graphics will be better, the assault rifle will be back, there are few new weapons and gizmos, and there will be new corridors to crawl and blast up.

The demo for Stranglehold did nothing for me. It felt like another average shooter that looked good three years ago, but looks dated now. Crysis won't be anything special when it lands either. It too will be just another shooter. After all that's all Farcry was, no offense to you Crysis and Farcry fans. The only thing that will make Crysis stand out from the crowd is the technical aspects of the game, such as the graphics, which are undeniably a marvel to look at and years ahead of their time.

Even the innovative Wii has me let down. What do I want another Metroid Prime game for, or another Smash Bros., or another Mario? I have multiple copies of those titles already, which go back to each series birth, five, ten, and twenty years ago. Nintendo promised something different and interesting with this console, but aside from Wii Fit, all I see is more of the same crap they have been dishing out for the past ten years or more. Companies and developers need to start doing things differently if they want to keep this industry alive, because right now it's stagnating like it did in the early 80's, and my money is staying in my wallet.

Maybe I'm getting too old for video games. After all, I have been playing them for almost twenty years now. Maybe I'm just burned out. Maybe I'm just grumpy. Maybe I'm too cynical. Maybe I'm this. Maybe I'm that. What I'm not though, is a sucker, and I see no point in spending more money on what I already have. I also see no point in spending money on something that I will ultimately get less out of when I can buy it for less on a different platform and get more out of it there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to cancel my pre-orders.