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Release Dates

NEW RELEASES GRiD 2
Release date: 05/28/13

Fuse
Release date: 05/28/13

Remember Me
Release date: 06/04/13

The Last of Us
Release date: 06/14/13

DAILY MANIFESTO

Backlog Summers No More

Posted on Friday, June 4 @ 14:56:01 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff

I used to play games from my backlog over summer vacations. I'm sure you remember the days of all AAA releases dropping in and around November. Those days are no more.

Now we've got way too many games to play, and a little reminder for those of you not inclined to look outside, it's Spring! I used to lament the holiday release schedules. There were just too many damn games to play with absolutely no time (or money) to enjoy. But a few weeks ago, I found myself questioning what hemisphere I was in, North or South?

On May 18th, three (3!) games released, all of which I wanted to buy (buy!) and play. I received Split/Second early and reviewed it for GR, had my copy of Red Dead Redemption pre-ordered and delivered the day it was released, and just recently picked up Alan Wake from Amazon while it was on sale. That's a lot more gaming than I normally expect to do in May. Honestly, I don't know how I managed to make my way through finals despite this mess.

I used to spend my summers playing games I had the eyes for, but not the thumbs. Post-Christmas, flush with giftcards, I'd head to my nearest Best Buy or Gamestop and pick up any number of titles I knew I wanted, but ultimately never finished. This stack would obviously continue from year to year. I'm sure you readers have plenty of titles in your backlog stack (share it with us in the comments).

But I digress. I'll no longer have time for the Backlog this summer. Of course, summer school helps to brush that ignored pile of games that just never got the spotlight, but a lot of the responsibility lies at the feet of these three, mid-May releases. I can't seem to find the time to do everything I want to do in each of these games. I played through Split/Second and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but I doubt I'll revisit the experience any time soon to play more online multi-player. I've tried my hardest to complete Red Dead Redemption to its fullest, but I wonder if I'll have the patience for it when there are plenty of other games to play. Finally, I've sunk my teeth into Alan Wake's story, but there are so many collectibles, will I bother with a second play through when the mystery has worn thin through the conclusion of the final episode?

Is anyone else blown away by the sheer volume of great games we've seen during this busy Spring? I haven't even mentioned Lost Planet 2, Blur, Splinter Cell: Conviction (and more!) that I haven't even laid hands on. What will you be playing over the summer?

Tags: Xbox 360, Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake

Comments

mrallamericanboy
Joined: Jun 2006

Posted: Jun 4th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
i'm dedicating myself to playing through the splinter cell series, start to finish this summer. then, i'll be revisiting all the halo's in an effort to prepare for Halo:Reach

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