Anyone got a map?

Um... how can I put this... I'm lost!

Yup, it's true, my gaming mojo is current dazed and confused (or is that confused and dazed).

Loads of games at my disposal and I just can't find one that I REALLY want to play.

That doesn't mean that I'm not playing anything of course... just that I'm trying to play EVERYTHING (and it gets a bit confusing, especially when I've got two games going at the same time).

Thinking about it, I started when I started playing the Vanguard beta. They promised so much but it all felt so dated and, ultimately, pointless. It's drained the hope from me... the promise of the future of gaming... and, at the moment, there just doesn't seem to be anything to restore that. Don't get me wrong, there are loads of titles claiming the 'future of gaming' crown. Even Duke Nukem (please don't joke about it) Forever has raised his weary, wise-cracking, head to stir-up yet more rumours (a new, tiny, in-game screenshot of Duke was used in a recent job advert) but this doesn't escape the fact that nothing is actually HERE, right now.

Ubisoft have gone right up their own backsides with Rainbow Six Vegas and Splinter Cell Double Agent with the whole 'let's not bother supporting the largest gaming community on the planet' thing, attempting to directly port the XBox 360 versions across (not as badly as some, admittedly, but still pretty crap). EA are flexing their financial might with the in-game advertising in BF2142. Valve are attempting to upset as many people as possible by trying to do the same with CS1.6. Even Microsoft, despite their (alleged) big push on 'Games for Windows' seem to have forgotten that it might help if you stop trying to get exclusives for the XBox 360 or convincing the software houses that it is a good idea to make your game DirectX 10 only (just to sell your console/new OS). Nobody seems to be trying to do the one thing guaranteed to bring the cash rolling in... release a decent game!!!!

Oh, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of AAA titles 'on their way' with the likes of Spore, Bioshock, Quake Wars, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Assassin's Creed and the numerous sequels (UT2007 and Crysis spring immediately to mind) but with the current trend of constant delays (both genuine, development delays, and pointless marketing ones) we might not see these titles for months!

As things currently stand, there is nothing to look forward to until the end of March, at which point there will be a flood of releases attempting to drain your bank account of cash (just check out this page - Gameplay). April, on the other hand, has absolutely nothing, because the 'money men' don't like April. Fools.

One, rather odd thing, that strikes me about the Vista release this month (changing the subject ever-so-slightly) is that there is no actual reason for buying it. Only nVidia have released a DirectX 10 based graphics card (if you've got £300+ just lying around) and none of the Vista-only games are anywhere near release. Hardly the sort of support you'd expect for the 'next gen' operating system. ATi don't even look like they will be ready to release their DX10 range of cards till CeBIT (in March, no less) at the earliest! Just a thought...

Anyway, I'm off to find a pack of cards... who needs electronic gaming huh?