One of the negative aspects of reading sites like Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun and CVG daily is that you end up spending a hell of a lot more time anticipating video game releases than you do playing the titles you were anticipating for the years before their release.

This syndrome is worsened by 'console culture' (we're now having vast forum wars between games which no-one participating in them has played) and by the fact that I have increasingly little time in which to flit around the virtual worlds of wherever. But in the spirit of eagerly anticipating stuff I may or may not actually get round to playing, I'd like to keep you abreast of the three upcoming titles which have me the most bugged out. Here they come:

1) Phantom Fucking Hourglass (DS)

I'm only now assembling the mirror fragments in twilight princess and I'm already filled with anticipatories about the next installment of the legend of zelda. This kind of illustrates my point: I should be playing TP right now. I mean, my Wii is here. Switched on. With the save loaded. I could be fighting a dragon. Right this second. INSTEAD I'M LOOKING AT PREVIEWS FOR PH. Which is especially odd given the high regard which both games are 'clock' on the FaceOmeter ScoreOmeter at the moment. ANYWAY, it's out in october and after the import review EG gave it (see!) you'd be mad to miss it!

2) Crysis (PC)

Far Cry (all hail) has had a number of cocking awful "sequels", but it looks like this is going to be the "real" sequel. This time, however, you can, like, fuck with shit and stuff? Watch the video, then hang on your probably-not-good-enough monitor for the six month wait.

3) The Orange Box (PC)

Okay well this isn't really a game, it's seven - three of them are brand new and would be worth the total cost of £25 by themselves. Half-Life 2's legacy speaks for itself but it's Portal which has the potential to be the most exciting. Who knows if I'll ever know if it will live up to that potential? Who knows if I even know anything any more? Not me! 

What's sadder than a video games nerd? A video games nerd who doesn't actually get round to playing any video games...