Screaming Penguin

IGN asks some of its authors what they are looking forward to in 2k6. The lists are generally pretty good. I figured I would put out my own to continue the theme.

1. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. I admit, as great a game as Q4 is, I have been more pumped about this than Q4 itself. Check out the trailer.
2. Spore. I admit, with the exception of the Sims, I am a huge sucker for Wright games. Spore is one of those things that brings Moores law into play and gives the game we all hopes SimEarth would be.
3. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. It is nice to see Ubi hasn't completely bailed on PC games. While in the minority among my friends, I really feel the GR series is far superior to the R6 series. GR2 and Summit Strike being Console only angered me to no end. I hate shooters on consoles anyway, but the idea that I might have to break down and get one about made me want to scream.
4. Star Trek Online. I know, I know. The uniforms look goofy and I am not sure the Star Trek mythos will translate well into an MMO. However, STO has one of the features I have been dreaming of for years, and so wanted SWG to have: Team-Based Capital Ship tac/sim space combat. There is a lot of other noise coming off this game that leads me to hold out hope. I was so let down by SWG, though, I don't want to put much stock in it.
5. Star Wars: Empire at War. The previous outtings at SW RTSs were not horrible, but the seemed more like CnC1 re-skinned. Empire at War, however, looks to be pretty damned spectacular if nothing else. Coming off Battlefront and Republic Commando, however, LEC seems like they are making up for half a decade of crap crap crap. This is also some ex-Westwood people (you know the CnC company that EA ruined), so there is a good chance it will be a front of the pack RTS too.
6. Team Fortress 2. An iffy one to ship here, but... I have never really been a big fan of the HL games, however, TF is still a helluva lot of fun. I still bide my time with Q3F while Q4F is in the works. These, however, are still simply upgrades to the original TF formula. I am really interested to see if TF2 breaks out with a new game. TF2 is also ditching its HL heritage, since the HL2 engine isn't... ahhh... really a multiplayer game. Valve is pumping out all new code, so it will also be interesting to see how they do on that and if being a two-engine company is something they can sustain well.
7. Neverwinter Nights 2. It is tough to not want to see this. I mean, a) they support Linux, b) it is BioWare FFS and c) the whole NWN player-built model is something you can't not like.