The lack of updates lately stems from seeking some new freelance opportunities. I'm still writing about E3, with a rundown of LucasArts' titles to appear later this month in a SIG newsletter. They'll also be running Gamebits' E3 coverage, which will be posted here afterward (in case you haven't already read a million reports on it elsewhere), and the review of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, which is due this month for PlayStation 2 – finally.

I've also outlined what I predict will be the ten most popular games this summer (which is not to say the ten best games) for Worcester Magazine. Their freelance contract is stricter than most media outlets I've worked with in the past, so don't expect to see this article online until it's too late. But, in brief, these are the ten games, in chronological order:

  1. WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ (Game Boy Advance)
  2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
  3. Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (PlayStation 2, PC)
  4. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Game Boy Advance)
  5. Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (PC)
  6. Dino Crisis 3 (Xbox)
  7. Silent Hill 3 (PlayStation 2)
  8. F-Zero GX (GameCube)
  9. Soul Calibur II (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox)
  10. TRON 2.0 (PC)

Also for Worcester Magazine is a look at the group behind MassBalance, the web-based game that simulates balancing the Massachusetts state budget.

I'm also reliving the joys of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, and Skies of Arcadia Legends. So, there: I'm still a gamer at heart.