So I’ve been playing a lot of Diablo II recently, because I can’t seem to get on task at all. I seem to have a thing for older games, and Diablo II isn’t an exception — it was released in 2000. (Technically I’m playing the expansion, which is from 2001.)

But the announcement a month ago of Diablo III has reminded me how many good games are in the works right now. Let’s see:

Blizzard alone has two very highly anticipated (as in, anticipated for the last decade) games on the way: Diablo III and Starcraft II. Of course, they’ll be coming out on a Blizzard-like schedule, which means in two years, but you can’t blame ‘em–all their games remain heavily played over a decade after their releases. They have to get it right, y’know?

Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour are coming out in a few months, and will surely be an improvement on the already-awesome Rock Band. Personally, I find Activision has been a negative influence on the Guitar Hero franchise. (Their ideas get worse and worse–guitar battles? DS game? Aerosmith-centered game!?) But regardless, I’m sure GH:WT will be a pretty cool game. And both games have great setlists!

There has been lots of good news besides game announcements: Final Fantasy XIII will not be a PS3 exclusive, Xbox Live might switch to free multiplayer gaming, console storage is going up (including Nintendo, who realized that a console should probably have more than 512 MB of storage).

More Portal levels are coming soon, and an entire sequel is in development. Bungie is working on a new Halo-related game (not my thing). And of course, Spore is on its way, and will be the last thing you’ll ever desire. (Sorry for the Battlecruiser 3000 reference, but Spore really isn’t my thing. I’ve never enjoyed a god game. But doesn’t Spore’s gameplay sound just a little bit like Battlecruiser 3000?)

Good times. But for the next few months, I can keep on truckin’ through Sanctuary with Bezos the Amazon, who is currently on Act 3 of Nightmare difficulty. Beware her level 20 Charged Strike. (Except for the lightning immune monsters which are really annoying me.)