Does the current sequelitis suggest the end of an age?

I woke up angry, but it turns out there’s not a lot to particularly get angry about today.

That is, until I sat down to think about what I’ve been playing, and what I’m going to be playing in the near future. Hooray! Crackdown 2 was fun, Dead Rising 2′s looking sweet. Gears of War 3 should be spectacular, and Halo: Reach (4) should be just lovely.

Further, Dragon Age 2′s looking mighty fine, Dead Space 2 should be a giggle. HAWX 2 is looking as respectable as ever, while Crysis 2, DJ Hero 2, Portal 2, Rock Band 3 and F.E.A.R. 3 all loom on the horizon looking, again, absolutely dandy.

But what’s new?

Erm… not a lot, to be honest, and those things that are new seem, at best, retreads of previous concepts anyway. Naming no names, but absolutely nothing on the horizon is doing anything new or dynamic, if you ask me.

Now, it’s not like we’re strangers to a lack of originality in our games; that’s been going on for years. But there’s definite feeling creeping in this time that, frankly, everybody’s playing it safe at the moment.

Take Microsoft, for example. Nothing new announced for well over a year, except some stopgap hardware and silly parlour games. If the 360 were truly, as some theories suggest, only around half way through its lifespan, shouldn’t we be seeing a kick in the pants for the more hardcore end of the market by now?

Too many bets are being hedged, if you ask me. Only time will tell as to why.

Will next week’s Gamescom, unusually, add a piece to the puzzle, or will we simply languish in sequel city until the stars are better aligned for the big drop?