The autumn equinox has come and gone. For those not in the know that means the days now officially get shorter.

I'm not sure how this all works Stateside, but here in Europe it means people become depressed and more inclined to murder each other due to a lack of daylight. This is mainly because for some reason our government thinks, "hmm, less daylight, I know let's put the clocks back so that people get up in the dark, spend daylight hours in the office and come home in the dark."

I guess this is all a long-winded way of saying summer is officially over. No more picnics, camping and general good outdoorsy romping around. But it's not all doom and gloom dear playchums. Ever the optimist, I like to see the silver lining in every cloud. As well as being the autumn equinox, this time of year marks the gamer's equinox. Meaning, the gamer's hours officially become longer.

The simple fact is that summer is the gamer's enemy. Yes, it is. And I love summer; it's warm (well, supposedly), it's free and easy and the days are long and hot, plus you can eat ice-cream whenever you want. But that sun, those bees a buzzing, the breeze in the trees, friends wanting to play Frisbee all take you away from screen, mouse and joypad.

Summer is the time when gamers need a confessional. Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been three days since I even looked at my Xbox and my PC has been used solely for work all week.

But no more! Throw off the shackles of guilt! Be free from feeling bad for not meeting with your guild as often as you should. The days are dark and gloomy, but through those days there's a faint blue light flickering, showing you the way. Bask in the light of your monitor or TV and sink happily into a comfortable chair. While away those dark hours knowing that you're not missing out on any healthy, sun-kissed shenanigans.

And what a winter we have ahead of us dear playchums! I mean, where to start"

Fable: The Lost Chapters should keep me going for a while. Then there's Shadow of the Colossus – be still my beating heart. Stubbs the Zombie and Okami from the lovely Capcom who just keep throwing us these little delectable gems to gobble up.

And then, once we've ploughed our way through that lot we've got the most hallowed moment of the year. It can only be the launch of Xbox 360!

Now it doesn't get much better than that! And to top it all off – if any of those can be topped – I've got City of Villains to look forward to. Oh my god, it's like some kind of gaming orgy of debauchery and hedonism!

CoV hits at the end of October, which means I only have a small window to actually have a life, play all the other titles I want to play and possibly stock up on food in case I don't make it out of the house until Christmas.

So I've got to quickly fit in six months of living into approximately er"two weeks. Hmmm. Okay, so I'm buggered. I throw my hands up and just succumb to the power of the gamer's equinox. There's no fighting it. Relinquish your right to a social life IRL and prepare to put friendships into hibernation.

Meanwhile, I have a Halloween outfit to make, ready for my final fling amongst the general populous until the Chrimbo party season hits. What!? I can't miss the seasonal party season"that would be wrong. And I don't think it's healthy to stay in for more than two months straight, but don't quote me on that – could be an old wives tale.

Most wanted: City of Villains

Most played: Guild Wars