Let's talk: What are your summer gaming goals?

Summer means different things to different people. For children it's an excuse to play outside in the bright sun. For teens it's an excuse to lock yourself inside and play video games. For adults it's... well, it's still an excuse to lock yourself inside and play video games. Hey guys, video games!

What it means for the gaming industry, though, is a drought--a deep breath before the scream that is the holiday lineup. It's your last chance to play what you want guilt-free, instead of what you should because you don't want stuff spoiled for you. How are you going to spend it? Here are our summer gaming goals.

As the recent--and quite proud--owner of a Nintendo 3DS XL, I feel as though I've been ushered into a new age of handheld gaming. Oh sure, I bought a DS Lite back in the day--but I only really played it when I was suffering from soul-crushing boredom in the Irish countryside (true story). But I made a classic blunder when buying a new console: buying more games than I could ever have time for. Triple-A backlog be darned--I need to get my money's worth from games like Etrian Odyssey IV, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Final Fantasy IV, 999, and Tales of the Abyss. Not like I could finish all those in a year of free time, let alone four months.

I have two summer goals when it comes to video games: First, I'm gonna go pro in League of Legends (belee dat). Second, I want to finally get around to playing Dragon's Dogma. It's been on my to-do list since it came out, but jumping into a 50-plus hour game is a daunting proposition. Lately I've been hankering for a meaty RPG, and I think the mix of action combat and deep RPG elements the game has to offer is exactly what I need. That, and a nice, cold beer.

If I'm not careful I'll likely spend the majority of my summer gaming hours with Animal Crossing: New Leaf. If I can manage to avoid that, then it's time to chip away at my backlog, only my current backlog is of 2013 games. Early on in 2013 I decided that this year I'd do my best to stay current with this year's games, and outside of recording my RadarPlays Retro videos, I've pretty much stuck with playing the high profile titles of 2013. Hopefully by summer's end I'll have completed Injustice, Deadpool, Metro, Project X Zone, Remember Me, and Dead Space 3. Or I could just go fishing in Animal Crossing. I mean, sharks are going for a premium today...

Seasons all kind of blend together for me, but if there is a summer lull, I want to take the time to learn how to play a MOBA. When Starcraft II came out, I wanted to hone my RTS skills and well, I can beat the computer on hard, but against a human is a totally different story. I only recently got the urge to play after having messed around with Infinite Crisis at a pre-E3 event. I've dabbled in League of Legends but theres something about playing a licensed game where you actually kind of know what youre getting into. Thats why I love Battle of Middle Earth II so much--the units were pretty obvious. I highly doubt Ill stick to this plan though. Ill most likely be playing Animal Crossing all summer.

The new generation's on the way, but I feel like I've only experienced half of the old one. My 360's chugging along with plenty of first-party titles and is still the best place to meet my friends online, there's no denying that. Regardless, Sony's been calling my name every since I abandoned my PS2, and it's finally time to pay them a visit. Spending the summer living with friends means that I now have access to not just one, but TWO PS3s. I've already hit up Journey, survived The Last of Us, and thwarted the Origami Killer. I could dive into Uncharted or try Killzone. Maybe I'll check out God of War. Is Resistance worth my time, or am I better off hitting the indie scene?

The possibilities are endless.

The long lull of gaming releases gives me some time to get caught up on all of the gems that I (so far) haven't had time for, like The Last of Us and Metro: Last Light. Though I have had the hankering to go back and play some Star Wars games, simply because the Star Wars: Battlefront announcement at E3 got me super hyped. Therefore, I'm looking into repurchasing Battlefront 2, and downloading Call of Duty 4 on Steam so I can mod it out with Call of Duty: Galactic Warfare. If you don't know what Galactic Warfare is, think Call of Duty with laser guns set in maps modeled after environments like Mos Eisley and Bespin. Summer is going to be glorious!

So I've, erm, been a little preoccupied with League of Legends for the past couple of months. That, in turn, has led me to fall so far behind with this year's releases that nothing short of throwing space-time into stasis is going to get me back on track. From here, I have one of two options: a) I can continue to feed my LOL addiction, and in so doing hammer into Silver, or b) Regain some measure of respectability and blow through The Last of Us, Metro: Last Light, BioShock Infinite, Grid 2...

I've kept up fairly well with the biggest games of 2013. Most of the AAA games were trampled underfoot mere days after release. The Last of Us? Gone. BioShock Infinite? Taken care of. Tomb Raider? Tomb raided. But despite my best efforts, some games fell through the cracks, and I do not want to go into the holiday season with any stragglers. I'm leaving 2012 in the dust and focusing on the games that I didn't have a chance to beat. Remember Me, Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, and several more are still waiting to be played, and I really want to make sure I take care of them before the holiday season begins.

And if you're looking for more, check out 8 reasons Assassin's Creed games are secretly about cats and the normal stuff we can't see without thinking about video games.