I don’t know when or how it happened, but it’s actually a new year. I have no idea where 2011 went; it seems like just the other day I reviewed Ghost Trick and thought, “man, 2011 is going to be an amazing year for games.” And it has indeed, almost to a fault, what with the flood gates that were opened in the fall and winter absolutely drowning me in gaming.

Well, with a new year comes your standard, mundane New Year’s resolutions. I’m sure everyone has their standard “I will lose 30lbs; I will quit smoking; I will not set any more pets on fire” resolutions, but we here at DualShockers have our own gaming-related resolutions as well. Some of them are insightful, and some of them are pretty straightforward, but all in all, they’re a shining example of what makes this staff an amazing, open-minded set of professionals willing to grow and learn, all in the name of video games.

Joel Taveras: My gaming New Year’s resolution is to appreciate games that I normally wouldn't play, namely games of the indie variety. I think that what normally holds me back is that the production value. However, after checking out some of the more recent Flash titles being posted on the site lately (thanks to indie guru Allen Park), if only for a few minutes, I've realized what makes these games so special. Sure, they're usually hard as balls. And more often than not the visuals aren't anything worth writing home about. But for what they lack in those departments they make up for in fun. As I've said in previous editorials, my gaming needs have changed, and now I look for more entertaining experiences rather than more of the same. Hopefully by opening up to more indie games it will provide me with what I need to fill that void in 2012.

Oh yea, and make sure I finally play through Mass Effect 2 before 3 comes out. I want to make sure I keep up with the "cool" crowd on Twitter come March.

Chad Awkerman: Xenogears. 'Nuff said.

Al Zamora: For this coming year I will give motion gaming a chance and try them out more. I also will try to game more as right now if I play once a week it's a lot. I also plan on catching up on plenty of titles from this year that I have not tried like Uncharted, Assassins Creed, Skyrim, etc.

Alexa Ray Corriea: My New Year's resolution is to FINALLY give the Mass Effect series a go -- for some reason I just never got around to playing it. I also need to dig into Portal 2, which I put off continually until I didn't have any time to play at all. I've also promised certain people, and myself for editorial purposes, to give Final Fantasy VII and XII another shot. I am also -- for the first time, ever -- going to try an MMO. I chose WAKFU as my poison. Wish me luck!

My overall resolution is to pay close attention to storytelling this year. I got my damn BA in English and hell if I'm not using it. Before 2012 is over I want to have a good, solid wall of text on video games and their growing literary values.

Emily Putscher: I resolve to continue to try out shooters on the Xbox, including giving Halo and Call of Duty an honest-to-god fair, bias-free chance to impress me.

And also to actually own a 360 by summertime.

John Colaw: I'll be finally picking up a PlayStation 3 this year and catching myself up on the catalog of exclusive games I've been missing out on. I'm also planning on catching up on my backlog from the past few months when I have the money to pick them up, and getting a PS2 to play through some of my favorite PS1 games I still own.

Eder Campuzano: I don't usually make New Year's resolutions (cue the Debbie Downer wah-wah), but I've recently decided to start being more savvy with the way I spend my money when it comes to video games. For one, I turned off the auto-renew for my Xbox LIVE Gold subscription and I'm not shelling out another cent for the service until I know I'm getting my money's worth. I don't play online as much as I used to and my PS3 streams Netflix for free. I'm also going to try and finish two games I own but haven't beaten for every new game I start.

Dianna Lora: My NY resolution is to play the massive backlog of games that I've got on my shelf. I keep playing half way through a game and then something shiny comes along to distract me. I also want to take time for myself and game. I get so wrapped up in work that I forget that gaming is a way to blow off steam for me. I'm also going to be smarter about how I spend my money. Going to remove auto-renew on my Xbox since I've been talking about that for a while now.  It's cheaper to buy it off of Amazon and save the 20 bucks.

Scott Lipowitz: This year, I'd like to finish all the games I've started and am practically at the end of, but haven finished for whatever reason. Deadly Premonition, Persona 3 Portable, Ace Attorney.  Hell, even Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, of which I've been on the last level since it was released like 5 years ago.  So while I’m not as worried about the backlog, I'd really like to finish what I've started!

Allen Park: My resolution this year would be to give more love to the indie scene. Yeah yeah, I give them all of my panties as-is, but I feel as if I’ve been neglecting them massively for the latter half of this year, and I feel like a deadbeat dad in that regard. Aside from being a diehard indie advocate, I’d love to finally play all the AAA games that were thrown on gamers the last few months; I haven’t even gotten started on Skyrim, Arkham City, or Uncharted 3, and it almost makes me think I’m a bad games journalist for not playing what would be this year’s must-haves.

Also, I might finally give a Sony handheld a try. As open-minded as I’ve been, I’ve held an irrational hatred for the PSP for some reason; after trying out the Vita I think it’s finally time for me to soften up on Sony. I still detest their business practices and the way they treat gamers, but hey, if they have good games, I will play them. Basically, I am one of Jack Tretton’s bitches, and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Well, there you have it. If there’s anything we at DualShockers would hope for you to take from this, it’s that video games as a medium is truly vast and expansive; it only makes sense to grow side-by-side with the industry, both in terms of gaming preferences, and gaming sensibilities. Don’t be afraid of the new, and at the same time, don’t forget the old classics that got the industry to the level of respect it has to this day. Hope you fools have an absolutely wonderful 2012; if these resolutions are any indication, ours will be full of hours and hours of delicious, tasty gaming.