So I've pretty much made a blog that I had a backlog, saying that I've wasted money on games that I only play a play for a bit of time. So it made me think, instead of forcing myself to play one game till completion, I could just challenge myself to beat one game from my backlog in a months time. Simple, right?

Here's the list; # Total 67 games
(PLAYSTION 3) #13
Ar Tonelico: Qoga
Atelier Rorona
Atelier Totori
Dynasty Warriors 7
Dynasty Warriors 7 XL
Final Fantasy 13
Resistance 3
Resonance of Fate
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
SSX
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Valkyria Chronicles
White Knight Chronicles 2

(XBOX 360) #1/14
Gears of War 3

(VITA/PSP) #6/20
Dynasty Warriors Next
Mutant Blobs
Wildarms XF
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Jeanne D'Arc
Gods Eater Burst

(DS) #6/26
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn
MegaMan Zero Collection
Pokemon: White
Rune Factory 3

That's what I have for Console and Handhelds. Now for Pc, I can record this games providing someone has interest in it. Who knows, may just post it on YouTube and you can check that out.

(PC) #41/67
Age Of Empires 3 complete
Anno 2070
Bastion
Batman: AA
The Binding of Isaac
BioShock 1 and 2
Bully
Chantelise
Costume Quest
Darksiders
Dead Island
Deus Ex: HUman Revolution
Eufloria
F.E.A.R. 1, 2, 3, Extraction and Perseus
Far Cry 1, 2
Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood
From Dust
Grotesque Tactics 1 and 2
Homefront
Just Cause 2
The Last Remnant
LIMBO
Magicka
Mass Effect 1 and 2
Metro 2033
Overlord 1, 2 and Raising Hell
Pirates of the Black Cove
Prototype
R.U.S.E
RAGE
Racettear: The item Shop's Tale
Red Faction 1, 2, Armageddon and Guerilla
Saints Row 2 and 3
Secion 8: Prejudice
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Space Pirates and Zombies
Star Wars: Empire At War Gold
Supreme Commander 1, 2 and Forged Alliance
Tom Clancy's EndWar
Trine
World in Conflict and Soviet Assault

This year I've decided that I am going to spend as little as I can on video games because of not working and trying to spend as little money as I can until I find a job. There will only be a few games that I anticipate on buying this year, like Darksiders 2, Assassin's Creed 3, and Bioshock Infinite. With that being said, I am going to play as much of my backlog that I feel like, when not spending nights playing multiplayer games. I completed a lot of games last year, more than I thought I would, because I started renting games each month from Blockbuster. I'm hesitant to go back to renting games from there because of their price for renting a game every month. I have 1 game that I just finished that I can take out of my PS2 backlog, Odin Sphere. I bought it on PSN when Sony released the first batch of PS2 classics and I'm glad that I did end up buying it.

When it comes to sport games it's really hard to give a tight firm review. I believe I've played with the main features of the game and how it plays.

You'll find that graphically MLB 12 the show looks a lot like MLB 11 the show. Thing is when you play the games you can tell that a LOT has changed underneath. I have seen balls that would have stay straight last year would bend due to wind this year. Also ground balls give infielders a little more trouble this year when the ball has a lot of backspin on them. This holds true to the PS3 and Vita Versions of the game.

RTTS thankfully continues what it does best. You set up a character, you either chose your team(don't bother they will trade you in the minors at some point) or you get drafted and shoved into some team. You spend your time in a basic Role playing game making you better and better statistically but you gotta prove it on the baseball field. You can turn off certain aspects of the game or you can watch other moments that you are not involved in. I prefer to hit and play defense on balls that come to me. I also turn off base running, so after I got my hit I'm off to the next play. Best part if you can play a game in a few minutes so if you only have a few minutes you can get a fill of some baseball and come back and continue later(if you are a starting pitcher, that could be 10-15 minutes)


In Franchise mode you are leading your team in however many options you chose in controlling the franchise. You handle ALL day to day operations short of calling people to buiy tickets. There is something about playing a full game of baseball, handing trades, drafts and putting up a sign on the billboard to advertise to make a few extra million so you can afford those free agents you desire.

This year you can transfer you save to a cloud(nothing to do with PS Plus's cloud) and save 1 save file to load on your Vita or vice versus. IMPORTANT NOTE: Vita owners can ONLY grab this file on WIFI, so even if you have 3G this will not work. Not sure why AT&T gives a 3 gig option, no one will be able to use it.



This does work very smooth and I have done this serveral times without fail and the idea of just leaving home and continuing my franchise/RTTS on the road is awesome.



Graphically again the PS3 version is awesome but this is the first test for me for Vita's hardware, while Uncharted looked awesome and there wasnt anything to truly compare, with MLB 12 the show some of the fans would look as bad as you were playing a PS2 game. yes, the fans looked that bad. Players and the fields always looked awesome and I never saw a framerate drop yet.



I tried to start a team with the cards but honestly I have so little interest I created a team but have yet to play with them. If could be fun and I'm sure in time I will actually play this mode for a bit but not even review could I want to spend 5 minutes doing this.



Online. Normally this is sucky and I normally stick away for the most part except for occassional games. Hopefully I will play a game soon. I just hate to play unless I know the person I am playing because a lot of people just drop.



I give these games a 9.0 out of 10.

Last night at Gamestop was a midnight release party. So I went there around 11:30 with my Vita to pick up a PS3 copy of Mass Effect 3, MLB 12 the show for PS3 and Vita. 1st thing was the employees(well most employees there except 1) didn't know that if you buy the PS3 version of MLB 12 the show that the Vita version was only $20. Since they had no clue and they had no code and the computer wasn't handling the issue they had no idea what to do. The one guy basically told everyone else that it's definatly supposed to take off $20 and they had it in black and white that it's supposed to happy just not sure how so they manually took it off for the sale. Everyone was getting the 360 version of Mass Effect 3(I'm getting a copy of Mass Effect 3 for my 360 later today)



I went home and during the drive home I booted up MLB 12 the show on my Vita. It looked so pretty, I'm so happy. Then I turned it back off because I can't play and drive. Anyways, I get home and unwrap MLB 12 the show for PS3, it first tells me to install patch 1.05(seriously this game just came out!!!), it also tells me it will installl 5 gigs but if I want to really speed things up it will install a 10 gig file. I was like sounds fine with me. I then goto my Vita and notice that there is a patch here too, 1.01(ok, at least that sounds normal). I then boot up and try to go online to download the latest roster updates(tells me that I need to enter my online pass), annoying but I'm like ok, I'll enter that, then bam, it doesn't recognize the code, You can't even purchase an online pass. So I start a franchise on my vita just to play around while the PS3 version is installing. I start to play on the Vita and wow, the game is so crisp and smooth. You can't see they stuff they chop out to make it faster gameplay wise and you know? I'm ok with it because I'm on a handheld.

I notice the PS3 version is done installing so I quit the game I"m playing on the Vita and as soon as I am on with the PS3 it asked me to download a roster update, so I am cursing out the Vita, why didn't the Vita Version ask me that? So I set up a roster and setup a franchise and save it then I goto choose upload to cloud, then bam here comes the online pass again and surprise the PS3 code didn't work yet either. So frustrating. I did start my franchise on the PS3 and the game play was beautiful. I refused to use the pulse pitching(I've had 4 concussions and just seeing this for 2 minutes gives me a headache). I used zone hitting and pure analog pitching and fielding. We won 3-2 in 10 innings in the first game of the year. I got a trophy for mismatching my uni, throwing a guy out at home and winning a game in extra innings.



I would recommend that everyone gets MLB 12 the show if you are a baseball fan. Just gotta wait sony out to use the cloud as promised.



Oh I setup Mass Effect 3 and there was a quick patch 1.01 and there was really no install. I basically was checking that out and then I went to bed.

I loved my Fable 3 controller but it was way too glossy... and during intense games, sweaty hands are yucky. So I ordered a new purple controller shell from Amazon. I'm really excited and it works perfect!
The purple looks awesome and my boyrfriend decided to get a clear one for himself.



Read more about it here:
http://vitaminamy.blogspot.com/2012/...er-shells.html

I played 2 games of the demo, once on the 360, once on the PS3. Graphically the game looks the same, I did have some frame drops from time to time on the PS3 version of the demo but that could have just been a buggy animation that I can't repeat on both systems. Controls are unchange and do not take long to understand.

Unlike last year's demo the picthers are fixed to always have the same starters on each system. Kind of annoying but no big deal. I played as the Cardinals each time. and this was some notes I made.

No commentators: the atmosphere of the background of the stadium is nice but without the play by play, what is the point of the demo? i hit the second batter straight in the head with a pitch, the batter took 2 steps and stopped walking. A popup came up displaying a pinch runner but some sort of animation with a trainer or something coming out would be nice and you wonder what the broadcast team would say but no just a new batter appears and a pinch runner is on first with no animation showing him besides his picture on the screen.

In the 3rd inning I gave up some runs and the home crowd let me have it. The demo gives me no access to substitute for pinch hitters or bullpen. I couldn't get my timing down hitting and lost 5-0.

In my second game I was on fire throwing 3 perfect innings, unfortunatly for me they did the same to me. In the top of the 4th(the demo goes into extras but remember no pinch hitters or bullpen). I finally hung some pitches where Texas just ripped them down the line. They took a 2-0 lead and with me not hitting anything, the game looked over. Then on the 2nd batter of the 4th, the pitcher hit Beltran in the back(he's wearing #5 btw is this actually what he's wearing?) Then 2 batters later I go yard and tie the game up at 2. The crowd gets very loud which is nice but the fireworks animation during the daytime, not so much. 2 innings later(6th inning) they PINCH HIT for the PITCHER!!! Can we say unfair? Ugg the demo kills me by cheating to have a 1 sided advantage? They score an unearned run in the top of the 6th and bring in another pitcher for the win in the 6th. That was frustrating when I almost won the game even though it's a demo, I play to win.

The background of Cardinal stadium seemed realistic, the fan animation has been unchanged and pretty bad still with people jumping for a foul ball 5 seconds after it lands in the stands. Players faces seem to look improved but body types have not.

Overall the game still seems to have the same flaws but the game is still fun. I still recommend the Show if you have a PS3. But if you don't, I think people would be happy with 2k12 this year. Shame is no effort was made to show in the demo their Be a player mode, you'd think they'd want to showcase it.

Hey folks,

Bout to embark on a house building trip to the north baja from Saskatchewan to Punta Colonett. Been meaning to blog this for awhile.

Last 2008 at this time I went with my Church and we built two houses for people much less fortunate, and now we are are set to go again. We go every two years, about 15 people constructing the house over 3 days.

It's a 4000 mile round trip on our bus, which can be a bit tiring but still is tons of fun. I also really enjoy Sunday worship at our sister church in Mexico, even if I can't understand spanish very well.

Be back in two weeks, wish me luck and if you are so inclined a prayer or two. Ill post some pictures along the trip and of the houses when I can find a good wifi spot.

Adios, I debark tomorrow morning!

P.S. I know I haven't posted a fitness update either in a long while. But back on the free weights at stronglifts.com, and still maintaining weight, just cardio suffered a bit.

Why Amy ain’t the worst thing in gaming since Superman 64


Amy is the latest entry into the world of survival horror gaming: a world full of blood, monsters, and (usually) a story that will chill you to the bone. This is the story of Lana and Amy. It opens with the two riding a train to an unknown destination. All seems well, until BAM!. Lana awakens in the wreckage of their train car in a city full of zombies. And thus begins our adventure into a world of frustration and poor game design.
One thing you’ll notice almost immediately is the game’s inability to hold a steady frame-rate. It really took me out of the experience a few times when things started chugging when I turned too quickly. You’ll get used to it, but it can be a little jarring at times, especially in the more active parts. But in all honesty, I would call this the worst part of the game.
The game plays like the latest entry in the Siren series, Siren: Blood Curse; a really basic combat system and kind of awkward controls. I say kind of, because if you have ever played a survival horror game, this will all come naturally to you (one bit of advice, steer using the right analog stick. You‘ll only get frustrated if you use the left for everything). Your only tools of defense come in the form of wood planks. While that doesn’t sound all that threatening, you smack a zombie in the head a few times, he ain’t getting up.
Now while all of this is mediocre, you may be asking “why should I get this?”. Well, here’s where the game starts to make itself standout: like a lot of games, you have to escort someone around, this in the form of Amy. And while a lot of times your partner hides in the corner, Amy carries her own weight here, in the form of psychic powers to make your trip easier. This I really liked, but they didn’t do all too much with it. You get the same few powers throughout which doesn’t leave much room for experimentation. But still a neat idea all the same.
Amy also finds other ways to make herself useful: you see, the world is full of a deadly radiation; Amy’s psychic powers happen to make her a radiation sponge. Two and two together, Amy is your portable health station. But, it isn’t that simple! The more radiated you become, the more zombie-like you begin to look; at which point, you can walk right by your fellow monsters with no worry. One part of this game that works well is finding the balance between clinging to the little girl, or facing the world all your own.
And here is where this review comes to an end. Like that? Yeah. Cause this game ends rather abruptly. This seems like a case where the developers wanted more time to make a full $20 PSN title, and were pushed to get the game out. So while the game comes out a half-finished product, the price comes at $9. I’ll give the game a C+, 6 out of 10, 2 and a half stars, whatever you want. If you like survival horror games, it isn’t a bad investment. If you have the cash and were intrigued by the game, give it a go. Just be prepared of some quirks that will annoy the ever-living hell out of you.

A quick side note, wanted to give some props to the sound design. Really liked the music, and the subtle noises did create a real atmospheric experience

I am so excited that in 4 weeks 1 day I'll have my hands on next gen portable. I love my 3ds and it's games but with the Vita, I am drooling over it's lineup and it's potential.

Little Devients is a nice game that I like to call it's product test. I probably would have not bought this game but since it comes with the First release I'll play it.

Uncharted game is a excellent game series that I look forward to playing to go.

I am really looking forward to MLB 12 the show and switching from the PS3 version to Vita. I love the idea of taking my games on the road with me and being able to switch back and forth but I have to wait an additional 3 weeks for that. I am not hearing anything relating to PSP games playing on the Vita and if it will be available day 1 in the US and news regarding PS1 games.

Little Big Planet looks awesome on Vita but it's been delayed but for how long??? Gamestop says end of March, Target says mid may and Amazon is saying late June.

With LBP delayed I'll probably get Hot Shots Golf as well.

Anyone else taking the early release plung?

I don't really hear to many people talking about it, but I hope the ps2 classics will one day be playable on the Vita! I am not sure if they have announced anything about this but it would be awesome if they did this. I saw today that Killzone is going to be released on the psn store soon, and that just makes me hope even more. There are so many games from the ps2 days that I would love to play on the go! Most notably the Grand Theft Auto series! Heres hoping the classics from the ps2 days will make it onto our Vitas in the future!

Ok, I rarely ever use my 3ds 3D features, when I do use it, it's very slight. So the thought of Sony's 3D TV makes me wonder if it's worth the price. Well the new year started and I had all my Best Buy coupons burning hole in my pocket and early sunday morning I noticed the price of the Playstation 3dtv display drop to $299 made it irrestiable.

I got it and hooked it up.

Easy to hook up. It took less then 10 minutes from unboxing to top of cabinet.

It came with it's own HDMI cable. Not sure why they just don't do this on PS3 systems.

No remote control!!!!!! Very frustrating but since there is no changing channels I really only have to turn it on and maybe adjust volume.

Only 1 pair of glasses!!! Think about this, it costs $70 for another pair of glasses and the main point of the display is Simulview which can't be used without another set of glasses. Maybe skip the HDMI cable and free game go with another set of glasses.

I played a few hours of MLB 11 the show to test the 3d. Awesome colors and 3d effect and I love the commentary commented that the game is being displayed in 3d.

I've played Motorstorm with Simulview already which is really effective and fun.

I'm looking at getting another 360 to go with the PS3 on the tv. I came off really excited and happy with the purchase and would recommend for purchasing. I am looking at trying out GT5 in 3D tonight.

First off for those to don't me, I've guest hosted on 360 Nation and am really proud gamer so this list is extremly genuine and true and I've played all of these games(not completed all because I only have certain amount of time) I will go from 10 to 1.

10. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Excellent deep game. I can never explain how excellen this game is. BUT... any game with such severe issues on a console will have punishments from me because I have family members that don't have internet access and are stuck with the bugs they have released.

9. Skylanders - This game was the shock of the year for me. Ok, I've spent over $100 on a kids game but it's that good, if you havn't played this year, you will be amazed in a good way with this game.

8. Gears of War 3 - Boy, I hated the first 2 games of the series but since the game is that epic that it must be played and completed to enjoy it.

7. Little Big Planet 2 - They fixed all the main issues with the first game, made level building so much better. Gotta love Sackboy. Kudos to all the level builders.

6. NBA 2k12 - I don't think people really know how great this game is. They have made a game with so many old time players to put into the current game. And the gameplay is very accurate to the real NBA based on each era of basketball.

5. Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword - It's Zelda, Link and all your friends and wow, the new motion controls work and if all the other games on the Wii don't sell you, this is everything I've wanted from a game.

4. Forza Motorsport 4 - It's deep, competitive and I'd say it's a must own from any one who enjoys riding in a car and having it feel real.

3. Uncharted 3 - I've played all 3 Uncharted game in the last 2 weeks. I can say this is the best of the 3. And would have been 2010 game of the year.

2. Super Mario 3d Land - If you dont own a 3ds, shame on you, go buy one.

1. Batman Arkham City - I'm batman, they fixed everything and minus the cat woman levels this was a perfect game.

Honorable mentions.
COD 3 and Battlefield 3
Saints Row the third
L.A. Noire
Need for Speed the Run(lots of rubberband racing but I love the story)
Mario Kart 7(great racer, especially online)
inFamous 2

New Year's Goal... 100,000 Gamerscore

I love a good challenge. Setting a goal for myself to reach 100,000 Xbox gamerscore may either sound pathetic or awesome. You decide... I prefer AWESOME! :)
Pacing myself is key so I don't get burn out so hopefully I'll make it before or during Extra Life 2012.

More:
http://vitaminamy.blogspot.com/2012/...amerscore.html

:gaming:

1. Dark Souls

Dark Souls scratches every itch for me as a gamer. They give you a world, a dangerous, messed up world and say "Go, Explore." A game that is not scared to just drop you out there to explore and figure things out on your own, which basically never happens in games anymore. In a world of 4 hour games where you basically play follow the leader to some bot and click on the flashing icon between shooting galleries, Dark Souls stands alone.

2. Portal 2

Can you imagine trying to make a sequel to Portal? I can't... The pressure must have been almost unbearable. The result was nothing short of spectacular. All the charm and wit of the original with enough systems layered on to feel like a fresh new experience. Amazing characters, amazing atmosphere, and the best ending of any game ever.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

There's just so much to do! It amazes me that these games work at all, so I'll put up with some jank in return for the ability to craft the most epic or epicly ridiculous story I feel like at the moment. I've sunk a total of 110 or so hours across three different characters so far and I still want to play, and I'm still finding new stuff.

4. SpaceChem

The best puzzle game I have played in a very long time. It's like playing science! It's a hard game to explain without playing, but, for me at least, it's immensely gratifying to create an efficient solution and watch it go. Both versions (PC and Ipad) are excellent and should be played by everyone.

5. Dungeon Siege III

I like Diablo style games a whole bunch, and Dungeon Siege 3 scratched that itch for me this year. I played through the whole thing twice back to back, and loved it both times.

6. Vanquish

This game is non-stop craziness, it's like Gears turned up to 11. Explosions, crazy robots, awesome transforming guns, and rocket knee slides! It's seriously fun. Technically didn't come out this year, but this year is when I played it, so I included it.

7. Catherine

I think I had the opposite reaction to Catherine as most... I really liked the puzzle game, but was kind of let down by the story / sim side. Still, I give them props for trying something new.

8. Batman: Arkham City

We all know these games are great, not much more to say. The story felt kind of abrupt to me, but who cares when you can glide around the city being The Batman.

9. Outland

Great platform mechanics and a great idea make for a great game. A great action platformer / "metroidvania", with the addition of a Ikaruga style color switching mechanic, I really dug it.

10. Bastion

I mentioned before about the Diablo thing... great music, great weapons, a great style, and a unique way of telling the story add up to one of my favorite games this year.

Honorable Mention 1: Battlefield 3

If there were categories, BF3 would win for multiplayer, but the story mode. although fun, felt too much like they were aping CoD for me.

Honorable Mention 2: Bit.Trip RUNNER

I played the crap out of Runner, easily my favorite of the Bit.Trip games


Honorable Mention 3: Dead Island

The first act was fantastic, but it kind of broke down for me after that. If I could judge it on just that first part, it would be in the top 5 for sure.

Well this is another shocker Puma went nuts on the Steam Holiday Sale AGAIN!

Well im not gonna complain I took some precautions this year

1. Im not spending over $10 for games unless it's for DLC for games I have already Purchased

2. Temptations BE GONE! Will not spend any money unless 50% off or more

Well this year I think I did well and spent under $100 again and got a load of games and DLC again so heres the list

Alice Madness Returns
Avadon The Black Fortress
Bastion
Beat Hazard Ultra (PC and PS3)
Brink (All DLC)
Costume Quest
Deus Ex Human Revolution The Missing Link
Divinity II The Dragon Knight Saga
Dungeons Of Dreadmore DLC
E.Y.E. Divine Cybetmancy
Fallout New Vegas (All DLC)
From Dust
Frozen Synapse
Gary's Mod
Grotesque Tatctics 1 and 2
Old Half-Life games
Jamestown
LIMBO
Magicka DLC
Night Sky
Orcs Must Die (All DLC)
Psychonauts
Sanctum (All DLC)
Silent Hill Homecoming
Train Simulator 2012
Dungeon Defenders

Also I got a new Ipod touch 4th gen so my 2nd gen got traded in to Gamestop and well it was past the 20th so I got SWTOR and a game card so at the moment my brain is produceing steam and im about to lose my mind :P

Good day all im off to play TOR!

Also anyone who got any of the games listed and want to hook up for some multiplayer fun just add cavesniperdn to your steam friends and we can have some fun

Later

Pumaoblivion

Well, I found out this morning that Toys R Us no longer wants my business. Since TRU has had the reward zone, I've shopped and purchased more games and TRU and of coarse at Christmas I've mixed my shopping between Best Buy and TRU to get the most points I can to get extra $$$ to spend on games after Christmas. For example after last Christmas I bought Mass Effect 2 for the PS3 for $5 with all my reward $s I collected. Well, now, they split my money into 2 different date sections so I don't spend it all at once and cant buy any big items unless I spend my own cash but now on the coupons they exclude video games. It used to just stated Video game hardware but now the coupon states they exclude, video games, video game hardware and video game assessories. The good news is for Best buy who will defaultly get more of my business.

I think... I've lost satisfaction of playing a game after I buy it. If I spend $1 or $100+, the end result is the same. The game stays in my backlog forever until I decide to trade it in if I can do that. After arguing with myself about if I should buy Anno 2070, a $55 game, I took a look at my gaming bookshelf.

How many games have I beaten? 5 out of 21 games. Then I decided to take a look at my Steam account, how many there? 6 out of 109. So out of 130 games, I've only beaten 11. Why am I dumping money into games, even if they're $1, when I only play them for a few days then move onto the next exciting thing? Where has the excitement gone in finding out the end to the story? I have a few thoughts on the matter. (Excuse the massive gaps between bulletpoints.)

• One, I enjoy collecting games. The satisfaction of owning and playing a game for a few hours provides me something to talk about with friends with. "I haven't beaten it, but I did do this and that." A conversation can be made with only that. We talk more about it and I get excited, exclaiming that I'll head home and play it just to see it through. Does that actually happen? Rarely.

• Two, boredom. Hey! I played a number of hours of this game, I know how it works, nothing really changed during my gameplay so why should I bother continuing? I have an idea of where this is going, so it's not like missing the later two-thirds of it is going to matter, right? RIGHT? What? I should finish it? Yeah, sure, right after I get bored of this game that I just bought. What? I won't? How do you know what I'm going to do? Do you know the future? No? Then quit talking out your ass.

• Three, sense of variety. I don't want to play a shooter today, how about an RTS or an RPG or a Third person action game or a... I have a variety of games. Excluding the normal Fighting(MvC, SF#, etc) and Sports(NFL, NHL, NBA, etc), I tend to have at least one game that covers a certain genre. Multi-player shooter? Battlefield 3 and Resistance 3. RTS? I own all of the Command and Conquer games. Rockband 3? Got that, too. Playstation Move? Sports Champions. Online RPG and MMO? White Knight Chronicles and Vindictus. I have a lot, but haven't beaten most of them.

• Four, and this happens to be the most insane of them all, my imagination. What do I mean, you ask? Have you ever watched a move or, in this case, played a game where things didn't turn out how you planned? Where you hated it or disliked it to a point where you wish you hadn't seen the end, better leaving it to your imagination. This is were I consider myself more likely to be. If it's a good story, why should it end? If it's a disagreeable story why shouldn't I make it seems better? Or why should it end at all, good or bad? My imagination is well enough to craft a story, maybe interject a character that (hardly)reflects myself to start, then I would gladly waddle through it all while the actual game is collecting dust.

Or maybe I'm just all four. I'm sure there's more, but these are the ones I've thought up in my grand amount of time. Grand amount amount of time that I could be playing and finishing(!!!) games. But chances are I won't be finishing more then a few games a year while my library or games doubles. Chances are I'll never, ever, beat every game in my backlog and I think, after writing all this, I'm okay with that. I'm okay knowing that I won't be getting to that game I spent 60 bucks on. I may have spent only a day playing it and that's okay with me. Wasted good money? Yeah. But did I enjoy what time I spent with it, maybe.

Most of all, I feel justified calling myself a gamer. I've dipped my foot into this gaming world and I don't regret it like I do other things in my life. Maybe my peers consider me a casual gamer. But that's still a gamer and that's a title I'd wear. Not to mention I've experienced things from flying in space to sending thousands of units to their deaths only to build more and do the same and that's not even considering the experiences I've had with other gamers that I can now call friends.

I'm a gamer and I have a huge backlog, what the hell is new?

Pretty Shameful isn't it! So far these are the points I'm up to in each game:

Portal 2: Single player finished - Co-op untouched! (Hoping to hope on with BigC3 soon)
Batman: Arkham Asylum: 15% of Hard mode completed (according to the save file!)
Batman: Arkham City: Still in the cellophane (Unfortunately)
Mirrors Edge : No clue - Just know that I haven't finished it!
Dark Void: Up to Chapter 2, Episode 3 on here!
Assassin's Creed II: Need to start and finish the final mission while collecting the rest of the trophies!
God of War Collection + God of War III: Long story short; got GOW3, heard of GOW:C, waited, got it, forgot about it, shamed because of it!
Borderlands: This is what the save file says - "Keep on Roland! - Level 24 - Lucky's Last Chance Watering Hole" - I wanna see the Vagina Monster so it's obvious why I want to finish it!
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4: Part way through Year 2 with 5 hours, 32 minutes and 33.07 seconds played and 14.7% completed.... .... ... means nowt to me! ;)
Dante's Inferno: The save file says "Hoarders and Wasters" - I don't know how far that is but this does seem like an awesome game from what I've played!
Mass Effect 2: Don't remember exactly where I am but I know that I've JUST got back onto the Normandy V2 for the second time!
Grand Theft Auto IV: Not a damn clue - last mission trophy I got was for completing Roman's Sorrow so I have no clue really!
Battlefield 3: Turns out I'm a f**king BEAST at multiplayer, however the I'm playing the single player on hard and I'm really stuck on the shopping mall section where you have to protect that dying dude with waves and waves of people coming at you! STUCK!

So Yeah, my pile of same explained!

Right now I'm working through Lego Harry Potter! I should have that done soon with the Platinum trophy in the bag too! Any suggestions on what I should do after LEGO:HP can be put into the comments and I'll more than likely take you're advice!

Thanks for reading!

-Jake!

Ok, Now that basketball is coming back, I'm finally sinking time into NBA 2k12. I've done 12 of the 15 legends to unlock to unlock teams and I only have 3 more games to play to unlock the rest and should be completed tonight.

I started sitting down looking closer when I look at rosters online and I can trade or assign players to a team even if they are on the old time squad. So my plan for this year's association is to update and make my best teams I can make.

These are the adds I am planning on making to every team based on the overall skill level on the team at that time was over 70 and that they would have a better overall ranking then other players on that team. The cutline is the highest ranking player on the team that doesn't stay on the 15 man roster. The Lakers 12 man roster will not have a single player below a rank of 80. Only the Celtics can say the same. Lakers are also the only team with 4 players with a ranking over 90, The 76ers, Bucks, Bulls, Thunder, Warriors have 3 players over 90.



76ers(73 cutline)
Julius Erving (SF)
Wilt Chamberlain (C) - rankings from 70-71 lakers(he's always a sixer to me)
Moses Malone (C)
George McGinnis (PF)
Maurice Cheeks (PG)
Doug Collins (SG)
Henry Bibby (PG)
World B. Free (PG)
Bobby Jones (SF)
Darryl Dawkins (C)

Bucks(70 cut line)
Kareem Abdul Jabbar (C)
Oscar Robertson (PG)
Sidney Moncrief (SG)
Terry Cummings (PF)
Bob Dandridge (SF)
Paul Pressey (SG)
Ricky Pierce (SF)
Greg Smith (PF)
Bob Boozer (PF)
Jon McGlocklin (SG)
Mike Dunleavy (PG)

Bulls(71 cutline)
Michael Jordan (SG)
Scottie Pippen (SF)
Dennis Rodman (PF)
Horace Grant (PF)
George Gervin (SF)
Orlando Woolridge (SF)
Toni Kukoc (SF)
Ron Harper (PG)
Bill Cartwright (C)
John Paxson (PG)

Cavaliers(61 cutline)
Mark Price (PG)
Brad Daugherty (C)
Larry Nance (SF)
John Williams (PF)
Craig Ehlo (SG)

Celtics(74 cutline)
Bill Russell (C)
Larry Bird (SF)
Sam Jones (SG)
Kevin McHale (PF)
John Havlicek (SF)
Robert Parish (C)
Tom Sanders (PF)
K.C. Jones (PG)
Tom Heinsohn (PF)
Dennis Johnson (PG)
Bill Walton (C)

Hawks(65 cutline)
Dominique Wilkins (SF)
Lou Hudson (SF)
Pete Maravich (SG)
Bill Bridges (PF)
Walt Bellamy (C)
Walt Hazzard (PG)
Doc Rivers (PG)
Kevin Willis PF)
Spud Webb (PG)


Hornets(58 cutline)
Alonzo Mourning (C)
Larry Johnson (PF)
Kendall Gill (SG)
Mugsey Bogues (PG)
Dell Curry (SG)
Johnny Newman (SF)

Jazz(62 cutline)
Karl Malone (PF)
John Stockton (PG)
Jeff Hornacek (SG)
Shandon Anderson (SF)
Bryon Russell (SF)

Kings(66 cut line)
Chris Webber (PF)
Doug Christie (SG)
Peja Stojakovic (SF)
Vlade Divac (C)
Bobby Jackson (PG)
Mike Bibby (PG)
Hedo Turkoglu (SF)

Knicks(71 cutline)
Patrick Ewing (C)
Walt Frazier (PG)
Jerry Lucas (PF)
Dave DeBusschere (PF)
Willis Reed (C)
John Starks (SG)
Earl Monroe (PG)
Charles Oakley (PF)
Bill Bradley (SF)
Anthony Mason (SF)
Greg Anthony (PG)
Derek Harper (PG)

Lakers(77 cutline)
Magic Johnson (PG)
Elgin Baylor (SF)
Jerry West (PG)
Gail Goodrich (SG)
James Worthy (SF)
Eddie Jones (SG)
Rudy LaRusso (PF)
Byron Scott (SG)
Michael Cooper (SG)
Dick Barnett (SG)
Jim McMillian (SF)

Magic(50 cutline)
Shaquille O'Neal (C)
Penny Hardaway (PG)
Nick Anderson (SG)
Dennis Scott (SF)

Nuggets(66 cutline)
Dikembe Mutombo (C)
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf (PG)
Laphonso Ellis (PF)
Reggie Williams (SF)
Bryant Stith (SG)
Robert Pack (PG)
Rodney Rogers (PF)

Pistons(63 cutline)
Isiah Thomas (PG)
Joe Dumars (SG)
Mark Aguirre (SF)
Bill Laimbeer (C)
Vinnie Johnson (SG)

Rockets(67 cutline)
Hakeem Olajuwon (C)
Otis Thorpe (PF)
Vernon Maxwell (SG)
Sam Cassell (PG)
Kenny Smith (PG)
Mario Elie (SG)

Spurs(50 cutline)
David Robinson (C)
Avery Johnson (PG)
Vinny Del Negro (SG)
Sean Elliott (SF)


Thunder(old Supersonics) (61 cutline)
Gary Payton (PG)
Shawn Kemp (PF)
Detlef Schrempf (SF)
Hersey Hawkins (SG)
Nate McMillian (PG)
David Wingate (SG)

Trailblazers(63 cutline)
Clyde Drexler (SG)
Terry Porter (PG)
Jerome Kersey (SF)
Buck Williams (PF)
Cliff Robinson (PF)
Drazen Petrovic (SG)
Kevin Duckworth (C)

Warriors(59 cutline)
Chris Mullin (SF)
Mitch Richmond (SG)
Tim Hardaway (PG)
Sarunas Marciulionis (SG)
Rod Higgins (SF)


The Sixers/Celtics/Knicks/Lakers seem to have the most additions. It should be interesting to see how the teams work together.

The most interesting things is with some teams centers. Sixers have 2 Centers ranked 94 and a PF ranked 94, do I have a Center play PF and have the PF play Small forward??? I better win on the glass.

Magic will have simular issues at Center with O'Neal and Howard. I wonder if the teams will try to make a blockbuster trade?

Also there should be some nice players available as free agents and how will each teams salary caps look like?

Originally Posted by davidb69

I'm not sure if I will finish any more games this year. It's so crazy and there is so many games to play right now. I keep gettings free games from Playstation Plus. And I have a small list of games that I've gotten the kids for Christmas that I will want to play as well. Since my kids dont hit this forum, it's safe to post that all these games will be under our tree this year.

Mario Kart 7 - 3ds
Mario Land 3d - 3ds
Zelda skyward sword - wii
Kirby's return to dreamland - wii
Kinect Sports season 2 - 360
Sonic Generations -360
Disney Universe - PS3(we chose this version because we already have 4 controllers on the PS3 to play LBP)
Skylanders Spyro's adventure - 360
Star fox 64 - 3ds
Lego harry potter years 5-7- 360 and 3ds
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Saints Row 3
Need for Speed the run
Halo Combat Evolved anniversary

Besides this I have so many games on the shelf that I am playing right now.

On 360
Forza 4
Skyrim
CODMW3 - still have yet to start
Battlefield 3
Madden 12
NBA 2k12
Batman Arkham city

On PS3
Gran Turismo 5
Uncharted 1-3
Resistance 1-3
WWE 12
Metal Gear Solid HD collection
Dark Souls - still have yet to start
FIFA 12
Madden 12
MLB the show 11
NHL 12


These are just the games on the front of my shelf that I goto play, plus downloadable games on PSN and 360 that I goto play a lot.

So, I've finished up my second year of uni (2 more to go) I have 4 months of holiday. So with nothing to do. I decided, that unlike last year, im gonna make this a more productive holiday.

I set myself 5 goals. In order of importantce.
1- Get in shape
2- Get a summer job
3- Finish the Pokemon fangame I'm developing
4- Make a website
5- Clear my backlog


Moving Fitness
My goal is to get to AT LEAST 80kg, in which case, my BMI will become in the normal range as im currently overweight.
Im not huge, just a bit flabby, I actually look pretty normal If i have a shirt on actually.
Anyways, lots to do, but it isn't as bad as i initally thought. I just got move fitness recently, And I've been loosing weight like a rock, Lost aroud 4 KGs since the game came out (~2 weeks ago) So, i think I can reach that goal.

The Summer Job
i'm not looking too hard, im currently looking for any web design jobs, actually, it was the reason I started goal 4, to make a website. And now that I think about it, the real reason I want a job is so I can get a Vita at launch. otherwise, ill have to wait til school starts again (and my student allowance comes back into effect,) I might get this one if I try hard enough. Would be awesome if it did happen.

Game Developer in Training
I've been working on Super Pokemon Eevee Edition on RPGmaker for about 2 years now (started 2010). It's an homage to the older pokemon games, It fuses it with more classic RPGelements, which are found in FF4-9. Stuff like 4 team members in battle at the same time, use of MP, summons, limitbreaks and whatnot. I think this might be the most time consuming.

Webs, webs everywhere
Yeah, make a website. Last simester, I did a course on webdesign, it was amazing, got an A+ yo! I already knew HTML and some basic CSS, but this course was great, tought me nearly everything I needed to know about PHP and mySql.
So I decided to put that to work, making a website, it would also be a great reference for possible employers. It's gonna be a website where you keep track of games you have. I think this is probably the easiest assuming my enthausiam doesn't die.

Not all backlogs are the same
And my last goal. to clear out my backlog. It's not really a backlog per-se, as I've actually finished most games I buy, The only ones that I havent are... Just Cause 2 and Mortal Kombat. For me, if a game has an obtainable platinum. then I need it. I finished uncharted3, Resistance3, Motorstorm3, LBP2, and others, but their obtainable platinums cause me to consider them still in my backlog. This might take some time.


Im optimistic, I think I should be able to get atleast 3 of them done- Web design, weightloss and backlog.
Wish me luck - I'm gonna be make seperate blog posts for each goal to go more indepth somewhere down the line.

-Greetings! This month I will be discussing this past month of what I have been reading and playing for November!

-A few days ago I finished the first Gears of War novel, Aspho Fields. It has two alternating storylines, one set before the games during the often referenced Pendulum Wars, and the other between Gears of War 1 and 2. I started reading it before Gears 3, and luckily I did because it shed some background and involved two minor background characters in Gears 3: Bernie and Captain Michaelson. Did you know Dom had a brother that served with him and Fenix before in the COG? I believe the games never referenced him before, but this was a very fun read from the person also responsible from writing the script for all three games. I have the next two books and look forward to diving into them down the line.

Anyone keeping up with DC's "New 52"? A few months ago they cancelled all their main ongoing series and relaunched most of them along with a plethora of new books into 52 new ongoing books. Outside of a few Batman issues over the years and DMZ from DC/Vertigo, I never read that much from DC so I thought this seemed like a great opportunity to hop into and see what the DC Universe had to offer. I decided to pick up the first three issues from about a dozen of the new titles and decided I would not start to read any of them until I had all three titles so I can knock them out pretty quick. The third issues have started to come in and so far I have read the first three from Deathstroke and Batman & Robin.

Deathstroke had an interesting first issue, but it lost me in the following two, with too much action happening to follow, and I am just not buying into the Deathstroke character. Batman & Robin on the other hand has been exceptionally good. Robin is now portrayed by Batman's bastard child, Damian, who well, quite lives up to his name. I really like where they are going with these series with Batman struggling to transform Damian from the very troubled and angsty ten year old into a standup good guy.

-So what has been going on game wise this past month? Last blog I believe I mentioned I finally finished the main storyline from Oblivion, well just a few days ago I wrapped up the last of the main faction sidequests and after a whopping 93 hours I 1000 gamerscored Oblivion. I did a few random sidequests afterwards to monkey around with some new shiny gear and weapons I picked up from my last few quests, and then I placed it on the proverbial shelf, where I most likely will not play it again. Unfortunately I will not get around to Shivering Isles which I hear is universally praised, but I would like to get around to starting Skyrim somewhat soon after its release.

In other gaming news I spent a huge chunk of November going through the Uncharted trilogy. I decided since I am a big fan of the story from of Uncharted I wanted a refresher on the lore before going into Uncharted 3. Since I beat both of the previous games I was able to go through them with cheats which made it a more easier endeavor. It proved worthwhile because Uncharted 3 has a far bigger focus on its narrative than the previous two and there were plenty of little nods to the events of the first two games. Uncharted 3 itself is of course, awesome. I would rank it as my second favorite of the series behind the second games because the second game did a lot more to refine the game than this one did. Also some legacy issues with the series like not being able to tell what is a reachable jump, and AI that swarms you in literally one to two seconds of being spotted is less forgivable this time around, primarily because there is less of a "Wow, never been done before" factor this time around. It is still awesome do not get me wrong and it is an easy Game of the Year contender for me.

In other gaming updates, I played through the first two episodes of the new Back to the Future adventure game. Really digging the story in this one as it takes place after the movies and is cannon to the series. I love that is an adventure game, and Telltale knows how to do them. This helps erase my painful memories of the first Back to the Future game on the NES. I busted out the move and plowed through Deadsea Pirates off the Namco Shooting Collection. I am a sucker for light gun games, and this was the perfect quick breather I used for something to play in between the Uncharted games.

I finished an Xbox Live Indie game, DLC Quest. It took about an hour, but it was a fun little romp in an 8-bit pixel art-esque adventure where you collect coins to "buy" DLC, where well, everything from the pause menu to background music is DLC. It is only $1 and is a fun satirical take on what the future of DLC has in store for us. Finally, a friend and I plowed through the XBLA game Crimson Alliance in about two sittings. It is a light Diablo style hack and slash RPG, more like Gauntlet Legends if anyone remembers that. It is not the Diablo/Torchlight killer for XBLA, but I still had a decent enough time with it that I do not regret my time with it.

-That wraps up this blog, later!

Hello all, I have updated a blog post at www.360nationpodcast.com but I will post it down here for your reading pleasure!


Forza 4 continues to impress (but would like some updates!)

As many of you may or may not know, I am a huge racing game fan, and I was really looking forward to Forza 4 since I knew of the improvements over Forza 3, and the somewhat disappointing Gran Turismo 5 (how about some DLC that does NOT involve just variations of the GTR! grrrrrr…)



My biggest attraction is online racing because of the class system, and making the playing field somewhat left to driver skill – and your tuning abilities OR the tuning abilities of other users selling their tunes via the online storefront.



I have hit a few roadblocks I will outline below, let me know what you think!

First and foremost the driving mechanic is great – feels like you are driving the real thing- and I have primarily been using the controller with no assists most of the time. So it is very enjoyable if you do not have the resources to invest in an expensive wheel. For my Xbox I only have the Microsoft Brand wireless racing wheel, which is not bad by any means – but when compared to the nice bottom tier Logitech options for the PS3, it really falls short.

And for the first time since playing racing games, I have been able to experience a few of the cars first hand at high speed and I can say with confidence: they do handle like this in real life!

The car selection is massive, and from what Turn 10 has said – will continue to grow – we already saw one DLC pack which featured one of my favorite supercars to date (see below…)


The career mode does ramp up rather quickly – once you get nice and comfortable, and you begin to buy faster cars – you will be challenged. Maybe veteran Forza players find this easy, but coming from someone who has put in about 40-60 hours so far, it does get hard and I am not yet finished. A very, very important distinction of the career mode in Forza 4, it will be shaped based on which car you are currently “driving”. Maybe you want to just stay in B class, or maybe you want to try the A class races- just switch your ride and see what comes up. This is a great option for those looking for variation in their racing games as opposed to your normal laundry list of challenges. Not to mention the difficulty can be changed. Unlike the competitor’s game – your field of opponents will be closely matched. You cannot go into a B class race driving a F430 and just hit accelerate and win. This is a great touch, and really makes the career mode enjoyable. You can also choose from the event list if you’d like instead of going in order if you would like the option to see everything laid out in the traditional manner.


Now the online racing is an entirely different animal. This is my most recent challenge and I will most likely be posting a blog entry detailing how you can go about being competitive in this mode. I enjoy racing wheel to wheel, and have picked B class as my primary car selection. Forza 4 offers a variety of racing options, but to me, true circuit racing is the most fun.

All the cars can be tuned and tweaked – which is great – but also opens the possibility of some exploits. So far the community of B class racers see a few “leaderboard cars” which when modified a certain way, are definitely far superior to any B class car and should be in a higher class or rated differently. The Dodge “Super Bee” is the most notable, closely followed by a few muscle cars, DART Hemi Super Stock and the Delta Integrale EVO. We can only hope Turn 10 addresses this and can make adjustments- otherwise users will generally just kick out the user trying to race with these cars.

I am most frustrated with the balancing issues, because it does really impact the online community. Plenty of people just want to race and tune cars while other users seek the enjoyment of exploiting imbalances in the game. Overall the online community is one of the best I have experienced. I have made more new Xbox live friends in the last couple weeks than I think I had all of last year! The majority of players are not only fun to talk with during races but very competitive and fun to learn proper racing techniques etc.

The online racing does experience the occasional lag/drops – Over the past weekend, I would say at least 1 in every 20 or so races you would be dropped. I am hopeful, again, this is something Turn 10 can address and fix hopefully!

Overall this game is for the racing fan. I would say its Pokemon with cars because as much fun as I have racing – I have tuning, buying, painting and selling cars. Its the all encompassing driver experience. Minus the online occasional drops, and the slight balancing issue, this game really is in my running for the game of the year.

okay recap of the goals are:
goal a) finish disgaea 4's story
goal b) max level a character.

so at the 30 hour mark i've hit a wall in the form of map 7-5. my guys are just too weak at this point so i'll have to grind on map 5-2.

conversely my max level goal is going great. i have a tier 3 warrior at around level 50

so to recap my goal is to a) beat disgaea 4 and b) max level a character
okey dokey i am now within reach of the 20 hour mark.

goal a) currently at chapter 6 (the funniest one so far)
goal b) still only a tier 2 male fighter, however hes now lvl 30, and chara world beckons.

I remember when Retroids first opened. A large portion of us at the time had a large void to fill because of the then-recent closing of the Team Fremont Live forums. (An interesting fact of PSNation trivia: The original idea for the show was created prior to Retroids (then VGEvo) existing on those exact forums). I have been here since practically the beginning. I have made many friends, virtual and real as a result of this site.

And now I have to say goodbye. Not because I want to, but because I have to. I officially received word today that December 3rd is the move-in date for our new property. The bad thing is that I will not have my internet connection transfer with me, and thus my career of playing games is done, probably for good. I want to thank all of you that have become my friends over Steam, XBox Live and PSN over the years.

I want to thank each and every show host on the Retroids Podcast Network for hours upon hours of entertainment that I have enjoyed since the site's inception in 2007. I know that I will more than likely never meet any of you, but I hope that we may cross paths sooner or later in one way, shape or form.

And finally, I want to thank the co-founders Trickman Terry and Ken along with the moderation and social media teams for making this hands-down one of the best communities I have ever been a part of, and may it continue upon it's success.

So Long and Thanks For All The Memories,

Michael "mikeohara" O'Hara


*EDIT* 11/29/2011

Well, I have somewhat good news. I was notified by my mother a couple of days ago that the new property WILL have internet, but in what capacity we will have it as a household is unknown. The date for the move has also been pushed back indefinitely due to the house needing renovations, and allow me to explain:

A chain of events happened one after the other. First it was college stressing me out over classes, then this came along, and on top of that I've been fighting with Chandra (my darling wife) a lot lately, so I've not been in the best way. I'm truly sorry to have made a post such as this, but I am extremely grateful to know that if I did leave for good; I'd have more than my fair share of friends to wish me goodbye. But for the time being, the internet issue is resolved and I can play games (maybe!)

okay i recently picked up disgaea 4. and around the 8 hour mark i realised i've never beaten a disgaea or max levelled a character.
so this is the chronicle of my attempt to pimpslap the problem.

goal a) beat disgaea 4 story mode
goal b) max out 1 character (level 9999, tier 5)
goal c) carry on playing atelier totori

for b) i'm working on a male fighter since he's a staple unit in my party.
already reincarnated him to tier 2 and levelled him to 12.

It is with a sad and heavy heart that I post this... My wife and I had to put our dog, Taz down this past Saturday, the 5th. He had a broken leg that, after further exploration, turned out to be bone cancer. We met with an oncologist who said the only option was to amputate his leg, which would have given us, potentially, 6 more months. Since Taz would be 10 years old on November 12, we did not think amputation was an option because of his age. It was a hard decision because he was still wanting to run and play, even with his leg in a splint.

I lost my dog, Mooka earlier in the year as well, so this has been a bad year for pet losses in my household.

Rest in peace, my friend, you are loved and missed.

My last cellphone pic of Taz. Such a good, brave boy.

---

Hope you had a Happy Halloween! Long time no blog for me, eh? This is my first blog in over two years! Well, sometimes life takes weird turns and your priorities get shuffled around, and blogging became less of a concern for a good long time. However, there's nothing wrong with sharing a bit of yourself now and then. If you haven't tried it yet, why not make yourself a blog and share a little?

As for me, besides the insanity and inanity of work, the challenges of going through years of failed artificial attempts at having another child (pictured), then being blessed by one the good ol' fashioned way, and the frustrations of rebranding a site (with both positive and negative responses) on a shiny new EXTERNAL server and backend, I haven't had much ME time. My PlayStation Network login habits are indicative of how little there's been. I don't even have SF4 AE yet, to my shame.

Sure, I've been able to harness the quick access of Steam, not to mention the crazy-low game prices, but I haven't been able to connect to any of you in a long time. My site time is spent invisible, working out new, unforeseen bugs to both the style sheet-only themes and the continuously updated backend, vBulletin. It's not that I don't want to talk to anyone, but that if I stop for just a minute, I'll be pulled into a hour long conversation, and love every second of it. Sometimes being the lone server guy sucks.

So, I figured I'd get back into blogging periodically. I don't do Facebook or MySpace, and Twitter is still a bit too chatty for me. Plus, damn near everyone I'd ever want to talk to are already here, so why not start here? Maybe some of you can try to convince me Facebook is the place to be, but frankly, I'd rather bring Facebook to Retroids.

To that end, I'm happy to announce that I was recently approved for a 4x10 work week, and Thursdays will become my Retroids day. Sure, I'll have the occasional Honey-Do list or doctor appointment to handle, but this new schedule should harken a return to how things were for me back in our VGEvo "glory" days, when I had Mondays off to dedicate to the site and you all. So, what does this mean to you? Maybe nothing. For me, it means I can finally attend to many, many, many site issues and structure changes I've been holding off due to lack of time. There's nothing better than having 8-10 solid hours of pure, undisturbed development time to jostle a stuck project, or maybe just enjoy a non-stop BF3 frag-fest.

For you, this is a great time to send me or Terry site feedback and requests. I'm already gathering some goodies for the return of the Flash Arcade section, and we have some new themes brewing -- yes, the Podcast areas WILL get their missing themes back now that I've gotten a handle on the CSS stylesheets needed to make it happen. We're in the process of redesigning the home page and forum structure. Expect big things for our social groups VERY soon, as well as a renewed interest in competitive gaming. More on that another time.

In the meantime, if you ever want to send me direct site feedback (be constructive, please), ask questions, or just shoot the breeze, you can reach me via email at ken@retroids.com or through our private messaging system.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you.

Ken

I got this in the mail last week and the first think I thought when I saw it was: "I did not know the Trickman had his own Christmas knicknacks magazine?! :D"

They send all these catalogs for Christmas stuff in October. Kinda dumb, but it lets me look through them and see what random stuff they trying to sell this year.