Gaming

I missed December’s releases, but I don’t think we missed much. In fact, I missed all of December, blogging wise. The month didn’t start out good for me, with a trip to the ER that resulted in surgery and me learning that I am diabetic. So the first couple of weeks were quite an adjustment. Then the holidays happened, and blogging didn’t.

Oh yeah, and Skyrim. That put a decent damper on the blogging output as well.

So on to the new releases. Other than a couple big titles at the end of the month, there isn’t a whole lot coming out in January:

Week of January 30th
Far Cry 3 – In a post that has been in my drafts FOREVER, I talk about my favorite weapons in a video game. One from Far Cry features prominently in the list. I hope that “weapon” is available in FC3.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 – On my pile of shame sits Final Fantasy XIII. I really want to get back to that one.
NeverDead – You know, that “use it or lose it” limb game!
Soul Calibur V

No Nintendo Wii releases this month.

No Nintendo DS releases this month.

No Nintendo 3DS releases this month.

Week of January 24th
Tropico Trilogy

Week of January 30th
Far Cry 3

Week of January 30th
NeverDead
SOULCALIBUR V
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Far Cry 3

No Sony PSP releases this month.

What are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

I had hoped to get in an abundance of Skyrim in this very long weekend, but as always, the Thanksgiving holidays have thwarted my gaming time yet again. I brought the Xbox with me to my parents house but it’s been difficult to play Skyrim in all its magnificent glory on my dad’s older HDTV. BUT I have discovered two joys. One is the joy of watching anyone (even my dad, who still types in ALL CAPS) play Just Dance 3 on the Wii. The Wii still “has it” if by “it” I mean bringing gamers and non-gamers together.

The second has been watching someone “get it” while playing Portal 2. That “aha” moment is great when it’s your first play through. It’s even better when you get to watch someone else.

So this weekend, so far, has been mostly watching other people play. But I’ll still have time tomorrow to get in some Skyrim. And then there’s Sunday, and Monday, and Tuesday and you get the idea.

What are you playing this weekend?

This could be ugly. Real ugly. We’re ramping up to the crazy holiday shopping season when I imagine that a large percentage of video game purchases are made. It isn’t enough that we just had a brutal October with its plethora of good games. November is just going to pummel gamers. This is the first time in a long that there are at least one “must have” game for each system except the two dying handhelds, the Nintendo DS and the Playstation Portable.

Week of November 1st
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Otomedius Excellent
Sonic Generations

Week of November 8th
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Things start out slow in the first week, but from here on out it’s nothing but pain. Battlefield 3 got off to a less-than-impressive launch and will now truly face competition when the Modern Warfare juggernaut launches.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – But who cares about Modern Warfare? Me, I’ve got hundreds of hours to enjoy in Skyrim. Definitely day-one purchase for me.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Rabbids: Alive & Kicking
The Black Eyed Peas Experience – I’m not ashamed to admit it — I’ve been known to bob my head to the occasional Black Eyed Peas song.
Deepak Chopra’s Leela – Something feels very wrong about this game.

Week of November 15th
Need For Speed: The Run
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary – I’m a little sad Halo: CE Anniversary is launching now. I know they want to hit the holiday period, but I just don’t see many people wanting to play a ten year old game when there are so many new games available. I will definitely play Halo: CE Anniversary, I just don’t know when.
Assassin’s Creed Revelations – This is where I get lucky that I’m not into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. One less game vying for my time.
Rayman Origins
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Saint’s Row: The Third

Week of November 22nd
The King of Fighters XIII
WWE ’12

Week of November 1st
Monopoly Collection
Oregon Trail

Week of November 8th
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The Black Eyed Peas Experience

Week of November 15th
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This is me making a sad face that I may not play the new Zelda game. I just don’t know when I’d have time for it.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics
Rayman Origins
Need for Speed: The Run

Week of November 22nd
WWE ’12

Week of November 8th
Dagedar
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Week of November 15th
Bejeweled 3

Week of November 1st
Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns – You knew it was coming.

Week of November 8th
Cave Story 3D
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

Week of November 15th
Need for Speed: The Run
Shinobi
Super Mario 3D Land – Again, it pains me to not be able to play this game. I know it’s probably going to be another fantastic Super Mario game (in 3D!!) but it’s just not in the mix for me. Not until someone gifts me a 3DS I guess.

Week of November 22nd
WWE All Stars

Week of November 1st
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Nuclear Dawn
NCIS

Week of November 8th
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Week of November 15th
Dungeons and Dragons Classic Anthology – This would be so much fun if I had a month to play nothing else. And no job. Or kids.
Batman: Arkham City

Week of November 29th
Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Week of November 1st
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – The greatest game I’ve never played!
Sonic Generations
Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Week of November 8th
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Week of November 15th
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Saint’s Row: The Third
Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends
Rayman Origins
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Week of November 22nd
WWE ’12
The King of Fighters XIII
Tekken Hybrid

(insert Price is Right sound here)

It’s Skyrim for me this month. That should tide me over for a little while. What are you picking up?

(Note: As always, all Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission. It’s appreciated.)

It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to post something on the site. What better game than Skyrim to bring me back?

If you haven’t heard, Skyrim is releasing on 11.11.11, which puts it about 12 days out but, who’s counting?

***Raises hand***

I wanted to get a pulse on how many of you readers are:

A. Planning on getting Skyrim – whether its a pre-order, day 1 purchase, or waiting for it to go cheap on a steam sale.

– I have a pre-order thanks to my brother’s superb trading skills in Team Fortress 2 (TF2).

B. Which system? 360, PS3, PC?

– I will be enjoying Skyrim on the PC (where it was born), that is, if my computer doesn’t melt from the sheer awesomeness of the game of from it’s PC requirements.

C. What class/race combination are you thinking?

– In most fantasy games I play, I tend to lean towards the ranger/archer/sharpshooter classes. I feel like Skyrim seems to have archery down as a valid means of dealing death, which has not been the case in the other games I’ve played. I don’t mind being a human or an elf, whichever looks cooler wins out in my book.

D. Have you played any of the other Elder Scroll games?

– I began with Daggerfall (PC), dabbled in Morrowind(PC), and only slightly played some Oblivion(PC).

Today has been a crazy day from me, this is the first chance I’ve had to breathe calmly all day. Between the Circleville Pumpkin Show and the Halloween Store and everything in between, it’s been rather busy.

So this post is just to say I’m getting real close to picking a laptop/monitor combo and next week I’ll be talking about building “The List”. The more I work on the set up, the more I’m excited I get about it.

I’ve been putting off upgrading my main PC for a while now (I’m still running Windows XP!) but I don’t think I can hold off any longer. I’ve done three “major upgrades” including new CPUs and memory by myself. I’ve also had four different video cards in there, too. The last upgrade was last year when I doubled the RAM. But it’s been on its last leg for a while. It’s time to take this poor dog out behind the shed and put it out of its misery. I’ve always prided myself on building my own rigs, but I’m just tired of the hassle. I just want it to work out of the box and have someone else deal with issues if it stops working. So I’m going for something out-of-the-box.

But, for the first time since I’ve owned with a computer, I’m thinking of making my main machine a laptop. For a while I was considering dropping two large on a 27″ iMac, but now I think I might opt for a above average gaming laptop, the gaming monitor systems for laptops have really improved (I’m torn between the cheaper M11x, the beefier M17x and the Asus ). Couple that with a nice 24-27″ monitor and I’ll be golden (this Samsung 27 incher would do nicely).

I think I want a new keyboard/mouse combo, too. My Logitech M700 is getting a little long in the tooth and my keyboard is most certainly breeding all manner of bacteria and fungi, all feasting on a buffet of organic… You know what, I don’t even want to think about it.

Thing is, part of me thinks I’ll be missing something by not having a screaming, brand new desktop.

Any advice or suggestions?

This one is for Nat:

This is Lance Henriksen, who played Bishop in the Aliens movie, playing Aliens Infestation game on a 3DS. Click to embiggen. (via Tiny Cartridge)