I've been thinking about getting into writing a blog for some time now, but I've never had the drive to do it. I don't want to do anything too long winded, just an update every month or so, and this new quest system gives me the perfect excuse to. So with that, on to my first blog:
 
 
What I've been playing:
Borderlands - Being that Diablo 2 was the game I played for about 4 years of my life, I had been interested in Borderlands since it was first described as "Diablo with guns." I've always felt that $50 is a lot to ask for a video game, though (I even think 30 is pushing it), so I tend to wait patiently for sales. My patience was rewarded last weekend when Steam put Borderlands on sale for 50% off. Man... this game is good. I already see myself going two playthroughs per character, maxing them all, then buying the DLC that raises the level cap and maxing them again. I haven't had a game to fuel my loot lust for a while, and Borderlands delivers. In less than a week I've already put 30 hours into it and counting. So I expect I'll be playing more Borderlands in the coming weeks.
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum - This one's a little late, but I decided to add it anyway when I realized that if I didn't then the blog would have just one game. Fitting with the theme of me buying games on sale from Steam, I picked up Batman when it was on sale during Spring Break and promptly played it to completion. I don't have a lot to say about it other than it being great. Being a moderate fan of comic books, it's refreshing to actually see a good comic book game. Rocksteady does a terrific job of nailing the Batman atmosphere and the game is a lot better for it. Some time in the coming months I plan on jumping back in and making a runthrough on Hard, which I hear is a bit of a challenge.
 
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Yet another game I picked up on sale on Steam, but I got this one in the THQ pack (which I bought for Red Faction: Guerilla and STALKER) way back during the Thanksgiving sale. Not really being acquainted with the 40K universe, I didn't have much reason to jump into this one until my friend and I started playing through the campaign in co-op. The last RTS I was serious about was Red Alert 2, so the transition to only controlling a few units (that are in squads, nonetheless) was a bit jarring at first, but I've warmed up to it. Where the real fun is to be had, though, is in the Last Stand mode, which can be boiled down to a "wave survival" mode. You and two other players attempt to hold out for 20 waves against increasingly difficult enemies. There is a bit of persistence to your characters, so that, although you aren't gaining stats, you unlock a new piece of gear each level which can be used to further customize your hero. Every 4 waves you'll face enemy heroes, and on the 16th wave (the wave I've lost on the most by far) you face a mirror of your team which will tear you apart if your team isn't coordinated. The Last Stand turns out to be a ton of fun, and I'm waiting for Chaos Rising to go on sale (go figure) so that I can unlock the two additional hero classes.
 
Team Fortress 2 - I almost didn't add this one, and because of that I don't really have a lot to say. My mileage varies from week to week on TF2, but I generally get in at least 10 to 15 hours. Over the past few weeks I've finally started working toward my ambition of playing a good Scout. I've gotten to the point where, not only do I go ~2.5:1 in pubs, but I can't play other classes anymore. I'm too used to the speed and aiming of the Scout to be able to play anything other than Scout and Sniper effectively anymore. Anyway, I've still got a lot of work to do, but at some point I'd really like to get involved with TF2Lobby.
 
 

Well, I've run out of ideas for now so I guess that's as good a place as any to end this debut edition of my blog. I just checked the Steam store for sales (a hobby of mine if you couldn't tell) and I see that The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is coming to Steam later this month. I decided to prepurchase, because what's $5 to support an indie developer?
 
 
Thanks for reading,
AJ

Great start to your blog, Keep it up.