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sins_of_mosin

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Windows Phone 7

I bought a used HTC HD7S off ebay for a bargain because I wanted to play Xbox games. I went with a wp7 device as currently there are more games that work only on that version then the newer 8. Plus cost was a factor to make this project work. Considering that I can't rent games on this thing, I couldn't blow the bank and have none left for games.

So now I have what I call my handheld. It does more then a 3DS and has better games/support then the Vita. And it has achievements and I'm not ashamed to say it. If I'm stuck away from home, I don't want to play some generic android game, I want rewards. I'd be more ashamed saying I spent $250 on a Vita.

After having the phone for three weeks, I've completed seven games and almost done with the eighth. The total amount of points received so far is 855. While thats not a great amount in three weeks time, its points I got while I didn't have access to my Xbox 360. Going on the average of 500 points per retail game, thats almost two games I didn't have to play to reach my goal of 200k.

So, you could say that I've aligned myself well into Microsoft's camp and I'm fine with that. I prefer them as a company and I think they have more to offer then anyone else. With the kinect project happening this holiday season and Windows 8 some point next year, I'm an Xbox gamer.

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Cheese project

I said a couple months ago that I thought I had played all the quick and easy 1000/1000 achievement games and it turns out I was wrong. I have in the past cherry picked from the x360a's forum on the quick and easy thread. I've had mostly passed on the kids games and ones that require a lot of collectables. In some respect I have also passed on games that just didn't seem fun to me.

I bring all this up because last week I was doing a search for something else and just happened to see a result for the top 25 quickest games for achievements. I like lists so I gave it a go. I don't recall what date the list was published but it had some typical games like early sports games and such. It did have some that I really never thought of like the N/CSI games. So that got me thinking and I did another search and found a couple more lists and put together a list of potential games to play.

My list takes into account time to complete the game and how easy/quick the achievements are. Games that require a lot of collectibles or games that have a ton of missable achievements were left off at this time. Here is my list which is in the format of game - rate of achievements.

CSI: Hard Evidence - perfect - This game could of been even more perfect if it was shorter but it wasn't bad. I really enjoy story achievements.

NCIS - perfect - All story but sure a lot of little loops the game makes you jump thru to complete the game. I'm currently on this game.

Megamind - great - No collectibles and the only 'hard' achievements are beating the bosses without dying. Since you can replay any level, this is no problem. Should be pretty short as well.

Lost : Via Domus - very good - Kinda high on misc achievements but its very short.

FIFA Street 3 - very good - Not as great as the first line of sports titles but still pretty dang easy. Won't be a full 1000 because the MP server has been shut down but I don't do MP anyway. Be nice to do a sports game.

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania - very good - Could be a tad long but I'm giving it a break because its sports and should be quite easy.

Sherlock Holmes - very good - Only four misc achievements and I will use a guide as I really don't care to stumble thru this kinda long game.

Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince - good - I've not played any Potter games but this one looks to be a breeze and quite rewarding for the amount of time required.

NBA Street Homecourt - good - Looking forward to this one and quite surprised I didn't play it yet.

CSI: Fatal Conspiracy - good - Sadly they didn't stick with the perfect list and now have some missable and misc.

Surf's Up - good - I'm not sold on this 100% yet. I need to view some gameplay videos first. Not that bad of achievements but still could be annoying if gameplay sucks.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe - good - A simple beat game and collect a bunch of junk with a grind at the end. Would need to find a good collectible guide.

Viva Pinata Party Animals - good - Looks fun but could be time consuming and not sure if the 2nd controller method requires to actually be online or not. This game is kinda iffy.

By no means will I be playing all these games in a row nor aiming for 1000/1000. This was a quick project to see if there was games still out there that I've not considered for a easy/quick achievement run. Its also a way to play genres that I normally wouldn't play. I mean a point and click game? Probably next time I will just go thru the thread on x360a. With these games and something else that I will talk about next time, I'll probably hit the 200k mark well before May of next year.

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Upcoming... wow.

In a five week period, gamers will be given some major delights. Now my list of games below have been picked by me as either sure fire winners or hopeful surprises. I've left off games I either knew nothing about or weren't excited for like Madden. I would say the game I'm most excited for would be Diablo 3. I know its funny to say that since I could play it right now on the PC. I have played it on the PC and I just didn't like it. I find myself wanting a really good loot/hack n slash/rpg game and after the boom of them the last couple years, they've dried up.

Disney Infinity 8/18

The Bureau: XCOM Declassifed 8/20

Saints Row IV 8/20

Splinter Cell: Blacklist 8/20

Lost Planet 3 8/27 Rayman

Legends 9/3

Diablo 3 9/3

GTA V 9/17

I'm most optimistic about Lost Planet 3. The first was a surprise to many but the second really killed all the hype for the series. Fingers crossed.

Saints Row IV could be just too messed up to be much fun but I'm open to new things as long as they are fun and enjoyable.

I'm giving the Disney game a slight nod here but I could kick it off after seeing some gameplay.

I generally shy away from platformers but the Rayman game is looking like a real treat and it would a nice break from other genres.

So the list ends with GTA V and after seeing the first glimpse of actual gameplay video, its looking to be top notch. I'm hoping future videos stick with what I call real gameplay. I don't want to see the movies even if they are in-game. I want to see what a player would see while they are playing. Anyway, I hope they really do have the combat fixed and the cars drive like cars and not the awful crap in GTA 4. The small glimpse of the map makes it look Skyrim big. I just hope its filled with Skyrim amount of content.

Its been a long time since I've even bother making a list of upcoming games. There have been some really great games this year but none that made me want to play them right now. None that were day one plays unlike D3 and GTAV. Oh you can bet your burrito I'm going to play those as soon as I can. And its been awhile since a large amount of high or possibly high level games have come out in such a short span that interest me.

I hope that this is a glimpse into the future of the Xbox 360 after the Xbox One comes out. Looking ahead, since I'm already in the mood, beyond GTAV I'm seeing 12 games that should be worth a shot. I doubt all 12 have solid dates but eh.

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2013 - 2nd quarter

The second quarter flew by really quick and it felt like I was focused on gaming for most of the time.

Finished: 21

Done: 0

Compared to last year's 2nd quarter of 27, I'm a bit off the mark. Last year I had a couple weeks of vacation and I really hit the Xbox 360. I also didn't have anime taking up any of my time. No surprise I didn't quit on any game.

3rd PS: 3

Action: 1

Adventure: 5

Card: 1

Fighting: 1

FPS: 5

JRPG: 1

Racing: 2

RPG: 1

Strategy: 1

I'm happy with the range of genres and hey, first time a JRPG has been on this list in years.

Backlog: 49

I've added a couple older games and I could probably take a couple games off as well. I'm glad to see so many games will be coming out for the X360 this fall and I hope that continues for at least another year or two. I think there are far too many current owners for dev/pubs to ignore.

I'll probably take a week off or such for anime as its been sitting there waiting and waiting. The Wii is well.....I've not forgotten it but its just hard to fit it in right now.

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Random stuff

MagnaCarta II was the first JRPG that I've played in three years and only the second that I've finished. A few things came together that made it happen. The first was probably the most important and that was that I was in the mood for it. The second was that the gameplay was pretty quick for a JRPG and that I could avoid fights whenever I wanted. I clocked in around 35 hours and that was doing every sidequest. I don't think I could of done 45 hours and I know some JRPGs can be even longer then that. Compared to most, the achievements in MC2 were actually decent and I was able to get 1000/1000. True, you have to save up your skill points but I really didn't have a issue with that. I eventually started to skip all the chat as it wasn't anything exciting. I was sad to see that the need for a second disc wasn't for video but for all the audio for those chats. Shame. Anyway, game was fun and it was a nice change of pace.

I fired up GRID 2 next and having a blast. Visuals are great and the controls are solid. Seems a bit easy to drift but maybe that will tighten up with better cars later on. I'm not thrilled with the way they are doing the menus but it gets the job done. The sound is nice and deep and I find myself turning up the volume. They do reuse the same sections and locations, a lot. I'm still in the first season and its like there is only 2-3 locations. I'm not sure if I had mentioned this before but I do want a kinect. I just don't want it at $100. It appears that gamestop sells used ones for $70 which is better but my goal is $50. I've casually browsed craigslist and seen one for $40 but it was a old posting. More recent ones bounce around $60-90. I'm not keen on getting a used one at that price. I'm hoping there is a good black friday deal or a simple price reduction would be great after the X1 comes out.

Looking at the kinect games, I believe there are 124 games that have come out in North America that either requires or has some function for the kinect. 96 games require the kinect. Of those 96 games, there are some winners and sadly more losers. I think there is enough playable games to justify the cost. At $50 for sure, $75 alright, and $100 be pushing it. I'll get more in-depth at another time. MS did the right thing. It sucks that they made a bad decision but in the long run they did the right thing. They did something that Sony can't, acknowledge a mistake and quickly fix it. In a week were Sony is bricking consoles yet again, MS comes out and saves the morale of their fans.

Quick hits:

1) Bought Renegade Ops for 320 points, finally a good discount for us silver folks.

2) Last game of the NBA Finals tonight, I hope the refs let the players decide the outcome.

3) Glad to see Tiger Woods suck yet again at a major event.

4) Added some older games to my backlog and I wasn't even trying to find stuff.

5) IGN's Xbox podcast is by far the best I've found. Funny and informative.

6) The Gamerscore podcast can be good but too much off-topic bs.

7) Sprint has started updates in my area with projected completion Jan 2014.

8) Taco Johns rule, meat and potato burrito is king.

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E3 2013 - MS forgets history and Sony takes a early lead.

*Let it be noted that I have no interest in getting either next gen console for a minimum of two years if not three.*

So we finally got some solid info about the next gen consoles and it looks like MS didn't learn from Sony's mistakes. We first need a quick history lesson. When the Xbox 360 launched, it was $400 for the most expensive sku. The PS3's launch price topped $600. It didn't help that the 360 had already been out for a year. The PS3 didn't have any momentum until the slim and the price cut gave it a revival which didn't last all that long. Anyway, point is that the price difference was huge.

Sony came into this gen being the top dog and had been since the previous gen. They were cocky and full of it. They thought if they got a very complex system and talked the nerd talk, people would sell a kidney to get it. MS was the wild card and quite frankly got little respect because they were MS... a software company and spreadsheet nerds. They went for broke and won big.

Now, it seems like MS forgot about that and has taken the same mistakes that Sony did. I'm totally fine with a game/system requiring me to be online for some features like Mass Effect 3's battle thing or seeing your friend's scores blah blah. Point is, single player didn't need to be online but it had nice little benefits if it was. MS can blame the pubs all they want but the fact remains is that they require a call home every 24hrs and the PS4 does not. Its a DRM thing pure and simple. It has to run a system check and report back. MS learned a lot this gen about protection and how to beat it. Couple years ago they clearly showed they could detect piracy and smack it around. This time they are very obviously doing it and doing it every 24hrs. This is going to be a massive, huge, overwhelming issue for MS. Are they going to give out some kind of waiver for every person who calls that has a rural address with no cable access? The poorish family that finally is able to get a console but can't afford the $20-45 a month for internet? Its just dumb and it will be a PR nightmare.

Then we have the cost. The Xbox One is $500 and the PS4 is $400. That alone is a huge win for Sony. MS needs to put the kinect 2 back in the optional side of things again. I'm sure without that included, the X1 can be $400. I would think if the only issue for MS was the $100 price difference and no damn call home thing, people would be bitching less. These two thing are just two quick jabs in the gut of MS. It won't matter if the X1 comes out first, people have already decided to go cheaper and be able to sell games.

MS needs to quickly rethink the DRM and drop it. They can put out whatever excuse they want because if they do it tomorrow or a year, everyone will have the same reaction... well duh. Xbox fans will pay the extra $100, I would. I just prefer the controller and the way MS does things. But, I need them to drop the DRM. I don't game online, I have no interest what so ever of playing online.

A lot will happen before November 2013 and a ton will happen before my 360 backlog hits zero.

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Random stuff

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron got me more interested in the overall story of Transformers. I've been meaning to see if there are any novels but I don't recall ever seeing any. The game itself wasn't bad but it doesn't do anything all that great. I wish the ending movie was actually different since they want you to pick a side. Achievements were pretty blah as well.

Been playing The Walking Dead. The first episode sure did make me groan a lot. Typical horror movie bs like slipping, tripping, ect ect. I wish zombie crap would get a person who didn't learned to walk the day before. Thankfully the game got better. Well, the gameplay gets the job done so if you don't get into the story, you will be very bored. I find the visuals to be good, character models are alright. Thankfully with all the patches, the game runs good and I've not had any issues.

Watched some Dragonball Z movies. They are quite short but a lot of fun. I plan on watching more of them this weekend. I also watched the first Ranma 1/2 movie and I just didn't find it all that interesting. I got quite a few movies I need to watch so I might focus on them for a week but I'll do a quick glance of what series I have and see if any stick out.

So after all the Xbox One stuff which I call X1, I think people are just spoiled little punks. QQ about every damn thing these days. My position hasn't changed as I will be rocking the Xbox 360 long into 2014 and 2015. For one thing, I don't expect the X1 to be in my price range until 2016 and I really need to see how this online once a day blah whatever really turns out to be. So unlike a lot of dumb asses, I'm actually going to wait and see what really happens before spewing bs.

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175k mini goal met.

With picking the right games, ignoring other hobbies, and a bit of determination I completed my marathon long before the end of May deadline. I didn't totally neglect some stuff as certain things have to get done. I also took the time to watch a couple movies this past weekend. I'm not real sure if I could do a total 100% dedication to gaming anymore.

Anyway, I didn't have to use all eight games that I listed. I did play a game that wasn't on the list because I noticed that I had missed some easy points on Madden 13. That didn't take long and I had already did a season when I played it so I just snuck it in real quick. This is the order in which I played and the points I got and the points I had thought I could get.

Stranglehold: estimated points 505, actual 510. Nothing really special about the game nor the achievements. There was a couple annoying bits in the game but overall it was playable.

Duke Nukem Forever: estimated points 865, actual 805. Everyone knows the condition that DNF shipped in but after a few patches its not a bad game. There are a lot of worse FPS games you could play that have even worse achievements. Lots of good ideas but just not executed very well.

Family Guy Multiverse: estimated points 600, actual 545. Yes, at $60 this game isn't worth it at all. At $20, it is. Especially if you have a coop. I found the game to be fun to play but I wish the achievements were better. So far the best game I played.

Lego Batman: estimated points 430, actual 710. I just can't stand lego games so I blasted thru this as fast as possible and it was nice that I got so many points for it. Man the AI was worthless in this game.

Madden 13: actual 195. I just happened to notice that I didn't get the only few easy achievements for this game. Only took about 30 minutes and it was a nice break from the shooters. And I hope EA stays away from such a horrid achievement list in the future.

Prey: estimated points 685, actual 685. The game has aged well and the gameplay is still fun. Its nice that there was only three achievements I had to actively get.

Injustice: estimated points 330, actual 420. All I could think about when the story started was that the Joker was a moron. Everyone knows a nuke is more effective at high elevation, duh. Anyway, that was a long story mode which is nice but I thought playing Batman three times was two times too many. I thought Aquaman was a really solid fighter. I lost once as Wonder Woman and the last two fights as Super Man took a couple tries. I mean hell the AI pretty much gave me no chance the first time I fought Doomsday and evil Super Man.

So six completed games in two weeks. I think thats pretty dang good. That was 25k points from June 24, 2012 to May 13, 2013. Not as fast as the previous block but I had weeks of vacation last year. I've also gotten back into anime which is starting to eat up a lot of free time. Heck, I can't wait to start a new anime series tonight.

When I hit 100k, I never thought I would get to 200k and now that appears to be well within reach. I'll estimate that I'll get there in 12-18 months. I have plenty of games already and I hope that there will be new games still coming out this time next year. So the goal now is the big one, a milestone.

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Marathon to 175k.

I'm closing on a mini goal of another 25k block of gamerscore. I'm less then 4k away from 175k and I'd like to get it done by the end of May. Generally I don't go all crazy on achievements but when I'm getting close to a goal, I kinda want to get it done asap. The last time I was closing on a goal, I got some quick achievement games but I think I'm pretty short on options this time. So, the plan is to just play games like I normally do but try to pick ones that offer more points without any grinding or bs. The way I see it, I average 500 points per game (I don't have real stats with me now so just go with it) so I need to complete eight games in five weeks. So the first thing is to get a list of games I want to play and then check howlongtobeat.com for the average time it took others to beat. Then cross reference with the achievement site to see if its a MP focused list or a grind or any other bs thing. If the achievements work out and the game shouldn't last more then say eight hours then I say that game is good to go. I still have my limits and won't play trash so my backlog will be shrinking a tad over these five weeks.

Here is the list and remember this is average completion times and a general idea of points. And I have time so thats why I'm doing this.

1. Stranglehold: 6h31m and 505 points. Just barely above my goal of 500 points a game but I think I can play thru it pretty quick.

2. Injustice: 4h03m and 330 points. Fighting games are special as they have short story modes and can have a good time:point ratio. So this game don't make the points goal but it should only take one night to complete.

3. Duke Nukem Forever: 9h25m and 865 points. Its longer then I want but the amount of points I could get balance it out.

4. Family Guy Multi-verse blah: 5h03m and 600 points. Another low quality game but the ratio is nice and sometimes you need an excause to play these games. Haha.

5. Lego Batman: 5h15m and 430 points. The playing time I'm not real sure on as I don't know if that includes both the hero and villian stories or just one. To be safe, I did the achievements as just one story. So if you can do both in that time frame then obviously the points will go up. As it stands its not the best ratio but its not a crappy game either.

6. Prey: 7h40m and 685. I recall playing this on the PC a long time ago so this should be fun to play again. There is only three misc type achievements that I can get done at the very start and the rest is story. Too many points are used in MP, thats for damn sure.

7. The Walking Dead season 1: 11h32m and 500 points. Even thou they are five separate games, all the points are story and I think I could get them done faster then the average. I will most likely save this until the end and then see how many points I need to hit the goal.

8. Transformers Fall of Cybertron: 7h34m and 545 points. Damn MP stealing the points again. The total amount of points estimated is 4460 which does give me some padding. The list of eight games aren't all awesome games but I should have some fun with each one of them.

Games that didn't make the cut.

Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge: 6h39m and 225 points. The time is fine but the points is really poor. I might be able to get another 20-40 points but its just not a good ratio.

DmC Devil May Cry: 8h37m and 300 points. While I do believe the game will be fun to play, its just too long for the poor amount of points.

So thats the plan for the month of May. I got a lot of distractions that eat into my gaming time so I'll have to minimize my anime watching to maybe just a movie on the weekends.

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2013 - 1st quarter.

With the end of the first quarter of 2013, lets see how the stats are adding up so far.

Completed: 15

Done: 0

Compared to last year's first quarter which was 8, I've gotten off to a big start this year. No shock that I didn't quit on any game thou I think I was thinking about it on one or two games.

3rd PS: 1

Action: 3

Flight: 1

FPS: 5

RPG: 1

Side Scroller: 1

Sports: 1

Strategy: 1

Tower Defense: 1

As usual, FPS has the most but otherwise I think its a healthy mix.

Backlog: 55

That has gone up recently with all the great releases and with my free time being shared with anime. I have stopped really caring when new stuff comes out as I simply got too much to play to really care. Now, I do care that stuff still comes out and if the rumors can be true we should have new stuff even after the next Xbox comes out.

The Wii pretty much got replaced by the anime but as always there is plenty of time.

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