After watching Ben's Soul Calibur Custom Creation Contest on Extra Life, I wanted to share the ones I submitted!

First up... The Pest

Inspiration:

Moveset: Maxi

Next... Helmut Kruger

Inspiration:

Moveset: Voldo

Finally... Big Bo

Inspiration:

Moveset: Cervantes

I hadn't really dived into the character creator before the contest, so big ups to @benpack for putting this on! It was fun and yes... I'm now maining The Pest online and taking Big Bo through the campaign!

Creating the sounds of the monsters in Monster Hunter World is an art in and of itself. Many different organic and inorganic sounds were blended together to give each monster a unique, identifiable voice. Without even seeing a big monster on screen, simply hearing its roar tells you who you’re going up against.

Nature’s bounty gives us a nearly endless fount of luscious sounds from which to draw. But what if the monsters in Monster Hunter World were all voiced by a 3 year old? This is the question I sought to answer in the above video.

Just a little mash-up I thought up on my commute this morning that hopefully entertains some people!

Over the past few months, an official Nintendo account has been sharing tidbits of ARMS lore on Twitter. @ARMS_Cobutter is the account of the fictional announcer in the ARMS League named "Cobutter" in Japanese (otherwise known as Biff in the Western version of the game). I've been following Cobutter's account and have been deeply entertained by the absurd lore they've conjured up for ARMS. I figured other ARMS fans might be entertained to learn more about the lore as well, so I've gone ahead and translated the lore posts I've seen thus far.

ARMS History

The first set of four posts discuss the history of the spring-like phenotype and the people with the ARMS trait.

ARMS History 1

The oldest documented evidence of the ARMS trait goes back about 1,500 years. However, some ARMS experts argue that the ARMS trait has existed as far back as 4,000 years. The spring-like phenotype is not limited to humans--plants and animals are also known to display it.

ARMS History 2

The incidence of the ARMS trait is increasing, with a current estimate of about two percent of the population. It seems that if we include unreported cases, the incidence is likely to be even higher. Historically, people saw ARMS ability holders as rare, but today they are widely known and adored.

ARMS History 3

While the ARMS trait itself has existed since time immemorial, its history in competition only stretches back about 120 years. This is because the instability of the ARMS trait makes unassisted competition impossible. All of that changed, however, when "masks" were invented by the ARMS Agency (now known as the ARMS Laboratory).

ARMS History 4

Without a "mask," the arms of people with the ARMS trait will switch between normal and spring-like uncontrollably. The "mask" enables people with the ARMS trait to stabilize their fist while elongating their arms. This was the key to creating physical competition between people with the ARMS trait. Today, "masks" are produced at the ARMS Laboratory and provided free of charge to people with the ARMS trait by the ARMS Association.

ARMS Lab Reports

The ARMS Lab Reports explain (in excruciating detail) the physical nature of the ARMS phenotype. It explains how the spring ARMS are connected to the spiral irises, how the hair is also involved, and the role of the masks in controlling the trait. It also hints that ARMS Labs personnel use espionage to infiltrate the personal spheres of people with the ARMS traits in order to learn more about them.

ARMS Lab Report 1

The ARMS trait manifests most commonly in the middle of the night, so most cases are noticed when waking from sleep. Typically, the trait is first noticed in the early teen years. The oldest confirmed case is 74 years old. While it is extremely rare, there are cases where the ARMS trait manifests at birth.

ARMS Lab Report 2

The probability of being born with the ARMS trait is approximately 1 in 100,000 births. Kid Cobra, one of the competitors in ARMS League, is one such individual. He has never revealed his genetic background, and he is always wearing a mask. This makes him a highly interesting and rare target for study—he is high on our research priority list.

ARMS Lab Report 3

It is currently believed that the spring-arm capability manifests for one of two reasons: Either the person is closely related to someone with the ability or something nearby at the time of initial expression triggered the ability. However, there are known exceptions to these rules... A staff member is currently undercover investigating one such "exceptional" fighter. The results will be reported at a later date.

ARMS Lab Report 4

The iris of a person with the ARMS trait displays a spiral pattern. The "mask" was developed based on the hypothesis that the spring-arm ability could be indirectly controlled through the iris. To prevent misuse, technical details of how the "masks" work are confidential. Details must be requested directly from Doctor C.

ARMS Lab Report 5

There is no precedent for the ARMS trait to manifest in the hair. Request for cooperation in researching this unique phenomenon was refused three times. A sample is necessary for investigation. Several staff members have attempted to infiltrate her inner circle and gather hair samples, but contact with them has ceased. Does she truly have the ARMS ability? But if not... how do we explain her spiral irises?

ARMS Laboratory Staff Diaries

The ARMS Lab Staff Diaries cover the development of the Hedlok "wearable weapon"/entity. It also drops a few hints about the enigmatic "Dr. C" of ARMS Labs who seems to be on the ethics-free side of laissez faire scientific experimentation and research.

Laboratory Staff Diary 1

The "wearable weapon" project, which enables fighters to have sparring partners who do not inherently have the ARMS trait, was launched. Essentially, it is like a buffed-up punching bag. Dr. C leads the project and it is my first time working with him. I am looking forward to it. Our immediate goal is to assess whether an ordinary person is able to control multiple arms.

Laboratory Staff Diary 2

We are stuck trying to solve a major problem. Dr. C rejected our proposals to boost brainpower and enable multiple arm control in a normal person. Based on the doctor's theory, we started to test whether we could "extend thinking" to the wearable weapon. Thus, we changed the mounting position from the torso to the head. The doctor keeps close contact with us, but never shows himself in person. I am becoming worried.

Laboratory Staff Diary 3

It escaped. First, it started "thinking"... and now Hedlok is apparently on the search for something. This is an emergency, but the doctor's interest has already moved on to other issues. For example, can we make a version that can be worn easily? We will leave the handling of Hedlok to the ARMS competitors... from here on he will truly be their "sparring partner"...

ARMS Lab Investigations

Unlike the lab diaries, lab reports, and the history, these posts are not labeled per se. However, they are unified by their theme--the ARMS Lab! These are a bit scattershot and aren't overly informative generally, but they are pretty interesting. There are a few potential hints to future updates as well in the latter ones.

Lab Investigation 1

They march out by the hundreds and resemble Helix… but do they have their own names like Helix does…? Their main feature is the big shiny eye on their head! Just like Helix, they were created in ARMS Laboratory. Even after they get hit, they come back and give the fighters more practice. The weekend is over, so head out! What a mysterious lifeform!

Lab Investigation 2

I found something! In the depths of the darkness of the lab… there it was! For what purpose did they make this thing? Whatever it is, the lab must take every precaution with it. I feel like I’m being watched… I should go. Best to just leave well enough alone!

Lab Investigation 3

Notice from ARMS Lab, this time with the ever-elusive included video! “We are testing whether fighters can try it out as well. We have had numerous requests for this and expect it to be available soon…” I had no idea there was such a demand! But I also kind of want to try it out…!

Lab Investigation 4

A follow-up from the ARMS Lab…! “We are continuing to develop the prototype. Delivery of the prototype is scheduled for two days from now. While wearing it, the burden on the mind is great—the Chairman can only withstand it because of his great strength. We have therefore included a time limit for safety. In order to provide on-site experience to the fighters…” Oh… that’s supposed to be reassuring…?

Lab Investigation 5

According to an acquaintance, this computer is used as some sort of “difference machine”… Wait, there’s some kind of map there! It looks like the ARMS Association is located on the lower left of the map! …but this map is very old and shows a number of subtle differences… I will have to try to find a newer map to present!

Personal Notes

Personal notes are additional information shared about the fighters in ARMS.

Personal Note 1: Mechanica

Let’s take a peek into Mechanica’s studio and, what’s that I spy… is that the Chairman, Max Brass? In a photo with a young Mechanica and… is that her father? The cowlick was passed on at the genetic level…! A family gathering… I wouldn’t want to miss a pic with the Chairman either!

Fashion Checks!

Unsurprisingly, the most prolific series of posts are about the part of ARMS people care about most: the fashion! The fashion checks are fun and reveal a little bit about the fighters' personalities. It seems the fighters often wear particular brands... maybe there is sponsorship in the world of ARMS? (By the by, I did my best translating the brand names from Japanese, but Nintendo may decide to give them different names in English in the future!)

Fashion Check! Spring Man and Ribbon Girl

“Fashion check! Let's take a look at the fighters' clothes. Spring Man's shirt and shoes are the same brand: ‘Billy’. If we look closely at Ribbon Girl's costume, we can see that her brand is also ‘Billy’! These are clearly special order items!”

Fashion Check! Mechanica

“Fashion check! This time let's look at Mechanica! Is this even technically "fashion"? When we zoom in on her suit, we see a sticker for the ‘Dodorgen’ heavy chemical company. This company is also famous for making the revolver. What is her relationship to Dodorgen? It's such a small sticker... I nearly missed it.”

Fashion Check! Min Min

“It’s time to check out Min Min’s fashion! It seems her entire outfit is from the brand called ‘Barabara’. Yes, I definitely wanted a hat that matches hers. Let’s see… hmm, this is the first time I’ve heard of that brand…! But it’s so cute… I want it… I’m going to look it up online when I get home!”

Fashion Check! Ninjara

“Fashion check! It's Ninjara's turn! His outfit has a very ‘Eastern’ feel to it. The brand is called ‘Joe’. It's super black and looks like ninja gear! Wait, what is that little pin? Cute! There seem to be different colors available too... I want it!”

Fashion Check! Twintelle

“Fashion check! Twintelle! Twintelle wears clothing entirely from her own brand called ‘OVALA’. Of course, even her perfume is from ‘OVALA’. What... an enchanting scent...! Her clothing line is backordered at all the stores, and it's unclear when they will be back in stock. Please make a men's line as well!”

Fashion Check! Max Brass

“Don't get distracted by the model's beautiful physique... this is another fashion check! He wears clothes that cut along his body's natural lines exquisitely. It is made of a high stretch material that expands when he flexes. Chairman, I must avert my eyes! Finally we will get to see you in all your glory... tomorrow!”

Fashion Check! Master Mummy

“Fashion check! It's Master Mummy's turn! His costume is from "Achom". It's clunky-but-functional wear. And what a sexy look, with only one shoulder strap. Actually, Spring Man's trunks are also the same brand! Looking at it, it feels strangely formal.”

Fashion Check! Kid Cobra

“This time it’s a Kid Cobra fashion check! Kid Cobra’s favorite is the boarder brand ‘Snex’. The brand gained popularity thanks to exposure from kids on video streaming sites. The snake motif is perfect for Kid Cobra!”

Notes

ARMS has great potential as a work of weird science fiction. While initially it seemed as though ARMS lore would be essentially a work of style-over-narrative retconning, there's no denying that the spring arms, masks, and spiral irises are all narratively tied together at a much deeper level than it first seemed. The bread crumbs leading to the first major update that added a playable Max Brass and Hedlok mode were hopefully a sign of things to come. While updates have slowed now that the game is over a month old, there is still a steady stream of posts and the promise of free DLC updates to come.

We have yet to see any posts dedicated to Barq and Byte (my personal favorites). While Helix is mentioned tangentially in a few of the posts, we have learned very little about who (and what) he really is despite a heavy focus on ARMS Labs and Hedlok. We haven't had many personal details of most of the characters at all. And who is Dr. C? Maybe the answers are out there, but I haven't found them among these notes.

As for what's coming up, the map in ARMS Lab Investigation 5 is probably a hint--perhaps a new arena? Time will tell. And if more ARMS Lore comes to light, maybe it will answer the many (many) remaining question we have about this crazy ficitonal world.

Hadn't updated my "About Me" section in years, so I figured I should do so, but I wanted to save my old one for posterity. So here it be!

In Two Sentences

I've been gaming for most of my life. My favorite games tend to be story-driven, though I've certainly enjoyed particular competitive games in the past. These days, the time I have to dedicate toward gaming is limited, but I still enjoy it a lot.

My Gaming Life Today

I'm not going to go into a lot of details here, but where gaming played a major role in my life as a hobby in the past, these days it is still a major hobby but takes a back seat to a serious career (completely unrelated to gaming) and my family. I've got a wife and a baby, and I've got a serious job to boot. As a result, my gaming time is down to an hour or two a day generally.

What I've come to realize is that, thanks to my life as it is now, I simply don't have the time I once did for gaming. However, I still love gaming as my hobby and I intend to keep doing it, albeit at a slightly slower pace now that so many other responsibilities take precedence from it.

My Gaming History

I have been gaming for about as long as I can remember. We were not well off in my household, but my parents were both technophiles, so I had access to computers and gaming early in life. As a child of the early 80s, this meant green and black screens paired with beeps and boops for sound effects. Compelling stuff.

Commodore 64

We had a Commodore 64, which I can proudly claim as my first gaming console. I do not remember the name of this game, but my first gaming memory is a Commodore 64 game involving a clown who tried to keep balloons in the air. I also recall something akin to Joust being another favorite. If anyone has any idea which C64 games those are, do let me know

Nintendo Entertainment System

A few years later, in 1986, I received a Nintendo Entertainment System as a gift in the package that included Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet along with the orange light gun and the track floormat pad. The other games I played (and still own) from those days were Metroid and The Legend of Zelda (with the gold cart). This may seem kind of lame to some people, but one of my earlier specific memories in general (probably from when I was six or so) was a random day when I was at the kitchen table writing as my dad came home work. He came in and asked what I was doing and then said he had a surprise for me. He reached into a brown paper bag and pulled out a brand new copy of Super Mario Bros. 2. I was so ridiculously excited, having no idea what to expect from it. For whatever reason, that memory has stuck with me all these years, and SMB2 has a special place in my gaming heart.

Naturally, I played a few other games on my NES including, of course, one of the greatest games of all time--Super Mario Bros. 3. I also think back fondly on Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden. I think back much less fondly on the NES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. So, so bad.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Fast forward a few years, and my next major console as a kid was the Super Nintendo (that's what we called it back then). Of course it came with another of the greatest games of all time--Super Mario World. Are you sensing a theme yet? No, but seriously, it just happens two back-to-back Mario releases were two of the greatest games of all time. The early 90s was a time when my gaming accelerated a bit--I was probably playing a game once every few days for at least an hour or two at that point. I had a reasonably admirable collection at the end of it all, including a couple of other favorites like Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Battle Clash (YUP). It may be nostalgia, but I think back very fondly on the Super Nintendo thanks in no small part to these games.

But I'm not going to lie--the SNES was not all sunshine and rainbows. I had a few absolutely atrocious games in the mix as well, including the notable duo of buggy messes that were Sküljagger and Maximum Carnage (with the awesome red cartridge, dude!).

Gameboy

It was sometime either just before or just after I got a SNES that I got a Gameboy. This was mostly for car rides, though as I'm sure many people remember, the battery life was so weak that they had to be fairly short car rides if you didn't want to burn through a week's worth of allowance on batteries. Thinking back on my Gameboy, I really lacked good games on it. The one game I played to hell and back was Yoshi, an extremely simple puzzle game that really didn't deserve so much of my attention. Seriously though, I've gone back and played it--it's not good. I have no idea why it was that and Super Mario Land (a lackluster Mario game if there ever was one), but there they were.

Years later, I got a Gameboy Color with Pokèmon Yellow, and did play quite a bit of that game. But I have to say, due to simply never getting a lot of good titles on the system, I don't think back particularly fondly on the Gameboy. Sadly, Tetris was probably the best game I had on it. Not to say that Tetris on Gameboy was anything but a fantastic game because it was. More to say, it was far and away the best game I had on the thing until I got Pokèmon Yellow, which is a bit sad. And yes, I missed out on Metroid 2. I should really go play that someday.

Genesis

After years of the SNES, I finally managed to get a Sega Genesis. It was the redesigned model, smaller than the original, and I had a handful of games for it including classics like Altered Beast and Sonic the Hedgehog (1, 2, and 3 and even Sonic & Knuckles). I was never as into the Genesis as the SNES, though I remember a few games grabbed me (Aladdin, Robocop vs. Terminator). I do think back on it fondly, though it felt like the second banana console to me.

Also, perhaps controversially, I actually enjoyed Sonic Spinball.

Game Gear

The Game Gear was color (!) so of course I was very interested in it given that at the time my alternative was a green-and-lighter-green Gameboy with a bunch of mediocre games. That said, the Game Gear had atrocious battery life and the games I had for it were equally questionable in quality with my Gameboy titles.

32X

Okay, here's where things got crazy. This was the second in the string of devices that would lead to Sega's hardware downfall, but I had to have it. As a teenager, I had been turning into a real technophile and always wanted the latest and greatest devices. The 32X had a lot going for it--it plugged into the top of the Genesis and had it's own slightly better looking games than the Genesis. Even though the system had a tiny library mostly filled with bad titles, I had Star Wars Arcade and Doom on 32X. Those are basically the number one and two 32X games period. I still have my 32X in the garage somewhere and every time I think about it, I always feel like I should fish it out (but never do because I know I'd just put it away in disgust after I realize I need all sorts of adapters to get it working with my TV).

Also, back in the end days for the Genesis, I had been saving up for a Sega CDX. By the time I got the money together, I knew about the Playstation and decided to save it for that instead. The Playstation was one of the best systems in history, but still... I wish I had gotten that CDX when I had the chance!

Playstation

So I may be biased by the fact that my formative gaming years were capped by the Sony Playstation, but I think back very positively on the Playstation. At that time, I had a Playstation, a friend had a Sega Saturn, and another friend had a N64, so I had the experience of playing each of the major systems of the time. The Playstation had a few major gems, not the least of which were Crash Bandicoot and Twisted Metal. Twisted Metal in particular was a seminal car battle game that was a huge hit while I was in high school.

I also want to take this opportunity to discuss one more thing. Back then, the Playstation was widely referred to as the "PSX". These days I see a lot of people who I believe were too young at the time questioning those of us who still refer to it as the PSX because Sony made the questionable choice of releasing a different device officially called the "PSX" in Japan much later on. While I understand that later on the device became known as the "PSone" (and in fact, I own a Japanese PSone), the bottom line is that the short-hand "PSX" generally refers to the original Playstation. At least when I refer to it, that's what I'm referring to. And I'm not about to start referring to it as the "PS1" because I'm stubborn.

Playstation 2

The Playstation 2 was, arguably, the greatest gaming system of all time. I got one very early one, and this was a time where I was heading to college, so it became a well loved machine among my friends as well. I enjoyed a lot of titles on Playstation 2, but the one that comes to mind above all others was Silent Hill 2. I'm not generally a survival horror gamer, but that game was revolutionary in how it created true terror and fear. And it made for possibly the greatest videogame drinking game of my life. The rules were simple: If a monster you've never seen before shows up, you drink. If you audibly scream in terror, you drink. If you can't handle it anymore, you pass the controller to someone and you drink. Made it through most of the game doing that!

I also haven't mentioned it previously here yet, but I have been a huge Final Fantasy fan since I was a young boy playing Final Fantasy II (US) otherwise known as Final Fantasy IV on the SNES. That game still holds a special place in my gaming heart even if it is quite old. Playstation 2 had three Final Fantasy titles on it, and I loved all three quite a bit. I actually ended up playing FFXI on PC, but it was my first MMO and the only MMO I ever seriously put a lot of time into besides World of Warcraft. Meanwhile, both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII are favorites of mine. Where's my "HD remake" of FFXII? I would be all over that.

PSP

I don't have a lot to say about the PSP. It was a decent piece of tech at the time and it had a handful of games I enjoyed. I still have a functional one and I use it mostly to play Japanese titles from time to time.

Playstation 3

By the time the PS3 came out, I was in college and still enjoying my PS2 and, frankly, didn't see a reason to drop $600 I didn't have on a new system when there were some great games still coming out on PS2. I also wasn't interested in the Xbox 360 because I never liked the original Xbox. I hold nothing against the 360 at all and fully recognize it as a legendary system, but I just wasn't into it.

Anyway, it wasn't until Metal Gear Solid 4 was being released that I really became interested in the PS3. I really enjoyed all of the previous Metal Gear Solid games (even MGS2, which I originally hated and later came to appreciate). A friend and I went to the launch party in Los Angeles and managed to snag a PS4 and a copy of MGS4 from Mr. David Hayter himself. Big time.

I also started to subscribe to Playstation Plus not long after it started, and I've enjoyed raking in the games over time on that service. I feel like the PS3 started so weakly, but thankfully Sony stuck with it and it ended up becoming a system I still enjoy to this day.

Wii

Everyone had a Wii, right? So this is no surprise. What might be surprising is someone like me, who loved the NES and SNES, didn't own a Nintendo console again until he Wii. It wasn't due to a lack of interest in the N64 or Gamecube, but actually because close friends owned them, and I would visit them in order to play on a Nintendo console.

As for the Wii, I had it for the group games initially, but later in its life I do feel like it had the library to justify it, including some great titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Metroid Prime 3 to name just a couple.

3DS

I bought a 3DS early in its lifetime, early enough to be an "Ambassador". I should go back though--I actually saw the 3DS in action at E3 earlier on, and I was totally floored by the 3D tech. I have since never regretted the purchase because the system has a strong and increasingly stronger library. I still play it and I still have a number of games I'm excited to play on it.

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the New 3DS as well.

Wii U

The Wii U is another one that I bought early on. At this point, I had enough expendable income to take a risk and my technophile nature got the best of me. I'm not going to lie, either--the first year or so of the Wii U was tough to justify and I filled it mostly playing Wii games.

Whatever that first year was, the system has come into its own and there are a number of Wii U games on my "to play" list right now.

Playstation Vita

My indie machine! Thanks to Playstation Plus I have a fairly huge Vita library, mostly including indie titles. It's kind of funny that people complain about the Vita having only indies, but I personally love it for that. I also have a few big name titles for the Vita that I do enjoy, but it really is used mostly for Indies, and that's not a bad thing.

Playstation 4

I bought a PS4 on launch day. At this point, it has started to justify itself, but it still has to have a few more unique gems come out for it to really shine. I think this is true for the Xbox One as well, and I admit I mostly went with the PS4 because I've been in the Playstation environment for so long, and I've got Playstation Plus already thanks to my PS3 and Vita.

To be completely honest, the Playstation 4 thus far is mostly redundant with my self-built PC. It does have one majorly redeeming feature, though: Remote Play. With my life as it is, Remote Play is very useful.

PC Gaming

One last thing to mention is that of course I'm also into gaming on the PC. I've been augmenting and building my own PCs since I was a kid in the early 1990s. I love Blizzard's games, and I have a decent Steam library as well. My current rig was built in 2012, but I've since augmented it by updating the video card and hard drives to SSDs, and I've changed to a micro-ITX motherboard to squeeze the system into a smaller case (currently a BitFenix Prodigy). These days I have my self-built HTPC hooked up to my TV along with my other gaming systems and I focus mostly on controller-based games, but I do sometimes get out the old mouse and keyboard if it's necessary.

I also love that we live in the age of streaming technology and regularly take advantage of Steam in-home streaming and streaming onto the Nvidia Shield Handheld.

First off, in my last post I forgot to include some games I've finished, including Infamous Second Son as a very significant one.

Anyway, I started both Child of Light and Far Cry 4 yesterday. Far Cry 4 is great! I'm not often into first person shooters, as I've said in the past, but this one hits the spot.

The other thing I wanted to mention was that I bought a few games while in Japan. While this (of course) goes against my rules in general, I made an exception because these are unavailable in the United States and I was able to buy them used for a good price. Specifically, I bought Puyopuyo Tetris, Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! (Yakuza Ishin!), and God Eater 2 Rage Burst. I started Puyopuyo Tetris and God Eater 2. Both are great. However, I want to dedicate some time to them and I have been craving the other two games I'm playing right now anyway.

So there we are. I'm not kicking myself over this. And I've avoided buying games recently that I really wanted to (Titans Souls, for example). So far I'm doing... I'd say, I'm doing okay at my plan. I've certainly bought fewer games than I would have otherwise. That said, my backlog is still substantial!

Welp. It's been a while. The question of what I've finished lately is hard to answer. My list took a backseat to random whimsy, I guess.

First, the bad behavior: I bought Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and I bought Axiom Verge.

The good news? I fucking finished Axiom Verge and it was fantastic.

I'm still playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. I've gotten farther in this version than I ever got in the Wii version, and I consider this version to be satisfying the one in my backlog.

Oh, and I probably forgot to mention that I also bought Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (with FFXV demo). Ugh, I'm bad.

I also played a number of other things, though, so I don't want to beat myself up too badly!

First off, I played a few random games to completion, not the least of which were Hotline Miami and Sine Mora on my PS Vita. I'm happy to have played them, though I don't feel the need to get perfect completions or trophies on them.

I'm almost done with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker! Actually, I have a feeling I played the hell out of this game. It feels like I've dumped a good eight to ten hours into it. I've unlocked almost every level at this point and done a lot of the full completion stuff (as I usually would with a Mario game). I'm surprised at the amount of content because the major complaint I heard was that it didn't have enough but, frankly, I think the game is stuffed to the brim.

If I look at my list, it seems I've not completed that many games. I've been playing games like Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros Wii U/3DS, and so forth as well. Plus, I've been playing the PS Plus games I've gotten regularly (though this month was very weak).

The question, to me, is what to play next. I consider Xenoblade a work in progress, and I'm really playing Captain Toad to completion, though I could drop it at any point.

My next games, by the list, are Child of Light and Far Cry 4. So I guess I'll be jumping on them ASAP.

OH. And I forgot to mention that I poured a bunch of time into two gems: Resogun, which has had some massive DLC that's majorly improved the game; And the Toukiden demo, which I was surprisingly entertained by. That may be a future purchase. Distant future.

There was just an article on Lifehacker published that outlines a strategy for getting through a videogame backlog that matches what I started doing on January 1st this year almost exactly! Kind of interesting how the ideas outlined there are so similar to the strategy I have been taking.

At the beginning of this year, my list numbered 144 games.

I actually have followed pretty much all of the advice in this article, though I do still browse PSN sales and Steam sales. That said, I've felt the itch browsing the stores--I really weighed buying Hotline Miami 2 last week, for example.

But I made myself a rule: I may not buy a new game until I get through​ five games in my backlog.

And then I made a second rule: I must play a new game that I buy immediately.

When I'm thinking of buying a game, I ask myself if I want to blow my one purchase allocation (based on the fact that I've finished five games) on this game, and whether I want to play it immediately.

This year, so far, I've gotten through ten games: Shadow of Mordor, Fantasy Life, Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1, Dragon Age Inquisition, Valiant Hearts, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Stealth Inc, Stealth Inc 2, The Swapper, Infamous Second Son (just finishing this one).

I did buy my first new game, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, last month and I have thus far put over 50 hours into it--I consider that money and time well spent!

Admittedly, ten games in two and a half months means I won't get through my backlog for a couple years. However, it's worth noting that of those ten, a handful of them take many hours (DAI and MH4U are each well over 60 hours for me thus far, and I'm not done with the latter by any means).

I think the most important rules are:

• "Finishing" a game is defined as feeling that I've gotten everything I want to out of it. It doesn't mean seeing the credits roll. It doesn't mean spending X hours or more of time on it.
• ​The "you must play a new game you buy immediately" rule. This means that if I'm super-excited about a game (MH4U, for example), I can buy it but at a cost--it means my gaming time for the forseeable future will be dedicated to this title.
• Make a list of games, sort it in order of interest, and record progress. This is key because otherwise, you'll be lost in a sea of games when you check your system and waste valuable gaming time milling over what to play. With my list, for example, I now know that since I'm done with Infamous Second Son, my next two games are Far Cry 4 and Child of Light.
• Keep a blog of it. This blog, though I don't update it much, is a great way of giving my gaming time a greater meaning. I've been thinking of porting it to Tumblr or Blogger or something, but I do like GB's community.

The last thing I would add is regarding subscription gaming services (PS Plus) and free games when you have a backlog. These services give you a lot, but if you don't really pay attention to what you get every month, they just end up ballooning your backlog. If you aren't playing any of these games, you may want to unsubscribe.

However, I've found PS Plus is a great relief and injection of fresh newness into my list. What I've decided is every first Tuesday​ when we get our free games, I immediately install them and then I try the ones that interest me. For example, this month I tried Oddworld: New and Tasty (meh) and Olliolli2 (so ridiculously good), and I already owned the other free games with the exception of Sherlock Holmes on PS3 that I'm just not that interested in. Olliolli2 immediately made its way into my list toward the top for an upcoming flight. Oddworld I've put aside.

In the past few months, Infamous First Light, Apotheon, and a few other PS Plus games have all made it onto my list towards the top, and I'm not upset about that at all.

So that's how I'm handling those services: I assess whether I want to really spend valuable gaming time on the free games and if so, I add them to my backlog in the proper spot. Seems simple, but it makes a difference because even though it causes my backlog to slowly grow, it also means I'll actually get around to playing those games, and I won't waste time on ones I don't care for.

So I'm still working on my backlog plan, but a few things have gotten in the way of my progress. The biggest blockade?

Dragon Age Inquisition

I've been playing Dragon Age Inquisition for a good seven weeks now. Last I checked, I had about 60 hours clocked into the game. I was really hoping I'd at least get through the entire storyline, but no such luck yet--I'm probably about halfway through? At about level 14 or 15 at this point, but it still feels like I've got a long, long way to go. At this point, I'm strongly considering putting the game aside for a while because I've had a lot of fun with it, but I now feel like I really want to play other things.

I'd say my biggest complaint about the game is the travel speed. While I didn't mind it at first, getting from place to place within the sprawling zones has become less and less interesting to the point where I seek out fast travel points and largely avoid quest markers that are far off the beaten path until there's nothing left in the zone to do. This is mostly due to the lack of a fast and fun travel mechanism--your only choice is mounting up, which takes time because it requires going through the rather sloppy interface and then waiting for the horse to spawn, which you then run over to to mount up. Then riding the mount feels somehow slow. It does take you places slightly faster, but it doesn't feel particularly fast because the mount is huge and moves at a realistic pace. It sounds like nothing, but what a difference a faster mount system would have made to the fun factor.

Anyway, that's not to say I don't enjoy the game a great deal. Dumping 60 hours into a game when I have as many alternatives as I do is nothing to shrug at. Still, I'm putting it on hold for the time being and (hopefully) I'll come back to it in the future after I play some other games and give it a chance to feel fresh again.

Since feeling like Dragon Age Inquisition was getting a little stale, I started to play a few other games, with a particular emphasis on portable and more bite-sized indie games. Which brings us to the other games I've been playing lately...

The Swapper

Free on Playstation Plus last month, this is a game that I'd been interested in for a while. I was enthusiastic to see it was free and gave it a shot. It is as interesting a game as I expected it to be based on what I'd heard. Being a pretty big fan of puzzle games, I've enjoyed the few hours I've spent with The Swapper. That said, with only an hour or less per day to play videogames generally, sometimes I find myself only getting through one or two puzzles in The Swapper because I'm so tired by the time I get to it, which makes it a bit unsatisfying. Not to say that's a problem with the game itself, though. Really it's more just my situation.

Regardless, I would give The Swapper thumbs up and it's definitely worth playing. I'm a good chunk of the way through the game, and I'll probably finish it up.

Oh, and one other thing about The Swapper. I'm not a huge trophy hunter or anything, but I do kind of enjoy getting them if they're well done. The Swapper has this meaningless list of trophies that apparently could never be figured out without a guide, which I find kind of unfortunate. It's no big deal considering how meaningless trophies are in themselves, but still--a few denoting progress can be fun.

Rogue Legacy

Free on Playstation Plus this month is Rogue Legacy. I played it a bit on my PC, but didn't get that far into it. However, with it being available on Vita, I couldn't help but start it up again and... damn that's possibly the perfect Vita game. You can play it in bite-sized chunks, it's rewarding, it's engaging, and best of all it has automatic cross-save.

I'm continuing to play Rogue Legacy regularly right now. I'm still restricted mostly to the first area, and I'm not exactly sure when I'm "ready" to move to a new area, though I did just venture into the underground area today and managed to farm up enough gold for some upgrades. Anyway, I imagine I'll be playing Rogue Legacy for months to come (years?).

Peggle 2

Because why wouldn't I?

Stealth Inc.

Otherwise known as Stealth Bastard on Steam, I finally played through and finished all of the regular levels in Stealth Inc. on the Vita. I mildly enjoyed this game--it's light fun, and a decent puzzler. I don't feel compelled to S-rank all the levels, though--it's not that compelling. However, I enjoyed it enough to pick up...

Stealth Inc. 2

Now this game I just started recently. It was on a good sale on the Nintendo eShop, so I decided to splurge and go for it after enjoying the first one enough to justify the $10 buy-in.

Stealth Inc. 2 is one of those rare indie sequels that isn't just more of the same--it's actually a far superior take on the gameplay from the original game. Stealth Inc. 2 includes a similar series of "test chambers" as the original, but this time each set involves the use of a novel device that alters the gameplay enough to keep each set very compelling and interesting. It makes each set of "tests" a lot more fun than in the previous game, where they were different mostly in design and enemy type.

The other thing that's great about Stealth Inc. 2 is that outside the test chambers, the game is designed as a Metroidvania-style side-scroller. It has major wings of a huge building where the tests are occurring, and each area is gated by the item in the tests of the previous area. The game also very much has a Portal-inspired feel, with some sort of artificial intelligence or "controller" character who makes snide remarks as you go (similar to but better than the original).

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Stealth Inc. 2 now, and I fully intend to "finish" the game. Again, like its predecessor, I'm not convinced I'll go ahead and try to get S-rank on all the levels. But so far, the game has been well worth it and I'm enjoying it a lot.

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Curtain Call

I've had this one for a while and played it for a few hours before quietly moving on to other things. One of the major reasons is at the time, my wife was very pregnant and could not abide the incessant tapping and the way I'd be mesmerized while playing. I could understand that. However, after recently hearing that there was Chrono Trigger music added to the DLC setlist, I decided to jump back in. What can I say about Curtain Call? It takes the formula from the first game, which I enjoyed, and simply perfects it without really damaging it. Throw in some improved game modes and all-in-all it's a superior game through and through. Anyway, it's one of those titles you can keep coming back to, and I'm sure I'll do just that. For now, though, I'm regularly playing a couple of songs a day.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

The final major game I've been playing lately is from the top of my backlog--Wolfenstein: The New Order. I had heard a lot of good things about this game, and although I'm not generally a huge fan of shooters, I got this one a few months back for $25 and figured I'd give it a shot. I'm still early on in the game, but so far it's a mildly entertaining shooter with good, interesting environments and a surprisingly interesting and robust storyline. I'm not sure yet if I'll finish it. A lot of that depends on how much I enjoy the next couple hours with it. Regardless, I've enjoyed what I've played a bit and I can see why people like it.

I guess, more and more, I've come to realize I'm just not that into shooters in general. The last shooter I was really into was Killzone Shadow Fall, and I truly enjoyed the single player campaign and even more than that, the co-op Intercept mode (basically horde mode) added as DLC (and subsequently a standalone purchase). I only got to play it a few times, but what I did play was fun. Before that I had played Bioshock Infinite, which was one of those games where I powered through because of the story, but really didn't find the shooting to be overly fun.

Oh, I forgot Borderlands Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2. For some reason, those never come to my mind as first person shooters, and I do enjoy them a lot. But I'd say they're exceptions.

Anyway, the bottom line is that while I'm enjoying Wolfenstein quite a bit, I do find myself dreading getting into it each time I start it up, or coming up with excuses to play other things. I guess standard military FPSes stress me out or something (even if they do involve goofball weapons and killing Nazis).

Conclusion

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Anyway, there it is. I'm playing the hell out of a ton of different things. It's no wonder I'm not actually "through" anything lately!

So having been back and forth to Japan a couple dozen times over the years, I have been aware of the popularity of Monster Hunter since it was released on PS2, but somehow I had never tried it until it until Monster Hunter 3 Ulitmate came out for 3DS and Wii U. I dumped about 50 hours of playtime into MH3U and enjoyed it quite a bit. At its core, it's an action RPG consisting of nonstop major boss fights. Every major boss has a suit of armor you can create from parts you harvest by hunting it, and those armor sets have their own features that make them great to use against other particular monsters.

And it's not easy, either--the monsters are all unique and typically gigantic, and the action combat is very meticulous, even fragile. In fact, one of the big complaints I've seen about MonHun (yes, MonHun is the short-hand) games is that the combat is "clunky". But the thing is, that "clunkiness" is completely intentional. You need to learn when to use particular moves so that you aren't leaving yourself open to a big attack--and therefore you also need to learn the moveset of the monster in question. Oh, and there are 14 different weapon types each with its own set of moves consisting of different damage types, different telegraphs, and so forth in Monster Hunter 4 Ulitmate.

For these reasons, I found my time with MH3U to be very rewarding. As I ranked up and started facing more difficult monsters, I felt a real sense of accomplishment from those hunts. That's how I ended up dumping about 50 hours into MH3U. Let's just be clear, though: 50 hours in a Monster Hunter game at this point feels like you have barely scratched the surface.

Last week I got an early access beta code for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and decided to give the new features a spin! I lightly follow the series online, so I knew there were going to be new monsters and new weapon types, but I didn't know everything that was added.

First off, the game has had a graphical upgrade. MH3U was based on Monster Hunter Tri for the Nintendo Wii. You could tell on the 3DS in particular that it was basically a port over. Not to say it was an unattractive game, but the 3D was a little fuzzy and the game visually seemed a little grainy and muddy to me at least. (On the Wii U, on the other hand MH3U is quite a good looking game despite some questionably low-rez textures.) MH4U, on the other hand, is vibrant and seems to be made for the smaller screen. Where I remember having some issues getting the monsters in frame on the 3DS in its predecessor, the monsters seem to fit frame quite well in MH4U. Also, I found the areas in MH4U to be visually more interesting than the ones in 3U (though I only got to try a couple in the demo).

One of the features of MH3U that I found a bit lacking particularly on 3DS was the underwater stuff. Without the Circle Pad Pro, I found moving the camera using the big d-pad on the second screen to be kind of painful. I ended up killing Lagiacrus (a major underwater monster) on Wii U because I just found doing it on 3DS frustrating.

MH4U adds a new vertical mode where you can climb up some larger walls in the areas. In the demo, this didn't seem overly compelling. The major thing it seems to add is a method to launch a new attack type--aerial attacks where you jump on the back of a big monster and can attack it repeatedly while trying to hold on. These were neat because they added a new opportunity to attack that isn't weapon-based (everything else is unique by weapon type as I said above). As a result of adding these, it seems like they've added little ledges to all the zones so that you have ample opportunity to launch those attack types.

I also went out of my way to try the new weapons--the insect glaive and the charge blade.

The insect glaive is another play on the lance, which I'm guessing is one of the more popular weapon types in the game considering they've now based three weapons on it--the standard lance, the gunlance (a favorite of mine from 3U), and now the insect glaive. I enjoyed the insect glaive and think it's an upper-intermediate level weapon sort of the like the gunlance. When you're using it, you send a flying insect that is part of the weapon to draw blood from parts of the monster you're fighting. Depending on where on the monster's body you draw blood from, you get a different perk. One thing that was kind of cool is when I managed to charge the glaive up with all the different "colors" of blood, I ended up being supercharged and hitting really hard with it.

Meanwhile, the charge blade is kind of similar to the switch axe from 3U, but it has a mechanism where you charge it up in a sword-and-shield form, and then convert it to a gigantic electrified axe for a few major (and majorly telegraphed) attacks. The axe mode, when charged, hits exceptionally hard. This one seems more like an expert weapon to me because the two weapons it switches between are dramatically different in playstyle.

Anyway, the demo consisted of three missions to go after one major monster each, ramping up in difficulty from the classic Great Jaggi (the weakest big monster in the game) to the Tetsucabra (a big toad with tusks) and the Gore Magala (a swift dragon-esque flying monster that drops poison clouds). I soundly beat the first two in one try and went down to the Gore Magala after weakening it substantially. I blame my lack of expertise with the charge blade for that (I'm sure I could have killed him with the dual slicers!).

The demo gives you all the combat but none of the crafting or RPG features, which is probably for the better because it would be hard to convey that gameplay with just three big monsters.

I would say that the demo has made me substantially more interested in this game, particularly with the New 3DS coming out alongside it. I say this because the one major thing I disliked about MH3U on the 3DS was the camera control without the Circle Pad Pro, and the new C-stick built into the New 3DS is going to pick up that slack. I'm very interested in how that's going to work out with this game.

That said, the major thing that would keep me from playing MH4U is the fact that, again, I feel I've barely scratched the surface of MH3U. I got through Lagiacrus and a few monsters after that, but I petered out somewhere around Brachydios. Then again, putting 50 hours into a game really is getting a lot out of it, and MH4U does seem to be an improvement in many ways.

Anyway, it was a fun time and it left me wanting more. The demo gives you the tiniest taste, but it does scratch that itch and makes me anxious to try the full game.

Bonus! I have three extra demo codes that I'm giving away right here:

• A06WVQGV1CP6Y9QY
• A070U3XS0DNH4YGS
• A070C0MT10M0J23S

If you use one of these, it'd be really cool if you posted that you used it so other people don't waste their time.