Ever had the problem that you wanted to buy a game but couldn't find one since you got too many already? Well, yesterday was a first for me. Just wanted to get a game for no obvious reason. I searched and searched but couldn't find anything to buy. All I could come up with was Blur, Modnation Racers or God of War 3. But also didn't buy one of those since I suck badly at racing games. And didn't buy God of War 3 cause I want some kind of bundle with all 3 of them. I already have the first and second one, but on the PS2. And since they pimped them for the PS3, including trophy's I just need to get the bundle. So yesterday was mainly disappointing. Realizing that most games I want are not out yet and some even not for a long time. Fallout: New Vegas and Fable 3 are the first I'm waiting for but that's more than two weeks from now. Which would mean I need to play games from the "never-ending-list" of games I need to finish or start... sigh. It's obvious to me I still have a big problem.
 
Never the less I got some nice stuff done this week and still got cool stuff to do. I for instance finally after many months got the Vincible achievement. That sure as hell took me too long to get. But luckely another DLC got released which was reason enough for me to pick the game back up. There is a downside to this all. I found out that the patch release which would make it possible to level 8 more level isn't released yet. Which actually doens't make any sense to me. How in the hell can you release the DLC, but don't release the patch that increases the level-cap yet??? That just doens't make sense to me... And I must say I'm pretty disappointed about that. I bought the download but didn't even bother to look at it since it's no use. I would complete the quests and when the patch is available to download I would've lost the XP-gain from those quests. And I know there are two way's around this problem. First, you can play it on your first playtrough. Which would mean you're way overpowered (if your level 61 of course). Since the enemies are not higher than level 40. Making it too darn easy to even be a little fun. The second option is to just not play the DLC at all. Which would miss the point of putting the DLC out there for download. And of course I know that I can start a new game and do it with the low level character. But I can't be bothered with that. So yeah, guess there's nothing else to do but wait for the patch. SIGH!
 
I also got into some Dead Rising 2 which I got few weeks ago. Which was pretty strange to begin with. Normally games get released a little sooner in the US. But this time Dead Rising 2 got released in Europe more than a week earlier than the US. There even weren't any achievements available on xbox.com. At least it's better than what Gearbox is doing with the patch and DLC release. Further on I have to say that the game is fun as ever. It's more of the same with some differences, like being able to build combo-weapons and euhm... well guess that's it. But I don't mind all that much. I loved the first one for what it was and don't mind more of the same with minimal differences. So I guess instead buying new games I should just continue DR2, without a doubt I'll be having hella-fun. 
 
I don't have much more to mention as far it comes to games and playing games. It's been pretty quiet the last few weeks and nothing much happened apart from finishing ODST on legendary (finally) and completing all the mission of Halo Wars (also finally). Meaning there is a lot to do in term of cleaning up the remaining achievements.  Ah well, it's all in a good day's work right? ... euhm, well I at least wish it would be...  Anyway, too all or the one that actually reads this nosense, catch ya next time.

 Many moons ago I got fond of a very populair franchise. And finally today I'll be getting the new release in the series. Of course I'm talking about Halo, what else. I'll probably won't be the only one writing something about that game today.  Since I can't figure a more highly anticipated game this year I thought why not go along with it. 
Unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on the Legendary version but I can't wait for a chance that some1 canceled  or didn't pick up it's pre-order. So I'm going with the Limited Edition, which I'm sure of will satisfy me just as well.  The little statue would be a nice addition to the helm from last game but hey we can't have it all, right? So yeah, very excited for adding my Halo: Reach stats to the Bungie site. Been waiting long enoug for it since the Béta and am ready to go! 
 
Maybe a little history lesson would be in place since I have crap to write about Reach. So yeah, it all started with combat evolved, which I liked but since I only had a PC version I never got into it that much. Not like Halo 2 that is. Without a doubt Halo 2 is my favourite release uptill now and "now" means before I've got my hands on Reach.  I've spend many, many, many, MANY hours playing Halo 2 in competitive fashion while being annoyed by the trashtalk that comes included with the game. I even started playing with the noob-combo before it was called that way.  Ah the good ol' times. 
Halo 3 I liked that's for sure, especially the singleplayer. But for some reason I never got caught in the multiplayer mill, Halo 3 just didn't do what Halo 2 could for me. I have no clue why, it just didn't appeal to me that much. As for ODST I never got further than borrowing it from my nephew and playing a mission or two. Again, there's no obvious reason, the game just didn't do it for me. And of course this doesn't mean I think there bad games. They just weren't the ones for me.
And now I have good faith that Reach will yet again be a jewel in the franchise. Specially after reading all the good reviews and comments. And maybe I'll be that excited that I can't keep my opinion to my self and write some impressions in a later blog, who knows.
 

As my week off comes to an end I thought it would be nice to recap it in a blogo. Not that I got interesting stuff to mention just nice to overview what I've done. Unfortunately I haven't played as much as I wanted, still I worked a little on my "never-ending-still-2-do" list. 
 
I for instance finally finished Starcraft 2. Cheating myself out of an achievement I wanted cause I missed to get a secret mission on "Media Blitz". So that was a little annoying, knowing I would be needing to go over it all again for just that. But yeah, you're an achievement whore or you're not... and let's say I'm sure as hell am one. Speaking about achievements, I also finished up some achievements I wanted on Torchlight. Warming me up for the XBLA-version and Torchlight 2. Another fun fact I heared is that they are working on a multiplayer for Torchlight. If this is really true and if it is when they will implement it I don't know. But one thing I do know is that I wouldn't mind some multiplayer and I rather have it sooner than later. I also bought Dead Rising: Case 0 which made me anxious for the full game. Being a huge fan of the first one I was a little sceptiacal about the second one for a number of reasons. But I have to admit that Case 0 took away all the doubt. Shame it was such a short prelude, btu I guess it's understandable. Further on there's not much more I've finished. Couldn't get far with "The Signal" on Alan Wake. Haven't finished the little last part I've got left to do on Darksiders and still didn't continue or even finish Final Fantasy XIII. Never mind the many other games on the list I didn't even touch this week. Guess I will have to play hard during the upcoming weekends. Cause apart from the above I also got Heavy Rain last week, thus adding another game to the list. And like that wasn't enough I also had the urge to get Shank for some reason. Making the list even longer due to all the frikn Live games I never seem to finish. Ah well, gaming is fun.... right?!
 
The messed up part about not having played much is the fact that many games I really want will be released the next 4 months. Starting with Halo: Reach. Which I hope will appeal to me more than the 3rd one. Which I for some reason didn't play as long and much as I did the 2nd one. Might be the fact I was tired of all the trash talk and nonsense. Never the less I will get it on launch. Than like I already mentioned we got Dead Rising 2 which I will get on launch. Further than that I don't dare to look since I know there's a shitload being released and got nothing else on their mind than creating a big dent in my finances. No pain, no game!

Been a while since I last wrote something on here so guess I might just as well write something now. It's not that I didn't had stuff to write about but just no time to do it. And if I was on here I was busy doing quests. And not having time to write something also means not much time for gaming either. I guess I dropped from playing 5 to 8 hours a day  (some exceptions even more) , depending on what I needed to do. To maybe if I'm lucky about 2 to 3 hours a day. This of course doesn't include the weekends.  

So yeah, got enough money to buy all the games I want, but barely time to play them. If I'm not mistaken I bought about 17 games the last two months. And I must admit it's a little too much. I can't even keep track of where I am or what I'm doing in which game anymore. My memory just can't deal with it all. At the moment I'm mostly busy with Mass Effect 2, Darksiders, Skate 2, Alan Wake, Uncharted 2 and some Xbox Live games. Games that are more or less on the side but still getting played when I'm not touching the previous are; Mass Effect, Street Fighter 4, DBZ: Raging Blast, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and some more Xbox Live games.
And for me it's quit the conundrum since having no job means not being able to buy games and play less since I got less. And on the other hand having a job does indeed mean being able to buy shitload of games but loosing the time to play them. Guess the week off I planned in a month will need to make up for a lot. But knowing the release dates of most games I'm looking forward to doesn't help much. Knowing that the "unfinished game list" won't decrease but increase. 
But don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm complaining about it. Both situations are just very contradictory if you ask me. Money + Games = No Time and Money + Time = No Games. 

There is one thing I can complain about tho. Which is the fact that I didn't receive no code yet for the Alan Wake: The Signal DLC. Having bought the new game I also received a voucher with a code that should let me download the DLC for free. But since I'm a impatient idiot I of course tried to download as soon as I came home with the game. And to my surprise it started downloading, but more on that in a previous blog . Well now after using the code I read somewhere that a replacement code would be send to me when the time was right. And since now the time couldn't be more "right" with the DLC being released and all that I wouldn't mind receiving my code... But euh... nothing... I even searched like crazy to eventually find a message on twitter that the codes are on there way but how much i can thrust that source isn't clear to me yet. It's just f-ed up that I can't play the DLC yet. (Not that I haven't got other things to do or play ;) 

Another last thing I was bummed out about as well was the bug in the "StarCraft-quest". I figured out there was a new quest really early while nobody had completed it yet. So I started like a madman trying to end up in the top 50 at the least. But once I came at the quest where I had to watch 5 Starcraft II related movies it messed things up for me. This wasn't fixed till late next day which made me end well over the 2000th place and not letting me get the 1000 extra XP for it. Just a shame... I like XP... I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe even in between like a snack if I'm hungry. So let's hope there's a new quest coming up soon.

Second week at my new job is almost at an end. And even if it takes away almost all of my gaming time in the week I still wouldn't want to change it. Less gaming means more money in this case, but there's more! For instance I couldn't imagine better conditions to work in and also the fact that I'm working towards something better gives a good feeling. Never the less I do miss playing games in a way. Since even weekends take a good amount of time to rest. And especially if games don't cooperate it's double as annoying. A good example is Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 which I finished for the second time last weekend. Working my way trough the highest difficulty setting with not too much trouble I might add. But eventually upon finishing it I just didn't get what I was going for. No frikn achievement popped! *Big SIGH* And doing everything over again isn't really something I'm looking forward to so guess it's better to just leave it and move on.

"Moving on" in this case means continuing Alan Wake, Final Fantasy 13 and my recent new addition Skate 2. The problem is though that I just can't choose between those games and intend to play all for like an half hour. Which for Final Fantasy or even Alan Wake isn't all that great. Skate 2 on the other hand is a nice game to pick up for a half hour or so. Luckely I've got a long weekend coming up in which I hope to get a little further with some games that are still on the "to-do" list. Ah yeah, almost forgot... I also bought Shadow Complex recently after a 2-month-or-so waiting period in the hope it would get a price deduction. Unfortunately my patience didn't win this battle so I'm playing one of the nicest XLA-games around. And I must say that it's a great, great, GREAT game. I love every part of it and would like to see more of these type of games on XLA. Maybe even a little DLC wouldn't be all to wrong for this game but guess that's nothing but idle hope.

Ah well, all in all I'm still enjoying myself even if it's substantially less than before. I just look at it this way, that I give in a little enjoyment for money. And I can't get sad about can I now...    

Well that's it! I've been playing my thumbs off lately to catch up with the gazillion games I still needed to finish. Not that I'm all done with it but it's at least not a 15+ games list anymore. Last I've been playing a lot of Splinter Cell: Conviction and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Been trying to finish both to the bone with the hardest difficulty nonsense and whatnot. And I admit that both games did deliver a lot of fun and enjoyment. Especially Splinter Cell is a joy to play on co-op, especially now with the DLC that recently got released where I'm stocked about and going to get without a doubt. On the other hand I also got really disappointed with the Marvel Ult. Alliance 2 DLC since I found out that there once was one and now got taken away. It suppose to be a limit-time offer, but I don't buy that squirelcrap. Either Activision didn't want to keep paying for the licenses or Marvel was getting too greedy or the monkey's ass smelled too much like flowers... who cares. Where it comes down to is that there once was DLC with achievements and whatnot and now there's nothing... just lame.
And now what's left of the list is nothing but a Sonic game, finish FF 13, Alan Wake and maybe some last Brutal Legend stuff. So I guess it's that time again to increase that same list. Still been meaning to get Nier, Valkyria Chronicles,  Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Meaning there's no time for me to get bored. Which ones I'll get first I dunno yet but since it's not Diablo III,  Fallout: New Vegas or Halo: Reach it doesn't really matter. But I must say patient is growing thin, Diablo 3 is just getting the Alan Wake-styled waiting periods since I'm waiting YEARS for that one by now. Never the less I still prefer a game that took longer and got better because of it than a game that was a race till the finish and isn't all that enjoyable at all.
All by all patience is a good thing if you want good games and it's not like there's nothing out there to play at the moment...

So I continued playing Alan Wake yesterday and went to check for the redeem code that was included with the game. I already tried checking before but nothing happened and the code didn't seem to be in their databases yet since it wasn't valid. This can be because I got the game 2 days before release so the codes might not have been activated at the time. But to my surprise I noticed 2 DLC's at the DLC-section of the game so thought the code might been redeemable now. And so I went on to redeem the code which I could, downloaded the content even though it wasn't clear what exactly I was downloading. After 500+ Mb passed trough my connection I went to search any sign of the download but couldn't find anything at all. Not in game, on memory or where ever I looked. So now I'm really wondering "what" exactly I downloaded, where to find it, how to play it and if it's not activated yet if my redeem code still is valid. And I must admit I like the approach with the releasing episodes and making it more like a thriller TV-series but the what, how and when is pretty confusing. Hope it becomes all clear in time.

Short, too short is what I can say after finishing SC:C. Enjoyable till the end but kinda leaves you hanging wanting more of the good stuff. Although that the co-op stuff still needs to be done I do wish it had a little bit more content to play trough. Never the less I still will finish the remaining things to do. But my short and simple conclusion after finishing the game is; that it's deserves it's spot in the Splinter Cell franchise, action feels real and fluent, story is elaborate and interesting enough to keep wanting to know more about what's going on and without a doubt an improvement on all other Splinter Cell games. If this is the way they're going with it, I'm game.
Also bought the XLA Magic game. For one because my nephew also bought it a few days ago and I love to play these kind of games with people. And since the online activity from this game is still booming I won't have any trouble finding some components. And I must say I do like what they've done with the game, but the only thing that really bothers me is the menu. I just can't seem to find my way around. For example, there should be an option to play co-op online with your buddies. But how you exactly need to set up the match and invite your friend is still a mystery. Further on it's a pretty solid card game.
And as my last free week approaches I have the urge to game till I drop. Specially with the early hours I'll probably won't be able to play all that much during night time. Which is my all-time favourite time to play games. So yeah I guess I'll have to put up with the reflection of the sun in my television for some time cause much more time to do the thinig I love most isn't going to be available. Then again, I do have a job and do make money to buy more so it's compensated.

As I try hard to thin out the list of games I need to finish I obviously can't withstand a good deal, thus increasing the list with new games. And so I bought Splinter Cell: Conviction for a bargain few days ago. I knew I would get it some day since I'm a fan of the series since the beginning but this fast I didn't expect. Always liked the stealthy gameplay but really love the new more-action-packed approach. For me it still stays true to it's original concept well enough to deserve being called a Splinter Cell game. Although I heard up front that it was pretty short I must say that increasing the difficulty can fix that. Certain parts I had to do over and over to finally find the right and best approach to do that what needed to be done. Which shows how diverse you can handle certain things in the game. If it isn't a silent take-down from behind than maybe a drop-down from above or better yet a throw-down&out the window. And I can safely say it's one of my favourite Splinter Cell's without a doubt even if there's always room for improvement.

Almost forgot, FarCry 2 isn't the only game I've finished recently. Yesterday I was also able to knit an end to Torchlight, well at least the main story that is... And I have to admit that after all this time I still enjoy that game A LOT. What's also very nice of Runic Games is that they've created an editor which let's you create your own content, dungeons, classes and whatnot for the game. And it's not some stripped down or simplified version of the tools they've used creating the game but the real deal. Opening up the game to the many many creative minds and supporting them. This is one move they've made that put them instantly in my book of "Favourite Developers".
As far as the game itself I can't complain. Ok, it has a short feeling to it and not really the deep story you would've expect from an RPG. But Runic clearly stated that this was nothing more than a platform for the next step. Apart from the fact that you actually can make the game as long as you would like with the editor, let alone the many many MANY stand-alone dungeons that they've put into the game even if it has nothing to do with the story. All by all I have to say that this is THE game to play while waiting for Diablo 3, especially if you come to thing that the majority of Runic Games came from Blizzard's Diablo-team. And I have to be honest that it's pretty noticeable when playing Torchlight.