What to Play, What to Play?

I never thought I’d reached a point in my life where I said I had too many games to play.  Between my regular online activity in WoW, Halo 3, Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, and now Street Fighter IV, I have yet to finish BioShock and Half-Life 2.  Plus, reading comics again has got me wanting to play Marvel Ultimate Alliance so bad I can taste it (and it tastes like bacon) and there is always Conan, a game I bought for sentimental value and ended liking quite a bit.

I tell you, it’s like being in an arcade with unlimited quarters: both awesome and intimidating.

Let’s not forget that I like to do other stuff in my free time as well, such as write articles and short stories for (hopeful) publication, read, and listen to music.

I just need to quit my job.  Any rich girls want a husband? 

Ho Ho Ho! Now that Christmas is over, to what will we look forward?

I hope you had the happiest of holidays and enjoyed your time off of work today.  If you did have to work, I hope you managed to find some joy in this day.

I received, as my gifts, the Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 (a match to my brother’s; backyard Gears of War battles have already ensued), a selection of graphic novels (including V for Vendetta, which I had read and donated to our public library–and then regretted doing so), and money which will go towards my new computer next year (which I am building with the help of our system administrator at work).

My little brother received an iPod Touch, which makes me feel like I now NEED an iPhone.  I can’t have my little brother being more hip than I.  He also received some pretty cool games.  I didn’t get any games because I already had all the games I wanted for now.  I did get a GameStop gift card that will go towards a new PC game in the near future.

There is, however, a sense of sadness to this day in that it’s all over with.  Even in adulthood, Christmas is like the climax of the year, the moment you all wait for, and then you open your presents and you put together your toys and it’s all over with.  Now we have to wait a whole ‘nother year for trees and snowmen and toys.  Bummer.

Oh well, the good news is that the first quarter of ‘09 is going to be slow business for gamers, so we can catch up on last year’s hits and save up for the fall.  If it’s anything like this year, I’m thinking of picking up a second job.

Gears of War 2, where did you go wrong?

I loved Gears of War 2.  I really did.  I even fast-talked a friend of mine into impulse buying it.  Now, I’m afraid that it’s just a shadow of its former self.

The last time I tried to play multiplayer, I waited…and waited…and waited…and never got into a group.  This was after the patch that was supposed to fix everything.  Not even Horde mode went live with me, and since this is one of the most popular multiplayer modes EVER, I refuse to believe that it was due to low player population.

Now, I see this crap, and I weep.

Seriously?  I think this glitch would have been easy enough to spot–and fix–in development.

I really don’t know if I ever want to buy another Epic game again.  They’ve just seemed content to count their money and not bother truly fixing the problems that Gears 2 has–which is a shame, because this could have been the best multiplayer experience of the year (yes, even better than Left 4 Dead) if we could actually, you know, PLAY IT.

Not to mention that Mike Capps is calling the whambulance over secondhand sales and rentals.  Must be nice to obscenely loaded.

Shock and offend your Night Elf Druid friends in new and surprising ways.

YEAAAAHHH!!!!

Found this courtesy of Kotaku.  Somebody has been playing too much (or just the right amount) of Gears of War 2.  Called the “Firearm Mounted Anti Zombie Device,” this is the closest thing to a Lancer we’re going to get in real life.  No, the replica doesn’t count.  Not after seeing this thing.

So do I want it?  You bet your sweet sugar bombs I want it.  If there ever was gun that made you want someone to break into your home, to make you sit in your recliner all night, praying that somebody busts through a window, this was the one.  Imagine the epic win of seeing the look on a crook’s face when you threw this in his mug.  You wouldn’t have to issue a verbal threat, you wouldn’t have to fire a warning shot.  You wouldn’t even have to load the thing.  All you would have to do is point.

Of course, it would also come in handy in the event of when the Zombie Apocalypse happens.  Hey Valve, you reading this?  I want this gun added as a Left 4 Dead weapon right now.  I’m willing to drop at least 800 Microsoft points on it, easy.

For the gun enthusiasts out there, that’s an AR-15 assault rifle with a chainsaw attachment.  Commence to modding and please, God please, send me YouTube links.  You can see some videos and pics, including a live fire demo (and a priceless picture of a bearded good ol’ boy fondling one these puppies, “Git-R-Done” hat firmly planted on his head) by clicking here.

Oh, and here’s one of my new favorite pictures:

Yeah…I don’t know about the rest of you all, but when “they” finally invade, I want to be on the same side of the barbed wire as these guys.

Braaaainssss…….

Saturday night I fell ill.  Terribly ill.  Violently ill.  So ill, that I had already decided that, should I find myself craving human flesh and losing the ability to construct complex abstract thoughts, I would spare my family the horror of my turning and take the noble way out before I succumbed to the Solanum virus.

Now I am well again, and I tried out Gears of War 2 Horde mode.  It is, without a doubt, one of the coolest ways to play a game I have ever seen.  One could even base an entire release off of it.  It’s so good, I no longer even have interest in campaign mode (though I’m sure I’ll finish it eventually).  Speaking of campaign mode, co-op is the way to go.  Whether online or off, this game is so full of chest-thumping bravado and hyper-masculine Hell-yeahness that one person can’t handle it all.  You need a friend to which to shout “Did you see that?  DID YOU SEE THAT?”.  You need a friend to which to scream “I’m down!  I need a revive!”.  You need a friend that will help you set up crossfires, provide cover while you roadie run behind barriers for chainsaw kills, and toss grenades at E-holes while you mow down wave after wave of ass-ugly Locust drones.  If you don’t have a friend to play this game with–or you don’t have an X-Box Live Gold account–I can honestly say “screw it.”  This game was meant to played with others.

Speaking of zombies, I am so psyched for Left 4 Dead.  I have played the demo twice and had more fun with it than I had with the full build of some games.  It’s inherently simple in its set-up, but the possibilities for game play are endless with some of the best random generation I’ve ever seen; plus, different gamers with different styles will change the flow of each game–and force you to learn some lessons as well.  A hot-dogging lone gun will learn quickly to keep his head down and his eyes up, while slow-and-steady sniper types will have to adapt to sudden spikes in intensity, but there is still plenty of room for both native styles.  What I like most is that it really feels like I’m playing a game, with rules and limitations and mechanics, as opposed to a simulation, where everything is trying to look and feel and sound real.

Lich King drops tomorrow, and I have to sit out the midnight launch because I will not only be playing Gears 2 but I really don’t want to get sick again–hence I don’t want to be on my feet around a bunch of people tonight.  Tomorrow night, though, I will be hopping on to…do what I’ve been doing the past damn year.  My rogue is about to ding 40 though, so hopefully by the time WoW 2 drops I can roll a Death Knight!  Woot!  I’m getting the expansion now so that I can have a seamless experience into the new content, once I’m able to access it (like I did for Burning Crusade).  Now, I just need to make a commitment and get there.

NOS is the greatest energy drink known to man.

Bawls tastes better by default (no aftertaste), but NOS is that sweet spot of decent flavor and effectiveness that I have been searching for.  How effective is it?  I drank one at midnight last night, had to force myself to sleep at 3:00 (better some than none), and woke up at 7:00 going strong!  Sure, my head hurts a little and my heart is beating funny (it’s supposed to go “boom…boom…boom” but it’s going “boom-boom…boom…boom…boom-boom-boom…….boom”) but hey: no pain no gain!

The Gears of War 2 launch party was awesome, as is the game.  Much improved over the first game, and the Co-Op campaign is total bliss.  I will definitely be trying Horde mode soon.

I also picked up Guitar Hero: World Tour (no instruments, just the game) and my beta key for Left 4 Dead came in my e-mail last night.  So I have a busy weekend.

I wonder exactly how much trouble I’d get in if I called in sick to work tomorrow….