I’ve been distinctly lacking in inspiration lately. Various things have come up in my personal life that’s made things a bit difficult of late, meaning that I guess my brain just hasn’t really bothered with thinking creatively. So for now, and to show you readers that I do still exist, you can have a fairly predictable games update to see what I’ve been playing lately!

I went on a bit of a points spending spree not long ago, acquiring Peggle, both Fable 2 DLCs, the newest Tomb Raider Underworld DLC: Lara’s Shadow and the Fallout 3 DLC: Broken Steel.

Peggle is horribly addictive just as people warned me. It’s the kind of game that I play for five minutes and then an hour has passed without me even blinking. However, now that I just have the challenges to complete, it is annoyingly tough too! I wouldn’t be surprised if I purchase it on the App Store for my iPhone too despite it being the exact same game.

I’ve purchased Broken Steel for Fallout 3 but I haven’t played it yet. I’m saving it for when I’ve got plenty of time to get absorbed into it. However I did have a brief go of Knothole Island for Fable 2 earlier and it didn’t go as planned. I felt no urge to really play it and ended up playing something else as it just wasn’t interesting me. I found it quite shocking. At launch, I adored Fable 2. It was hugely flawed but I still loved it, more so than Fallout 3 in fact. But this just felt wrong. Maybe it was the extended break, or maybe it was Knothole Island being a bit rubbish. I’m not sure. I will go back to it and figure it out though, hopefully things will improve. I don’t want my fond memories being tarnished by this dull return trip.

I’ve not played Lara’s Shadow for Tomb Raider Underworld yet, been busy completing the game. Underworld was good fun, it was very predictable and essentially the same gameplay that the original Tomb Raider introduced but that’s no bad thing for me. I enjoyed it enough that I think I’ll return to Tomb Raider Legend sometime and possibly pick up Tomb Raider Anniversary too. Underworld has also been quite generous with the achievement points, meaning I’ve nearly reached 81k despite not really playing the game for the points. In fact I’ve lost my achievement whoring urge at the moment. I had both Paintball 2009 and Disney’s Bolt to play for that and I just couldn’t be bothered. Paintball 2009 just wasn’t my kind of thing and I didn’t want to waste my time, and Disney’s Bolt was initially ok but quickly became very dull. I’m sure my achievement whoring days aren’t over forever, but for now there’s just too many good games to play, to bother with average ones.

Unfortunately there are still times where I’m forced to play average games, namely when I’m reviewing them, as is the case with Afro Samurai. The game’s not great. It is stylistically fantastic, however the camera is iffy to say the least and the action is mediocre, your typical hack n slasher. I’ve no doubt that fans of the anime series will like it, however I very much doubt gamers will. Certainly not when there are better games such as Ninja Gaiden 2 or Devil May Cry 4 are available.

On the reviewing front, I’m also busy with Ninja Bee’s Kaloki Adventure for the iPhone which is great fun. The review should be up shortly, along with other iPhone reviews as I haven’t got round to posting them on here yet. I’m also reviewing Grand Ages Rome on the PC, it’s not bad but nor is it particularly special either. Again, expect a review of it over the coming days.

And finally, I’m loving Rock Band 2. I’m so glad I found the Rock Band Band in a Box reduced, it really was worth the initial outlay. It’s just pure and simple good fun. Plus the drums are ideal stress relief! All I can request is I’d love to have more Muse and Killers tracks but I’ll live. Plenty of The Who tracks which is good!

Oh and in case you’ve got to the end of this and you’re still wondering ‘what’s with the pigeon picture?’, I received a new camera today and I’ve been out taking pictures I really liked this one and didn’t know what to use for an image for this entry anyway, so it made sense! If I get a chance, I might set up a gallery or extra category for ‘proper’ photos now that I’m not restricted to my iPhone camera!

Having had a small clearout of games earlier today, I’ve picked out a few games in my collection that I want to concentrate on for a while. Knowing me, I’ll change my mind within the week but you never know, writing it here is good motivation It’s in no way because the games are bad (they’re all pretty good really!), it’s just that my attention span is pretty poor at the best of times. Anyway, on with the list!

Call of Duty 2
I’ve recently got this back after lending it to a friend for a while. It’s one of my favourite 360 games and also one of the first I bought for the system. I started playing it on Veteran back in 2007 and never really progressed very far. It was part down to lack of patience, and mostly down to my crap attention span. However I fancy going back to it so I’m determined I will now. My Dad used to love watching me play it so it makes sense to finally do it on Veteran!

Condemned
I’m roughly halfway through this now so I’d like to get it done. It’s a good game that holds up well despite its age (both it and CoD2 were launch titles at the end of 2006) that deserves my time, especially as I’ve owned it for about 2 years now!

Dead Space
I’ve only owned this a couple of days thanks to trading a few games in. Initial impressions were very good. The graphics are very impressive, the HUD is an interesting concept and I love the audio logs. However now I’ve reached the fourth chapter I’m starting to realise its flaws. It all seems a little repetitive without really mixing anything up. It’s also only made me jump once which is surprising!

Fallout 3
I want to finish off the last of the achievements before Broken Steel. There’s not much left to do but I feel a bit burned out after obsessively playing it the last couple of weeks, so I’m leaving it a little while first. I have points waiting for Broken Steel’s release.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Yes I’m rather behind! Some very good friends of mine got me this at launch last year but my life was a total mess at the time and despite playing it a fair bit back then, it somehow got left behind a little, and I’d really like to return to it now. Plus I might get The Lost and The Damned once I’ve completed the main game.

Tomb Raider Underworld
I recently won a DLC code for Beneath the Ashes thanks to NowGamer, primarily the Twitter feed of one of its journalists. So this seems a perfect excuse to go back to Tomb Raider and try out the DLC and go back to the main story.

So yes, I have plenty to get on with! And that’s even before I mention the rental copy of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars on the Wii, GTA:Chinatown on the DS and my forthcoming copy of Resident Evil 5 that I’m reviewing next!

As well as this, I’m now writing a few reviews for ThePortableGamer. They’re much shorter than what I’m used to writing and it is taking quite a bit of adjustment for me. After writing 1,000-2,000 words per review for nearly two years, it’s a bit of a shock to the system trying to fit everything into 500ish words. Anyway, here’s some more links: Wordology (far too addictive and yet so simple!) and Bookworm (if only it had been Bookworm Adventure rather than regular Bookworm).

A Silent Hill Homecoming review should be forthcoming next week too Seems a little odd to only have the one review to do at the moment!

Anyways, moving away from work. I’ve been rather hooked on Fallout 3 again. It’s hypocritical after my earlier comment about the Oblivion style of RPG but I am enjoying it. I’m still not quite convinced that it deserves some of the near perfect reviews I’ve seen but it is still well worth a purchase if you’re still one of the few people yet to try it! I enjoyed the Operation Anchorage DLC, it made a nice change of pace. In a strange sort of way it reminded me of Goldeneye, I’m still not quite sure why, but it did! Also plenty of exp to be had too. I haven’t played The Pitt yet, I’m waiting till I’m over level 14 (for the sake of the karma achievements) then I’ll go give it a shot.

I’ve also been playing a rental copy of Broken Sword: Director’s Cut on the Wii. I’m still not convinced about the Wii being the console for me. What can I say, I’m a lazy gamer. I like being able to sit back and ’slob out’ on the sofa while I game. I feel like I have to sit to attention for the Wii a bit because of the Wiimote controls. However I’m enjoying Broken Sword. I’m a huge fan of the original on the PC (and Broken Sword 2) so that helps a lot. It does look pretty dated admittedly but I can forgive it. Not sure about some of the new Wii-centric puzzles, one involving opening a safe felt a bit irritating but I think a lot of that was down to the fact that the disc kept jamming (why do people rent games then treat them so appalling? ). I’m intrigued to see what the DS version is like so might see if I can find a cheap copy of that sometime.

Must try the DS version of Chrono Trigger too, and GTA:Chinatown……hmm might need to dust down my DS I think! For once, there are games I want to play for it.

Best sign off now, long drive to Chester in the morning!

Don’t forget you can stalk follow me on Twitter.

For fun, I haven’t really settled on much. Often been too tired to play much for fun. I finished off Fallout 3 with a respectable 700/1100. I will 100% it but I’ll wait till all the DLC is out before I get it again, I might rent it instead this time too but we’ll see. It was a good game after the very slow start, not one of my favourites of all time or anything but certainly kept me entertained. As mentioned, I’ve started playing Silent Hill: Homecoming, initial reactions are that it’s definitely creepy (mainly because the world is so odd, as you’d expect from a Silent Hill game) however the combat so far is absolutely shocking. I hope it improves! Talking of creepy games, after owning it for 18 months, I’ve finally started playing Condemned. I played it initially with a friend and liked it but I’m rubbish with scary games so I never quite had the nerve. But as I fancied a game with a strong storyline, I gave this a shot. I’ve finished Chapter 4 now and absolutely loving it. It’s not even aged very badly which is good going for a launch title.

Anyway, not a long update. I’ve not got much to say admittedly and I’m tired. Giving myself a day off tomorrow as I worked all weekend either the paid sort or the writing sort.

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks on this blog, for which I apologise for. I’ve been quite busy as well as lacking in motivation which isn’t a great combination for this blog, nor for a budding writer such as myself! Writing wise, I’ve just finshed up a review of Codename Panzers Cold War, the white sliced bread of the PC RTS world. It’s my first paid review and my first review to soon be featured on playboy.co.uk so I’m rather happy with that. Pity it was such a mediocre game and so terrible to review. Terrible, not because it was a bad game, but because it felt like there was so little to say. It was a real challenge as it was just so middle of the road, nothing positive or negative stood out! I’ve just finished writing up the review for Lord of the Rings:Conquest which I was rather disappointed with. I generally love a good hack n slasher. Despite their repetive nature, they are my guilty pleasure. However LoTR:Conquest just doesn’t cut it for me, it’s just too slow compared to the likes of Dynasty Warriors amongst many other things. Review will be up here in the next few days as well as a link for Codename Panzers.

Back to gaming for fun, I’ve been busy with a few games.

I finished off Prince of Persia at last. I never did figure out if I enjoyed it or not. I assume I must have as I played it to the end but it had a lot wrong with it. A lot of the time it felt like an on the rails platformer, if such a thing could exist, where I just had to press a, b or y from time to time to progress further. I didn’t particularly like the two main characters, and certainly didn’t like having to stop every few minutes to listen to a conversation that I couldn’t skip. As well as that, the combat was very tedious. Yet I still played it, and I’m still not 100% sure why. I guess it was because it was easy so it was a nice stressfree simple game. So yeah I guess I enjoyed it. Wouldn’t recommend it to anyone though.

Next up in the pile was Sega Mega Drive Collection, otherwise known as a nice walk down memory lane. I know Nintendo never will, but I would kill for a similar collection of Super Nintendo games rather than be restricted to the Wii’s Virtual Console. Anyway, back to the Mega Drive. I’ve enjoyed replaying the various Streets of Rages, especially 3 as I never played that originally. Also enjoyed playing the Sonics again. When I have some time I’m going to play through the Phantasy Stars and Shining Forces as I also missed those when they first came along. I guess that’s the problem with being a kid in those days, I couldn’t afford many games so I missed out on so many classics! I used to love playing The Story of Thor but I never actually owned it. Instead I rented it as often as I could in my local Blockbuster. Of course the problem there was it had a battery back up save system on its cartridge. There were two copies of The Story of Thor in the store so it all depended on if I got the right copy as to whether I could progress much further in my game. Plus on a few occassions some git had deleted or overwritten the save anyhow. As you can guess, I played through the opening stages of the game a lot, and never actually completed it! One day I started it the other day and was surprised how much harder it was than I remember. Maybe I’ve actually got worse at games with age?! That’d suck. It certainly reminded me of how much easier games are now, and so did a few other Mega Drive games. I don’t know what I’d do without a save function now.

I’m finally starting to get into Fallout 3 after erm about 3 months of just not getting into it. I’m about 15hrs in and I’m finally starting to enjoy it. I still don’t think it’ll be in my Top 10 games of all time or anything like that but it’s certainly gone up the list of all games I’ve ever played. I love it sometimes, then sometimes I hate it. It is immensely satisfying to headshot a raider with the very nice VATS system, and then it goes and pisses me off. Usually by my getting lost in a tunnel because it all looks too samey, or when an NPC gets stuck walking to somewhere that I have to follow them to. I have no doubt that I’m probably being excessively critical (there are more irritants, I’ve just managed to have a blank moment and forgotten them all!) and yes it is the definitive first person RPG, but you have to remember: I don’t tend to like Western RPGs, I much prefer JRPGs. I really enjoyed Knights of the Old Republic, but I found Mass Effect disappointing and lacking soul, and Oblivion was alright but not the be all and end all that others found it to be at the time. On the other hand, I loved Enchanted Arms and Eternal Sonata both of which suffered a few mixed reviews. So ultimately, I guess, like everything else, it all comes down to personal opinion! Mind you if everyone accepted that, I’d be out of an aspiring career so don’t listen to me

Finally, I picked up Tomb Raider:Underworld for £10 (after using a voucher from Christmas). Only played the prologue and the start of the first level. First impressions were not as I hoped. I found the first proper level a bit vague and open for my liking. I like being in a Tomb, I don’t want to be in the middle of an ocean. But ah well, I’ll crack on with it when I have the time.

As my final comment tonight, my iPhone is unfortunately a bit unwell and off for repair at the moment. I had no idea how useful I found it to be until now that I’m without it. When I bought it last year I was worried I’d be lured into the ‘ooh shiny gimmicky gadget’ bug, which I had been. However it’s very useful too. The mp3 facilities, the video playback facilities, being able to twitter on the move, facebook on the move, email, wi-fi, train times etc. I miss it. I hope it comes back soon It’s been about 10 days now.

On that note, feel free to add me on Twitter if you like my random musings: JenjeaHaly is the name on there

Game of the Year and Single player gaming experience of the year:Fable 2
I have to admit this first of all. I never played the first Fable much. I bought it at launch and played it a bit but in the end, it just got left by the wayside in favour of so many other games. But when I started hearing bits and pieces about its sequel, I realised I had to have it. In fact, I needed it so much that it was a huge deciding factor in my decision to buy a 360.

Eventually, a mere two years after buying the console, I had the chance to play Fable 2. Was I disappointed? Hell no! Sure it was far from perfect and it was missing a few promised features, such as the much mooted ‘Plant an acorn as a child, come back as an adult to see a fully grown tree’ feature but for me, it was an amazing experience with my only real complaint being that it ended a little too soon for my liking. The game starts out very slow (don’t all RPGs?), but the start still shows off the impressive graphics and made me stop and stare for a few moments. Sure they don’t look photo realistic (and the character models are a bit lacking), but the cinematography is great if you ask me. It makes the opening city, Bowerstone, seem huge when actually it isn’t really.

There are a few simple quests set up to give you a taste of the moral quandaries you’ll be facing in the future once you’ve reached adulthood. Some nice comedic moments abound such as an arrest warrant stating: ‘assault with a weapon we can’t believe could possibly be deadly but unfortunately was’. The sort of thing that makes you smile at the thought put into the writing. The narrator of the game is voiced by Zoe Wannamaker which is nice casting, I’ve also noticed a cameo by James Corden (of Gavin and Stacey fame) and I’m sure I recognise other voices from somewhere too. After childhood has passed, the game opens up much more. It doesn’t open up to the levels of Oblivion but to the sort of level I’m most happy with. This might sound strange but I don’t strictly want an entirely open ended and non linear game, I like the interactive fiction part of games, having a story unfold around me.

It gave me a certain amount of freedom without feeling overwhelming, with often funny consequences (try walking into a city naked, yet another nice touch), but not so much that it detracts from a good narrative structure. In Fable 2 you can do various jobs, buy property and rent it out (and earn money while not actually playing), get married etc. All a bit Sims like, and it is in places, certainly when it comes to keeping your husband or wife happy, but it’s nice to have the option. The game feels full of options even if they’re not quite as open ended as they appear to be. The jobs, such as bartending, blacksmithing and woodcutting, are all a little samey (basic press the button at the right time games) but they’re still strangely addictive. Of course as I said earlier, Fable 2 isn’t perfect. Many people reported game ending bugs and glitches, but somehow I was lucky. Despite playing through it twice from start to finish, not once did I have a problem.

The only downside I could really find in it is it’s just not very challenging, instead it feels like it’s aimed at those who want to simply enjoy the experience rather than those wanting a challenge on their hand. In summary I really can’t recommend Fable 2 enough. It may not be the longest game in the world but it truly is one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had in years, certainly compared to anything else on the Xbox 360. The game is now available for under £20 and with new DLC coming soon, there really is no excuse to not give this game a shot. I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was. I’m really glad it lived up to my expectations as far too many games don’t, most notably Mass Effect last year.

Multiplayer game of the year: Gears of War 2 Horde mode
This is a tricky one for me to award as, at time of writing, I haven’t yet played Call of Duty: World at War online and I’ve only played the single player segments of Left 4 Dead, both games that I suspect rightfully deserve this title. However Gears of War 2 Horde mode is brilliant fun and certainly the most fun I’ve had in multiplayer since Call of Duty 4. It is such a simple concept, 5 players versus an array of enemies in one small enclosed area. Of course this is a concept that Left 4 Dead improves upon hugely but as I’ve not played it with friends yet, it’d be wrong to vote for it.

Original IP of the year:Mirror’s Edge
Such an unique premise for a game and from EA of all places! I didn’t really pay much attention to this until friends started playing it and raving about it. I still wasn’t too sure but rented it from work as I figured, I might as well while it was free. I only had it for a night but instantly loved it. Much like Left 4 Dead and Gears 2 Horde, it was a simple concept that I couldn’t help but marvel that no one had thought of it before, but it worked so well. Then of course, I was extremely fortunate that Nokkonwud got me it for Christmas so now I can play it to my heart’s delight! If you’ve not played it and you love the concept of freerunning, you need to get this.

Story of the Year:Lost Odyssey
The only game to make me cry this year. The Thousand Years of Dreams segments were always touching and really evoked such emotions that I’m sure non game players would be astonished by.

Biggest Letdown of the Year:Spiderman: Web of Shadows
I haven’t really been let down by a game this year so it was a bit tricky to decide. It was between Sonic Chronicles and Spiderman: Web of Shadows. When I was sent Sonic Chronicles to review, I was really looking forward to trying it as I figured Bioware + Sonic must equal excellent. It was just too kiddy and basic, seems like a terrible waste of a game. However Spiderman was such a waste. The first half of the game was brilliant fun and Treyarch completely blew it for the second half I didn’t actually have high expectations of this till I played the first half and if the whole game had been like it, it would have been in my top 10 games of the year. Instead, it became merely average and deeply flawed. I’ve still yet to complete it.

Surprise of the Year:Fifa 09/Quantum of Solace
Joint winners here as I couldn’t decide between the two. Fifa 09 might seem an odd choice to some but I haven’t played a football game in a couple of years. The last ones were Pro Evo 6 and Fifa 07 and Pro Evo ruled entirely but was a little limited in options. I didn’t really pay attention to the 08 varieties. So when I heard such good reviews about Fifa 09, I risked it as Tesco had it quite cheap. Really glad I did. It is great fun and feels like the full package to me. I especially love the Be a Pro mode, something I’ve wanted for years in a football game! Really glad I bought it.
Quantum of Solace was the first Bond game since Goldeneye that was actually good fun to play, so it deserves to win something. It’s unfortunate that it arrived in between so many huge games such as Gears 2, CoD:WaW and Fallout 3 because it really did deserve more attention. At only around £20 if you look around, it really is worth a go.

Game or gaming innovation you’re most excited about for 2009: Apple iPhone
This might seem an odd one too, but have you seen some of the games on offer? Sim City, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid Touch, Guitar Hero Rock Tour along with many attractive independent releases such as Rolando and Doctor Awesome. Mark my words, 2009 could be a big one for the iPhone. I’ll write more at a later date as I’m currently writing up an article on this for play.tm

Stay tuned for the Personal Review of the Year!

Two new reviews are up in the review section. Lord of The Rings Online: Mines of Moria and Scene It? Box Office Smash. Enjoy. I’ve got Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe coming soon to review, otherwise not sure what after that but I’m sure I’ll be busy again soon enough!

As you can see from my gamercard, I’ve finally hit 70k! Might even manage 71k by the end of the year, but I doubt it. Certainly pretty close though. This time next year 100k? Certainly achieveable. On a gaming note, I still can’t decide with Fallout 3. I’ve played it a lot more and I am wanting to play it but I’m not craving it. It still just feels alright to me. I love the VATS system but some other parts of combat feel irritating to me and clunky. I guess I’m just the exception, as I don’t know anyone else who hasn’t been impressed by it. I was the same with Oblivion, so maybe it’s just that I don’t get on with the game engine. Who knows! Still, I’ll press on and get it completed. The story’s not bad, it’s just not provoked much emotion from me, certainly not compared to the likes of Lost Odyssey. I’d probably give Fallout 3 7/10 which funnily enough is the same score that Edge gave it so at least I’m not entirely alone!

I’m saving my main gaming rambles for the end of the year round up so onto the personal stuff. My elbow is much improved, it’s still a bit lumpy and sore at times but well on the road to recovery. I’ve got an appointment about it on Wednesday but I’m hoping I can cancel it. In not so good news, the puppy (named Charlie in the end) didn’t work out Despite being great with people, he went ballistic at the cat and attacked him, so we just couldn’t keep him. Luckily for ‘Charlie’ he now has a good home with an RSPCA Inspector’s family so I’m sure the two kids there are keeping him very entertained!

Despite the build up to Christmas being incredibly difficult, the actual day went pretty well. The first roast dinner me and my Mum have ever made without my Dad (so 24 years worth) went well and was very nice and we managed to eat it too. My Mum loved the presents I got her (2 of which were PS2 games, I’ve created a monster!) and I was very fortunate for presents too. I received Prince of Persia and PGR4 from her, as well as a few books, a Frankie Boyle DVD, Mock the Week DVD, the new X-Files movie DVD, Family Guy Season 7 and some new trainers (which I desperately needed as the sole’s worn down on my old pair!). As well as that, my good friend Nokkonwud bought me Mirror’s Edge which was a brilliant surprise Really enjoyable game too, certainly unique both in terms of graphics and control system. Not going to be the longest game in the world but with enough replay value to it thanks to the time trial system and achievements. Thanks again Nokkon, really very kind of you

I’ve also been given some money to spend, as well as have plans to sell some old games so expect me to have even more games sooner or later! Probably Left 4 Dead at least, and possibly CoD5.

And finally……I’ve upgraded to Wordpress 2.7 (doubt anyone can tell the difference! Think it was all behind the scenes) and I’ve also applied Lightbox to some of the pictures. As an example, click on the Quantum of Solace Faceplate below and see what I mean. I’ll be using that more in the future so I can have thumbnails leading to the full image without you having to click away. Clever eh?

By this time next week, there’ll probably be another one too. It’s been a very busy time. I’ve got The Last Remnant, Scene It: Box Office Smash and Lord of The Rings Online: Mines of Moria to review at the moment. Although I’ve not had a chance to start The Last Remnant yet, I need to get on with it as soon as possible so that will be mostly done by next week. Looking forward to playing Scene It, I loved the first one. I’m still not keen on the reviews layout so when I get a chance, I’ll have to sort that out somehow.

Anyway it’s been a tricky week for my personal life. I suspect December on the whole is going to be rough. I’ve also managed to damage my elbow somehow which is nice, not. I’m not sure how exactly, I think maybe it’s from when I fell down some stairs a couple of weeks ago. At the time I thought I was ok despite banging my elbow. But since last Thursday, I’ve had a big painful lump on the side of my elbow. According to the doctor it’s slightly infected and to come back in a week if it hadn’t healed by itself. It hasn’t so I think I’ll be off to the doctor again soon Makes using my left arm a bit awkward at times as I can’t lift it very high without pain and it’s hot and painful on the whole really. Bloody irritating!

With my relatively limited gaming time (I’ve also been working quite a few evenings lately), I’ve played a fair bit of Gears of War 2 Horde with friends which has been a great laugh and some excellent stress relief I’ve had a few rentals arrive, namely BF: Bad Company and Madden 09. Madden is purely for point whoring which is a bit slower than normal as I can never figure out American Football games very well :p BF: Bad Company seems pretty good but I’ve sent it back as I think I’d rather buy it cheap at a later date. I’m trying to whore a fair amount of points at the moment as the AV Forums Xmas Challenge has kicked off and I’d like to do quite respectably. Therefore I’ve bought some cheap games thanks to actually having some spare money for once. From work I bought Just Cause, Saint’s Row, Blitz The League, Stranglehold and PES2008 for £25. No easy, quick 1ks but hopefully enough points to help me along the way. I’d certainly like to reach 70k by the end of the year. I’ve also bought Space Chimps for £7.99 as I figure if I hit it hard, I should be able to sell it for the same sort of price quickly enough. Also just rented Crash of the Titans and Conan from work for the week.

I’m still trying to get into Fallout 3, but I just can’t I’ll keep perservering but it’s not looking good for me! Guess I could always whore points from it if I get desperate and I still can’t get into it.

Anyway, no huge update. Not really got anything exciting to say so apologises for the emo bloggyness of this post

Got quite a few bits and pieces to discuss games wise. Been burying myself in them a bit while trying to not think about stuff. First up, I reached the devil’s number in gamerscore!

Then promptly wrecked it by getting my score back to ending in 0 or 5, much better! I’m hoping to increase my score quite a bit in the next month or so as I’ve signed up for a 30 day challenge with some people off AV Forums. It can go towards my aim to hit 100k sometime next year I can dream!

After discovering a nice trade in trick I bought Quantum of Solace in HMV for £18. For those of you who don’t know: currently Blockbuster are doing Grand Theft Auto 4 pre-owned in their 2 for £18 range. While HMV are paying £18 trade in for each copy of GTA4, so I bought 2 copies of it in Blockbuster then traded them in at HMV for £36 and bought Quantum of Solace. Not bad at all! If there were more new releases out that I wanted, I’d do it again but I’ve got pretty much everything I want for now.

The Bond game has grown on me a lot, the Casino Royale levels (which make up for the bulk of it despite the game’s name) are particularly enjoyable especially the level where Bond is poisoned and has to go to his car for the antidote. The only segment in a game that has ever made me feel slightly woozy. I’ll be playing this on a harder difficulty in the coming days as admittedly it’s far from challenging on New Recruit difficulty.

Thanks to the NXE, I bought myself a new 60gb HD meaning I can install plenty of games. The 360 is now so quiet that at first it almost made me think there was something wrong with my 360! So far I’ve got QoS, Fallout 3 (which I’ve still hardly played, oops), Gears 2 and Spiderman: Web of Shadows installed and still got 22gb free. I’ve finished Gears 2 on normal difficulty with Daz now, was good fun. The ending was a huge anti climax though. I’ll be going through it again now to get the collectibles, it’s nice that the war journal explains which chapter has the missing collectibles. Makes it a lot simpler to do. Then I’ll be playing it through on insane with someone at some point.

Spiderman: Web of Shadows is still really enjoyable although I have got stuck on one bit which I need to go back to. Review will be within the week. For now though, I recommend it, a surprisingly good game although sadly somewhat flawed, always the way with Treyarch games. Ignore me, end of the second act is ****ing irritating. Treyarch blew it