I haven't anticipated a game so much since the original.

[video=6364908]

This is not supposed to be blank. Fix your embedding, Gamespot.

I've mentioned Good Old Games before. It's a website for everybody, and it appals me that they are not rolling in, or even printing, money at this point. EVERY gamer I know has at least ONE old PC game that he/she cannot forget: space quest, police quest, Planescape Torment, MoM, etc..

These dudes take those old games (some even only 4-5 years old), package them to install and run in WinXP, Vista, or 7, strip away any and all DRM, and give you a crap-ton of extras (artwork, avatars, soundtracks, maps, desktop screens, etc.).

Yesterday, I purchased the two best games of ALL TIME, Baldur's Gate Complete, and Baldur's Gate 2 Complete for $10. They were having a buy one, get one free sale. Icing on the cake: they threw in Temple of Elemental Evil free.

Boo-yah

www.goodoldgames.com

While I enjoyed Stardock's Elemental: War of Magic, I freely admit that it was... well, "rough around the edges" is putting it very politely. The game was nigh-unapproachable for a new player.

While still in beta (version 0.77 as of this writing), Fallen Echantress has already improve everything that I initially complained about in regards to its predecessor: difficult UI, overly-complex game mechanics, and a general intimidation.

Even if I wasn't getting Fallen Enchantress for free (thanks, Stardock), I would already consider paying $40-50 for this.

Well played, Stardock... well played.

Now that my new schedule (new job) has slowly settled, I have had 1-2 hours per week to actually play a game. This is the most action my desktop has seen, other than the obligatory once-a-week update of online games.

Sure, while most gamers are jumping into (and loving) Skyriim, I have just begun to play Oblivion (heavily modded, of course). The mods make the game look so much better, but it's too bad that "Improved Cities" did nothing but give me invisible walls and bright yellow exclamation points on some houses... and to the critics: Yes, I am using Oblivion Mod Manager and Better Oblivion Sorting Software.

Maybe I'll get back into my Xbox 360 sometimes after its successor comes out. The Wii, not so much. It really is just a kid's device to me now.

So, in the past year and a half, I have crashed and burned. Quit a job and career, and begun a new venture in technology. At first, I thought I wouldn't have the skills to make it in this field, but I have recently encountered many people in this business who don't know basic concepts... I think I'll be OK. Random note: interviewed with Riot Games to serve as a practice interview, but did not get the job. It would have meant moving to Santa Monica, which is something I could not do at the moment.

Regarding games, I have done zero writing, zero reviewing, and nearly zero reading. From time to time, I'll drop by the Not-Games forum at 1up to see what kind of an ass Perry has made of himself, but even those visits have been infrequent.

I have not played any console games, though I have been mucking around on my new Kindle Fire lately. Angry Birds is cool, but I'm sure I've already missed the hype wagon there.

Begin random aside to talk about just how great this thing is:

I was in the market for a tablet,having already tried the laptop (too heavy for constant travel)and netbook (not worth the $300-400) routes. My requirements were low weight; easy to view and read; capable of reading and composing email, basic internet browsing, playing casual games, and reading books and magazines; good performance; $250 or less; and android-based. The Kindle Fire nailed all of these.

I am taken aback by the few online reviews I have readcomplainingabout various issues (performance mostly).I think it's telling when one of the major reviews is in response to these criticms and is thuslly titled "Does the Kindle Fire really suck? I think not."While I have experienced the occasional issue of the screen not responding to a tap, those experiences have been very infrequent.

My experience has been really great. The few criticisms that I have are a request for hardware volume buttons, a better power button placement, and the customization ability to configure various main menu settings (such as tying the Video page to my Netflix app). Some of the random bonuses that I was not expecting include one free app (that normally costs at least $.99)per day.

On the gaming front, I began playing PC games after a long time of purchasing but not experiencing. Damn you, Valve, and your STEAM sales. In the past year or so, I have purchased or received the following:

1.) Bionic Commando
2.) Far Cry 2 (came w/ Far Cry)
3.) Red Alert 3
4.) Hellgate: Londong (it lives as a free-to-play!)
5.) Alpha Protocol
6.) Trine
7.) Shadowgrounds
8.) Shadowgrounds Survivor
9.) Frozen Synapse
10.) Trauma
11.) SpaceChem
12.) Rise of Immortals
13.) Titan Quest Gold
14.) Orcs Must Die!
15.) Bulletstorm
16.) Homefront
17.) Dead Island
18.) Magicka
19.) Dead Space 2
20.) Crysis 2
21.) League of Legends

Looking at that list makes me weep. So many great games yet unplayed.

That being said, I have been jumping back into Hellgate: London again. I knew that I would be one of those suckers who would play the free content and then pay to finish the story and unlock the new areas. At least it only cost me about $5-10. Still a great game for hack-n-slash loot-whoring.

Beyond that, I have been following Planetside 2's development like an addict. If you're interested, the various sites for information arePlanetside-Universe(a fan site that regularly communicates with the developers),Planetside 2, andPC Gamer.

Hmmmm...

With the finish of my Master's program, and a severe lack of a job, there just may be some gaming in my future.... maybe.

The Planetside: Next Mosquito

This is my first Saturday off from my second job. While I'm happy for the extra time, it will suck having a lower paycheck.

With my extra time today, I've been able to do a few things. First, I drooled over the latest Planetside: Next released screenshot of the Reaver:

Then, I downloaded the release candidate for Microsoft's Home Server 2011, codenamed "Vail." The installation went smoothly (better than the last build) and now I'm in the process of copying all of my movies and music back on to the server.