This past August 7-8, 2010, I played one of (in my opinion) the greatest games of all time - Shogun Total War: Warlord Edition again.

I haven't played in a while, but due toa recent PC acquisition I loaded it up and took a trip down memory lane ...

... a lane filled with Total War!

I was a little rusty and lost my first game, but by the second I found my stride.

Didn't end up finishing thatgame (we replaced the computer I was playing on), but I'm looking forward to installing the game again and playing.

With the news that Shogun 2 coming out, it's great to still appreciate and enjoythe original.

On July 24, 2010 I started PuzzleQuest: Galactrix.

I'm still not that far in the game - only level 17 out of 50 - but I've been playing more recently and (gasp) actually started mining!

According to my wife that's the way to go - I hadn't really been doing that much of it previously.

For me, it's been hacking Leap Gates non-stop. The main reason for this is I completed the mission series of finding "The Lost," which gave me all the Psi symbols. You had to cruise around most of the map to do this, so now almost the whole map is open to me.

So now I can skip the battle with any ship - which is a good thing since I'm too weak to take fools out with ease yet.

I'm still in the MRI Blade (my original ship) as well ... definitely looking forward to getting a new ship. I'm savin' up my credits - it'll be just like Christmas!

That's it for now from the hexagon-filled universe...

Back on July 2nd of this year I saw two things that - while I knew they were sweet - proved to be so upon viewing. A friend showed me two things:

First, some game play from Assassin's Creed 2. This series is something I'm excited to play through, so to see it in action is always fun. How did it look? It looked sweet that's how it looked!

Second, a live-action trailer for The Force Unleashed 2. This thing was a min-movie, and with the game coming out very soon I'm hoping it lives up to its potential. If it doesn't ... well ... it's a Star Wars game so I'll probably still like it

Two sequels, and they both looked good.

On June 13th of this year I saw about a level of Splinter Cell: Conviction with my brother-in-law

A little more gritty then I would have liked - I enjoy my Splinter Cell quiet and in the shadows - this was more in your face.

I've been out of the series for a while (my last game was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory), so Sam may have been moving in this direction while I've been away.

Regardless, the sequence I saw was still great and something I may be the one at the controls.

I don't remember where she got the idea, but after breezing through the latest Professor Layton and Puzzle Quest my wife mentioned she might like Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Come to think of it, maybe she got the idea from me - I had heard good things, great reviews, and I'm sure I would have mentioned it at least once. What ever the case, I bought it for her (and me, in the future) on March 26, 2010.

Since that time, she's played the game it a little bit - but it hasn't grabbed her like the others I mentioned above. This is the next step - as I see it - for her in the world of RPGs, so we'll see what happens. And hey, I'm planning on playing it as well!

This ended up being a bigger day for games then I would have thought - that night was at a friend's house and several thingsof comment happened:

• Finally saw Burnout Paradise in action. I've wanted this one for a while; Burnout 3 may have been my favorite racing/destruction/I-can't-believe-the-sense-of-speed-I'm-feeling games of all time
• Final Fantasy XIII - graphics were nice, but I've just never gotten into the series. That's my excuse for not really being impressed. Still, I'm sure if I had played through the series - even a few of them - I would be more qualified to actually say how the game looked I think
• My wife and I remembered the good times of Capture the Flag on Halo: Combat Evolved - she the sniper, I the rocket
• My friend's wife watched him play through Lost Odyssey - I thought this one looked good, and that='s solid proof in my book

A good day.

In the previous post I mentioned how I enjoy how games connect people.

Another example of getting connected - having a friend show me World of Warcraft on June 4, 2010.

We were over at his place with a group of friends, and with the kids everywhere things were getting a little hectic. He had a back den where some of the guys were hanging out, a little quieter where we could talk.

When I say "show me," it's not like I haven't seen clips of the game or know what it is - but this was the first time I had seen someone play it in real-time right in front of me.

What did I think? I think I'm glad I don't have the game - or I would lose too much time to it! Just the scope of the world is amazing to me; I know I would get lost in there.

Still, someday I may be able to play - but for right now I'm happy others are.

On May 31st of this year we went over to a friend's house and between the good food and Catch Phrase, we were able to enjoy some good ol' fashioned Nintendo.

Here's the list of what went on:

• This was the first time I got to play Wii Resort, and the fencing was something to behold - not to mention more of a workout than I anticipated! It was the closest thing I've played so far to a sword simulation, and just the little hint of strategy used (or tried to use) while playing made it fun. That said, I mostly just bashed away. A great time!

• My daughter loved thejogging "game." Shewent to town, running hard in place holding the remote - it was cute. We all played some bowling together as well.

• Played several DS games with my friend's son - he was really looking forward to it, and it was fun. I love the connection games give you to someone, no matter the age

And now, the whirlwind tour of the Sonic Collection ...

March 17, 2010 - Started playing the Collection.

March 28, 2010 - Beat the original Sonic the Hedgehog. I was disappointed; the levels weren't nearly as fun as I would have hoped, and I didn't get the sense that bigger and better things were ahead. (Which, in my opinion, was the case - the Sonic games to follow were great.)

However, I am aware that I'm talking about a nearly twenty year old game; it wasn't terrible, but I feel Sonic's best days were ahead of him.

April 5, 2010 - Beat Sonic the Hedgehog 2; now this is more like it. It was a good trip down memory lane - I can't tell you how many times before supper I yelled up the stairs, "Just a minute!" while I was trying to beat a level. I often had to pause it and come back later.

It was great going through and re-discovering the levels, and the last few (including the airship) were more epic then I remembered.

April 17, 2010 - Beat Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The graphics get a big bump up in this one, and the game is all the better for it. It has a much bigger feel, introduces the Knuckles story arch, and is a blast to play.

????, ??, 2010- I'm not sure what day I beat Sonic & Knuckles, but I flew through it - definitly a sense of "just trying to get done" with the Collection. That's not to say the game isn't great - again, thelevels and music arefantastic.

In light of the fact thatSonic 4 will be coming out next year and isset up as asequel of sorts to these games, it will be interesting to see how it stacks up.

The fact that I can sit down and go through them again shows just how good they were - and still are.

Mario and Sonic - two of the gaming greats.

On March 3rd of this year my brother came over a couple of times and enjoyed the sweetness that is Maro Kart for the DS.

Honestly, I thought I would mop the floor with him - but he's a quick study and in no time had me accusing him of cheating.

On that same day my wife bought me the Sonic Collection for the DS. I had never played the original Sonic the Hedgehog, and the other games in the collection are a good trip down memory lane (not to mention fantastic) - so I was really excited to get it.

Once again, she displays her amazing ability to get me gifts that rock.

It didn't disappoint - but that's for another entry ...

I went to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site thinking I might grab a wallpaper or two, just do a little research on the game.

I don't have a PC able to handle a game like that and probably won't for a long time, but the game still looks cool and I enjoy reading up.

Went to the media section, the latest trailer was called "Hope."

Wow.

If something can emotionally grab you in less than five minutes, you know it's good.

The trailer was awesome - the narration, the action,familiar Star Wars music - it was all there. So many sweet moments packed into such a smallspace ...I've still got the chills.

(As I was watching my wife heard me gasp and came over to check it out. We watched the entire thing from beginning to end - and she gasped at the same place!)

Yep, it's that good.

It is worth getting a new computer for one game? The Star Wars: The Old Republic "Hope" trailer makes me want to say yes.