Has March already came and gone? I guess I lost track of time when I thought it would be a bright idea to play two RPGs at once and those two RPGs happen to be made from the same developer. I'm pretty sure Bioware can name a yacht after me with how much content I purchase from them each year. Can't say I've ever really been disappointed by them though.

Dragon Age 2 was released at the beginning of the month and was met with mixed reviews because Bioware changed the way the game was played from the more traditional RPG way. Dragon Age: Origins kept to that route allowing players a more pause and play, methodical way of playing while Dragon Age 2 went for the more action oriented combat. This turned a lot of players off because there was a hefty fan base that came to love the combat in Origins but for me personally I liked the change. I should say I do enjoy the traditional RPG way of playing that I get from games like Neverwinter Nights 2 but how it was changed in Dragon Age 2 I believe was for the best. Besidescomparatively speaking on Origins and 2 I've put in a lot of hours into the game and I still don't think I'm near the end but I'm sure that's because I'm a side quest whore, must...do...everything...The companions in this sequel are much more interesting and sometimes I find it hard to choose who I want in my party just going off on how cool someone is. One thing that can be tiring is that for quests you end up going back and forth to places you've already been multiple times, it fits the story of you trying to make a name for yourself in Kirkwall but it can still feel repetitive.

If you've been following with my previous monthly updates you'll know that I lost my Mass Effect save files a couple months back and after finally completing Mass Effect 1 I was able to move on from that and on to Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 2 is one of my all time favorite games and I had no problem replaying it again to get my save back and ready for Mass Effect 3 later this year. If you still haven't played these games yet I strongly suggest it.

Aside from those two games the Nintendo 3DS also came out and I've been playing that quite a bit with Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars. I know much of April will be filled with much more 3DS especially when there are more titles released for it like Ocarina of Time or Mario Kart. For now though I'm sucked into the realm of Bioware RPGs and I'm also thinking of getting intoThe Witcherone of these days. Why must it be the RPGs that pull me in to suck my life away?

February wasn't such a big month for me where I usually switch between a good number of games but rather I was just focusing on a couple games which made for one great relaxing month nonetheless.

I started out the month with my friend playing Resident Evil 5 cooperatively. I enjoyed it immensely and frankly can't imagine playing it with an AI teammate, it would seem pretty frustrating to me so my advice, if you haven't played this one, is to find a good friend to play it with you first. We've actually been working on the game for awhile now but at the beginning of the month we finally just sat down and put an end to it. Now i suppose it's time to get that infinite RPG. Any game where you can replay with the same weapon upgrades and unlocks makes the replay value high and the second playthrough much more exciting.

Bulletstorm came out later in the month, a game I have been waiting for for awhile now mainly because it brings a breath of something new to the shooter genre and it did well. I've been playing Bulletstorm for quite a bit now, going through the game and being rewarded by NOT doing the usual: shoot here, shoot there, run, shoot that guy is excellent. Having the ability to get skillshots by pulling off tricks to take down your enemy is rewarding, I highly recommend it for someone looking for something new.

I am also still on my quest to restoring my Mass Effect saves before Mass Effect 3 comes out but I also told myself I'd get all the achievements so it's taking much longer than anticipated but the games are amazing nonetheless. I have a feeling next month is going to be full of a lot of Dragon Age 2 and perhaps the Nintendo 3DS.What did you play in February?

I played the 360 version of the demo and I was just wondering if anyone has tried the PC version yet? I wanted to know how the faster combat style translated to the mouse and keyboard. To save my self from downloading the 2GB demo again feedback is appreciated.

If you saw the oodles of games I played and beat in 2010 I can tell you right now that that number is going to dwindle in 2011. Why? Now that I've stomped through a lot of the games I wanted to I can now go back and enjoy some more out of them, get the DLCs, the achievements and get back on that multiplayer. At the beginning of January it was all DLC time for me.

I finally got some time to play the Alan Wake DLC The Signal and I had a good time with it. Since it starts off from the cliffhanger ending of the main game it was interesting to see where it went and I thought it was pretty creepy yet interesting. Now I got to play The Writer DLC. The other DLC I played which was more like a full game in itself was Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare.

Going into the game I really did not think this much was packed into one DLC. Hunting Bigfoot, capturing the four horses of the apolcalypse, zombie animals, and best of all, a lot of exploding zombie brains. Much like the original game I still want to go back to get that 100% completion because I still have yet to find the Chupacabra that I hear is in the game and there's still one more horse of the apocalypse I need to find. Oh yeah, there's also a Unicorn you can unlock. If you haven't bought it yet, do it now.

The other game I played extensively throughout January is Mass Effect. It definitely wasn't intended because my saves got deleted when I reformatted my computer. WHOOPS! Oh well, at least I enjoy the game and replaying them just makes me even more excited for the third installment.

January was a fun month, I'm enjoying the slower pace of gaming and just replaying some older titles. I'll play the new games eventually, believe me, I'm itching for Dead Space 2 but right now I have Geth to repel and Unicorns to capture.

Lesson 1: When reformatting your computer remember where ALL your saves are and that not all of your games are attached to Steam. I lost my Mass Effect 1 and 2 save files.....

Good thing I like that game so replaying them won't be TOO bad.

The last month of the year I really turned up the heat to try and catch up on the last few games I wanted to. The month began with finally beating Alan Wake which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I still want to play through it again, get all the collectibles and play through the DLC. Definitely a very trippy and dark game and it had me jump a few times when the game uses the darkness and sense of feeling alone well, especially when you're in the forested areas. One thing that can be annoying or kind of funny is all the product placement around the game and how random it can be but I suppose if you think about it, advertising is everywhere in real life. Go pick it up and play it if you haven't already!

While playing Alan Wake I was switching back and forth from my Xbox to my Wii and playing Goldeneye 007. It's a great game that reinvents Goldeneye that we all grew up to love on the N64. I definitely recommend playing with a c.lassic controller or the Gamecube controller because pointing at the screen to play is near impossible. The controls for the controller play is great and the ability to use stealth take downs let any Bond fan be more stealthy than guns blazing at all times. I don't know what to think about the singleplayer in the sense of the story because I thought it would follow the movie a little more like the N64 version. It follows it well in some areas but in others there's a couple differences that may make you double take, think back to the movie and say, "I don't remember that..." but if you look at it as a whole new game and not trying to be a remake it's an enjoyable game. Of course the multiplayer doesn't disappoint either. The ability to play split screen with your friends or online with a level up system definitely makes it a very enjoyable experience with high replay value.

Thanks to the Gamestop holiday, "buy two get one free" deal I got Gears of War 1 and 2 since I never got around to them andResident Evil 5. I was able to beat Gears 1 and 2 pretty quickly playing cooperatively with a friend and now I'm ready for 3 finally. At the end of the year my last rental was Call of Duty Black Ops. I started off playing more multiplayer than singleplayer and I really like the changes that were made that I think vastly improve the experience over Modern Warfare 2. The singleplayer was pretty interesting as well and had a good twist at the end that really threw me off, I was pretty impressed.

So now that I think I've played through a lot of games that I wanted I can go back and replay some games and DLCs like Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption and even get back to some Borderlands with the claptrap DLC. Good year for gaming!

I got the idea from Patrick Klepek when he posted the games he beat in 2009 on G4 and I thought I would do the same for 2010. This year was a year of catching up on games I didn't get a chance to play through in 2009. I counted DLC's that had story to the list like Borderlands DLC, Left 4 Dead DLC and Fallout DLC. It was a good year and I think I'm just about caught up on games so I can go back and play some again.

January:

Section 8

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

February:

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor

Left 4 Dead 2

Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

March:

Borderlands: Max Moxxi's Underdome Riot

Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

April:

Fallout 3: Point Lookout

Assassin's Creed II

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction

May:

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta

Dragon Age: Origins

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing

June:

Bioshock

Mass Effect 2

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X

July:

Alien Swarm

Castle Crashers

Super Laser Racer

August:

LIMBO

Halo Wars

Mass Effect 2: Overlord

Dragon Age: Origins Leliana's Song

Dragon Age: Origins Awakening

Bioshock 2

September:

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker

Halo: Reach

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty

October:

Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice

Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition

November:

Dead Space

Zombie Driver

Red Dead Redemption

Medal of Honor

December:

Goldeneye 007

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Alan Wake

Gears of War

Gears of War 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops

A little late, I know, but my website was down where I post this for a couple days so I couldn't do the copy/paste.

It's time to get down to business. Games were coming out at a rapid place and I still wanted to catch up on a few titles in the past that I never got around to so I did what I used to back in the N64 days: rent games like crazy. A few actually turned into a buy, a good addition to my collection.

I started out the month fresh off Halloween with the scariest game I've played to date; Dead Space. Although it is a little short the atmosphere of the game and the crazy aliens/mutations you encounter make you jump out of your seat (I did anyway) especially if you play with the lights out. I like the idea of being able to playthrough the game again with your upgraded equipment and weapons, keeps the replay value high and keeps achievement whores, like me, satisfied and now I'm ready for Dead Space 2.

The next game on the rent list was Medal of Honor. I thought Dead Space was a little short but Medal of Honor topped that list. I think I finished it in a week, maybe less. The campaign was excellent, I really liked the story and the characters but it just ended very suddenly. I didn't get much into the multiplayer but with that and the Tier One mode it has some replay value but it wasn't anything really up my alley, I was happy enough to try it out.

The month ended with two more rents that I still have yet to make it through: Goldeneye 007 and Alan Wake. With Goldeneye I was finally able to dust off the Wii after taking a hiatus from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and now it's quite obsessive. I think it's great that it's not a straight remake, the levels have been reworked and the controls work great, if you play with the c.lassic controller that is. Playing Wii-mote and nunchuck s.tyle has always been a little difficult with it's history of first person shooters on the console.

Current games I played in between all the renting include finally beating Red Dead Redemption, starting Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and capitalizing on some Steam deals with the Deus Ex Collection. On top of that what kind of fan would I be without mentioning Halo Reach in the mix once again? Well, the Noble Map Pack came out at the end of the month so it's time to get my skills up in the online world. November was a big month of me catching up on past and current titles but I still have a lot left on the plate to keep me satisfied through the cold month of December. What did you play in November? Catch up on past titles?

October has came and went but don't worry I'm not going to drool over Halo: Reach as much as I did in September. I still played a lot ofReachthanks to daily and weekly challenges but mid month I started to slow the Halo intake and hopped onto a nice little arcade game: Super Meat Boy.

Super Meat Boy is very addictive and fun but it's also pretty damn difficult. It isn't too often anymore that games this difficult come around, I describe them as being, "Water Temple hard" or, "Mega Man hard," this gives the average gamer an idea how hard this game really is. I'll continue my struggle yet very rewarding quest to beat this game through the light world and dark worldandcollecting everything there is to collect.

Mid October was also met with games here and there like Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice, Zombie Driver, Alan Wake, StarCraft 2, Minecraft and Super Mario Galaxy 2. All great games that I want to play a little bit more next month for sure. I've really taken a liking to Minecraft especially. The survival mode is awesome and when it finally hits multiplayer it's going to be a blast. It's a very creative game that I've sunk hours of play on, throw some zombies and skeletons in there that only come out at night and the game is golden.

The month ended with me finally purchasing Red Dead Redemption. With the couple days I've played it so far I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this game for a very long time. Saving a guy out in the wilderness from a pack of coyotes, herding cattle, and passing by a town to see someone getting dragged away on a rope by local gang members, I knew I was in for one hell of a story packed with enough side missions to keep this cowboy happy.

October was full of a multitude of games here and there and it's what I like to call, "good ol' fashioned gaming." Next month I sense will be full of more Red Dead and perhaps some Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, let's hope that game does not disappoint. My friend is also trying to mold me into a good StarCraft 2 player, in the meantime, which I think is pretty impossible, so far I'm 0-5, is there anything lower than the bronze league?

What did you get wrapped in this month? Did you stick with one game or were you all over the place like I was this month?

September was awesome, as most are, with the beginning of all the Fall/Winter great game releases. Starting off the month I quickly downloaded the Mass Effect 2 DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker as soon as it was released. As always I was not disappointed by Bioware. I wanted to get into the Dragon Age: Origins DLC as well, Witch Hunt, but I've heard some iffy things about it, not living up to the hype, so I might hold off on it. Anyone play it and would recommend it?

A week and a half before Halo: Reach was released my friend got me a great gift: StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty. We both knew Reach would consume our lives for awhile but we still managed to squeeze some StarCraft 2 in and it's an outstanding game. The campaign missions surprised me the most, so diverse and challenging, I have to remind myself I'm playing an RTS and not an RPG sometimes. Though I'm definitely not ready to play in the leagues yet and get ranked I still have a lot of fun playing against A.I. opponents and even some Nexus Wars.

That week and a half went by quick and the wait was finally over for Halo: Reach. For the rest of September I had a hard time removing the disc from my 360 console. Everything I must have hoped for was delivered, I must have spent an hour customizing my Spartan before getting into the Campaign. I needed to have him just right for the long road ahead of almost endless Covenant. The story is very grim and as the game progresses you really start to realize you can't beat back the invasion on the planet Reach. Bungie did an outstanding job getting this emotion across to the players. Aside from an awesome campaign Halo has always been known for it's exceptional multiplayer. Exceptional it is and with daily and weekly challenges to complete it's hard to stop playing Reach and keep earning credits to put towards more Spartan armor pieces.

As October rounds the bend I would like to play my Wii a little more and catch up on some titles like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and I would still like to complete Paper Mario. For the time being though I'm going to keep enjoying Reach as much as possible, it's truly hard to put down. Was your September consumed by Halo: Reach as well?