due to the recent steam sales, my massive backlog has become even larger. If my backlog was a house, we would've just added a second story, and olympic sized swimming pool. I picked up:

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent
• Back to the Future
• Bioshock 2
• Borderlands GoTY Edition
• Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth
• Cryostasis
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
• Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
• Dragon Age Origins Ultimate
• Empire Total War
• Heroes of Might and Magic V
• Hitman: Blood Money
• Just Cause 2
• The Last Remnant
• The Longest Journey+Dreamfall
• Mass Effect 2
• Monkey Island 1&2 Special Edition
• Magicka
• Napoleon: Total War
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum
• Plants vs Zombies
• Portal 2
• Sacrifice
• Sam and Max: Season One
• Civilization V
• Sid Meier's Pirates
• Sid Meier's Railroads
• The Sims 3
• SpaceChem
• Terraria
• Shogun 2
• Two Worlds 2
• Universe Sandbox
• Vampire: Bloodlines
• Dawn of War 2: Retribution

I have no idea when I'm gonna find time to play all these. =P

Hello, my lovelies!

Hope you're all happy and healthy!

I know, its been awhile. My semi weekly blog has become semi monthly, somehow. I really need to work on that. I've been thinking about numbers quite a bit lately, and not just because I've spent way too much on the still-going on steam summer sales. >.>

The number 2 has come up, because its the second week of class for me, the first week was pretty painless, it was mostly introductions and simple read/writing exercise. This week seems a bit more in depth, as it comes with a ten page lecture, and two reading assignments. The main project for the course is a 3,500-4,000 word short story/chapter of a novel. I should probably think about getting that started sometime soon, especially if I want some time for editing.

I've been thinking about the number 5 as well, specifically the 5 in Civilization 5. I played the 4th one (as well as the 3rd, 2nd, and original ones) to death, so when steam had the newest one at 50% off, I couldnt pass it up. I've only played a few hours but I'm already quite impressed with the graphics and the little improvements they've made to the gameplay. Looking forward to getting more time in with it.

I wanted to do an e3 blog (and I suppose I still could, like, who's gonna stop me, right?) But now it seems late, though I could do one of those look back kinda things. I'll definitely try and get back to blogging more regularly though.

---------

Answers from last blog:

1) c

2) d

3) b

P.S Have you guys seen this video ? O.O I dont play Minecraft but that's just wicked.

That's right, my original account's member since date is May 27, 2002.

Which means I've been here a good nine years!

That's longer than you *points* and you..*points* and even you....yes you! *points*

Some of the highlights of my nine year GS span include:

Making this account, May 2005.

Various Off Topic forum posts.

70+ emblems

Became an iPod, err iMod, Dec 2008.

Watching years of e3 coverage.

But the best part of being here for nine years?

Getting to know all of you lovelies!

---------------------------------------------

How well do you know your Alli?

Three simple questions that test your Alli knowledge.

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1) Which forum does Alli post on the most on GS?

a) General Games Discussion

b) System Wars

c) Off Topic

d) Site Enhancements

-----

2) Which forum did Alli post on only one time?

a) XBox360 Forum

b) Nintendo Wii Forum

c) Playstation 3 Forum

d) Ask the Mods

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3) Who was the first user with mod tags that Alli saw on the forums?

a) icytower

b) cell_dweller

c) N3MO

d) duxup

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(We now return you to your regularly scheduled MIA blog.)

I know, I dont typically post about finishing games (which are a rarity for me, anyway) but ACII was kind of unique. I picked it up soon after release, on the 360, after enjoying the first one quite a bit. Well it sat around for a bit before I popped it in and I got a good deal through it and my 360 elite got stolen and with it, all my savegames. So I borrowed it from a friend, after buying a new 360, except he had it on PS3, so I played through a good deal of it, again, and I had just gotten to Venice and he asked for it back so I gave it back and promptly picked it up for 360 again. Well I started it up again and got about halfway and my save file somehow got damaged, so it wouldnt load again, (it read 'damaged save").

Suffice it to say I was less than thrilled with the prospect of starting over again, but I did. After quite a few weeks of periodic off and on playings, I finally watched the credits roll last night. I enjoyed the ending, even though it was a cliffhanger. I now have to pick up Brotherhood at some point, maybe on my next splurging spree.

I have Portal 2 and MK coming in tomorrow, so that should keep me busy for, you know, a couple minutes. >.> Anyone else picking either of these up?

As most of you know, I tend to shy away from multplayer in most games, as its usually way too inaccessible or has a steep learning curve, or just isnt fun. This week, I attempted a couple of multiplayer experiences in order to see if I could find that missing element (or at least layeth the smack down online).

My first game was Top Spin 4. Having finished the career mode, I felt more than ready to take on the online world tour mode. So I start up a match between me vs random male gamer posing as female tennis player (I assume >.>). Well she/he/it, beats me in straight sets, and I mean, it isnt even close, they are running down everything at super speed, hitting balls at 300mph, etc. I dont think Nadal coulda taken this stuff.

So I look online and find that all of the top players are mostly people who have maxed out their offensive scores (you can distribute up to 20 points in offense, defense, or serve and volley), and apparently that may be why my create a gimp serve and volley player couldnt keep up. Apparently there are also cheaters online. But what if I dont want my player to be like everyone else's online?? Sadly, the manual didnt have an answer for me.

Result: Not Fun.

So I loaded up Dead Space 2 and check out the multiplayer options (apparently its one of those get exp for killing stuff and level up, and unlock more stuff kinda deals, like RDR and Bioshock 2). This would be a good system unless you're a noob like me and not an expert fragger, meaning I'll not only level up a lot slower than everyone else, I'll also get killed a lot more. Oh boy, let the fun begin.

My Dead Space 2 experience went something like this:

"Oh look, I can pick a monster to spawn as..thats kinda neat"

*respawn* ...*dead*

*respawn* ...*dead*

*respawn* ...*dead*

"wait, I dont even know how to...* *dead*

"I think I missed the fun part..." *dead*

"Hang on, I'm a human now...least I can shoot things" *shoot* *miss* *dead*

"I dont see the word fun in the manual anywhere..." *flips pages* *dead*

*Scoreboard shows Alli with lowest amount of kills and highest amount of deaths*

*gets kicked from game*

Result: Not fun.

(Tune in next time, when I reveal more embarassing multiplayer moments!)

Hello, my lovelies!

It seems my bi weekly blog has become a bi monthly blog. Oh well. Hope you're all happy and healthy and such. I havent been doing much besides playing a whole lot of Pokemon White. I beat the elite four already, but my pokes arent high enough level to beat them again yet (75-77).

I went game splurging again last week and picked up:

and

As per my usual splurges, once my initial few hours of playing were complete, I lost interest. =p

I do want to get around to DQVI though, maybe when I'm done with Pokemon.

I was never a big fan of my local Gamestop, but now they've become rather annoying. I take DS2 and NFS up to the register and they give me the "we have these used" speech and I say no, thats ok, and dude is like, "dont you want to save a little money"? , etc etc, and I finally give in and take em used, (they didnt even give me a case for Dead Space 2), and at the end of the transaction, he tells me I saved like 20 bucks, smiling like he just gave me CPR and brought me back from the other side. I get home and find that, naturally, the online features wont work, since, of course, someone used the codes for Dead Space and Need For Speed already, being used games, but alas, I can purchase a new online pass for each game for a mere 800 points. How exactly is this saving me money?? At least if I'd bought them new, I'd have the box for Dead Space 2.

GameFly recently sent me the Force Unleashed II, and as the first one has the rare distinction of being a game I'd actually finished, I set about trying this one. Its pretty bad. The story doesnt start well, something about you being a clone of the guy from the first one, cloned on Kamino (the Seattle of planets, in the Star Wars universe), and slowly going insane. The physics are like nonexistant in this one, you can get by hordes of enemies just by force pushing everyone out of the way. I've only done a couple levels and I dont like it at all. I cant see myself finishing it.

So I was on blizzard.com recently, as I usually am near this time of year, because they always have an entertaining April 1st thing going on, on their site. They had a little pet crab thing, much like the word paperclip, who said different funny things for each area of the site you clicked on, was pretty funny. I also noticed they had the 2010 Best Story Contest Winners up there, and I was kinda bummed, cause if I'd known they were doin that, I would have submitted something. (Okay, realisticallly, I probably wouldnt have, but at least it would have been an option, right?)

So, I got a rare text from Mom the other day. For those that dont know, me and mom arent exactly close. I wasnt raised by mom, I was instead raised by a pack of wolves, in the jungles of downtown Los Angeles. We played all the wolf games, like "Whats that smell?", and "Bite That Gentile". (Apparently they were jewish wolves, which I admit I kind of found out after the alpha male tried to eat his own yamaka.)

Anyway, talking to mom is sometimes awkward and weird, and this time was no exception.

Mom: Hello, dear.

Me: Mom?

Mom: are you a twit?

Me: huh?

Mom: are you a tweety?

(suddenly she sounds British.)

Me: are you feeling okay?

Mom: hang on.

(long pause.)

Mom: are you on THE twitter?

(following in the footsteps of THE pope and THE sun, comes THE twitter. )

Me: what? no, I'm not on THE twitter.

Mom: well, goodness why not, everyone is on it. you know. Your brother and sister both use it and they showed me how to use it and this morning I sent my first tweety!

(I didnt even know Mom knew how to turn on a computer. What's next. Mom playing World of Warcraft? O.O)

Me: if everyone jumped off the golden gate bridge, would you want me too as well?

Mom: well of course, dear, just make sure to let everyone else go first, so you have a nice pile to land on.

it's like that old addage, "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, did you really just cut it down?"

Oh and Happy Saturday!

On the gaming front, If you've seen me on 360 lately, you know I've been playing a lot of Borderlands. Actually I was kind of alternating between Dead Space and Borderlands, but...

***spoiler alert ***

I got to the end of chapter 4 in Dead Space and was actually enjoying it quite a bit, and there's this horrid asteroid shooting minigame that I cant pass at all, no matter what I do. Its pretty lame because I just want to get on with the game. My current total is 171 losses. (it doesnt keep a running total, but I do =p). Its kind of annoying because you cant move on with the game until you beat it. If you hsve no idea what Im talking about, the game gives you a cannon and you have to shoot asteroids before they take down the ship, there's some in the middle and on the sides. When I try to shoot the ones on the sides, the middle ones kill me, when I stay in the middle, the side ones kill me. There's no way I can chase down every single one either, I'm not a navy fighter pilot here.

***end spoiler***

(it wouldnt let me use spoiler tags, I dont know why, site has been all glitchy for me lately.)

anyway its rendered the game pretty much unplayable now. So I've been on Borderlands most of the time. At least that's going well. My first attempt at the game when it came out didnt go so well, but this time I'm managing to solo most of it. I'm hoping to finish the main story and go through the DLC at some point,

Hello, my lovelies! Hope you're all having a nice and safe new year!

I find myself getting bored with WoW, which happens usually after a month or two after an expansion hits.

I was at Gamestop the other day and its funny, I couldnt think of a thing to buy. This is the second or so time this has happened in as many months. I felt my head to see if I was coming down with something, you know, like one of those diseases that are always going around, a cold, or the flu, or porphyric hemophilia.

Its really weird, there are games I want to play, however, I'd like to play other games first, so the experience with the games I want to play is more rewarding or complete? Does that make sense?

For example, I'd like to try Dead Space 2, but feel like I should give the first one a run through before I do that. Brotherhood looks fun, but having never finished ACII, I'd like to do that as well. I hear great things about Mass Effect 2, but I'd like to run through the first one again, since its been awhile (plus I'd like a save to export). I didnt even pick up Dragon Quest IX, due to the fact that I wanna play DQV first. I've been having the urge to play some college football but NCAA 11 is still 59.99 new and I didnt wanna shell out that much just for a lil college ball.

I think I need a nice long adventure game, like Castlevania, or something. Heck I'm even tempted to pick up Pokemon SoulSilver again. Anyone have any suggestions?

Clue 1: Van Nguyen
Clue 2: Jody Robinson
Clue 3: Guy Cocker
Clue 4: Matthew Gravish
Clue 5: Chris Watters
Clue 6: Kevin VanOrd
Clue 7: Aaron Sampson
Clue 8: Alex Sassoon Coby
Clue 9: Wernher Goff
Clue 10: Jan Heir
Clue 11: Randolph Ramsay
Clue 12: Andrew Park
Clue 13: Mark Walton
Clue 14: Justin Calvert
Clue 15: Sophia Tong
Clue 16: Kurtis Seid
Clue 17: Giancarlo Varanini
Clue 18: Justin Porter
Clue 19: Ryan McDonald
Clue 20: Tyler Winegarner
Clue 21: Maxwell McGee
Clue 22: James Kozanecki
Clue 23: Frank Adams
Clue 24: Sarju Shah
Clue 25: Shaun McInnis
Clue 26: Ricardo Torres
Clue 27: Tom Magrino
Clue 28: Dan Chiappini
Clue 29: Homer Rabara
Clue 30: Takeshi Hiraoka
Clue 31: Tor Thorsen
Clue 32: Jim Maybury
Clue 33: Carolyn Petit
Clue 34: Tom McShea
Clue 35: Dan Mihoerck
Clue 36: Jane Douglas
Clue 37: Brendan Sinclair
Clue 38: Laura Parker