A Green Mushroom

It's time to check in once again on my gaming to-do list.  I've loved this idea ever since a fellow blogger brought it up in the middle of Blaugust this year.  It's a good way to make a plan and keep tabs on the games I intend to play. So, let's check in for the first time since September.  Here's my current list: Fallout 4 - At the time I'm writing this post Fallout 4 isn't out yet, but by the time it's published we should be a couple days into the craziness of Fallout 4 launch.  I hope I like it.  I'm looking forward to exploring the world! [adding to list] StarCraft II Legacy of the Void  - StarCraft II is still my favorite RTS ever and the latest expansion should come out two days before this post goes live.  I'm interested to see how the campaign plays out and I'll probably end up giving online multiplayer another shot too. [adding to list] Star Wars Battlefront  - I played the beta every day this game was available.  I'm so ex...

Earlier in the month I was inspired to make a gaming to-do list because of a great post by Izlain .  Now that we're nearing the end of the month and the end of Blaugust I thought it would be a good time to check in on the status of my list. Here's where we stand: Persona 4 Golden - Still playing and enjoying!  I plan on playing more. Hearthstone - Succeeded in getting to at least rank 20 by the end of the month.  Kept up with the Tavern Brawl's every week for card packs.  Will continue to play for now FFXIV Heavensward - I did daily trial roulettes until they stopped being fun.  Now I have the game on hold until the next content update. [removing from list] KOTOR II - Tried and found it wanting.  Done with this game. [removing from list] Valkyria Chronicles - I got back to the game and have been playing it.  Still not complete.  Will keep playing Dirty Bomb - I tried it and didn't like it. [removing from list] Fire Emblem Awak...

Ever have one of those days where you try a bunch of games in your library and nothing will stick?  You just jump between games for a few hours before giving up on all of them?  That happened to me the other night. I think I'm finished with a couple more Steam games.  These are games from my positive impression pile back when I did my big backlog playtest.  Wolfenstein, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and Saints Row IV are all good games but I can't seem to get them to stick. They're just not games for me at the moment even though I can tell they're good games. I don't think I'm in a big FPS mood, so Wolfenstein was fun for a few play sessions but I have no desire to play it to completion.  It's going in my "Games I'm Done With" Steam folder.  Maybe I'll revisit it in the future if I get a sudden FPS craving... but not anytime soon. Shadowrun: Dragonfall is good too.  It has solid turn based mechanics with a variety of classes and option...

I had a few super busy days in the last week where I didn't get any chance to game.  Non-gaming days are the exception for me since I always try to make a little time in my day to disconnect and play something. One of the few things that keeps me sane on crazy days are all the gaming podcasts I listen to.  I have a bunch I subscribe to and love.  With them always on my phone I know that I'll at least get to rest my mind for a bit while I'm commuting to and from work or meetings. These brief periods of disconnecting from work make a huge difference in my day and my general happiness level.  At this point, I never listen to music in the car anymore since podcasts do such a better job of engaging my brain.  While I love music, if I listen to it while commuting I find that my mind is constantly on work.  If I throw on a podcast, my mind is actively engaged with the discussion on the show. Finding gaming podcasts and listening to them has truly h...

I know we're almost done with January already, but I keep reading articles and posts about most anticipated games of 2015.  And nothing has really released yet this year. This got me thinking.  What's my most anticipated game of 2015?  When I took some time to think about it I was kind of surprised by my answer. Bravely Second! I've obviously been on a Final Fantasy kick lately, and Bravely Default was my favorite game of the last year.  So when I really looked at games targeted to release in 2015 it's Bravely Second that stands out above the rest. I loved Bravely Default's JRPG style brought to us with some updates for the modern era.  If Bravely Second maintains that and evens out the pacing of the story it should be an amazing game.

I'm a runner.  I run for exercise multiple times per week.  At least, I do when it's not winter. This is the first full winter that my family has been in our house.  We live in Minnesota which means that running in the winter isn't a viable option.  There's either too much snow or it's too cold out (-15 F last week) to run outside.  In the past I've had a treadmill while living with my parents, going to college, and living in apartments with my wife.  We don't have room for a treadmill in our townhouse but I decided I needed to do something  to stay active all winter. So I found a stationary bike that doesn't take up much room and can be folded up and put away if needed.  It was ok at first.  Not as good as running but still ok.  It gave me the something  physical I needed even if it wasn't as enjoyable as running. But very quickly I realized I could move the bike over in front of our main TV.  This is the TV with our PS4...

I Played a lot of Games In total I sampled 66 Steam games that have been sitting in my library, unplayed.  The last 22 posts leading up to this one have been my impressions of them.  While it may seem to you, dear reader, like I played them over the course of many weeks the truth is different.  I crammed all these games into the space of one week, between Christmas and New Years. It gave me a great chance to put my new PC through its paces and it finally let me sort through my huge Steam backlog. What did I learn?  Let me tell you... Having a Controller is Key There were so many games that I tried which would be next to impossible to play with only a mouse and keyboard.  There is another big selection of games in my library that can  be played with mouse and keyboard, but are much better with a controller. My go to controller is from my dead Xbox 360.  The console is dead, but the controllers are all in fully functional.  I keep o...

Happy New Year everyone! I know a lot of gaming sites and blogs have been doing top games of the year lists lately.  Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed by many of the games that came out this year.  I had fun with a bunch, but none of them truly wowed me. My top gaming experience of the year is Final Fantasy.  I've been playing through the whole Final Fantasy series and having a blast.  I've had more fun with the Final Fantasy series than any other game or series I've played this year. If I had to pick a top game of the year it would be Bravely Default.  It came out early in the year, but it tied in perfectly with my Final Fantasy games.  Bravely Default is an amazing RPG on 3DS created by the same developer who makes Final Fantasy.  The Final Fantasy lineage definitely shows while playing the game.  I played all the way through to the true ending of the game and loved all my time with it.  I'm super excited for the sequel! I'm hopi...