Man, this year has flown by.  I can't say I'm entirely sad to see the back-side of it -- it's been a little more chaotic and stressful than most as various crises at work & home have come up.  Nothing too major, and really by any accounting I have far far more to be thankful for than not.  But nevertheless, I'm hoping for a better 2008.

I do always enjoy this time of year though -- bumming around the house with new games, playing with the boys, and enjoying the crisp Texas winter (which is far more enjoyable than the Boston ones, let me assure you).  Much Rock Band has been played by all, while Xander has been learning to rollerskate around the house, Xavier's been hooked on the Ben 10 videogame, and I've been learning the fly the ultra-tiny RC helicopter that Santa brought us.  Definitely relaxing, but I'm looking forward to getting back to work... I guess that's an occupational hazard of having work that you're generally obsessed with (in a good way!)

Anyways, drive safe if you're going out tonight and Happy New Year!

Whew!  Back from a wonderful (if tiring) week at the beach with Elise & the boys.  It was quite fun to just relax, play some DS, and let my mind wander while listening to the crash of waves. 

As 2007 starts to wind down of course one has to do the traditional "best of" lists... this is almost an impossible task with the quality & quantity of games this year.  But here are my picks (by platform).

PC: Civ 4 Beyond the Sword
(runners up: The Witcher, WoW Burning Crusade, Quake Wars)

PS3: Ratchet & Clank TOD
(runners up: Super Stardust HD, Uncharted)

Wii: Super Mario Galaxy
(runners up: Metroid Prime 3, Mario Party 8)

360: Bioshock
(runners up: Crackdown, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Stuntman: Ignition)

Handheld: Zelda Phantom Hourglass DS
(runners up: Disgaea PSP, Jeanne d'Arc PSP, Picross DS)

Multiplatform: The Orange Box
(runners up: Rock Band, Call of Duty 4)

Anyways, Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you get lots of good loot and have a wonderful time celebrating with your families.

Sick + lots going on at work + holiday chaos = not a lot of posting here.  Sorry it's been a bad month or so for the blog.  It's still something I intend to spend some time on, just lately haven't been able to find the time.  Just the way it goes sometimes, I guess...

It's a really good thing there are no major game releases once we get past Black Friday.  Between Mass Effect, Rock Band, and Mario Galaxy, I'm swamped with AAA gaming.  Of course, it doesn't help that I'm back to raiding in WoW regularly and occasionally leveling up a low-60s Priest alt.

Maybe this dead time will give me a chance to catch up on a few of those games.  I've already got 64 stars in Mario Galaxy, perhaps the shine (ha ha) will wear off before I get all 120.  I'm not really expecting that though... so much goodness!

Of course, the game I still most excited about is GTA IV.  Box art announced!  New trailer on Wednesday!  Definitely a positive change after the GTA IV media blackout of the past few months.