Poll - Do you want to know a secret?

Psst. Do you want to know a secret? I do. But it's a secret, so I don't know it. Except that I can know it, if I want to take the effort to find out what it is.

Oh, don't look at me like that. I haven't lost my mind. This is my gaming blog so obviously I'm talking about secret achievements. Duh. So here's my latest poll:

Do you like secret achievements in games?

Yes, I love the mystery of 'em
No, I hate not knowing what to play for
You know, I just don't really care
For me, nothing stays a secret for long

Almost there

At the beginning of June I set myself a little mini goal. I wanted to break the 20,000 gamer score barrier by Labor day. I had just under 2,000 points to go in order to hit that mark. It would be doable but I'd have to put in the effort.

My score currently stand sat 19,902. So close, and yet so far. It helped that I finally picked up some multiplayer achievements in Gears of War. I got points for hosting 50 matches, 100 chainsaw kills, and 100 revives. I also picked up a few achievements in Mass Effect and one for starting Lego Star Wars III and finishing the story in Puzzle Quest 2.

On the other hand I can't seem to get any more achievements in Clash of Heroes. I really loved that game and I worked hard to max out all my allies and specialists and finally got that achievement. But since then I can't seem to progress in the story. I'm on the third character (the ghost which I can't remember her name) and I got up to level 3 but now I can't win a battle. Everybody I run into is at least a level 5 and my troops just don't seem to have the defense to stand up to the enemy's attack. I think I've played that game for over an hour without progressing or winning anything. It's rather frustrating so I've stopped playing. I don't think I'll be getting any more achievements out of that game before Labor Day.

Since I've always had one arcade game that I obsess about I'm trying to find a replacement to fill my time. Everything I've tried to play hasn't interested me. While I know I can pick up some achievements in larger disk games, I like having a smaller arcade game to play when I want something quick and not so intense.

I've been working on my pistol and Boomshot kills in Gears so that might get me some points towards my goal, but I don't think I'll get those achievements before Labor Day. I might get them before Gears of War 3 comes out but that's later on in the month so I have more time.

I should also be able to pick up another achievement or two with Mass Effect. I want to finish that game before Gears 3 comes out because I won't be playing much else when I have that game in my hands. I'm pretty close to the end of the game but I don't know if the achievements I might get will be enough to push me over the 20k mark.

So I have a month and a half to get 98 points to reach my goal. You would think that because that number is only 2 digits it would seem absolutely attainable, but it doesn't. It might only be 2 digits but it feels so far away. But I can't wait to break that 20k barrier. I'm really tired of looking at a number one at the beginning of my gamer score. My gamer score was higher than Genghis's when I started his last tour of duty. Now he's up around 60,000 or so and I haven't even broken 20,000. And I also thought I played more video games than Sneaka but he's past the 20k mark and has been for awhile. And I don't want to think of Banco Billy's 200+k gamer score.

Will there be any hope for me to reach my goal? I hope so. I'm a competitive person so as long as I have friends with a higher score than me I'll keep trying and playing games. Maybe by the time I'm 80 years old I can reach the gamer score Banco Billy has today. Until then I'll just be happy trying to get to past 20,000.

Poll Results: What upcoming game are you most excited about?

So here's the results from my latest poll:

What upcoming game are you most excited about?

Gears of War 3 = 4 votes
Modern Warfare 3 = 1 vote
Mass Effect 3 = 1 vote
Elder's Scroll: Skyrim = 3 votes
Batman: Arkham City = 1 vote

I'm both surprised and not surprised by the voting. I'm not surprised that Skyrim got a bunch of votes. I am surprised that MW3 and ME3 didn't get more votes. And I'm surprised that GoW3 got as many votes as it did. Why? I'll tell you.

I have friends that live (and die) for Modern Warfare 2. They won't play anything else besides that. I would have thought the new game would have gotten more votes.

I also know how much critics and fans liked the Batman: Arkham Asylum game and that there's great anticipation for the new one. Several of my friends talk about looking forward to that game so why didn't they vote for it?

I guess I could say the same for Mass Effect. I have friends that have played both previous games several times just to see how changing one thing can impact the game. They can't wait to get in and finish the story and see how their character choices pan out after three games.

As for Gears? Well, I love the game and I can't wait to finish the story. I have several friends (usually the Call of Duty lovers) that have said they're not interested in getting the next Gears. I find that hard to believe, especially with how the voting turned out here. Granted, not all my friends are voting in my poll.

I'm excited if they do get Gears and I look forward to playing with them. The first two Gears games are a couple of the few games I've finished the story on. Since I don't finish games often you might guess that I can't wait for the game to come out. So that's why I voted for it. Of course I will be getting all of those games on the list, I'm just looking forward to the new Gears most of all. I think I'm even going to take some time off work just so I can play the story mode during the day so I can play the multiplayer mode at night.

Now, as for the games NOT on the list . . .

Battlefield 3:
I have several friends who have this game but I only know of one that is really looking forward to this game. While I'd like to play it, it doesn't rank that high up on my "looking forward to" list. Since I know it would only get one vote (if Genghis would ever vote in my poll) I didn't include it.

Halo 4:
I'm a sucker for series. I have all the Halo games (except Halo Wars) and I'll probably get this one too even thought I haven't finished the first one. I just don't like the idea of having the story unfinished. As far as looking forward to it . . . not really. Besides it doesn't come out until next year so I've got time to wait.

BioShock: Infinite:
This is a game that I'm REALLY looking forward to, but it doesn't come out until next year so that is why it wasn't on the list. I read online that this game swept four of the most sought after awards at E3 this year. I've been intrigued ever since I saw the first teaser for it. I can't wait to play it. Maybe my next poll "upcoming" poll will have it, but then again you already know how I'd vote.

Saints Row the Third:
I've heard some good things about this game, but since I've never played the first two and I really don't have any interest in this one, it wasn't on my poll. Sorry Zen (I think you were the one who mentioned it).

So now you all know what games I'll be buying this holiday season . . . and which one I'll most likely be playing. What games are on your wish list and ones that you're looking forward to? Which ones will you pre-order vs. just getting whenever? Leave a comment and let me know.

2 down 10 to go

I finally realized that in my quest to finish 12 games in 12 month that I've actually finished 2 games already.

The first game was Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale. I played it in co-op with Sneaka and Genghis. That was fun. It was nice to have someone else drive and yet still enjoy a hack and slash game. And if you put those two guys together you get one hell of a fun night. They're like peanut butter and jelly, cookies and cream or whipped cream and a hooker. Now, if I can only figure out which one is the whipped cream.

Anyway....

The other game I recently finished is Puzzle Quest 2. FINALLY!!!!!!!! I decided to start that game up when I wasn't really in the mood to play anything at all. I had just walked into a room and there were three battles I had to go through just to get to the door on the other side. Ugh. This is what I hate the most in this game.

When I finally made it through all the battles and stepped into the next room it turns out that it was the final boss. If I had known that I was that close to the end the last time I played it months ago I would have stuck around to finish it.

The final boss was actually two separate battles. The first battle wasn't hard at all. The second battle was a little more difficult but I prevailed (I wish I could say that about the Yeti). Once the battle was over I heard a bleep and an achievement popped up. When I checked it out it was for finishing the game. Kind of anti-climatic since I haven't played for so long I couldn't remember the story at all. At least the game is done and I can cross it off my list, although I still have achievements to get in that game.

Finishing Puzzle Quest 2 was what reminded me that I had previously finished Daggerdale with friends. And that reminded me about my 12 games in 12 months goal. And that reminded me that I was getting close to finishing Mass Effect (I just stole the Normandy if you're familiar with the story). So it's very likely that in a couple of days I can say I've finished 3 games now instead of 2.

Once I finish Mass Effect I'll be looking for another "big" game to play and finish. I'm still undecided at this point because nothing out there is really grabbing my attention. I'm still taking suggestions and I would gladly take any help I can find in games too.

Although I probably won't finish 12 games in 12 months I am working on some games and that should make my friends happy . . . even if those games are older ones. Who knows, maybe I'll take one of these newer games that are coming out this year and sit down and focus on that game. Maybe I could finish it before my friends do. Wishful thinking I know, but I've got 10 more games to plow through so I can dream, can't I?