Poll results - Do you like to host games?

Okay, I was reminded last night I haven't posted in a month which means I MISSED ALL OF JUNE! Oh no. So here's something to tide you over until I actually have the brain power to create something new. Hopefully it won't take another month to do that.

Here's the results from the last poll:

Do you like to host games?

I host so I can play what I want to play = 0 votes
I host because everybody else is too lazy = 1 vote
My connection is too shoddy to host = 2 votes
I would host but nobody wants to play with me = 3 votes
I need that "host advantage" = 1 vote
I would but someone always beats me to it = 0 votes

I'm a little surprised the first choice didn't get at least one vote. I thought for sure that Evil would vote for that one. And what does he like to play? Why, Team Deathmatch of course. And nothing but Team Deathmatch will do. At least it seems that way.

As for being lazy. Well . . . it has been a month since I last posted. Unfortunately I don't host because everybody else is too lazy. Heck, I'm too lazy to host. I do think Mad Max did a lot of our hosting during Gears matches because everyone else was too lazy to host. Personally, I keep forgetting to check to see if I'm host before matches start in Gears. I guess I really don't host that much.

I do have a couple of friends who's connection is so hit or miss that I wouldn't want to be in a match with them as host. I'm not going to name names *cough* Weasell *cough*, *cough* G Sneaka *cough* but you know who you are. It's not that they're bad people it's just that for one reason or another their connection doesn't preform at optimal output (which says nothing about how they preform as individuals *wink wink*). For some it might be location. For others it just might be the shitty Internet provider that they're stuck with. Unfortunately those individuals usually have problems connecting to everyone else, no matter who is hosting.

As for "nobody wants to play with me"? That's not true. I'll play with anyone on my friends list at any time. If I've got the game and I haven't committed to playing with someone else (I'm on a first-come-first-serve basis) then I'm up for it. Even if it's something that doesn't interest me. Like Team Deathmatch. Every night. Over and over again. And again. (Subtle, don't you think?) I play for the friendships and camaraderie that I have with people online. I also play games to win, have fun and explore new worlds. I like playing with people. And I like playing with people I like. And I like playing with people I like who like me in return. Okay, my head is spinning now. If I've got the game and you want to play with me send me an invite. And that includes Arcade games too.

Well, the "host advantage" is what I voted for. For some games it's more prominent than others. I don't care. I want it. I'm not the best player out there. I would consider myself just below mediocre. My kill/death ratio in Modern Warfare 2 is 0.65 and in Gears it's 0.5 or 0.6. Not much of a help to the team, am I? If there is a way that I could get a little edge in a match I would take it. Unfortunately I don't like the responsibility of being host. If I don't catch if I'm host in Gears my teammates tell me I'm fired. And as for Team Deathmatch games? I don't want to select them at all, but I have some friends that won't play anything but that. If I want to play with them I HAVE to play Team Deathmatch. I just bite the bullet (in more ways than one) and play. I guess that's an argument for the "I host to play want I want" option. But I rarely host so it's not a problem for me.

I'm also really surprised no one voted for the last option. I know I have a couple of friends out there who would love to host to get that "host advantage" and to make the connection smoother for them. Evil hates the slight lag he gets when c5 hosts. c5 loathes the lag he gets when Evil hosts. And I'm not a good middle man between those two because of my proximity to Evil (just ask him and he'll tell you). Personally I liked it when Mad Max hosted every night. 1) nobody had lag issues because someone else was hosting (at least none that I heard), 2) I don't have the responsibility of being in charge and 3) I could always count on him to freshen things up and the game play was getting stale, and one more thing: 4) most of my friends seems to be in the same state as Mad Max so their connections seemed to get along better with each other. I could say the same thing about Sand Dog hosting but he hasn't been online in weeks. Man, I miss that Dog.

So that's it. I don't host (or would rather not) because I don't want the responsibility of trying to run things and make everyone happy. And if you want to play anything and I've got the game I'm in. Don't hesitate to ask. If I'm busy with someone else I'll let you know and we'll set up a designated time to play what you want. Then I'll be all yours baby, to do as you please . . . and hopefully it will please me too. Just don't insist on me being host.

Oh the dilemma

I have a dilemma this weekend. There's double experience points in Modern Warfare 2 but triple experience points in Gears of War 2. MW2 has brought out all the campers, snipers and glitchers. GoW2 we're just rusty on. What should we ever do?

How about a (couple of) quickie(s)

So here's some quickies for you for your "afternoon delight".

1) Yes, I do know the difference between laying prone on the ground and bleeding out while playing Call of Duty: World at War. Sometimes when you go down a friend will get you up right away and with hell hounds charging at you you just might flinch and push the prone button before you even notice anything. Can you blame a girl for being a little skittish around the dogs?

2) My super powers have been discovered and labeled. Now I've just got to design a super power cape to wear when I activate my powers. What would those powers be? Have you ever heard me say "just one more map"? Well, it actually works. It takes superhuman strength to resist my dulcet tones when I ask someone to stick around for another map. You don't believe me? Well, we'll just have to play something tonight then won't we.

3) DAIN IS BACK! Yes, my long-lost-World-of-Warcraft brother has returned to the Xbox Live fold. How? Well, I bought another 360 when I had to send my elite back for repairs. Once my elite came back I gave him my spare 360 to borrow and play on. Now both of my brothers have one of my spare 360 consoles. Hopefully I'll never have to buy another console again. (Yeah right, like that's going to happen.)

4) I'm finally getting my games organized again. It's nice when you can find the game you want to play without too much trouble. And even nicer when you actually own that game again too. I haven't replaced all of my games but I'm slowly getting there.

5) Genghis Khan hasn't dropped off the face of the planet. That's always nice to hear.

6) Zenra hasn't dropped off the face of the planet. That's also always nice to hear too.

7) There is no number seven. Move along.

8) There are new maps coming for Modern Warfare 2. YEAH! Although I still think we can freshen things up by playing other game modes instead of Deathmatch all the time, but then again I rarely host.

Those are some quickies for you. Enjoy your day.

Little Bunny Snipers

I had an interesting time the other day playing Special Ops with Evil Ric in Modern Warfare 2. We were playing the sniper mission where you have to cross a lot of grass land. The best way I can sum up the experience is in a song. Sung to the tune of Little Bunny Foo-Foo (if you have kids you should know it).

"Little bunny Evil Ric
hopping through the grassland
sighting out the snipers
and shooting 'em in the head"

And that's exactly what happened.

Poll Results - One week to live/gaming story

Busy, busy, busy. Here's are the poll results:

If you have one week to live what game would you play for the story?

Modern Warfare 2 = 1 vote
Borderlands = 0 votes
Gears of War 2 = 1 vote
BioShock 2 = 2 votes
Batman Arkham Asylum = 2 votes
Mass Effect = 1 vote

I don't think I've ever seen the poll have such a wide spread before. Some of the results are surprising to me. Let's take it game by game.

Modern Warfare 2
I love playing the multiplayer stuff (although all my group will play is Team Deathmatch, can't we try something else every now and then?) and I haven't gotten very far in the story (hiding out on a snowy mountain tarmac). But usually these types of games are made for the online multiplayer content than a story line. The story line in almost any shooter game is just to give the player an objective when they start shooting. "Kill this guy". "Survive and make it to the rendezvous spot". That kind of stuff. I don't really pay too much attention to those "stories" which might be why I'm having a hard time making it across the snowy mountain without being seen.

Borderlands
With how much my friends have played this game and how excited they get when new content comes out I'm very surprised that didn't get any votes at all. I thought for sure it would get several. I think this is also a game that friends who don't care about gamerscore and achievements are playing this game and working really hard to actually get all the achievements in the game. The first couple of missions I accepted I really didn't read the description. You want me to do a job for ya? Okay, where do I need to go and what do I need to do? I really wasn't in it for the "why" of what I was doing. Is there an overall story to Borderlands? I don't know. Eventually I'll find out . . . I hope.

Gears of War 2
The story in the first Gears was great. Maybe not Pulitzer prize winning but I was engaged and wanted to know what was happening. I always felt the firefights in Gears were part of the story and not THE story, if you know what I mean. So I voted for Gears 2. If I only had a week to live I would want to know what happens next in that world. I want to know more about Marcus's father. How Dom reacts to losing Maria. And whether or not there are more Carmine siblings to join the war. I'm intrigued and I don't think I'd want to die without knowing.

BioShock 2
If I didn't vote for Gears I might have voted for BioShock 2. I say might because I loved the first game and was happy how it ended. On the other hand I love the world of Rapture and would love to have one more chance to explore it again. My only concern would be that some Big Daddy or Big Momma would jump out at me and then my week would be cut short.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
I mentioned I was very surprised that Borderlands didn't get any votes, but I'm even more surprised that Batman got 2 votes. Why? A lot of people said this was a good game but it's more about the game play than the story. They say there's not much story there to begin with. So why two votes people? I don't know what it is about this game but there are so many moves and commands that I can't keep them all straight. I'm doing the same button combinations in combat and I have to pull up the help menu to figure out how to grapple to things. I had to search for awhile before I could find a strategy guide for this game (since I'm late to the party) and this is the first game in a long time where I felt I HAD to have the guide while I played. I'm not so sure that's a good thing for this game based on how I'm playing.

Mass Effect
I am also a little surprised that this game didn't get more votes. I'm surprised that you didn't consider how many times you could play this story (I haven't finished, I'm trying to drive up a mountain in a vehicle, peak 15 I think) or have sex. Yes, there is sex in this game. And the sequel (which wasn't a poll option because I haven't finished the first one yet). And with the amount of time my friends have talked about how to have sex, who to have sex with, and the actual act of having sex you would think they've never had sex before (despite having children of their own). I've always heard great things about the story for this game. Was the reason that some of you didn't vote for it was because the game came out so long ago that you can't remember? I know some of you went back and replayed it prior to the sequel coming out. Are you going to do the same thing when the third one comes out?

So you might be wondering why I asked this poll. Well, it's all a mute point now but I started this poll a week before Final Fantasy XIII came out. I figured that once I have that game I wouldn't want to play anything else. If you check my games played history you'll see that I haven't actually play FF13 yet. Why? I got so caught up in the excitement that I didn't want to put the game in and be disappointed. I wanted to let some time pass, cool down, and then play the game (also because I keep playing MW2 with my friends online). So that "week to live" has actually turned turned into a couple more. Eventually I want to start it, but I have so many other games (all of those listed and many more) that I'm in the middle of (and hoping to finish) that I wonder if starting a new game a wise thing to do?

I either need to spend more time playing video games and less time working, eating, sleep, etc. or I need to spend less time playing with my friends and more time by myself. And I don't see either one of those things happening any time soon.

New Poll - One week to live...what story do you play?

Here's my new poll.

You have 1 week to live. What game do you play for the story?

Modern Warfare 2
Borderlands
Gears of War 2
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Bioshock 2
Mass Effect

Okay, the doc tells you that you have less than one week to live. You only have time to play one video game before "game over" becomes permanent. Of those choices listed what game do you play FOR THE STORY! Yes, I know you like the multiplayer options on a couple of those games, but do you really want to spend the last week of your life listening to those idiots on Xbox Live? And what's the point of ranking up or moving up the leaderboards if someone is going to replace you once you kick the bucket? And yes, there's a reason why Mass Effect 2 isn't listed (as well as Assassin's Creed 1 or 2) but I'll get into that when the poll results are posted.

Poll Results - Rock Band or Guitar Hero?

Here are the poll results:

What musical game should I get?

Rock Band = 3 votes
Guitar Hero = 3 votes

Okay, I kind of cheated here. I don't really have a preference, hence the poll, so I waited until the very end and voted for Rock Band just to tie it up. Maybe I'll get both games. Here's the pros and cons for both games, as I see it.

Let's start with Guitar Hero. Every time I think about this game or look at the song selections I see heavy metal. Metalica and the likes. I've never really been a heavy metal fan. Occasionally I'll like the cross-over hit but that's about it. There are A LOT of songs for this game that I haven't even heard of. And if that's the chase how am I'm going to "play" them?

On the pro side there are A LOT of songs to choose from. And I believe Linkin Park has some songs for the offering. And I LOVE Linkin Park. I don't think I could play every song I was familiar with (or have the Microsoft Points to buy them all). This franchise will be around for a long time so there could be many years of entertainment if I decided to go with Guitar Hero.

Now let's look at Rock Band. I love the fact that there are multiple instruments to play with. If I got bored of the guitar I could play the bass . . . or the drums . . . or sing. That really appeals to me especially when I get frustrated with something it would be nice to have something else to play for awhile (like playing a couple of rounds of Headquarters instead of Team Deathmatch all the time *hint hint*). I have/had the game Lips so I've already got a singing game but I like the song selections better for Rock Band, vocally, than what's available for Lips.

The downside is the song catalogue is not as vast as Guitar Hero and I don't think they have any Linkin Park songs. Bummer. I'm sure that song list will grow but whereas Guitar Hero seems more "metal" in it's choices Rock Band seems more "happening" (meaning songs popular right now) and I don't listen to the radio too much. And when I do it's usually talk radio on my way home from work. Yeah, I know I'm getting old.

If either one of these games made a Styx, Genesis, Rick Springfield, Howard Jones, or Monkees stand alone game (like they did for Aerosmith and The Beatles) I think that just might seal the deal which one I go for. Having said that, I guess I just revealed where my musical tastes are . . . back in the 80's. You got a problem with that buster?

The key to any great relationship is . . .

The key to any great relationship is . . . communication. Or so I'm told. And finally last night I saw some communication while playing video games.

We had a full team of 6 players for Team Deathmatch in Modern Warfare 2 when a couple more friends jumped online. Normally there are several people who would rather stick needles in their eyes than play a Domination match but last night they bit the bullet, stayed in the group and we got a full team of 9 players for Ground War. That's when the fun began.

I don't have any problem playing Domination. I like having an objective and a purpose to all that running around and killing (or in my case, dying). It gives me an area to concentrate on. A place to defend and wait for the enemy to show up in. It gives me determination to take a particularly difficult flag from the enemy. I'm kind of stubborn like that. Tell me it can't be done and I'll show you how to do it. But not all my friends feel that way.

There were a lot of moaning and groaning when the first Domination match started. And we feel behind rather quickly. But we persevered and eventually won the match . . . once we all started talking to each other. And I don't mean the "soap on a rope" talk that usually prevails with my friends (not that I'm complaining). We finally started to communicate enemy positions, our strategies and team goals. Once we got to the point where we knew where everyone (enemy and friendly) were going we had a handle on the situation and we never lost a Domination match that whole night. Team Deathmatch matches were another story.

When the map options showed Team Deathmatch we reverted back to our individual play styles and the communication dropped off. People were off on their own looking for the enemy wherever they wanted to go with no regards for what the rest of the team was doing. If we had a bit more of a game plan for those Deathmatch games we might have won a few more of them. And we also wonder and complain when the other teams travels in packs or small groups where we kill the first guy we see only to be gunned down by his buddy. Jeez.

I think we all realized our communication style was changing when we started to point out the things we use to say. Like "you bastard" (when spoken towards the enemy) which meant the enemy was coming at us from behind. Or "they're over here" which meant we didn't have a clue where the enemy was. Especially when the person who just died couldn't define where "here" actually was. And "they're coming across" means they were doing a center, direct line assault on our position. Or "I can't find anyone" meant we were being flanked. It all seemed so funny when we realized we were talking to our teammates, but we weren't really saying anything to them. Kind of like an old married couple, I guess.

Maybe this one night of insights into how we communicate will change things going forward. Maybe we won't be a rag tag bunch of "lone wolf" types who do their own things but a more cohesive group of killing machines. We worked together when we played Gears of War so there's hope for us working together now. Or maybe we'll just start some marriage counseling. So tell me . . . how does that make you feel? I'm listening.

Poll Results - Best game of 2009

Okay, either my polls suck or you guys have gotten bored reading my blog. Either way I lose. Here are the (pathetic) results from the last poll:

What was the best game of 2009?

Assassin's Creed 2 = 2 votes
Halo 3:ODST = 0 votes
Modern Warfare 2 = 1 vote
Left 4 Dead 2 = 0 votes
Dragon Age Origin = 0 votes
Borderlands = 0 votes
New Super Mario Bros. Wii = 0 votes
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 = 0 votes

Maybe the reason why some of you didn't vote was because of the economy and you couldn't afford to get some of the latest games. Maybe you just don't care anymore about what the latest/greatest game is. Or, like I said, maybe I'm getting boring in my old age.

I was just getting into Dragon Age when I was robbed so I don't know if the rest of the game is just as exciting as the first part. And while I owned (past tense, another victim of the robbery) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 I hadn't played it yet (because I hadn't finished the first game). I played the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 and realized that it would be nearly impossible to play single player. That's a game best played with friends. Borderlands is a cool game but I haven't come across anything in the game that says "Whoa! this is unlike anything I've seen before". Maybe that's just me. I'd love to play Halo 3:ODST but I didn't have the money to buy it when it came out AND I wouldn't play it until I had played the earlier games AND those earlier games got stolen so I just don't see the point of buying it now to see what it's like. And seriously Nintendo? How many times are you going to "port" your original Mario Bros. game and call it "super" or "new" or both? As for Modern Warfare 2 it's got some problems.

I hate the fact that you can't jump into your friends party lobby. No can do. You've got to wait for an invite if you want to play with friends. And if your friend is already in the middle of a match you've got to send him a message saying you want in. If he stops to read it he might get killed. And do you want that on your conscience? And what happens if your party jumps out of a pre-game lobby to pick up a friend only to find out they want to play something else? Do you know how many "easy" rooms we've left only to find ourselves in those rooms where nothing goes right and everybody on the other team is glitching?

So that leaves Assassin's Creed 2. And that's the one I voted for. Even though I haven't played it (haven't finished the first game - another robbery victim). So how can I know it's the best game of 2009 if I haven't played it? I've read a lot about this game. And I've listened to what my friends have been saying. It's the game that the first one promised to be. It's the game that changes how you move and play through a game. It's also the game that opens up the game industry to approach their games differently than a standard hack-n-slash or FPS. Much like what BioShock did when it came out. And since I love BioShock why wouldn't I love Assassin's Creed 2 even if I haven't played it?

American Idol duets?

American Idol is back on the TV again. When it first started I watched the show. And just like everyone else I found the terrible auditions too grossly fascinating to turn away from. Even Simon Cowell's retorts were entertaining. But that gets old rather fast. There just so much of a train wreck you can watch before it doesn't effect you any more. And besides, they make everyone sing as a solo artist.

What about those people that are already in a band but want to try out? Ditch the band. They don't want them. Why not an American Idol duets show? There have been lots of musical duos and trios through out history. Simon and Garfunkel, Hall & Oats, Captain and Tennille, Sony and Cher and don't forget c5ride and El Sand Dog. What you haven't heard of them?

As far as I know they've only had one very limited performance and I was lucky enough to be in attendance. Allow me to set the scene.

We were infiltrating (or was that defending?) the Sub Base in Modern Warfare 2. c5ride took exception to some of the opposing teams performances and proceeded to voice his frustrations so loudly that I think Russia put their finger to the button until they figured out what was going on. Once all negative emotions were purged from his system c5ride got really quiet. That usually means he's going to jump out as soon as the game is over, whether the rest of the party does or not. In the silence that followed Sand Dog yelled for one of us on the team to turn around. That's not unusual, but what followed was.

Very softly, in a quiet but controlled voice, with just the right amount of emotional angst, we heard someone sing "every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming around". Someone picked up on the line and said "Turn around" again. At which point we heard "Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes". By then Sand Dog picked up on it and kept repeating "turn around" to which the rest of the time we would hear another verse.

It took me a while before I realized that it was c5ride singing the verses to Total Eclipse of the Heart. It just seemed so unlike him. But his quiet voice with Sand Dog's deep part made a perfect performance in my ears. Of course I laughed so hard that I died three times in a row, which didn't help our cause (a losing one, by the way) at all. After c5ride's eruption something like this was so far from what I expected. I mean, who knew he had it in him? I laughed so hard I thought I was going to hyperventilate. If it's possible to have an enjoyable loss this would be a perfect example.

It's also one of those memories that has been cemented in my brain and will stay there until the day I die. I might even be on my death bed and a grieving family member might innocently tell me to "turn around" from the light. The smile that will grace my lips won't be because of the peace and love that white light might bring, but this single memory of c5ride and Sand Dog's one night only performance. And if that's the case, than my last memory would be a very happy one.

So if American Idol ever does decide to have a duets competition I'd willing to contribute funds or services to get c5ride and Sand Dog back together for an audition. I know they'd do well. And I'm sure their performance wouldn't be the train wrecks we've all come to enjoy. But then again, maybe their sound is an acquired taste. Either way I'd buy one of their albums. I wonder what song they'll sing tonight. And do they take requests? I can't wait to find out.

Poll Results - Befriending based on gamer pic/avatar

Better late than never, right? Here's the latest poll results and (what you've all been waiting for) my opinion.

Have you ever befriended someone based on their gamer picture or avatar?

Yes, their gamer picture was hot = 0 votes
Yes, their avatar was hot = 0 votes
Yes, their gamer picture AND avatar were hot = 0 votes
No, I don't like making friends = 8 votes

With my system crapping out around the time of this poll I can't remember if I voted or not. If I did I would have/did vote for "No, I don't like making friends". And based on how everyone else voted it's kind of amazing that any of us have people on our friends list.

Here's how the poll started.

I was messing around with my avatar trying to find something I liked. I went into the game based extras that you can get to trick out your avatar. Nothing really excited me (except for the lightsaber, but I'm too cheap). I had a small odd amount of points to use so I bought a corset from Fable II. Then I started building an outfit and an avatar around that. I wasn't happy with the results but I left things alone for a couple of days to think about it.

In those couple of days you wouldn't believe the number of friends request I got from total strangers. It seemed that every match I played (no matter what game) someone would send me a message about my avatar or send a friend request. Some I deleted right out. Some I gave a chance too. And some have since been deleted. But it got me thinking.

I remember when our friends list was limited to, I think, 99 people. I had a friend who I have played with since the old Star Wars Battlefront days that didn't have room on his list to add me once I got my 360. He had to delete someone to make room. In the original Xbox, and prior to Party chat on the Xbox 360, you would be stuck in a room listening to everyone who was playing on your team. Sometimes that was good. Some times that was down right horrible. But despite that, I picked up a few friends along the way.

Not having the ability to restrict who I talked to like we can in a Party Chat I got to know MadMax, c5ride, Fbody, cyberWRAT, and a number of other people who are now on my friends list. Since we started to have the ability to use Party Chat I haven't been able to listen, talk to, or get to know anyone I'm playing with outside of my chat circle. Since then my friends list has remained pretty much static. Until I changed my avatar.

Thus the idea for my poll was born.

If we're not talking and getting to know someone via their game play, how else are we making friends? Maybe it's their gamertag (see the "hot chick" posts I did awhile ago). Maybe it's their gamer picture. Maybe it's their avatar. Apparently, based on this poll, nobody likes to make friends.

It's not that I'm not happy with the friends I've already got. You all keep me very entertained on a nightly basis. But sometimes a girl would like a friend who will finish an old game (like Gears of War) on insane mode because she can't do it alone. But, NOOOOOO, that friend is going to trade that game in to get Modern Warfare 2. Come on! My friendship can't be traded in for the latest game out there.

Or maybe a girl just wants a friend to kick back with and play a little arcade game every now and then. Gauntlet is sooooo much better when played with friends. And there's so many arcade games to choose from. I'm just saying.

But if any of you are wondering if your avatar is hot enough to get someone's attention, my dog, Zoe, really likes to jump up to the screen and stare at cyberWRAT, Genghis Khan, MasvHdWndHarry, and Zenra Nukenin's avatars. She hasn't seen Zenra's Halloween wolf yet so maybe she'd change her vote if she did.

Choices of the poor house

I remember a time when I could buy any game I wanted. Sometimes that could mean 3 or 4 a month. Money was no object. Time was the only problem. I never seemed to have as much as I wanted to play video games. Now it seems both are in short order.

Ever since I started saving up to buy a house I've taken a closer look at the money I spent on video games. That doesn't mean I curtailed what I did spend . . . it just means I looked more closely at the game and my desires and THEN bought it. There might have been one two I didn't buy, at least right away, instead I waited for the price to come down to a more reasonable level of what I thought the game was worth.

Since I bought my house, and wiped out my saving to do so, my video game purchases have almost dried up completely. I've still bought a game or two here and there by making the sacrifice to my food budget. Or relying on lower electric bills in the winter time. But now that summer is here and my electric bill has doubled in recent months my gaming budget is running in the red. Or at least it would be if I bought everything I wanted to get.

First I couldn't decide between buying Ghostbusters or Red Faction: Guerrilla and then I heard about Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Now I only had money for one game but there was three of them to buy. I went into research mode and started asking my friends their impressions of the game, read reviews, watched trailers, etc. If I could only afford one (and even that was a stretch) I was going to make sure it was the right one. After a couple of months I finally narrowed my choice down to Sacred 2. But by then I heard of more games coming out that I wanted.

So far the list of games I'm lusting after is thus (in no particular order): 1) Modern Warfare 2, 2) Assassin's Creed 2, 3) Little Big Planet (PSP), 4) Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, 5) Red Faction: Guerrilla, 6) Ultimate Alliance 2, 7) Wolfenstein. All of these are either out already or will be by the end of the year. Back in 2007 I would have had the money to get them all on street date and then some (and I'm sure there are more games out or are coming out that haven't made it onto my radar yet). Unfortunately that isn't the case here in 2009. I know I can squeeze one out of my budget and maybe a second one too. Or I could wait until the price drops and pick it up as a bargain (or used).

But the problem with waiting until the price drops to pick up a game is finding out that the online community for that game has moved on as well. I have several older games that I would love to play online, but I'm not sure if there is anyone playing them any more. Games like: Burnout Revenge, Quake 4, Call of Duty 2 and 3, and co-op in Kameo. If there are achievements tied to online or co-op play and nobody is playing those games anymore how will I get those achievements? Kind of like what's happening to Chromehounds in January.

Metallicorphan gave me a link to an article that says Sega is shutting down the Chromehounds servers on January 6th 2010. After that, no more online play. Although with Chromehounds I've given up on ever getting the online achievements. There is too much boosting going on in the game for anyone to earn those achievements legitimately. If you want 'em you've got to cheat in order to get them. I'm not a cheater. But the thought that I'll have a game that's worthless to play (once I get all the single player achievements) annoys the crap out of me. And what's the point of selling it back since the game will have no resale value. It was a niche game and now that niche is being shut down. So what about other games?

Is is worth it to try and play online matches in the original Gears of War? Or how about Rainbow Six: Vegas? Or Marvel Ultimate Alliance? I have seen several people pick up MUA in anticipation of the sequel coming out, but as for the other two the sequel is already out. And that's not even considering Call of Duty 2 and 3. Those have been eclipsed by 4 and 5.

Should I be spending my time playing those older games while there still might be a chance of enough people playing them online? Or should I just stick with the newer games that I already own where I know there will be people playing online? And what if I do wait to get Wolfenstein or some other game 6 months or a year or two down the line? Won't I be in the same position with that game (or others) that I'm in right now with the ones already listed? Should I just buy a game, play the hell out of it when it first comes out, and then sell it back so I have the money to get the next game on my list? I'm pretty sure several of my friends are doing that. But what happens when new DLC comes out that makes me want to pick it up against, but I've already sold it back? Would I have the money to buy the game all over again AND the DLC? I don't think so.

I miss those days when I could walk into GameStop and buy any game I wanted (and then some). I can't do that now, but not because of the economy. This is of my own choosing. So no matter how bad a day I'm having I will continue to drive by 3 GameStop stores all within 2-3 miles of my house (along with 2 more directly on the way home from work) and not walk in for some retail therapy. I will continue to do my research on the right game for me and hope that when I do eventually buy a game there will still be people playing it online. And if you are one of my few friends that still own any of those older games maybe we can get a match going online sometimes. You never know, we might single handily bring new life to an old game . . . especially for those of us who can't afford the new ones.