So it's that time of the year again.

I know you're thinking christmas time, but you are wrong! The time I'm referring to is GOTY time, so I though I'd share my top games of the year. Now it won't be a top ten list because frankly, I couldn't think of ten games that I think deserves to be put on such a list. So here are the games I liked the most this year and why.


7. DJ Hero.

As a fading fan of rhythm games, I found DJ Hero to be an extremely welcome change to the initial concept. It's still the same idea, hit the notes as they come at you, but with the turntable controller, complete with crossfader and effect triggers, it makes the gameplay feel completely fresh. So except for it being a rhythm game, it really hasn't got much in common with it's Guitar Hero / Rock Band counterparts. From it's name it's quite obvious that it isn't going to be the same old rock songs you've already played to death in other games, rather DJ Hero focuses on Hip Hop, Club and Dance songs in various formats. The mixes are actually pretty good in most cases, but there are cases of songs being used in mixes too much, on the other hand you have 8 mixes by Daft Punk and they're playable characters as well, so that's an instant win.


6. Infamous.

This was kind of a surprise to me, I had heard something about it back in 2008, but then it kind of disappearedfrom radar. However, it came back close to it's release and since I had heard good things and read good reviews, I figured that I'd give it a shot. And I'm glad I did. The game is about Cole McGrath, a bike messenger who ends up being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This, in turn gives Cole the supernatural ability to control and eminate electricity. From there, you start off your adventure across Empire City. Cole can traverse the city with ease, using telephone wires, trainrails and his ability to fly for short periods of time to get places. This is part of what makes the game so great, how you get around. It's got a really nice flow to it, whether you're climbing up buildings or flying, it feels great. Not to mention his newfound powers, which you can upgrade as you go along. It's really satisfying electrocuting people to death in whatever way you do it. The environment, how you traverse it, and the fantastic gameplay is what makes this game stand out to me.


5. Modern Warfare 2.

What?! Modern Warfare 2 isn't on the top spot?! Nope it's not. But believe me, this is a great game that belongs in everyones collection. It takes what the first Modern Warfare brought to the table and amps it up a good deal. The main campaign is like an adrenaline fueled roller coaster from start to finish, it's more over the top than the first one, and I for one didn't think that was possible. The story is similar to that of the first one, with political intrigue and terrorism, but it takes it to a whole new level here. In addition to a great single player campaign, it has also greatly improved on it's multiplayer aspect, which also brings up a notch from that of it's predecessor. For example, now you can shoot down UAV's. The leveling mechanics make a return, but with much more added to it, there's litteraly hundreds of badges and emblems to unlock for playing multiplayer. Killstreaks are still there, but now much more devastating, like the 25 killstreak reward of having a nuclear bomb delivered to the battlefield, blasting everything and everyone to smitherines and automatically ending the match, giving you the win. This is probably what will take up the Xbox Live servers more than anything else in the coming year.


4. Resident Evil 5.

First thing's first, I still absolutely love Resident Evil 4, I own multiple versions of it, and I've probably played it upwards of 50 times. It is one of my favorite games of all time. With that said, it's no surprise that I was stoked to finally play it's sequel, and you know what, it does not disappoint. Sure, it doesn't pack the same punch as RE4 did, but what you get here is an action packed adventure in the same vein as it's predecessor. In addition to that, everything has been improved upon, from the sound design to the impressive graphics and atmosphere. The game plays almost exactly like RE4, and since I love that game, this automatically wins me over. The story is still pretty bad, but in a good way, you know how B-movies sometimes are so bad that they're actually good? That's how it is with the story. You play as Chris Redfield and his newly found partner, Sheva Alomar. Together, you're sent out by the BSAA to put a stop to a looming terrorist threat. It's no surprise that it's Wesker who's behind it all, and in this game you finally put a stop to him and his devious plans. Which is both good and bad I guess, because Wesker was one hell of a character. The game is now focused around co-op and you will always have your partner with you, even if you're playing by yourself. The AI of Sheva can be pretty bad at times, but if you're playing it with a friend, it gives you a fantastic co-op experience.


3. Batman: Arkham Asylum.

When this was first announced, I didn't have very high expectations, so I didn't really follow it, but closer to it's release there was incredible hype for it. So I started looking closer, but I was still thinking "yeah, like this is going to be any good" because how many good Batman games have there been? Well you can count them on one finger, and it's this one. The game puts you in Batman's shoes as he's walking The Joker into Arkham Asylum after capturing him, something that Batman suspects was way too easy to do this time. His suspicions were right, as everything goes to hell soon after you enter, Joker takes over the prison and your adventure begins. On your way to capture the Joker once more, you'll run in to some of his friends at Arkham, like Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Croc and a few others. On top of that, The Riddler is afoot at Arkham, leaving you a plethora of riddles to be solved, mocking you as you progress. The game has absolutely stellar gameplay and mechanics, and navigating Arkham Asylum is as fun as it is exciting. With an extinsive arsenal of Batman's gadgets and hi-tech toys at your disposal it makes everything even better. In addition to that, the game also has great combat mechanics, ones that are easy to learn, but difficult to master, and they're put to good use in the many boss fights you'll encounter. As you explore Arkham you'll come across patient interviews with many of Batman's mor noteworthy enemies. Even if they all don't make an appearance in the game, it's interesting to listen to and read up on them, especially if you're not that into Batman, like myself. The game has absolutely nothing to do with the recent movies and builds entirely on the comic books, something that I really appreciate, since I'm not that big of a fan of the movies. Lastly, something has to be said about the Terrific voice acting of Mark Hamill as The Joker, fantastic work, and he practically steals the show. However, it is Batman's show, and it's one you shouldn't miss.


2. Assassin's Creed II.

Even with the first games' many problems and repetetive nature, I still liked it a lot. Coming in to this sequel I was a little worried that it migh still have the same problems. But my worries were unfounded, as it contains none of those problems, not a single one. It has the same basic mechanics of climbing buildings, jumping on rooftops and murdering people. But it improves massively on all aspects of it, making traversal that much more fluent. It has also implemented a monetary system and ways of fast-travelling to different cities. Being set in renaissance-era Italy, and the cities of Florence, Rome and Venice to name a few, it makes it feel far less tedious getting to each. The game also adds in real-life figures of tha era, most notably Leonardo Da Vinci, who will help you progress in the game by helping you build various weapons and gadgets from schematics that you'll find throughout the cities. This time around, you're put in the role of Ezio Auditore da Firence, and you'll follow him on his journey from being a careless youngster in the streets of Florence to finding out that his father used to be a member of the Assassins and taking over his part as an assassin yourself. It's a more interesting character than Altaïr was, since you find out more about him as the story progresses. Said story is one of massive conspiracies against you and the Auditore's and the Assassins. It takes you on a journey of assassinations that makes much more sense then that of the first game, so it's not as repetetive. The story is also what makes this game stand out, on top of the story that takes place for Ezio, there's another level of going on for Desmond Miles, they guy you're really playing as. That story unfolds by finding hidden glyphs around the world and translating them through the Animus. It builds on the whole conspiracy thing heavily and mixes it in with real world conspiracy theories, mentioning Nicola Tesla, the first generation of independent bankers and so much more. And since I'm very interested in that sort of thing, it's really nice to see these thing being implemented in a game of such a high caliber. The game's story is ultimately what makes the game stand out to me, though it's a great game even without that.


1. Dragon Age: Origins.

I knew coming in that this was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate II, but having never played that game, that didn't really matter to me. What made me interested in this is that it is an old school styled RPG, and it's made by BioWare, so you can't go wrong, right? Right! This is probably the game that I've sunk the most hours in this years, probably over a hundred hours on multiple characters. The main story clocked in at about 60 hours for me, but it could easily have taken much longer if I wanted to do absolutely everything. Even if I did most of it, there's much more to be had. If this game is played on the Xbox 360, which I did, it has much in common with BioWare's Mass Effect, in how it plays. Your spells are on a dial and all that, which makes sense for a console. If you play it on a PC however, it has a more traditional layout, more like that of World of Warcraft for example. The game starts out with you picking a race for you character and an Origin story to go with it, there are 6 all in all, and the game can vary heavily depending on which you chose. Each has it's own starting area and it will affect what an how people speak to you throughout the game. After completing your origin story, you're set out in the world of Ferelden, free to go do whatever you want. As you progress through the game, you'll soon come across other adventurers and characters that will join your party, and then it really gets going. I didn't feel that the story was all that great as just a story, but the way you play through it is absolutely fantastic. There's something to say for the voice acting as well, the various characters that will join your party have their own opinions on things and they will chit chat amongst eachother, which makes for some really funny dialogue. Your decisions through out the game will also affect what your fellow party members think of you, and this is important as you can make them either love you or hate you (more or less). And that also has it's effects on things, as they can outright leave your party for good if they don't like you. Following both your own and your party members characted development is greatly done, as they all have their individual personalities, opinions and tastes. Of course some are more interesting than others, but that's the way thing are I guess. It's hard for me to put in to words what exactly I liked so much about this game, but I'm sure it's lengthy, exciting, thrilling, fantastic adventure has something to do with it. As well as great voice acting, combat mechanics, dialogue and gameplay does. This is one game you should not miss out on, and it's the best experience a game could give me this year.


So there you have it, my favorite games of 2009. There's a few games that I haven't played that might have made it on this list, but since I haven't played them, I can't say anything about them either. Borderlands comes to mind, a game that I've wanted to play but can't really spare the cash for it. I guess I'll get around to it when it gets a price cut.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good year for games, again. And 2010 doesn't look like it's going to be any different, starting off with such high caliber games as God of war III, Final Fantasy XIII, Dark Void, Bayonetta and Mass Effect 2. I have to say, I'm looking forward to it.

See you in 2010, people!

I cönqüred Brütal Legend!

Finally! After having spent the past 2 weeks playing it, with a few days of break from it. I've gotten the full 1000/1000 achievements points out of it, and while I'm glad that I don't have to go back to it, the last two achievements have been a pain in the ass. Basically it boils down to you having to win 50 match-made matches online, which is hard for numerous reasons. The game's multiplayer isn't all that great, it's unbalanced and relies on an aspect of the single player campaign that wasn't too good to begin with. The multiplayer takes the form of the campaign's "RTS battles", and while that system isn't broken, it's not adapted well enough for multiplayer. One of the other parts that makes this a hard thing to accomplish is that there's barely anyone playing it online, or at least not that I can connect to. Most of the time it takes several minutes to find someone to play against, and when you eventually do, it's often laggy. And lastly, it's heavily unbalanced. A good Ironheade player won't stand farfin chance again an equally good Tainted Coil player, at least not in any of my cases. As for the Drowning Doom, while facing Ironheade are a tough opponent, they are at least managable. Even if I ended up just surrendering many of matches i had against them and the Tainted Coil.

On the good side of things. The single player campaignt was excellent, which might be a bad choice of words because the game certainly isn't without it's problems. While it is funny, great looking, has good voice acting and a superb soundtrack, it does try to be too many thing at once. So the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" fits perfectly here. As an open-world game it does alright for itself but in this aspect it is way too restricitve and repetetive. It also tries to be a hack n slash game, which it also does well, except for the fact that every time you fight a larger group of enemies, it goes into it's RTS mode. If it would just maybe skip one of these elements, it might have been much better, but as it is, it's an alright game. I for one greatly enjoyed it because of it's heavy, heavy, heavy metal inspirations, and being the metalhead that I am, I might have an easier time overlooking it's problems and just enjoying the environments, dialogue and the ever so awesome soundtrack.

That turned to be some kind of quasi-review for the game, which wasn't intended, but oh well. So, what else is new? Well, to no one's surprise I couldn't stop smoking this time either. But I'm still trying to cut down on it at least, which is better than nothing I guess. Oh and I finally took the plunge and preordered a copy of Dragon Age: Origins - Collector's Edition. So that's a bit more of the money I barely have that I've spent on things that doesn't really matter. But I like me some games, and some sacrifices must be made. Even if that means eating noodles for breakfast and dinner for a few months.

I've recently had my birthday, so I'm now a year older and can call myself a 24 year old person, which is just meh. It's just another year in my book, but it's weird to think that in just 6 years I'll be 30 and am expected to have a house, job, wife, kids and a car! None of which I have right now, but I'll deal with all that when that time comes around I guess. So anyway, my girlfriend gave me a surprise visit the day after I had my birthday, so that was a pretty damned great gift from her. Even if she only stayed for less than a wewk, it's still better than nothing, so thankyou for that, my love.

Now that we're really in to the fall season, things does look beatiful around here. Very warm and vibrant colours everywhere, and that crisp winter air is slowly making itself more and more noticable. And it gets dark much earlier now too, just a month ago it got dark a lot later than what it does now. It's odd how fast the seasons changes things. Anyway, all of this makes me feel very cozy and warm and stuff, it's a great feeling to have. Now if I could just get rid of my psychological problems, things would be all fine and dandy, but no such luck yet.

Xbox Live Blacklist.

I've had enough! Enough of these people who quit the game as soon as they're about to lose. It's so goddamned annoying and well... You know how it is. So I've decided to post all the people I come across that play this way, more for myself than anything, since no one reads this blog anyway. I'll update this as I come across these people.

Allright, it's time to break up this party and stop smoking.

So yeah, I've tried before but I really have to stop smoking before it's too late. I've only been smoking for about a year or so, and not in huge quantities either, but it's not good for you any way you cut it. With all that said, today I said to myself that this is it, I have to stop. So now it's been a couple of hours since my last cigarette and so far so good. As I said I've tried to stop smoking before and those times I've lasted about a week or so before I've caved in and started again. Hopefully it'll stick this time and last forever, or at least until I die.

With that out of the way, I can tell you that the hunt for achievements in Batman: Arkham Asylum I was talking about in my last post is going... So-so, I've gotten all the achievements related to the predator modes, but I can't seem to get the hang of this freeflow combo thing. I mean it worked fair enough in the story mode, but when you have to reach a certain score to get a medal, it gets a little harder. I haven't even been able to get a single medal in those modes. Then again, I haven't put that much effort into it either, so I guess I just need a little more practice. Other than that I've gotten various achievements here and there, like catching the batarang and so on.

I'm also trying to get into Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 2, but it's just not what it used to be. At least in Guitar Hero 5's case, or maybe it's just me who has grown tired fo rhythm games? Or perhaps the choice of songs in them, I don't know. But I'm having a hard time getting into them as much as I used to. Rock Band 2 is pretty much more of the same, which is a good thing. As I personally think that they tend to have better songs to play. Speaking of which, I've come to the conclusion that the difference between GH and RB is that while both have good songs, GH has a majority of songs that are great to listen to, not necessarilly to play. While Rock Band has more songs that aren't so big or that I've never heard of, but the majority of it's songs are great to play and let's be honest, nice to listen to as well. I think that's why GH falls short when you compare the two, or at least it does for me.

Speaking of guitars, today I've finally been able to properly tune mine, which is great because I haven't touched a guitar for months, due to me moving and having no cables for it mostly. So it's been standing there and looking all sad and lonely, without me being able to do anything about it. But today I got it done so I was able to play again, there was a short but well needed warmup time until I got the feel for it right again. So I played what I used to play and learned som new stuff and then played some more, great fun! I just wish I could get better faster. In case you're wondering, I'm using a Maison LPC-190 with a KORG Toneworks AX1500G and a Fender amp. Nothing but low-end stuff here, but you don't need high-end hardware for my skill level and what I'm playing either. I mean if it does the job, who cares? The one in the picture isn't mine but it's the exact same model and color. I tried taking a picture of mine but my cellphone won't connect with my PC so I gave up on it after trying a few minutes. Oh, and apparantly that model is one of the last hand made models that Maison produced. Which is good to know :).

Anyway, until next time, keep watching the skeeeeeeeeees!

The hunt is on!

The hunt for achievements that is. I've been playing Batman: Arkham Asylum since I got it last sunday and I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised of how good it actually is. It's great from start to finish, great gameplay mechanics, stealth, combat, characters, sound, graphics, art design, presentation, and above all, the setting. Pretty much everything is great about it. Sure it's not perfect, very few games are, but god damn it's good. With all that said, it's obvious to me that this is a game that I'll be getting 1000/1000 from, so since I completed it a few days ago I've been going after the Riddler challenges, all of which are now found. Now it's pretty much only the challenge modes that need to be completed and I still have to find that last Spirit of Arkham Chronicle, but I know where it is, it's just a matter of going there and scanning it. Another achievement I have left in the actual story mode of the game is Party Pooper, which I regret not getting on my first playthrough, because this means that I'll have to replay the entire game to get to that part again. Which is kind of annyoing knowing that I could have gotten it the first time through. But then again, the first time through a game is for enjoyment only, and then you start to worry about achievements. Or at least that's how I see it.

Doing all this, I've sort of ruined my sleeping pattern, since I've been staying up until 6-8 AM playing the game, trying to get all Riddler challenges. It's not too bad of a problem but you know, yadda yadda yadda and I'm really tired today. And it's been like that for the past couple of days, which has put a stop to my plans to go to the unemployment center. Which I really don't mind, because they don't really help you in any significant way, but I still have to go there sometime soon.

Something I neglected to mention in my last entry was that I'm going with my girlfriend to see Depeche Mode in Malmö in january next year. That will be my second time seeing them, but I absolutely don't mind seeing them again, they were great when I saw them in Copenhagen this summer. And the show in 2010 is part of the same tour, so I expect it to be as great as that was. Speaking of musical events, last monday the tickets for Rammstein were released, so I got up bright and early to get a hold of two tickets for me and my girlfriend. Which I did, eventually, but the site was so full that I didn't get any tickets until 15 minutes after release, and I sat there a good while before the release, so it wouldn't surprise me if it's sould out by now. In either case, that show will also be in Malmö 2010, but in february, but it's going to be awesome! at least I'm fairly certain of it, I mean it's Rammstein, damnit! Not a single live performance I've seen with them (on dvd or whatever) has led me to believe otherwise.

Also, fall is upon us. The leaves are turning a nice yellow / orange color and are starting to fall off their trees. It's getting pretty windy too, so you can feel that crisp winter air that's coming soon. I don't really mind either fall nor winter, I just wish we'd get more snow during the winter, but what can you do?

So... It's been a while.

As the title states, it has been a while, more than a year even. Another year gone by and lots of new things happening. Allright, maybe not a whole lot of new things, but there are some improvements I think.

So I just got home from staying at my grilfriend's place for almost two months now, and while it feels good to be home, I already miss her. That, and I'm bored. See, the plan was for my dad to pick me up at the station after my 4,5 hour long train ride from Stockholm to Malmö, which he did. It also included me picking up three games I had ordered, so I got home, got the order from home and off we went to pick up my stuff. I walked in feeling good about myself, thinking "finally, finally I can play some games". But as I approached the counter with the order in my hand, they guy working there abruptly said "Postal services are closed for the day". Great! Foofin' great! After that, my dad had to do some grocery shopping, so I went with him since I had pretty much no food at all at home, seeing as I've been away for almost two months, so that worked out great. Without my new games, though, I really have nothing to do now except sitting at my PC writing this blog, which is about time anyway, so I guess it kind of worked out allright anyway, huh? In any case, I'll go get em tomorrow instead.

The games I have waiting for me are Batman: Arkham Asylum, Guitar Hero 5 and a long overdue Rock Band 2. These are just a few of the titles this Fall / Holliday season I consider must haves. I'll be so damned broke when christmas comes around, but then again it's the same deal pretty much every year. You have the spring hit, the summer hit and then the 20 hits of the last three months of the year. And this year is no different from any other year in recent memory, even if a lot of the games I had interest in have moved on to an early 2010 release. I still look forward to Brütal Legend, Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Assassin's Creed II and to some extent DJ Hero. If you put that on top of the big games of early 2010 like Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2 and Bayonetta... We'll you'll have about half a year of having awesome games but no money. It doesn't even end there, though, the second quarter of 2010 has some big games as well, such as Final Fantasy XIII for example. I personally won't be getting all of these games, mainly because many of them are games I'm not sure about, so thank god for demos! Right? And with limited money you have to prioritize.

WOW! Yeah you read it, World of Warcraft... I'm back in that godforsaken place of magic and wonder. But I do enjoy it, so what's the harm, eh? I got back in while I was at my gf, lack of games I wanted to play combined with a slow PC that couldn't run much at all made me do it. So I payed for 2 months of WoW and I've played on and off there, so now I'm almost at level 79, yay! For those of you that didn't know (which I'll assume is everyone since I'm the only one who reads this blog) I quit WoW shortly after Wrath of the Lich King was released. So it's kind of nice to get back and enjoy the game now that I'm not insanely tired of it. I'm actually having fun with it! I plan to get back in to raiding, although in a more casual manner than before. I'm trying to find a place where I can raid with good, dedicated people while at the same time have a life outside of the game, which can be pretty hard to do.

During my abscence from this blog, I've also gotten myself a PSP 3000. What a great piece of machinery that is, great for listening to mp3s on a long ass train ride for example. I bought it fairly recently, so I've only had it for about two months, around the same time I got to my girlfriend. Actually exactly at the same time, as I ordered it to arrive where she lives and not where I live. I got three games with it, Final Fantasy, God of War and Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. After that I managed to get myself 4 more games while in Stockholm so I now have a total of seven games for it already. I'm not going to go into details because basically I don't feel like it. But man... Mercury Meltdown is friggin hard! I can't even get passed the fourth or fifth level, I forget which, but it's really early in the game. Luckilly it was only 99:- so it wasn't too bad of a deal.

So yeah, that's a short summary of what I've been up to since the last time, although it mostly covers more recent events, but then again who cares? No one, that's who!