Saturday, November 27, 2010

Cleared: Fallout: New Vegas

I finished Fallout New Vegas twice in the last couple of days (I advanced the independent and NCR loyalist storylines until I had to choose and saved right at the proverbial fork). It was good. It's certainly just more Fallout 3, but then again, it's more Fallout 3! The story's fun, there's a huge map to explore (I didn't get anywhere near everything; that's what subsequent play-throughs are for) and the new levels of complexity in the crafting and weapon mod systems are a welcome addition. I'd rate the game a solid 8.5/10. I'll definitely be going back to this one in the future; there's a ton left to fiddle with and explore.

Some more stuff to throw on the pile

Every winter Steam does a fantastic sale where they sell all kinds of PC games at discounts that just aren't found anywhere for most of the rest of the year. So I indulge. This results in additions to the backlog, of course. Here's what's landed on it thus far this year:

Defense Grid: The Awakening
Iron Grip: Warlord
Eufloria

I also got VVVVVV, World of Goo, and Doc Clock, the Toasted Sandwich of Time with the bundle I purchased. I may give VVVVVV and Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time a shot at some point, too, but right now they're just bundle extras to me. World of Goo might make the backlog at some point - the steam version appears to play nicer with my multiple monitors - but for now I'll stick with those three, plus whatever else catches my fancy in the sale.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The new List.

So I've had some time to build up more stuff in my queue and also to lose interest in things that were there before and also clear out stuff that was in it. Here's what's in the hopper this go 'round.

PC Games
  • Avernum 6
  • Baldur's Gate w/Tales of the Sword Coast
  • Baldur's Gate II w/Throne of Bhaal
  • Beyond Divinity
  • Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
  • Company of Heroes
  • Dead Space
  • Defense Grid: The Awakening
  • Drakensang: The Dark Eye
  • Eufloria
  • Fallout: New Vegas Cleared on 11/27
  • Fallout Tactics
  • F.E.A.R.
  • Gears of War
  • Iron Grip: Warlord
  • Jade Empire
  • Metro 2033
  • Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
  • Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
  • Oni
  • Planescape: Torment
  • Prince of Persia
  • Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
  • S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  • The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
  • The Witcher (Enhanced Edition)
  • UFO: Aftershock
  • UFO: Extraterrestrials
  • Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines
  • Warhammer: Mark of Chaos
  • Warhammer: Mark of Chaos: Battle March
  • X-Com: UFO Defense
  • X-Com: Terror From the Deep
  • X-Com: Apocalypse
  • Zombie Driver
Fiction Books:
  • 1984
  • American Gods
  • Best Served Cold
  • Devil's Rose
  • Fire Warrior
  • Good Omens
  • Last Shot
  • Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter
  • Neuromancer
  • Night Watch
  • Nothing to Lose
  • Temple
  • The Eyes of God
  • The Hero of Ages
  • The Ladies of Grace Adieu
  • The Last Wish
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • The Protector
  • Up in the Air
  • Whitechapel Gods
Nonfiction Books:
  • Beyond Band of Brothers
  • Citizen Soldiers
  • Liberty and Tyranny: A conservative Manifesto
  • Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror
  • Life After Death: The Evidence
  • On Killing
  • On Combat
  • The Gift of Fear
  • The Long Walk
  • The Sociopath Next Door
  • What's So Great About America?
  • What's So Great About Christianity?
Movies:
  • 9
  • 28 Weeks Later
  • Alien
  • Blood: the Last Vampire Cleared on12/4
  • Bullitt
  • Children of Men
  • Daybreakers
  • Eden Log
  • Event Horizon
  • From Paris With Love
  • Gran Torino
  • High Noon
  • Inception
  • Live Free or Die Hard
  • Max Payne
  • Pale Rider
  • Pan's Labyrinth
  • Quantum of Solace
  • RocknRolla
  • Seraphim Falls
  • Smokin' Aces
  • Stardust
  • Taking Chance
  • The Book of Eli 
  • The Hurt Locker
  • The Losers
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
TV Shows:
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 1 Cleared 12/12
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 2 Cleared 12/18
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 3
  • John Adams 
  • The Equalizer, Season 1
  • The Pacific
  • The Shield, Season 7
  • The Unit, Season 1
  • The Walking Dead, Season 1

The List - Old stuff and its fate

The Old Backlog  

PC Games

  • Alpha Centauri - Removed. Still interested, but it's a 4x game and therefore isn't "beaten"
  • Beyond Divinity - Moved to new list.
  • Braid - Pulled. I honestly just don't care enough to puzzle it all out.
  • Company of Heroes - Moved to the new list.
  • Drakensang: The Dark Eye - Moved to the new list.
  • Dwarf Fortress - Pulled. There's no way to win and it seems more of a lifestyle than a a game.
  • F.E.A.R. - Moved to the new list.
  • Fallout Tactics - Moved to the new list.
  • Gears of War - Moved to the new list.
  • Jade Empire - Moved to the new list.
  • Jagged Alliance 2 - Cleared. Still playing it with mods off and on.
  • Mass Effect 2 - Cleared. Fantastic game.
  • Mirror's Edge - Gave up. Last few levels so hard as to be not fun.
  • Oni - Moved to the new list.
  • Prey - Pulled. Didn't care for it enough to finish it.
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - Moved to the new list.
  • Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Moved to the new list.
  • Red Faction: Guerrilla - Pulled. Repetitive sandbox game. Meh.
  • Silent Storm - Pulled. Sadly. I may try to find an old enough PC to run this on some time, but it didn't like my modern graphics card.
  • Silent Storm: Sentinels - Pulled. Sadly. I may try to find an old enough PC to run this on some time, but it didn't like my modern graphics card.
  • STALKER: Clear Sky - Moved to the new list.
  • STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl - Moved to the new list.
  • Supreme Commander - Pulled. I find it hard to get into RTSes of this type.
  • Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - Pulled. I find it hard to get into RTSes of this type.
  • The Witcher - Moved to new list.
  • Torchlight - Cleared. Fun game!
  • UFO: Aftershock - Moved to new list.
  • Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines -Moved to new list.
  • Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Moved to new list.
  • Warhammer: Mark of Chaos: Battle March - Moved to new list.
  • World of Goo - Pulled. Has issues with multiple monitors. I may put it back at some point, but for now, it's not worth the hassle.
  • X-Com: Apocalypse - Moved to new list.
  • X-Com: Terror from the Deep - Moved to new list.
  • X-Com: UFO Defense - Moved to new list.

Fiction Books

  • 1984 - Moved to new list.
  • A Game of Thrones - Pulled. Decided to wait for the author to finish the series before trying it.
  • Chronicles of Amber - Pulled. Lost interest.
  • Devil's Rose - Moved to new list.
  • Fire Warrior - Moved to new list.
  • Gibraltar Earth - Cleared in "off season". Fantastic read; look forward to the sequels some day.
  • God's Demon - Cleared. Enjoyed it a lot.
  • Gone Tomorrow- Cleared. Also a good read.
  • Last Shot Moved to new list.
  • Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter - Moved to new list.
  • Neuromancer - Moved to new list.
  • Night Watch - Moved to new list.
  • Nothing to Lose - Moved to new list.
  • Temple - Moved to new list.
  • The Eyes of God - Moved to new list.
  • The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Moved to new list.
  • The Last Wish - Moved to new list.
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Moved to new list.
  • The Protector - Moved to new list.

Nonfiction Books

  • Beyond Band of Brothers - Moved to new list.
  • Citizen Soldiers - Moved to new list.
  • Infidel - Pulled. My wife read it. That was enough for me.
  • Life After Death: The Evidence - Moved to new list.
  • The Long Walk - Moved to new list.
  • The Sociopath Next Door - Moved to new list.
  • What Would Google Do? - Pulled. Lost interest.
  • What's so Great About America? - Moved to new list.
  • What's so Great About Christianity? - Moved to new list.

Movies

  • 28 Weeks Later - Moved to new list.
  • Alien - Moved to new list.
  • Children of Men - Moved to new list.
  • Dead Space: Downfall- Pulled. Sucked.
  • Defiance - Cleared in the "off season". I liked it well enough.
  • Dune - Cleared. Fantastic watch.
  • Eden Log - Moved to new list.
  • Event Horizon - Moved to new list.
  • Law Abiding Citizen - Cleared in the "off season". About what I expected. All right, I guess.
  • Live Free or Die Hard - Moved to new list.
  • Mutant Chronicles - Pulled. Blah.
  • Pale Rider - Moved to new list.
  • Pan's Labyrinth - Moved to new list.
  • Pulp Fiction- Cleared. Well, I've seen it. Getting the references now is probably a more enjoyable experience than the film itself.
  • Quantum of Solace - Moved to new list.
  • Righteous Kill- Cleared. Okay, somewhat disappointing.
  • RocknRolla - Moved to new list.
  • Seraphim Falls - Moved to new list.
  • Smokin' Aces - Moved to new list.
  • Stardust - Moved to new list.
  • Street Kings - Pulled. Lost interest.
  • Taking Chance - Moved to new list.
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Moved to new list.

TV Shows

  • John Adams - Moved to new list.
  • La Femme Nikita, Season 1 - Cleared. Good.
  • La Femme Nikita, Season 2 - Cleared. Okay.
  • La Femme Nikita, Season 3 - Pulled. Been there, done that.
  • La Femme Nikita, Season 4 - Pulled. Been there, done that.
  • La Femme Nikita, Season 5 - Pulled. Been there, done that.
  • The Equalizer, Season 1 - Moved to new list.
  • The IT Crowd- Cleared; not quite what I'd hoped, but still entertaining.
  • The Shield, Season 7 - Moved to new list.

Re-Launch

My wife and I have hit a tight patch financially, so it seems a good time to resurrect this project. I'll be posting a new list of stuff and probably a simplified version of the rules in the next day or so.