The List, 2012 additions, subtractions, and a new idea to help remove stuff.

Additions: The Steam Sale, some recommendations from friends, and spotting some interesting new stuff at work has increased the size of my list of stuff to consume.

PC Games: I bought some stuff in the Steam Sale, picked up some bundle packs, and dug some old physical media up during some recent cleaning. Here's what's getting added to the list:

AAAaaaaAAA: A reckless Disregard for Gravity
Avadon: The Black Fortress
Bastion
Gothic
Gothic II
Gothic III
Gothic III: Forsaken Gods
ArcaniA: Gothic 4
Arcania: Fall of Setariff
Homefront
Mount and Blade: With Fire and Sword
Portal 2
Prototype
Rage
X: Beyond the Frontier
X-Tension
X2: The Threat
X3: Terran Conflict
X3: Reunion
X3: Albion Prelude

And here's what's coming off of it:

Blocks that Matter
Breath of Death VII
Cthulhu Saves the World
E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy
Hellgate: London
Need for Speed: Undercover (this is getting a "The Unfinished" entry, however)
Night Sky
Nimbus

TV Shows:  Nothing new to add or remove at this point.

Fiction Books: One addition: The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson.

Nonfiction Books: An addition: The Brick Bible, by Brendan Powell Smith

Movies: No change to the list.

In addition, starting this month, I'm going to pick something from each category to focus on throughout the month and see if I can use that to pare things down a bit. Watch for the first of those posts immediately following this one.

Bundle fatigue? Not likely, but I do need to be a bit picky...

Holy cow! The indie bundle scene has exploded in the last month. Between Humble Bundle, Indie Royale, and Indie Gala, (and burning off my GamersGate blue coins) I have an enormous pile of unplayed games sitting on my hard drive now, but I'm not truly interested in all of them. Here's what I'm adding to the backlog for now, though there may be more later:

PC Games
Orcs Must Die!
Runespell: Overture
Shank
Jamestown

Some Additions and Some Thoughts on the Indie PC Gaming Scene

Thanks to Indie Royale and Humble Bundle, I have some new stuff in my collection to play around with. However, before I get to that, I'd like to share a few thoughts about these sites, if you'll be so kind as to indulge me. Humble Bundle and Indie Royale allow you to grab some really fantastic Indie PC games for ridiculously cheap, or, if you choose, quite a bit of money. Humble Bundle also supports Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Child's play is a "traditional" charity that helps children in hospitals through the donations of gamers. The EFF is something like the ACLU for the Internet. Put simply, my point is this: if you are a PC gamer, and particularly if you like innovation and the open nature of PC gaming, you should be participating with these sites. You can grab some fantastic games for very little (A previous Humble Bundle included Frozen Synapse, SpaceChem, AND a whole spread of other really fantastic games) and/or donate to a couple of worthwhile causes. Anyway, that's my "rant" so onto the additions.

PC Games:

• Gemini Rue
• The Binding of Isaac
• Sanctum
• Blocks That Matter
• Nimbus
• Trauma

Off the List: Flashpoint, Season 2

So, uh, I seem to have a little bit of a Flashpoint problem. I whipped through Season 2 faster than I've gotten through pretty much any other TV series I've ever watched except the one season of The Shield I watched  nonstop with my buddy back when we were rooming together. I maintain that this is one of the finest shows I have ever encountered, and as good as Season 1 was, Season 2 is even better. I can't wait to see what they do with Season 3. I recommend this in the most enthusiastic and forceful way. The show is incredible. You should watch it.

RPG notes: A few spoilers, so watch the season and come back. Some nasty tricks for bombers show up in One Wrong Move (gluing the safety pin on a landmine) and Custody is an awesome study in plot twists. Mostly, though, it's just more of the same stuff I liked in Season 1. There is, however, one very important thing to take away from this season: the integration of Donna and Leah into the team. Gaming groups looking to add a new PC and wanting to avoid some of the usual pitfalls would do well to watch this season and observe how the team deliberately integrates the newcomers and intentionally draws them into the fold. You see a little of it with Sam at the beginning of Season 1, but episodes 11-18 with Leah being integrated work really well for showing a team bringing someone into the ranking in an intentional and welcoming way.

Addition: Flashpoint, Season 3. Like I'm gonna be able to help myself.

Some List Maintenance

I've been getting sloppy and just using the "Off the List" category for stuff that I don't just grab impulsively or see through circumstance instead of adding things to the list. Bad me. Time to update the list!


PC Games:

Avencast - removed
Capsized - removed
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - removed
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - removed
Crusader: No Remorse - removed
Darkstar One - removed
Gothic II - removed
Hitman: Blood Money - removed
Section 8 - removed
Spacechem - removed

Batman: Arkham City - addition
Metal Brigade: Tactics - addition
Need For Speed: Undercover - addition

TV Series:
Flashpoint, Season 1 - addition

Movies:
Eden Log - removed

Nonfiction Books:
A Theology of Inclusivism - addition
Black Gun, Silver Star -addition
The Primal Blueprint - addition

The latest additions

Well, I exercised (a bit) more restraint than usual on the Steam Sale. Here's the new additions:

PC Games:
Garshasp: The Monster Slayer
Gothic II
Gothic III
Hydrophobia: Prophecy
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Spacechem

More Additions (I think this is it for a while)

Movies:
Sucker Punch
The Mechanic

Additions

Movies:
Midnight Chronicles
The Gamers
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising

Addition

PC Game:
Sniper: Ghost Warrior

The new way of doing things.

Okay, so the "credit" system is making me stagnate and/or cheat. That's no fun, so I'm going to the following, much simpler system.

1. I can add whatever I want, whenever I want.
2. Whenever I finish something, I'll do my little capsule review.
3. I'll keep a running total of things I've cleared since the reboot.


Here's some more stuff:

PC Games:
King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame
Singularity
Avencast
Darkstar One
King's Quest III Redux
Zombie Shooter 2
Battlefield 2
Shatter
Infernal
Hitman: Blood Money

Fiction:
Robopocalypse
Point of Impact
Daemon
Spook Country
The Passage

Nonfiction:
No More Christian Nice Guy
Why?
ReWork

Movies:
The Mechanic
Sucker Punch
Kick-Ass
Salt
Up in the Air

Addition: Chuck, Season 1

A buddy of mine from work and my friend mindtakerr (whose backlog is linked elsewhere on this page) have both recommended this show to me. So here goes! One unit of credit has been deducted from TV series.

Addition: Front Mission Evolved

The latest addition to the backlog is Front Mission Evolved, a third-person shooter with both in-mech (wanzer) and on-foot elements. One unit of credit has been subtracted from the PC games balance.