August 2010 Gaming Analysis

The results shown below are of course based on the combined data from the Daily Game Log which should provide a clear indication of a game's usage frequency. Bear in mind that even if a game is played twice or more during a particular day, it would still register as 1 in the Day Count column below. In a sense, "merits" are given based on how often a particular game can make me play it again throughout the entire period of the month on a daily basis. A game that makes a gamer play it over and over again or at least spend a lot of time with it... Isn't that what we mostly want from a great game? I don't think it's really fair to count all the way down to the number of hours played since some games only require a short amount of time to properly serve their purposes.

OVERALL BREAKDOWN:

Total Games Played: 38

League of Legends on the Personal Computer has taken the number one most played spot for its third month in a row. If this is not a convincing enough reason for anyone who hasn't tried out this free game to finally get on board, I don't know what else I could do to make things clearer: This game is just incredibly addictive. To be honest, I was expecting for the likes of Runes of Magic as well as Allods Online, two "free to play" massively multiplayer online role playing games that I started playing last month to rise up to the top of the list but they are certainly just pale in comparison to LoL.

Next up is Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the Nintendo DS. I usually play this for about half an hour or so before I go to bed. I really like the game's story where you play a role of a "god" and it's great to see that more and more Japanese role playing games are implementing a vast amount of visual character customizations. Tied at second place is the modern classic Plants vs. Zombies. This game has so many unlockables and I was working to get them all while streaming the gameplay on my Justin.tv channel. The incredible musical pieces found within are a compelling enough reason to spend some more time playing the game.

I really worked hard to get to the end of the PlayStation 2's Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia until my PlayStation 3 died, taking with it the 30+ hours of save file data. I tried to heal my wound by playing the sequel, Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica but now, I actually stopped playing it because it just feels a bit awkward to jump into the sequel like that. The great thing is of course, the two games can stand on their own so I shouldn't let the trauma of the situation to stop me from actually finishing up the sequel. Another game tied at third place is... Runes of Magic for the PC! I was expecting to play it more frequently though... Perhaps I should start back on it again this month.

Best New Game of the Month:

Puzzle Quest 2 (Personal Computer)

Unexpectedly Forgotten New Game of the Month:

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (X-Box 360)

I Missed You I Want You Game of the Month:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (PlayStation 3)