March 2011 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: 31

Close... So very close: League of Legends for the Personal Computer was almost played for every single day of the month. It looks like I missed playing it on March 24th - I only ended up playing two games that day - and looking at my posted article for that day, I now remember what had happened. I was on the verge of finishing up Dragon Age: Origins and even though I still had time to play LoL after I was done, the incredible conclusion to Origins convinced me to continue playing its Awakening expansion that night.

Speaking of Origins, naturally the game took the slot for the second played game for last month. I have stopped playing the Awakening expansion however after I encountered a travelling companion from the main game. I didn't like how the game was merely using her as a ganeric quest-giver and nothing else and that left me a bit disappointed. I do have the interest in seeing the game through but that will have to wait for now. I am not worried about getting back to the game after a long break because I have done exactly that with the main game.

The third most played game last month was Pokémon: Soulsilver Version for the Nintendo DS. With the latest entry, Black/White Version released last month, I was reminded that I haven't even completed Soulsilver ever since I got it in April of last year! Oh, the danger of a continually expanding Game Library. It's really hard to continue to play this game however, especially after seeing how great the latest game looks - I absolutely love the new Pokémon animation during the battle scenes - but I am definitely going to hold off on getting Black/White until I have put many, many hours into Soulsilver.

Best New Game of the Month:

Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel (PlayStation 3)

Unexpectedly Forgotten New Game of the Month:

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution (Personal Computer)

I Missed You, I Want You Game of the Month:

Yakuza 4 (PlayStation 3)

Games Played 04/04/2011 - 04/10/2011

- 04/04/2011 -

King's Bounty: Armored Princess - PC

League of Legends - PC

Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

- 04/05/2011 -

Dynasty Warriors 7 - PlayStation 3

League of Legends - PC

Moon Diver - PlayStation 3

Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

- 04/06/2011 -

The Sims: Medieval - PC

Sonic Advance 3 - GBA

Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

- 04/07/2011 -

League of Legends - PC

Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

- 04/08/2011 -
League of Legends - PC
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max - PSP
Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

- 04/09/2011 -
King's Bounty: Armored Princess - PC
League of Legends - PC
The Sims: Medieval - PC

- 04/10/2011 -
Custom Robo Arena - NDS
Grand Theft Auto IV - PC/X-Box 360
League of Legends - PC
Phantasy Star O - NDS
The Sims: Medieval - PC
Yourself!Fitness - X-Box

Not as Medieval as the License

As a longtime fan of The Sims, I was happy when Electronic Arts first announced the release of The Sims: Medieval for the Personal Computer because things are definitely starting to get a little stale with the series. Though I have no doubt that the series could get more innovative with the 4th proper installment since The Sims 3 was a huge improvement from the first two games, at least on the PC version that is mind you, a little deviation from the norm is always a welcomed gesture. Now that Medieval is here, what I originally expected to be Sims-lite is actually shaping up to best Sims game thus far.

Gathering herbs for cooking and crafting.

Medieval is basically The Sims set in a fantasy kingdom milieu. Instead of a bunch of random families in a modern neighborhood, you take control of hero-type characters like a monarch, a wizard, and a bard to name a few. Though the ability to build your homes from the scratch is gone, you still get full access to creating your own unique sims as well as the freedom to do the interior decorating. The game definitely feels somewhat simplified compared to The Sims 3, especially the fact that you only have to worry about maintaining the sims' hunger and fatigue level but this is a welcomed change for the game because managing the bathroom time in the previous games had never been all that fun. The kingdom is presented as a fully explorable open world and the transition between it and the places where the sims dwell is seamless.

Soul-steal just because you can!

Medieval is objective-based and you must complete quests to progress through the game. The characters get to level up like in a role playing game and they can be equipped with weapons. The game has that kingdom-simulation feel to it and the more you play the game, the more developed your kingdom will be. If you like the open-ended gameplay of the main Sims games, don't worry because it exists here as well. Though you must eventually complete the main tasks given to you, what you do before you get there is entirely up to you so you can walk around the kingdom, interact with other sims, and commit mischief to your heart's content. I have only unlocked two character types so far and completed two quests but I took my sweet time getting them done: I was having too much fun hooking up my monarch with one of the castle attendants only to have him ditch his fiance for my wizard character. Fun stuff. Fans of the series should not ignore this title - Medieval feels fresh and new. I hope they will release expansions for this one.

FIRST IMPRESSION: 5 out of 5

PSP: A Facial Reconstruction

Last year, an unfortunate accident had left my PlayStation Portable with a scarred face. With the addition of the 100th title for the PSP, at first, I thought of upgrading my launch system to the PSP 3000 model. But then I started looking for other alternatives aside from sending it back to Sony to be fixed. I was able to find a cheap solution: a faceplate replacement I found on Amazon. Uncertain about the result, I still decided to try it out and thus the PSP surgery commences:

Before: Three deep scratches on the top right hand side of the screen.

The new faceplate.

In surgery: Don't worry, the PSP was in deep anesthesia.

After: No more distracting scratches obscuring my view. Hurray!

The new faceplate was very easy to install though there were some tricky parts to it like transferring the buttons underneath the screen that actually laid out as a long strip behind the faceplate. There were only a total of six small screws that had to be removed and resecured and while the PSP was "naked", I took the opportunity to blow off a small amount of dust that had settled on top of the actual LCD using an air duster. I am happy to see the result but things didn't end up as perfectly as I would like it to be. The last screw couldn't tighten the top right hand corner of the handheld completely, which may have been caused by a slight misalignment of the screw hole. I can't fix it now because for some reason, the head of the screw got completely busted when I tried to unscrew it even though I was using a properly-sized screwdriver to do the job. The screw must not have been sturdy enough since it was rather small. I may have to find some time to meddle with it in the future but for now, screw it! My PSP now looks pretty again and that should count for something.

Back on a Healthy Groove

After many, many months (maybe even years) of procrastination, I have finally found myself on an exercise routine. It is hard to get back into it for sure - daily habits, especially ones that require a bit of mental fortitude do take some time to develop. Since I have not missed a single one of my scheduled exercising time slots over the past two weeks, I must say that I am well on my way here. I know that I have gained some unhealthy weight over the past few years so the main reason for me to do this is to maintain a healthy lifestyle as well as denying my significant other a "chubby-gamer" husband as a bonus. My program of choice? Yourself!Fitness for the X-Box - you can read my review here where I praised the software to no end. I really tried to incorporate Eye Toy: Kinetic for the PlayStation 2 into my life as you may have noticed it being listed in my Daily Game Log several times this year but the problems with body detection and lighting were so annoying and they made me feel like I don't want to exercise instead of encouraging otherwise.

I really don't care what my weight is as long as I can get rid of the little belly bulge.

It has only been 2 weeks but I am already seeing the results of my workouts, mostly around the waist. I suppose I have to thank those grueling cardio sessions that made me curse and cry. Since I work out in the early morning, I am a bit more energetic now during the day. The one thing I haven't noticed yet is the appetite change. While I was using this program many years ago, with the physical changes came the alteration in my food consumption as well. I look forward to the time when eating a small meal would satiate my hunger. Having survive the past few weeks, I know that I am really sticking with the program. Perhaps what I need to do now is play Dance Central for the X-Box 360 in the evening to help speed up the result. Wii Fit? No thank you. Expect Yourself!Fitness to occupy the top three list of the Monthly Gaming Analysis from now on.