PixlBit

Hey, hello, hi! Comrade Colorwind here and I've had such a varied and crazy week. Lets start with some PixlBit news. We have some new people joining our family here. First up is Dan Galloway aka Evil Dan or Darth Kill. An avid member of 1up's community, I'm glad to see him come aboard. He has the kind of insight that in my opinion is knee jerk honest feedback that will help bring the community we're trying to create more approachable. He also coined another nickname for me, Big Cuevas. I don't know why but there you go. I'll answer to that now so mission accomplished. Another new member is Vic Roman, who should be no stranger to anyone, especially if you visit the site. He created our newest layout as a service to us and now is a full fledged member of the PixlBit staff. He'll be helping out with design matters to my knowledge, as well as posting his blogs on the site as well so be sure to check that out. In addition to new members, we also have a contest going on! If you want a free copy of Lord of the Rings: War in the North, check out the rules to see how. Free games are nothing to scoff at so be sure to enter. Finally, a quick plug. My review of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is live so check it out. Particularly, I'm not too kind to the London Party mode in the game.

I'll admit this is the best event in the game but that's not saying much.

Now, as you may or may not remember, I wrote a blog a few months back asking my readers at 1up whether I should buy a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360 in December, when I would be getting enough money to afford one. I later decided on a PlayStation 3 based on the responses I got on that post. However since then I have acquired a Wii due to some extra cash I was lucky enough to get out of the blue. Well, in another surprise, this past Tuesday, I got an Xbox 360 as an early Christmas present from my biological mother. I got the 250GB bundle with Fable III and Halo: Reach. So now I have two of the current generation console and my plans for this December haven't changed. In about two weeks, I'll still get my PlayStation 3, meaning I'll have all three current gen consoles, something I thought I'd never have! Needless to say, I'm extremely lucky and the PS3 will be a great closer to a year that's been really good to me. The only problem is my backlog has never been bigger. Add on the review copies I'll be receiving and you have a big batch of games I don't know when I'll be able to play. Don't worry, though. That's a problem I welcome with open arms. However, I will be making time for Chrono Cross when I download it probably as soon as I turn on my PS3. Oh and before I forget, if you want to play with me, my Gamertag is Colorwind. I know it's already displayed on my profile but I can actually access it now so it actually matters.

Don't worry. I didn't forget about your console. Seriously. Hey. Stop looking at me like that.

With the good must come the bad. That's the way the universe works. So come Wednesday, a day after I get my Xbox 360, I start getting a pain in my stomach. At first it was just a small annoyance and for the morning, I tried to ignore it. However, by one in the afternoon, the pain has started to increase. Then spread. It became familiar and with great dread, I realized what was the matter. You see, since two years ago in 2009, I've been periodically getting Kidney Stones. Unfortunately, since I'm like most people in the United States, I don't have health insurance and therefore, I've just been going to the emergency room and I haven't been able to follow up with a doctor or a specialist to see what is forming them. Sure, I've looked it up online and done my research but I don't have a definite reason for their existence or a cure. I've tried stop drinking citrus filled drinks, like apple juice and I don't drink soda as much but they still popping up. They've become more recent and are now popping up every 5-6 months. Anyways, I tried to withstand the pain until I passed the stone but that never lasts long. So I spent the afternoon in the hospital, drugged and uncomfortably. The hospital is no fun. Someone died while I was there, the person in the bed to the left of me was constantly vomiting and the woman in the bed to the right of me was crying. My nurse kept cracking jokes to try and make me feel better. I appreciate the gesture but Kidney Stones are so goddamn painful. I truly believe that it hurts less to be shot. Well, after getting home, I did finally pass the stone but it wasn't quite over as the following day, my back kept hurting me to the point that I had to walk and sit in a hunch. Your body goes through a beating when you go through so much pain and I guess I must've strained or bruised my back while I had the Kidney Stone. Anyways, I feel better now, if a bit tired still and the silver lining in this is I can still play video games laying on the couch.

Kidney Stones probably does feel like Chun-Li doing her Lightning Kick move on your stomach and back.

Thanks to my acquiring an Xbox 360, I have so many games now. You see, not only did I get Fable III and Halo: Reach, I also regained all the Xbox Live Arcade games I've bought in the past and oh my god are there a lot of them. I'm not sure of the exact number but it's somewhere around 30 games that I have. Like I said before, my backlog has never been bigger so I decided I needed to re-access and choose a few games to play. So now I'm playing Half-Life 2, Super Mario Galaxy (because I'm so damn close to 120 stars), Halo: Reach and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. That last game I've actually already beaten (and I've already gotten all the achievements I think I can get) but I'm replaying it briefly for a potential review. Which actually brings me to a question. Turtles in Time Re-Shelled has unfortunately been delisted from Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, meaning that gamers can't buy it anymore. Therefore, would you be interested in a game you can't buy anymore? I'm sure there would be a way to get it through alternate means but a vast majority of people won't be able to play this game unless they've bought it already. So would you want a review of a nearly unattainable game? Let me know in the comments. Myself and Rob Ottone from PixlBit may be doing something for the game in the future so comment and let me know. It'll most likely help me in my decision to proceed onward.

You deserve more than being delisted due to an expired license. Boo!

Well that's about it. That's what has been happening with me this past week. That should also explain where I've been this week as well. Hit me up on Xbox Live and maybe we can enjoy of game of Halo: Reach. I'll suck but this may be my favorite Halo to play online since I'm rewarded even when I fail as often as I do in shooters. Worse comes to worse, we can share a game of Turtles in Time Re-Shelled if you have it already. I call Donatello!

Peace and Love, Brothers and Sisters

CoLoRWinD