PixlBit

I stopped into Target yesterday and found myself in the videogame section. I only stopped by to see if they had PS4 games in stock. They did have the games, but I was somewhat surprised to see a demo unit for the PS4. It looks pretty sweet in person. I was not as wide or thick as I was expecting, but it is fairly deep. So deep that I am a little worried that it won't fit on my entertainment center. That is not really important because I booted up Knack and only played for a minute or so, but it felt simple but good. Also, it looked very nice.
Anyways, I read this article on GamesIndustry.biz and it got me thinking about Nintendo. These thoughts started to get me excited, and making theories based off of absolutely nothing. This is what I was thinking about...

I have been trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to say all day. I have scrapped three or four different drafts because they never felt quite right. I am really hoping that this draft sticks because I am getting a little sick of deleting my work.

I currently have my collection of 360 games separated out into different categories. The main categories are Backlogged games, Favourites, and Sell. There is also a 4th category, Digital, whose games I cannot sell, but may not fall into the other 2 categories. I have made a last minute decision to include my favourite digital releases into this list because it makes sense.

I would have loved to come in here saying that I finished up El Shaddai, but I did not.  It has been fairly difficult to pull my attention away from Arkham Origins:  Blackgate.  I did finish that game up last night though.  Now that I have one less distraction, I will hopefully be able to focus on El Shaddai. 

To continue on from last time, don't worry I hope this will be brief. I think that part of my growing apathy is the fact that this console cycle just kept going and going. It has been 8 years since the Xbox 360 came out. Do you truly realize how long it has been since the last console launch? It has been so long that I have purchased the Xbox 360 3 separate times. I never did that with any other console, but that is probably because by the time I bought the second 360 we would have normally gotten its successor. In case you need a visual, 8 years is the time between the SNES and Dreamcast. Since I have already gone over most of this a while back, I will quickly conclude... I think that I am ready for something new, even if it is more of the same. 

The actual reason for wanting to sit down and blog today. I am going to start working on a list of my favourite games of this past generation. This list is going to help me do at least one other thing and that is why I am working on it. I am going to go through my Xbox 360 collection and separate out my favourite games and sell the rest. Here are some of the rules that I am working on, hopefully they will clarify what I am trying to do...
Rule 1: This will only be for Xbox 360 games(I basically did this when my ps3 died)
Rule 2: This is a list of MY favourite games
Rule 3: I must own the game, because I will sell the games that I deem unworthy
Rule 4: I can change the rules as I see fit
Rule 5: If I look down on you for having a different opinion, it is because I am probably taller than you
I have been looking for a way to "spring clean" my game collection. Taking a look back on this past generation seems to be the perfect way to do that. I will start by making a list of the games that I currently own for the 360, then I will whittle away at that list until I have a collection of games that I deem to be the best. This is all subjective, so there is a good chance that one of your favourite games is deemed unworthy of my collection.

I spent nearly my entire weekend, watching Futurama and playing Arkham Origins: Blackgate. I will say that Blackgate is awesome. Now that I have sunk nearly 10 hours into it, I can say that with confidence. It has been blast to explore the prison and find all of the secret areas. The one thing that has sucked was an apparent glitch in The Penguin's section of the game. I had to start a 2nd game in order too bypass the glitch for now, but I did so happily. Also, while the bosses are trial and error, they are loads of fun to fight. I love when games make me feel like a badass.... 

I remember the first footage I ever saw of Bioshock Infinite. It was awesome and I really got pumped for the game. Then I found out that it had been delayed to later that year, and then delayed to the next year, and then delayed a month later. All of these delays tempered my enthusiasm for the game. It was no longer a Day One purchase for me. The only reason that I had picked it up within a month of its release was because of my birthday. The biggest disappointment that I had with Bioshock Infinite is the fact that the initial footage that I saw never made it into the game... I bring this up because I am worried that something similar will happen to South Park: The Stick of Truth. Now that it has been delayed to next year, I am no longer excited about the game. There is something else that might be affecting my excitement for South Park and that is...
My Xbox 360. The 360 is currently my only means to play these big multi-platform releases. This is fine in and of itself, because it is a great console. The problem is that I no longer enjoy playing games on it. This feeling has been sitting with me for the past few months. In fact, I am sure that this feeling can be traced back to the announcement of the Xbox One. I guess that I do not want to give Microsoft any more of my money. I don't think that they deserve any of it. Last week I went and picked up a copy of Arkham Oranges... for the Wii U. I do not even own a Wii U, so why would I ever buy a game for it? I do want a Wii U, and will hopefully have one by the years end.
There is a bright spot in what appears to be a fairly depressing blog. My love of videogames has not diminished. I just have been focusing my attention onto my handhelds, both the Vita and 3DS. I have found myself taking a break from EOU to play Kid Icarus and Arkham Origins: Blackgate. There is a sprinkling of El Shaddai in there as well.
My love of playing games does not fix the apathy that I am currently displaying towards my 360. I am working through potential solutions, but only one seems to be sticking out as the best course of action. I am going to have to pack it up and put it into storage. I do not hink that I can do it today or tomorrow, but I will do it soon. There are a couple of games that I would like to finish, or replay before I say goodbye to my 360 for an extended period of time. I would be remiss if I did not finish El Shaddai, and with all of the Batman talk around the internet I would really like to play some Arkham Asylum. oh, and maybe a little bit of Dark Souls, I hear that game is awesome.
I will finish up with a little something that happened the last time I was in Gamestop. While talking with one of the employees, the topic of next-gen gaming came up. I said something about not being all that excited about that this year. I am much more excited to play Super Mario 3D World. He came back with a wonderful response along the lines of... ... Nintendo, they are still good for one thing, fun games. I guess that is what I really want from the next generation. I want fun games, which is probably why I want a Wii U because those games look fun to me.

Yesterday I sat down to bitch about how Amazon had increased the minimum order cost in order to qualify for free shipping. Halfway through I decided to actually see how this change would affect me, and realized that most of my orders had been over the new limit, $35. I then felt that finishing would be foolish so I deleted what I had written.
I have been all over the place these past couple of weeks with the media that I have consumed. On the videogame front, I have been playing Etrain Odyssey Untold but have also been jumping around. EOU needs to be played in marathon sessions, half hour chunks is not how I would like to play the game. This has lead me on a hunt to find shorter, action oriented games to play in those short chunks of time before work, or while I am waiting for dinner to finish in the oven. I have been messing around with Kid Icarus on the 3DS and just picked up El Shaddai. I chose Kid Icarus because of Jeremy Parish's Anatomy of a Game, and El Shaddai because of Backlogger's Anonymous. I really appreciate Backlogger's because they have been enough of an inspiration to play through Mirror's Edge. I hope to enjoy El Shaddai, and am really curious as to the next game they will be working through... Anatomy of a Game has been equally inspiring. I played through Metroid and The Legend of Zelda for the first time this year and enjoyed both games, but prefer the superior sequels. To finish my thoughts on videogames for the moment, I am tempted to get both Arkham Origins and Blackgate. We will see how I feel later this week when they both are released.
With the new television season under way I have been catching up on last season episodes. The biggest show that I have been working through with my wife is Elementary. I like the new twist on Sherlock Holmes mythos and I also like the fact that there are more than 3 episodes in a season... Yes, the BBC version is amazing, but I want more and Elementary does a good job of satiating that hunger. Doctor Who's 50th anniversary is coming up in exactly a month and I am patiently waiting for it to come around. Thankfully there are hundreds of episodes from the classic era that I have not watched. This has made the incredibly long wait since Season 7 ended bearable.
I had an awesome day at Half-Price Books over the weekend. I finally found a cheap copy of Foundation by Asimov and a copy of Rendezvous with Rama. While I have been wanting to read both of those books the great find was actually some Philip Jose Farmer. I have had difficulty finding anything by him at the 2 stores in my area. I found the sequel to To your Scattered Bodies Go and also a copy of The Gate of Time. The best part was The Gate of Time was from the first printing and was only $.25. I could not believe it, normally they put those types of books in a sleave and charge $4.
The only other stuff that I have been consuming is a lot of podcasts and music. My brother just told me about the Alton Browncast, and after listening to the first episode I may be hooked. I have always liked Good Eats and his podcast seems to be quite informative and entertaining. As far as music, I seem to be moving backwards towards all of the music that I used to listen to through college. The only difference is that when I am at home I like to listen on my turntable. I just need to find copies of the albums that I have been listening to on vinyl... I think that I will try to link a couple of videos below...
Was there anything else I wanted to say? I grabbed Nier as well

I love getting another reminder that I made the correct decision to cancel my PS4 pre-order and get a 3DS and Vita.  Upon finishing up Fire Emblem Awakeing I already knew that I would never regret this decision, but companies keep giving me reasons to be glad that I am waiting for a PS4.

This blog is going to be quick and sweet.  I am really in the mood to sit down and write something again, but my thoughts are too scattered at the moment.  I figure that if I get rid of some of them now I will be able to come back with something that is actually worth reading later.

I had some thoughts of things to post over the weekend, but I did not. I find myself running away from computers over the weekends and and touch them only if I am dying. So, I have already failed in my challenge to try and post a blog a day in October. I am perfectly fine with this because I am still going strong with my Metroid Fusion challenge, and I will get it to that later on.
I did want to mention Shovel Knight over the weekend. I got a Kickstarter update that had an HD trailer attached to it, and boy does the game look amazing. It is one of my most anticipated games for the rest of the year. I hope that it comes out this year. Anyways, I though that I would insert the trailer for the benefit of those who have not watched the gloriousness of Shovel Knight already.