Game 3 - Batman: Arkham Asylum

Three games down!

I finished the GOW trilogy late yesterday, which meant it was time for a new game! I'm down to Mass Effect and Batman. I went with Batman because it is another game I'm super excited for the sequels.

I remember this game being released and the acclaim it got. I've always been a huge Batman fan, so I was a little bummed I wasn't going to get to play it. I tried it out on PC and I didn't care much for the controls. I know I can use a Xbox controller, but I didn't want to deal with that hassle at the time.

Right off the bat- I love this game. I cannot wait to get to the sequels. I've been wanting a game like this since I was 10 years old.  Being able to grapple up buildings, use batarangs... oh man.

The story is really solid as well. I wish I could remember the comic run that it is based on but man- what an awesome concept.

I think they did a really awesome job cramming a huge game into such a small setting. You would think playing an entire game on one island is a bit boring but they knock it out of the park. They split the island up into 'mini' sections that are unlocked as the game progresses. Awesome! It really reminds me of an MMO style game, but they removed the pain in the ass that is traveling great distances to get to where you are going.

I've always been a fan of Kevin Conroy's Batman, and Mark Hamill's Joker. It is awesome to see they are still voicing those characters after all these years.

There are lot of people, myself included, that consider Batman: TAS the DEFINITIVE Batman story, as well as Kevin and Mark's voice work. It is pretty much spot on.

I've been playing the game for a total of 28 hours and was excited to see I'm only 44% done with the story line. This gives me plenty of content to play through before I move on to Mass Effect, and then the list.

Gears of War 2 & 3

Awwwwww yeah! Cole Train baby!

I really love these games. When I saw them in the stack my brother was giving me, it was the only game I was super excited about. I was still anxious to play 'Batman' and 'Mass Effect', but the GOW games were the only ones I had any experience with.

As I mentioned I blasted through GOW2 last weekend which I wasn't too happy about. Any time I finish a game, that is one game closer to having to pick a new buy them. It doesn't really bother me that I have to buy them, but I do wish I could just settle on what to play next. I have such a hard time deciding with just 3 games, let alone 50!

I was up pretty much all of Friday and Saturday last week, playing straight through. After that happened I decided to slow it down a bit on GOW3.

I really dig the story line in these games. It isn't often these days you see a shooter that isn't completely focused on multiplayer. The GOW series has amazing multiplayer, however I don't think it is where they dumped all their effort the way the do with the COD series. The story is so good it captured the attention of my wife, who eventually sat down with me for 3 hours to follow the story line. I asked her if she wanted to try it out, and she said 'no, no, no- I suck at these so it will take me forever to find out what happens with Dom'.

A little side note- this is why I LOVE my wife. She sat for hours and geniunely had a a good time just watching the story.

I'm happy I decided to play through these first, as I know there is a GOW4 being released this month. It is most likely going to be one of the first games I pick up for Xbox One.

The First Games!

So I haven't redone the list yet, but I have done quite a bit of work in the game department.

This all started when my brother gave me his old Xbox and a bunch of games- I didn't have the money to spend on anything. He did give me a few games though-

• Gears of War 2 & 3 ( I already played through the first)
• Mass Effect
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• Call of Duty: MW 3

Right out the gate the CODs were out. I played them a little bit but the story just isn't great and since I'm not playing any multiplayer, they were out pretty quickly.

I decided to start with Batman because I remember all the hype surrounding 'Arkham Knight' which is a game I'm very anxious to play. I played through it in 4 days. That may not seem very fast but for me, it is.

Any bit of free time was devoted to it and honestly, I wish I played slower because I couldn't just go out and grab the sequel. Never the less it made me VERY excited for the other games in that series.

Next up were the Gears of War games. I was absolutely in love with the first, which was aided by the fact it was one of the gear games I was decent at in multiplayer. I also really enjoy the storyline.

GOW2 was done in about two days. After that I decided to slow it down a bit because it is going to be a few weeks before I can pick up any games. That game was also the catalyst for this blog. I figured if I devote some of the gaming time to this I may not go through them as quickly. At the end of GOW2 I almost couldn't wait to finish the trilogy.

I started GOW3 six days ago. I'm just beginning Chapter VI which I believe is the last chapter in the game. It is a bit bitter sweet because I'm now down to Mass Effect, which means I need to decide what my next couple of games will be.

Here We Go!

So it has officially started. Technically I started this a month ago but this is the first week I'm actually going to put real effort into it.

When I wasn't gaming or doing the hundreds of other things I need to do, I made a list! Although if I'm being honest, making a list was not nearly as exciting as I thought it was going to be.

So, getting straight to the point, here it is...

2008

GTA 4

Fable 2

Fallout 3

2009

Borderlands

Resident Evil 5

Assassins Creed 2


2010
Bioshock 2
Alan Wake
Halo: Reach
Castlevania
Fallout: New Vegas
Assassins Creed: Brotherhood
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption

2011
Dark Souls
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Crysis
LA Noir
Batman: Arkham City & Origins

2012
Halo 4
Mass Effect 3
Borderlands 2
Assassin's Creed 3
Hitman: Absolution
Dishonored
Lego: Lord of the Rings
XCom
Far Cry 3

I decided to stop at 2012 because of the release of the Xbox One. Any games released after 2012 I will likely pick up for that, so there is no need to waste time and money on that now.

Being completely honest, I'm a little disappointed. This is my only first run at the list, but do you notice anything? There are a LOT of sequels. Also I figured my first pass would yield a HUGE list. I'm definitely going to spend a little more time on it.

My process was pretty simple and a little arbitrary- I simply googled 'Best Xbox Games of 20XX' and checked out a few of the lists. I didn't just go through them completely blindly picking the games- but I did pick only the games I thought I would enjoy. I need to figure out a better method because I can't play EVERY game that came out those years, but I still need to come up with a better variety than this.

I'm also forgoing any of the Call of Dutys- only because their campaigns are crap. I'm looking for single player only- no multiplayer. That makes this a little more difficult since so many games these days are based on their multiplayer.

Oh well, I'm going to take a crack at it tomorrow and see what I come up with. Feel free to send in suggestions and comment if you feel I've missed something- I'm sure I have.

Sean's Book Club Part 1

Hey everyone!

So I decided a good part of this should be to keep track of any/all of the books I've been reading.

I always seem to do this; I get on a kick of reading, working, and just being a 'better' person in general. I usually give up.

I always have this habit of 'starting' something, losing interest, and stopping for a while. Then, after some time. I get excited about what it was and start again. Writing is a big one. Learning, reading, and being organized are some others. I often switch from being a clean, organized person to being lazy, sloppy, and stupid.

Man I'm dumb...

Anyway! So from time to time I'll post a book I'm reading, and my thoughts on it. I'm far to pretentious to try and critique and review work, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Just Nonsense

Another few months between posts, surreeeee.

I need to start remembering this is more for me than it is for anyone else. Writing as if you have an audience is great, but writing because of that audience is stupid.

This needs to become more of a journal type thing than anything else. Hopefully that happens.

I've realized that I haven't read/watched/whatever else most of the "important" things in life, so that is the game plan for now.

I've made a list of books and movies I plan to watch or read, and to help cement them in my brain I'm going to write about them. Not technically reviews, but just something to help keep them fresh in my head.

Thanks, you all have been wonderful.

Podcast Network Launching Soon!

Hi everyone!

I know, I know. it has been way, way to long. But I do have news. BIG BIG news.

Along with a few investors/fellow podcasters, we are launching a new podcast/media network. It his exciting times!

We have a few shows lined up that I will be hosting myself, but we are looking for new and existing shows to add to the network. 

Because I'm not an investor, I only have a "minimal" say in executive decisions, but they have put me in charge of finding new shows to add to the network. We are looking for around 8 new shows, so send me your ideas! Email: snlich@gmail.com

We will be reviewing and considering as many shows as possible, but the ones with the best chance are going to be the ones that are most fleshed out. If you only have a basic idea, I would be happy to help flesh it out and help develop it. I love producing credits!

Feel free to email me with your idea, although keep in mind we will want these shows are marketable as possible. No NAMBLA shows, okay? Keep that shit on the darknet.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

We will also be looking for hosts to add to the existing roster. I'll be main hosting these shows, but we are                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ooking for one or two hosts for the following shows:

Photography

World of Warcraft/Starcraft/Blizzard Ent games

Movies of the Week/General movie discussion

If you have any experience the any of those topics, I will be happy to consider everyone. "Professional" experience is a definate plus, but no needed. Although the more experience the better.

Can't wait to hear from everyone!