40. Bandwagons

There is one hell of a bandwagon building for Bioshock 2.

I recieved my review copy but I have already been bombarded by review scores for the game through various news and PR sources. This makes it very hard to approach the game without any prior prejudices, bad or good.

I loved the first game. In fact, I loved the System Shock games even more so I do have a certain affection for the series. This means that I am in danger of coming close to joining the massive bandwagon that the game has already built up.

All I’m trying to do right now is clear my preconceptions enough to strat up the game. Wish me luck.

39. Supremely Cool

I have completed my first feature article for Play.tm and it is up now. Have a look at my new preview of Supreme Commander 2 here.

I have had a lot of fun getting my hands on Supreme Commander 2 and it is definitely promising to be one of this year’s highlights on the PC.

There is a definite thrill here, having my work appear on the front page of a site. It’s happened a few times now and I have a certain amount of control over the PC content at GamesAreEvil but it never gets old.

38. And now for something completely different…

Just for today I want to digress. This weekend I finally got to indulge my interests outside of video games.

I do love sports especially rugby and American football. As I write this, I have just digested the first three matches of the 6 Nations and am preparing to watch the Super Bowl.

I am looking forward to seeing the Super Bowl especially after the disappointing performance of Scotland at Murrayfield today. I hope that EA Sports Madden 10 engine was correct in predicting that the Saints will win tonight.

37. Library

I think I should start a games library. Not counting Steam titles and downloadables on PSN, and Xbox Live Marketplace I own somewhere in the region of 350 titles. Spread across Xbox, Xbox 360, PC,PSOne, PS2, PSP, PS3, Gameboy, GBA, Gamecube, SNES, Dreamcast,  Wii and NeoGeo Pocket Colour. Throw in the downloads and we’re talking in excess of 400 games.

That is quite a hefty collection of software and it keeps growing without me event spending any money on it. I am ridiculously compulsive about my collection. I rarely trade in games because I believe that retailers take the absolute piss in their their trade-in schemes. I have only sold a small amount of software off and I subsequently have lived to regret at least two of those sales – why oh why did I decide that selling Skies of Arcadia on Gamecube was a good thing?

I am really wondering what to do with all these games – a rental scheme or perhaps some sort of lending library perhaps? I could even open a museum of games covering the last ten years quite comprehensively.

What do you think?

36. Cursed

I have one outstanding trait which is simueltaeously my greatest asset and my biggest flaw. I am utterly and totally single-minded.

On the plus side this means that when I start a task I will always complete it, no matter how long it takes. Good for my career, right?

Not necessarily. Because I am so determined to finish a task I may neglect all other things until my highest priority task is completed. This is good when I am set the challenge of reviewing a game, finding the biggest news of the day or completing a task by a given deadline. However, all else that does not prioritise as heavily falls to the wayside, including my life.

If you believe astrology, being a Libran, I like to seek balance in all things and always maintain a good balance. Well there is wisdom here and that is that balance is  something I always aim for, even if I’m not quite there yet. Perhaps I should prioritise achieving balance in my life before trying to do everything at once.

35. The Block

It happens to us all every once in a while. No matter what you do the words just won’t flow. I have been known to just sit and stare at an open word document until all I see is white. Of course, all this does is make my already-bad eyesight worse. I’ve never found inspiration in it either. This can get worse if deadlines are involved – hair can be lost and eve blood spilled.

Thankfully my bread and butter, writing news, is different. Good stories tend to write themselves. I find news is a great way to help sharpen up my typing and writing skills when all else has gone to pot.

34. Desk (What Lies Beneath)

Tucked neatly (ahem) in the corner of my living room is my work space. My desk  has some curious features:

1. It looks like a complete shambles that conceals a my own bizarre organisational system.
2. The mess on top is nothing compared to the monster that lies underneath

Yes, it’s a complete mess but it’s my mess. Underneath my desk I have managed to cram an inordinate amount of console hardware.

Alongside my modified Dell XPS,  stands my Xbox 360, Gamecube, Dreamcast, PS2 and PS3 along with a large pile of PS3 review code, PS2 and PSOne games. I have managed to find an HD monitor that can accomodate all of these items of electronics and still have space left over for another couple of HD devices should I have the need.

This means I have everything I need to carry out my daily tasks.

33.The Notebook

No, I’m not talking about that crappy movie with James Garner in it. That was two hours of my life I’ll never get back.

I’m actually talking about what is quickly becoming my best friend. I just hate when I have good ideas and  can’t do anything about them. Usually by the time I have the time and the means to explore some of these good ideas I’ve forgotten them.

Not any more. It may not be a new idea but I am carrying around a notebook in which I can write down my story ideas ready for working on when I am sitting at my PC. It seems to be working so far…

32. A Good Start

This week I am hoping to streamline my working practices and it couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

I have managed to refine my news  gathering activities in order to allow me to produce more news in a shorter time. This will mean I can have more time free to spend  with my girlfriend and also squeezing in some actual playing of games.

I reckon tonight went well and I hope that I can carry on and improve my practices through the rest of this year.

31. Changes

It has been an interesting weekend and I have drawn a great amount of perspective from my trip up North.

If I am to progress in my career in the direction I desire then I will have to change the way I work in order to become more productive. There are a vast array of opportunities coming up soon and I want to take them head on.

This week I have set myself the task of streamlining and speeding up the way I write and work on ideas in order to allow me the freedom to tackle everything that I want to each week. Hopefully, by this time next week I will have set myself on the way to becoming the efficient and prolific writer that I need to be.