Nine Muses

It’s that time of year again.  We’re nearing the end of the dead summer season.  Instead, in this feast or famine world of game releases, there’s a rush of must-have can’t-resist pre-order-to-make-sure-you-get-it titles.  So, this is my list of things that I am looking forward to, and will be spending my much more scarce entertainment dollars on:

• Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii) - August 27
• Spore (PC) - September 7
• Fallout 3 (PC) - October 7
• Fable 2 (360) - October 21
• Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) - November 3 or 16 (Depending on who you ask)

Sheesh, I haven’t updated since September?  I knew it had been a while, but this is just excessive.

So, I had a baby and she’s six months old and beautiful.  She has her own blog.  Ask me for the link if you want it.

I’ve hardly had any time to play games for the last six months.  I just reinstalled Diablo 2 this last week once they announced Diablo 3 was coming out.  I finally managed to get some time to install the expansion for NWN2 as well, but then decided to finish the main campaign first, since I’m so close and someone totally lied about the expansion not following after the main campaign.  It totally does!

I’m also waiting eagerly for Fallout 3 and Spore.  I’ll link to my Spore page later if I can figure out how to do it.

I’m also also re-reading some classics from my tween years right now: I’m about halfway through “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and “The Grey King” (Susan Cooper’s Dark is Rising series).

Oh, yeah, and I took up knitting.

More comprehensive updates will hopefully come later, as I think I’m turning the corner on being able to find the time to type up a thing or two.

It’s that time of year again.  The game companies are putting their release system into overdrive, and there are so many interesting (not necessarily good) games coming out that I can’t keep up.

The week before last, I picked up Blue Dragon.  I’d write a full review, but if you’ve played any classic console RPGs, then you already know everything there is to know.  It’s nothing novel, but it is excellent both in execution and production.  The main character is impetuous to the point of being annoying at times, but overall, it’s an interesting story and a fun game to play.

Wild Arms 5 came out that same week and I haven’t picked it up yet.  Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is the same.

Last week, the new expansion pack for the Sims 2, Bon Voyage, came out.  I wasn’t sure what I’d think, but it looks like it may actually add an interesting element to the game.  We’ll see how it endures.  I really liked Open for Business at first, but grew bored with it quickly.  I continue to find myself more interested in new objects and decorating than in any of the expansion elements, excepting the pets.

Next week My Sims comes out for the Wii, and I’m looking forward to it more than I have any game in a long time.  That may be a sure way to set myself up for disappointment, but I’m hoping not.  It looks, from all that I’ve seen, like a good cross between Animal Crossing and the Sims.  I have my fingers crossed!

Though I had it in the back of my head somewhere that Catan had finally been released for the 360 (XBox Live Arcade), it didn’t really click with me until I was browsing through the Marketplace area to test my network connection.  (By the way, when a switch goes out, everything goes to hell, in case you didn’t know.)  I saw it, downloaded the demo, did the math to figure out the cost (about $9.00), and decided to go ahead and pick it up.

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Wow… I watched this movie, after seeing the game mentioned on Slashdot and Penny Arcade, and I was indeed in awe. This, as much as any Final Fantasy game, may be the thing that makes the PS3 a must-have for me.