As mentioned in my previous entry, I will be releasing monthly receipts, more or less, for the video game pickups that I make in that given month. This will be the first of such entries. Enjoy!

At the end of 2009 and into 2010, Steam, the popular digital distribution, DRM, and multiplayer platform for the PC, ran an amazing end-of-year promotion where everything in the store was marked down from 10 to 75 percent. On top of that, every day Steam would choose select games to be marked down even further. While I jumped on a couple daily deals prior to 2010, I saved the majority of my purchases for the final day. I picked up a number of great games including: Rome: Total War Gold Edition, Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition, Lucas Arts Adventure Bundle, Lucas Arts Star Wars: Jedi Knight Bundle, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, and Beyond Good & Evil.

Moving on, I picked up Darksiders and Bayonetta from Toys R Us at the beginning of the month. TRU was offering a free $40 gift card for purchasing both titles, so it was hard for me to resist. Surprisingly, I ended up returning both games for an even better incentive offered for purchasing the same games at the same store. Only two weeks later, TRU ran a promotion for Rewards members, where for purchasing two select titles, the customer would receive a free $60 gift card. Not bad.

A nice freebie that I scored this month came after finally redeeming some Nintendo Club points that I had saved up. I decided to go for the Zelda Poster Collection as it seemed way better than anything else offered. I am currently storing the posters in the protective cardboard tube they came shipped in. I'm sure I'll eventually frame the very nice history of Link print, but, for now, I'd rather hold off on spending the stupid amount of money that it will cost to have a custom frame made to fit its odd size.

My next purchase will probably end up being one of my most prized pickups of the year. As a fan of good video game music, I have been trying to get myself to a Video Games Live show for the past three years. Unfortunately, it has been difficult for me to do so for one reason or another. Last week, I visited the Video Games Live website to check their updated tour dates and to my surprise found that they'll be in Pittsburgh, PA the second week of February! I instantly grabbed two tickets. One for myself and another for a friend.

For those of you unfamiliar with Video Games Live, it is a concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time. Top orchestras and choirs perform along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments. Tickets were $45 a pop for the seating section that I chose. I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with you guys next month.

What was, I thought, to be my final gaming related purchase for January came as a surprise only a few days ago. Having played the original Mass Effect on the Xbox 360 and, for the most part, enjoyed the experience it offered, I was planning on picking up the sequel. However, because of the annoying world exploring, repetitive side missions, and all too frequent loading sequences that plagued the original, I was in no rush to run out and claim my copy on day one. This all changed after viewing the official launch trailer. The trailer was so effectively pieced together that I was spontaneously inspired to order the Collector's Edition from Amazon. In addition, I grabbed the two novels set in the Mass Effect universe, Revelation and Ascension.

I have played through the game already and loved every minute of it. What is even better, I've already sold the Inferno Armor that came from pre-ordering off Amazon for $19 and am currently looking to sell the Collector's Edition armor and gun for the $40 it is currently fetching on ebay. The game, which was totally worth the investment, has nearly paid for itself!

Now I thought ME2 was going to be the final purchase of the month, however, just like the end-of-year sale, Steam shows us that you should never count them out. This weekend I grabbed the Freedom Force: Freedom Pack and X-Com: Complete Pack for $2 a pop.

Well that is it for this month. Again, I hope you have enjoyed this and I'll see you again next month.