I've always loved January gaming. Despite the lack of blockbuster new releases during the month, it's always managed to hold a special place in my heart. Maybe it's the dawn of a new year, the epiphany that those 2011 day-zeroes that seemed so far away just weeks ago are now coming soon. Maybe it's the game of the year talk from the year past, spurring my desire to try everything that everyone nominated. Maybe it's the cold weather outside, forcing me indoors with little to do. Ok, honestly, it's not the last one. I'd most likely be gaming indoors if it were seventy-five and sunny.

Maybe it's the lack of new releases in and of itself. This time of year, one can actually keep up with good new releases, no backlog necessary. One can play everything, right when it comes out. I find myself thinking this every January, saying, "This year, I won't add anything to the backlog. I'll play games as they come out, then move on to the next." Then February hits, and the realization sets in. Even in the sparse months, I have neither the time nor the money to fulfill this goal.

I may not be able to explain it, but January is typical a great gaming month for me. I get a lot done. This January, for instance, I was able to complete ten games, and start a few more. So, I decided to share my thoughts on all of them. Here goes.



Dead Rising 2: Case West- Completed 1/1- I started the month with an easy one. I loved Dead Rising 2 and Case Zero, so this was an easy buy for me. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the bunch. It lacked the amazing locations of the other two, and was by far the easiest. The only difficultly was the guards with assault rifles, but they were much more annoying than difficult.

Fable 3- Completed 1/4- I wasn't going to buy in to the negative hype. I was going to enjoy this game regardless. After all, I loved Fable 2, it can't be THAT different, right? Wrong. Actually, that word can sum up this game pretty well. I'll explain by listing some of the differences between Fable 2 and 3. Changed the way characters interact with NPCs. Wrong. Decreased the difficulty level, with no way to change it. Wrong. Added a section where you are ruler of Albion. Wrong. Fable 3. Wrong. That's all.

Super Meat Boy- Completed 1/8- This is one of those games from before, that somebody mentioned for GOTY. So of course, I HAD to play it. Plus it was dirt cheap on Steam. I'm usually not one for difficult games. I gave up on Demon's Souls after about an hour. Surprisingly, I actually really liked this game. Yes it was difficult. But I always felt like if I just mastered one little jump, I could make it through. And I did make it through. But only to the credits. That was enough torture for me.

Plants vs. Zombies- Completed 1/9- This was one of those "you have to be at work this weekend, just in case something happens" weekends. So I fired up a game that I could easily get in and out of quickly. As expected, nothing really happened at work, so I pretty much gamed the whole time, and quickly burned through this one. It was fun, though repetitive. It probably wasn't made to be played all in two days though, so I'll cut it some slack.



This post is getting long, and I'm finally getting tired. So, I'm going to split it up. Still lots of January gaming to talk about. Coming up next- Ghost Trick, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Enslaved: Pigsy's Perfect 10, and Fallout: New Vegas. After that, Miles Edgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations, Vanquish, Oblivion, Magicka, and Minecraft.