Back in the saddle

Well, I'm finally finished with all my January traveling, so I can get back to a regular schedule for blogging and working on SPUDZOOKA. The only problem is my Xbox 360... I'm worried it will find a way to eat into my productivity. The best way to handle it is probably to limit my gaming time and only play once I have made progress on my own game. It will be tough, but I think I can pull it off.

So what do I think of the Xbox so far? I love it. 2007 saw a great batch of games released, and while I can't afford them all at once, I feel like I've finally stepped back into the main flow of the gaming world. I've been so consumed with creating games, I haven't played very many of them. That's good in a way, since being creative seems a more worthwhile pursuit; however, it's vital to stay current on the best games so I know where the game industry is heading.

Ok, I can't call myself current yet. Here are the games I've got for the 360 at the moment (aside from the giveaway games that came with it):

• The Orange Box
• Halo 3
• Oblivion

Yeah, that's it. The Orange Box has been fantastic so far. Portal, as I mentioned before, blew me away. I'm loving Half Life 2. The setting is wonderfully rich and detailed, the story is brilliantly told, the levels are well designed, and (this is the main thing), the sense of immersion is never broken. There are no cut-scenes that take away control. The people you meet will talk to you, but you don't have to listen. Even loading screens maintain your point of view.

Sure, there are some things that aren't very realistic, like the age-old shooter convention of carrying around an arsenal of weapons and ammo. Where exactly does Gordon Freeman store the gravity gun when he's not using it? Maybe I don't want to know.

The one-man arsenal problem is actually one of the cooler aspects of Halo. Specifically, they avoid it. You can't carry more than two weapons at a time. Sure, you're seven feet tall, have a five foot vertical leap, and are essentially immortal, but at least you can't carry around too many weapons. Still, it adds a nice variety to the gameplay, since you don't always have the option to choose the best weapon for a specific situation.

Oblivion is quite fun as well. I've never much gotten into extremely open-ended RPGs (since story has always been my primary interest), but I find that the more I play, the more I enjoy the freedom the game gives me to explore. The leveling system has some nice elements to it, but I also think it has some problems. I'll save my thoughts on that for another post.

So there's a quick update on my Xbox playing so far. As you can see I have quite enough to keep me busy for a few months. There's quite a list of other games I want to play. Maybe someday I'll actually be caught up with the rest of the gaming world. On second thought, nah.

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On an unrelated note, I want to congratulate one of my life-long friends and his wife, who have just had their first child. I know they are very proud. Now I just need to find a time to meet the little guy.