With the busy busy holiday season, the only hardcore gaming some members of the Warp Zoned staff did in December involved the office Secret Santa gift exchange. But others still did plenty of playing and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.
John Scalzo
Editor-In-Chief
Maybe it was all the good eats over the last week, but I can’t seem to remember much of what I played over the last month. I know there was some Halo Anniversary in there and that I was amazed at how modern a ten-year-old game can feel. And I also remember schooling a few family members in Bejeweled Blitz and Words With Friends. But that’s really all I can think of.
OK, New Year’s resolution time… lose weight play more games!
Nicole Kline
Senior Editor
December was a blur of Christmas shopping, cookie eating, champagne drinking, and video gaming. I played a ton of Mario Kart 7 and loved every blue-shell-cursing second of it. I’ve also been playing a lot of Super Mario 3D Land. Needless to say, my 3DS has spent most of its time plugged into a wall somewhere, because I’ve been destroying that battery on a daily basis! Other than that, I’ve been playing some Blood Bowl Legendary Edition for the PC (yes, hell froze over, I’m playing a game on the computer!) and I’ve re-started Final Fantasy XIII for two reasons – one is to prep for Final Fantasy XIII-2 coming out next month, and the second is just so I can make everyone’s eyes roll as hard as possible. Doo doo doo doo, dooooo doo doo doo doo!
Ryan Littlefield
Podcast Producer
December ushered in the unwelcome transition from spending money on a bunch of new games for myself in November to money spent on gifts for others. Wow, I sound like a Grinch.
Needless to say, this means that December was spent catching up on some backlog games that I haven’t quite had the heart to hit in a while. First and foremost, my two-year-old save file of Star Ocean: The Last Hope is finally getting some attention, and I’m realizing that my initial excitement and recommendations of the game are not holding as strong as they once did. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness has been a nice, quick title to play a little before bed every night, as well. Usually, I’ll reserve an hour or so for three nights a week, and bust out a couple maps with my party from the Underworld before hitting the hay. That’s how you beat games, after all: just keep chipping away! I’ve rarely been throwing Demon’s Souls and God of War II from the God of War Collection in my PS3 for fun – I like to really commit to one big game at a time, so Demon’s Souls is on hold until Star Ocean is finished – my “getting acquainted” sessions with Demon’s Souls were nice, though. I’m looking forward to getting into it! I’ve been doubling up on Star Ocean by playing Star Ocean: First Departure on PSP while I’m out and on the go. Though it feels like I’m killing two Star Ocean birds with one stone, it’s taking as long as using five stones.
My Wii has been seeing a lot of attention this month, too – (enough with the dirty jokes!) – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Fortune Street, and Animal Crossing: City Folk have all been making appearances on my TV throughout the month. Also, I’ve finished Super Mario 3D Land, and have been checking out Mario Kart 7 and Pushmo, the latter of which is surprisingly fun. As a whole, it’s been a month of “this and that,” but once I get back in the game (har har) I’m probably going to jump into Demon’s Souls, and then onto Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception!
Brian Bishop
Staff Writer
Skyrim. Skyrim. Skyrim. Skyrim. Also, more Skyrim.
In all seriousness though, I was playing a hell of a lot of Skyrim on my Xbox 360. My friends and I just had a LAN party, where 16 of us set up our computers in my friend’s place and just gamed for a week. In this time, I couldn’t JUST play Skyrim, that would be TOO great. I did revisit Dark Souls… again… and I’ve also been playing Battlefield 3 and being way too good (see: awful) for my own good.
I also took the opportunity to create a character on Star Wars: The Old Republic on a friend’s account, and it is indeed pretty amazing! Also, on a competitive game front, I’ve been playing League of Legends with my buddies. (If you want to play with me and laugh at my terrible “aggressive playstyle” I’m “XIIIBlades“ in LoL).
And finally, as I have a seven hour drive to Los Angeles from my home in Santa Cruz, I’m gonna be hitting some 3DS and PSP games, more than likely Persona 3 Portable, Metal Gear Acid, Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, and Pokemon Black.
Andrew Rainnie
Staff Writer
Since it’s December and Christmas shopping time, I have one rule; if I see something on sale for myself that no one will buy me, I grab it. Picked up Killzone 3 and Darksiders, which for some reason I had never played, for £15. Loving Killzone 3 – why this is not being developed into a film is beyond me. Have there ever been any amazing sci-fi war films in recent years? (Don’t you dare say Terminator Salvation!) But seriously, instead of pissing money away on shite Wrath of the Titans, studios could develop an amazing war film, like the opening of Saving Private Ryan but on another planet!
Hilariously, in dire need to shoot something before Killzone 3 arrived, I dug up my copy of Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles on the Wii and enjoyed some lightgun action. When that was finished, I switched in the funnier House of the Dead: Overkill.
