After over a year of half-ass video game playing, including time periods where I would play nothing but Guitar Hero and Rock Band, I'm finally rediscovering my video game spark. Since I am currently unemployed, graduated from high school and not yet in college, and almost completely lacking in a life of any sort, over the last few weeks I've had a sudden craving for video games. Although I should get a job soon and that will greatly cut into my free time, at the moment I am trying to cram in as much video game-playing as is possible. My brother moved back into the house and fortunately brought many of his games with him. I was able to re-acquire a Call of Duty 4 CD key from him and have been vigorously playing that for the last few days. I've discovered that I'm not that bad at it. I basically picked up right where I left off in terms of skill, and it's a blast.

Also among his collection of games, I have found such games as Fallout 3, Mass Effect, F.E.A.R., Prey, and even Diablo II, which I never played. Disks for all of these games are missing, so hopefully he has them lying around somewhere - I have 1 of 2 discs for 4 of those 5 games, lol. Thanks to my brother for being so horribly organized! The only complete game there is Diablo II. As soon as I get the time, I will install Diablo II and play a classic that I've missed out on all these years. I'm also hoping that I can get back my copy of Civilization III from my friend, who borrowed it once many months ago. Man that is such a great game - I know I could still get many many many more tens or even hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of that game. That is a game that is so infinitely addictive and replayable that I wouldn't be surprised to see myself coming back to it 10 years down the road (or more!).

Right now my severe lack of money is a pretty big problem. There are so many great recent games that I'm interested in, but I have NO MONEY to buy them with, and I'm afraid that by the time I do get the money, the time for many of them will have passed me by. Once again I'm starting to feel that pinch of being overwhelmed with games. But there are other things that I have to spend money on too. Expensive things that are top priority, such as helping pay rent, getting a new monitor to replace this old piece of crap, my cell phone bill, and driving lessons. Assuming my brother and I can find all of his disks for Mass Effect and Fallout 3, my first gaming priority will undoubtedly be Left 4 Dead. I also plan to upload Steam and download Half-Life 2: Episode Two - can't leave me hanging with that cliffhanger on Episode 1! In fact, maybe I'll just try to get most of these games on Steam.

Looking forward to some of these future games also has me very excited. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is supposedly coming at the end of this year and man I can't wait. I don't see any reason to get World at War if the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4 is coming so soon. I also can't WAIT for BioShock 2. Just thinking about a sequel to such an epic game has me very excited. Hopefully Red Faction 3 will be good too.

And STARCRAFT II! Every day my anticipation for this game builds and builds. I simply cannot WAIT for the epic storyline, intense gameplay, and countless hours of mindless enjoyment that it's bound to provide. From watching videos and reading about the abilities of the races, it seems that the core gameplay remains pretty well intact and has actually been improved. Each race looks thoroughly more powerful and balanced, and the game looks just as great and fluid as the first game. But I'm most excited for the storyline. Damn I CAN'T WAIT!!

Hopefully my renewed gaming spark is here to stay. I've been craving them so bad lately it should at least last me for a while, and with so many great games I'm missing out on...oh baby.

With my renewed sense of determination, you can also expect more game ratings and reviews soon. I was discouraged by GameSpot's new rating system for a while, but I've gotten over it and now plan to exploit it to its full advantages. Not that it has any - it still sucks.

Damn it, I was 90% done with this entry and then I pressed the stupid way-too-easy-to-press back button on this mouse and lost everything. >.< Let's see how well I can redo this entry.

I've just had no motivation to play games lately. The only game I've been playing with any frequency is Guitar Hero II. I never found my copy (or my copy of GTA:SA), but my friend loaned me his copy of GHII since he now had GHIII and had mastered everything on II almost perfectly. He's a freaking Guitar Hero God. For about 2 months I got myself re-invested in Civilization III as well, which I found to be as addicting as ever, but I just kind of stopped playing again at random, although I'm pretty sure I could still get many hours more enjoyment out of that game.

One of the major factors that has killed my motivation is the switch to my new hard drive. My old hard drive crapped out on me (it wouldn't even detect my CD drives anymore!), so I quickly got a new hard drive and am still struggling through the transfer of information over to the new one. One of my problems is that I have lost pretty much all of my CD keys, mainly the ones to World in Conflict, Call of Duty 4, and The Orange Box, three of the games I want to play the most. So I haven't been able to yet reinstall these games. Also, I seem to have misplaced my Microsoft Office disks; I think a "friend" may have them, but he's a huge flake. It's really no use spending money on another copy of Microsoft Office (which is probably the most overpriced software on the market) when I might be able to retrieve the old copies. Not to mention we're desperately short on money at the moment.

On another note, I also lost my wallet with $50 and my ID in it.

What? What do you mean I lose everything?

I don't know what you're talking about. >_>

For those more knowledgeable than I, is there a way to find the CD key to the installed games somewhere in the files or properties of the old game? I still have the old hard drive on my computer.

One thing I was able to accomplish before the switch to my new hard drive (since The Orange Box doesn't require a CD to play) was my playing and finishing of Portal. Although I think it got a bit repetitive towards the end and the final fight with GLADOS was somewhat disappointing, in all other respects it was a fantastic game, probably the most clever and interesting game I have ever played. It was also really fun, and the script was fantastic. I am eagerly anticipating how this will fit into the future of the Half-Life franchise. If and when I get Portal reinstalled, I will seek out user-made Portal maps online and will play the challenges already built into the game. Then I will play Half-Life 2: Episode Two and get around to Team Fortress 2. I'll probably replay Half-Life 2 at some point and see if there's something about it I missed on the first playthrough (I know this may sound like blasphemy, but Half-Life 2 was fairly average in my eyes). The story and universe they're creating around Half-Life, however, has kept me interested.

I did buy Sins of a Solar Empire recently (maybe 3 weeks ago). But after playing through the tutorials and starting a game, and despite finding it interesting (although with a fairly steep learning curve), I stopped playing that as well. What is wrong with me?

One thing I could possibly do to respark my interest in video gaming is to go to the nearest store with a bargain bin and search through it to find old classic PS2 games. I've never been a big console gamer, but I've warmed up to them recently. I'm still playing Guitar Hero II, and I have Final Fantasy X. Even though I got about 20 hours in and it's been quite a ride, I suddenly stopped playing that as well. I just have no explanation for my sudden stoppage in gaming, and maybe playing through old PS2 classics rather than worrying about the greatest and new games will respark my interest. I remember it was getting back into Starcraft that revitalized it last time. Speaking of that, I need to buy a new copy of Starcraft and play all the way through it before Starcraft II comes out...

...did I mention I also lost that?

I seem to have just become more interested in reading about new games and studying them and eagerly anticipating them than I am in actually playing them recently. I still avidly read every issue of PC Gamer.

Speaking of eagerly anticipating, I now have 29 games on my wishlist.

Let's start with games that are already out that I've so far missed out on. I still hope to eventually get my hands on Prey and F.E.A.R., especially before the sequels come out. I would love to get my hands on Supreme Commander (I had the demo installed on my old hard drive and it was intriguing). Out of these, F.E.A.R. is the only one that I really want to play. Another one that I really want is Company of Heroes, which I believe, from what I've heard, may be the best RTS game since Age of Empires II (although I never played Rise of Nations...which I may have to dig up sometime as well). I hope to get a new computer (with Vista!) by the end of the year, and when that happens, I want to get Crysis (forget about it on my current rig, although it may run okay on very minimal settings), and Halo 2 (stupid Vista-only business move), which I will just play for the campaign. One place I will start out on for the PS2 (besides Final Fantasy X), is God of War, which I have played and is pretty sweet. Also, once I finish Final Fantasy X, I'll get Final Fantasy XII and slowly play through that. I also hope to get my hands on another cheap copy of GTA: San Andreas. Finally, there's two relatively unheralded (but still fairly well-known games) that I hope to get my hands on; STALKER and The Witcher. Although RPGs typically disappoint me, I am intrigued by the free form, action-oriented world of STALKER and the moral ambiguity of The Witcher. The only other RPGs I've really consistently enjoyed (besides Final Fantasy X) are the Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate series. Finally, I think the next game I'm going to buy will be either Mass Effect or Gears of War for the PC. Although I've played Gears of War extensively, I've never played through the campaign. It would be totally worth it. As for Mass Effect...well, let's just say huge sci-fi RPG = instant win.

As for games that are still to come out, the ones I'm anticipating the most are Starcraft II and Spore, with Far Cry 2 not far behind. Spore looks like the most innovative, accessible, and amazing game to come out in years, while Starcraft II couldn't possibly disappoint. Far Cry 2 looks like Crysis on steroids. 'nuff said. Tom Clancy's EndWar also has me intrigued.

Another thing I could do to revitalize my interest is download more game demos. That usually does the trick for me.

Finally, I keep forgetting that I actually had a Nintendo DS that I bought off a friend for $40 (probably about a year ago). I don't have a single game for that and I really don't know much about the DS. Does anyone who happens to read this have any suggestions on DS essentials?

Well, that wraps up this long and mostly unnecessary post (that's what happens when you go 4 months between updates).

Well, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was well worth the wait. It is truly an amazing game. Despite the linearity and shortness of the campaign, it's not a stretch to say that it was the best campaign I have ever played. It was less repetitive than BioShock and perhaps even more fun, intense, and atmospheric. Call of Duty 4's campaign, compared to most modern fictional war campaigns, was refreshing and believable, and it provides perhaps the most cinematic and intense gaming experience I have ever encountered. It's very similar to Call of Duty 2, just with better graphics, a refreshing storyline and setting, and with more variety in the settings, objectives, and weapons. It's pretty much Call of Duty 2 on steroids.

Although it's one of the best multiplayer games I've played recently, I don't like it as much as its single-player. The maps are ridiculously small and on free-for-all often aren't suitable for more than about 15 people, if even that. I'm glad they're not as big as Battlefield 2's maps, but I still wish that they were bigger. They often just turn into directionless fragfests and spawnkilling battlegrounds. However, all things considered, it's still very fun and very intense, and I'm still addicted to it.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I haven't played World in Conflict recently. I still plan to go back and finish the campaign, but I'm afraid I will have forgotten all of the controls. Although multiplayer sounds very fun, it also sounds very difficult. Although I really enjoy the game, it still has a very steep learning curve. However, I have found another game to occupy some of my time. I was going through the bargain bin at my local Gamestop and found Final Fantasy X. I and others always thought that it was a travesty that such a huge video game freak as me had never played a Final Fantasy game. So I bought it and I've been playing it off-and-on since. It's a pretty awesome game; I like it much better than most RPGs.

The only new game I've bought since my last blog is World in Conflict. I desperately want to play The Orange Box (after finishing Half-Life 2: Episode One), since Portal and Team Fortress 2 look so awesome. That will be the next game I get. I also had a severe problem; I lost both my Guitar Hero II and San Andreas disks. So much for getting awesome at Guitar Hero. I also never even got a chance to play San Andreas. I know they're around here somewhere, but with so many awesome games to get and play around now, I honestly won't really miss them too much.

What I plan to get next (after The Orange Box) is a new monitor. Mine sucks. I already got nice new $100 Bose speakers. They kick ass. I still plan to get Crysis and Gears of War for the PC as well. Crysis will probably come after a monitor and The Orange Box. But there are still so many other games that I want. Command & Conquer: The First Decade (which is actually 6 games mind you), Company of Heroes, God of War, Guitar Hero III, Stalker, Sins of a Solar Empire, Supreme Commander, and The Witcher are simply the ones at the top of my list. In addition, Frontlines: Fuel of War looks very promising, and I've recently become very excited about The Agency and Far Cry 2. Not to mention Mass Effect for the PC, Spore, and Starcraft II. I currently have 25 games on my wishlist, and I really do want all of them (although I could survive without a few of those). I need a job, badly. Been unemployed since December, and now with a cell phone bill to pay and so many games to buy, in addition to a monitor, I need one desperately.

Finally, I plan to go back and rewrite my reviews. My writing skills have improved and I want to utilize the new scoring system. I will also write some new reviews soon. Stay tuned!