A Year in Video Games

Happy Mama's Day!

2009-05-10T02:08:00.002-04:00

Do you think my Mama would be proud? I don't know, I'll ask her later today. For now, an update.

It has been a while, and for that I apologize. I'm not making myself update regularly, still adjusting to the new living situation and such, but I have been playing hella games.

So, onto the titles I've completed:

Retro Game Challenge was indeed the first game I defeated in my quest to reach 182 games. After talking it over with some friends, I've decided that each game within the game counts toward my total. To make it a little easier on myself, and also because each game is, at the least, a full NES game.

Game #1:
Cosmic Gate: 64 Levels of a Galaga clone. I actually went through every level, when apparently, there is a cheat that allows you to skip directly to the last level. Ugh. Still, I had fun with it and after a little tediousness, managed to get to the final level and destroy it.

Game #2:
Robot Ninja Haggleman: Pretty much a Mario clone with doors and traps and scrolls and fun. I had fun gunning through this game. It takes a while, but it was still on the shorter side and didn't get too boring. Although, they make you play through each level twice, pretty much to double to game, like some old NES games would do.

Game #3 and #4:
Rally King and Rally King SP. Pretty much the same game, but with enough subtle differences to differentiate between the two. This was the racing game contained within Retro Game Challenge. Felt like an RC Pro Am or Micromachines clone. I had trouble reverting back to the ancient control scheme in these games, but after a while, I was pulling off slide and boost combo's like there was no tomorrow. I found myself going back and playing these games alot, they were very addictive.

Game #5:
Star Prince. This was the up/down shooter game. A little too easy in the beginning, then a great jump forward in difficulty in the last level or two. I didn't enjoy this one very much, but I only had to play through it once, that was its saving grace.

Game #6:
Robot Ninja Haggleman 2. The sequel to Robot Ninja Haggleman. A few more levels, but pretty much just a continuation of the first game. Didn't take too long though, so yay!

Game #7:
Gaudia Quest. Longest. Game. In. Retro. Game. Challenge. This is a Dragon Quest or Ultima clone. Basically, it was an 8-bit RPG. Took me a little under 20 hours to play through the entire game. After about level 30 or so, the game moves quick. Still, it was fun going back and playing an old school RPG without knowing the story and whatnot. Out of all the games in the challenge, this one was possibly my favorite.

Game #8:
Robot Ninja Haggleman 3. Huge jump in technology from the first two. This is more an Ninja Gaiden clone. You're running around throwing stars, upgrading your character, etc. Second longest game in RGC, and while I enjoyed it, I found myself getting bored after the second stage. Still, glad I defeated it.

Game #9:
Retro Game Challenge. Finally, the entire game which the first 8 are packed in. The story focuses on Game Master Arino, who resents you for being a good gamer, so he hurtles you back in time to complete his many game challenges, and also, to keep his younger self company. The challenges start off easy enough, doing small tasks in each game. After completing a game's challenges, a new game unlocks and you go from there. There's some funny cut scenes and banter between young and old Arino. After beating all the challenges put forth by Arino, he gives you the final challenge. To defeat each game completely. It takes some time and effort, but beating it was well worth it.

Game #10:
Draglade. This Atlus produces fighting/RPG/rhythm game was alot of fun. Basically, you choose between four different characters and go through that character's storyline. The rhythm part comes in during your combat. Basically, if you press the attack button in the right order, you'll chain together more attacks while your weapon makes music. It weird and quirky, but fun. I wouldn't recommend it, however. It gets very dull and becomes very easy to cheat down the line. Basically just spamming your attacks and special powers consistently and you'll never get defeated. It had some great ideas, but they fell kind of short.

That's it for now, I need to get a little sleep before heading over to the parent's house.

Ninja...vanish!

Oh my Stars and Garters

2009-04-15T19:28:00.003-04:00

..An actual update. Sorry for the delay folks. Its just been a hectic couple of weeks. I was diagnosed with pneumonia the day after moving into my new digs. Which meant a week of recovery time, doing nothing, save for playing the occasional video game when I was able to see straight.

After getting over being sick, I was ready and rearing to go ahead with the experiment. Sadly, we had no internet. Hell, we're on DSL right now. Thankfully, we'll be upgraded to Fios in the near future. First, let me give a little photo tour of my new place.

Coat Closet/DvD Wall: As soon as you walk in the front door, over to the right is a closet.

In the closet we have normal things..

And the Wall of DvD's! Top two rows are mine, bottom is my roomie's.

We have a fully stocked kitchen, off course:

We had spaghetti for dinner, in case you were wondering.

Our Pantry:

On to the living room!

The Tv:

The Couch we sit on to watch the Tv:

Our Curio Cabinets:

The Roomie's Cabinet:

My Cabinet:

View of the living room from the front door:

Hallway closet:

Bathroom:

My Bedroom, most of these photos were taken from my bed, so no view of the bed.

My Television:

PS2 and Tiny cabinet: (Also, a goomba!)

Armour With Two Michael Meyers! Poor Loomis. Astroboy can save him!

My currently empty Cd Rack:

Last part of my room...the Game Closet.

The Game Rack inside the Game Closet.

Lastly, the Dining Room, with our computers and tables and such.

Dining Room Table:

Roomie's Computer:

My Computer:

My Muggs:

Lastly, my normal view of the computer:

Alrighty. Now, with the photo tour out of the way, onto the experiment. The official start date was sadly moved, to this past Monday.

I'll do a post on friday detailing what I've played thusly, but I'll just throw up the first Achievement I've earned.

Weekend Post

2009-03-29T23:40:00.002-04:00

Been a busy weekend for Mike, culminating in my sleeping through Sunday almost completely.

Good times, right?

Friday night, wasn't so bad. Just packed some, watching Wrestling with my pop, drove around the new neighborhood abit to get used to it. Came home and played some games. Not too bad, but not sitting around doing nothing either.

Saturday. Ran around alot. First Mary came over, we drove to the dunkin donuts, with plans on hitting up the used bookstore near my house. It closed down though, we decided to go to the new neighborhood and check out the stores and such. Well, because of a craptastic driver in front of me, I jammed on the brakes, and the coffee Mary was holding, its lid popped off and boiling hot coffee landed all over her legs. Ouch.

We quickly ducked into a different dunkin donuts, I grabbed a ton of napkins, and we booked it back to my house. Washed her jeans, and just hung about the house a little bit. Then, went back out, looked at the new neighborhood stores, not really stopping or anything.

Then, picked up Steve, went to my Aunt's house near Richboro, picked up her kitchen table and chairs, took them to Downtown philly, where my cousin lives. Delivered her table and chairs, took the table and chairs she had, went back to my aunt's got another chair and a big ass microwave table, and then went to Steve's house and dropped everything off.

Then, the three of us went and got dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. We had beers, Queso dip, appetizer platters, and burgers all around. The coffee, by the by, was excellent.

Came home and me and Mary watched Beerfest, then she went home and I played a little video game, which I'll talk about later, and watched a little Game Center CX. Was supposed to go out on sunday..but I slept. :( Sorry, Dave, Greg, and Bern!

Now, listening to Anime World Order and cleaning up the room, putting stuff away.

For now, I am Ghost.

Arino(Mike)'s Game Challenge

2009-03-27T23:05:00.003-04:00

One of the driving forces for me starting up this experiment, as getting and playing through RetroGame Challenge.

RetroGame Challenge is loosely based around a show called Game Center CX, where this Japanese comedian, Arino, has to complete challenges in old video games and the like. Unlike him I will not be spending twelve straight hours on a game, unless I really want to, but I've been watching the episodes of the original Japanese show(subbed in English) and been enjoying them immensely.

That video is part 1 of episode 1. Click through to watch more.

Tomorrow, we get a table. And chairs. And another table. And another chair. Wow. Gonna be fun.

For now, I'm going to get some rest.

Ninja..Sleep.

The end is nigh..

2009-03-26T22:46:00.002-04:00

Actually, I guess the beginning is nigh, really.

Anyway, once more not much to report. Just waiting patiently to get into the new digs. Not patiently, really. But waiting.

Mary gave me Gauntlet for Ps2, which I've played with her before. Not sure if I'm willing to play it solo, but it looks like a good co-op game to play if someone wants to.

Right now, I'm really wanting Devil Survivor. It looks incredibly fun.

Unfortunately, its not out.

Damnit. They better be localizing RetroGame Challenge 2. I'm almost done with the game and crave more.

Ninja..Vanish!

Quick Update

2009-03-25T23:55:00.002-04:00

Feeling ten times better today. Took the day off from work and slept it away.

Went to the new apartment and measured some things. Figured out which room is which, etc.

Moving in next wednesday. We'll have internet shortly after that, so hopefully, I'll be able to keep updating regularly.

For now, I'm going to get some more sleep.

Random linkage and a quick exit..

2009-03-24T22:54:00.002-04:00

Not much to report on, barely played WoW today. Only for an hour or so.

Since then, been in and out of consciousness. By the way, I was disappointed in the finale for Battlestar Gallactica. I think I need to rewatch it. I caught up on the last season over the passed couple of days. Some good stuff, alot of weird things as well.

Anyway random linkage:

www.samandfuzzy.com
www.leasticoulddo.com
www.kotaku.com
www.tpww.net
www.otakon.com
www.ocremix.org
www.tdrsmusic.com

And finally..the greatest thing ever.

Sickly Mike

2009-03-24T14:42:00.002-04:00

As some of you might know, I quit smoking not too long ago. I had been diagnosed with bronchitis and my breathing was really bad. So, it was easy to quit smoking.

I get on a bunch of meds, some inhalers, etc. Started feeling better, and the bonus was I didn't smoke anymore.

Flashforward to this weekend, and my breathing is all messed up again, but I'm not a smoker anymore. Called the doctor today, got an appointment with a Pulmonologist.

Why am I reporting this? Because I missed an update last night, due to taking some nyquil and passing out.

Hopefully, the doctor can make Mike better, faster, and stronger.

For now..Ninja...Vanish!

Laying Down The Gauntlet

2009-03-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

A Year In Video Games - The Experiment

Goal of the Experiment: To play 182 games in 365 days. This equals roughly 1 game every two days. This does not mean I have to complete one game every two days. I could theoretically complete 30 games in one day if I played a bunch of Nintendo games and Flash games.

However, the sub goal of this experiment is to complete all the games I've bought and never finished. So, there will be Nintendo games, but the majority of my backlog is within the last 2 generations of Video Game Consoles.

Rules:

Games must be completed to the end credits. I do not have to get 100% on all hidden items/levels/etc. I just need to beat the game.

Special Circumstances:

1.) Fighting Games: Since Fighting Games tend to be short, I must complete each fighting game with at least Half of the selectable characters. This means, if a game has 20 characters and 10 hidden characters, I have to use 15 characters to beat the game.

2.) Online Games: World of Warcraft, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, and whatever other online games I play, will be completed by reaching whatever the level cap is in said games.

3.) Any addendum's will go here, but I don't see many other problems.

Game Order:

Will be determined on a weekly basis. Every week, there will be a pool of five games listed. I will put a poll up each week, and whichever game gets the most votes, must be completed within a week.

Aside from the weekly game, I plan on having theme weeks every now and again. Like, an all Shooter week, or all RPG week, or RTS week, etc. They may even focus on a company, like Blizzard or Atlus, or a particular franchise, like Diablo, or Persona.

I will also have achievements, ala' the Xbox 360, Ps3 Trophies, etc. that I'll gain over the course of the year. The first one I'll hit is completing 10 games, and the other one I've revealed is leveling a character to 80 in WoW.

The experiment has an Official Start Date. April 1st, 2009.

Is this whole thing a joke, or will I actually complete this ungodly challenge?

Ninja...Vanish!

I'm not home.

2009-03-21T22:33:00.001-04:00

Went out with the girlfriend, Mary, whom is the love of my life and doesn't like when I call her the girlfriend, we saw I Love You Man. It was really funny and well worth the extra money at CheeBurger CheeBurger to get the movie tickets on top of dinner.

Sorry, nothing very video gamey today. Tomorrow, I promise something more aimed toward the blog. In the meantime, try out NetHack, I've been playing it alot recently. Very much fun.

Video Game Music

2009-03-20T23:13:00.002-04:00

Figured I'd just share a little bit of my favorite music from some video games and such.

Frog's Theme from Chrono Trigger has always been a favorite.

From Puzzle Fighter: Sakura's Vocal Song: I Want You To Know

The Battle/Random Encounter Music from all the Pokemon Games:

Airman's Theme from Megaman 2:

Persona 4: Reach Out To The Truth:

The Theme to Bubble Bobble:

Lastly a bunch of music from RetroGame Challenge:

Enjoy the tunes. Ninja...Vanish!

Lease? We don't need no stinkin..oh, we do? Okay.

2009-03-19T22:18:00.002-04:00

Got the lease for the apartment, been looking it over, sadly, can't find anything I have questions about save for the stuff my roomie came up with. So, good on him.

Watched some more Baccano! and Supernatural tonight with the girl, good times had all around. Can't wait for the next couple of weeks to be over and to be moved in to my new pad, with this experiment flying into full swing.

For now, I'm in dire need of some rest. So, good evening.

Packing is still daunting..less fun.

2009-03-18T21:54:00.002-04:00

Filled a box with DvD's today. Only one level of DvD's on the bottom. Still, weighed more then I expected.

Its weird packing my life up into cardboard boxes. I know they're just things, but even something like a DvD can have sentimental value. Welcome To The NHK, an anime that was gifted to me, springs to mind. Being as I just looked at the box not too long ago.

That DvD means something special to me. It was given to me on Valentine's Day. I'll always remember it as a Valentine's gift, not just another DvD in the collection. And on it goes, this was a X-mas gift, this a b-day gift, and so on, and so on. Just found it weird that I'd attach sentimental value to something that simple.

Also, I'm aware how big of a nerd it makes me look that anime was a Valentine's gift for me.

Ninja...Vanish!

World of Warcraft

2009-03-18T16:32:00.001-04:00

So, along with my whole experiment, there is a game that haunts me. It taints my very soul with its ghoulish grip on me. That game, of course, is Hello Kitty Island Adventure, better known as World of Warcraft.

How can I account for this game in the grand-scheme of my experiment? The game never really ends, does it? Not really. Instead, I'm going to Level a Character to Level 80 before my year in video gaming is up. Mind you, I only play WoW, once or twice a week, if that. Unless I go on a bender, in which case, I can do ten levels in a week(which won't happen after the first couple of levels are gone).

That is the first achievement announced for the Experiment. Achieve Level 80 In World of Warcraft.

It shall be done.

Yeah.

2009-03-18T06:20:00.001-04:00

Once again, not much to report on. I was exhausted last night for some reason, ended up passing out after work, hence no update yesterday. At least, I have a somewhat valid excuse. I'll make up for it with another post later today. For now, I must get my lazy self to work.

A Post Before 10pm? Say it ain't so..

2009-03-16T19:45:00.002-04:00

But, it is so! Hello out there in the internet lands. Your favorite dumpling of a man, back for a quick update on Mike's world.

Apartment is go. Me and Steve should be finishing up everything this week or so, taking measurements, fighting in a pit of boiling oil for the "bigger" room, and finding out when we can start moving our crap in. Hopefully, a little before we're actually going to be living there, but ya never know.

I've been short on the pictures lately, and as a good friend of mine once said, "screw all this reading bull, where's the pretty pictures?" Well, you'll have to wait a little longer for some more pics. The end of the month is nigh, and with it, the inevitable moving pictures.

You've been warned.

"Let me tell you 'bout the protoculture, if you don't know the culture here's the whole structure: We've had enough of the lackluster, trust us, we get the kind of games you can't rent at blockbuster."

Packing is both daunting and fun..

2009-03-15T22:19:00.002-04:00

I have so much more to pack and so much already packed, I have this deep fear that half of my stuff won't be fitting into the new apartment. Oye.

It been fun packing stuff up though. Finding old rarities, long forgotten, mixed in with the refuse that needs to be thrown in the bin.

I found Fire Pro Wrestling for my GBA in a box full of old G.I. Joe's and He-men. Neat. Took the game, the toys are going to a garage sale.

Anyone know an easy way to sell a butt-load of comics? I literally have over 10 long boxes filled with comic goodness. I've gotta go through and sort them all. But eventually, I need to get rid of 'em.

That depressing thought aside, I'm off to finish packing for the night.

-"The jig is up, the news is out, they finally found me."

On the nose..

2009-03-14T23:32:00.002-04:00

Once again, barely making it, but managed to get on the computer before Saturday is officially over.

Received a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne in the mail today. Full box and everything, sadly, no soundtrack. I'll live.

Went to IKEA with the girl and the roommate, picked up a bunch of small stuff and a Detolf glass cabinet. Looked really nice in the display area, and I've seen many a nerd use them as I will, to display all my figures and statues. Not sure if one will be enough, but for now, it will do.

Alright, I'm going to go play some Left 4 Dead with some friends. Enjoy the rest of your weekends, people.

-"Watching my Murderer's Muse."

Not much to report..

2009-03-13T22:27:00.001-04:00

Couldn't bring myself to do much of anything today except watch Breaking Bad and create a character for Shin Megami Tensei Imagine(online MMORPG).

The game looks fun, but I'm in a haze and can barely see straight, so don't take my word on that yet.

This ninja needs some sleep and some tea.

Ninja..vanish?..sleep?....Meh?

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-12T22:33:00.003-04:00

My friend Bern just turned 27 yesterday, just wanted to say I hope he had fun gambling all his money away in Atlantic City.

Speaking of his birthday, I decided to spread the love and got him...Retro Game Challenge! I've spent many an hour on this game and feel everyone alive should play it.

I know, anyone actually reading this blog is getting pissed at this point, wondering when I'm going to update about the actual experiment and get a full listing of games up, and start playing some for craps sake. I will. I swear. Just, not yet.

Ninja..VANISH!

Almost..missed it..

2009-03-11T23:14:00.001-04:00

Oye god, I almost missed a day of updating, that would have sucked, hard.

Not much to report though, sadly enough. Only thing video game related that happened to me was kinda crappy. After meeting with the new roomie to talk over some things, we swung by gamestop and looked around. I found a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Sage for 35 bucks used. No case, manual, etc. Just the disk. Me thinking its one of the hard Shin Megami games to find, decide to pick it up. The new roomie also believes that this one is hard to find.

Get home and check amazon and what do I find? Brand new copies for 39.99, five dollars more then I paid. So, taking this back tomorrow to get my monies back. Already ordered the new copy. I hate buying used, especially from Gamestop, so it'll be nice to get my money back and not feed them cash. :)

Tired Ninja

2009-03-10T22:13:00.002-04:00

I am exhausted. Just a very long day, thankfully, after tomorrow I should be making a few more dollars a week.

Gearing up for the move, and I keep coming up with more crap that we'll need.

Thankfully, I'll be getting a new bed for my birthday, which is great, but still alot of small stuff to get. Like a Hamper, trashcans, Coffee Maker(gonna splurge on this one, get a really nice one since I love my morning coffee), need to buy cleaning products, a new DVD rack, cabinets, etc. Its just all this small stuff chipping away.

Ah well, anyway, tomorrow I'm gonna pull some random games and put a poll up on which of them should be in the first volley of the experiment.

For Now..I am ghost(Ninja).

Why must Atlus rule my Heart?

2009-03-09T20:42:00.004-04:00

I have Atlust. I don't know why, maybe its because of my affinity for Japanese Anime and Manga. Maybe its because I was playing RPG's back when Ultima came out for the NES. Maybe I love dungeon crawlers and games that are time sinks. Maybe its all these things, but, damn it I love Atlus.

Check them out over at www.atlus.com, like they need a plug from a small time blog.

Also, if you get the chance, I'm really digging on this album, its completely free and over 4 discs long: http://tales.ocremix.org/music.html

Packing up and such..found some neat little things while going through my old toys and such. I'll post some pictures later tonight.

For now, I'll be in the basement, falling asleep as I watch the telly with my pop.

Edit:

Some photos of the junk I've found.

Snowman Figure/Statue.

Invid Trooper from Robotech: New Generation.

Magneto Secret Wars Figure, Max Sterling Robotech: Macross Saga figure, and Vincent from Final Fantasy VII figure.

I'll post more junk tomorrow, possibly. Or perhaps pictures of the girl's neighborhood.

Anyway, Ninja.....VANISH!

Shorter and Shorter

2009-03-08T15:09:00.002-04:00

Don't know if I'll be around for the rest of the day, so I figured I'd post something real quick. Sadly, my brain is fried from a lack of sleep and too much coffee, so instead of thinking up something to do with the blog, my life, or anything relevant, I'm just going to rattle off a list of links everyone should know about.

http://www.geekbox.net

The Geekbox is the Blog of one Ryan Scott, former writer for EGM and 1up.com. This blog serves as the main source for his podcast with other former writers from 1up.com and EGM. Everything geek related gets discussed on this show, Video Games, Comic Books, Lost, and Burn Notice(one hell of a great show). The theme song is also quite snazzy. One of my favorite podcasts.

http://www.eat-sleep-game.com

More former 1upers and EGM writers on another podcast. This one dealing exclusively with video games. Well, most of the time. Sometimes there's tangents about gorilla's ripping peoples faces off and digitized penis. Good times.

http://www.animeworldorder.com

Hosted by the internet's Daryl Surat, Gerald, and Clarissa, this podcast focuses on, you guessed it, Anime. Really fun show to listen to, as long as you don't mind waiting weeks on end for a new episode. The reviews are spot on, and they have a great chemistry with one another.

Lastly,

http://www.daveandjoel.com

The podcast for Dave and Joel's Fast Karate for the Gentleman. The last podcast I'll talk about today. They tend to release two-three episodes per week, usually focusing on Anime or Video Games. And sometimes 24, a show I never was interested in until listening to this podcast and finding out just how ridiculous 24 really is. By far, the funniest podcast I listen to.

That's it for now, most likely going to crash and burn for the rest of the day.

Ninja..sleep.

A Week Ago Today..

2009-03-07T23:20:00.002-05:00

We've reached the Eight post on this here blog. Wahoo. Over a week old and stuff.

Anywho, been packing up DVDs, Games, and various other things. Found my old Green and Black monitor for my C64, but no C64, most likely still up in the attic or garage. I'm going to finish going through the house and gathering all my things up tomorrow. Then, more boxing and such.

I know, its a short post, and its damn near not Saturday anymore, but I promised an updated daily blog, and by god, I'll be keeping my word on it. I'll have pictures tomorrow of some of the stuff I've unearthed and hopefully the C64.

Oh, Watchmen was really enjoyable. A few things were changed, none more-so then the ending plot of the "villain" of the movie, but still, it was worthwhile.

Ninja.....VANISH!

Apartment Update and Watchmen

2009-03-06T20:45:00.001-05:00

We put the first 1/3 of our deposit on the apartment today. Feels good knowing I'll be living there soon enough.

Anyone know where I can score a cheap full sized bed? Really need to upgrade from the single.

Anyhow, short and sweet tonight because..we're going to the Watchmen and I have 5 people waiting for me downstairs. Later.

I'm not trapped in here with them..

2009-03-05T22:48:00.003-05:00

We have an apartment. It will be official come tomorrow afternoon. Thank the Gods.

This is the reason behind this whole blog, by the by. The need to save money, in an increasingly bitter financial climate, has driven me to finally play every single game I have not finished, or never even played.

182 Games in 365 days, sounds ridiculous. I think its obtainable. Aside from the games in older posts, I've also got plenty of old Nintendo games, and a top loading Nintendo. Also, a working SNES, with only a few Carts. A Dreamcast with plenty of games yet to be finished, same with the Saturn.

Sadly, I do not own a PS3. Just too expensive for me, at the moment. Thankfully, my new Roommate has one..and if I can convince him to download Flower and Noby Noby Boy..well, I'll be happy as both those games look beautiful.

I know, I promised a poll and all that other stuff, but I'm being lazy tonight. All I did was play some games this evening. Kind of like warming up before the big event. Proposed move date is Apr. 1. Which means launch date will most likely be Apr. 1. Only foreseeable problem being, we won't have internet right away. Although, it shouldn't take too long to get it all set up. And, I can always Twitter updates until I get back on the internet.

Alright, that's it for this evening. I must sleep, for I will be watching the Watchmen in IMAX tomorrow eve. Farewell.

Watchmen, An Appartment, and Games?

2009-03-04T20:39:00.002-05:00

Watchmen. Friday Evening. IMAX Theater. Hell's Bells, its gonna be a great time.

Just remember, I'm not trapped in here with them, They're trapped in here with me.

Just a bit of a personal update to report. Its almost 100% that me and Steve got the apartment we wanted. Its at about..97-98% or so. Our credit has been checked, the only things that need to be done are to get the paperwork together, look it all over and sign it. Hopefully, we'll know by Friday. If so, two great things on Friday.

Lastly, wanted to tell everyone what the first game in my experiment will be. Drum Roll please......Retro Game Challenge!

I picked this game, because I wanted to start with something I really enjoy, and this game is incredible. I haven't even gotten through it, but I'd recommend it to anyone. I will have this game completed on the start of Project Kill all my free time with games, or A Year In Video Games. The start date of this whole experiment is still up in the air, but I'm going to say Mar. 31st, or Apr. 1. So, my 27th Birthday, or the day after.

I'm leaning toward Apr. 1(not a joke), because it should be the day we move into our new digs. We'll see.

Next Time On: A Year In Video Games

A Poll to Determine what else gets played in the first week?
More Anime?
The Forces of Cobra Attack The White House?

Stay tuned.

Street Fighter IV

2009-03-03T21:54:00.003-05:00

Got the Collector's Edition. If you live in the Philadelphia area and are looking for said game, check the Best Buy in Oxford Valley. A few were left.

Not much to report on today really. Listened to many a video game related Podcast at work, played some Retro Game Challenge and came home.

The girlfriend came over, God Bless her for being so understanding of my digital addiction, and the two of us drove to said Best Buy where a friend of mine works. Get the game, head to the counter, realize I left my wallet at home, get angry with myself for leaving the wallet, go home.

We watched Baccano! vol. 1, which it turns out, is awesome. After, she left, having work in the morning(which she usually doesn't), and I got my second chance to nab the game. And Nab it I did.

Some pictures of the game and some weirdness.

The soundtrack CD was in the anime DvD case, and the anime DVD in the game case with the game. Anyhow, well worth the effort to pick this thing up. :)

That's it for today, I'll be back tomorrow with some more details about the project. Feel free to follow me on twitter and comment on any of these posts.

Anime Post

2009-03-02T23:22:00.003-05:00

So, as some of you out there may know, Best Buy is getting rid of full anime selections at many of its stores. I loves me some big-eyed nurses piloting giant robots as tentacles chase them through Tokyo, so I went and grabbed a few things I'd been wanting to watch.

Anyway, because its late and I've vowed to update at least once a day on this thing, even if it doesn't have to do with my most manliest of video game quests, here is a photo of said Anime Haul.

Top: Robotech - The Shadow Chronicles, Gurren Lagann Vols. 1, 2, and 3, Baccano! Vol. 1.
Bottom: Black Lagoon Second Barrage Steel Case(with Bonus Disc), Black Lagoon Season 1, Black Lagoon Second Barrage Vols. 1, 2, and 3(to go in the case).

That is it. Unfortunately, I'm done spending for the month..which is sad. I'm only allowing myself one more purchase, SFIV Collector's Edition.

Anyhow, after a long day of shoveling snow, driving around in snow, and missing work because of snow, I'm going to bed and sleeping till the alarm goes off in the morning. Night gang!

Getting Used to Flickr and Showing Some of my Backlog

2009-03-01T22:37:00.002-05:00

Hey there party people. Mike here again with a short(but picture filled) update. I've taken a few pictures of the games I need to finish. I still haven't cataloged my NES, SNES, Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast games as of yet. Also, no PC games yet either. I have plenty in all areas, just need to get them in photo form. Alrighty..on with the show.

Wii/Gamecube Games:

DS/GBA Games:

Neo Geo Pocket Games:

PS2 Games:

X-Box/X-Box 360 Games:

That's it for the backlog. Although, I'm gonna throw two more pictures up. They're of my Haul of Video Game Goodness for the month of Feb.

Haul Part 1:

That is: Super Mario Brothers 3 Official Game Guide, The Last Issue of EGM(still in shrinkwrap), 20 Years of Nintendo Power Magazine, Persona 4 Art Book, Persona 4 Collector's Edition, The Darkness, Persona 3 FES Collector's Edition, Fatal Fury Battle Archive Vol. 2, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Lost Planet, Geometry Wars Galaxies, Jam Sessions, and Teenage Zombies.

Haul Part 2:

Donkey Mother F'n Kong. TRU exclusive. Its awe inspiring.

P.S.: If you know how to edit a template on blogger, let me know. I want to stretch out where the text is so the full pictures above will show without having to click on them.

A Prelaunch Post

2009-02-28T15:53:00.001-05:00

So, you might be wondering what this blog here is all about. Well, its pretty simple. I plan on playing 182 games, in 365 days. That's a game every two days completed.

I'm not just going to play these games, I'm going to complete them.

I know what you're thinking, this man, he is crazy. This may be true. Considering I have plenty of games that can span into 50 hours of play time or more. But, there are plenty of games that I can complete in a day. Hopefully, this will balance out in the end.

I'm going to create a list of all the games I already own that I have not played and/or completed. When its done, I will post it and hopefully get people's opinions on the first batch of games I should play. I'll have the full description of what I plan to do and the Achievements(I know, lame), that I'll be accomplishing before the year ends.

There are two big reasons I decided to start this blog. #1. I've already accomplished my New Year's resolution of quitting smoking. #2. I'm moving at the end of March, and in an effort to save money, I won't buy new games if I'm playing a bunch of older ones.

I've set up a Twitter, which will be on the right hand side of this blog. Basically, to show people the status of what I'm playing, but also for the normal uses of a twitter. I know, you'll all be fascinated by which curtains I buy, and if I decided to eat at McDonalds or Jean Pierre'. Anywho, people are expecting me, so I shall take my leave.

-Mike