I must be losing it

I think I must be since I've just set a goal on TrueAchievements for 200,000 gamer score by the end of the year. I kept saying for weeks I would not do a challenge this year and yet here I am again and this time I have set the bar a little higher then usual. But to be honest I did miss having the fun of something to work towards and that Barney picture I put up made me shout "Challenge Accepted", maybe I will get myself a suit and get the last achievement while wearing it.

So this is my challenge for the year, by the 1st January 2013 I must have hit 200,000 gamer score on my Xbox 360. In this time I must not let it take over my life, e.g. stop playing other consoles for the sake of getting achievements, keep having a life basically.

That's it, the goal is simple yet will be challenging at the same time. According to TrueAchievements it requires me gaining 73,721 gamer score over the year which works out at an average of 211.8 a day. Not too bad since I was expecting something a lot worse per day. My Xbox 360 stats on my dashboard say I've got a potential 346,315 gamer score with the games that are currently on my profile, of course that's only if I clock everything on my profile but at least there is a good chuck of points there. Let's not forget got a years worth of games coming out too with plenty of potential achievements.

Well I'm off to go make myself a cup of tea then play some Saints Row the Third, maybe pick up a few achievements while I'm at it. Will keep the blog updated with my progress so wish me luck!

~Iznic

P.S. I must be insane!

Morning Update

Morning folks,
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday but a situation turned up with my family so it was a busy 24 hours, things are starting to get back to normal now at least. So hope you all been having fun playing games, I've found myself playing half a dozen different games again. Really need to focus on a couple and not let it get out of hand, currently my main game is Saints Row the Third but I am playing Lego Indiana Jones 2 (PS3) and Generator Rex (Xbox 360) on the side for trophies/achievements. I'm enjoying Saints and I do love how crazy it is, it's not trying to be serious just have fun which I prefer and its one of the reasons why I liked Crackdown so much in the past.

I've also got Pokemon Rumble sitting on the side, I keep going back to it now and again but it doesn't really get much love until the weekends since that's when I'm mostly out which is the best time for my handheld. Finally I've also got Warcraft and Old Republic, although I've not played them since last week when I spoke about doing that schedule. I would say that idea failed but to be honest I did not give it a chance, what I have been thinking about earlier is gathering my current games together on my desk. Then have filed left to right like but have a rotation so where I would start playing the first one on the left, once I've finished that play session put it on the right then rinse and repeat. Of course allow for addiction as in some times I might really get stuck into a game and want to continue later so maybe have it kept at the front for that time being. Think I will try this out and see how it goes, maybe I will get some more play time on my other games.

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Apart from that not much as happened, I am still thinking about doing a challenge but to be honest I really feel up for attempting 200k. Only thing is I don't want it to take over my life and be the only thing I'm playing games for, I still want to sit down and enjoy my games. I don't want to keep pushing games to the side because the achievements take too long to get.

Also want to playing my PlayStation and PC, get back on my Wii and still use my 3DS. Along with read my stack of books, watch movies and TV. So I really could do with sitting down and think this challenge through, might go through it later since I've got the day off today. Well after I've played some games first!

Well before I go one last thing, I will be posting some more on the games I'm looking forward too this year. Probably expect a post about the challenge too if I get around to thinking about it later, anyway until next time have a good one.

~Iznic

2012 Upcoming Games Part One

Morning folks,
Cannot believe how cold it is here right now, wish I had stayed in bed to be honest. This morning I thought I would update you with what I'm looking forward too this year, once again we have another year of great games with plenty coming out especially with two new consoles.

So starting off the year is Final Fantasy XIII-2 which I wasn't going to buy at first since I've still not completed thirteen yet, then again I've not completed any Japanese RPG yet....shame on me. Anyway back to the point, I wasn't until the limited edition was announced which looks awesome then GAME announced a pre-order bonus where you get a steel tin, extra DLC weapons and a novel story linking the two games. Instantly put my order down and we have been sent a sample of the pre-order bonus and got to say its one of the nicer looking steel cases. This will be the game to start off my 2012 collection and hopefully I can finish thirteen this year so I can start this one since it does look good (really hoping to clock both this year).



There are quite few games also coming out around February like the Darkness 2 and Neverdead that I'm going to be good with and wait. Mostly because I know I won't play them straight away and that maybe at best they will be just worth a rental. Also I really need to watch my spending and to not let my collection get any more worse this year.

Also Neverdead was mentioned back at E3 and was the game that your invincible and cannot die, just your body fulls apart and you have to put it back together. After E3 it just disappeared off the radar for me and only just cropped up with a release date, wondering if it will still be any good and that's another reason why I'm not getting on release day.

Anyway back to the stuff I am interested in! from the looks Tales of Abyss for the 3DS is going to be released February as well. This game was meant to be out last November and nobody knows what happened, all the stores had one copy sent which sold straight away and that was it. Websites are listed as sold out and at the same time saying its not be released which made no sense. Hopefully this time it will be a proper release, will I get it on day one? not sure yet but it would be nice to have a RPG for my 3DS and the "Tales of" games are usually hard to get after their release.



Next up is Kingdoms of Amalur which hits the shelves early February, its a fantasy RPG which was talked about back at E3 last year. From the looks you are the first person to be brought back to life?? and that's all I can find out other then the fact its an open world. Looked ok and the trailer does look pretty good but I'm not too sure about it and I'm still not, but there is a demo coming out (the one that gives Mass Effect dlc) so I will be trying that out first. Doubt I will get it on day one but it will be on my list to pick up at a later date.



Now the next game I was just going to only briefly talk about it like the Darkness 2 and Neverdead but just after looking into a bit more it's got my attention. Inversion is a third person shooter, now to be honest I've only heard of it by name until today and to be honest it was slated to go straight on my rental list. But I just read the introduction and seen some of the screen shots, it reminds me heavily of Gears of War.

Basically the world is being invaded by an unknown enemy that have weapons that control gravity and its torn are defences apart. Now you can use these weapons for your own purpose, lift, move and create cover objects. Sounds fun right? but then it hit me, this sound awfully like another game. Remember Fracture? weapons that could change the environment and it turned out, well not good just ok. So I will be keeping an eye on this and see how it turns out, in fact going to see if I can find a trailer for it.



Ok that trailer really sold it to me now, still not sure if day one though. Anyway that's it for this post, stay tuned for part two tomorrow and until then have a good one.
~Iznic

Update + A Choice

Hello all,
Been busy all day working on Batman Arkham City, I can now say all the Riddler trophies have been collected! Unfortunately I've not got the achievement for the collecting all since it counts the physically challenges as part of it so that's got to be done next, was not happy when I found that out. But I did clock around 100 gamer score plus for my troubles. My plan is to work on the challenges over the next few weeks, some of them are going to be pain since I'm not exactly great when it comes to the combat.

So with that done I will be starting Saints Row the Third either tonight or tomorrow, as I said in my past posts my friend was playing it and I got to watch most of his play through and it looked awesome. I won't be sticking to just this game though, I will be working on other games that have missing achievements e.g Assassin's Creed Revelations and Brotherhood. Probably even start another game on the side as well but not sure on that.

Anyway other then that not much to report, I was checking out the stats for the blog earlier and I was amazed at some of the information. I will admit its only a small blog and average around 10 views a day, but I got people from across the globe reading which as me quite chuffed. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my ramblings, there will be plenty more to come in the future.

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Before I shoot I did want to mention that one of the things I would like to start this week is a make over for the blog, it's a new year so it needs a new design. Not sure yet on what I'm going to do but keep an eye open because I'm determined to start changing it soon. Also in the ways of gaming I really want to set myself a challenge again, I know I said I wouldn't this year but after reading Stallion83's updates I miss having something to work towards.

Not familiar with Stallion83? check out his blog here, currently the world leader for a legit gamer score on the Xbox 360. His current challenge is insane and he's clocking an average of 1,000 gamer score a day, then again he normally averages 100,000 in 10-12 months!.

So yeah I want to do something but not sure what! I did joke with a friend at work about hitting 200,000 by the end of the year, in return got a look that said I was insane. Which to be honest is bang on, it would be insane since I barely average a 20-25k gamer score a year. To hit that 200k mark I would need around 74k which is three times what I would normally do. 

Although it would be an awesome challenge...

Challenge accepted?

Maybe, we will see ...

~Iznic

What Now?

Afternoon folks,
Well I've finally picked the Game of the Year and now I've no clue on what to do next. It suddenly come to me yesterday when I was on my way to the cinema that I have no idea on what to play next. Yes I would be trying out Lord of the Rings today so I can decide on my game of the year which I did and it was pretty good but I just didn't want to get into just yet. So yesterday while I was on my walk I started to think about all the games I've got to work on, there are plenty of huge rpgs to do. Plenty of other consoles as well. In the new games wise I have got Saints Row the Third which looks fun since a friend of mine was playing it for the last two weeks, so I did get to see a lot of it and it did look interesting.

But that old age problem reared its ugly head, every time I look at a long ass game my first thoughts are "I've not got time right now, so play it later". That is probably why my collection is so huge because no doubt most of it is RPG's, open world games etc that take more then 6 hours to complete. I really need to start sitting down and working on them. Lets not forget its just not big games I've got to work on, I do have a lot of games to mop on in the ways of. collectibles, extra dlc missions etc along with all the other console games too that I've picked up (Wii, DS, PS3) and not too forget arcade games as well from the sales.

So back to the original topic I just don't know what to play next or start to be honest, all I seem to do is keep posting these random rant posts on my blog. I think I'm just going to go sit down and see if I can't save the last hostages in Batman Arkham City and have a think about what I want to do next.

Catch you all later,
~Iznic

Game of the Year 2001 + Outstanding Games

For the last few weeks I've been finding it hard to pick what was my game of the year for 2011. I narrowed the search down to two games with one more game to play (Lord of the Rings War in the North) which has turned out to be amazing so far. In the end though it was close to being a split game of the year, but in the end I decided that only one game should be given the title. This lead me to decide on making another award for the blog.

The "Outstanding Game Award", this award will be for the other games that were above and beyond, they should had been Game of the Year but only just missed it. Brilliant story telling, amazing graphics with wonderful controls, not just any old good games. We are talking the best of the best, the games you cannot stop playing and just like Game of the Year they will be announced at the end of the year.

With that cleared up it's time to announce my Game of the Year 2011! drum roll please!

Assassin's Creed Revelations

It was a tough choice between Assassin's and Batman but out of the two I found Assassin's Creed the clear winner. Batman was brilliant but I did feel like they stuffed it with too much and that a lot of things was just rushed to get it over with so they could get on with the next part which was a shame since they could had done so much more with all those bad guys to work with. Anyway Assassin's kept me entertained throughout the entire game, this time around I was very interested in the entire story and not just the endings. I loved the mini side quests with my Assassin Brotherhood and loved a lot of the new gadgets, in the end it was clear that it was my game of the year. I will go back and review both games in detail at a later date.

Of course Batman Arkham City will be given an Outstanding Game Award, although I did feel like there was too much and some things rushed it was still amazing. Also joining Batman is Ghost Trick on the DS, its game play was unique and the story was written so well I always wanted to know more.

So there you have it, three great games! and no doubt you will see a post giving Lord of the Rings an outstanding award but first I need to give it a good play through first.

Until next time,

~Iznic

Two Games Clocked

Afternoon folks,
This will have to be a quick one since I'm leaving in 30 minutes to go see the new Sherlock Holmes film, cannot wait to watch it. Anyway good news everyone! clocked two games in the last two days. Yesterday I did sit down and do a small marathon on NCIS and clocked the platinum trophy for it then today just finished the last three levels of Assassin's Creed Revelations.

Got to say Assassin's Creed was amazing and so far I would say its my game of the year for last year, story was amazing and the game play brilliant. Going to try Lord of the Rings tomorrow and then I will finally announce the game of the year, got to say it was tough and I think I'm going to start a new award on the site but I will talk about that more tomorrow. Clock watching right now..

I've quickly updated the stats page and I think that's it for now, other then the fact I need to get more games clocked since this time last year I had around eight games finished by the end of the month. Anyway I better go make sure I've got everything, will post properly tomorrow with the game of the year, update with whats going on and talk about upcoming games that are cool.

Until then have a good one,
~Iznic

p.s. also will do a review!

Demo DLC

Morning all,
Just a quick one but a very important quick one, EA is releasing some demos that will actually give DLC in their games! How cool is that, not sure how long this lasts for since the last time they did it was Dragon Age 2 which I never did (but did download the demo) so not sure if you can still get the items.

Anyway getting side tracked now, the two demos are Kingdoms of Amalur and Mass Effect 3, very happy about Mass Effect 3 by the way. They have done it a little weird though, its a cross game dlc. So if you play the Kingdoms demo you get dlc for Mass Effect and vice verse. Also Kingdoms also gives its main game so dlc as well.

I wanted to try out Kingdom so this gives me an excuse to play the demo now, below is the list of items you can get from the demos.

Play Kingdoms of Amalur:

• Reckoner Knight Armour (Mass Effect 3) - This armour will maximise damage done in close-quarters combat while a beefed—up power cell feeds energy into weapon systems to increase projectile velocity.
• The Chakram Launcher (Mass Effect 3) - This weapon uses a fabricator to manufacture lightweight, explosive ammunition discs. This weapon is earned after completing the Reckoning demo and watching the trailer at the end. 
• Twist of Fate Card (Kingdoms) - This card boosts the player's ice resistance and is immediately unlocked when he or she activates the Reckoning demo using his or her Origin account.
• Twinned Souls Chakram (Kingdoms) - A unique weapon that damages enemies while boosting player health and mana in Reckoning. 
• The Infernal Helm (Kingdoms) - Unlocked after completing the Reckoning Tutorial Mode, this protective helmet increases players' fire damage throughout Amalur.

Play Mass Effect 3:

• N7 Armour (Kingdoms) - Players can unlock special armour inspired by Commander Shepard's iconic N7 battle armour including Helm, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Chausses and Greaves. 
• Onmiblade Daggers (Kingdoms) - A holographic blade stemming from Commander Shepard's Omni-Tool, the Omni-blade allows players to stab enemies in close combat. Once players install and play the Mass Effect 3 demo, they will unlock the daggers. 

Kingdoms demo is hitting on line on the 17th January and Mass Effect is still waiting to be confirmed, either way I will be playing both.

~Iznic

Source: xbox360achievements.org

Lots of announcements

Hello again,

Well it did not take too long to get the second post up today lol mostly because there is a lot of gaming news floating around. Have you been following CES? I haven't to be honest since I prefer full on gaming conventions but seems there is quite of bit new stuff been announced. So where to being I wonder, I guess lets start with the Kinect news!

Kinect for Windows

Kinect for the PC is finally coming out but it will be a separate camera altogether, meaning yes you have to buy another Kinect for the PC. What happened to the whole software patch to allow existing Xbox ones to work on your PC, not happy really. It is going around that it as "improvements" with picking people/objects up and can work closer to the sensor. Of course in America right now the price listed is higher then the Xbox version as well, just to rub salt into the wound.

Won't be buying one thank you very much, but I will not be shocked to see at E3 this year or in a few months an announcement saying they bringing out a "Kinect 1.5" that will work on both Xbox 360 and PC with all the new improvements included. In fact I'm going to create a new label E3-2012 and tag this post, let's see if this comes true.

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Now while I was doing this rant a lovely piece of news appeared on twitter from shopto.net news, "No PS4 information this E3" YESSS!!. Hang on before you start fan boy yelling, I don't believe they need to bring out a new PlayStation or Xbox, they have only just started to get the potential out of the systems! its not time for a new console yet. We have not seen a full true HD game yet, or Bluray game! Uncharted is close but they still not gone full out. In fact check out this article on IGN which I found a really good read, I love the idea of just one box but doubt it will ever happen. IGN link

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Good lord there are lots of rumour's now on twitter and real news as well, omg! Half-Life Episode 3....oh I hope that is true and it does come out this year, it's one of my all time favourite games. Actually come to think about it I did not finish Episode 2 off!!! *hangs head in shame* ok that's one game I really need to clock this year and Orange Box on the Xbox 360. 

Now lots of messages about Diablo for the console both saying its happening and not, nothing new there. I did love the Best Buy picture showing a poster in a store for 1st February midnight release. Scared me at first since there is already enough coming out February, but luckily Blizzard posted that there is no date and anyone advertising is just guessing.

Patches for Skyrim on PS3 to fix the lag, glad to hear that since I would like to play it one day and was getting slightly worried about the amount issues I was hearing. Ohhhh dlc for Dark Souls coming soon, dang! whats with everyone doing DLC...give me chance to start and finish your games. Really need to pick up the pace.

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 Oh yeah did you see the news for Call of Duty? the domain name being bought for Black Ops 2. Like that was seen coming, I did enjoy the story and it could be pretty sweet. In fact I did like the bot multi player matches you could do it, shame Modern Warfare 3 did not have it. Oh yeah and did you see the news for the 20+ dlc to be done for MW3, dang that's a lot! wonder if all of it is included in the Elite subscription.

Anyway I'm going to stop here, no doubt there is a lot more information out there but I need to get some time on my games. Will post some more later, so see you soon

~Iznic

Day Off

Morning folks,
It's so nice to wake up knowing I've got the day off, although there was the problem of waking up at 5am this morning for no reason and I do mean fully awake. Anyway last night did not go to plan like I thought, got too caught up in Assassin's Creed and so did not go onto Star Wars Old Republic. Starting to think the game is cursed to never be played, but I am now currently downloading the latest patch and going on in a few minutes. Determined to get some time on this game!

Apart from that I'm not sure what to talk about to be honest, I have plenty to discuss but its where to start is the problem. Ok my patch as just finished so I guess I won't be talking about anything yet, going to go play and will finish this post off later.

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Yes this post is being edited throughout the date like when I did the Daily Grind posts, anyway just had a hour or two on Old Republic and caught upto where I was in the beta. Loving it so far and picked Bounty Hunter for the Sith, have to be a bad guy of course! Took some screenshots in the game and trying to find them so bare with me while I hunt for them.

Ah ha! found them, here is Nal Hutta where I've started on my Bounty Hunter story and of course my character Iznic. I do feel like the characters are streched though and yet my graphics options are all set right so no idea why that is.

Nal Hutta

Iznic the Bounty Hunter

Will try and get a better close up screen shot of my character later as well since this one did not turn out too well. Anyway least I've finally started playing the game and it was good timing toon since my collection edition in game items where sent by mail and where about to expire.

So I'm thinking of jumping onto Lego Indiana Jones 2 and NCIS on the PlayStation to work on a few trophies. After that who knows! just going to chill and enjoy a day of gaming.

For now I will see you all later, 

~Iznic

Random Update

Evening folks,
Hope you are all well and enjoying a good game, I'm about to work on Assassin's Creed Revelations but thought I would do a small update before I being. Really got into the game yesterday afternoon, was a bit busy on the evening but could not be helped. So my plans for today is to play Assassins and then tonight to jump onto Old Republic for the first time finally. I've also got tomorrow off so I will be either working on assassins or one of my many games I've got to complete then Warcraft.

In fact speaking of many games, my folks have just got back from New York (yes im jealous and want to go again) and brought me Lego Indiana Jones 2 for the PS3, why you ask? the trophy list is seperate to the EU version!. Also Lovefilm have sent me NCIS for the PS3 as well so I sense two more platinum trophies on the way.

So plenty to do, in fact I might work on those two games tomorrow in the day and I probably could clock NCIS in a day since it only takes a few hours but depends if I can cope with a marathon session of it.

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Oh yeah last night I did try some new things out, first I played the trial for Crazy Machines Elements on Xbox Live Arcade and it was pretty sweet. Basically you have to finish the machine using different parts that are supplied too, each level gives you a requirement so it might be break a vase with a toy or move a ball from point a to point b. It's simple but very addictive and so might have to pick up the full version

Also tried out Netflix since it was supplying a month free and I was very disappointed with it, I have no idea why Lovefilm are worried because the listing was nothing. Mostly old films with only one or two new which are still six months old, then tv well lets not bother since they just got a few random series up thats it. Give it a try yourselves and judge for yourself, as I said you get a free month and just make sure to cancel before the month is up. 

Anyway that's it for now, I'm off to fight the templar so see you all later

~Iznic

The Day After

Really need to sort out a new banner for the site but being a bit lazy and the fact I've got a new graphics program to learn first might mean it will be a while. Anyway thought I would update with the overall score from last night's achievement whoring.

Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce - 2 achievements - 60g
Battlefield 3 - 5 Achievements - 115g
Modern Warfare 3 - 12 Achievements - 220g
Total - 19 Achievements - 395g

Now that's what I call a good night of gaming and very chuffed with the out come, starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere now. I don't think I can do that every night, I do want to get some time into my normal games and clock some. So I was thinking this morning of doing a some kind of gaming timetable where each day is different then repeats.

For example I really need to start Star Wars Old Republic, I've put my code and not been on since! so my 30 days is probably 20 now. Only thing I did was create my character on the early start up and that was it. Also add in I'm still playing World of Warcraft, well again I've not been on in a week so that time card is running out as well. Add in my normal games that need completing and my mopping up you can see my time is stretched.

So with the timetable I was thinking like day one would be split where start with a normal game that I'm working on, so for example right now Assassin's Creed Revelations. The other half of the time on one of the mmo's so Star Wars. Then day two would be for achievement clocking then the rest of the day on the other mmo, day three would start over again or I could add in another game or two I want to play. As I said its just something I'm thinking about and nothing is set in stone but I do need to do something since money is being wasted!

Anyway that's enough ramblings for now, I'm off to play Revelations! so take care and see you all soon.
~Iznic

End of the Weekend

I have been busy the last few days with tiding, work and general real life stuff so tonight going to chill out and just game. So my plans are to just blitz achievements off my list and maybe work on a game or two, not going to plan anything just see what happens. Already started the night off with Dynasty Warriors Strike Force, picked two of the three multiplayer achievements (third one going to wait for my mate before I get it). 10 minutes of work and got two achievements worth a total of 60 gamer score, lol how awesome is that! just waiting for Battlefield 3 to update so I can start mopping up some of those achievements.

By the way before I forget, on Xbox Live you can get a free game for the Kinect called "Battle Stuff" so go pick it up, even if you don't have a kinect pick it up...you might get a kinect one day!.

Wish this update will hurry up so I can get some gaming on the go, might go do some tiding while I wait. Speaking of tiding I really do need to work on some of my old games, got quite a few that I would trade in once I've finished them. Really don't want to trade them in then rent them to finish them since would have to pay for the rental so might as well keep them until I've finished, but I do need the space.

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Ok I've decided I will keep doing the achievement list, I've just got 130 gamer score from Battlefield 3 for less than 30 minutes of work, add Dynasty Warriors to the mix and it comes to 160 in total for less than an hour!.

Knowing what I got to get really helps and my achievement addiction as just sky rocketed thanks to it. So yes I will spend some time going through my profile to finish the list, cannot believe how simple it was and fast. Going to get back to it and I will post later with the out come for tonight, hope it stays like this all night.

~Iznic

Achievements

Evening folks,

Just thought I would do a quick update, I did actually start that achievement list the other day and my god! I'm in two minds about it right now. On the bad side it takes ages to write out and of course that time could be used for gaming. But on the good side its great handy tool to see where I can get easy achievements and I have to say there is a lot I could get. Below is a screen shot I quickly took of the list so far and its not even quarter of my collection!

It's split into three lists, the one list are games that have not really been touched so I've listed them with a rough guess of amount of gamer score I could get for just playing them. So far there is a possible 12,500 gamer score sitting but of course could be less or even more since it's just guessing.

The other two lists are actually achievements, easy list and semi-hard (might take time, few goes, might need co-op etc). Between the two there is 8,500 gamer score as well so overall so far 20,000+ which would put me on nearly 150,000. Dang! and that's not my full collection as well

It was amazing going through my list because there was load of achievements I did not realise about that I could get quickly, example being Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Both have got around 300+ for just mopping up stuff I missed and can be easily done if I put the time in.

So I think while I'm playing my current games I should put some time on the side for working on cleaning up missing achievements, not sure if I will keep updating the list since it did take several hours and since my collection is so huge I rather use the time for gaming. Guess will have to wait and see but for the time being I've got plenty to work with.

If you like collecting achievements I seriously recommend you go through your profile and take a look at what you missed.
~Iznic

My Collection

Few months ago I posted about glancing through my collection of games on my xbox profile that had easy achievements and yet I did not have them. Last night I decided to have a closer look and got to say there is easily 5,000+ gamer score waiting there, some of the stuff is just daft stuff like collectibles or make a item in a game or complete one game on line. I'm very shocked with myself for not picking up them straight to be honest but the past is the past.

So my plan is to go through again but in a lot more detail in the way of making a note of them in a list so then I can start going through them, think it will be a nice boost. On top of that I've got a ton of games not open so I really need to start getting my ass into gear again, in fact I've got a new mate at work who will be helping me do some co-op nights and he's a fan of achievements too so hopefully be clocking a lot more stuff soon.

On the subject of playing games, Assassin's Creed Revelations is amazing! as to be the best one in the series so far and I'm now stuck on what to pick for my game of the year. It's between Batman Arkham City and Assassin's Creed now, both where outstanding games for me. Decisions, decisions.... hmm think I need to put some more time in before I pick.

Anyway that's it for this post, I'm off to go write that list out and in fact I might just post it here.
~Iznic

New Year

Cannot believe its the new year already, time does fly by when you having fun. With the new year now here I'm going to revamp the blog, it needs a new look and could do with a clean up in the way of how its organised.

2011 was a good year, a lot more blog posts since I started but once again it did drop at Christmas but that could not be helped. Still need to get into the habit of reviewing my games since only did around eight this year and played 50+ games. I will be doing my game of the year soon but want to play some more of Assassin's Creed before I give my judgement, right now its between Batman Arkham City, Assassin's Creed Revelations and Star Wars the Old Republic.

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As I said in the last few posts there will not be any challenges this year ... well not yet anyway. instead I'm just going to enjoy my gaming and make my way through my back log of games. Last year I was able to clock 53 games which I am pleased about, it's a lot of games to finish but at the same time I cannot help but think I was clocking 6-10 games a month at the start of the year. Could had been a lot higher if I kept on track, oh well. Although I did clock those games I did buy a ton more again! in fact I picked up 78 games! so what I did clock was replaced since I only completed 31% of my new releases this year (check out the 2011 stats).

I would say it should be a better year this time around but have you seen the release schedule? check out the start of February, its November all over again. You would think the publishers would wait since everyone spent their money at Christmas. I am going to try and spend less by waiting, I could not believe how fast games dropped their prices last year. Week or two later after coming out you could find them over 30% less, Skyrim was half price two weeks after launch! I know that was a Christmas price drop but come on! I felt like I was being punished for being a loyal fan and getting it on day one.

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Anyway enough with the boring and depressing talk, its the new year! so my plans today will be to change the pages, banner and start cleaning the blog up. You should also see more posts starting to appear since I'm getting more free time now thanks to the holiday being over.

Until then Happy New Year folks! hope 2012 is a good year for gaming for you.
 ~Iznic

Christmas Thoughts

Morning readers,
It's amazing how the post counts drop as it got closer to Christmas and I do apologise like I always do but with working in retail you can guess how busy it gets. I swear next year needs to be different because I cannot go through with another Christmas like that, its nearly killed my Christmas spirit and my gaming time went out the window.

In fact I was on the last bit of Uncharted 3 for the last three weeks, was finally able to finish it off last and got to say it was a great story just a shame the controls are buggy and annoying.

So anyway enough with the ranting and moaning, time for a big update and I'm going to start by updating all the stat pages and challenges.

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Just finished updating the stats and I've got to say I'm impressed with the fact that I did complete 52 games this year. Of course I do think that could had been a lot higher if it was not for the last few months with work but oh well, still a good number though.

Of course my challenge for the year as pretty much gone out the window, currently sitting on 32% for games I've bought this year completed. In fact it would not shock me if I had just replaced all the games I've completed, my pile of shame still looks huge. Next year (2012) I don't think I will be doing anything amazing in the ways of challenges and goals, just enjoy my games and do my best to get some finished. Although give it a week or two and no doubt there will be a new goal up on my blog.

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 Hoping to finish Lego Harry Potter on the PS3 this week which I've rented from Lovefilm and it should be the last game I finish this year. Doubt it very highly that I can get another game done this week. I will be starting Assassin's Creed finally too since I've been waiting until I've finished Uncharted 3, once I've started I can then pick my game of the year which is a very tough choice this year. So many good games have come out and speaking of good games, 2012 is already looking jam packed. Have you taken a look? IGN the other day put up there top 10 they looking forward too and I was shocked what was coming out. I know the Vita and Mass Effect 3, but forgot Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 heart of the swarm, Hitman and many more are coming out/

I need to try and be good next year by spending less but already I can see that being a problem with what's coming out. Anyway going to wrap this post up for now and go play some Lego, catch you all soon.

~Iznic

I'm alive, I think!

Evening one and all,
How have you all been? It's been a busy month for me thanks to all the new releases of games at work. Cannot believe how many games are coming out over the next few weeks and how many have come out.

Been trying to stay on top of my new purchases but still stood on 30% competition for this years releases, I do take that as a good sign though since I've picked up so many new releases and not dropped below 30. Speaking of completing games, quite proud of myself these last two weeks since last Saturday I clocked NCIS for the full 1,000 gamescore and then on Sunday finished the battlefield 3 campaign on hard. This weekend so far I've done the entire campaign for modern warfare 3 on veteran, not bad for a days work. Now working on uncharted 3 and playing skyrim on the side, both games are amazing and breath taking.

Anyway this was just a quick update, I've updated all my stats and challenges as well. Going to shoot for a bit to do some jobs then do some gaming finally. Tomorrow I will be putting a Christmas theme on the site so stay tuned, also will be posting more and doing some reviews finally.

Until then have a good one!
Iznic

Not Long Now

Afternoon one and all,
Been keeping myself busy with work and gaming, for the time being I've been keeping myself busy with a mixture of games. Currently got my rental game SAW which is not a bad game, mixture of puzzles with a bit of action but I am finding it quite long since you spend most of your time exploring a run down asylum. I am aiming to clock the game for the full 1,000 gamer score so will keep you updated on that, so far got around 240-300.

Also been playing still Shadow of the Colossus, currently been working on all the collectible trophies and need to finish off the time trails on normal difficulty. Did just find out I might have to complete the game up to four times to max out my stats and get some of the last trophies, don't get me wrong I love the game but I do feel that is a bit much. So think I will just keep coming back to it now and again when I got a few minutes spare, there is plenty coming out soon I rather play.

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That reminds me I did pick up Skylanders Spyro's Adventure yesterday, I'm still in two minds on what to think of this game. It's a not a bad platform gaming, complete a few puzzles, defeat a few bad guys etc and the graphics are very nice. Story is ok but its clear its aimed for the younger generation which is a shame since the Spyro games use to be for all ages. You can complete the entire game with the figures that are included in the starter set and to be honest I really do not see the point in buying the other figures. Levels do have secret areas that can only be opened with a character of that element but there is no real reward for opening those areas other then getting a hat or two or some treasure. If you want to 100% every level then yeah you will need the other figures but even then you only need one of a each element.

As I said I really don't see the point, there are some cool looking characters that I would love to play but I can not justify paying for them since there is no real reward. Have to wait and see, I did hear they going to do more games in the series and the sets carry over which could be cool. Also be cool to see some DLC that adds more.

Also keeping my eye on the 3DS version since I hear its a different type of game altogether, more of a side scrolling shooter and the set comes with an exclusive dark spyro which looks awesome. But I would only get it if it went into a deal of the week or sale for a good cheap price, hopefully at Christmas but anyway I will post more once I've got more stuck into the game anyway.

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Did pick up Dark Souls yesterday as well along with the limited editions strategy guide for it since I got a feeling that I could do with all the help I can get. Was able to get it pre-owned and at a good price, the game had barely been played. Although I'm not sure I will fit the time in for it since in less than a weeks time sees Batman Arkham City coming out! soon as it arrives everything will be going onto the shelf. Then a week after that is Battlefield 3 which again will keep me busy since no doubt I will be online with the guys from work. Then what four days later sees Uncharted 3 released and again everything will be on the side while I continue my adventures as Nathan Drake.

Dang there is way too much stuff coming out and no time to get ready, there are so many games in my back log that I want to play but won't have the time. How you guys coping with all the new releases? panicking yet?

Anyway going to end this post here since I want to get some time on Gears of War, currently doing a game or two every day to work towards that seriously 3.0 achievement. So have a good one and I will post again soon

~Iznic

Sunday Update

Afternoon one and all,
As you can see I have been doing some updating finally today, earlier on I switched the banner over to Gears of War. and also finally updated all the stats for this year so it's now up to date for the time being.

How's things for you guys? hope you all been busy gaming and clocked some stuff, give a shout with what you been up to.

For me this week not seen much to be far, I did pick up the Ico collection and started Shadow of the Colossus but it went on the shelf thanks to work taking up all my free time. I also caved in at the end of the week and picked up the new red 3DS, normally I would not pick up the random colours but the red was amazing! it reminds me a lot of the Christmas red balls on the tree (reason why I keep calling it a Christmas red). Anyway GAME was doing a launch offer where you can trade in your old 3DS and get £120 off it which meant it cost only £20, plus my reward points knocked so got it for £15 which I gladly pay for.

It's now currently charging on my bed so I can see what I've lost, kept my old memory card but doubting any of the free games will work but we will see. Might have to do all the spot pass stuff again too which I won't mind! and I need to download Zelda four swords since that it up for free right now.

Right going to stop here and go get on with some gaming, got the Battlefield 3 beta downloading so might jump on Shadow of the Colossus for a bit while I wait.

Have a good one,
~Iznic

2011 Games So Far

It's took me nearly ten months to finally sit down and post this list up. As you know at the top of the page is a link to a page listing the stats for my gaming progress this year and one of the stats is how many of the 2011 new releases have I completed. The one thing that it does not show is what games are on the list, just the ones that I have done so I'm finally sitting down and typing it all out (also not been keeping tracking of the last purchases so its time to see what I do have).

So on with the list...

1. Ghost Trick (DS)
2. Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
3. Bulletstorm (X360)
4. Total War Shogun 2 (PC)
5. Trinity Souls (PS3)
6. Killzone 3 (PS3)
7. Hyperdimension Neptune (PS3)
8. Dragon Age 2 (X360)
9. Pokemon Black (DS)
10. Tactics Ogre (PSP)
11. Knights Contract (X360)
12. Warriors Legends of Troy (X360)
13. Gray Matter (X360)
14. Homefront (X360)
15. Lego Star Wars 3 Clone Wars (X360)
16. Lego Star Wars 3 Clone Wars (PS3)
17. Crysis 2 (X360)
18. Samurai Warriors Chronicles (3DS)
19. Lords of Arcana (PSP)
20. Dynasty Warriors 3 (X360)
21. Portal 2 (X360)
22. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (X360)
23. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (PS3)
24. Brink (X360)
25. L.A.Noire (X360)
26. Fable 3 (PC)
27. Final Fantasy IV (PSP)
28. God Eater Burst (PSP)
29. Bulletstorm (PC)
30. Hunted The Demons Forge (X360)
31. Mindjack (X360)
32. Move Heroes (PS3)
33. Yakuza 4 (PS3)
34. Deathsmiles (X360)
35. Dungeons (PC)
36. Zelda (3DS)
37. Dungeon Seige 3 (X360)
38. Thor (X360)
39. Green Lantern (X360)
40. Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 (X360)
41. Dawn of War 2 Retribution (PC)
42. Space Marines (X360)
43. Deus Ex Human Revolution (X360)
44. Gears of War 3 (X360)
45. God of War HD Collection 2 (PS3)
46. ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)
47. 3rd Birthday (PSP)
48. Atelier Totori The Adventurer of Arland (PS3)
49. White Knight Chronicles Origins (PSP)
50. Age of Empires Online (PC)
51. Gunslinger (X360)
52. Batman Arkham City (X360)
53. Batman Arkham City (PS3)
54. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (X360)
55. Skylanders (X360)
56. Skyrim (X360)
57. NCIS (X360)
58. Uncharted 3 (PS3)
59. Dark Souls (X360)
60. Kinect Sports Season 2 (X360)
61. Dance Central 2 (X360)
62. Battlefield 3 (X360)
63. Forza 4 (X360)
64. Skyrim (PS3)
65. Batman Arkham City (PC)
66. Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (PS3)
67. Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (X360)
68. Assassins Creed Revelations (X360)
69. Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call (DS)
70. Red Faction Armageddon (X360)
71. Lord of the Rings War in the North (X360)
72. Dynasty Warriors 7 Xtreme Legends (PS3) 
73. Xenoblade (Wii)
74. Halo Anniversary (X360)
75. Dr Lautrec and the Forgotten Kingdom (3DS)
76. Pokemon Rumble Blast (3DS)
77. El Shaddai (X360)
78. White Knight Chronicles 2 (PS3)

Updated: 31st December

Well that is it, of course some of thsese have been rented and some traded in as well. Of course it's just come to me thats one huge fecking list and maybe I need to cut back next year on the spending or at least put more on the rental list!

Anyway have a good one
~Iznic