New - Mass Effect 3

There has been an inordinate amount of controversy surrounding the launch of Mass Effect 3. Between online passes, day one DLC, the multiplayer effectively being required for the best ending, rumors of said DLC being on the disc, human-like stock photo Quarians, and petitions to change the ending or at least add a more positive one, it's a wonder this game is still selling by the bucketload.

Or perhaps not. It's still the highly-anticipated ending to a series loved by millions (Mass Effect 2 sold 2 million in the first week alone), and I don't know a whole lot of people that can walk away from something they care about without knowing the ending. I'm certainly not one of them.

Mass Effect 3 is one of the few times I've really felt the time difference between when America gets a game and when the UK does. I wish I'd have been able to go in blind, without seeing all the controversy. It was impossible to avoid all the impotent nerd rage on the internet, even with avoiding opening articles in my RSS feeds. I spent two days with the horrible feeling that ME3 was going to be a massive disappointment before my copy came in the post (a day before release, thanks Amazon).

Setting aside all the things that everyone else is angry about, I'd just like to add my two cents. One: It's Mass Effect. If you liked Mass Effect, you'll almost definitely like this one. And two: Why the FUCK is my Shepard's main job playing errand-boy for every Tom Dick and Harry in the galaxy? The Reapers have arrived, suck it the fuck up and KICK SOME ASS.

:C: - The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

It's been a long time coming, but I finally did it. I finished all my goals for completing Skyrim. I feel quite embarrased, because for a long time I've had just one goal left - getting all the Dragon Priest Masks. And when I loaded up my save tonight, I found I had 8, and the only thing left to do was to go to Labyrinthia to get the final special one.

So that's it. It's kind of underwhelming, really. I'll still be playing it, of course, because I'm still missing that one last achievement and I'm still in love with the idea of it being my first 100% retail game. Hopefully I can do all the Daedric Quests with another character before the DLC comes out (which I'll get on day one and play to death).

There's also the PC version to consider. I'm planning on buying a new PC at some point which can run Skyrim so I don't have to play on my family's computer with the 20 billion mods my brother has inevitably installed. So I've got that to look forward to as well - and I'll be able to take screenshots! Won't that be exciting?

Here's to much more Skyrim in the future. It is a neverending game after all.

New - Credit is Awesome!

So I had a bunch of credit after trading in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and The Sims 3, and some loyalty points, so when SSX came out I trundled along to my local Gamestation to pick it up.

There was no way in any universe that I wasn't getting the new SSX. The series had a profound influence on me in my easily influenced early teen years, and I've had a thing for extreme sports games ever since. There are many bands I listen to regularly that I would never have found if it weren't for Tricky and 3. I played On Tour briefly on my PSP and skipped Blur entirely, but they were shit anyway, but I've been excited for this one since the first trailer. And, for what it's worth I'm not disappointed.

After SSX I had a bunch of credit left, so I went browsing, and after some deliberation, I picked out RAGE and Shadows of the Damned. Both I've been meaning to pick up ever since they came out but never got round to, so this was a good opportunity.

I love getting free stuff. SSX (with pre-order DLC), RAGE and Shadows of the Damned for a grand total of £1.07. Phenomenal. This is why I hope GAME Group doesn't collapse. I'd miss this (and the people, too).

:B: - Everyday Genius - SquareLogic

I love puzzles. Any kind of puzzles, but especially puzzles in videogames. Specifically games dedicated to one type of puzzle (not to rag on Professor Layton, he's cool too).

SquareLogic is sudoku with a few more rules, basically. It starts off on a 4x4 grid and goes up to... I don't know. Probably 9x9. You have to figure out the numbers with rules it gives you instead of being given some other numbers. If you like sudoku, you'll love this.

I've given it 4/5 stars, not because it could be better, but because every time you do a preliminary set of levels (of which there are about 59 sets of 13), you unlock a further 150-800 puzzles just on that set. I do really like the game, but I think there's probably more puzzles in this game that I'll be able to do in my entire life so I'll never be able to see it.

I say pick it up. Just be prepared for it to take up a large portion of your life.

:B: - RPG Snake

I did this a couple of weeks ago but I forgot to mark it down. There's not a lot I can say about it. It's Snake, but with a hero as the snake and enemies as the dots. It's kind of difficult to play and there's only 9 levels, and I'm unhappy I paid for this. I could have got two milky bars with that 99p. 2/5 stars.

New - DoDonPachi Resurrection Deluxe Edition

I ended up trading in my Final Fantasy XIII-2. I was unlikely to play it again, and I could get extra for it because it was within two weeks of release. I got this instead.

Either you know this series and want it already, or you don't and you won't be interested. It's a bullet hell shoot-em-up, one of the more well-known ones. As of yesterday (17 Feb 2012) it was on sale in Gamestation for £10, so if you want it, now is the time. It comes with the soundtrack as is customary.

I've played a single game so far and it's pretty much just more of the same, so you know if you'll like it or not. Have at.

:B: - Final Fantasy XIII-2

I didn't quite get to the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2. It's a shame, truly, because my journey through the game was almost definitely the most fun I've had with a JRPG in a long time. However, there's a new contender for 'most frustrating last boss ever', at least in my eyes. Spoilers, obviously.

The final boss comes a bit out of nowhere. It's three Bahamuts, two of which are less powerful and a third one with more than a million HP. You need to beat the first two before being able to fight the third, and they regenerate fairly often. I was using a strategy I found on the internet which was working pretty well for me.

You have to stay on your toes during the battle to quickly swap Paradigms so you take less damage. It's a stressful experience because you can't take your eyes of the screen for even a second, because if you miss them advertising an attack and you don't switch to Sentinel quick enough, it's game over. It was on my third attempt when I quit.

I'm not someone who can sit down and do the same bit over and over. The third time, I was 30 minutes into the battle and the main Bahamut was almost down to half HP. I was keeping my HP up religiously and one of the lesser Bahamuts regenerated back into battle. He used an attack I'd survived many times already but I went to swap to Sentinel anyway. I wasn't quick enough, and that attack that shouldn't have killed 3 fully-healed characters, did.

I haven't lost so much good will to a game so quickly in a long time. I loved the journey, truly I did. I like the battles, I love the stat-balancing, I love finding fragments and I even thought the story was pretty good. But I just can't deal with final bosses that take an age to beat and have attacks that kill you in one hit. I really, really can't. Give him loads of HP, fine. Give him super strong attacks, fine. But don't, for the love of god, give him both.

Up until now, this game was a certain 5 stars. But after that battle, I just can't bring myself to because I'm too bitter. 4/5 stars.