Busy with job and apartment searching. Looking to play Payday 2 as stress relief.

Having a blast in Deutschland with my ultra-cool Steam Friend, Sun_S. Add some beer, bratwurst, and Lederhosen. What could be better?

You are right as always. It is great to have a friend like you.

Eh, you'll be working on real life achievements. While those aren't on display on your Steam profile, I still hear they're good to have.

So unexpected major real life event will be sucking up most of Crunch's time for a while. So very little game. So he will fall behind his friend Sun in games and achievements. Sigh.

Crunch has a lot of unfinished games. He gets to a tough section and after several failed attempts, he puts it aside to try again later. However he often never comes back. At the urging on his friend, Sun_S, he will try to finish a game before he buys another. Daunting but necessary. Maybe he will finish more games and cut back on how many he buys (and are waiting to be played at least once).

Oh, and Crunch´s arm is better though there is still some tingling. It will be a while before the damage to the nerve is healed (minor though it is).

Crunch is determine to learn German again and surpass his previous level (not that high). Why? Because he can. And because reasons.

So Crunch is still out of commission due to his arm injury. It is getting better however game play limited to about 30 minutes before to need to take break. Seriously, if troll regenerate, he should cut off the arm.

Long time no comments by Crunch. Oh, well. Busy with work and MWO of late. Oh, and now he has a pinched nerve in his left arm causing pain, tingling & even some numbness. Worst part, it is not constant but comes and goes. He cannot find a comfortable position for his arm. So he has to reduce computer time (first victim - gaming).

He wonders how hard it would be to amputate the arm himself. He is a troll after all and they have regenerative abilities. Hmmmmmm!!!!!!

Not game play for a week and a half. Crunch must be sick in the head. No, he has a bad cough that keeps threatening to bring up a lung.

Crunch has fallen victim, once again, to the siren call of the Steam sale. Damn you, Steam, damn you.

Virtually all gaming activity has stopped except for Fallout 4 aka "Settlement Simulator 2015." He is going mad trying to build a castle when right angles are often not available and all he has are big blocks of concrete (each about 2.5m on each edge). On the upside, his Death Alley looks nice ... and deadly.

Love the series. Up there with Mass Effect, Fallout and Battletech/MechWarrior. Need to finish Tales though.

Sometimes I believe you like Borderlands a lot. Just a hunch though.

EA is offering a new game On The House (https://www.origin.com/en-ca/store/free-games/on-the-house) , the original Syndicate from 1993. Not a trial, not a demo. The full game, free of charge. Crunch thinks EA is trying to turn around their bad image. Will have to see how they improve customer service and game quality.

Crunch is looking forward to this weekend. He has organized a co-op gaming session for Splinter Cell with a friend in Germany (7 hours difference). It helps that Crunch works evenings.

Crunch just bought Humble Bundle's (https://www.humblebundle.com/) Star Wars bundle for US $25.00 (feeling generous). Basic bundle is 3 games, 6 more if pay at least $11.53 & another 3 games if pay at least $12.00. All 12 games currenlty worth $137 on Steam so a good deal. Crunch is not sure when he will have time to play them.

Hoping to get my new computer built this weekend or at least most of it. Major upgrades from current machine including water cooling. Add that to my fibre internet (DL 100Mbps) and I should be set for the next few years (factoring in inevitable upgrades along the way).

Well, EA is doing it again. Another blast from the past is being offered "On the House". Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger is being offered for free. It is not a trial or a limited version but a free copy of the full version. Go to https://www.origin.com/en-ca/store/free-games/on-the-house to get it. Check back later for other offerings.

Major upgrade for my computer coming. New mobo, cpu & graphics cards (plural). Might even need to upgrade my games drive (currently 2TB; ~1/3TB free). Plus water cooling for CPU. Woot! Waiting on the cards. Should be here in a few days.

So broke down and got the new Wolfenstein (pre-ordered from retailer). After a 4 DVD install & 29GB later, now there is an 11GB download. I sure hope that is the day one patch.

Crunch was playing some Silent Hunter 4: U-Boat Missions. Some weird things happened: all the crew did not have eyes, as in no eyeballs. They still blinked and looked around as if they had them but no eyeballs. Very creepy. Then mission tells Crunch to go to specific grid reference. But map marker in completely different area. So did a cache verify. 435 files failed. Crunch thinks that is a record for him.

Crunch impressed by EA, a rare occurence indeed. Until May 08, the original Dead Space is available for the spectacular price of $0. That is right, Free. This is not a demo or a trial. It is a full version of the game. Only one drawback, you need the Origin client to be installed to download and play it. Crunch thinks it is worth it.

Crunch has been having BSODs lately relating to "Memory Management". Thought would have to run MemTest86+ overnight to find problelm. Took less than 10 minutes. One stick of 2048MB only good up to about 1910MB. So Crunch decided to replace with new kit of paired 4096MB sticks. Even though old RAM runs @1333 & new @1600, when downclocks self, timings match up with old. So now rocking 12GB RAM. Crunch thinking about replace that old pair as well with another set to match the new 8GB. That should take care of any memory issues til he gets a new computer.

Crunch wonders why someone cannot or will not make a game version of Starship Troopers based on the book, not that god-awful trilogy of movies (yes, there were 3 of them, getting progressively worse). Crunch wants to do orbital drops (e.g. Halo ODST) in power armour (e.g. Space Marine, Fallout) that can jump incredible distances (no example comes to mind). On, and did Crunch mention, higher ranked trooopers get shoulder mounted mini-nuke launchers (Fallout has launchers but they are big and heavy)? Hmm, Crunch wonders if the GECK for Fallout 3 and/or new Vegas would allow you to add such abilities to their power armour (not sure how do orbital drops though). Should check existing mods to see if someone already tried this.

Crunch very upset. EA has announced the Season Pass for Titanfall, a game that is still a week away. Crunch has been on fence about whether to get the game. Now, Crunch thinks he will be cancelling his pre-order at EB Games (GameStop for his US brethren). He will stick with MechWarrior.

Crunch happy to see new Alien game is the works and scheduled for release later this year. Rather than being a FPS, it has been described as Survival Horror (like Dead Space 1 & 2) using the visual style of the original movie. Steam has the announcement up at http://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1 yet nothing on pricing. Gamefly is already taking pre-orders at $50 (http://digital.gamefly.com/#!/download-alien-isolation/5007325) . For more information, go to the official game page located at http://www.alienisolation.com/ . Oh, Crunch almost forgot, it is being released in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States on PS3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One, and PC. PC definitely available as digital download (at least that is what Gamefly indicates) however unsure about retail/physical disc (Crunch's preferred method of acquisition). Crunch also hopes it does not fail like Colonial Marines.

Crunch is adding more games. This time Silent Hunter 3 & 4. Already had 3 on disc. Now Crunch does not need to dig it out to play. SH3 great WWII submarine game (U-boat) & so Crunch hears same about SH 4, WWII Pacific submarine game (USN).

Crunch decided to play Fallout 3 again, this time using mods. Now the hard part is selecting mods Crunch wants that are compatible with each other and making sure they load in the proper order. Le sigh!

Crunch laments his declining game completion rate. Why? He keeps buying new games. This weekend it was both Witcher games, cause Steam had a sale, 80% off. Crunch has to stop buying games or at least be more selective.

Crunch is wallowing in the bliss that is two 27" monitors. Can you say "cranial meltdown"?

Crunch is getting annoyed at his new copy of Dawn of War Game of the Year edition. It keeps crashing on exit not saving data (so option changes are not retained). Happens if options are changed or left alone. Setting Windows XP SP3 compatibility and Run as Administrator has not effect. And with the dissolution of THQ and sale of its properties, getting tech support is going to be a ♥♥♥♥♥ (SEGA bought Relic; and Sega only does online support which Crunch hates with a passion).

Soulstorm and Dark Crusade are not having this issue.

Crunch must say Shaundi from Saints Row 2, The Third & IV is one hell of a hottie. And Kinzie from Saints Row The Third & IV is right up there too.

Crunch broke down again and succumbed to the ever alluring song of the Steam Sale. This time for the Splinter Cell franchise, He is a big fan of stealthing however does not mind shooting when necessary. He managed to stealth Crysis 2 end to end, only fighting battles that were scripted. Took about 6 hours, both times. We shall see if he has as much fun with Splinter Cell.

Crunch thinks it is unfair that the IT department can get away with playing games on their computers (even if it is on a break) by calling it "testing the network." Why cannot the technical support/customer service agents do the same for the same reason? After all, we are the front line and "continually testing the network" will help us find issues faster and thus help customers better. Maybe Crunch should write a proposal along those lines to give to his supervisor. Hmmmmm!!!!

Aww.

You know you play way too many games when you start saying to yourself "Damn. That character is way too hot to ever date me." Or maybe just sad, very sad.

Finished both Saints Row 3 & 4 (except for some side quests/challenge). Enjoyed every minute playing both. Going to be very tough to figure out where to go from SR4 and how to top it. Looking forward to it with baited breathe.

A bit pissed at Black Ops 2 and how you access the optional missions. They leave it to you to figure out how to do and it is not very intuitive or obvious. Plus almost nothing online on how to do it.

New display, 27" running on HDMI. Appears to not play well with my other display and/or DVI. Unable to run both displays. Going to try a couple tricks but may either have to live with one or get a new secondary screen, PS New screen too big for my desk, gonna have to get a new or something.

Well, looks like my primary display has given up the ghost. Going to look into replacing it (don't think it is still under warranty). Looking at moving up to a 24 or 27", likely LG again.

Broke down today and bought some of the other Call of Duty games. CoD: Ghosts looks too damn good. So much for my boycott due to Activision not thinking PC gamers are not worth creating special launch editions.

Cyberpunk 2020, a pen & paper RPG set in the near future, began development as a video game some time last year. Created by Mike Pondsmith in 1988, it currently has 44 reference books and millions of active players. CD Projekt Red, known for the Witcher series, has drawn from those veteran teams for the development of Cyberpunk 2077. Mike Pondsmith is actively involved in the development in the game and has been impressed by the staff's almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Cyberpunk world & game. The game is in early development so there is little information, however you can check the official website at http://cyberpunk.net .

Broke down and did what I said I would not do ... buy more games. Got several games I have not finished (Borderlands 2, Hitman series, Fallout New Vegas DLC, etc) and picked up 5 new games from Steam's Holiday sales - Batman: Arkham Asylum & City GOTY, Deus Ex & Deus Ex Invisible War & Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena.

And to top it off, I am spending most of my gaming time on Mass Effect 3 co-op. Note to self - need to play series through again on higher difficulty plus be a jerk.

Still playing Mass Effect 3, mostly co-op. The added free DLC maintains my interest and will likely keep it for a while. Hitman: Absolution, despite some quibbles about gameplay, is a very interesting game and will likely see some replay.

Been considering getting Aliens: Colonial Marines, however Sega's decision to do console only special editions (so nothing for PC players, like me) severely pisses me off. To the point of questioning whether I should buy it or not. Maybe wait for a few months til Steam has a sale.

Crunch has been busy playing one of his favourites games/series ... Mass Effect. Specifically Mass Effect 3. Did a whole new playthrough on Mass Effect 1 & 2 so could play all three one after the other. Fantastic game/series. I strongly recommend it to any enthusiast of RPG/FPS/Squad games. Mass Effect 2 nearly perfected the squad controls and Mass Effect 3 only needed to tweak them a little bit.

Despite the controversy about the limited endings, your decisions throughout the game will determine the resources you have at the end which will determine which endings you will have to choose from.

All in all a great seriers. 10/10 from me.

New Years Eve plans fell through. So Crunch is left wondering what to do. Do I spend the evening killing zombies, orks, heretics or combine soldiers? And what to drink with it? Beer, whiskey, rum or something even stronger?

Just finished Deus Ex Human Revolution. Other than a few glitches, I found it to be an excellent gamer. But still have some achievements to get and seriously considering getting them all (something I do not usually do).

Just finished the Battlefield 3 Beta. Other than early issues with my early access key (which never came - see my blog) & launching game/accessing servers, it is a pretty good game from what I can tell. Howeveronly multiplayer availabie in Beta; have to wait for the game's release to see how good campaign and co-op are,