Happy New Year

Yeah, so I haven't updated for about 5 months. Anyone who reads this should know by now to expect this.

So... the last 5 months. Nothing much happened, I can assure you. Bought a few more games for my 360, played them. Work still sucks. Still playing WoW. Nothing new, really.

Mass Effect is worth talking about, though. Best game for the 360 ever, bar none. Halo 3 isn't worthy enough to even compare to this game. Assassin's Creed can barely fathom the enormity of its greatness. All other games pale in comparison, and I'm being lenient here.

For those of you who have played KotOR (i.e. Knights of the Old Republic), you'll know that BioWare are the undisputed masters of RPG making, aside from possibly Square-Enix. But the two companies have distinctly different styles - BioWare encourages a slew of multiple choice scenarios, whereas Square-Enix has the whole linear thing down to a T. Both have excellent points in favour of their own style, but we're focusing on Mass Effect here.

It's basically KotOR, but without the Star Wars. And with better graphics, sound, and everything. EVERYTHING I tell you. The conversations are involved, rather than a simple talk, respond, talk situation. The lip-synching is the best I've seen outside of a Pixar or Dreamworks film. The graphics are what you'd expect from a 360 - HD and jaw-dropping in their complexity. The gameplay does take some getting used to, however, especially the combat... but once you do, you'll wonder why it was such an issue and oh my God isn't this game amazing?

Here is where I would explain the brief outline of the plot or setting, but it's too huge. At least with Star Wars, you can say "It's before Episode I, about 1000 years or so" or something like that, but Mass Effect creates a whole new Universe. Everything in it has been made from the ground up, a whole new IP (intellectual property) that really has to be played to be understood. The Collector's Edition tin comes with a nifty hand-book that does part of the job of introducing you quite well, but you still feel astounded when you take in the sheer scope of the game.

Top Tip: BUY THIS GAME NOW.

Even if you don't have a 360. Its very presence will exude quality, and the manual alone will compel you to spend £200 on an Arcade version, at least.

Other than that? I've mostly been looking forward to other games due to come out very soon. Army of Two, Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Spore... can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

Umm... Final Fantasy XII continues to disappoint; my brother David got a 360 jus recently; my Christmas present was not having to pay my Dad the £400 rent I owed him; Dante got me some kickass T-Shirts for my birthday... everything's ticking over quite well at the moment.

Oh, and I'm cycling to work now. Which is fun. I HATE THE WIND.

Check out my Twitter on the right-hand bar of the blog - that will likely be updated more often than this blog, so it's worth keeping an eye on if you're that interested in what I'm up to. Tally-ho for now.