In a minimalist world, you scrape and claw to enjoy the good things in life. As a Batman fan of troubling levels, I haven't even been able to secure myself a copy of Arkham Asylum cuz of horrid economics. In the recent days, my ability to afford a used copy has been a reality, but now that two potential GOTY candidates are ready to unleash, I'm putting AA on the back burner.

Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 are games that will have to be in most gamers' libraries by Christmas. I'd like to believe that Black Friday will offer us deals on these two games, but I'm not holding my breath. It wasn't till the Sunday after Christmas in 07 that CoD4 was on sale at Target for $37. I can't hold out that long, that's just crazy. The sound of NEIGHBORS through the basement walls let me know that they enjoy modern gaming as I do. I know those guys are gonna have a copy. Plus, my online homies are already setting up nights for long runs of multiplayer.

I know some people can get these two games on the drop dates without batting an eye, but folks like myself usually save up on shillings for a while just to get ONE game. I remember back in the day when I would bust 2 games at a time. I saved a receipt with Final Fantasy X and Max Payne on it for the F of it cuz I paid full price and could afford it. Oh, the ignorance of youth. Now, I save a receipts if I pay full price for Big Macs.

I guess taking the previous winter and summer off of gaming stuff was a smart idea, as I can now indulge in games this Holiday season via gift cards and puppy dog eying moms and pops.

OH, and my Xbox Live subscription is up December 1st.

This can't be life.

Along the long road of gaming, you tend to hit a snag or two, when it comes to being into your games. In the most recent years, gaming and home theater setups have become synonymous with each other, prompting us all to put together our most creative setup that defines who we are. This is the case for us gamers who enjoy all facets of entertainment, especially movies, sports and television. Adding the affordability of HDTVs to this mix, and home theater setups have all but become a total contest.

This may be a personal issue, but sometimes I grow bored of looking at the same surroundings. I do believe in familiarity, but I find that within the contents of my setup, rather than the arrangement of it. I first posted my serious set up here a while back, and since then it's gone through this change (and a broken digicam as well :/ ).

Its been about a year since this setup, and I think I'm ready to change it up once more. It's surprising how stale a setup can be, even if it is still kicking so much ass as is right now. But since my first setup, I've gained an HDTV and tried to get cute with a retro gaming station with my old tv. I'm gonna try to set it back up to the original spot, but optimize my area much more. I'm pretty excited to do this, since I'd love to see that first setup with my HDTV and retro spot implemented.

Do you guys change your setup around periodically to "keep it new"?

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/26561

In my absence from blogging about gaming, a few newsworthy items appeared that peaked my interests. Among them was how Prototype didn't quite live up to the epicness that I had held out hopes for. Another was the announcement that my grandfather game for the 360 Crackdown had finally been given the green light for a sequel.

The link above provides fan footage from the Tokyo Gameshow that shows us the multiplayer aspect of the game up close. I am pleased to find out that the physics and graphics have returned in what appears to be a perfect transition from the first game. We were promised that this was the case, but sometimes you really need to see it to believe it. Even the voice over guy is back, talkin his brand of garbage to you.

I really hope there is a free roam style a la GTA IV, and we're not stuck with only death matches.

The economy sucks balls.

With that being said, I've just gotten back into the swing of things as far as a JOB goes, and I'm among the
living once again. Unfortunately, my gaming experiences have not changed much. Or maybe that's a good
thing?

Since launch, I've been playing Saint's Row 2 non-stop.I have 3 different characters at over 80 hours a pop,
and I really show no signs of stopping. I haven't finished Gears of War 2 because of this, and I embarrassingly
only have like 2 hours tops in Fallout 3. They sit on my shelf, just waiting their damn turn, while I ignore their
cries of boredom. To make things even WORSE, I haven't even finished GTA IV.

I recently purchased the first DLC pack for SR2, and have had mild amusement with it. I'm loving the subtle, but
obvious teases that are implying that the Row will soon be infected by the walking dead. I mean, the engine
already exists in the Zombie Uprising mini-game in the crib. Why not find a way to use that to have zombies
replace the pedestrians of Stillwater?

To my shock, I learned a few days ago (as many SR2 fans had) that the next batch of DLC will be available
NEXT WEEK!. I'm pretty pumped for this, as I'm now going through the game for the 4th time, this time using my
favorite saved character to do co-op on Xbox Live with a friend. SO glad to be back online.

If any of the D'Toiders are living the life in Stillwater still, I'd like to hear about it.

With money coming in once again, I can look forward to the purchasing of 2 games I was worried I'd be
missing out on this summer: Batman Arkham Asylum and Prototype. Both are looking absolutely phenomenal,
and I expect them to give my Saint's Row 2 disc a much needed vacation.

The economy sucks balls.

With that being said, I've just gotten back into the swing of things as far as a JOB goes, and I'm among the
living once again. Unfortunately, my gaming experiences have not changed much. Or maybe that's a good
thing?

Since launch, I've been playing Saint's Row 2 non-stop.I have 3 different characters at over 80 hours a pop,
and I really show no signs of stopping. I haven't finished Gears of War 2 because of this, and I embarrassingly
only have like 2 hours tops in Fallout 3. They sit on my shelf, just waiting their damn turn, while I ignore their
cries of boredom. To make things even WORSE, I haven't even finished GTA IV.

I recently purchased the first DLC pack for SR2, and have had mild amusement with it. I'm loving the subtle, but
obvious teases that are implying that the Row will soon be infected by the walking dead. I mean, the engine
already exists in the Zombie Uprising mini-game in the crib. Why not find a way to use that to have zombies
replace the pedestrians of Stillwater?

To my shock, I learned a few days ago (as many SR2 fans had) that the next batch of DLC will be available
NEXT WEEK!. I'm pretty pumped for this, as I'm now going through the game for the 4th time, this time using my
favorite saved character to do co-op on Xbox Live with a friend. SO glad to be back online.

If any of the D'Toiders are living the life in Stillwater still, I'd like to hear about it.

With money coming in once again, I can look forward to the purchasing of 2 games I was worried I'd be
missing out on this summer: Batman Arkham Asylum and Prototype. Both are looking absolutely phenomenal,
and I expect them to give my Saint's Row 2 disc a much needed vacation.

So this clip popped up at Kotaku, via G4. The gameplay looks stunning, for a sandbox putz such as myself. The usage of superpowers in the open world looks to be heavily improved upon since those of us who appreciated Crackdown to the fullest felt its true awesomeness. Those fans are now chomping at the bit for a sequel from the Realtime Worlds stunner, and I hope they are taking notice of Prototype.

The setting of New York MIGHT have some people rolling their eyes over the fact we've just been to Liberty City this gen. I'll appreciate being able to actually be at Central Park and Times Square, this time around. The authenticity of the Apple adds a bit of flava to the overall game. Now, that's just the setting you are given to do as you please in. The gameplay shown is easily some of the most impressive we've seen of this genre to date. I remember before Crackdown came out, very hopeful details emerged as the days led up to the release of the greatest game demo of all time. The demo of Crackdown should have been on every 360 with a Live connection, as some of the blind Halo fans continued their pursuit of the game simply for the Halo 3 beta.

I bring up Crackdown simply because this game has received minimal hype up until now, at least from my perspective. I hope that when the day comes of either a good demo or drop date, we are rewarded with mind-blowing game play that this preview clip displays.

The powers shown off by the protagonist Alex are fitting of a character in a linear storyline. Games with a character seeking to reclaim their identity normally don't give us the chance to go out into a city setting and destroy any and all that gets in our way. Perhaps this will resemble the Incredible Hulk game of not too long ago. I recall that game getting a lot of praise for the open destructiveness, even from a licensed title we all expected never to hear good things from.

Perhaps Prototype can take the lessons of every sandbox game created before it and build us some of the most impressive sand castles we've yet to see from this genre.