It's been a good year for me so far. It's only the third god-damned day of the year and I've been to two LAN parties.....which basically means I lanned, slept and lanned some more. To make things better, as I write this, this night has turned into the fourth day and I'm still gaming.

Through matches of everything from Quake 3 to CoD: United Offensive, I find myself looking back at 2007 and the games it brought me. I beat the hell out of Mass Effect, and Took on 2k Games' 'The Darkness' both of which surprised me. I've never played a Bioware game until Mass effect, now I'm curious what KOTOR can bring to my modest PC gaming life. The Darkness was just plain fun...the game is filled with clever powers, and fun dialogue, plus the best loading screens I've ever seen (the main character just stands in the dark and talks under a spotlight, discussing everything from his first kiss with a hooker to story related banter).

Geometry wars Galaxies kept me busy on the DS when I was on the go, Hellgate:London kept me glued to my computer at home. Guitar Hero III kept me going with it's increased difficulty, while Call of Duty 4 kept me having fun all around. I Finally got a PS3 for Christmas, and Ratchet and Clank Future Tools of destruction blew my mind with how simple, yet huge (read:awesome) the game really is. Rock Band was more of the same, with a shitty guitar packaged with it, so that dissapointed me. Final Fantasy XII had a sequel on the DS, which was fun. Halo 3 finished the fight, which was More fun. Portal...well : Game of the Year...INSANELY fun. I've been very happy with the year in gaming, and it only got better as it came to a close, my only regret is that my PC couldn't run the monster that is Bioshock :(

Now that 2008 is here, I have new games to look forward to. Some have been released, some haven't. I find myself salivating over MGS4, though it's release date push puts a frown on my face. It's probably for the better though. Uncharted: Drake's fortune on the PS3 interests me, and who can forget about Smash Brothers: Brawl on the Wii? Mercenaries 2 is coming, so I can continue to blow things up like a born Pyro, and Crisis Core for the PSP is almost here to keep me busy wherever I go.

I look forward to hearing more about Silent Hill 5, as well as several other Square-Enix Projects (Castrate me, I'm an old-school Square-whore). I wonder about the inevitable sequels for Guitar hero (will they bring anything new to the table the next go-around?). Devil May Cry 4 also looks interesting. With all the things to look forward to, now is the BEST time to be a gamer.

Here's to the new year Mates!
-The Chief