Ratcheting Up The Fun In This Household

I've been playing more than my fair share of video games recently, thanks to having some extra time on my hands. Last night I finished Haze, which was generally pretty crappy all the way through. The script writers on that game need to have their heads examined, if for no other reason than the unbelievably annoying dialogue that you have to listen to, over and over and over. Just ask Vicki about it, if you think I'm exaggerating! Only in my final session did I think to go looking for a control screen where I could shut the AI voices off. It turns out you can control the volume of them to the point where they're not so overpowering, and that would've saved a hole lot of frustration earlier...

I've played the Lost Planet demo on the XBox 360 quite a few times since I downloaded it back in December of last year. Today, as I played it for a 4th or 5th time, I got into it more than I ever had before. I fell into a rhythm which made the one aspect of the gameplay that I'd disliked previously - how your health continually drops, due to the extreme cold, except when you can find material/gadgets to warm you up - actually work for me. Now I'm considering going out and purchasing the game to give it a try. But first I've got Frontlines: Fuel of War to enjoy, and I still haven't even loaded it yet.

But the big gaming news in our home came when I surprised Vicki with a new installment of her favourite franchise: Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty! Sony and Insomniac announced the download-only game recently, and when I heard the news earlier this week, I just knew that I'd have to finally break down and order something on my PS/3 for the first time! I bought the game last night - within an hour or two of when it was released - downloaded it overnight, and installed it this morning... all without letting Vicki know a thing about what I was up to. She was delighted to see what I had for her tonight, after we got back from an extra-long walk. And now she's happily playing away, while I watch the show, blog to my heart's content, and smile.