Month in Review: January '09

January, the first full month of this blog, will also be the first month to have its own "Month in Review" post. These posts will be monthly posts on the last day of the month, detailing significant events, and my thoughts on how things went. The structure you see below is how things will run in these posts. All objects in the "Reviews Written" and "Blog Special Topics" categories are links, so simply clicking on them will bring you to that review or blog post, making it easy to go back and check out any content you may have missed.


Overall, January was a good month of gaming. I started out almost 2k behind my pace for 100k by the end of the year, but did a great job scoring points on games I already owned, making significant progress on Operation Jedi, and moving slightly ahead of pace. Quite a bit of progress was made on my grant research, while I wrote two reviews and 7 special topics. Near the end of the month, I slowed down to work on more challenging fare, and I don't want to go point-crazy when I need to get ready for a GSL (prep consists of getting the team ready, and doing non-gaming tasks like homework and getting ahead on research so I physically have the time to play).

Looking ahead: February will be an even busier month, with the GSL starting, increasing academic obligations, and a lot more reviews on my plate. It looks like I'll be reviewing at least 4 games in February, including:

Afro Samurai (confirmed)
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad (probable)
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (probable)
The Pitt [Fallout 3 DLC] (confirmed)

I'll do my best to have at least 1 special topic a week posted, despite my busy schedule. Writing those things is a fun break from the other writing I do (I write at least of 3-4 pages of material, single spaced, every single day. Blog posts are included in that total). The first special topic of February will be an editorial, discussing the concept of Gamerscore Inflation, which seems to me like a budding subject for debate. Stay tuned for that.

Reviews Written:
Rise of the Argonauts
Operation Anchorage (Fallout 3 DLC)

Blog Special Topics:
What co-op play means to me
Thrawn Predicts the Future: Episode II
The Thrawn Experiment (on purchasing games)
How I Write Reviews
Best 3 Albums Ever
My Perfect Xbox 360 Game
Three Sequels I Crave

Games Completed:
Prey
Condemned 2
Alone in the Dark
The Maw
Uno
Operation Anchorage
Warriors Orochi 2


Achievement Progress (These stats may be edited after posting to maintain maximum accuracy):

January start score: 68,395
End score: 72,930
Change: +4,535

Completion percentage change: +6.68% (from 54 to 60.68%)
Distance from Op. Jedi goal: 16,984 points

Lead over x Ducky Dan x to 100k: 6,906