Last week I finished my solo-run of one of my favorite games this year–Gears of War 3–and while I know it’s high time I get back into Deus Ex, I really wanted to play something from my stack of shame over the weekend.

Since my PS3 hasn’t had an ounce of love since inFamous 2, I rifled through that stack, even though it’s definitely the smaller of the two. I settled on Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. I had heard great things about it, and many people told me I would be fine with it even though it’s technically a platformer game. In that aspect, they were right. The platforming is actually easier than the inFamous games, which makes me not want to call it a platformer at all, but that’s beside the point. After playing for two hours, I realized that the only reason why the game was even tolerable to me was because I had the strategy guide.

I’m not a fan of stealth, I really don’t like the combat, and I don’t like constantly telling Trip what to do–seriously, that’s why I never played Ico. I can see why so many people liked the game, however. It’s vibrant, the gameplay is unique, and it has a compelling story. It’s just most definitely not for me. I have so many games on my plate that I really can’t waste time on one that I don’t find fun in the first two hours, so out of the PS3 it came and onto Amazon.com it went. (I have my Enslaved strategy guide for sale there too, if you’re interested.)

After that debacle, I flipped through my PSN games to see if I had anything in there I hadn’t finished. Surely I had something that wasn’t a Final Fantasy game. And lo, I did: DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue. I loved the first game to pieces, and I bought the sequel shortly after it released but I got caught up in who knows what. The third one has been out for awhile now too, and I really want something short and light and fun, so really, what game could be better? I can’t think of anything.

I’m such an idiot for not playing Thongs of Virtue sooner. I laughed so hard within the opening seconds that I was wiping tears. The game is so ridiculous and witty, not to mention fun. I know I’m not saying anything anyone doesn’t already know; it’s more of a repeated smack to the head as to why I wasn’t playing it sooner. I cannot make the same mistake with The Baconing.

Lunch needs to get here sooner today so I can have lunch DeathSpank. Oh yes, that is my plan for the next few weeks.

Yes, this is my new controller

It was all Gears of War 3 all the time, and I loved every second of it.

I had two games of Gears 3 going all week long: a co-op campaign with one of my GamesAreEvil.com colleagues and a solo campaign where I review the strategy guide. Eric and I did finish it on Saturday night, and I’m very close to finishing my solo campaign. Even though the game is over and I know how it all ends, I still can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t wait to finish my solo campaign. I can’t wait until enough of my friends buy the game so we can have a 4-player campaign. I can’t wait until my friend who finished Gears 2 with me buys the game so we can play together. I even want to try out the Arcade mode and a few games of multiplayer, something I’ve never done in my entire gaming career.

I wish I could say more about the game, but it’s going to have to wait until I write and publish my review for Gaming Angels. But I can still say this; I do not believe that Gears 3 is the game of the year, but it’s definitely one of the most fun games I’ve ever played. It’s ranking up there with Mass Effect and the inFamous franchises. Even if you never played the first two Gears games, you can still jump right into this installment and have a ton of fun.

Okay, enough Gears gushing. I’m sure I will enough in my review, my strategy guide review, and in the podcast this week that will make everyone sick of it.

So after I finish my solo campaign, it’s back to working on Adam Jensen’s story. I’m going to miss being able to plan to just shoot everything in sight, but I know the story will make up for my future frustration with the stealth. Because yeah, there will be future frustration. I’m just not very stealthy.

Hey look, I’m writing again! Sorry about last week, folks. I had jury duty last Monday and it screwed up my entire gaming and writing week. But I won’t let Labor Day get me off track! (Although the weather drop to the 80s could easily do so. I was actually cold this morning when I let the dogs out.)

I have been playing a bit of a little game called Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play as much as I would like, but I have a few hours under my belt, including the absolute loss of ever getting the Achievement for not killing anyone. I try to be stealthy, I really do. However, I do suck at it. I admit it. I think I also have some bad luck attached to me as well, as without fail, I’ll maneuver through a room with ease just to be spotted at the very last second. Every time it happens, I actually bow my head and sigh. I’m so tempted to give up and just go the 100% lethal route, but I’d like to at least try. I do have to say, though, that when you kill everyone in a room, it does make walking around a bit easier. Just saying.

In case you hadn’t heard, the 3DS Ambassador program launched this past week, and I was very eager to download all the games that held interest for me (all but the golf game). After I showed my fellow EvilCasters that the Justin Bailey code does indeed work for the virtual console version of Metroid, I started to play the original Legend of Zelda. It’s such an oldie, but a goodie. I never finished the game back in the day–but I was a damn fine mapmaker–so I’m gleefully running through it with hopes of finishing as part of my Zelda Experiment.

But old Link wasn’t the only Link I played with. After my hubby ditched our Gears of War 2 date to hang out a bar with friends (go out in public with real people? what was he thinking??), I resumed more of my trek with A Link to the Past. I can’t lie; I die a lot in this game. But it’s so much fun, I really don’t care! What’s really amazing to me is how this is the Zelda game that really started it all in terms of modern game mechanics. It makes me think that the only real differences between LTTP and modern Zelda is the 3D open world. And to be honest, I really, REALLY prefer the 2D greatness of LTTP. I’m beginning to see why this is a favorite for so many of my friends.

The husband did honor our Gears 2 date last night, and we had an absolute BLAST. Since Gears 2 allows split-screen co-op players to use their preferred controller settings, we didn’t have half the issues we did in the first game. I definitely won’t be firing him this time. We finished Act III, and if it wasn’t midnight, we probably would have moved on to the fourth Act. I love how this second game has more of a story, the improved narration (I actually understand what we’re doing now), and all of the mechanics are so much smoother.

The best moment for us was when we had to kill two Boomer Maulers that were marching toward us in the razorhail, and we were both out of Lancer ammo. Without even discussing it, we both switched to flamethrowers and took them down with ease. We laughed, we high-fived, we continued to kill more Locust.

I almost wish I didn’t have to get DXHR finished so soon so we could play more of Gears 2 this week. Just as long as we finish it before the third one comes out, we’ll be golden.