I’m still buried under a pile of reviews, mostly ones that I decided to pick up just to make sure the site has covered all the important bits. At this stage, I’m set to wrap the year up on Sunday with a total of 99 reviews and 47 features, which is pretty damn good. Would have liked to have cracked the century mark, but that gives me something to work towards next year.
Speaking of 2009, I’ve got a few ideas flying around in my head for better coverage. Wanted to look into doing some sort of Internet video production – I’ve got the idea and a place to put it, but I need talent and equipment to work with to bring it to fruition.
Reviews
Quantum of Solace (PS3) at Games On Net
Star Wars Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels (Wii) at Games On Net
Disaster: Day of Crisis (Wii) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – The Battle of Midway at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 11:13 am
Seven reviews written in the last 6 days, four need to be done by midnight tonight. There’s no rest for the wicked as a similar number of reviews is already planned for December to clean up the remainder. I can’t deny that it isn’t awesomely profitable, because what I make in these busy months makes the job seem all the more worth it.
Normally there’s a bit of a lull in January and February, but in recent years, the industry has recovered for mid February. 2009 is different. I’ve had to cut my planned two month break down to one, since everything fires back up again starting January 15th. My big goal for the year is to enhance my time management skills so that I can make the most of my work days so I don’t have to sacrifice time with the missus.
Reviews
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – The Tin Anniversaries Part V at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 9:01 am
Struggled through the week on the writing front, but had a lot of success on the playing front. Ultimately that just means even more writing this week.
My dearly beloved completed her final university assignment this week, but we were denied the opportunity for a proper celebration by her having to work Thursday and Friday. Today is her first day as assistant manager at her job.
Flights for Christmas are booked. I am looking forward to being done with my work for the year – the self-imposed deadline for all articles is December 15, so I can have a week off down here before going north.
Reviews
Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – The Tin Anniversaries Part Four at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 10:22 am
Forgot to post this up on Sunday, I think the sleeping in threw me off course. I went to eGames on Saturday, which was somewhat less interesting than it was last year, due mostly to the fact that the games on show were already available in stores, and had been so for many days. I only ended up spending about two hours at the show catching up with people before going off to the Crown arcade to play Rambo and Street Fighter IV.
More than a review a day to complete before the end of the month, so I’m going to put my head down and disappear for a while.
Reviews
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (Nintendo DS) at Games On Net
NHL 09 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
NBA Live 09 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
NBA 2K9 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
LEGO Batman: The Videogame (PS3) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe: The Tin Anniversaries Part Three at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 8:05 am
The clean slate was short-lived, as I now have eight reviews on the run. eGames is this coming weekend too, so I need to have most of them done by then so I can be free to socialise. The release season basically ends on the 27th, and I’ll basically be taking the two months off after that to enjoy the remainder of my time in Melbourne by generally relaxing, doing touristy things and wiping out some DVD/Game backlog.
Reviews
Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (Wii) at Games On Net
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (PS3) at Games On Net
Fracture (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Fable 2 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Dead Space (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – The Tin Anniversaries Part Two
posted by Matthew Keller at 8:51 am
The current review backlog is finally complete, though the party ramps up again as early as tomorrow. I’m taking the afternoon off to read some magazines play some non-review games, and watch some movies with the other half when she returns from work.
Spent most of the week with Fallout 3. Certainly ended up a lot like Elder Scrolls in the wasteland.
Reviews
Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Crysis Warhead (PC) at Games On Net
FIFA 09 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – The Tin Anniversaries (Part One) at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 2:30 pm
Just realised I didn’t write a post last week, and I don’t remember why.
I don’t think I’ve worked this hard for a while. 11 pieces in the last 14 days at a minimum of 1,200 words each. Yesterday was the first day in ages where I didn’t write anything, but I did make big inroads into Fable II. Got Dead Space sitting here as well, a few XBLA games, and one very popular RPG was meant to be here on Friday for a fast track review, but didn’t show up. So roughly 7 more pieces to write by the 31st.
Starting to get hot and sticky in Melbourne now. I do not like it.
Reviews
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (Xbox 360) at Games on Net
Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360) at Games on Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – Twenty Years of the Sega Mega Drive (Part Two) at Games on Net
The Warp Pipe – The Game/Movie Problem at Games on Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 7:38 am
We decided this week that we’d be moving back to Queensland. Not an easy decision to make, but arguably the best of our options, and should certainly help us set up for the rest of our lives.
Tons of work to do, but I’m getting there. Six games on the whiteboard right now, with another two or three coming in this week. All need to be done by the 22nd for sanity reasons, as four more come out on the 23rd, and they’re all meant to be really good.
I think I need to iron out my time management issues. Certain pieces take far longer than expected, which has a bit of a flow on effect.
Reviews
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
TNA iMPACT (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Spore (PC) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – Twenty Years of the Sega Mega Drive (Part One) at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 10:33 pm
The workload is high, as are the stress levels. House hunting is not a whole lot of fun, especially when the couple is undecided on their plans for the coming year. Seven reviews on the run at the moment, and a bunch of features that need to be written ASAP. Would rather just sit around and watch movies for a week.
Weight loss stalled during the week after I binged on junk food to counter depression. I’m completely over diet Coke, so that makes the whole campaign easier.
Reviews
Castle Crashers (XBLA) at Games On Net
Facebreaker (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – LucasArts: A Fall From Grace at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 11:14 am
First week of controlled eating has yielded a loss of 2kg. Still a ways to go.
Lots of work to be done, many annoyances prevent the working environment from being adequate.
Reviews
Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360) at Games On Net
Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBLA) at Games On Net
Galaga Legions (XBLA) at Games On Net
The Last Guy (PSN) at Games On Net
Features
The Warp Pipe – 25 Random Video Game Facts IV at Games On Net
posted by Matthew Keller at 11:13 am