Updates/Freelancing

This past week, I've been counting down the days until the newest "Alone in the Dark" game. The 5th in the series, but the bajillionth game to follow the lame and confusing "trend" of naming a new game in a series the name of the original game. You know, so new people don't feel left out! So you end up with multiple games called "Sonic the Hedgehog" (one was great and I grew up playing it. One sucks and I hated playing it!), multiple games called "Bionic Commando", and multiple games called "Alone in the Dark".

But while I'm stoked to play a new survival adventure game in the acclaimed series that essentially started that genre (even the horrible Uwe Boll movie can't tarnish that), reviews (all two of them) are only average, with some European players (the game is out over there, apparently) really disappointed with it (granted, this is the internet we're talking about). Still, these haven't diminished my desire to play the game... Not at all! But discussions about the length did... There has been made mention that the game lasts 6-10 hours, ish... Not horrible, but maybe not something I want to spend $60 on. I mean, if I did beat it in 6 hours (additional playthroughs for Achievement Points not withstanding), then that's like $10 an hour. So I'm going to wait for more reviews and/or see if there's any sweet deals for the game on it's release date next week. Maybe $10 off or something could entice me... Again.

See, ideally Atari would send ME a copy of the game for review, and I could be telling YOU whether or not it's worth the money. But alas, the folks at Atari (and several other companies) are still trying to figure out whether I'm actually a member of the press, and not just some kid wanting free games for the sake of free game.

Nintendo, on the other hand, has been super helpful so far, and the folks at Capcom are already saying, "Hey, uhhh... You want a download code for Commando 3 so you can review it for us?" Granted, I still haven't recieved said download code, but maybe they just don't want anymore less-than-stellar reviews on the net?

So anyway, since I probably won't be buying Alone in the Dark immediately, I took advantage of a sweet GameFly deal and ordered used copies of Devil May Cry 4, Burnout Paradise, and Clive Barker's Jericho for super cheap! Shhhh! Don't tell my parents I'm still spending money on games regularly! They won't understand that all three of these were cheaper than one new game, and that's totally why I bought them!

Anyways...

- In addition to the stuff I already do for the Daily Toreador, I'm going to try my hand at some freelance video game journalism. This would hopefully mean getting paid to write stuff for magazines and websites, like GameSpot.com if they're interested. Wish me luck, give me prayers, all that stuff. This is gonna have to be in God's hands, 'cuz while I can write, and I certainly know video games I don't know what I'm doing as far as the business end of it all goes.

- "The Awakening" will be shipped out to the Writers of the Future contest probably on Saturday. I'm... Iffy about it. I love the story, but really think it needs more time... Like 12 months, and an additional 60,000+ words, making it a novel and not a short story. But alas, I must force it out of the nest and see if it flies...

- "Time Shop" will also be shipped out on the same day (most likely), to who knows where. I haven't decided on which market I want my next rejection letter from yet. It might come down to posting all the publishers' names on a dart board and throwing knives at them, blindfolded.

- "Tobias" is back in production... Or will be once I stop being a lazy idiot and write the darn thing. Seriously, I have no one to blame but myself here... Myself and work, but that's kinda making excuses, isn't it?

- I'm about halfway through Ted Dekker's "Adam", and will probably finish it tomorrow. So far, it's absolutely INCREDIBLE. Very, very highly recommended.

I think that's all. I'm going to bed.