What I'm Playing: April 2012

Seeing as how this is a blog about video gaming, I thought I'd share the very games that have been distracting me from said blog, and other, more important critical demanding parts of my life.  So, here's what I've been playing over the month of April.

1. Soul Calibur V

This totally came out of left field for me.  I picked it up when it came out at the end of January, spent several hours in it and then started getting ready for Mass Effect 3--and hadn't been back since.  It's a shame, because SCV really is a quality game, once you get past the extraordinarily shallow single player mode.  

I really need to start using a character-style other than Siegfried's, though.  As much as I love kicking ass and taking names with an oversized blade, I'm noticing that I just don't move fast enough.  His biggest drawback, to be sure.  I fiddled around with a character based on Patroklos, though, and didn't do too terrible.

2. Mass Effect 3

I have a terrible habit of not playing through games a second-time around.  Seriously, there are only a handful of games I've played through mulitple times.  I liken it to, say, reading a book.  It's really challenging me to retain an interest level in material I've already read through once--I know how everything will end or get resolved.

While I've barely touched Mass Effect 3's single player campaign since I finished it, I have been playing a ton of its multiplayer mode, 'Galaxy at War.'  It's still pretty fresh, at least for me, and the free Resurgence Pack BioWare released for it a couple weeks back only sweetens the deal.  Email me if you'd like to get a match going sometime!

3. Skyrim

I once swore off Skyrim.  After spending ~109 hours and getting every Achievement, I decided that I'd force myself to put it down until its first DLC came out.  So, I did just that--within the game, even.  I had my character--Aarnyr, if you cared to know--return to his wife and home in Whiterun, hang his swords and shield up above his bed, store all his inventory around the various containers scattered throughout his tiny home, and change from Dragonscale Armor to a fancy robe.

But, on a whim I decided to head back out into the province of Skyrim once again.  I geared up, said goodbye to my wife and left for adventure and danger.  Because even after getting every Achievement, there's still so much more to do. 

4. Blue Dragon

Here's one that came out of nowhere.

I picked it up for about 10 bucks several months ago when I repaired my year-dead 360, because A) I'm still a huge fan of JRPGs, and B) the same core team who developed it, developed my favorite game of all time (and that of course, is Chrono Trigger).  But I spent only a few hours in it and left it alone for months.

With some time now between major releases on my hit list for 2012, I finally got a chance to go back and finish some games I'd left incomplete--Blue Dragon being one of them.  Even though the game is five years old at this point, it still looks nice.  Although, personally I find the characters and their voices to be a tad bit annoying--which is par for the course, I guess, seeing as how it is a JRPG.

5. Batman: Arkham City

I picked this up just yesterday from a Blockbuster for $20.  I walked in on a whim, saw the $19.99 sticker on its cover and couldn't say no.

I'd only ever played a demo for its predecessor, Arkham Asylum, but...it was a badass demo.  And I'd only read good things about it.  I can definitely see why this newest Batman series earns so much praise.  Soaring around the sleaze-infested Arkham City as The Batman is just wonderful.

What games have you been playing over the month of April?