SuperMooseman Hey guys. It's been quite a while since I last blogged (nearly three weeks to be exact), so I'm sorry for the recent lack of blogitude. Things have been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks, for reasons I will soon explain. I'd also like to apologise for my lack of presence on the Giant Bomb IRC in the last few months. Rest assured it has nothing to do with you guys. Truth is, I started having some very annoying problems with Firefox around May, so I uninstalled it and switched to Google Chrome. Consequently, no Firefox means no Chatzilla, so I've not been able to put in an appearance lately. I'm going to remedy this very soon, so keep an eye out for me in the IRC over the next week or so. In the meantime, a huge thanks must go out to SuperMooseman for keeping me reasonably updated and slightly less reasonably sane through Steam's in-built chat function. It's not like I've been away from the Bomb completely, though. I've been lurking, keeping up to date with all the latest editorial content and making a few Wiki edits, too (I just passed the 4000 point mark). But anyway, I digress. Let's get on to the meat of the blog - the games.
 
Time to explore Mournhold... First things first - I finished the main quest of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind a few days ago. Not much I can really say about that other than it was pretty damn awesome. Despite the free-form nature of the game, I found it told a pretty cohesive and interesting story; Morrowind has got me much more interested in the lore behind The Elder Scrolls than Oblivion ever did. That being said, I think I'll have to return to Oblivion after I finish with Morrowind (probably after a short break from the genre). As a fantasy writer myself, it's a joy not only to see and read about this incredible fictional realm, but also to be able to experience it first-hand. What's surprised me the most, though, is that despite sinking eighty-plus hours into the game so far, I'm still not burned out on it. That's probably just as well, because I own the Game of the Year Edition that includes the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansion packs, so I have a lot more content to satisfy my Morrowind addiction. I've just ventured into the city of Mournhold at level 43, and I'm really looking forward to exploring a whole new environment. With the island of Solstheim still to visit, it looks like I could be playing Morrowind for a long time yet.
 
Vice City Stories is a more-than-competent GTA game I also finally got around to finishing the story missions of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories yesterday. I picked up the PlayStation 2 version of the game towards the end of 2007, looking for a fix of GTA to tide me over until the release of Grand Theft Auto IV in April 2008. I played it for about six months and got right up to the end, but never finished the final mission. On a whim, I picked it back up yesterday morning, finished taking over all the empire sites, and completed the last mission. Despite not looking as sharp as its brethren due to it being a PSP port, the game plays really well and offers an interesting alternate look at the Miami-inspired Vice City. To this day, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remains my favourite game in the GTAIII canon, and it was really interesting to revisit one of my gaming history's most memorable locations.
 
Since the start of the year, I've been keeping a record of all the games I've finished (by which I mean, completed the main storyline/single-player mode) in 2009. How, you ask? Why, in the form of a Giant Bomb list, of course! In the last week, I've been able to add two more games to that list, taking the grand total of games I've completed this year to seventeen. Looking back over the list, it's amazing just how varied my gaming year has been so far. I've completed games that have been outstanding on my list for a very long time, such as Canis Canem Edit and Final Fantasy V. I've revisited old favourites like Grand Theft Auto IV and Shadow of the Colossus. I've also played a lot of games that I probably would never have touched were it not for the Giant Bomb community; games like Mirror's Edge and Soul Reaver 2. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the last third of 2009 has in store for me in terms of gaming. I probably won't be buying many new games, if any at all, but I'm sure I'll see the credits roll on a few more excellent games before the year is out.
 
Our new home It's not all about the endings in this blog, though. My life has also witnessed a pretty major new beginning in the last few weeks. Incidentally, that's also the reason for my lack of blogging activity here on the Bomb. On August 1st, I moved into my new flat with my girlfriend. We've been living together for two weeks and it's been amazing so far. As you may be aware from reading past blogs, my girlfriend is decidedly awesome and has become something of a games enthusiast in her own right. She bought a DS over Easter and is now hopelessly addicted to Animal Crossing: Wild World (although she'd never admit it). The other day she mentioned that she'd love to try playing Dead Space, which could be very interesting given how jumpy she was as a mere spectator when I played it earlier this year. We've also decided to make our next shared gaming experience Devil May Cry 3, so I'm looking forward to that.
 
I think that's about all I've got to say. Once again, sorry for the massive blogging delay. You may be pleased to know that I have a couple of interesting blogs lined up, which will hopefully see the light of day over the next week or two. In the meantime, thanks very much for reading guys. I'll see you around.

 
DanK 
 
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Currently playing - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year Edition (XBOX)