I have recently discovered that cross-stitching is fun.

I have never been into sewing anything before, or really done anything artsy and craftsy. I admire my friends who are into it and good at it, but it’s definitely not my cup of darjeeling. A few weeks ago, however, a friend sent me an Etsy link to a cross-stitch of Cave Johnson’s (of Portal 2 fame) rant about making life take the lemons back. I thought it was hilarious and bought it, thinking it was the completed stitchery. I was emailed the pattern instead–see what happens when you don’t read?–and instantly had an “Oh, fuck” moment. I showed it to my husband, told him I wasn’t sure what to do, and he promptly hauled me to Michael’s to buy everything I would need to do it myself. He ensured me it was easy and that I would like it. I think he’s secretly hoping I get into cross-stitching and give up gaming forever since it’s so much cheaper.

I did have to look up how to start the process, since the only real stitching I had ever done before was with needlepoint with stamped patterns, but once I discovered how easy it was, I’ve had a great time with it so far.

I’ve actually already bought another pattern from Etsy, a Mass Effect one, so it looks like this artsy craftsy phase will continue a little while longer. I may need to try to make a Crimson Omen one as well.

And speaking of Crimson Omens, I was tapped into another round of Gears of War 3 last night. A couple of friends were playing and asked me to join in, and it wasn’t until after I played one chapter with them that I found out we were playing on Insanity. I have just now started to play around with Hardcore mode, so I kind of panicked at playing Insanity at all, much less with other people. I was not prepared for really how hard it was, and even though it took us 2 hours to get through a couple of chapters, I had an absolute blast. Once we got a rhythm going and developed effective ways of communicating what we were doing, we rocked it. I can’t wait to play with at least that many people again, on Hardcore or Insanity. I wonder how many times I will beat Gears 3 in the end…and I kind of don’t care. It’s just that much fun.

I heart Delta.

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.