Another day at the office...

My office has changed a bit, as you can see. I didn't plan the pic to turn out this way, I really am replaying Mass Effect now that I finally have the chance. That's right, my new computer and Xbox 360 arrived yesterday, and both are working perfectly... yet there are some things that bother me about the latter product.

My new PC is a monster. I already tested a few recent demos and it seems it's perfect for running whatever I throw at it. Hitting the computer every five seconds just to be able to advance to the next site while simply surfing the net not being necessary - it takes some getting used to.

My new Xbox, on the other hand, is constantly showing me more signs of why I (used to) boycott Microbuck$. First off, the new user interface is ugly and confusing; it took me hours to figure out how to simply change the desktop theme. I already knew that since this particular Xbox came as a freebie on some other product's side, it's the newest model which is smaller and makes a hell of a lot less noise than the original, it's got integrated WLAN and automatic Kinect support, it had to be missing something - a hard drive. Initially that was fine by me, since I don't plan buying any games in the near future which require installation. Actually, I got the wretched thing because of the Mass Effect trilogy, to secure the future of my dear Commander Shepard. Then it hit me.

It's obvious that I can't download any DLC without storage space for it, but what's not so obvious is that not only do I need the original saves from my friend to be able to import my Shepard to Mass Effect 3 when it comes out, I also need his Xbox, and a hard drive - apparently neither Mass Effect 2 or 3 accept imported save files from a memory unit, or imported save files from a different Xbox. I get the feeling this kind of confusing shitbreak was intentional on Microsoft's behalf. I'll figure out a way to keep my Shepard alive - I must. The first step is to get that damn expensive, Xbox-exclusive hard drive, which I'll not be able to purchase before next month. I think I'll get myself a copy of Mass Effect 2 around that same time (it's something like €15 at the local GameStop), and place a pre-order for the Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 3, if any more copies of that extremely popular giant box are available at that time.

Anyway, all excessive, mandatory spending which was never the case with the PlayStation 3 (even  the simplest, static desktop themes from the Marketplace cost Microsoft Points!), I'm glad to own the Xbox 360 - if for nothing else, at the very least for my access to a wide variety of games due to almost every one of my homies owning the damn thing. Also, I'm really getting into my second round of Mass Effect, as a renegade female. She's definitely up to a fine start as my alterna-Shepard for the rest of the games to come.

As for the "December to remember" I promised, it's still very much on - I'm working on a couple of reviews. Perhaps there will not be very many reviews this month, but they're definitely big games which deserve time and thought - "quality over quantity" is this month's motto.

Remember to tune in to Spike Video Game Awards tonight, I'm heading to a friend's place to watch the live stream in a few hours.