<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Grinding Down]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Paul]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/author/mylifecomics/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Drowning in videogames is one way to&nbsp;go]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3054" data-permalink="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/drowning-in-videogames-is-one-way-to-go/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500/" data-orig-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png" data-orig-size="500,375" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="tumblr_kpfk1gqYbb1qzxw3fo1_500" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png?w=500" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3054" title="tumblr_kpfk1gqYbb1qzxw3fo1_500" src="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png?w=500&#038;h=375" alt="" width="500" height="375" srcset="https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png 500w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://grindingdown.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tumblr_kpfk1gqybb1qzxw3fo1_500.png?w=300&amp;h=225 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>Too many games. <em>Way</em> too many videogames as of late, and there&#8217;s probably only more to come. If you think that I&#8217;ve been spending these past few days playing each and every new game that has popped into my possession until physical happiness oozes from my very pores&#8230;you&#8217;d be wrong. Though that does sound nice. I know I did not update <strong>Grinding Down</strong> on Monday; I know I did the same thing yesterday. Shame, <em>shame.</em> But that has to do with dayjob craziness, not getting lost in a fantasy world or trying to get a robot through a puzzle-laden room.</p>
<p>But I <em>am</em> playing stuff, such as continuing to work at <strong>Chrono Trigger</strong> before the <strong>GiantBomb</strong> staff catches up with me. I&#8217;ve also picked <strong>Radiant Historia</strong> back up, probably to <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/firsthour">Greg Noe</a>&#8216;s glee. Yeah, playing one time-traveling game reminded me that I should also keep playing that <em>other</em> time-traveling game. I kinda forgot about it, sadly, but am already sucked back in thanks to the charismatic characters and fantastic battle systems. I haven&#8217;t even turned on my Xbox 360 since last Friday; it&#8217;s way too cold to sit out in the living room and game, which stinks as I have plenty still to enjoy there: <strong>Skyrim</strong>, <strong>Beyond Good &amp; Evil HD</strong>, <strong>Mass Effect II</strong>, <strong>Mafia II</strong>, more <strong>L.A. Noire</strong>, that <strong>D&amp;D</strong> romp, and&#8230;uh, <strong>LEGO Harry Potter, Years 5-7</strong> once we get a second working Xbox 360 controller. Been a lot easier just crawling into bed under the heated blanket and giving my 3DS some love.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">A new </a><strong><a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">Humble Indie Bundle</a></strong><a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/"> is out.</a> And it seems like I have a knee-jerk reaction to their emails; they say, &#8220;Hey, get five games for whatever you want to pay!&#8221; and I say, &#8220;YES, MASTER. YOUR DEMAND IS MY DESIRE.&#8221; Upon further inspection, if you pay more than the average price you get two additional games. Here, take a look at what this package contains:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Jamestown</strong></li>
<li><strong>Bit.Trip Runner</strong></li>
<li><strong>Super Meat Boy</strong></li>
<li><strong>Shank</strong></li>
<li><strong>NightSky HD</strong></li>
<li><strong>Gratuitous Space Battles</strong> (additional game for paying more than average price)</li>
<li><strong>Cave Story+</strong> (additional game for paying more than average price)</li>
</ul>
<p>Alas, <strong>Shank</strong> and <strong>Bit.Trip Runner</strong> do not work on my dying Macbook, so they will have to wait until I can get a new computer in 2012. Maybe 2012. <a href="https://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/all-it-takes-to-ignore-a-dead-deer-and-ruined-car-is-a-ton-of-videogames/">Car problems do not come cheap.</a> Played a teensy bit of Cave Story+, and that&#8217;s a charming platformer if ever there was one; however, I hate not being able to control with a d-pad and action buttons. Oh well. I&#8217;ll endure, I&#8217;m sure.</p>
<p><a href="http://tinycartridge.com/post/14214156940/3ds-ambassadors-games-friday-release">Looks like us 3DS Ambassadors are getting our 10 free GBA games this Friday,</a> and the list is crazy good. I mean, we&#8217;ve always known five of the ten titles, but now we know it all, and I&#8217;m super stoked for seven of them. I don&#8217;t know what percentage seven out of ten equates to, but whatever. I&#8217;ve never proclaimed myself as a math magician, which is probably why I&#8217;m struggling with <strong>Anathem</strong> by Neal Stephenson after only 50 pages. Anyways, take a look at these nifty names:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones</strong></li>
<li><strong>F-Zero: Maximum Velocity</strong></li>
<li><strong>Kirby and The Amazing Mirror</strong></li>
<li><strong>The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap</strong></li>
<li><strong>Mario Kart: Super Circuit</strong></li>
<li><strong>Mario vs Donkey Kong</strong></li>
<li><strong>Metroid Fusion</strong></li>
<li><strong>Wario Land 4</strong></li>
<li><strong>WarioWare Inc: Mega Microgame$</strong></li>
<li><strong>Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Yeah! I will never not have something to play. Here&#8217;s hoping I can enjoy some of these during my vacation time, also known as the last week of December. Here&#8217;s hoping&#8230;</p>
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