November Rain (and Mass Effect)

Or you can call it, "November-mas" as some gaming podcasters have come to say. Yes, we're living it right now, kids. The gaming deluge has already begun and it seems to be hitting its stride this week.

November's shooter prom king, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare released last week to near-unanimous praise. Just today, I soaked in reviews of Assasin's Creed, Kane & Lynch and Blacksite: Area 51. Next week will be all about Mass Effect.

I'm giddy with anticipation about Mass Effect. I can't believe it's a week away and I haven't even gotten that new flat screen to take advantage of what is sure to be one of the prettiest and most epic titles of the holiday season. Starting a new job with a strict attendance policy leaves me wondering how far I can push my luck and call in sick a few times after November 20th rolls around. Either that, or I can just write my next few weekends off. No more social life, just Mass Effect.

I hope the game delivers what it promises. The reviews for Assassin's Creed and have been decent, but far from stellar. I was looking forward to both of these games but after checking out the critical opinion so far, both of them have had their status lowered from "launch day purchases" to "play demo first". Mass Effect has a great pedigree with BioWare at the helm, so I my expectations are still pretty high. Ready or not, I have my copy pre-ordered and I can't wait to sprint over to my local EB Games after work next Tuesday.