Holiday gaming: what the VG247 crew are up to over the break
Hello! We're not dead, we promise; we're just very busy ploughing through our gaming backlogs, or taking a much needed holiday from new releases with some old favourites.
If you've got some time off over the end of the year, we hope you're putting it to good use. Yeah, you could get all that overdue paperwork done, or clean out your closet, or engage in healthy sporting activities - but let's face it, it's cold/hot/disagreeably tepid outside and you don't often get the opportunity to sit down and game to your heart's content.
On those rare occasions when Pat won't be chasing his children from one end of the house to another in an attempt to stop them suffering cardiac events at the excitement of Chrimbo, he'll be doing some gaming. The boss man says he's going to finish Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and Killzone: Shadow Fall.
It's not just about completing unfinished stories, though; Pat's recently fallen in love with Resogun, and will be pushing for Hero. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on the PSN to follow along.
Dave also plans to spend some time with Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, but he's got his eye on a prize, too. You may remember his long obsession with Dark Souls; he was so happy to beat Ornstein and Smough he got them tattooed on his arm, and his delight at finally beating the tough-as-nails RPG was well documented.
So during the break he's stepping back into the past and firing up Demon's Souls, the game to which the Dark Souls series is a spiritual successor. What's next, Dave? King's Field? Do it.
Steph also wants to get in some time with RPGs. We all know what a fan she is of The Elder Scrolls, and it's no surprise she wants to cosy up with Skyrim again during her break. Hopefully we don't lose her for a month like we did last time; there's a heck of a lot of content in Bethesda's latest, even more than two years on.
Our global news editor may also dabble in Torchlight 2, perhaps better known in these parts as the fearful life eater. We just hope she doesn't alert Pat to the existence of multiplayer or we won't see either of them until next Christmas.
As usual, Brenna's gone to the beach for Christmas, leaving her consoles, PC, handhelds and decent Internet connection behind. Nominally, this is a gaming detox, and she will spend all her time in the fresh air, but if history is anything to go by she'll last about three days. After that, she'll start marathoning the Steam games installed on her work laptop like FTL and Dungeons of Dredmor, or reigniting obsession with Kairosoft titles like World Cruise Story, in a pathetic attempt to reconnect with her poison.
Sam, on the other hand, is quite likely to stick to his plans, Oh, sure, he's promised to put some decent hours into next-gen games, but otherwise, he plans to spend his time with board games. naturally your thoughts turn to complicated, strategic german affairs that take a day to set up and three weeks to finish, but it turns out he just wants to play Monopoly, describing himself as the Goldman & Sachs of the classic.
And now friends - what are you playing over the break? Putting time into your new next-gen purchases? Clearing the backlog? Making an annual pilgrimage through your favourite RPG? Catching up with mates in an MMO? Being ruthlessly owned by teenagers in the latest multiplayer shooter? A bit of couch co-op with your nearest and dearest? Taking advantage of your Steam sale bargains?