Current PC Gaming Machine

It's an extended loaner unit, but what I'm gaming on right now is an Alienware laptop, the M18x.

"Laptop" is kind of a misleading description. This is quite easily a desktop replacement that just so happens to be portable. In form factor and function, there's no mistaking it for anything other a piece of hardware in the laptop family. The dead give away is the screen that folds down but I'm not sure how much gaming would actually be done with the M18x sitting on a persons lap.

For starters, it's heavy! (Close to 12 lbs!) While some laptops have gone the route of thinner and smaller, the M18x is akin to a V8 Hummer. So, it's heavy and big. And that's okay by me -- it means the screen is also a generous size. In short: It's perfect for a desk.

But I'll have a more in-depth review of the hardware closer to the end of March, for now I need to mention at least one number that I can remember off the top of my head:

Half-Life 2 (and its episodes) maxed out everything = 300 frames per second (fps) according to FRAPS

Saints Row: The Third looks best on PC. No lie.

And while I can't remember the exact numbers for the likes of Left 4 Dead 2, Crysis, Red Alert 3, StarCraft II, Batman: Arkham City, Portal 2, Homefront, and Team Fortress 2, the fact I can turn all the settings to "10" and not see any performance hits makes me appreciate the kind of horsepower built into the machine. (And by any, I mean any.) The only game so far that seems to have chugged, even just a bit, was Saints Row: The Third with the settings maxed to 8x anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. And even then it was an acceptable chug (to me) of ~25 fps. For ~$2,000 I'd expect that but actually seeing it in motion... yeah, PC Master Race Tendencies are difficult to squelch. The games look appreciably better than on console. And finally seeing Crysis running at max settings? It's hard to believe the game came out in 2008. It looks so good!

Batman: Arkham City screenshots *spoilers*

Batman tracks down Joker.

The hacking mechanic is quick and easy and perfectly suited to a controller.

The option here is to gag/ungag Harley. It's a good gag either way.

I so wanted this sequence to turn into the classic arcade game "Toobin'."

The Mad Hatter fight is a great one-off. I particularly like the detail of the rotating gears and clockwork in the centre of the platform. Plus, Batman's floppy ears remind me of Bat-Mite.

Batman with a bat.

The trials... pretty cool look.

All the women in Arkham City tend to look very similar. Firm buttocks, plunging neckline...

The lighting effects are one of Arkham City's greatest assets.

Poison Ivy in all her greenery.

Catwoman weighs her options as she does her best to look like a cat.

Making and Finding: Time

Finding time and making time are really two different things.

The former makes me think of finding a quarter on the pavement. "Oh hey, money!" I just happened upon it without any kind of effort. It was a "right place, right time" situation.

The latter is something far more active and involved. It means shuffling schedules around. Maybe it means putting off what I'd really like to do for a few days (or even months) so I can make time available for it at some point in the future.

It's this distinct split between finding and making time that always springs to mind, not to mention maturity level of the writer, when a gaming forum thread is started with something along the lines of "I'm having a kid in March -- will I still be able to play video games?"

Triple fermented and 9%

Yes, you'll be able to play games but you'll finding the time rather than making time. It becomes a matter of priority though. Speaking from my own experience, sleep, kids, wife, food, time outside, paying bills, work, etc. all pretty much take priority over gaming, not to mention my ability to update The Armchair Empire with any regularity.

If there's any time to be found it's after everyone else has gone to bed. Then I come to a fork in the road: sleep or gaming. More and more the sleep option is getting play. With five kids in the house and a wife that actually likes to have me around, sleep always seems to be in short supply so for me to make a choice to stay up late truly takes an active decision.

Recently I received a (loaner) M18x from Alienware and since it landed on my desk I've been dying to just sit down and play some games. So, during the recent Christmas holidays I finally had the chance to really dive into it with StarCraft II, Batman: Arkaham City and a little Left 4 Dead 2. Just before sitting down I had a hot shower and poured myself a bottle of La Fin Du Monde. It felt really good to just sit down and play some games for few hours with some "found" time. Of course, my evening ended close to 2:00AM and I knew I would pay for it the next day since my house is full of early risers.

The kids shouldn't be awake to witness the
horror of a zombie apocalypse

The odd thing was that in the morning I didn't feel cranky. No, that came a a couple days later when I'd had successive late nights, which wasn't due to anything game-related.

Anyway, kind of away from my original point. Yes, you'll still be able to play video games when you have kids. And when they get older you may actually be able to play games with them (not limited to the electroni kind), but the moment you have kids there's definitely less opportunity to make time, which is really just a function of getting older and being more responsible.

It makes those times when you find enough time to squeeze in a few hours of gaming all the more satisfying.

Sitting On A Post

One aspect of running a website that takes a lot of oganization is scheduling reviews/articles to be posted in a timely manner. The biggest obstacle to my schedule and utilizing any organizational skills, the one thing that has me currently sitting on reviews of Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3 (among others!) is lack of time.

If my day had about another 3 hours -- a 27 hour clock -- I think I'd be set.

When I get home, I spend time with my family, then, when the kids are in bed, I'll hang out with my wife, sort out finances, take the dogs out, etc. By the time that's all done, I have very little time to actually get something posted and/or play a game. The only option I see since the 24-clock isn't going away anytime soon, is that I stop sleeping.

And there are problems with that option. So, that's why a backlog exists. I'm waiting for an hour or two to free itself up so I can jump in a get some of the backlog posted. It's at those rare moments where a little organization goes a long way in getting articles posted.