Friday 29 November 2013

Christmas 2013, My (Great) Expectations.

Salutations and greetings friends, readers, bloggers and people who have clicked a wrong Google link. This is the Novabug Blog by the way, stick around because you might like it. Maybe.

So, it's that time of year again when we all spend too much money on superfluous tacky gifts, vast amounts of food too great in mass to consume within the use-by date, and moan about the choice of Bond movie shown. It's a time when British people can be divided; either ignoring it quietly, hating it opening or just going with the flow. For the majority, people adopt the latter. So, the expectant day is filled with larks and tomfoolery; the turkey get's dropped, the kids all get sugar-filled and throw up, the carpet becomes a smorgasbord of past christmas dinners and decorations, the cat climbs the tree and inevitably, everyone passes out after rowing over a game of Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit or Wii Sports. Ahh, the joy!

Okay, maybe that's all a bit melodramatic and OTT, but you get my point. After all, once you have passed the age of when the innocence and irresponsibility has gone, it becomes just another day, just with more food and mess. This year I hope for a more mundane Christmas, well, once the children have worn themselves out. They will get ample amounts of toys, colouring book and so on, most of which will be destroyed or lost before Boxing Day is finished. I however, on the back of the 'big' launch of this years most wanted games consoles, have bought the family a Nintendo Wii U, because it's far more suitable to a young family environment and it's cheaper. Much cheaper. I got the system, extra controllers and 4 games costing far less than a new Playstation 4 with 1 game, or an Xbox One with no games. It's a no-brainer for me. The big day will consist of a hectic morning of torn wrapping paper, setting up dollhouses or building lego models, while the loving missus makes some hearty breakfast. Then, it's on to the mother-in-law's, for a brief but equally frantic session of more toys and such like, and then on to my mothers superlative christmas dinner, after which things can start to chill down. Personally, I'm looking forward to playing on my brothers PS4, but really I just want to sit, drink and watch anything that appears on the TV. As long as I can relax, I'm happy. No forcing the fun this year, just going to run with whatever, as they say. 

So, what's your plans? Do you have wildly massive and unobtainable predictions on how the day will pan out? Good? Bad? Terrible? Fantastic? What ever way you spend the 25th, whether you celebrate or not, I offer my seasons greetings and goodwill, because, no matter what the connotations of Christmas means to you, it should really all be about being good to one other. A feeling of happiness and love between family and friends. Yes, this sounds cliche, but it's the truth. No religious or cultural differences should hinder this. So, happy Christmas one and all, have a peaceful but fun time, and look forward to the new year with a positive outlook. Well, that's what I hope to be doing.

The Pixel Empire

Needless to say, us TPE guys have been working on some Christmas gaming gems for you all. Expect to see some snow/ice related video games, our annual Secret Santa reviews and some exclusive surprises as well. Some classic title just 'may' be getting a reboot... I'll say no more. In the meantime, we have been covering some great games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Bejeweled 3, Rayman Legends and the updated version of Baldur's Gate. Read them now, it's unmissable. Also, on the back of Sony and Microsoft cornering the media attention, we look back at the previous generation of big games consoles. The PS3 and Xbox 360 get our judgement, with no pulled punches I assure you. 

Novabug on YouTube. 

I recently have been producing a vast amount of video material, all mostly about gaming, so why not take a look. I have some new gameplay's of Pang, Batman and Barbarian 2, as well as me chatting about old console niggles, what games most consumed me and how my better half feel about my gaming habits. Take a butchers, I hope you will enjoy my rantings and banter. Click HERE to view and enjoy my channel.

Happy Christmas, Merry New Year and all that guff...

For 2013... Bug...'Out!