A brave new confusing world.

I never was prepared to be a Dad. I thought I was, of course. But really, when you're a thirtysomething gamer who's pretty set in his ways, the addition of an often-cranky, often-awake-at-inopportune-times little bundle of squirms and squeaks can really throw you for a loop.

There's no doubt that being a Dad is the greatest thing ever. Except, of course, for my gaming and blogging habits, which are much fewer and farther between than ever.

However, I would like to state for the record that I indeed am alive and well and playing games every once in awhile. Sure, it's down to a few hours a week most of the time, but it's not so bad. The biggest change has not even been related to the little guy's arrival a few months ago, but rather to my change in career. These days, I don't ride the train anymore, so there's hardly any handheld gaming going on. It's almost all treadmill time on the 360 (which is only three days a week for the most part) or stealing a few late-night hours here and there. You definitely get an appreciation for the term "free time", because there's much less of it than there ever was.

So, what have I been playing lately? A smattering of things, really. I've gotten to the later stages of Valve's Portal, which is brilliant but has me stumped now that I am on level 13. This one's killing me, and I don't think I am smart enough to figure it out. Naturally, getting stumped there led me over to the main title of the Orange Box, Half-Life 2. I am more than a little embarrassed to admit I've never played it (or its predecessor), but I've started down the path and I'll see where it takes me.

This past week I really dove headfirst into Sega Rally Revo, for which you'll see a review on this site in the coming days. Once or twice a week in the past month I've also dropped into a few Halo 3 online matches with some longtime friends, which have been fun enough but hardly mindblowing. Maybe it's because I'm older, have so little time, or am just looking for more out of my games, but I am not feeling the love for Bungie's latest. I can't even pretend to be interested in the single player; after an hour or so plodding through the first level, the baffling storyline and oh-so-familiar gameplay leaves me bored beyond belief. 

Believe it or not, I am still playing a lot of The Bigs, an utterly addictive over-the-top baseballer that's been out for many months now. It's the perfect treadmill game. I also recently won the Super Bowl in Madden 08, a distinctly anticlimactic affair that didn't even get me an Achievement. Disgraceful!

Up next are a couple of GN review titles - Folklore and Warhawk. My PS3 hasn't been this happy since……..ever.

The purpose for this rambling, self-serving, incoherent blog post? None, other than to remind all the GotNexters that I am still here, still kicking, and still looking to get a good night's sleep one of these days.