I'm back! Update

So been on hiatus for a long while but I have good reasons why:

1) left town over the holidays for an extended visit back home in Texas to spend time with my huge, crazy family and all the in-laws

2) if I didn't mention it before, I found out I was pregnant with kid #2 and being pregnant while chasing an insanely active 4 year old, taking him to pre-k, managing the zoo of animals we have, preparing for the new arrival,and keeping up with the 100 jobs that come with being a mom (while being pregnant!) left me too damn tired to blog. 

3) did I mention being pregnant? It's really not easy. My lack of caffeine and/or alcohols was very apparent. 

4) have a new baby here! She was born April 2, healthy and happy. Finally getting into somewhat of a new schedule/routine around here. So hopefully will get more free time soon - fingers crossed. Here's a pic of the little time sucker :)

So yeah, there you go. Will have a few game reviews coming up soon but first, exciting news (well to me at least) about the extra life event for this year - continue to read about that in the next post

A World of Keflings

Xbox Live Gold Members free game of the month for Nov. 1, 2013 is A World of Keflings. I downloaded this game because 1) it was free, 2) the cover appeared to be kid friendly, and 3) it looked kid friendly! Once it was done downloading my son and I started it up; me hoping it was easy enough for him to learn and him barely containing himself from snatching away my controller and taking over.

Right away we were both drawn into the game. The game play incorporates the players' xbox live avatars as the 'giant hero' character who has found his way to this miniturized world inhabited by a short stature type of people called the Keflings. The first part of the game is focused around a learn-as-you-play tutorial which runs the player through sometimes long-winded but funny dialogue or our host Keflings as they teach their giant hero how their land, people, building, and resources all work. After doing a few short 'missions' my son and I got the hang of all the controls and the jist of the game.

We started in the frozen ice land of the Kefling world and by working through the story dialogue mission by mission we opened more 'lands/worlds'. The second land we went to was the forest area where the majority of the game takes place. Finally, the last land to open is the desert.

The download offers a total of 21 achievements, 12 available to be unlocked without a DLC (which opens more lands, more missions). Nearly all of the non-DLC achievements are obtainable by just completing the missions in the story mode as you progress. There are a few achievements that are earned for completing various tasks that may or may not have been unlocked as you played. By the time my son and I finished the game we still had to go back to collect 3 achievements (all are very easy to get).

Here's a list of the pros and cons of this game.

Pros: 

• Cartoonish, bright colors, comical, engaging
• Easy to learn controls and abilities
• Very small maps/lands that are impossible to get lost in
• Easy to understand, straight-forward missions
• 'What's Next?' button to remind and guide the player on current tasks
• 2-player capable

Cons:

• All text dialogue (difficult when a 4 yr. old skips through & you miss what you're suppose to do next)
• Over-crowded maps (plan building locations very carefully or it becomes a pain to navigate!)
• Split-screen not vertical/horizontal fixed so constantly disorientated/confusing of who is who
• Requires DLC to 100% the game

Achievements (non DLC):

• All You Need Is Doug (5 g). Thawed out poor frozen Doug
• Story Progression. Chapter 1. Finish building the campfire. Build the house. Pick up frozen Doug, place him next to the fire to melt. 

• Endless Doug (20 g). Got to know Doug pretty well. Does he ever stop talking? 
• Story Progression. Chapter 4. Just go through the story mode. Unlocks after you build a tower for the pesky dragon, talk to the ice chief afterward, and watch the cut-screen.

• Smile On Your Brother (10 g). Received Collectibles from a friend. How sweet! 
•  To unlock this achievement for a friend: Go to the Sharing option at the start of the game. Select a friend, send them collectibles, done.
• To unlock this achievement for yourself: Hope your friend sends you a message back! Or, plug in a second account/controller and send to yourself (must be non split screen).
• Note: collectibles are objects you unlock/find throughout the game. They are the statues, trees, etc that are laying around the maps when you first arrive.

• The Stars At Night (10 g). Helped enhance your world with culture stars 
•  Game play progression. As you build and complete mission tasks you will be awarded stars. Just play through the game and you will quickly accumulate enough stars (20) to unlock this achievement. If you're impatient you can build a 'star-giving' building multiple times, knocking it down after completion each time and rebuilding for more stars. World 1, the Ice Castle, is the first building that stars are given for.

• I Would Walk 500 Miles (20 g). Visited the Ice Kingdom, the Desert Kingdom, and the Forest Kingdom
•  Story progression. Chapter 6. Just play through the game. You will be able to fit the missing pieces of the world gates as you progress. Unlocks as soon as you reach the desert world.

• Reunited (And It Feels So Good) (20 g). Talked to the whole family of builder brothers.
•  Story progression. Unlocks in the desert world after you build the bridge across to the princess. There are a total of 5 brothers to be found.
1. Ice world, start of the game
2. Ice world, unfreeze Doug by placing near the campfire
3. Forest world, given to you as a helper
4. Forest world, trapped in hardened candy/sap stuff, unlocked in witch's mission
5. Desert world, across the chasm with the princess. Build a bridge to reach.

• Be It Ever So Humble (25 g). Finished the Giant's Gift. How relaxing! 
•  Story progression. Forest world. Throughout the entirity of playing through the mission in the forest world you will be given 'gifts' by the king, etc. After you get the last one you can use the accompanying blue print to build your gift. Place it anywhere you want on the map.

• Come on, Vogue! (10 g). Expressed yourself with 20 different emotes. Strike a pose! 
•  Game play progression. As you work through the game you gain new 'Emotes', funny and useful actions that your avatar can do in the worlds. Press up on the D-pad to access your full inventory of these. Select 20 different ones to act out and get the achievement.

• Go Ahead And Jump (15 g). Watched a kefling bounce through a long series of cannons 
•  In the forest world, bottom left hand side of the map is a grouping of canons already in place. Grab a Kefling and put them inside any one of the canons. They will be shot out and around in a continuous pattern and achievement will unlock after a few seconds of this. OR, after building the 'Gear house' place two canons facing one another and drop a Kefling in, achievement will unlock after a few seconds.

• One Tree Hill (15 g). Adorned your world with 25 unique decorative pieces 
•  Game play progression. You will build several buildings that make decorative pieces (yellow background pieces); fountains, trees, statues, etc. You will need 25 different pieces. Just place them anywhere, doesn't need to be placed by a house or anything special.

• I Am The City (25 g). Helped out with building 100 buildings. 
•  Game play progression. Either start the buildings (and have the builders finish them to help towards another achievement) or finish them all yourself. Must get a total of 100 buildings all existing at the same time and/or spread over the three different worlds!
• By the end of the game it is unlikely to have gotten this achievement if you only stuck to building the required buildings in story mode. So go back and build easy buildings; huts, tents, houses, etc. (hearts are not needed for these buildings to count as finished!)

• Help! (I Need Somebody) (25 g). Started 10 buildings the builders finished without you 
•  Game play progression. Once you have builders (the bigger guys that constantly follow you around the map and carry pieces for you) you can start on this achievement. 
• Bring up the blueprints for a building (huts, tents, small houses work fastest) that you have already successfully completed at some point, go the appropriate buildings to select/make the pieces available, pick up one piece and carry it to where you want to build. Place your one piece down, then step away and let the Kefling builders carry in the remaining pieces and put them in place for you/complete the build for you.

2013 Extra-Life Gaming Marathon/Fundraiser

2013 Extra-Life Gaming Marathon/Fundraiser

"On an Autumn Saturday each year since 2008, tens of thousands of gamers have joined together to save the lives of local kids in a celebration of gaming culture that we call Extra Life.  From console games to tabletop RPG's to even lawn sports, Extra Life gives people that love to play a chance to do what they love to save lives and make a difference. Originally designed as a 24-hour marathon of gaming, Extra Life has evolved to mean different things to different people (though most of our participants still attempt the marathon)".

- www.Extra-Life.org

This is my first year knowing about this event and  my first year participating. I am playing/fundraising for the Children's Hospital of Colorado. As of this minute my wonderful sponsors have raised nearly $300! I will be attempting to play for the entire 24-hour marathon... actually, 24 hours since the clocks go back tonight. Unfortunately, I don't have access to my usual "go-to's" during the marathon to help keep me awake: energy drinks, caffeinated coffee, or sodas because I am currently pregnant :) However, I do have the support of my amazing family and friends to keep me going.

I'll be updating this post as time goes by for anyone who wants to check in on my progress. For any other Extra-Lifers that may come across this: GOOD LUCK!

Saturday, November 02, 2013

7:30 am - Alarm woke me up even though I really wanted to ignore it and continue sleeping. Did not sleep well due to someone who insisted on snoring all night long and waking me up multiple times. Coffee brewing.

8:15 am - My 4 year old son woke up and came downstairs to join me. He has been looking forward to this day. I think this is the only time I have ever encouraged him to get dressed faster so he could play video games. Putting in Lego Star Wars III and will try to get missing achievements in it.

11:00 am - The source of my inability to sleep last night has just woken up. He is stealing my side-kick and they are running out to grab donuts for everyone. Still playing Lego Star Wars III. Coffee has kicked in but eyes are still feeling heavy.

12:10 pm - Lego Star Wars III

• Achievement Unlocked: Jedi Master. True Jedi in every level (70 g).

12:16 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: A Presence I've Not Felt Since. Collect all the minikits (70 g)
• Achievement Unlocked: Stealth Wealth. Collect All Gold Bricks (70 g).

12:34 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Blending in. Have all your party members disguised as Senate Commandos in Hostage Crisis (10 g).

12:44 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Land-o Calrissian. On a flying level, land a space ship while controlling Lando Calrissian (10 g)
• Achievement Unlocked: UH OH! Using the Force, take control of a Super Battle Droid and destroy 50 other Droids (20 g).

1:01 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Field commander. Using the Radio ability, command troops 50 times (10 g).

1:17 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: The Force is with you. Complete a story level without dying (and no invincibility cheat) (10 g).

1:25 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Jango's Army! Unlock/Purchase all Clone Characters (50 g).
• Achievement Unlocked: Clanker Collector. Unlock/Purchase all Droid Characters (50 g).

1:52 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Impressive, Most Impressive. Complete the game to 100% (100 g). 

6 hours into the marathon. Finished Lego Star Wars III to 100%.  New Gamer Score = 36,600.
Taking a short break, walk around, get a drink, etc. My side-kick left me to go hang out with his daddy.

2:25 pm - Borderlands (1)

2:59 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Truly Outrageous. Killed an enemy with the Siren's action skill. (15 g).

6:44 pm

• Achievement Unlocked: Tourist. Read all 6 Claptrap statue placards (10 g).

My trusty little side-kick has returned and is helping me in Borderlands to start collecting ClapTrap items for several different achievements. Starting to feel tired and worn out. Going to talk the husband into going to grab me a cup of coffee.

7:52 pm

• Achievement Unlocked. It's so Realistic! Collected 5 3D glasses. (10 g).

Just checked Extra-Life.org and the Current Total of Funds raised for the Children's Miracle Network is at $3,000,745! Over 34,000 people are actively gaming right now and some streaming their marathon online.

9:38 pm

• Achievement Unlocked. Bobble-Trap. Collected 15 Claptrap bobbleheads. (10 g).

These item collection achievements are proving to be a head ache. Farming MINAC on the first play through, but the drop rates are super low. My side-kick just went off to bed, but not before a big hug and wishing me good luck :) Now have friends online to talk to in xbox live chat. Feeling good.

10:00 pm

• Achievement Unlocked. The Lubricator. Found 25 Claptrap oil cans. (10 g).

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Good morning! It is officially Sunday. 8 hours left to go. A few friends are left online with me but they are all dropping like flies and heading to bed.
 
1:16 am

• Achievement Unlocked. Small Tournament. Completed the Prove Yourself Mission. (10 g).

2:11 am

• Achievement Unlocked. What a Party! Collected 3 panties, 5 fish in a bag, and 15 pizzas (30 g).

Finally got this achievement!! Time for another short break. The dog is upstairs whining to be let outside, my hands are feeling cramped, and my eyes are very dry. Will need some help from my friends to finish the last remaining achievements in this game, so going to switch to a new game after my break. Officially on my own for the remainder of the event.

3:35 am - Assassin's Creed II

• Achievement Unlocked. The Pain of Betrayal. Complete DNA sequence 1 (30 g).

4:43 am

• Achievement Unlocked.  Tip of the Iceberd. Use your Eagle Vision to scan a Glyph in the environment (10 g).
• Achievement Unlocked. Piece of the Puzzle. Unlock a piece of Subject 16's video (10 g).

5:05 am

• Achievement Unlocked. Vengeance. Complete DNA Sequence 2. (30 g).

6:02 am

• Achievement Unlocked. Exit the Son. Complete DNA Sequence 3. (30 g).
• Achievement Unlocked. Handy Man. Upgrade a building in the Stronghold (10 g).

Two hours left in the 25-hour gaming marathon! Feeling very tired and spaced out now. Difficult to even type. But I'm not going to give up now.

7:09 am

• Achievement Unlocked. Undertaker. Discover the Assassin's Tomb inside the catacombs under Santa Maria Novella. (20 g).

One final hour left! Sooo sleepy. Hearing some stirring upstairs from my son's room. Maybe he will come down just in time to tell me 'good-night' :)

8:00 am - 25 hours marathon is done! Had a couple moments of doubt but glad I was able to stick with it. Extra-Lifers were able to raise over $3,400,00 this year. Congrats to all that hung in there and made this event possible. Good-night!

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my blog. Well as my blog title suggests, I am a mom who loves to game! This blog will follow me through the games that I play, the events or challenges that I am able to enter, and my progress to collect as many gamer points as possible. There will be good times (finally unlocking some eluding achievement) and there will be bad times (losing xbox live service in the middle of a match), and I hope to post them all here.

I started in 1990, when I was about 6 years old, on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. My parents were against buying a video game toy though, so my sister and I made a deal with them - if we came up with the money ourselves they would allow us to buy it - they agreed. So, by reaching into our piggy banks, fixing friends' bicycles, and doing extra chores around the house my older sister and I each came up with half the money needed to purchase the system. And, as they say, the rest is history.

Over the years I saved every penny, did every chore possible, and earned extra money doing small, odd jobs around the neighborhood or for friends and family. Every time I had enough money to spend I would purchase a new game, or a new controller. By then new gaming systems were out on the market but I was hesitant to spend a lot of money on something I didn't even know about. Luckily, I come from a very large family - too many aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins to count - and a few them had bought the new systems. After trying some out I realized the original Nintendo had reached the end of it's time and I upgraded to a Super NES.

The same pattern of saving, purchasing, and upgrading continued as I worked my way through  the years. But suddenly, I was in love... The Xbox. I was first introduced to it through my now husband. Knowing I was into video games he took me to his place one night where he and his nephew were engaged in killing one another in Halo (the very first). They ordered pizza and invited me to sit and try to play against them. I have to admit, at first they were slaughtering me - the maps were unknown to me, the controls were weird, and they were 'experts' in the game. But after about 20-30 minutes, the tables started to turn. No longer was I the helpless sheep waiting in the open for them to come and kill me at their desire. By the end of the night I was out killing the both of them (which seemed to make them a little mad... oh well). And after a few days of playing they had all but given up trying to kill me and had turned on one another. I was in heaven.

Today, the Xbox systems are still my favorite and the Halo franchise is my ultimate favorite game(s). My husband doesn't game much anymore... not sure why :D but now I have a new companion - my 4 year old son. He loves to play as much as I do and we frequently butt heads over which game we will be playing together (lego star wars or lego lord of the rings). Some day, he will graduate to the more graphic games and I will be there beside him, much like my husband was for me, waiting behind cover to kill him as he stands out in the open trying to get his bearings.