Halfway Through October

Okay, so maybe it's not exactly halfway, but how can you split a month with 31 days right down the middle? Only 76 days left in the contest, or 75 if you happen to live a few timezones out, so let's see how things stand so far through October.

First off, what's everybody playing? Well, I wouldn't know what everyone is working on. For me, right now, I've taken a little time away from gaming. My thumbs probably thank me for it. Besides, Bravely Default sure wasn't getting any shorter. The same goes for Chrono Trigger. I wonder if Square Enix could ever make a short game. Might be worth a shot.

Besides that, I also found myself the owner of an old/new game - Batman: Arkham City. It's new for me, but the game sure is old. Well, at least I didn't get a scratched up disc; just one that's slightly smudged. The case looked better, but beggars can't be choosers. It'd be nice though if they did.

As far as the contest goes, we've seen some ups and downs throughout this first part of October. We've seen a few stalls too. The biggest up and down of them all had to be on the part of megabuster44 and Sargus. In what I considered a stunning turn of events, Sargus, who previously held tightly onto 3rd place, was recently unseated by megabuster. A bit farther down the list, we saw a tie for 5th place between Nelson S and smash. Nelson managed to firmly place himself in 5th place.

In terms of games per month, once again, we've seen an impressive display from megabuster who has managed to add 13 wins so far this month. Now, granted, some of those might have been wins that were just now reported, but still, you gotta admit that's something. Even more amazing is that he's managed to beat Bravely Default in just under 40 hours. Now, considering this is a 50+ hour game (check this out if you don't believe me), that is truly an accomplishment. First, Nelson S. with his Skyward Sword victory, and now this. Boy, we've got some tough competitors that's for sure.

The rest of the contenders have had a bit of a slow first half of October. Our current 1st place holder, yours truly only added 4 games so far, as has Nelson S. 2nd place holder, boyward, only added 3 games, followed by Sargus and Luinnar with 2 and 1 win(s) respectfully. Our only other three competitors haven't listed any wins so far this month. So, clearly, megabuster is out in front and likely on a mission. I'm willing to bet cold, hard cash that he'll be the one to take 1st. At the very least, it'll be between him and boyward come December. Then again, I was never much of a bookie.

Still, in spite of a slow start, the other competitors have managed some impressive wins. Nelson S. managed to add a top-notch title in A Link to the Past. Having beaten that game myself, I can tell you that's a solid win even outside a contest like this. Oh, it's not the hardest Zelda game, but it's a long road to victory, and Ganon sure doesn't go down easy. I also managed what I thought was an impressive win with Batman: Arkham Asylum. While I wasn't able to finish it 100%, I do think that wasn't half bad just to finish it. And, I also managed to beat NBA Jam, an old Genesis game if you don't know, in two days. To do that, you have to beat 27 teams. Doesn't sound like much, but I had a solid winning streak with only 1 loss against the L.A. Clippers. Considering I'd never played the game before, I think that's something.

So, that's about it. Will things change at the end of this month? Probably. Not sure what those changes are, but I have a hunch we'll be seeing some pretty exciting additions to the list of wins and possibly some startling upsets. As they say, time will tell.

Keep playing.