My computer gaming in January has consisted of Insectoid, Halo, and the surprisingly awesome Osmos. Osmos is a puzzle game which reminded me of Tasty Planet, but with a more laid-back vibe and soundtrack to go with it. You control a mote and try to absorb other smaller motes. In the process your mote grows larger.

In Osmos, there are three different kinds of levels: ambient, sentient, and force. The ambient levels were the most straightforward. You control a mote and try to absorb other smaller motes. In the process your mote grows larger. The sentient levels follow the same basic game mechanic. The other motes are active, however. They will compete with you and chase you as prey. Finally, there are the force levels, which I found the most difficult. There are motes that produce gravitational effects. Most of the force levels are an exercise in orbital physics and require a great deal of patience. I have yet to finish all of the force levels.

Not wasting any time after finishing Shadows of Undrentide, I went straight into playing Halo: Combat Evolved. Halo had been out a while on PC/Mac and even longer on the Xbox. For an older game, I thought it held up remarkably well. At 1680x1050 resolution with all details turned up to max, it looked great. Using a keyboard and mouse is almost always better than playing first-person shooters with a console controller.

Did it live up to its massive reputation? For me, it did. The story was decent and the graphics were still impressive. It was the gameplay elements, however, that made it really enjoyable. At first, I wasn’t convinced that I would like the armor with regenerating shields and a limit of two weapons. After playing it for a while, I was sold. Having the shields definitely changed my tactics. It was nice to feel like you still had a chance to survive, even after suffering major health damage. I thought the two-weapon limit would be a downer. Usually, you play a walking armory in most FPS games. This added a nice challenge in selecting the best weapons for different situations. I have to also credit the squad-based elements and commendable AI that made the single-player campaign more like multiplayer (in a good way). Finally, the inclusion of vehicles was an outstanding addition to the game. In fact, the campaign concluded with a driving level. Master Chief drove a Warthog in a race against the clock as the Pillar of Autumn starship was about to explode.

This was definitely one of the best shooters I’ve ever played. I’ve added it to my All-Time Favorites list.

Right after Christmas, I installed Shadows of Undrentide, the first expansion for Neverwinter Nights. I usually enjoy any D&D game and the Neverwinter Nights (Aurora) game engine is excellent. In this story, you start as an apprentice to Master Drogan, a dwarven mage. I played Daeris, a dwarven warrior. For my henchman, I chose Dorna, a fellow dwarf. She was a cleric/thief. We started in the Silver Marches and later traveled to the Anauroch desert. The final part of the adventure was set in Undrentide, a floating Netherese city that collapsed ages ago.

I just finished it on New Year’s Day. By the end of the story, Daeris was 12th level and Dorna was 6th level in both of her classes. Now, I want to buy the second Neverwinter Nights expansion, Hordes of the Underdark. It might be a while before I get around to it, however. I received Rise of Nations: Gold Edition and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as Christmas gifts so I have plenty of games to play for now.