Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Misc: So, after long last, a proper update on the situation:
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After a long pregnancy that seemed like it would never end, my son Whittaker Rana Gallaway was born on May 4.
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Vital stats: 8lbs 1oz, 20.5 inches long, and his skills are Charm, Nuzzle and Sleep. Not bad for a level one character, eh?
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Now that he’s out of the womb complete with ten fingers and ten toes, the wife and I couldn't be happier, although the cliché about being insanely tired after a birth is true. Not only is the process physically rough on both mother and child, babies run on an opposite clock -- sleepy and quiet during the day, fidgety and needing extra attention at night. Although it probably made a lot of sense from an evolutionary perspective back when the species was still avoiding sabertooth tigers and giant cave bears, it's not much of an advantage these days.
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…Needless to say, this little level one character cast a level ten Fatigue on his mommy and daddy, and we’re just now shaking it off thanks in large part to the mother-in-law, who brought a purse-full of Remedy with her when she came to visit.
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Despite this joyous, incredibly happy and absolutely welcome event that overshadowed everything else in our lives, it's true that time waits for no one -- while we were stumbling around in a daze changing diapers and looking for clean swaddling blankets, my email box swelled up to over 350 messages needing a look-see. If you've sent me a message and haven't heard back, I'm only just now starting to wade through the deluge. Besides letting electronic communications go by the wayside (except for Twitter, which I could do in mobile fashion with one hand while juggling things in the other) all game reviews, work on the new book, and Coffeecola updates came to a bleary-eyed halt. However, after being home for a couple of days, it feels as though things are on the upswing. I expect a somewhat-normal work routine to take hold imminently -- starting back up on caffeine has helped a great deal.
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(I gave it up in addition to a few other things in a show of solidarity for the wife who was abstaining while Whittaker was in utero, but now that the embargo on potentially-harmful foodstuffs has been lifted, let the coffee overdose jitters commence.)
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Taking care of a little housekeeping before getting back to Coffeecola business, I'd like to say thank you to @genepark, @crystal_murray, @nightdreamer, @benmoraes, @finalmacstorm, @donaldtaylorii, @articulateink, @colonelt, @daleweir, @jkarney, @jenjeahaly, @roguemovement, @zolos, @leadbelly666, and @edgeone for sending messages of congratulation via Twitter. (Did I miss anyone?) Also, thanks to everyone who sent in messages via email… you’ll hear from me soon.
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Games: Although I'm not up to full speed, here are some tidbits to tide regular Coffeecola readers over until the next update…
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>Valkyria Chronicles (PS3): Still playing, still loving. I'm really thinking that this is the best PS3 exclusive out there, and even after putting over twenty hours into the main campaign, it still feels interesting, fresh, and exciting. It’s absolutely, totally recommended, and I'm thrilled that I have a few pieces of add-on DLC waiting for me (Edy’s and Blue Flame) after credits roll.
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>Red Dead Redemption (multi): Although the original was flawed, it was a hell of a lot of fun and took a pretty good stab at doing justice to the underserved Western genre. I just caught the trailer for the sequel and I’m feeling pretty psyched.
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>Bayonetta (multi): I get that the main character is a witch who has guns on her shoes, but it's a little impossible not to think that this is a recycled Devil May Cry with a gender switch and a storyline that seems to have a little bit of absurdity to it. Call me crazy, but after watching the storyline trailer available now, I couldn't help but sense echoes of God Hand. Anyone agree?
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>Bionic Commando (multi): I'm still pretty excited for the current-gen remake of the NES classic, but the multiplayer demo currently available left me pretty cold. I get that traditional multi (as in, not co-op) is still important to a lot of folks, but to be perfectly honest, in a title like this, I couldn't care less. For the purposes of getting me excited about the impending release, this demo was a total fail.
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>Cho Aniki (Wii Virtual Console): After reading about it for (literally) years and seeing it held up as one of the ultimate examples of eccentric Japanese game design weirdness, I was more than a little amazed to see that it was available for download to the Wii. I ponied up the 700 points immediately, but haven't started it up yet. I think I may be slightly afraid.
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>Misc DLC: I haven’t had much time for DLC/add-ons given the circumstances, but I've been keeping my eye on what's been coming down the pipe. Expect to see updates or at least brief mentions on the recently-released content for The Maw, Saints Row 2, and of course, Fallout 3. To be perfectly honest, I'm absolutely dying to start Fallout’s Broken Steel add-on, but Valkyria Chronicles is so good that I feel like I'd be doing a disservice to put it on hold, especially since I'm so close to the end. The wasteland is just going to have to wait for a little while longer.
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That's it for tonight. Thanks for your patience during Coffeecola’s hiatus, there’ll be more to come soon. For now, I'm going to go snuggle with my wonderful wife and amazing little boy.
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