It's not a Snowstorm, it's a Gamestorm!

As you probably heard, a rather big snowstorm - blizzard even! - is going to hit a large portion of the Tri-State area and New England. Details:

Blizzard Warning
NJZ006-104-106-108-NYZ071>075-176-178-081200-
/O.CON.KOKX.BZ.W.0001.130208T1100Z-130209T1800Z/
HUDSON-EASTERN BERGEN-EASTERN ESSEX-EASTERN UNION-
SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER-NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)-BRONX-
RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)-KINGS (BROOKLYN)-NORTHERN QUEENS-
SOUTHERN QUEENS-
1054 PM EST THU FEB 7 2013

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 1 PM
EST SATURDAY...

* LOCATIONS...NEW YORK CITY...SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER COUNTY...AND
COASTAL PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY.

* HAZARD TYPES...HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 10 TO 14 INCHES...WITH
LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS WITHIN DEVELOPING SNOW BANDS.

* WINDS...NORTH 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH.

* TEMPERATURES...FALLING INTO THE 20S BY FRIDAY EVENING.

* VISIBILITIES...ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES.

* TIMING...THE STRONGEST WINDS AND HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR
FRIDAY EVENING INTO SATURDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS...HEAVY SNOW AND WINDS WILL MAKE FOR DANGEROUS DRIVING
CONDITIONS WITH VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO IN WHITE-OUT
CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION...SOME TREE LIMBS WILL BE DOWNED...
CAUSING SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET
STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

Now, I am one of those oddballs who actually enjoys storms. Yeah, they are dangerous, and very inconvenient, but I confess to finding a bit of excitement in them. I particularly like blizzards. Why? Because...

They make for great gaming weather!

A blizzard, or just your generic snowstorm, is a great opportunity to kick back and spend some quality time with the game machine of your choice. I mean, what else are you going to do? For once you have a great excuse for doing nothing but zapping bad guys in the pixelated genre of your choosing (well, you could watch TV, but who are you? A cyberslick gamer...or a geezer? If you're going to watch TV, you might as well start decorating with doilies as well).

With that in mind, I have a full day of gaming planned. :) Lately, largely due to the paucity of fresh titles out there, I've been returning to some oldies. I finally finished the original Borderlands and have moved on to The Witcher: The Enhanced Director's Cut (juries still out on this one - there is a lot I like and a lot I find disappointing). I also recently re-installed Dawn of War 2, a game that I did not review too favorably when I critiqued it years ago (I am hoping it fares better with age).

I am also going to stick with some new favorites. For example, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is still a hot game for me (read my review here). Black Ops 2 is still going strong, albeit, I wish they would finally release the new map pack on the PC as the original maps are getting really, really stale by now. Battlefield 3 is still holding on, although I am sick of finding myself on servers that are stacked against one team. Lastly, there is Crusader Kings 2...how I love thee. I think I might even get in a game or two of some live Chess (I know I haven't written much about Chess yet, but it is still one of my all time gaming passions).

Yes, just thinking about the coming blizzard is giving me "a thrill up my leg" (as a hack political pundit once remarked). I just hope we don't loose electricity because then I am screwed!

What games do you have planned to get you through the blizzard?

If you're not sure, here are some sales you might want to consider to give you something to play with:

Steam: Borderlands 2 is 50% off (sooo tempted!)
Steam: Counter-strike: Global Offensive is 50% off
Gamer's Gate: Deus Ex series is 75% off
GameFly: Arma 2 & OA for $9.99 each
Origin: Sims 3 and assorted packs/expansions for $10

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Burke's Joystick

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