It’s hard to believe the third week of the year is already upon us, yet here it is. I’ve not made such great progress this past week, but I feel hopeful about the current week.

Is that what all procrastinators say?

Moving on…

I have been playing a considerable amount of Destiny, getting new gear leveled up, as well as ranking up for Eris Morn, New Monarchy, Iron Banner, and all the other ridiculous ways in which Destiny forces you to level up to stay relevant. Those endeavors took far more time than I expected (which I completely should have seen coming), however I now have a terrific green shader for my hunter, so, time well spent.

I finally started Alan Wake and, while I liked the atmosphere, I feel wary. The game has a distinct whiff of Deadly Premonition, and I didn’t love that game. I had played the director’s cut, which apparently had a better control scheme, which just makes me feel for all the people who played the original.

I wanted to love Deadly Premonition; I did. I’m a huge fan of Twin Peaks, and I knew the game had drawn much of its inspiration from the series. The story had me fully intrigued, however it seemed like the game tried everything possible to get in its own way.

When I beat it, I was glad to be done with it. So glad, that I mailed it to a friend (who wanted it) just to get it out of the house.

I feel a bit of that trepidation with Alan Wake, and I’m hoping it’s misplaced. I do feel both the movement and the combat systems are clunky, and that isn’t a great start. I am more than willing to forgive a game it’s flaws (up to a point), but when the base controls of the game aren’t well executed, it doesn’t usually bode well for the rest of the experience.

Also, while I may not be a bestselling writer, I’m certain I could run farther and faster than Mr. Wake while being pursued by nightmare creatures. That dude is slow. Chronically.

Still, I feel hopeful. I’m looking forward to getting further in the story, and ideally completing the game by mid-week. Provided that’s true, I will move on to Modern Warfare 3, as well as Advanced Warfare. Now that I look at it, that’s a lot of warfare.

How is everyone else coming in their game challenge? Do tell!

And with that, off I scoot to get another chunk of Alan Wake behind me. Cheers fellow warriors!