Most of you out there haven't played Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate yet.  I'd recommend passing on it.  I wasn't satisfied with it at all, and while I admittedly gave up on it early, I don't feel as if I'm missing anything.  Like the original Lords of Shadow, this branch of the Castlevania tree does not feel like a true Castlevania game to me.  It feels soulless, as if it knows the notes but not the music.  If you want to hear my entire explanation for why Fate let me down, listen to the second half of Episode 96 of Power Button.  The short version is that I miss the older, more whimsical Castlevania games and desperately want Konami to start making them again.  This God of War knock-off material has got to go.  No offense to developer MercurySteam, but the Lords of Shadow brand is just not what I want in a Castlevania adventure.

Moving on, I've spent the past week working on my high score in the Star Wars Pinball tournament and while I won't win any prizes for earning the billions of points (yes, billions) that others have achieved, I had fun trying.  How many of you have ever competed in a video game tournament?  It can be a live, in-person event or an online competition; I'm not picky.  Let's hear your stories.