It's been a long time . . .

It's been a long time since I posted anything, and I'll admit I'd pretty much given up on this whole "blogging" thing.  Job changes, life changes, lack of free time, lack of motivation, and a bit of a feeling of ennui with the state of gaming.

I think I'm in a stable work position for the time being at least (I'm on job #5 since 2011), the newest addition to the family is 10 months old and starting to quiet down a bit, and I seem to be slipping into a somewhat typical gaming routine again.

What am I playing?

• Dota 2 is my current "go to" for quick gaming sessions, and I have two friends I dragged into it as well.  Despite having nearly 300 hours played, I'm still a relative sucky noob and too cowardly to play against other players.  It's a bot life for me.  The amazing thing about Dota 2 is that after nearly 300 hours I still learn new things.  I'll be posting about Dota 2 for sure.
• Star Trek Online is my current relaxing MMO of choice.  I'm playing it solo or in random groups, but I love collecting ships and the relatively relaxed pace of the game.  My current favorite is a Voth Bastion piloted by my Gorn Engineer.
• Guild Wars 2 gets played now and then.  The whole living story thing really turned me off the game though.  I was really only interested in playing a couple of times a week, but that wasn't enough to keep up with the living story, and once I fell "out of the loop" my interest took a nose dive.  I'd love an expansion that opens up Elona or Cantha, with new classes, new mechanics, and new dragon enemies, but supposedly they won't be doing that.
• The Banner Saga, Shadowrun Returns, and X-Com: Enemy Within get played in short bursts when I only have one hand free because the other one is holding a sleeping baby.  Both are turn based games with lots to offer.

Most of the time though, it's Dota 2. It's simply too accessible, and with at least one friend along for the ride is a lot of fun.  Strangely I mostly end up playing MMOs when none of my friends are around . . .

What am I looking forward to?  I'm not sure.  I want to like Wildstar, but the action combat has me cautious, as does the over-the-top silly nature of the game.  I'm not sure I want to play a cartoon.  Everquest Next? Maybe, but there's not enough concrete information yet.  Elder Scrolls Online? No thanks. I've never been able to get into any of the Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind -- I doubt ESO will grab me either.  I am somewhat hopeful that the Diablo 3 expansion will make Diablo 3 a better game, removal of the auction house was a great start, and a proper weapon and shield type heavy armor fighter is appealing to me too.

There's surprisingly little on my radar for this year though, so I'm hoping to be surprised.