It’s almost Christmas, and that means we need an official Christmas song. Who is more festive than Destructoid’s favorite singer/songwriter, Tonetta? NOBODY YOU IDIOTS IT WAS A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION! Yes, Tonetta has a Christmas song out for all his fans — it’s called Jingle Balls and it’s about as NSFW as Youtube videos can get. God bless that metal man!
Speaking of metal men, videogames happened this week. Hit the jump to find out which bloody ones!

Chester:Played a bunch ofBorderlandsto preview the upcoming DLC, “Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot.” Also played a bunch of Xbox LIVE Arcade games that I don’t think I can talk about yet, including the upcoming Matt Hazard spin-off title,Matt Hazard Blood Bath & Beyond. Last night, I started playing a game that, according to Samit, is a “wholesaleGod of Warripoff.” But no, I can’t talk about that yet either.
So let’s just leave it at “I’m playing some videogames,” I guess.

PerLee:I got a friend the newLipsgame for Christmas, whereupon he proceeded to download all Lady Gaga, Mika, and Ne-Yo. Let’s just say my friend is amazing, and we had aLipsparty just like in the commercials or the videogame PR image shots (because we are all beautiful…no really.), and then my land lady called at 12:30 because she lives below me and asked us if we were done, and I was scared and very drunk and said “of course”, whereupon we watched rediculous anime off flash drive avi files until I passed out.
Also, just startedPrototype. It’s a bit uglier than I though it would be, but I got a shield upgrade and spent fifteen minutes running through the crowded streets of New York City sending people rag-dolling through the air. I might spend another 15 minutes doing it again right now.

Grim:DownloadedTorchlighton Friday night, played a few hours of that. It’s as good as everyone says it is, although I personally can’t play it for extended periods of time — my fingers weep. I also made it a point earlier on in the week to startSuper Mario Galaxyfrom the beginning and finish it for the first time. I’m at the point where I could just end it right now, but I want to get all of the annoying final stars that make me want to strangle things with my remote + nunchuck.
Zimmerman:After having finishedAssassin’s Creed 2and finding my opinions of it to not entirely match up with the official Destructoid review, I decided to rent another game which we got some flak over posting a lower-than-expected score. Now that I’m throughBrutal Legend, I have to say that my confidence is restored. That game was so disappointing, I had to go and buyPsychonautson 360 just to get the taste out of my mouth.

Sterling:Mostly a lot ofLeft 4 Dead 2on PC, having seemingly abandoned the 360 version for good. I’m finally starting to get pretty decent at PC controls, although I still don’t think I could handle online multiplayer found in something likeCall of Dutyjust yet. Also been playingCall of Cthulhu, which is a buggy piece of shit, yet also incredibly atmospheric. I tried to play more than an hour ofTwo Worlds IIand simply could not, because that game is fucking atrocious. Oh, andTorchlightwhenever I get a chance.Torchlightis the tits.
I also went to see Avatar tonight, but whatever — THERE WAS AN ALIENS: EXTERMINATION ARCADE MACHINE AT THE THEATER! Best part of the night.

Ross:ONE OF US. ONE OF US.
Been getting in a littleSpirit Tracks, but mostly have been playingTeam Fortress 2. I’m really loving the new soldier unlocks. Also got in a bit ofL4D2, and I’ve picked upTorchlightagain for a Very Hard run.
Tolentino:ONE OF US. ONE OF US. 4X GAMES AND STRANGE TITLES FROM RUSSIA WILL FOLLOW.

Anyway, I played some moreAssassin’s Creed 2on a borrowed PS3, only to find out that my 75% complete save file is“copy-protected” and thatI can’t transfer it to my own machine when I get it back. I’ll have to start all over again! I honestly don’t mind, but the thought of having to find the feathers again (even if I know where they are) is disheartening.
Y’see, this is part of why PC games are great. For better or worse, there’s no such thing as copy protection on that platform. Other than that, a brief session withDragon Agerounded out my week. I will leverage that lack of copy protection to move my saves over to a worthy computer in the future.

Holmes:PlayingFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearersfor review. It’s really not what I expected. Most of the entertainment comes from Sims-ish interpersonal reactions and world manipulation. Playing it reminds me of the first time I playedActraiser. It looks straightforward on the surface, but before long you’re doing stuff that has nothing to do with action or adventure.
The most fun with videogames I had this week was time spent alone withBlaster Master. The gameplay is great, but like with the betterMega Mangames, it’s the music that really makes the experience. It has one of the best NES soundtracks ever. Someone needs to makeBlaster Master: The Musical.

Also playingGhostbustersandBit.Trip Voidon the Wii when my significant other feels like it.
Concelmo:AllThe Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks(and a little more of theMetroid Prime Trilogy)! Yeah … I don’t really have anything else to add. Both games are awesome, though! Happy holidays, everyone! 🙂

