SOMETHING TO DO BESIDES NOT WATCHING POLL RETURNS?

In a further attempt to keep all the electoral foolishness somewhere else here’s what you can do when not watching the news pundits figure out that once again, it’s a tie vote. Because in the gaming industry, we believe in saving the best for last (or, in this case, November).

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: I’m still not very far along on this one, but it’s, well, really, really wrong, and that’s gotta be right. I mean, I’m executing gangster drivebys in East LA while Willie Nelson is crooning “Crazy” on the tape deck. Tell me that this is a bad thing.

Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed: I am a TIE fighter whore. No, really. Ask an ex-roommate whose PC and copy of the original PC TIE fighter game I hogged for months in lieu of things like finding gainful employment. This expansion, if it does nothing at all else, lets me suit up in a black stormtrooper flight suit and vaporize pirate Z95s over Tattooine’s friendly skies. Maybe at some point I’ll do something else MMOy like, joining a guild or maybe even a group briefly. But for now, it’s all about my level 3 disruptors, baby.

Rome: Total War: Strength, honor and the burning of all who oppose us to the ground! Dawn of War has better multiplayer (which I haven’t touched in weeks thanks to, well, this list) but R:TW is the best strategy game of this year. Now if only Creative Assembly would fix the last few late-game bugs, this would be golden.

DAOC: Catacombs beta: Since I actually (a) work here and (b) NDA is in full effect still, let me just tell you one thing: Lurikeen vampiirs. Thank you, drive safely.

And then next month, we have World of Warcraft and Half Life 2. Social life? Parties? An otaku craves not these things!