Waste of Time Awards - Best in Show

We've reached the final day of the awards, and that can mean only one thing - I'm out of tiny award statues with clocks on the top and I have to stiff the winner today.

I won't waste a lot of words introducing this one. As it is, the winner has already devoured a good chunk of my time in 2010. Hopefully, in 2011, I might be able to find more time to do actual productive things.

With how awesome "Monster Hunter Tri" is, though, it's not looking good.

Rather than reuse the same red curtain award backdrop I've been using the past three days, I thought I'd mix it up and just make an original comic based on the winner. So this is what you get. If it's not quite as epic as you think it should be, I suggest imagining a hardcore guitar solo playing in the second panel.

And with that, we wrap up a successful year of awards and a great 2010. Congratulations to the winners. (All both of them.)

But in letting go of the old, we also look forward to the new. Among them are two major events happening right on this blog (or linked to it by this blog, at least - we'll see) next week. On Monday, I plan to unveil the first installment of "Ascension: Origins" - "Cold Eyes." You'll also get your very first look at this site's big brother - "The Nerd Empire."

While I can't get into too many details right now, I can assure you that The Nerd Empire will be your one-stop shop for all things nerd. I'll also be expanding my staff to include new writers. And, by the way, if that's something that interests you, get in touch with me.

In any case, I'm literally so excited I could squeal, but that would be embarrassing, so I won't.

Monster Hunter: Difficulty Changes

Video game difficulty can be tricky. If you make it too easy, people will be breezing through it in under two hours and be bored. If you make it too hard, it will be that "Indiana Jones" game for the Atari that was pretty much unbeatable without the reflexes of a demigod.

"Monster Hunter Tri" has the balance fairly well, though it's not always consistent. The first few things you fight, for example, are a joke. By the end, though, you'll be frantically trying to avoid two-hit kills from super-powered monsters that are so large and powerful they affect local weather.

In short, we need some tweaks. Hard.

Great Jaggi and Gobul need to be harder. And Melynxes need to start randomly stealing my items. I'm sick of them targeting the best thing in my inventory to swipe every single time. I realize there's not much incentive for them to steal my least cool things, but still - they could meet me halfway on this. Despite them focusing on me during every battle, I've yet to actually attack one. Why do they hate me so?

And yes, I picked on the Great Jaggi again - that guy is ripe for comedy.

Monster Hunter: Great Jaggi

I won't pretend this joke is all that universal. But rest assured, most games probably have one enemy that's about as hard to finish as the Start Menu. For Monster Hunter Tri, that enemy is the Great Jaggi. While not particularly stronger or faster than its smaller counterparts, it does have a big frill on its neck. It has grown notorious among players as a monster that will die from anything the player does. The joke above, I assure you, is barely an exaggeration.

In more exciting news, the blog has zoomed on past its first 1000 views. I want to thank everyone who's made this possible. (Hint: If you're reading this at any point, it's you!) Here's looking forward to more milestones.

Oh, and incidentally, I write bonus material when I hit milestones - keep this in mind.