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So, the past two months have been insane. The fella managed to put himself in the ER with a chest wall muscle tear, and Maeve has been given the all-clear to get the adenoids out. To top things off, my laptop dies, taking most of my stories with it (remember to back up your files, folks!), as does the dishwasher. Thus, if my life had loading screens, they would look something like this (with apologies to the brilliant Nick Thornborrow):

Loading...Doctor's Office...

Loading...Supermarket...

Loading...Home...

So, brain fried and body exhausted, where do I turn at the end of the day?

Hello, dear.

Ah, Dragon Age 2. So addictive. While I did find myself missing Alistair and the gang from Origins, the sequel is holding up very well. Instead of traveling all over a country, the action is restricted to the city of Kirkwall and its environs. The storyline, while much smaller-seeming in scope than in Origins, feels much more intimate than the first time around. I could see the changes my decisions made in the city, and I felt more invested in the future of Kirkwall. I'm on my second playthrough (as a mage, of course), this time distancing myself from Anders and making time with dreamy tortured soul Fenris instead (take that, you manipulative jerk). The moral grey areas I liked so much in Origins are still here, though there are a few aspects I miss. You can only talk to your companions at their homes, which, honestly, is kind of rude. They'll chat with each other behind your back, but if you talk to them? "We should keep moving." Not cool, man. Seriously, though, I liked the camaraderie from the first one, when you could chat with your companions whenever you felt like it (or at least, when you were at camp). It made the relationships more believable, as opposed to this one- despite the implication that you've been hanging out for three years, when someone declares their undying love, it feels like it's coming out of nowhere. The quests themselves are interesting, but the dungeons...same template, over and over. Also, instead of changing the environments, it's wave after wave of enemies. Ah well. Still, the game is fun, the characters multi-dimensional and interesting, the story engrossing, and now I'm feverishly waiting for the next installment.