Happy Holidays from Chic Pixel!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and giving me a reason to post this horribly cute card that I've been hanging onto for years.

I probably won't be posting anything for a day or two, but I would love to hear how you all are going to spend your time off! What games will you be playing, and what are you hoping might be waiting for you  under the Christmas tree tomorrow morning?

I know for a fact that I've got Mario Kart 7 waiting for me, and I'm itching to play! As soon as I get it going I'm going to make an official Chic Pixel community, so I hope some of you can play with me!

I've got a huuuuge backlog I would love to get started in on, but I'm at the point where I have so many games I'd like to play that I literally feel stuck and don't know where to start! Since I just got the Wii, I'd like to dig in to Skyward Sword... But honestly, some comments I've been hearing about the 5 hour tutorial and frustrating motion controls have given me slight cold feet. Surprisingly, I've been playing a lot of Just Dance 2, which came free with my Wii. Er... Yeah.

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All I want for Christmas is for you to buy my manga

Hello hello! I'm writing from my snazzy new apartment while sitting in my snazzy new sofa... Everything is so snazzy! We were finally able to put up our holiday decorations (including a mini fake IKEA tree), so I'm finally able to get in a festive mood.

That aside, I'd like to take the opportunity to announce my very first published manga translation! Tweeting Love Birds is a boys' love manga about a guy who loves baseball... It was a bit of a pain to translate, considering I don't know baseball terminology in English, let alone Japanese, but it was still a blast to do! And the story isn't so centered around the sport that people who aren't interested in it (like me) can't enjoy it. It's quite funny! I'm not nearly so eloquent, so here's the summary my awesome editor whipped up:

"Ohtaka is pissed! University baseball is not what he expected, and it’s all because of Tweetie, the odd little person who blithely chirps and constantly circles in his tall shadow. Everything Tweetie does only deepens Ohtaka’s scowl. His irritation skyrockets when Tweetie demands Ohtaka stay in the baseball club for his sake and steals Ohtaka’s first kiss!

When two people from Tweetie’s past are thrown in Ohtaka’s face, his agitation suddenly turns territorial--and he’s not sure why...

Will Ohtaka figure out this unfamiliar game that plays for keeps? Get ready for a fast pitch of romantic comedy and surprising love in Tweeting Love Birds!"

If you're at all interested, you can check out a sample of the Kindle version over at Amazon. Even if you don't have a Kindle, I believe you can download the Kindle reader and read it right on your PC/Mac! And if you're so inclined, I would love love love it if you could support me and my group (Twitter @BLBangBang). If you're more of a Nook kind of person, it's available for that over here!

Of course if you do decide to purchase said manga, please let me know what you think! And tell me that you bought it so I can shower you with lots of love. If you're at all on the fence about starting a new series, don't worry, the story ends at volume 2. After my current project I'll be jumping right in to volume 2, so you should expect to see that out in the next couple of months!

In other news, one of my very favorite craft bloggers, an Aussie lady currently living in Japan known as Hello Sandwich, is in a gift wrap challenge over at the Martha Stewart blog! Wow! If you could be so kind and head over here to vote for her, that'd be great! She really deserves to win; she has such great style sense and her projects are both simple and a lot of fun. Thanks! Be sure to check out her blog if you're into crafty things, too! 

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FlatOut 3 Chaos And Destruction

FlatOut 3 Chaos And Destruction - 3DVD

FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction - the next part in a series of arcade racing FlatOut, where you will find even more adrenaline, degradability, insane racing tracks, a lot of different cars, as well as a wide variety of game modes. In addition to FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction, new competition: Night races and off-road racing, and in 8 multiplayer modes will be able to fight up to 16 players.

Features
Physics Engine capable of delivering over 20,000 fully destructible objects
on every track
47 vehicles with everything from muscle cars, monster trucks, tanks,
bulldozers and more
9 game modes plus challenge mode that incorporates all game modes into one
62 track race
10 racing environments with 62 different race tracks
3 stunt mode environments with 12 stunt tracks
9 Destruction Derby Battle environments
All new Monster Truck, Nightshift, Off Road, and Speed modes
8 multiplayer modes with support for up to 16 players
Force Feedback support for racing wheels
Larger Destruction Derbies with 24 players
Complete Chaos in Off-Road Mode
Complete Destruction in All new Monster Truck Mode
Head to Head in nightmarish, thunderous, rainy, fog weather in
Night Shift Mode

Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows  XP
Processor: Intel  2 GHz dual core CPU
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 + / AMD Radeon HD X2600 +
Hard Disk Space: 16 GB available hard drive space
Memory (RAM): 2 GB RAM
DirectX: DirectX  9.0c
Sound Card: DirectX  compatible Onboard Soundcard

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Ski Region Simulator 2012

Ski Region Simulator 2012 - 1DVD

Show your technical and managerial skills in this high-quality simulation bythe developers of the Farming Simulator? (about 1.000.000 units soldinternationally since October 2010), GIANTS, and manage, maintain andexpand your own mountains and villages in the Ski Region Simulator2012? to bring your ski resort to success.

Starting with a singlelift and a short trail, the player has to attract guests by tending hisresorts and keeping the visitors excited. The 4 kmA? large ski regioncan be explored by foot, ski and snowboard. Furthermore, a largeautomotive fleet containing well-known vehicles like snow cats and snowcannons can be discovered and operated. Prepare the slopes with highlydetailed snowcats, build up ski-lifts with the appropriate equipment andtake care of your fleet by buying the right machines. To entertain theinhabitants of the resort, the player can serve delicious meals in theupgradeable Alpine huts and deliver cool aprA?s-ski entertainment. If theplayer manages the resort wisely, more and more visitors will make hisski empire grow!

As expected by a typical GIANTS game, SkiRegion Simulator 2012, is characterized by high quality graphics andrealistic technical details. The game offers a broad and varied gameplay as well as never-ending entertainment.
This simulation is an absolute must for all fans of winter sports and technical simulations.

Features:

* Prepare and create new trails with diverse vehicles and machines
* Free, open-world-scenario with day/night cycle and dynamic weather that can be discovered by foot, ski and snowboard
* Expanding vehicle fleet with new and more efficient vehiclesvariety of snow-related industrial tools designed to act as extensionsof the vehicles available
* Detailed management system enablesplayers to build and expand their ski resort environment by creating newtrails and installing lifts
* Varied scripted and unforeseen events will keep the player entertained
* Partnership with Pistenbully
* Play online with your friends in the multiplayer-mode
* Expand the game with own or downloaded mods

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Scooby-Doo First Frights

Scooby-Doo First Frights - 1DVD

Scooby-Doo! First Frights is the latest Scooby-Doo game. It is developed by Torus Games. First Frights was published by WB. Interactive Entertainment.

The game begins with the Mystery, Inc. gang at their "incorporation" (really just a small house in a swamp, as seen in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed). Velma arrives with a newspaper, announcing to the gang that there will be a food festival at Keystone Castle. Scooby and Shaggy like the idea of going, but Daphne reminds them that they promised to help her cousin Anna at the St. Louis High School Musical. Scooby and Shaggy want to help her, but they plan to get it done quickly so they can go to the food festival. The game divides in to four episodes from here.

Minimum System Requirements:

Windows Vista/XP/7
Pentium 4 2.0MHz processor or faster.
512MB RAM
4GB free hard disk space
8X CD-ROM drive
DirectX version 9.0 and compatible video card

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Earth Defense Force - Insect Armageddon

Earth Defense Force - Insect Armageddon - 1DVD

Thousands of giant insects and aliens once again ravage the earth, and only the Earth Defense Force can stop them. Defend the city of New Detroit against an infestation bigger and meaner than ever before. Destroy these monsters at all costs, even if it means turning entire city blocks into rubble.

Enjoy raw arcade shooter satisfaction on a gigantic modern scale. Collect over 300 weapons: assault rifles, rocket launchers, energy weapons, sniper rifles, grenade launchers and more Play with 4 upgradeable armor types: Jetpack, Battle, Tactical, and Trooper. Experience Massive replayability through arcade style scoring, tons of weapons to collect, and multiple difficulty levels in every game mode

In addition, the game also features a six player Survival mode that pits a human squad against a nonstop onslaught of the largest enemies the aliens have to offer. New Detroits giant bug problem is unavoidable, and mankind's last hope lies with the Earth Defense Force. Defend the world from the insect invasion, even if it means blowing up the entire city as part of the extermination process.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon and the soldiers are equipped better than ever in the latest cult classic iteration that follows in the footsteps of Earth Defense Force 2017 (Japanese Title "Earth Defense Force 3" developed by Sandlot), and Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon continues the rich history and hardcore fun of the series.

System requirements:
System: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Pentium D 3,0 GHz or AMD Athlon64 X2 4400 + 2.2 GHz
Memory: 1 GB Windows XP / 2 GB for Windows Vista / 7
Video Card: 256 MB of graphics memory
Sound card: compatible with Direct X 9.0c

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Assassins Creed Revelations Update 1

Assassins Creed Revelations Update 1 - 1DVD

Assassins Creed Revelations presents the most immersive experience available in the series to date and the culmination of Ezios adventure. In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altair, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

In addition to Ezio’s award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience from Assassins Creed Brotherhood returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world. The latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga also includes revolutionary gameplay, allowing players to manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future.

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Warbirds 2012

Warbirds 2012 - 1DVD

WarBirds 2012 puts you right in the cockpit in exciting air to air and air to ground combat missions in one of over 120 different accurately modeled aircraft from the Spitfire, to the ME 109, to the famous B-17 Flying Fortress.

Features
* Full realistic flight training with over 15 actual training missions. Players can actually learn everything needed to actually fly a real aircraft!
* Over 15 Instant Action Missions to get you right into the fight.
* Unlimited Free Flight Missions where the player can choose between 15 different geographical terrains, with over 120 aircraft, and with 6 different single player games from Air Attack to Bomber Ambush and more.
* Earn Rank and Medals as you advance through your career as a Virtual Combat Pilot!
* Bonus World War I aerial combat flying included.
* Bonus World War II Tank combat game included.

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PESEdit Patch 2.4 + 2.4.1 FIX

PESEdit Patch 2.4 + 2.4.1 FIX - 1DVD

PESEdit Patch 2.4 New Features:
    New ball: adidas Tango 12
    Added new Kitserver including Faceserver with more than 60 faces!
    New faces: Abate, Abbiati, Alexis Sanchez, Bellamy, Esswein, Fabregas, Felipe Santana, Glen Johnson, Gündogan, Hazard, James Rodriguez, Jentzsch, Jose Enrique, Langkamp, Lasogga, Leitner, Mata, Pukki, Sam, Schlaudraff, Schmiedebach, Victor Valdes, + 60 more in faceserver!
    New kits: New kits for all 18 Championship teams!; Angola, Barcelona, Benfica, France, Freiburg, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, Togo, Wigan, and more
    New teams: KAA Gent, Dynamo Moscow and Anzhi
    Other: Updated a lot stats for various leagues, added more correct boots and accesories

PESEdit Patch 2.4.1 FIX New Features:
- Fixes problem with a few faces, adds new kits for Croatia, France, Netherlands, Portugal.
PESEdit Patch 2.4 General Features:

    Correct emblems, kits, map locations, goal net styles, team ranks, for all teams in the game (Clubs and National)
    Complete Bundesliga including correct squads, kits, lineups, emblems, map locations; All players with correct stats, appearence and boots
    Complete 2. Bundesliga, Liga Adelante & Npower Championship with all features
    Corrected league structure (Bundesliga, corrected Champions League)
    Disabled blur in gameplay (if you want blur back, delete unnamed_63.bin in dt04.img folder in kitserver)
    New faces
    New kits
    New music
    lots more

PESEdit 2012 Patch 2.4 List of new songs
• Get Some – Lykke Li
• Fake Tales Of San Franciso – Arctic Monkeys
• 1901 – Phoenix
• Live Forever – James Curd
• Restless – Kakkmaddafakka
• Live Those Days Tonight – Friendly Fires
• A-Punk – Vampire Weekend
• Ready To Start – Arcade Fire
• The Bay – Metronomy
• What A Life – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
• If You Wanna – The Vaccines
• Bombay – El Guincho
• The Great Escape – The Rifles
• Graves – Tokyo Police Club
• Dominos – The Big Pink
• Machu Picchu – The Strokes
• I Can Talk – Two Door Cinema Club
• One Month Off – Bloc Party
• In The Summer – Crystal Fighters

PESEdit 2012 Patch 2.4 Installation:
1. Delete the folder “kitserver” from the PES 2012main directory and also delete the
start menu folder “PESEdit 2012 Patch” – skip this if this is the first time you
install PESEdit 2012 Patch.
2. Install the patch using install.exe, make sure to choose the directory you installed
PES 2012 to.
3. Start the game via pes2012.exe / start menu folder “PESEdit 2012 Patch” /
PESEDIT SELECTOR

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