I've recently found that I tend to set high scores in the most unlikely of situations. This is especially true when I'm playing games on the go - particularly on my iPhone.

This weekend I went to Barcelona for a bit of a respite from the dreadful weather up here in the north and a break from the day to day work schedule. I wound up breaking my Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots (licensed games can be good, you know) record, while my girlfriend was trying to get me to answer her questions and I spent 28 (!) minutes in Bejeweled 2's Action mode setting a record while guarding bags at the airport. That record more than doubled my previous high score, by the way. I hadn't played the mode for almost a year, and obviously my addiction to Bejeweled 3 was paying off as my skill when it comes to matching three blocks of the same colour are at an all-time high.

I guess beating high scores is all about getting into that zone - that place where you're really focused on just one thing, and in my case that's often when I'm supposed to pay attention to something else. Perhaps, I'm not alone in this. When do you set your best high scores?

Wow, it's been a while since I last played an Elder Scrolls game. Of course, I spent hours and hours in Oblivion, but I mainly messed around with side missions and got into the Dark Brotherhood, sucked people's blood at night and so on. It's easy to forget the number of systems that make up a game of this magnitude, the economy, the alchemy, crafting, and even if it's been somewhat streamlined, there is still a lot to learn and take in. I found myself reading up on the events of Oblivion in a book found in Skyrim recently, and books are something that can really expand the experience if you're into the world of Elder Scrolls. The history of various lands and races, clues on how to best make use of what nature affords you and much, much more can be gleaned from book shelves or found lying about here and there.

I'm not sure I will ever play Skyrim so much that I'll learn every aspect of the game, for instance I find alchemy a bit tedious even if I understand the benefits from properly mastering the craft. I will probably not take the time to get intimate with each of the many factions either, and I have no hope of completing all the major or minor side quests found throughout Skyrim. In fact, so far I haven't yet seen all that much of Skyrim, but I do know that wandering upon a giant camp could see you flung 50 feet into the air.

Strangely enough I have yet to encounter any real bugs or glitches. Sure, I saw a fox walk straight into a lake and disappear, but that probably happens in nature as well.

At times it feels overwhelming to play Skyrim, that's when I activate the main quest and get on with the dragon slaying and such. I weep for the completionists out there who feel the need to get platinum trophies or a perfect gamer score, with Skyrim it is going to take you a while.

I'm a big fan of the Elder Scrolls series, and enjoyed my stay in Oblivion tremendously. But I'm not sure I factored in just how big of an apartment a big fan of the Elder Scrolls had to have in order to pick up the Collector's Edition of Skyrim. Yikes!

(Oh, and that's my westie Kola dwarfed next to the behemoth of a Collector's Edition)

I think it's safe to say that gamers in general are a bit conservative and I'm no exception. Once we've learnt all we need to know about a game, we don't want it to change too much for a sequel - maybe a tweak here and there, new story obviously, but most of it can remain the same, remain what we're used to and already skilled at.

This doesn't mean that we don't appreciate new experiences, not at all, we just don't want something fixed that isn't broken. But change is of course, necessary, or else any game series will slowly grow less and less relevant. It's a balance developers have to strike between innovation and keeping the returning fans happy and comfortable in their new game.

The reason why I'm thinking about this subject is simple and it's Mass Effect 3. My most anticipated game of early 2012.

But the new Galaxy at War mode has me worried - it's not that I don't think a bit of co-op in the Mass Effect universe might be fun. It's just that I'm worried about how it will affect the single player game - and what's even more worrying are the indications that there may be more "outside" factors that will dictate my single player campaign in Mass Effect 3.

Over the last few years we seen an influx of pre-order bonuses, facebook unlockables, beta unlockables, and the likes. And in your typical first person shooter experience, gaining a few perks in multiplayer may not be a big deal. The best players will rise above the pack anyway. But when I'm playing the final chapter of my Mass Effect saga, I don't want to have that experience skewed by me not having the patience of playing a certain amount of Galaxy at War, playing through some boring side story on my iPhone or liking something on Facebook.

It's getting harder and harder to keep track of these things, and normally I don't care. But Mass Effect is important, and I've invested hundreds of hours in my save files from the first two games so far - and I'm sure I'm not the only one concerned.

I'm going to get my hands on Galaxy at War this weekend, something I'm a tiny bit nervous about. I really hope it's good.

It's been a while. But I remember I time when your save files would get routinely corrupted, whether it was because I was cheap and opted for third party storage or whether it was just issued with the software itself I can't remember. But I do remember that feeling, and I got it once again when I returned from Tokyo to pick up where I left off with Marcus and Dom in Gears of War 3.

Now, my colleague Gillen experienced something similar as he tried to import his progress from the review opportunity to his personal Xbox 360, but that's to be expected. That right there is highly volatile shit, that's not really meant for consumers anyway. My experience was something else.

As I came back, Xbox Live prompted me to update Gears of War 3 with what I assume was the day 1 patch. I did, and my save files went corrupted. Almost as if they were meant to. Now, it's not that terrible, I had just gotten a couple of acts into the campaign before I left, but replaying hours of a game when you just want to get on with and finish the fight. It plain sucks.

Oh well, I guess it gives me motivation to hit up a few friends for some co-op action. See ya on Sera!