Well, I did it. All 16 colossi were bested over the weekend and I moved onto Ico as planned. Then somewhere along the way I ended up abandoning Ico and replaying Condemned 2. I am not quite sure how I went from a touching, magical adventure to a violent punch 'em up but there you go. For those that haven't played it (and you really should) Condemned 2 is a deeply unsettling story set in a city full of violent thugs who delight in picking up blunt objects with which to bludgeon you to death with. Luckily the main character (who in the greatest action movie traditions is a grizzled ex-cop with a unique brand of justice and a heavy drinking problem back for one last case) is equally proficient in the subtle art of head-stovery. It's all good 18+ fun and there can't be many games that let you rip off toilet seats to beat a goon to death with then lob him off a balcony for good measure. Plus for those that have played it there's that Black Lake Lodge level. Remember that? It's even better the second time.

The next games on the to-do list are those that have been featured in the PSN and Live Christmas deals which are the sort of sale I can get along with. No going elbow-to-elbow with the sweaty populace who have been driven into mince-pie fuelled shopping desperation, just a casual few presses on a controller while sat on a comfy sofa, munching on a jaffa cake and slurping a lovely cup of tea. As long as PSN data isn't hacked again, that would be bad. Of course there is the Mayan apocalypse in a couple of days but at least I'll get a start on Fez, Journey and The Unfinished Swan before the world is reduced to rubble. I am not too worried though as a lifetime of gaming have taught me how to manage a tight inventory, cycle confidently between fortification and repulsion and most importantly that any injury can be overcome by having a quick breather behind the uniformly waist-high bits of rubble that will be handily dotted around the smouldering crater that we once called civilisation. I would have invested in Tokyo Jungle just to make sure but you don't want to plan all the fun out of the end of the world, do you?