There are some fascinating blogs to share after another productive week from the community, with discussions ranging from video game achievements to individual gamer behavior. There's even a chance to win a free video game in a random drawing hosted by one of the community members.

Blog Herding Stats:

Period Reviewed: January 21 – January 27, 2013
Number of User Blogs: 113
Number of User Bloggers: 55
Number of User Blogs Herded: 13

Community Events:

Video Countdown – Top 10 Of 2012
Craigaleg not only provides another of his high caliber game videos, this time a Top 10 of 2012, he's also offering a free drawing where the winner will be able to choose any of the games from the video.

Game Informer welcomes another group of interns to assist the staff with their day-to-day duties while experiencing the cutting edge of video game journalism first hand. Read Kayla Herrera and Louis Garcia's introduction blogs here: N00b Alert and A Writer Makes His Way To Game Informer.

Community Blogs:

Dead Island Is Better Than The Walking Dead
Jolt the Cynic compares two popular zombie games from different genres before claiming one better than the other, with a pick contrary to the popular vote. Join in on the discussion.

Confessions Of A Softcore Gamer
The phrase "hardcore gamer" is a somewhat popular expression used to describe passionate gamers. Quasiconundrum raises the intriguing subject of "softcore," located at the other end of the spectrum.

What Is And What Used To Be
Another personal reflection about life as a gamer, this time ADAMMWOOLLEY considers the different generations of gaming and offers a glimpse into the unique skills possessed by the original gamer.

Kids In Games That Are NOT For Children
With discussions on video games, violence, and the effects on young people circulating throughout mainstream society, Oni No Tenshi discusses the matter of games featuring kids, but not made for kids.

Dismissing The Exceptions
Hannibal vents his frustration and cites examples of video games that are praised for their accomplishments despite the fact they are often plagued with debilitating glitches.

What I Want In Resident Evil 7
In anticipation of an inevitable Resident Evil 7 release, thegodofwine7 provide a list of measures he'd like to see implemented in the next installment of the game to ensure it continues the series' legacy.

Announcing Digi Bros. Now Playing: Dark Souls
Jack Gardner announces a cooperative project between him and his friend Cory, which entails releasing weekly videos of them playing different games while adding their own commentary.

A Game That Hits At Home On Every Level
This short blog by the Coach (Coachscorner00) is more akin to a Public Service Announcement, as it promotes good health and the benefits he's experienced playing Nike+ Kinect Training.

DING! ADDICTED!
Much to his surprise, born4this learns that Borderlands 2 has surpassed Skyrim as his most-played Xbox 360 game, so he provides a few explanations of how this feat sort of snuck up on him.

Gaming Habits That Falter Good Experiences
Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, "It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them." Applying similar logic to video games, BLiNDFATES muses about how gaming habits influence the experience.

Progress Meters As Motivators
An exceptional piece from markus1142 that questions the intricacies associated with achievements and why many of us are motivated to perform by something as simple as the progress meter.

The Completionist Conundrum: Trophies, Achievements, And Tasks Unfinished
A thought-provoking piece by David Chandler that might just turn everything you thought about completing a game and earning all the achievements upside-down.

The Next Big Mystery Games
While many of us are considering the games scheduled for a release in 2013, Tim Gruver devotes his time to the games without a tentative release date but still worth keeping an eye on.

Community Reviews:

Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
With over a dozen games in the series, BLiNDFATES puts the recently released NFS: Most Wanted through the paces before waving the checkered flag and awarding the game an 8.0 out of 10.

A Bountiful Feast Of Mario Fun
Tim Gruver evaluates Super Mario 3D Land for Nintendo's 3DS and says despite the game and portable gaming device being a few years old it's still an entertaining game all 3DS owners should enjoy.

Dead Potential
If you're the proud owner of a new Wii U and wondering what to play, DesertOcelot's review of Zombi U might help with the decision – or it might convince you to keep looking for something else.

Dishonored – The Power Of Player Freedom
Cameron Koch awards Dishonored high marks and praises the game's successful implementation of a mechanic that gives players the freedom to basically do whatever they want.

Don't forget to send your feedback, recommendations, and community events in to my personal Game Informer account located here to ensure this feature continues to provide the content you're eager to read.

Happy Blogging!

Your friendly neighborhood blogging community (01/21/13 – 01/27/13):
ADAMMWOOLLEY ; ace13 ; AshaMan3000 (3); blaxarbush911 ; BLiNDFATES ; bombstopper ; born4this ; brainraider1 ; Cameron Koch (2); Caudex ; cerpintaxman ; Coachscorner00 ; Craigaleg ; dadarkheart ; Daniel Campbell ; Daniel Jones ; David Chandler ; DJH ; DrJoeystein ; Enigma ; Flavious50 ; Frosty ; Gaming Warthog (7); General Mills44 (3); Glasses (2); GoldvsSilver (4); Hannibal ; Jack Gardner ; Jeremy.JustJeremy (5); Jolt the Cynic (2); JordanTheGamer ; Joyful Penguin ; Kate Willaert (7); Kayla Herrera ; Louis Garcia ; lovemolive ; Luis E. Morales Falcon ; Magnus the Historian ; Marco Polo (2); markus1142 (7); Mike ; mojomonkey12 ; Odoyel ; Oni no Tenshi (2); Paradigmthefallen (3); Rihz ; The Destroyer (2); thegodofwine7 (2); Trenchmace ; Ucantfindme ; VannahfoxTheTriforceWiel ; warlord5531 ; White Angel Dragon ; xl9 (4); and of course yours truly...Saint.

Video Game Archives – Quote of the Week:
"Chaos and Order are not enemies, only opposites." – Richard Garriott