The holidays are official over, so it's back to work we go. I'm sure it will be somewhat quiet for the next few weeks until companies rev up again and reveal upcoming titles or launch new games that were delayed from the holiday run-up.

We did not do much on Sunday, since the missus was still having back issues, so we lounged around the house, play some more Rock Band 2 and CrimeCraft, and finished up Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 Notorious.

The story of Valkyria Chronicles II takes place two years after the conclusion of the original game. A group of young Gallian Military Academy cadets find themselves plunged into a bitter civil war when the newly formed Gallian Revolutionary Army stages a coup. As the epic drama unfolds in the game, players will experience stories of friendship, love and growing pains during a time of war and revolution.

StarCraft II will feature the return of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg races. It's overhauled and re-imagined with Blizzard's approach to game balance, and it's designed to be the ultimate competitive RTS game. While the Wings of Liberty focuses on the Terran faction, Blizzard revealed it will also include a Protoss mini-campaign to progress the game's story, geared at introducing player to a limited amount of units, and will be way shorter than the main game (thanks BD).

Apologies for the late, late start today. Our little get-together lasted longer than expected, and with all the prep, we were totally bushed afterward so when everybody was sent on their merry way, we zonked out. Playing a few hours of Lips, Rock Band, Guitar Hero and The Beatles: Rock Band also wears you out.

Depending on how the missus is feeling when she wakes up — she was complaining that her back hurt — we might go over to Adam's place to see Armored (he downloaded it off PSN for free) in his condo's mini-theater.

But first, some coffee ....

Staying true to the original racing frenzy of the arcade game, in GTI Club Supermini Festa! players will race through the cityscapes of France, the UK, Italy, USA and Japan. Speed through tight bends and back roads of the urban sprawl and up steep mountainous roads and caves. Tackle a wide variety of driving conditions in the ultimate race to the finish!

CSI: Deadly Intent is an all-new experience with cases written with CSI show writers, a new rendering engine allowing for more realistic graphics, and enhanced character acting and lip sync with the voices of the actors from the show, including newcomers Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and Riley Adams (Lauren Lee Smith).

A perfectly organized terrorist group has rescued their leader from a high security prison. Now, SAS steps in. Join the elite military formation and support them in the fight against terrorism.

While not at the actual E3 show, apart from a short trailer at the pre-show briefing, Sony did confirm that Fumito Ueda's Team ICO, known for Shadow of the Colossus, are working on a new PS3 exclusive.

The Age of Decadence is an isometric, turn-based, single-player 3D role-playing game set in a low magic, post-apocalyptic fantasy world, inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire. The game features a detailed skill-based character system, non-linear gameplay, multiple skill-based ways to handle quests, choices & consequences, and extensive dialogue trees.

It's our second day into the new year! Hope everybody had a safe transition from old to new. Here we are preparing for our annual belated New Year's Bash. A few friends are coming over for food & drinks, and discuss our good intentions for the coming year ... knowing that we'll most likely get none of them done.

Today we relaxed, did some shopping, prepping, and a feeble attempt at switching out a broken brake light, so a trip to the auto repair shop is on the schedule for later today.