You may or may not know that I'm taking a bit of a break from Nintendo this month to have more fun with Steam, a platform that I haven't really been paying attention to until now. And boy was I missing out. Not only did I finally have access to great games like Portal and Portal 2, but I also got a taste at some upcoming games too, including Wii U game Cloudberry Kingdom. You can check out my impressions on Cloudberry Kingdom here and my review of both Portal and Portal 2 here. Also, don't forget to add me on Steam! My Steam I.D. is, of course, Battlestriker123.

But enough of Steam. Yes, I do understand we're in the middle of my Steam Month feature here on my blog (which I admit was an absolute failure. Two blogs in a row with zero comments? Looks like I know what NOT to do next July!), but I'm going to make an exception this week and instead talk about summer. More specifically, what you've been doing this summer. Here, let me go first. This summer has been an interesting, as I've just returned from my trip to the tropical island known as Taiwan. Lots of fun, that place is. Got to visit family, eat good food, enjoy the nightlife there... such a great place. But other than that, I've been doing a lot of other stuff as well.

What have I been playing? First, Steam Summer Sale stuff. I've picked up Bastion, Trine, and Trine 2 for a total of less than 9 bucks! But besides all the fun stuff on Steam, I've also been slowly trudging my way through Xenoblade Chronicles. Yes, that ridiculously long action RPG that's on the Wii. I'm over 50 hours in, and honestly, I have no idea when this game will end. Tons of stuff to do, tons of places to see, tons of crap to collect... this game just keeps getting longer! But I have this really good feeling that I'm close to the end now (for real this time!), so I should be finished in a week or so. Expect my review... in about a day after a very long time. A massive game deserves a massive review!

Oh, and playing Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl with people who have no idea what they're doing is super fun! Haha.

LET&#Array;S BATTLE!

Of course, there's much more to summer than summer gaming. Like summer reading! What have I been reading? Well, I've finally caught up in the Artemis Fowl series with Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex. I'll be honest here, it was a bit disappointing, but it was still a fun little read. Time to go order Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian now! Other than that, I've just finished working my way through a book my friend recommended, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. He said I think about death too often, so I'd probably like it. Thanks for making me sound emo, Mike. But seriously though, it's a pretty good book. Definitely NOT what I was expecting it to be. And I love it when the main protagonist of a book is a sassy female!

Currently, I'm slowly trudging my way through Inheritance, the last book of the Eragon series that first started like ages ago. It took me some time (and a lot of research) to refresh my memory on all the important stuff that happened in the previous entries of the series, but so far, it's going smoothly. Here's to hoping that the series ends in a bang!

In terms of what I've been watching, I'm going to be frank, I haven't really watched anything this summer. I'm not really a movie/TV guy in the first place, so don't blame me! BUT, I'm pretty excited to go watch Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter now that I'm back home. I know it got mixed reviews, but it looks so wacky, so I'm sure I'll love it! In terms of TV, I've just gotten done watching The Legend of Korra Season 1. Yeah, I know, kinda late to the party, but I was intrigued by all the great things I heard about the show, and I'm honestly pretty impressed. Sure, some of the voice work made me wince a bit, and yes, I admit, I haven't even watched a single episode of the original Avatar, but I quite like Legend of Korra as a whole. Plus, the lead character this time around is a sassy female! (Yeah, I probably need a girlfriend...)

Korra: Always Badass!

Of course, other than that, I've been watching lots of YouTube stuff (as usual). But one web show that I've just gotten hooked onto is Internet Icon with Ryan Higa. It's like MasterChef, but instead of cooking, they do videos! There's some cool stuff there, so I suggest you go check it out. Lots of fun, and lots of drama! I love it! Unfortunately, my favorite guy got kicked off the show a few weeks ago, so I'm a bit sad, but it's okay. I'll get over it!

I've also been catching up on Sonic for Hire: Season 4. It's really dumb, but that's why it's hilarious! Definitely not for everyone, but if you have some time, go check out their stuff at Machinima's channel.

Finally, to what I've been listening. I'll tell you what I've been listening to. Linkin Park. To be specific, their latest album, Living Things. I'll be honest, their last album was a bit meh (it had, what, 5 songs in it?), but I must say, I'm digging LP's new style! It's like electronic mixed into hard rock. Great album. You've got to listen to it. In fact, I'm gonna force you to listen to it RIGHT NOW. Check out their song Powerless, one of my favorite songs from Living Things, below!

In terms of what I've NOT been listening to, it would have to be Maroon 5's latest album, Overexposed, which came out on the same day as LP's new album. And you know what? It sucks. I'm sorry. Okay fine, I admit, I've never really been a big fan of Maroon 5's music. Maybe it's just the style of music they choose, I dunno. But, I mean, it isn't terrible. I still do love Payphone!

Speaking of music, I've found that listening to moody music like Powerless has really made me want to right more than just blogs. Don't get me wrong, I love blogging, but sometimes it's refreshing to move on to other stuff like creative fiction. It's a fun little side-hobby that helps me take my mind off of the things going around in my life, so I enjoy it quite a bit. But now that I look back at them... they're not exactly that, err, good. Hmph... maybe I'll just stick to blogging...

On a side note, we all know that summer is quickly coming to a close (just one more month!)... which means it's time for me to catch up on my summer work to prepare for my SENIOR YEAR in high school! Unfortunately, that also means less blogging and a less predictable schedule. Those who have followed me long enough will know I took a one-month break last year to study for AP Exams, so if I somehow stop blogging for a couple of weeks, don't fret! I won't leave MyIGN unless I have to!

Well that's all that I've been doing this summer! What have you been playing/reading/watching/listening to this summer?