November Brewed, December Roasting

     Well, the 30 days of November have disappeared, like coffee does from my cup on a daily basis!  November was another busy month, with a lot of craziness happening.  I was sick, again, for about 2-weeks during the month; and as soon as I was feeling better, our son got an infection.  On Monday, November 29, I took my car(nicknamed Oreo) in for a "free" oil change, and it ended up being a very expensive car repair day.  The good news is November ended with everybody in the family feeling well, and the car running better than it was.  We also had a great Thanksgiving together as a family, and again, I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving as well.
     If you have been reading the site for a few months now, you may have noticed(or not) the "Coffee with Games Monthly Reader Points" tab listed at the top.  The page is currently updated through November.
     I really do appreciate the participation by everybody in the comments, and the feedback you all give on the different stories and the games you have played; and I'm hoping the "Reader Points" will end up working as an encouragement for you to continue, and others, to participate as well in the future.

     Another site note: when I wrote my article, "Should There Be Game Review Standards?" back in August, I had posted a poll on the site, to get feedback on the subject.  I have kept the poll results on the sidebar since it closed, but will be removing it now.  If you didn't see the poll results, I'm including the image of the poll question and results here:

     Now, let's take a look at the different coffees I had in November, and how many video games I found time to play during the month:

Coffees Consumed in November:

• Maxwell House Coffee Master Blend - This was another large 34.5 oz container of coffee Mrs. CwG found at the store.  It's a 270 cup container, and we have a little left to finish off in December.  The description on the coffee container labels it as "mild", and I think that's a pretty good description for the strength of it.
• Three Cups of Starbucks Regular House Blend Coffee - These cups of coffee were all purchased using a Starbucks gift-card I found in my wallet, that I had received last Christmas!  I drink my coffee black, 95%+ of the time.  I used to think Starbucks Regular House Blend from the stores, had a burnt taste; and about two years ago, it was basically the only coffee I would "leave room for cream".  I noticed in November though, as I was drinking my first cup black, that the coffee didn't have the burnt taste anymore, at least like I remembered it having.  I don't know if Starbucks has changed their "House" blend, or if my taste-buds have lost their tasting power, but I enjoyed all three cups of Starbucks House Blend black.
• Community Coffee Ground Medium Roast - This coffee was left over from October, when Mrs. CoffeewithGames' mom and grandma visited us, and had brought this up with them.  I enjoyed the blend, and if you are ever in Louisiana, you can find Community Coffee pretty easily, as it is a Louisiana based coffee company.
• Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Cafe Pajaro Blend (Extra Dark Roast) - If you missed my recent post, "Nicodemus_at_Nite and Coffee by Mail, Again!", you can read it HERE.  If you don't read it, long-time reader Nicodemus_at_Nite, mailed me the Trader Joe's Cafe Pajaro coffee blend, like he has mailed me several Trader Joe's coffee blends in the past.  I still have about half of the container left, and will be enjoying more of the Cafe Pajaro blend throughout December.
• Nescafe Taster's Choice Colombian Instant Coffee - My first "instant coffee" experiment in November, and I'm not really sure how to describe it.  I like my coffee strong, and I like my coffee black.  While I drank this "black", I can't say it was strong.  For me, it was like a watered coffee.  If you enjoy Nescafe Taster's Choice Instant Coffee, any blend, please leave a comment and let me know which blend you prefer.
• Folgers Classic Roast Coffee Singles - This is basically coffee in a tea bag, or at least that's the attempt.  Like the Nescafe Taster's Choice Colombian Instant Coffee, I think the Folgers Classic Roast Coffee Singles is a little on the "watered down" side.  Even after adjusting the amount of water used with each coffee bag, I still couldn't get a strong enough flavor; like my regular brewed coffee.
• One Cup of Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee - This blend was purchased on November 29.  When my car was getting "repaired, I walked down the street and found a Starbucks to sit in and use their WiFi for a bit. This coffee blend was described to me as being "extremely strong, with a smoky flavor", and I think it applied well.  I ended up sitting in the Starbucks for about 2.5 hours, and heard and saw a lot.  A barista there named Charlie, seemed to know his regular customers well, and would call them by name as they entered the cafe; and I was extremely impressed by the customer service there.
• Whole Bean Dunkin' Donuts Original Coffee Blend - This is some whole been Dunkin' Donuts that we had left from October.  We still have another full bag, that will probably be used some in December.  I think this is a very mild blend of coffee.

Games Played in November:

• The Conduit - I had traded The Conduit off in October 2009 through the website Goozex.com, and in October 2010, I was able to get The Conduit back again.  I played a few online matches with a fellow reader of the site, GoNintendo.com.  I was destroyed handily by him, and a video of one match will be up shortly.  I did play a few missions in the single-player again, and I think it will be interesting to see how HVS has improved(hopefully) Conduit 2.
• James Bond: GoldenEye 007 - I purchased this the day it released, November 2, using birthday money I had saved up.  I completed the single-player campaign on the default difficulty setting on November 4, and have been enjoying the online multi-player since then.  You should be seeing a few of my online multi-player matches posted here on the site in the next few days, and if you subscribe to my YouTube Channel, some are already posted there.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops - I purchased this from Amazon.com, again with birthday money, and received it the day it released.  I purchased the PS3 version of Black Ops, and have played online Team Deathmatch and the online Zombie Mode as well, a good bit.  I haven't completed the game's single-player campaign, but I have started it.  Hopefully I will finish the campaign in the next week.
• Rage of the Gladiator - I ended up playing this late one night, after seeing a discussions pop back up on the message boards on NintendoLife.com about the game.  I still enjoy the game, and I may be uploading some more videos from it this month, to show off more special attacks in the game.
• Jett Rocket Demo - I'm glad Nintendo has finally brought back WiiWare demos.  I downloaded the Jett Rocket demo when it was released, and I played through the entire demo level.  I had fun with my play-time with the demo; and if you enjoy platforming games, you would probably enjoy this one.  Jett Rocket can be downloaded off the Wii's Shop Channel for just $10, or 1,000 Wii Points.
• Greg Hastings' Paintball 2 - I'm still working my way through the single-player events in this game, and didn't play any online during November.  The game's singler-player "campaign" has a lot of events to participate in, so this game will probably be a slow burn title I continue to enjoy through the holidays.  If you are a parent, looking for a non-violent FPS game for your kids, I would suggest giving Greg Hastings Paintball 2 a look.

Thoughts/Questions:

     If anybody has any questions about any of the coffees I consumed, or the video games I played in November, please feel free to leave a question in the comments, or by sending me an email at, Scott(@)CoffeewithGames.com.
     Also, if anybody has any of the games I listed above with online play, I have my friend codes and PSN information on my "Contact Information & System Tags" page.

     What games did you all play during November, and did you find yourself consuming more coffee with the Thanksgiving holiday and crazy shopping days during the month?