I have embedded the new What I'm Playing/What I'm Paying spreadsheet for May below. The overall spreadsheet (includes previous months) can be found here.
Game of the Month
TorchlightCost: $9.99
Played: 14 hrs
3-words: Hack, slash, win!
Torchlight
is a shining example of how to make a game. Developed on budget, by a small and dedicated team, it delivers everything one would want in a Diablo-clone. There are monsters, loot, and random dungeons galore. I spent 14 hours hacking away at the game. I came to close to beating it while seated in my hotel room, but the end boss did not fall until I returned home in June. Even with the end boss downed, there is so much more to accomplish. There is a never ending dungeon in the game, so a character can level forever (I assume). Or if it fancies a player, they can retire a veteran character and start a powered-up new character with the retired's equipment.
The combat is smooth and clean. The various classes and abilities are simple to use and graphically brilliant. The monsters can get repetitive, but when players are killing hundreds of them per level, its an acceptable mark against the game.
I highly recommend Torchlight and it can often be found on sale for anywhere between $4.99 and $9.99.
/Played
Civilization 4
I originally planned to put some time into a new Civ4 game during May, but Torchlight quickly won out. I'm not sure, but I think I may have burned myself out on Civ4 after only ~30 hours.
/Paid
Total spent this Month: $0.00
My Value Rating: n/a
I made no gaming purchases in May.
