December 2011 is one hell of a print month for me. I admittedly lost myself a bit in work while putting all of this together some weeks back. It was well worth the effort, though, and it’s gratifying to see all of this come back on the printed page. My work appears in six December issues with several very large contributions, all of which I’ll exhaustively detail below.

The super sleek-looking December issue of UK magazine Edge houses two big pieces from me, and it’s the second issue to feature my work (following the September issue). On pages 10-13, you’ll find a report on the iPhone 4S reveal, which was hurriedly assembled in the span of a couple days following the announcement, but is something I’m really happy with. I spoke with Donald Mustard from Chair Entertainment about the just-released Infinity Blade II, as well as Peter Farago from mobile analytics firm Flurry, to discuss what the hardware could do for the iOS gaming scene and what the rest of the market looks like.

As we all know, Steve Jobs passed the day after the announcement, which was tough to deal with. Deaths of public figures never really resonated with me, but this one did; Jobs’ work has both notably improved my daily life and helped shape my beloved career, so it struck me. And then I had to write this.

Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find another piece that I’m super proud of and happy with. On pages 134-135, I have an interview-based article about the creation of DJ Hero’s plastic turntable controller, based on an interview with FreeStyleGames creative director, Jamie Jackson. I love this piece because it’s exactly the kind of thing I would want to read: a really specific, detailed account of something that most of us wouldn’t even think about. There’s a real story behind the making of that turntable, and it’s an interesting one. Also, he spoke about the proposed hip-hop game that preceded DJ Hero and what they hope to have a chance to do in the future with the series. I’m hoping this one pops online soonish so I can share it more freely with folks. It’s one of my favorite articles, for sure.

The December issue of @Gamer is also very significant for me. This is the issue in which I started writing the monthly Tablet Games column (pages 8-9), which covers several recent releases for iPad and Android. I’ll be handling this section for the next couple issues, as well, but I’m not sure if it’ll extend beyond that as I’m currently filling in for my Mac|Life editor who usually handles it (and is on leave). My two-page preview of Aliens: Colonial Marines follows on pages 28-29. Following that, you’ll find a rather large three-page review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on pages 52-54, which precedes my two-page review of the wonderful Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception on pages 70-71. Like I said, big issue for me. Next issue has another five articles from me, I believe.

Mac|Life’s December issue is the last one prior to my external editing contract, but actually contains perhaps the most writing I’ve had in one of the monthly issues to date. I have a shared byline on the cover story (The New King of Phones) thanks to a brief section on the phone’s gaming capabilities found on page 23, but a much larger chunk of writing from me is found on pages 39-47.

Free to Play, Here to Stay is a seven-page feature about the free-to-play gaming scene on iOS and Mac, with a look at what your money gets you in six of the top iOS games, as well as bits on other freemium or free-to-play games on both platforms and a page on the “dark side” of freemium. And then in the App|Life section, you’ll find my bite-sized reviews of Spy Mouse and Jetpack Joyride on page 52. Next month’s issue only has one small article from me, but I did edit several pages, so it’s a pretty huge deal for me.

Compared to all of that, my contributions in the three console-specific magazines that are typically my bread and butter may seem pretty modest this month. Nintendo Power has two articles from me in the Community section this month: the page-and-a-half opener on 92-93 about a young Canadian woman’s great plush recreations of Mega Man and other characters, followed by a full-page article on 94 that spotlights a series of classic boardwalk-style cabinets based on characters like Wario and Elec Man.

This month’s Official Xbox Magazine features three of my reviews: a full-page appraisal of the great Warhamer 40,000: Space Marine on page 70, followed by a .33-page look at the terrible Hole in the Wall for Xbox Live Arcade on page 73, and a same-sized review of the solid Nicktoons MLB on page 75. Over in PlayStation: The Official Magazine, I wrote up a news story about the announcement of Syndicate on page 20, followed by a meaty three-page hands-on preview of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on pages 30-32. It’ll feel delightfully sparse and dated now, but when this issue shipped, it was still relevant. Ah, those days.