We love February. Who doesn’t love February? Eh? What’s wrong with February? What did February ever do to you?

Right, that’s the intro done, let’s see what happened last month. Challenge Pack #2 and the Kinect Sports: Season Two BAFTA nods aside, it seemed plenty of people were yakking about the game on Twitter in the context of parties, family bonding, Rickrolling, playing it to maverick extremes and declaring it to be the best game of all time, cheers for that one. Sounded like TV’s Dr. Christian was also looking forward to chucking himself down a virtual hill.

Alongside all that, plenty of love for Rare’s old-school accomplishments – chiefly in the NeoGAF thread on the Top 50 Nintendo Games, Piki Geek’s love letter to Banjo-Kazooie and the YouTube viral wonder that was Real Life GoldenEye. Top 5 lists from the RA boys this time: Mismatched Couples for Valentine’s Day, and Playable Characters who allegedly shouldn’t have been. We couldn’t possibly comment. What, only two lists? Are they stopping to eat and sleep these days?

We were also sent some Viva Piñata Valentine’s designs (a bit nicer than being sent emails about stabbing), while February stretched itself out to the 29th, another notable day. Other conversational topics throughout the month included Arkangelsk, Perfect Dark characters moonlighting, website visitor locales, ’90s Europopster Haddaway (twice) and the weather (naturally, we’re British), while visual spice was added by an obligatory post-move office window shot and evidence of the wintry front from mainland Europe finally reaching Twycross.

And that, monsieurs et mademoiselles, was February. Février. We’re a week into March and already talking about zombies, monkeys and Aussie soaps, so catch up with us on Twitter or Facebook (Rare or Kinect Sports) if you like the sound of that. And why wouldn’t you? Do you hate March as well? OUTRAGEOUS.

Yeah, let’s get rid of the ‘Twitbook’ tag. It was vaguely amusing the first time. Now, as the white-hot ash begins to settle in the aftermath of January’s robot apocalypse, we… oh right, they decided not to bother in the end. Worth mentioning for consistency though.

January! Month of Midnight Mountain and some other stuff including DeSean Jackson’s End Zone Dance Off, Adrian Lewis’ Season Two Darts drubbing, a Kinect Rose Parade float, a Dueling Banjos charity marathon and a bunch of contract and permanent jobs added to the Rare Careers page. People also seemed to be enjoying the Maple Lakes Golf Pack, posted handy footage of the Midnight Mountain Ski Pack and let the excitement of a hole-in-one get to them a little bit. We witnessed the growth of Kinect Sports into the classroom and, less convincingly, the beginning of a grassroots campaign to set up Blazing Banana as the new Ryu. Why not?

Many other upstanding citizens from the Rare back catalogue stuck their heads over the parapet during January, most notably in Famitsu’s Top 50 Nintendo Games, Game Informer’s GoldenEye Replay and ScrewAttack’s Best Ever Retro Bosses. Rareware Archives apparently found a method of working that didn’t involve stopping to breathe, pumping out Top 5 lists on Party Tracks, Winter Wonderlands, ‘Helpless’ Characters, Motif Melodies, Best DLC and Punishing Bosses.

Less directly applicable topics of conversation this month included the fine work of both Bob Holness and Liam Neeson, while in Rare internal developments – the kind you don’t see in press releases and generic corporate reports – the threat of our possibly lethal fridge was nullified while we made a point of showing off our advanced office transition equipment. Then, as always, there was some mail worth sharing. And more mail. And more… and more.

Here on the site, our latest community poll asked how you most regularly play Kinect Sports: Season Two, trusty old single-player coming out on top with 45% of the vote. Local multiplayer and LIVE multiplayer followed, tailed by Challenge Play and Quick Play. Interesting stuff. New poll up now! Which sport has the best activities? Go on, blurt it out, we won’t pass on names to the designers.

Done for another month! And now you’ve only got a week to find your missus/bloke a Valentine’s present so you’d better get on the case. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook (Rare or Kinect Sports) for more relationship advice (please note: no relationship advice actually given and it’s for the best). Let us know how it went down when we see you next month for the full February round-up.

Twelve months enter, one month leaves! If December had a catchphrase, that’s what it’d be, probably. No shortage of Season Two developments in December, or at least the three quarters of it that Rare HQ was manned in the run-up to the hols. With the Maple Lakes launch, Midnight Mountain tease and a title update on top, our ongoing six-month DLC plan ensured it was all systems go. A Darts contest was underway for our upstanding British countryfolk, while in Paris the future unfolded in ‘Skynet city break for two’ style with Kinect Sports doing its bit for Novotel’s futuristic hotel room experience.

December also rolled out the traditional festive gift guides, along with the chronologically weighty list features you always get at that time of year – like IGN’s Top 100 Video Game Moments and Best 100 Video Games of the 2000s from Complex. Rareware Archives covered British nods and holiday havens in Rare’s games, and at one point GAME started a ‘Xmas game memories’ Twitter thread that brought us misty-eyed comments on Star Fox Adventures, Banjo-Kazooie and DK64.

Festive atmosphere aside, the nuts and bolts of Rare’s social media strategy were comfortingly visible as discussion turned to the weather (multiple times, but at least it was dramatic) along with irregular cross-sections of the Rare inbox and, for some reason, googly eyes (at least twice) which people always associate with us. Couldn’t say why. It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma. With googly eyes, called Enigmos. Who gives you a Jiggy.

As January now has its heavy cyborg hand in a vice-like grip on Rare’s shoulder, we’ll break off there. Until next month, you can always hustle wit’ us on Twitter or Facebook (Rare or Kinect Sports) – failing that, we’ll see you back here early next month as we emerge from the bunkers and survey the events of January that led to the robot uprising. Be strong, mankind.