Our first US Game Night starts at 5 p.m. PT and ends around 7 p.m. PT tonight. Much like last year, we'll be handing out a celebration participation emblem for those who play in tonight's game night or participate in the trivia. Drop by to participate in the Quake Live game night tonight or simply head over to the celebration trivia.

A variety of GameSpotters have been posting blogs about GDC this week. I would like to post GDC thoughts shared in your blogs and forum discussions. The content I will be on the lookout for includes:

- Blogs: If you have an editorial-style blog, just make sure you flag your blog with the "editorial category" in the drop down menu of the blog [example]. This is the easiest way for me to find your blog. If your blog is not what would be considered an editorial, send me a private message with the subject title "GDC community coverage" and provide the link to your blog.

- Videos/Images: If you plan to attend GDC this year, be sure to upload your pictures and videos on the site. After uploading the content, send me a PM with the subject title "GDC community coverage" and be sure to provide any links of images or videos you would like to share with everyone.

- Forum Discussions: These can be anywhere on the site, even in some user-created boards and unions. You'll definitely want to send me the links to interesting topics that are worth mentioning.

Also, if you are interested in the four live GDC shows we plan to have on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, drop by the news announcement page.

This week’s tip is about the addition of spoiler and quoting in comments.

Quoting

Code:
[QUOTE="ADDUSERNAMEHERE"] What are you playing these days? [/QUOTE]
Check the comments below to see an example of what this looks like.

Tips

- Avoid posting numerous quotes for no reason. Limit your quotes to three per comment post for easier reading.
- Add the username in the code by using the copy/paste functionality to avoid mispelled usernames. Also use copy/paste for the content you plan to respond to. Anyone who manipulates what others have said are likely to get moderated for trolling in the news, videos, or feature comments around the site. Be nice to your fellow GameSpotters!
- There is a comments word count, so you will want to make sure you are not grabbing entire quote comments if they are hefty. Be kind to comments readers by simply pulling statements you would like to respond to.
- If you want the user to be notified that you responded to him or her, the @ sign works best in comments. The @ sign has not been tested to work inside the quote or spoiler tags.

Spoiler

Code:
[spoiler] Do not believe everything you read. [/spoiler]
Check the comments below to see an example of what this looks like.

Tips

- Avoid posting numerous spoilers tags for no real reason. Try to limit your messages to three spoilers per comment post.
- Avoid using spoiler field unless it's important to do so. For instance, posting a spoiler saying "peekaboo" isn't what this feature is intended to be for news, videos, and feature comments. However, if you want to get all crazy and goofy in your personal blog's comments with the spoilers feature, go for it!
- Now that you can post spoilers in comments, be sure to conceal information when you are posting in user blogs about a story plot and more!

You may use this article to test these codes!

This week's Today on the Spot community spotlight shares an image-guessing activity, game night, and the member spotlight, N-REAL. Enjoy!

Announcements

Upcoming Nintendo Event
Nintendo opens its doors next Wednesday to give us an advance look at some of the biggest games it's got coming out this fall. While the list of games in attendance is still shrouded in mystery, we're expecting a big lineup of first- and third-party games, for both the Wii and the DS. While we can't say for sure, we're hoping to see more on Metroid: Other M, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and, dare we hope, a new Zelda game! Check back next week for further details!

GameSpot AU Giveaways
GameSpt AU is giving away a Logitech, DVD, and Alienware PC for those of you who reside in Australia. Check the GameSpot AU discussion forum with threads entitled "competition."

GS UK Mag Game Night
GameSpot UK is hosting a MAG (PS3) game night on Tuesday, February 23, from 7:30 p.m. GMT. Note: If you live in North America this would occur on Tuesday morning for us.

Game Nights US Update
For those of you who live in North America, we’re interested in knowing what times and days of the week work best for you. We’re in the process of having a poll dedicated to your preferences! Vote for the best times and days today.

Emblem Alerts

If you viewed and discussed the Now Playing episode of the Starcraft II beta, you should check your profile sometime early next week for the emblem. Those of you who discussed and watched the replay or the live stream from February 17 at 4pm PT through February 23 at 4pm PT should expect the emblem. On a related note, the top reviewers emblems (top 100 and top 500) will be handed out to a variety of GameSpot members sometime late next week. Erebus also received TheHotSpot homework emblem.

Member Spotlight

This week's member spotlight goes to SuperfastSonic for his blog about game cliches. His blog highlights his top 10 worst game cliches.

Featured User Videos

- Mass Effect 2 Video Review by KO4U
- Modern Warfare 2 high explosive (veteran) by Shawcross

User Reviews

- Road Rash Win 95 (PC) Jedo
- Mass Effect 2 (PC) LGTX
- Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (PS2) ebbderelict
- BioShock 2 (X360) AK_the_Twilight

Staff Fingerprints

- Andrew Park posted a teaser about another "all-time greatest" interactive feature similar to the game heroes feature we held last year.
- Randolph Ramsey from GameSpot AU is asking GS AU members about any questions they might have on Final Fantasy XIII in an upcoming episode of GS AU Crosshairs.

Blog Bunker

- calvinsora tries to debunk gaming myths.
- subyman has thoughts about the future of mobile gaming.
- pakhair has a fourth anniversary on GameSpot blog.
- Transilvanien has a list of his top 10 miscellaneous achievements.

Tip of the Week

This week’s tip is about plot spoilers in official GameSpot reviews. This was taken from a comment made by Kevin VanOrd in a user’s blog.

Very rarely will you read an actual spoiler in a game review. It's our job to describe a game, and to do so without revealing any important plot points. It is true, however, that some readers and viewers are highly sensitive to any kind of description, no matter how trivial. Often, a developer or publisher will include a list of plot points they do not wish to be revealed, and we always adhere to those requests.

On the other hand, readers may complain when a review reveals information the developer had repeatedly discussed in previews and interviews.

It comes down to this: We are very careful to avoid spoilers, and each review goes through a quality assurance process that involves every member of the reviews team. However, every reader is different. If you feel particularly sensitive to this issue, you may want to avoid coverage of games you are certain you will purchase. We take great care not to spoil any game's story--but every reader has his or her own level of tolerance.

Let us know if this week's tip helped you out by posting in the comments. Until next week!

Let's play catch up on the latest community video segments on Today on the Spot!

Community Spotlight: February 9, 2010
This segment shares the latest Valentine's Day activities, such as an e-card workshop and Off-topic lyrics contest, as well as the Child's Play charity event. The member spotlight went to fabz_95 for revealing the history of the System Wars magazine and the Child's Play charity.

Community Spotlight: February 2, 2010
This segment highlighted the Command and Conquer 4 beta key giveaway and two creative user videos. The members spotlight went to Stylee19 for his creative term, clone-o-phobes, for gamers who aren't too keen on look-alike games.

Community Spotlight: January 26, 2010
This segment revealed the latest emblems and editorial staff blogs. The member spotlight went to Starduke for sharing his witty comments about Dragon Age: Origins.

Community Spotlight: January 12, 2010
This segment revealed the GameSpotter of 2009 and the latest GameSpot members who were added to the Soapbox feature. The member spotlight went to Paul_GameFury for his blog about the Game of the Year.

Activities

Be My Off-Topic Valentine
If you are good at writing lyrics and enjoy posting in the Off-Topic forum, check out the lyrics contest for a chance at the Song Writing emblem and GameSpot profile points! The activity ends on February 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

Valentine E-Card Workshop
If you have been trying for the workshop e-card emblem, which will be revealed later this week, be sure to submit your e-card by February 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

GSAU BioShock 2 Game Night
GameSpot Australia has plans for a BioShock 2 game night on Wednesday, February 10, from 7 p.m. AEST on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

GSAU BioShock 2 Giveaway
If you reside in Australia, GameSpot AU and 2K Games are hosting a creative-writing contest with some nifty BioShock goodies. The giveaway ends on February 26.

GSAU Heavy Rain Backstage Passes
PlayStation plans to showcase Heavy Rain in Sydney on Thursday, February 25. Twenty lucky GameSpot AU winners and their friends will be treated to a screening where they will learn more about the game from Heavy Rain developer David Cage and will view previously unseen and exclusive Heavy Rain content created especially for GameSpot AU readers. The competition ends on February 25.

Halothon to Benefit Charity
You might recall the HotSpot offering help to the Child’s Play charity over the years, and you now have another opportunity to help if you are a Halo fan. Jrabbit99 has recommended a Halothon event that will begin on February 9. Drop by his blog for details.

Member Spotlight

This week's member spotlight goes to fabz_95 for his blog revealing the history of the System Wars Magazine [old magazine issues]. After taking a seasonal break, the System Wars Magazine has made a return!

Featured User Videos

- System Wars News December 09 uploaded by Willy105
- Top 10 Final Fantasy IV songs created by HollywoodRPG

User Reviews

- Mass Effect 2 (X360) 3KindgomsRandy
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter (PC) Azghouls
- Chime (X360) PAJ89
- Bayonetta (X360) AK_the_Twilight
- Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS) c_rake
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (GameCube) loopy_101

Staff Fingerprints

- David Good (site producer) shares his overwhelming thoughts about Mass Effect 2.
- Sarju Shah (hardware editor) posted a response in the PC Hardware Discussion forum about VGA and HDMI output with graphics cards.
- Sophia Tong (previews editor) is in catch-up mode with older pictures as she reveals a variety of Tokyo Game Show 2009 pictures.
- Chris_Watters (reviews editor) discusses some N64 games that might have been considered underrated.
- Marco Martinez (files producer) spotlights an indie game.
- Tom Mc Shea (reviews editor) hopped in the System Wars forum to back up his latest review score for Dante’s Inferno.
- Stanley Lin (site producer) gives some tips about how often we’ll be handing out C&C 4 beta keys.

Blog Bunker

- 24k_Solid_Gold believes parents need to be more informed about the game industry.
- david_lck has a list of games that need an HD makeover.
- jazzfan4 has a list of bargain games.
- Crimsader has done some extensive research on the history and future of gaming.
- chandu83 talks about being a PC gamer on a budget.
- VXLbeast shares his favorite free online games.
- dark_being posted some Mass Effect 2 game-ending spoilers.
- LJS9502_basic would like to begin recognizing unsung Off-Topic forum heroes.
- Sandpiper121PP has a fourth edition of her Saturday updates.
- Bobzfamily has a list of PlayStation classics that he would like to see on PSN.

Emblems

- The Hotspot homework emblem was granted to hank_101.
- The Firestarter emblem was granted to the following System Wars Magazine contributors: LegendofNerd, 789shadow, Brianfox1, darkspineslayer. fabz_95, k_smoove, Thunderdrone, AdobeArtist, angelkimne, Animal-Mother, blizzvalve, Ibacai, IronBass, jg4xchamp, psn8214, Skittles_McGee, Stevo_the_gamer, The_Game21x, and Wasdie.

Tip of the Week

This week’s tip is about writing game reviews. Kevin VanOrd wrote a thorough blog about what to consider when you are writing game reviews and editorials. While he does claim that you should take what he says lightly, take it seriously because a lot of his points can also be applied to forum posting and other written communications. Here’s a sneak peek at the points he covers.

-- Know the rules of grammar and punctuation.
-- Read a lot.
-- Don't stick to a precise format.
-- Avoid cliches.
-- Remember that it's about the game.
-- Think critically.

Announcements

Now Playing: BioShock 2
In the latest Now Playing episode, Giancarlo Varanini and Shaun McInnis show us an early look at BioShock 2.

C&C 4 Open Beta Keys
We plan to continue to hand out Conquer 4 beta keys starting over the next week or so. The open beta is available to all GameSpot registrants worldwide.

Valentine E-Cards Workshop
We currently have about 60 e-cards submitted with only 12 days left to submit an e-card if you want a participation emblem. We’ll share more details about how you can send GameSpotters an e-card as we get closer to Valentine’s Day.

Member Spotlight

This week’s member spotlight goes to Stylee19 for his blog about clone-o-phobes, which happens to be mostly about Dante’s Inferno. While the blog might sway to a rant in some areas, he has a creative way of describing the reactions of others about games that look similar.

Featured User Videos

- Army of Two PT. 2 by danieleakes
- 5 Annoyances of a Gamer by ShootumUP26

Staff Fingerprints

- Shaun McInnis believes BioWare almost has a masterpiece.
- Brendan Sinclair has an opinion about Assassin Creed’s DLC.
- Justin Calvert and Sophia Tong share tips about how to become a reviewer.
- Dan Chiappini highlights the 2009 Aussie Readers' Choice Awards.
- Randolph Ramsey answers some questions about Heavy Rain in the GameSpot Australia forum.

Blog Bunker

- Cube_of_MooN shares his thoughts about Mass Effect 2 DLC.
- GabuEx has an evolution library.
- scatterbrain007 believes people misunderstand co-op as a feature.
- BessenStock shares a series of blogs about what he must have.

Tip of the Week

This week’s tip is about keeping your forum posts spoiler-safe. You can read buft’s blog for specific examples.

Announcements

We are a bit short on any feature enhancements and other related announcements, but we have some hot news about emblems!

- The Valentine e-Card workshop will grant a participation emblem to those who submit an e-card! If you have any image designing tips for new image designers, please help them out by sharing in the workshop discussion.
- The Best of 2009 emblem was granted to everyone who has voted as of yesterday. Staff will do another emblem push on January 27, so get in your votes prior to then. Also, if you look at your profile and notice that the Best of 2008 emblem is missing, please send me a PM with the subject title “Best of 2008 emblem,” and I’ll grant the emblem at my earliest convenience.
- The The Forza Paintshop union, established by Justin Calvert, hands out the emblem after scheduled race weekends. You can view the latest creative paint jobs by viewing the discussions in the union.
- The HotSpot homework emblem has been granted to REgrl4life. If you’re interested in this emblem, become an avid listener of The HotSpot.
- The soapbox emblem was granted to gfile for his blog about PC games in 2010.

Member Spotlight

This week’s member spotlight goes to starduke for his witty blog about Dragon Age: Origins and how it has already been said before, so he won’t repeat it. The blog also outlines his interaction with EA staff about SecuROM DRM.

Featured User Videos

- Ultimate Forza 3 Crash Montage by The_Game21x
- Penumbra: Requiem Speedrun by ChristianKiss

Staff Fingerprints

- Ricardo Torres checks in with you all on the latest happenings.
- Shaun McInnis has Modern Warfare 2 on his mind.
- Luke Anderson posted some pictures of Sony’s UK MAG event.
- Justin Calvert shares thoughts about preorder bonuses and Star Trek.
- Kevin VanOrd thinks about genre.
- Dan Chiappini shares behind-the-scenes coverage of GSAU Burger Challenge 2010.
- Guy Cocker has numerous topics worth reading.

User Reviews

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition (Wii) asian_pride69
- Overlord: Dark Legend (Wii) zh66
- Shattered Horizon (PC) Domstercool
- Iron Man (PS2) ebbderelict
- Honoo no Kakutou Banchou (PS2) loopy_101
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) Garrison_Fordn
- Code of Honor: The French Foreign Legion (PC) Azghouls
- Left 4 Dead 2 (X360) white_sox
- Borderlands (X360) xboxrulze

Blog Bunker

- gfile shares some PC Gaming thoughts.
- yeah_write wonders about pointless attachments.
- gdw0908 shares his top annoying game design innovations.
- so_hai has a Star Fox analysis.
- Resistance_Kid remembers what game started it all.
- buft highlights five boring in-game jobs.
- Kman8909 has lots to say about cheating.
- OrkHammer007 would like there to be at least one console game for adults only in 2010.
- classic7 would like to know why Fallout 3 received more attention by Bethesda.
- WeaponXY likes to think about confident versus cocky game characters.
- Samson089 highlights the top 10 downloadable games in 2009.
- canana shares his perfect first-person shooter.

Tip of the Week

This week's tip will help you learn how to create images to participate in the Valentine’s Day e-Card workshop. Here are five tips originally provided by Teekal.

1) If you don’t own any fancy image editors, she suggests downloading the 30-day free trial of Adobe Photoshop.
2) Cropping images is self-explanatory: Drag the crop box to outline the image you want to keep, then double click in the middle to quickly resize the image to fit within the proportions.
3) When adding text suggestion, make sure that the letters are outlined in a darker color to make sure the words don't get lost in the background image. There is a good video tutorial that describes how to do it using Photoshop.
4) Some consoles do not have an easy way to take screenshots, but laptops and other PC games have a "Print screen" function.
5) Lastly, YouTube tutorials and free trials are your friend.

You can check more of what she has to say, along with links in the Valentine e-Card workshop discussion.