Ryan Mac Donald Executive Producer

Recent Favorites: Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour, Soul Calibur II, Call of Duty, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Most Wanted: Doom 3, Half-Life 2

GameSpot OWNS U!

I must admit, I really love competitive game tournaments. I've always been competitive in just about everything. I guess that's why I'm such a big fan of online gaming. Over the years, I've been in a lot of tournaments, ranging from home run derbies to a full-blown team-based single-elimination tournament of Bomberman '93. I actually helped win both of those, though I've had my defeats too, like when I lost to Greg Kasavin at a Tekken 2 tournament or when Jeff beat me in an NFL Blitz tournament.

When it comes to this job, I've always thought it somewhat important to be the very best at what I do. The way I see it, if I were on the receiving end of this equation, I'd want advice from an expert in the field, someone who had proven prowess--though, at the same time, I wouldn't want advice from a braggart. In any event, we here at GameSpot do actually win our fair share of competitive press tournaments, and I wanted to tell you all about a recent tournament I was lucky enough to take part in for Counter-Strike on the Xbox. The tournament was a fairly quick showdown between two teams on the Dust 2 map. I was a little nervous, since the opposing team had Dave Geffon, who, as I was told, is considered one of the best CS players in the world. But I felt confident, since I had John Jensen, who may be better known as the "rizzuh" from CS-Nation, on my team.

As I've been prone to mention to just about anyone who will listen, I am a huge Counter-Strike fan, and for a long time I've wanted to take my CS game to the next level and compete for cash in the CPL. So, like for any armchair quarterback, this little tourney was a huge deal for me. It was simultaneously one of the most laid-back and one of the most nerve-racking little tourneys I've been a part of. Everyone was low-key and cool beforehand, but once we got into the match, the excitement started to rise. The team that reached 13 wins first would be the team to go home as champions. Luckily for me, my team had some skill with an Xbox controller, and we managed to get an early lead as counterterrorists. Once we reached the halfway point, we switched sides and commandingly sealed the deal as terrorists. It was a fun tournament and was probably the most official form of Counter-Strike competition I've ever been a part of. My teammates and I communicated well, and we had some sound strategies. Perhaps we can all get together and take people out on Xbox Live when the game ships. There is even talk that Microsoft is trying to get a CS Xbox league started with the Cyberathlete Professional League, which could mean that the best of the best will actually play for money, just like the PC players.

This man really gets paid to play games for money.

On a completely different topic, why am I finding The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King so hard, even on the normal difficulty setting? I feel like it shouldn't be, as though my years of action gaming experience should be enough to overcome the marauding Uruk-hai. I mean, I was battling my way through the similarly themed Gauntlet and Golden Axe back when The Lord of the Rings was still just a book! In all seriousness, I was surprised by the challenge offered in some of the levels in Return of the King. I was especially interested in the game's online co-op mode, which I figured would be an easier way to get through the levels I was having trouble with. But much to my surprise, every single person I connected with was 10 times worse at the game than I was. I think many of the people I hooked up with online just wanted to see what it was like and ran into trouble immediately. I did manage to connect with a couple of people who at least had some experience online, but they were struggling as well. I ended up pulling through it by myself, and so far I've made it as far as I can with Gandalf. I'm a fan of the films, and seeing the footage from the final chapter a little bit early has been a big treat.

And that's what's happening in my world this week. I hope you're all well and don't get the wicked flu that's going around. Until next time, shoot straight and take your vitamin C!