Most likely they'll announce their new console which is likely the Xbox 720 which I'm guessing which will be the likeliest name or possibly a handheld device maybe. Over the past 10 years Microsoft's Xbox console has done pretty well since 2001 with its launch in the US and then slowly selling more systems across the world soon after in 2002.

Back in 1998 four engineers from Microsofts DirectX, Kevin Bachus, Seamus Blackley, Ted Hase and DirectX team leader Otto Berkes, disassembled some Dell laptop computers to construct a prototype Microsoft Windows-based video game console. They did hope it would compete well with Sonys upcoming Playstation 2 around that time. The original name was going to be called DirectX box but the name was shorten due to many people not likening the name for it and then changed it to Xbox which we all know from today. It was actually the first Microsoft video game console after collaborating with Sega to port Windows CE to port the Sega Dreamcast. Microsoft did delay the console quite a few times during 1999 and 2000 but it made its official release on November 15th 2001 with a solid line up of games in the US including-

• Halo Combat Evolved
• Dead or Alive 3
• Amped
• Project Gotham Racing
• Oddworld Munch's Oddysee
• Fuzion Frenzy

The controller looked a little different from other consoles but they changed the design of the controller soon after 2002 making it feel a little easier to use for playing games. Xbox also let you rip music from CD's and then keeping them saved on your console, meaning that you could play your favourite music while playing games which was actually quite a good idea but that only worked on a selected amount of games. It also played DVD's you put a USB chip in one of the controller ports and then you would be able to watch DVD's with the Xbox remote.

"One of the many reasons, Xbox sold really well over the years"

One of the biggest games that made the Xbox sell really and it was also had online which was called Xbox Live where you could play online with your friends. And one of the biggest sequel launches and over a million players played online which was Halo 2 back in 2004, it may have had a disappointing ending but its multiplayer was the strongest point. Over in Japan it wasn't selling well and wasn't that popular unlike the Playstation 2 but in the US and Europe it was still selling well on its sales.

During November and December 2005 Microsoft released its second console which was the Xbox 360, still competing with the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii as of from now, the 360 has had some up and down moments on its consoles including its great line up of games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty. But there have been some downhill moments including its Red-Ring of Death and the Xbox Kinect not recognising your voice or moments on a certain amount of games that were released for it. It still had its strong online multiplayer and its DVD/Music which you could still use and a compatibility system which let you play a few Xbox games on a 360 console.

With E3 2013 on its way and of course Microsofts announcement on Tuesday what will be the future for the Xbox? Will it still stay strong with an iron fist or will it slowly go downhill?

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The game is currently less than a cup of overpriced coffee (3.39) and worth every penny! We'll make a server and dig down to the depths to see if we can enter hard mode!

The deal is only going until 4:00 PM PST today. 

To sweeten the deal if we can get 50 people to sign up and participate in this two part game night I will make us an emblem.

MadElk will be assisting with the server, I will be posting details about how to join later this evening. Unless of course he decides to grace us with his presence and inform us in the comments. 

We'll be using a chatzy room for communication up until the event happens, then we'll be moving to a group steam chat. 

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I've been spending a lot of time pairing up characters so that they get married and then I get to meet their time-traveling  progeny. It's fun to see what characteristics the parents pass on to their kids and get an extra perspective on this doom-and-gloom future everyone is ranting on about. It's also rewarding to fill out my party with new blood; the excitement of new life offers a soothing counter to the anguish of life lost.

Today I mourn Vaike.

Look at this cocky bastard. Weird chains dangling off his neck collar like so much Ylissian bling. Can't be bothered to keep track of his axes. Refers to himself not just in the third-person, but makes himself into a proper noun: "The Vaike." No shirt, no helmet, no problem. 

But what a soldier! When he torqued those practice-hardened muscles back and uncorked a ferocious axe strike, the Risen rose no more. He was a fierce fighter and a trustworthy ally, lending unbending support and an easy smile to all his compatriots. We'll all remember "Teach" sharing his strategies and tips freely, solicited or no. His confidence, his self-assurance, and his gusto made us all better soldiers, better allies, and better friends. 

Vaike, for your rockin' hair, your rockin' bod, your rockin' attitude, and your rockin' axe, we salute you. Rock in peace.

[ Watch Video ]

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For me, it has and will always be to simply have fun. I assumed this to be true about every other gamer out there but each day I'm finding this to be further and further from the truth. I can't tell you how many times that I've seen posts in gaming forums or gaming social media sites where I see (most often) really young gamers complain how bored they are with a game that they are trying platinum. Or the amount of reviews that I read where the reviewer CLEARLY states that they had fun playing a game but gives it a very low score because of its imperfections.

I feel that this whole achievement/trophy system that has been implemented during this generation of gaming is both a blessing and curse. Its a blessing to gamers and developers alike by keeping people playing certain games that would otherwise have no rewarding value to them in doing so but also a curse that has people only playing cetain games because they are easy "100%s or Platinums". When I see other gamers complain about a game sucking and being anxious to hurry and get the plat...I've casually asked "why are they playing a game that isn't fun to them?". Literally, in EVERY instance of this I've gotten a response back retracting their original assertion about their displeasure with the game and merely being frustarted with the difficulty of achievement hunting. Now, I'm not coming down on achievement hunting because I love it too but why can't people just give a honest answer? Is it really because in reality they lack self confidence and this makes them feel good about themselves? Is it because now they've exchanged one hobby for another (from gaming itself to merely achievement hunting)? Seriously, these questions aren't rhetorical...I would honestly like to know and understand why this is.

To be perfectly honest, I just don't have the time and patience to Platinum every single game that I play. The 2 that I actually have were stressful enough to get and I simply couldn't imagine going through all the extra effort (especially when I don't want to) to do this with EVERY or even the majority of my games. For me to even attempt this, I have to at least like the game to begin with, it be easy & not too time consuming, and give me a reason to do so. Even though one trophy stands between me and Platinum in the game, Mass Effect 1 is a great example of this. In addition to the game being very fun to play, the multiple playthroughs it takes to get the Platinum makes it well worth it since the game plays different each time due to different decisions you can make on the game, and the fact that said decisions & trophies transfer over into the next entry of the series to enhance the experience!

As far as how I personally view games and score them in my mind...at the end of the day, it all boils down to how much fun did I have playing it. If I can say that a game was generally fun, it gets a minimum of a 7.0 (good). To give it anything less is imo, implies that there is something so wrong with the game where it begins to ruin the fun. So, when I see reviews and hear reviewers say "I had fun" or for that matter, don't even mention if they enjoyed playing the game (and to what degree) but see a score lower than 7.0, I lash out. Do the visuals/frame rate really matter that much? Does the voice acting in a game where you have hundreds of different ways of blowing everything to bits really matter? Does the presence of voice chat/party chatting really matter in an other wise well polished experience? I mean, I see and hear complaints like this all the time and ask myself "but what does that have to do with the fun factor of the game?". Games like Retro City Rampage, Jetpack Joyride Super Meatboy, etc prove that games can have dated visuals (intentionally or not) and still provide a very fun and entertaining experience.

Some times I think what its REALLY all about is that folks start becoming nit picky when having to spend $60 a pop on games regularly. I can't say I disagree with this...however, why don't more people just stop buying games at launch? Personally, I believe that there is rarely any game (AAA or not) worth paying $60 for. Why not wait for the inevitable price drop or one day/week sales on these games? I just think that these days that people hold games to such high standards and expectations that they forget that whole purpose of them was to entertain and not just to look pretty with a bunch of bells & whistles.

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated (minus any douchbagory)

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He didn't pull me from a burning building or rescue me from a frozen lake. But when I was suffering from a depression that had me constantly on the brink of suicide, he was the man who kept me on this side of the abyss. 

He was my therapist, but that word is so clinical, and doesn't accurately describe who Dan was to me. Friend? Yes, even though I usually only saw him in the confines of the office of a mental health clinic in Warren, PA. Father figure is more accurate, I suppose, but whatever you call him, he was the one that convinced me that life was worth living. His office was the safest place on the planet. It was there that I felt most vulnerable, and most cared for. He is the reason I am still here today, rather than a memory, or at very least, rather than a human husk, withering away in a hospital for the remainder of my days. 

He shared with me stories that a professional therapist shouldn't generally be sharing with his patient, and yet it was exactly the right thing to do in my case. I would record myself playing Christmas music on cassette tape and give it to him as a Christmas gift. I went to a church where he was a guest pastor one Sunday and marveled that this man could radiate such kindness and generosity. I read about his exploits with his boy scout troop, and wondered if those young men knew how fortunate they were that someone like Dan could be in their lives. 

I also know that Dan was an imperfect man. But I wasn't prepared to discover that several weeks ago, this man responsible for me being here to share this story today went missing. Vanished from his house, his wallet and keys left behind. No note, no goodbye to his wife Penny, no sign of a break in, no indication that something was wrong. He was simply gone. 

The police have searched, and the Conewango Creek and local branch of the Allegheny River have been scoured. No one knows if Dan, at the age of 69, wandered off to take his own life, or fell into the river and was washed away. Perhaps he was discontent and troubled, and decided to travel where he couldn't be found and live out his last days in peace. Perhaps he simply went for a walk to some unknown place and suffered a heart attack, and hasn't been found in spite of the exhaustive search. 

But it doesn't seem that Dan is coming back. 

The last time I talked to Dan was a few years ago. He sent me an email entitled "The real story...for those with a warped sense of humor." It was a typical viral email that people might send, this one with pictures of fairy tale princesses as they might have ended up. Snow White with her several babies and a good-for-nothing prince sitting in front of the TV. An obese Little Red Riding Hood wandering through the forest, sipping on a Big Gulp and carrying a basket full of bread. It certainly wasn't the most socially sensitive communication, but it's what I have. 

I love you Dan. I hope that you are close to God now. 

Edit: My mom shared this YouTube link with me of Dan leading vespers in 2012. http://youtu.be/dmVaCIoxeI0

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When the PS3 came out, I was a senior in high school. I didn't think much of it then, other than that it was insanely expensive. Plus my friends and I were more into the Nintendo line of games, so I didn't really care to pay attention to it. Time went on after that. I started going to college, ended up meeting my future wife, and began to experience what it really felt like to live on my own. Meanwhile the PS3 was struggling to keep up with the XBox 360 juggernaut. Despite the hardware issues, it was easily the better system for a long time. The PS3 seemed doomed to wallow in mediocrity. That is, until late 2009.

I feel that I entered the world of the PS3 right around the time it started to take off. It wasn't better than the 360 by that point, but within a year's time it would be. When it came down to deciding between the two top consoles, I had a lot of influence towards the 360. After all, everyone I knew had one, but no one I knew had a PS3. After doing some research, however, and seeing how the two consoles held up side-by-side...I decided to go with the PS3. I remember the first games I picked up along with it were GTA IV, Resident Evil 5, Demon's Souls, Saw (lol), and Uncharted 2. While I didn't care for many of those games in the long run, Uncharted 2 blew me away. It was literally the most amazing thing I ever played. I simply couldn't put it down. Between the gameplay, the presentation, and the story...I knew I was hooked. For me, that was the start of the rise to power for the PS3, and the start of my gaming life as a modern console-gamer.

2010 and 2011 especially felt like the years of the PS3. There were so many great exclusives coming out for the system that I didn't even give the 360 a second glance. Sure they had Halo and Gears of War, but I had never been into either series that much. I was too busy with the Uncharted series, the inFamous series, and the God of War games. What I didn't realize was that I was becoming a stickler for graphics and presentation, which I had never been before. It was all about getting the new Call of Duty game, or the new Madden. The gameplay became secondary to the graphics, which is why I supported Madden 2012 so much when I really shouldn't have.

The Fall of 2011 was, in my opinion, the console's best season of games. We saw things like Uncharted 3, Arkham City, and Saints Row the Third. There was also Modern Warfare 3, but eh...to each their own. By that time I had realized that graphics weren't everything, and I was back to being all about the gameplay. EA had become my sworn enemy, since their games had become so shallow that I avoided them altogether.

2012 was the year that I started to lose faith. I ended up selling my PS3 in favor of trying things with a 360 for awhile. That lasted all of 6 months, once I had played all the exclusives that I cared to. Then I thought I might try my luck with a Vita, which ended up being the worst decision I could have ever made. If you've never played one, I would avoid it. The games are fun, but the hardware sucks. The touch screen started to become totally unresponsive after a few months of playing it. So I traded that in and got a PS3 again. My thought at the time was, "Well, if I'm going to have a system where I can run around shooting things, I might as well go with the one I have the most roots with."

That was 6 months ago. Now it is 2013, and with the PS4 looming on the horizon, this appears to be the worst year for the PS3 since its early years. I hardly ever play it, but I know that if I get rid of it I'll end up regretting it. There's this certain itch that FPS games have for me. Maybe it's because I've played them for so long, but they're great stress-relievers for me. As a result, I only own 3 physical games for the system still: Borderlands, NBA 2k12 (for the 80's and 90's stars), and NCAA Football 13. After all this time, the only games that haven't totally lost their touch with me are sports games and Borderlands. I have no desire to play anything else that's coming out, except for the occsional PSN game.

I'll say this though: when the PS4 comes out, I won't be getting one. As I get older and have more and more responsibilities, I find myself playing on my console less and less. I'm finding that I would rather invest my money into my 3DS, which I can play on the go and at work, and into tabletop games. Whatever your opinion of tabletop games may be, at least the quality of games is there. I have yet to play a single tabletop game that I didn't have at least some fun with. Sure, there were a couple I ended up selling, but the majority I have kept for myself. I can't say that about the PS3. Just about every PS3 game I've played I've ended up trading in because there was simply nothing left to enjoy about it.

Maybe I'm just a jaded gamer, but I don't plan on giving Sony any more of my time or money beyond this system. I'm perfectly happy with my 3DS right now, and tabletop games are a lot easier to get family and friends to partake in. I may get back into PC gaming when I get the money to afford one, but I think I'm going to give consoles a rest for now. I personally don't think they'll be around 5-10 years from now, but maybe I'll end up being wrong.

The PS3 as a whole was both a system I loved and hated. I loved the fact that I had a modern system with an excellent presentation and the ability to purchase new games as they hit the shelves, but I hated the fact that so many of these games were filled with bugs or were worth a lot less than the $60 price tag they were supposedly worth. In the end, I think the Gamecube/PS2/XBox era was a much better one than this has been. In a lot of ways, I think that's where gaming peaked, and now it is beginning the regression into medicority.

So that's been my experience with the PS3, and why I think I will be moving on from console gaming once the PS3's time comes to an end. I'll end this article listing my top 20 favorite PS3 games that I played over the course of its run as a top console:

20. Resident Evil 6

19. Duke Nukem Forever

18. Final Fantasy XIII

17. Fallout 3

16. Rock Band 3

15. L.A. Noire

14. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

13. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

12. NBA 2k12

11. Dead Space

10. Assassin's Creed 2

9. Dragon Age: Origins

8. Saints Row 2

7. inFamous

6. Batman: Arkham City

5. Bioshock

4. Deux Ex: Human Revolution

3. Valkyria Chronicles

2. Borderlands

1. Uncharted 2

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First of all, I want to thank Krystal for the respectful response to my piece, and for not tolerating comments in the blog from those who are more interested in directing personal attacks my way than in having a civil, open-minded conversation about this.

As for the nitty-gritty of my response, I want to start with something Krystal says at the end of her blog. "In no way would I ever defend it if I shared Carolyn's sentiments and thought that the game was even remotely disrespectful and offensive." That sounds like a reasonable position, but it's not really one I feel like I can afford to take if I want to be able to enjoy most video games, or even lots of movies and television. If I demanded moral perfection of the games I play, well, that would have prevented me from playing a great many of the games I love. Generally speaking, I think games could be so, so much better with regard to their treatment of women, cultural minorities, and LGBT people. But because I love games as much as I do, I'd much rather engage with games in these areas, thinking about and writing about the ways they could be better, than just throw my arms up in frustration and walk away. This is certainly the case with Persona 4. If you look through the comments on my feature, I think you'll see that a lot of people were clearly upset simply because I was criticizing Persona 4, a game that they hold dear. But here's the thing: I love it, too. I mean, I really love this game. I think it's one of the best games I've ever played. Even so, I'm not going to give it a free pass. I don't know if you've watched the first part of Feminist Frequency's Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series, but as the great Alyssa Rosenberg writes here:

"At the beginning of the video, Sarkeesian, explaining that This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, says something that everyone who loves a piece of culture ought to be required to recite five times every morning while looking in the mirror: Remember that its both possible and even necessary to simultaneously enjoy media while being critical of its more problematic or pernicious aspects. If that ability to hold two ideas in your head at the same time, to enjoy something while recognizing that it might have problems, is what the people who tried to harass Sarkeesian into silence are so afraid of, it only reinforces how intellectually cowardly and inept they are. The need for something to be immune from criticism isnt a sign that its perfect and everyone else is wrong: its a sign you cant defend the things you love. Thats a position any self-aware person ought to be embarrassed to defend."

I agree with this, that we need to be able to look at the things we admire and enjoy and accept that not all of them are  entirely above reproach. I can simultaneously adore Persona 4 (and I do) and feel that in certain ways, it could have been better. Krystal also states near the end of her response, "I don't think it was Atlus' intention to mock or shame homosexuals and transgender people." Well, maybe they did and maybe they didn't. This is beside the point. A work--be it a game, novel, film or what have you--can have meanings and messages that its creators did not intend it to have. Many feel that Kathryn Bigelow's film Zero Dark Thirty endorses torture. (This is not a view I share, but it works here as an example.) People who see this message in the film see it there regardless of Bigelow's assertions that the film does not endorse torture. Once a work of art is completed and is sent out into the world for the public to view and to contemplate, the artist(s) relinquish control over it. They cannot control how it will be interpreted by others, what meanings or values those who experience it might find within it.

Nothing makes you a better person quite like taking on the Aiya Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl Challenge!

Similarly, I don't think it's especially relevant that, as Krystal says, "Japan's views of gender identity and sexuality are probably much different than they are in the US." That's certainly true, but I don't give what I see as problematic aspects of a game a pass simply because they come from another culture. If I feel a game or movie or TV show is sexist, for instance, I think that sexism is worth criticizing, regardless of where it comes from. "That's just how it is over there" is not, in my view, an excuse. Krystal goes on to say, "Couple that with the fact that video game stories still have a lot of growing to do as a whole." I certainly agree with that. It's because I feel so strongly that they can be better and because I want them to be better that I write things like this in the first place.

So, okay, let's talk about Kanji. With regard to my criticisms of Kanji's storyline, Krystal brings up the dungeons of other characters, saying, "the characters' personalities and actions do not PERFECTLY match with the personalities of their shadow selves." She gives a few examples to support this. 

"It's actually said in the game that the shadows are only one facet of the characters personality. Also, the shadows and the dungeons are very extreme manifestations of the characters' deepest troubles and fears. 

For example, Rise's strip club dungeon was the result of people not seeing the real her. Rise constantly had to be everyone's charming, cute, and most of all, perfect idol for the camera. Fed up with this fake personality she was forced to show, she left show business and went to live a normal life. But of course everyone still approached her, wanting to meet Rise the media darling, not the real her. Therefore, the whole "I'm going to strip and bare it all" was a very extreme way of saying she wanted to shed her generic idol shell and show the world the real her.

Yukiko's dungeon was a castle; her shadow wore princess' clothing, and constantly spoke of "scoring a hot stud." Her shadow, once provoked, manifested as a bird in a cage who summoned a prince to fight for her. This represented Yukiko's feelings of being trapped in a life she didn't want to pursue."

Krystal provides additional examples. too, before saying, "these are extreme and exaggerated manifestations." My feeling is that, yes, most characters' shadow worlds and shadow selves represent exaggerations of one aspect of the character's inner life, but that in Kanji's case, what we get is not an exaggeration, but a contradiction. I did not want or expect the real Kanji to be an uncontrollably lustful gay man like his repressed shadow self. Instead, I hoped that the dungeon would resolve itself with him facing his sexuality and folding it into his larger personality in a way that was healthy and socially acceptable, as others did with the aspects of their personalities embodied by their shadow selves.

We sure made a lot of happy memories together.

And now, Naoto. Krystal says that, In the west, we refer to (people like Naoto) as tomboys. But this isn't true. Naoto isn't a tomboy. Naoto has lived most of his life as a boy. Not only does he not correct others when they refer to him with male pronouns; he clearly has gone to a great deal of effort to encourage and support this perception. If Naoto were a real person at a real high school, this would mean doing things like using the boys' restroom, for instance. For someone like Naoto to be accepted as male for years and years of life would take tremendous effort and carry with it a certain amount of danger; this is not something that tomboys engage in.

Krystal says, "Also, Naoto's reason for wanting to craft herself as the hard-boiled detective did not only stem from her attachment to fictional characters. She is descended from a line of famous detectives and she intends to continue the tradition." As I said in my original feature, the idea of someone living in a gender other than the one they are assigned at birth because they hope to pursue a particular profession does not ring psychologically true. I have never heard of a young girl living as a boy for many years of her life, for instance, not because she truly identified as a boy but because she wanted to be a police officer when she grew up and thought that the male gender was more fitting for being a cop. Nor have I ever heard of a boy who lived as a girl not because he didn't identify as a boy but simply because he wanted to be a nurse when he grew up and all of his nursing role models were women. 

Some may say, "So what if it's unrealistic? You're talking about a game in which a bunch of high school students pass through television sets and save the world by fighting monsters on the other side." Well, I'd say that the one area in which Persona 4 does need to be believable is in the psychology of its characters. What really makes the game special, ultimately, isn't its battle system or its dungeons or any of those traditional RPG trappings. It's the richness and complexity of its characters and the ways in which they connect and relate to each other. If those characters start behaving in ways that we find inconsistent or false, it takes us out of our investment in their relationships with each other.

So, yes, I UNDERSTAND that, within the game, we're meant to buy that Naoto is a tomboy, that, as Krystal said, his "true intentions were to become a splendid and ideal detective, not a man." I'm simply saying that, given Naoto's behavior in life up to the point where he becomes involved in the story, living as a boy, being known as the detective prince, and so on, and given what we see in his shadow world, I don't personally buy the idea of Naoto as a tomboy. To me, it would have been much more believable and consistent with these things if Naoto were transgender.

The quaint and lovely town of Inaba. If you haven't visited it yet, you really should.

Finally, a word on why this matters so much to me. A thought experiment, if you will, and one that I hope you will take seriously and participate in with an open mind. 

Imagine that you live in a world where a group that you identify with is frequently marginalized and discriminated against. Let's call this group straight people. Now, straight people have made some progress in recent years. In some states, they have the right to get married, and there are an increasing number of straight role models in the media; famous writers, TV hosts, and so on. But in your beloved video games, straight people are all but nonexistent. Never the heroes. Only very rarely do straight people like you even show up as supporting characters. It's practically unheard of. 

Then, along comes this amazing role-playing game called Persona 4, with a rich cast of psychologically complex characters. You venture into a land that reflects one character's mind, and what you find there is a facet of that character expressing heterosexual desire. Wow! Understandably he has repressed it, you think, because straight people are often not treated very well in society, but there it is, a true part of him, yearning to get out. 

When you finally complete his dungeon, though, the game tells a different tale; he doesn't actually like girls, you see. It's just that he was so afraid of boys, because they'd been mean to him in the past. You thought you were finally about to see a well-developed straight character in a game, but alas, no. The game veers away from that possibility, and goes down a different road. 

Ultimately, the game does this not just once, but twice! 

In a world with so few straight characters in games, it's hard not to see Persona 4 twice come near the brink of giving us a straight character, and both times backing away, as really, really disappointing, especially since so many things about the game are so wonderful. To have a game come close to giving us straight characters and then in both cases run away from that, especially in a world where there are almost no straight characters in other games, sends a message about straight identities, whether the developers intended it to or not.

Maybe you can put yourself in that position via your imagination and maybe you can't. I've received a number of kind messages from LGBT readers telling me that they felt similarly about the message the game was sending and thanking me for the piece, though, and that is good enough for me.

Anyway, I'm gonna give the last word here to Yosuke. This is an idea that's at the heart of the game, and I think it's something that all of us, women and men, gay and straight, trans and cis, should strive to do.

Sounds good to me, Yosuke. Thanks for all the good times.

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Old Classic Spyro was taken over with a shame-full new "Skylanders" look

So? whats the big deal? top notch graphics are good, and Cod is amazing? I can see where people may say things like "COD IS AMAZING!?" or "whata mean games arn't getting better? Look at Maddens graphics!" But all these things are small details that should be apart of a bigger picture. Why is it every year the only new thing we get in cod is some new wepons, a new " Lower than Average" story and some better looking graphics? Why is it that every Street fighter that comes out only adds a couple new charectors and some small new mechanics? Some may say "well it still doesn't matter, games are getting better its not hurting anything" But thats where the gamer is wrong. Do any of the Old Ps1 gamers still remember the game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver? Cause I had to go online and search up "soul reaver" cause I couldn't even remember the Main charectors name.

Raziel From the Classic ps1 and dreamcast game "Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver"

These days we have games like "Uncharted 3" Sitting on the throne for Best Game Story Ever. This is not true, of course, if you have ever played through the entire Legacy of Kain series, you would know that is not true. Legacy of Kain is a perfect example of how modern day gamers are Loosing memory of Classis master pieces such as this. If I showed a modern day gamer a picture of Raziel they would NOT know who it was. Why? Because once the gaming media realizes FSP are the new "COOL" they throw all laws of old gaming in the trash and head for the gold. It doesn't surprise me that so many game developers are making copies of other games. They look at COD and say "Wait? people actually buy into that stuff?".

When was the last time you played a GOOD platforming game? was it uncharted 3? infamous 2? I dont count those as platforming games, when they aim more toward action/adventure. When i think of modern platforming games i think of mario, and lets face it, if there is one person whome stands for the word 'remake' its MARIO. (and link) So where are all the 3D platformers? As of the modern day i can't think of any that are currently out? Sure there is Assassins creed but thats more Stealth/Action. Sly cooper: Thieves in time, Heard of it? If you have not, then I hope you click the name and read up on it, If you know anything about sly cooper, he was one of the three kings of the ps2 Era (the other two being ratchet and jak).

A poster Of sly in the new "Sly: Thieves In Time"

The new Sly game is a great showing of how developers are going back to the basics. This could end up 2 ways, first the game could be a total wreck and most people would see this and be like "This is why we should stick with COD!" Or the game could be a complete and total master Piece, this would show everyone that the platforming era doesn't have to be over, and we can go back to basics. Now you might say "wait? you said we Should try NEW things? why are you using a remake of an old game as an example for something new?"

My point isn't really to throw out the entire recipe. The idea behind it all is to try something That isn't the exact same as every video game of that Console era. Sly Cooper May have been the same as every other game in its First time around, but as it re-enters the stage it provides something new to players who never experienced or never even hear of Sly Cooper. Basicly Keep your mind OPEN sure COD is a great series and if FPS went exctinct for 10 years im sure i would be begging for a new MW but thats not the case. Games like Dishonered or Sly provide newer and fresher ideas.

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The last few weeks have been completely insane. My boss left for another great opportunity and I was mentally bracing myself to help pick up the slack until we found a replacement, but I was asked to take on the role of Editor-in-Chief. (!!!) It took me a week to let it all sink in. After having worked closely with Ricardo here at GameSpot, I knew that this job was not going to be easy and that I will likely be stressed out permanently. (but I still love it!) To be honest, when I made the decision to switch careers and move into video games, I really wasn't gunning for any kind of position. I just wanted to be surrounded by games and talk about games all day. Turns out I am pretty organized and apparently management likes that I've been so incredibly lucky and blessed, and I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for the wonderful people I've worked with at GameSpot, especially Ricardo, who taught me almost everything I know. (about yelling at people mostly. lol, just kidding. No not really.)

I still really like this community and I've been a part of it for so long, it's hard to leave but I'm excited to see what my team at GR can do. I'm on Facebookand Twitterso please stay in touch, and if you want to keep up with Bailey, he's got his own Facebook page and Tumblr too.http://thingsiputonmydogshead.tumblr.com/

Even if I'm not going to blog here, I will check PMs and lurk on YOUR blogs. Those of you who have messaged me in the past, know that I will always respond

GamesRadar has a lot of exciting plans in the next year, so I hope that we cross paths again on the internets!

http://www.gamesradar.com/ping-radar-letter-editor/

xoxo

Sophia & Bailey

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So...show kick off stuff:

We'll be bringing you live stream of all of the press conferences tomorrow and Tuesday, and then the big show itself features more live programming than we've ever done before. As with previous years we have our main stage that will be running throughout the event, which will be hosted by Chris Watters and Danny O'Dwyer. Then we also have a pro gaming stage in partnership with Major League Gaming that will be running games all day each day. Finally, we'll have our Bonus Stage which I'll be hosting, which will have more of a chat-show/podcast kinda vibe, and will feature guests from every walk of the games biz; developers, CEOs, folks from other outlets, and celebrities.

This whole thing is a huge production for us, and our approach is very different than it has been in previous years. Hopefully you enjoy what we are able to bring you from the show floor, and that you'll participate with us in the comments, and on Twitter.

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Below I'll post the ones I've already made within the past week and will edit it with new ones I made to make sure everyone got them. I'll try to PM them to you but with the PM system down a lot, this is my 2nd option. Just let me know!

(I also make tags but won't bother posting them below)

Killerband Sig and tag:

Shoe_crap sig and avi:

Chosenhype Sig and avi:

CpReborn sig:

Flamecommando sig:

R_F sig:

CKYguy sig:

twistoffate:

-Round 2:

Killer:

Flamecommando:

Chosenhype:

Jedi:

Joemc:

Evilgamer:

Universal Entertainment Union Header:

waterproof9:

WOTU header:

Killer:

Shoe:

Jedi:

cursedchamp:

WOTU Banner:

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