Thank you MS !!!

Great... nothing more needs to be said.

We've long since had our suspicions. Take for instance the example of an absolutely dreadful videogame receiving extremely high review scores.. A review posted on a page plastered wall to wall with ads for that very same game. A review score that contrasts markedly against user review scores of the same game. A review score that seems to gloss over many of the blatant flaws in the game and present the product in a positive light only.

What am I talking about ?

Gamespot editor Jeff Gerstmann has allegedly been fired for his review of the game titled Kane & Lynch. Gerstmann scored the game a 6.0 out of 10. Naturally, this would disappoint the publishers of the game, especially given the extent of the advertising revenue that the very same site was receiving from them to publicise the game.

But that shouldn't matter. Advertising should have no impact on the review score for the game, no relevance whatsoever. The moment that it does, is the moment we should dismiss all game reviews as irrelevant.

Perhaps that time has arrived.

With Gerstmann, CNET and other interested parties remaining silent on the reasons or circumstances surrounding this it's inevitable that conspiracy theories will spread like wildfire. That said, given that Gamespot removed the video review posted by Gerstmann leaving only his written review on the site and that countless colleagues of Gerstmann have in their personal blogs on the site rounded to the defense of their former senior editor, it's obvious that the "speculation" is about as close to the truth as it's possible to get to.

When user reviews are also blocked because most posters are also giving the game a poor score, it's obvious that something sinister is at work.

The parent company of Gamespot is a massive corporation called CNet. They employ hundreds of workers across a bunch of sites were reviews are the main substance of the content provided... whether that is reviews of technology products on CNet itself, or reviews of music on mp3.com or reviews of TV shows on TV.com. It's plain now that these reviews can no longer be trusted as reliable, because there will always be a suspicion that editorial is mandating that a certain product receives a particular review score based on far more than merit alone.

Colin McRae of the rally driving gaming series, the latest of which was Colin McRae : DiRT has apparently been killed.

"Four people have been killed in a helicopter crash near the Lanarkshire home of former World Rally Champion Colin McRae. Strathclyde Police said the Squirrel aircraft was believed to be owned by Colin McRae, 39, who is thought to have been onboard."

Very sad news.

If you are the first to achieve 1000 gamerscore points in Madden 08, you'll win a free 120GB Xbox 360 hard drive.

Check here for details.

Last Sunday I finally decided to make a long awaited purchase... I bought a PS3. I've planned to get one since the console first launched, it was just a matter of when. As an owner of an Xbox 360 system, a Wii and already in possession of many of the games available on the PS3 for my 360 I wasn't motivated to rush out and buy one at launch or any time close to launch... but it was always on my radar. I checked out this blog and I was tempted by some HD video of the shiny Sony bad-boy; add to that the fact that many of my friends on my own personal site already own one then it was just the right time. I got a good deal with 3 "free" games and 2 "free" blu-ray DVD's thrown into the package.

My impressions so far are mixed. The console itself looks gorgeous. A lot heavier than the 360, in my opinion, but a sweet looking piece of electronics. As far as gameplay, it has the potential but I don't think it's there yet. Xbox 360 has set the bar as regards online gaming and I think Sony have the plans to take their online feature set further but aren't there yet. Before the 360 I was very much a casual online gamer. Now, I play a lot online - far more online than offline by myself. So, in that sense, because I never played online on the PS2 and it's never something I would have considered in the past, the online capability has taken on a much larger emphasis. I also miss achievement points when I'm playing on the PS3.... but, on the reverse, I can finally put my HDMI port on my HDTV to some use and everything is set up conveniently so that my 360 and Wii can also be connected simultaneously without ever needing to plug and unplug any cables. I'm too lazy for all that stuff...