• 30Nov 07

  Gamespot, Gertsmann and the letter G

  Well I have recently heard the news of Jeff's sudden departure, and typically I wouldn't be happier. I'll get this out of my way right now and say, I never liked Jeff. I didn't like his reviews, and I'd be lying if I said his on screen attitude didn't irk me. But the one undeniable fact about Jeff was that he was honest and true to himself, and I admired that.

  Now Gertsmann is not the only reason for this blog post, Gamespot has in my opinion lost most of its quality and appeal over this last year. From some very sketchy reviews to poor site controls and layout. Across the board (pun totally intended) it has been a great disappointment. And side note here, whoever is doing all those annoying puns on the main page (for news articles) please stop. It is impossible to know what a news article is about when so many puns are thrown in.

  I could detail all my complaints in a 10 page essay, but such a thing would be pointless and a waste of time. Suffice it to say I'm very disappointed and I will leave it at that.

  I have good reason to believe the allegations brought forth that Gamespot was threatened by Eidos for removal of their ads if Gertsmann wasn't dealt with are true. I have no proof of course, but with the sudden rise of rumors being tossed about that Review Site A is being funded by Game Company B to provide more favorable reviews, I find it a little more than a coincidence. And this rumor sounds more credible than the ones I have heard in the past. Besides even if Gamespot was to come forth, whatever their answer is, I doubt I would believe them.

  When the credibility of a site is compromised it is hard for me to believe anything that is posted on said site.

  I have been contemplating leaving this site for some time and these recent events have made the decision for me. I have no doubt been considerably less active thanks to the above mentioned complaints, but I would visit from time to time. That stops now.

  • Posted Nov 30, 2007 8:26 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 18Sep 07

  Keeping it fresh

  It has been a few weeks since Bioshock was released to critical acclaim and high sales. In every sense of the word Bioshock has been a huge success and yet I can't help but feel disappointed. Its not that the game didn't meet my expectations, it did everything I knew it would, because I had watched every gameplay video released under the sun. And that is the problem, it didn't exceed any of my expectations. I was hoping to be blown away in sheer awesomeness, and well it never happened. I knew exactly what to expect and so far there have been no surprises (gameplay wise anyway). I had really been hoping that it would give me the same sense of amazement that Oblivion did.
  
  We'll take a step back to about a year ago. Oblivion has been on the shelf for a good number of months and I finally just realize that this game exists. I see a few screenshots and it looks intriguing (first person sword play? Reminded me of the fun I had with Kingsfield for ps2), so I decide to try it out. Well needless to say within that first hour of gameplay I was blown away ten fold. And that was just in that little dungeon. The moment of sheer bliss came when I finally exited the sewer and realized just how bloody huge the game was. I'm pretty sure I spent a few moments just trying to take it all in. Oblivion would then go on to waste a substantial amount of my life.
  
  Coming back to the present, here I am trying to figure out what went wrong. Why wasn't I blown away by Bioshock? After some thought I came to my conclusion. It was simple... I knew too much about the game going into it. There was no surprise because I had let there be none. I had researched every square inch of the game.
  
  So here we now are, in the thick of the holiday game release season from hell. Far too many high quality titles are being released to the buying masses at the same time, and we are being overloaded with gameplay videos, previews and updates. If you have any games that you know are just gonna be awesome, do yourself a favour and avoid all this media and information. It will be a far better feeling when you first discover this stuff in game, rather than in a gameplay video. If you keep it fresh, the game will be all that more amazing.
  
  PS - If you are waiting for Mass Effect, please for all that is good and holy in this world HEED MY ADVICE! I can tell Mass Effect will be one of those games that you want to save all the discovery and mystery up for when you play the game.
  • Posted Sep 18, 2007 8:01 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 28Aug 07

  I got a Wii! Boy was it cheap.

  Well I finally joined the masses and I now own a wii. Why did I finally break down and buy one you ask? Simple, it was dirt cheap. It seriously cost me only 77 dollars including taxes (CAD), I should add this is not stolen and it is brand new. And I also snagged a copy of Resident Evil 4 for the wii at only 15 bucks (used).

  How did I manage this you ask? Read on below.

  Rogers Video here in Canada is having a sale right now, buy any 2 used games for 30 bucks (yes really, ANY). So I went to rogers video and picked up (at 15 dollars each):
  
  The Darkness (PS3) = TiV of $47.34 @ EB*
  Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3) = TiV $44.33 @ EB*
  Tenchu Z (X360) = TiV $23.33 @ EB*
  Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
  
  *TiV boosted by trade 3 get an extra 10 dollars.
  
  Then I took a trip over to EB Games who had just miracliously receieved a shipment of Wii's a few hours before. So I used the above 3 games (combined TiV of $115), some trade in credit I had on a card ($86) and all the money on my preorder for Too Human (that had cost me 15 bucks thanks to the trade 3 deal) + 10 dollars to pay for the thing.
  
  I couldn't believe my luck. Today is an awesome day.
  

  • Posted Aug 28, 2007 6:27 pm PT
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