Hello one and all Spotters and... Bombers. This'll be my first blog on Giant Bomb and my, uhh, 80th, I think, on Gamespot. Today I'm going to talk about two of my most beloved video game sites. I'm not going to take the time to spell-check this one, so if you see an odd misspelled word, it's just because I'm lazy and in a bit of a hurry. Deal with it, heh.

A lot of people I've noticed (I mean, a LOT of people), have left Gamespot for Giant Bomb recently. I've seen at least 30 blog posts saying "Goodbye Gamespot, Hello Giant Bomb". It makes me wonder, just a little bit. I mean, sure Giant Bomb is cool, but it's so new, and it's not even finished yet. It's like getting married to a really hot chick the week you meet her. Sure she's really hot, but maybe she has skeletons in her closet or something? Anyway, umm, what was I talking about again?

The point is, Giant Bomb isn't even finished yet. Personally, I think it's awesome so far, but I like Gamespot too. There are positives and negatives with both sites. Giant Bomb is a very cool site, I'm a Gerstmann fan, and I like a lot of the ideas they have. On the other hand, I prefer the overall look and organization of Gamespot, and I've added my entire collection and wishlists here (which would take forever to transfer over to Giant Bomb). Honestly, I've got time on my hands. Well, a lot of time Too much time. So, personally, I'm sticking with both, at least for the foreseeable future.

So, yeah I'm not suggesting anything. It's just that, I don't feel the need to favor one now. They're both good sites, and I enjoy going to them. My next blog will hopefully get somewhere, rather than just a pointless rant. So, until next time, uhh, play some games and whatnot.

Really quick one today. I'm operating under a time constraint but I just wanted to get this out there. For those who might be interested. Yes, I joined Giant Bomb, and here's my account:

http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/TheBuck27/

Feel free to add me as a friend if you so desire. As for my thoughts on it. I think it looks pretty good so far. I wonder what parts are finished and what things they plan on changing or improving in the future. Anyway, I'll be posting all of my blogs and reviews on there (in addition to here). I might show a preference for one over the other in the future, but for now I think I'll just do both.

Speaking of Kaboom. The other day, I was playing the Atari 2600 Kaboom (on Activision Anthology for the PS2). Man, I'm surprised at how fun that game still is. Anyway, I'll see you later.

Hello one and all gamers and other people who have reached my page, probably by mistake. I welcome you.

Today, I'd like to talk about unions. Unions, according to the dictionary, are "a number of persons, states, etc., joined or associated together for some common purpose". There are big unions, small unions, ultra unions, and the ever-popular Super Union, which is seen maybe once in a decade.

Most unions are good, but some are bad. Take, for example, the Writer's Guild of America. These people planned a conspiracy to go on strike late last year in order to halt the greatest show on television, 24, until January 2009. That is what I call a bad union. Also, teacher's unions, who are often corrupted by special interests and don't pay any attention to what is right for the students, or in some cases, even what's right for the teachers. This is one of the biggest causes of the mediocre public school system in America. That's a bad kind of union.

But, every so often, you come across a union that's not good, not bad. You just, don't care about it. You want to, but you just, don't. Case in point, unions on Gamespot. Honestly, I love the idea of unions here. It's a great idea, but it's often poorly executed. The first time I got a union invite, I thought to myself "Hey, self. Somebody took the time to invite me, they must want me there. That makes me feel fuzzy. I think I'll join".

I've joined 23 unions so far, all in the hopes of trying to find that one union that really makes me feel warm and fuzzy. None of them have, and I'm currently not active in any of them. Maybe it's because I don't play enough modern games or something, but none of them strike me as interesting, at all.

If you're a part of a union that you really like, maybe you could suggest it to me. Because now, with 23 unions I've joined with no luck, I thinkI I'm going to start declining these invites, or just ignoring them altogether, because this is getting annoying. I still like the concept of unions, so if I could find one I really like, that'd be great. But, it doesn't look like that'll happen any time soon.

So, that's it. I got Star Wars Jedi Starfighter in the mail the other day. It's really good. Next blog, or one down the road, I'll give my general thoughts on Star Wars games. I assure you it'll be a bit different from others who have spoken on the subject. Anyway, I'm gone for now. See you whenever.

I'm back. Haven't done a post in about a week, maybe longer. I've got my reasons for that and I'll talk about that in a bit. Anyway, first item on the agenda. If you haven't seen yet, I reached a new level here on Gamespot. I think I was Level 20 for like, a year (at least it felt like that). Now, I'm finally up to 21. My goal is to get to Level 24, and just stay there (because I'm such a huge fan of the show )

Ok, now for the point of this blog. I got RPG Maker 2 in the mail yesterday. For those of you who don't know what that is. Well, it is what it sounds like. A game where you create an RPG game. It's on the PS2. I bought it partly because it was really cheap. I found it for 5 bucks from an Amazon seller, which was less than half of the cost I've found elsewhere. Either way, it's a good deal. Also, it's from Agetec, who are the dudes responsible for bringing Fire Pro Returns to the U.S. Of course, that's not the only reason.

See, I've always been interested in the creation aspect of games. In fact, even when I was a little kid, I wondered about how they make games. It seems like magic. Well, through RPG Maker, I'm finding out a little bit about the creation of games. While it's not magic, it sure is hard work. I'm really liking this so far, though. I already have a few good ideas lined up, and I'm working on getting over the learning curve and figuring out how to do certain things. I have a feeling I'll be spending quite a long time with this game. Looks like I may have another great game on my hands.

So, basically that's the reason why I haven't done a post. I've been playing games on my free time, and I haven't really found anything to post about. Not just RPG Maker, but others as well, including Forza Motorsport, which I've also been playing a lot.

Actually, there's a funny story that goes with that. See, last month, like I said in a previous blog I got six games in the mail all at once. It was Half-Life, Red Faction 2, State of Emergency, Midway Arcade Treasures 2, The Thing, and Forza Motorsport. I played them all, at least a little bit, relatively quickly after getting them, with the exception of Forza. I procrastinated on it because, well because I've always been kind of on the fence about racing games. I've loved some and hated some. Also, I haven't really been in a "racing mood" as of late. Know what I mean?

Anyway, about a week ago, I finally sat down and took some time with Forza. And, damn, am I hitting myself for procrastinating on it. It's seriously freakin' awesome. One of the best racing games I've ever played. It takes the concept of Gran Turismo, but blows it up so it can be consumed by all racing fans, rather than just diehards. Also, it manages to be a true racing simulation that is actually fun to play, which I think is hard to come by. I've actually taken the time to learn about the adjustable car upgrades, like the gear ratios and whatnot, even though that stuff previously did nothing but put me to sleep. It actually works well in Forza. It has its flaws, but I love it. Truly brilliant game overall, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys racing games.

I also sort of forgot how amazing AKI's wrestling games were. I got a new copy of WCW vs. NWO World Tour about 2 weeks ago, and it's way better than I remember. Gamespot should be ashamed for only giving that game a 5.7. It's far better than that. I'll probably do a review on it soon.

So, that's it. I kind of rambled and got off subject a bit. Just to sum it up. I'm level 21, I've always been intrigued by the creation of games. I'm learning about it somewhat firsthand by playing RPG Maker 2. I like it so far. Forza Motorsport rocks, and so does AKI wrestling games. Yeah, that's about it. Catch you later. See ya.

Greetings. First of all I'd like to thank everyone for their comments on my last blog. I was pleasantly surprised. Although, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of comments disagreeing with me. Are people just afraid of being modded, due to Gamespot's recent "mod everything in sight" policy? I'm sure all of you who did comment were fully sincere, but I just can't shake the feeling that some people held back from commenting at all, for that reason. Well, I'd like to make a declaration here. Unless you spam, you won't be modded here. I appreciate differing opinions and healthful debate. I'm a first amendment free speech kinda guy all the way, so I won't have you modded just for disagreeing with me. Ok, moving on.

The few who did disagree with me, I'd like to address them now. omerg1993 and Altiar25 both mentioned that maybe it's time I should move on from the PS2. While I can certainly see why they feel this way, I'd like to respectfully disagree. Here's why. Just take one look at my wishlist. I just took a few minutes to get caught up on it myself. First of all, I have high standards for my wishlist, as I consider it a real point of reference for future purchases. I don't add just any game to it, every game takes some thought before I put it in there. At present, it has 249 games (keep in mind though I've been adding to it since March 2006). Of that, 139 of those are PS2 games, which a solid majority, and just under twice the size of my current PS2 collection. Compared to that, I only have 44 games in my wishlist for the Xbox, and that's the most of any other system.

The Wii, 360 and PS3 have a combined total of 18 games on my wishlist, so that should put it in perspective. It just seems ludicrous to me, to "move on" from the PS2 when I'm interested in so few games beyond the PS2. Maybe in a year or so, when the PS2 number shrinks and the next-gen numbers grow (and hopefully prices drop), I'll think about it. But for now, it's a no-brainer, I'm staying with the PS2 and continuing to get Xbox games as well.

On that subject, two more games are coming either late this week or sometime next week in the mail. Both are PS2 games. The first is Star Wars Jedi Starfighter, which is the sequel to one of my favorite (and most underrated) Star Wars game ever, Starfighter. It's been a while since I beat Starfighter, so I'm really chomping at the bit to play the sequel. I'll get my chance in a little bit, so I'm excited for that.

The second is kind of an oddball choice, but I've been wanting to play this for years too. It's RPG Maker 2. I've always been interested in the concept, but honestly I've never played RPG Maker or anything like it. I bought it because it peaked my curiosity, and whenever a game does that, it's hard not to play it. I'm looking forward to it. I'm fully prepared not to like it, but it should be interesting regardless. I wonder why Gamespot never reviewed it? Anyway, if you've played it, I'd appreciate if you shared some thoughts here to maybe give me a bit more insight on what to look forward to (though I've already read some of the user reviews here on Gamespot).

So, there you have it. Some random thoughts with no real unifying theme, which is basically what I'm all about. Oh, that reminds me. Since everyone seemed to love my Zoey 101 review, I put up a review of Spongebob Squarepants: The Battle for Bikini Bottom the other day. Check it out if you wish. I think it came out okay, but I still think I'm a crappy reviewer. Anyway, that's it. Over and out.

Well, my 70th PS2 game arrived in the mail the other day. I'm not going to talk about the game itself too much (you probably already know all about it). This'll be more a blog on the PS2 as a system.

Whenever I read a Gamespot article relating to, or even mentioning the PS2, I always check out the comments. Because, well, I enjoy it. Anyway, I'm always flabbergasted at the amount of people who call for the PS2 to be taken off the shelf. "Who cares about the PS2 anymore?", "The PS2 is dead", "The PS2 is a thing of the past, it's time to move forward". Well, those are all paraphrases, not actual quotes. But, you get the idea.

Personally, I don't understand the logic behind their thinking. Are they against good business? Because the PS2 is still keeping pace with, and in some situations outselling next-gen consoles both here in America and overseas. PS2 games are still making the sales charts, and good PS2 games are still coming out (though not quite at the rate of previous years).

Add to that, the PS2 has quite easily the best back catalog of any system I've heard of. You could argue the case for a few other systems possibly having more, but nothing after the NES in my opinion. They must want it gone because it's been around so long. But, if you ask me, before you knock it, you should stop and think. There's a reason why the PS2 has been around for so long. There's a reason that, despite being released a full year before both of its competitors, it's still outliving them both by a large margin. The PS2's age could also be considered a good thing, because it's had years and years of excellent games being released.

Which brings me to my 70th PS2 game. Technically it's not really my 70th game, because I've previously owned and/or played and beaten a few more, but just for the sake of argument, I'm calling it # 70. I think it's very fitting that the 70th game I purchased was Katamari Damacy, a game completely unlike the other games in my collection. There's no other system that I've heard of, where you can already own 69 games for it and still pick up something completely and totally unique and different from everything else. That's not the last time this will happen to me, because of the 130-someodd PS2 games still in my wishlist, there are others like that as well that are completely different from what is in my collection.

It's a true testament to how amazing the PS2 is when it comes to its library. Literally every genre is covered, multiple times over with games that are as good as anything else on any other system, in many cases better. From simple to complex, from old-school to modern, and everywhere in between. I've never played a console that satisfies all of my wants and needs as a gamer as completely as the PS2.

This isn't coming from a "Sony Fanboy" either. In fact, 9 out of 10 times, I hate what Sony puts out. And, at least at the current moment, I think the PS3 is the worst of the three next-gen systems. The point is, I'm not biased toward anything except fun, gameplay and variety. That's how I've surmised my opinions on the PS2 and all other platforms through history.

So, I will continue playing my PS2. My 70th game is not a mark of the end, more like a new beginning. I'm going to start exploring other PS2 games that are completely different, many of which I've procrastinated on playing for literally years. I'm almost turning over a new leaf in a way, but I'm still just playing games for fun. I hope you enjoy whatever you're playing too, because that's really what it's all about.

P.S.: I heart Katamari (I guess you might've seen that coming).

^^ rox.