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18Dec 07
I was in Whistler, BC (a very nice village, but nothing unique as Eastern Canada has Mont Tremblant and my native Serbia has Zlatibor) over the weekend and one of the people who went up with us forgot his copy of Call of Duty 4 so I 'borrowed' it. I started playing last night and it absolutely incredible. The graphics, sound, gameplay and everything in between is top-notch. I know that I was saying that BioShock was my pick for Game of the Year, but if I finish C.O.D before I leave for Vegas on Monday, then I might have to change my vote. I still think that BioShock is a unique experience, Call of Duty is also something to talk about.
I've noticed that my level and percentage here on G-Spot has not moved since Last Thursday, yet I've visited the site everyday since then (except for Saturday when I was in Whistler). It's odd that GameSpot continues to have it's problems. I understand that it's the holidays, but now traffic volume will be increased since so many people are on holidays. The problems I face here, I am tempted to shift my blogging to IGN. I don't blog enough, nor do a lot of people read my blogs, so I don't think anyone would really notice. But this is just a rant for now.
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13Dec 07
Chances are since a good chunk of the users on Gamespot are students they'll be using the Holiday Break to play a lot of games. Since it's not my Christmas, I too should be using this time to catch up on all the stuff that has been piling up. I have a stack of games (Resistance, Orange Box, RE4, FFXII, etc...) that need to be beat, I have books, graphic novels and comics that also need to be read (Harry Potter 7, Y: The Last Man, X-Men, etc...).
Will I actually be doing that? Nope, I decided to go to Vegas for the week to see some old friends from my home-town. They're flying from the East-Coast while I'm flying from the West. It will be great, but I so could have used that time wisely. Hopefully I can finish reading Potter before I leave in two weeks, and then I can read something else on the 2 hour flight to Vegas. If not, then the pile will continue to grow.
How I miss being unemployed and living in my parent's basement. Damn this independent life!
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2Dec 07
I find it quite interesting that people are setting up a walk-out on Monday (technically 2.75 hours from now since I live in the PST). I probably will not take part of it; I get bored of at work and sometimes just coming here and reading people'sblogs helps time to go by faster. It's nice that people have a lot of love for Jeff Gerstmann, but I really do not understand what this will do outside of hurting CNET's revenue from people visiting and clicking on the site.
Will it get Jeff's job back, absolutely not. People are talking about Journalistic Integrity but regardless of how effective this 'walk-out' is, Jeff or any person with any bit of pride would never go back to a job after theywere wrongfully fired.How credibile would Jeff be if he came back to CNET and Gamespot?People would then be complaining that Jeff only returned because CNET offered him a boat-load of money and essentially sold-out.
If people really want to make a difference, you should be appealing to other videogame sites (eg. Gamepro, IGN, 1up, etc..) to hire Mr. Gerstmann or continuing the cancelation of Total Access accounts and slowly tricking to other sites (IGN would probably love your money). It will be impossible for him to work for another company until December 2008 (if CNET made him sign any contracts preventing him from working for a competitor) but at least knowing that he would still continue to work atsomething he loves, then that should matter most. Who knows, maybe this opens the door for him to venture into different avenues (G4 TV, any other electronic network or even going to Print magazines, since both these forms of the media wouldn't be considered competition to a videogame web-site).
Believe it or not, the Jeff era is done at Gamespot.While it sucks, especially since he was the face of Gamespot for so long, but change was bound to happen and now we all must move on. Jeff wasn't going to stay at Gamespot forever so let's just move on, voice our displeasure, but realize that at the end of the day, Jeff will always be on the site, even if he doesn't work here anymore.
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30Nov 07
Being Serbian and living in Canada I love it when I hear the comment 'This is America'. It could be spoken by a real American or in the movies (eg. American Gangster near the end) and everytime I hear it I giggle.
I am mentioning this because of the recent news of Jeff Gerstman's firing due the fact that he voiced his opinion on a game. What is incredible is that a good chunk of us have been modded for writing something that offended someone and now Eidos has been offended to the point that they got a man fired. America, the land of free speech but that freedom is is there for a cost and can be taken away thanks to the all mighty dollar. If Jeff was in fact fired for Eido's threat of pulling funding to Gamespot, not only can Jeff sue both CNET and Eidos (if they are actually involved in the firing) this would put the entire industry in disarray. A company cannot fire you for this reason and that gets me to thinking that Jeff was not fired for the Kane and Lynch review. I think there is an underlying issue and that this Kane and Lynch issue is only acting as a cover-up to distract from the real reason. I could be completely wrong, but at this moment that is the only information we've been given.
Other gaming sites have written controversial reviews, and in fact, we've had plenty of them this month (Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed being the biggest factors), so to fire someone for writing a well-written and factual review does not make sense. Jeff wasn't alone in his view of K&L, so does that mean every gaming site should have staff fired for it. IGN has a promotion with the game and you don't hear anyone losing their job their.
Once we get more information, if we can get more information from this site (highly unlikely as Big Brother is watching), we should be able to get some clarity on the reasons behind the firing. You can be sure there will be some conflicting news until the source (Jeff Gerstmann) actually speaks out. I really hope we get more details because this does not make any sense.
I doubt Jeff reads many of the blogs on this site (very few people actually read my blogs) but I really do wish him the best and hope that he is able to get back into the field.
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27Nov 07
Last night after preparing and eating dinner I sat down and finally got to play The Orange Box. I jumped on the first game that everyone should play, Portal, and in just under 3 hours managed to finish the coolest distraction I have encountered in a long time. Portal is really enjoyable from start to finish. It doesn't really matter about the plot, but the way the game is set up is something really incredible. I'm assuming I took a bit longer to finish the game as I was multitasking, plus I wanted the Terminal Velocity Acheievement, so I think if I sat down and focused my time on it, I could have probably finished it a lot sooner. I only completed the main game, but I would love to try the advanced Portal puzzles and get some achievements. The only gripe I had with the game was I am pretty certain GLaDOS refers to you as a 'He'/Male but you are clearly a 'She'/Female. I don't know if I was just hearing things, but near the end of the game, I thought I heard it refer to you as 'He'. If that wasn't the case, then I really have no complaint. I also envy PC users who will be able to create their own levels; I would love to try my hands on creating a room.
If you're not a big Half-Life fan, I still recommend trying out Portal. It's a great time-waster and while it's not too difficult, it still packs enough of a challenge that when you slove a tricky puzzle you'll be hitting yourself wondering why you didn't think of that sooner.
I also found a pretty cool flash game based on Portal (I found it on another gaming site, but I won't reference it here). It's just as fun, even with it being restricted to 2D.
With Portal out of the way, now I need to start playing Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2. Should be a lot of fun, if only I had the time to spend focused on the games.
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22Nov 07
I don't care what anybody says, when you first hear his voice over the intercom you know you are experiencing something special.
I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question:
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?
No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something
different. I chose the impossible. I chose...Rapture.While I only started playing The Orange box, my vote for Game of the Year is still BioShock.
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21Nov 07
From now until 14:00 PST (22:45 GMT) I will be Finnish in the hopes that my support for the Finnish National Team will result in an upset win over Portugal in Euro 2008 Qualifying. As you probably know (or don't know) I am Serbian and our team is in the same group as Finland and Portugal. Both teams play each other and are currently ahead of Serbia. If Finland beat Portugal and Serbia wins their last two matches it would cause a 3-way tie for 2nd place in our group and in that situation Serbia would qualify for Euro 2008. Even if Serbia was not to qualify, I would love for Finland to qualify becuase they have never qualified for any major tournament (Euro or World Cup) and it's about time that they do.
Chances are slim that Finland will win in Portugal but at least I can dream...not to mention, we Serbia need to beat Poland today in Belgrade, but with Poland having nothing to play for, we should get 3 points.
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19Nov 07
I'm talking about reviews and not game exclusives. I've noticed recently that Gamespot has been a bit behind the rest of the InterWeb when it comes to their reviews. Some major gaming sites have already released reviews for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Rock Band and Mass Effect, while Gamespot has not. When Assassin's Creed was reviewed, it came out at the same time as everyone else and the same with Guitar Hero III and Halo 3. I can't think of a game (console) that was exclusively reviewed by Gamespot before the rest in recent memory. Even when Heavenly Sword was released it was reviewed by other sites before Gamespot gave it's score. Sometimes the delay is a day or two, other times it's a week or so (in the case of Uncharted)
I understand that Game Publishers are like Game Developers and they often try to offer exclusive rights to certain games in exchange for favorable reviews. I listened once on an IGN Podcast where they mentioned that a Game Developer was willing to give the site exclusive rights to first review and bonus content if they made sure the game scored at least a 7.5 or something along those lines. They couldn't promise them that, so they reviewed it at the same time as everyone else. There are usually embargos to prevent leaked information but if a site is lagging behind, is there another reason?
I know a site like GameSpy tends to review their games later because they also take into consideration the online aspect of a game and always wait for them to experience it with regular gamers before dropping their final review. They managed to review Mass Effect this morning and Uncharted last week while Gamespot has yet to publish their view on the games.
Does this mean that Gamespot doesn't have a favorable review for these games? I doubt it. They reviewed Heavenly Sword later than other sites and they gave it a higher score than some (eg. IGN). The next question mark was, are they understaffed? I doubt that since they would more than likely give their top guys the duty of reviewing Mass Effect and Drake's Fortune (either Alex or Jeff). Also, apparently Drake's Fortune is not a long game, so a day or two should be enough to finish the game and to write a concise review. I'd understand if Mass Effect is taking a bit longer to review, but they got the game a few weeks ago, so there was time to write a review.
The only other explanation for delaying a review is for the sole reason why you'd get an exclusive, to stand out. People take notice in this situation: 'Why hasn't Gamespot reviewed our game?' 'Do they think it's bad?' It builds more hype for the site and when the review finally comes out, while it might be behind the rest, it gets focus since it's not clogged in with the other reviews. If people do actually wait to read reviews of a game before purchasing it (like myself) this wait does extend our decision process, but it also allows us to read the review with some background and then a decision can be made and the choice of spending the cash can happen.
The excuses for why a site reviews or doesn't review a big-name title could be numerous. I already mentioned a few and there are a couple more (eg. prepping the Video Review, having someone else on staff re-evaluate the review to confirm the initial score, etc...) I do find it kind of fun coming to Gamespot to find out if they've reviewed a certain game. With IGN giving Mass Effect a 9.4, I'm waiting to hear/see what Gamespot does, thus making the joys of being a gamer even more thrilling.
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14Nov 07
In the past 24 hours we gamers have gotten hit with a boat load of videogame reviews. Not just on this site, but on a few of the major gaming sites have shot out their reviews of the big titles for this month. We got reviews for:
Assassin's Creed - where GameSpot loved it but other sites liked it, making it one of the biggest mixed-reviewed games of this year.
Kane and Lynch - the consensus seems to be that this game is ok, but nothing special
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - got a great review score from IGN and should probably get at least an 8.5 from G-Spot (update: Gamespy gave it 4.5/5)
Need For Speed: PS - a game that got the reviews most gamers probably expected = not that good; looks like they can't mimic the success of Most Wanted.
Then you have reviews that are coming later this week including:
Rock Band - some sites have already stated that they plan on reviewing this by Friday. - Although meaningless for me, as we in Canada will not get this title until Catholic Christmas.
Mass Effect - if I'm not mistaken the Embargo on this one is lifted on Saturday or Sunday, so most sites will have it posted for Monday (if not this weekend).
Not to mention the review of Super Mario Galaxy from Friday and Call of Duty 4 from early on last week (Update: I also completely forgot about the Crysis review which will probably win PC Game of the Year).
For those with cash to spend, you're more than likely spending a lot of money on really great titles. At least 3 of the games above are Game of the Year quality and probably outside of Kane and Lynch and Need for Speed, all will probably be nominated for a category or two at the end of the year. If you haven't purchased and/or finished other Grade A games from this year (BioShock, Halo 3, The Orange Box, God of War 2, etc...) then you have a lot of catching up to do.
Once Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving and gain 2 kilos from all the food (we Cdns already had our Thanksgiving weight gain in October), you should start seeing all the talk shift from the games that are coming out to the games that should be awarded the best games of the year. I wrote a few months ago asking which year in gaming was more influencal and successful (comparing the great Videogame boom of 2001 (Halo, Tony Hawk 3, GTAIII, MGS2, etc...) to this year) and it's clear that this year has been more successful with some of the biggest games ever to be released, including what should be some revolutionary games (such as Mass Effect and Rock Band being unique titles). Do not forget that this year was also supposed to have GTAIV and Unreal Tournament (although we all know that scenario), so this year has not been a disapointment for either gamers or the companies that have made these titles.
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12Nov 07
Chances are if you do not follow Soccer/Football you probably did not hear the news about an SS Lazio fan being accidently shot and killed by police as he say in a car. The inicident occured when a group of Lazio fans clashed with Juventus fans and police, in an attempt to disperse the gangs, accidently fired a shot that hit the man sitting in the car. The event has rocked not only Italian Football but the sport in Europe. While some games were played on Sunday, three matches were postponed, two which were connected with the incident (The match Lazio was playing against Inter in Milan, a match in Roma, where Lazio is based and a match between Atalanta v AC Milan where fans essentially forced the match to be abandoned).
This isn't the first tragic event to rock Italy recently. There was a death of a police officer that causeded the cancelation of some matches, there was a death of a coach in the lower divisions when trying to break up a fight. There has been some historically significant events, such as a match a few years ago between AC Milan and Inter Milan that had to be called off when AC's keeper Dida was struck by a flare; then last year Man Utd fans were assaulted by police prior to their match against Roma. Don't forget the match-fixing scandal that over-shadowed Italy's World Cup Win.
The problem occuring in Italy is some-what similar to the problem that England faced in the late 80s where fans clashe in and out of the stadium and then the event at Hillsborough forced the country and the league to re-evaluate the way matches were run and the drastic changes helped make the English League be the best in the world. While the problems between the two countries is similar that if involves fans, the Italian problem is a little bit more difficult since it has a lot of underlying issues connected to them. Unlike in England, Italian clubs have strong ties with politics. Lazio for example were historically known as Fascists since they were the club supported by Mussolini in the 30s and 40s. AC Milan has also a history of being associated with politicans (even today). The hatred between fans is not only based on their dislike of clubs but of ideologies and that hatred can't always be put aside for a truce. Also, the fans (Ultras as they are called) control a large part of the clubs. While they might not own the club, they can control tickets and admissions and with one swipe, the Fans groups can essentially empty a stadium in one easy swoop. The clubs need the revenue and are willing to bend-over and allow for these groups to dictate how the club is run.
In the United States and Canada you rarely have Politcal figures associate themselves with sports teams. You might have the rare case of seeing the US President throw out the first pitch at a Baltimore Orilies match, but he's nota common visitor at matches. You often see the President accept as a gifta jersey from the champion of the previous year (in any sport) but that is more symbolic than anything else. Here in Canada, the current Prime Minister was critisized for attending Ottawa Senators Hockey Matches. While he was in the captial, people tend to hate the city (it is of course my home-town and the club itself, while the most consistent Cdn Hockey Team in the past 10 years is still considering the baby in the family and it's viewed that anyone who doesn't live in the city is only a fan as a bandwaggoner). If politicians had more connection to sports teams (such as ownership) people who begin to question certain things associated with the club (such as getting a new stadium or some extra investment money). In Italy that is a common thing and that is why there are problems there.
The problem is even more visible since both UEFA and FIFA have yet to put pressure on the country to do something about this. Back when England had the Hillsborough disaster action was taken. UEFA had already suspended the English FA from competing in European competitions then thanks to the events of Heysel, Belgium, but has yet to act in where you've had deaths that were avoidable. UEFA has not been afraid to ban or fine smaller nations, especially in Eastern Europe for their problems, but why have they not done anything here. UEFA was already critisized for not taking action in 2006 when AC Milan, who were penalized for being involved in Match Fixing were still allowed to compete in the Champions League, a competition they eventually won. If anything is to be done to help this issue UEFA needs to step in and ban the Italian FA from Club competitions in Europe. That blow will cripple these clubs and will force action to be taken. But since UEFA isn't willing to make the right decision, it won't be until someone else loses their life before action is finally taken
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8Nov 07
Last night (Wednesday) I was working with the media (photographers) at the LA Galaxy v Vancouver Whitecaps Friendly here in Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. Being on the field during the entire match was awesome and it allowed me to meet LA's David Beckham (we shook hands), Landon Donovan and American legend Cobi Jones. The match itself wasn't anything incredible, as it ended in a 0:0 draw; Beck's didn't play particularly well but at least played 72 minutes. The Whitecaps (USL team (technically would be North Amercian 2nd Division)) were the better side outshooting the Galaxy 13-5 and had the best chances in the match with two wide angle close misses and a Penalty that was saved. The Galaxy did not manage a shot until the 50th minute. Unfortunately the media here in Vancouver and most of the press (Canadian Press, AP and Reuters) are talking more about the Streaker and Wedding Proposal rather than the play of the Whitecaps.
As mentioned, Beckham didn't play that well, but he wasn't bad either. He did take 3 corners, and had one long-range free kick, but that was about it. He's fast, but the problem with North American Soccer/Football is that players do not run as much as they should and to not use the oppertunity to play the wings, which is what Becks tries to do. He tries to make through-lobs towards the corners, but his teammates are just not fast enough to get the ball. There was even an instance in the 2nd half when Beckham was trying to signal a player to give me a through ball into space, as Becks was clearly un-marked but the player's lack of skill didn't even attempt at the shot. This was also the first time I saw Landon Donovan play, and considering he is considered the best American soccer player in the world, he's actually not that bad. The guy is tiny (I'm 5'11 and he seemed to be 5'7) but fast; and fights for the ball, which is very important and I think if he's surrounded by better talent, he'd be insane to watch. I was hoping to see his stupid/infamous pre-kick ceremony with penalties but he didn't get that chance.
While Beckham was the main attraction, having worked this season with the Vancouver Whitecaps, the organization saw this as the best oppertunity to show their own product to those who might not follow the club. They are trying to get approval for a new soccer-specific stadium along the waterfront in downtown Vancouver and if fans were happy with what they saw last night, the team should be approved without problem. The cityhas a very large multicultural population so the fans are hear, but they needed to see a quality performance and thankfully the club did what they needed to do and I'm certain the 48,000+ fans last night left with the realization that the Whitecaps can contend against the better sides in North America.
Whatever you've heard positive about Beckham is all true. He is absolutely goregous. I knew from pictures that he was a good-looking chap, but face to face he is the real deal. Also, he's extremely friendly and approachable. During half-time he took time to sign autographs and take pictures with some fans, and even during pre-game and post, walked around to give fans the oppertunity to take pictures. Heck, even I managed to shake hands with him and I was a worker. It's a bit of a disapointment for the rest of the Galaxy as he does take too much attention from the rest of the squad, but he's not the person who wants that attention, but considering who he is there isn't anything he can do about it. Hopefully next season the Beckham hype will die down and he'll be able to play his type of footie and the squad can improve from its horrible season this year. While the MLS isn't the best soccer/football around, it's got a lot of potential and once all the clubs get soccer-specific stadiums the league will be more appealing to sofa-fans.
The Galaxy play on Sunday in Minneapolis then head to Oz for a match against FC Sydney and Wellington in New Zealand. If you live in either of these cities and still have a chance to watch them play you should.
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6Nov 07
Since my last post was Moded (I was asked to remove it since I apparently offended people, although no names were mentioned and I wasn't intending on offending anyone. Alas, we love to offend, but the second we are the offended, we complain like we're Kings/Queens). I was trying to figure out a topic to discuss in my latest blog when I was once again reading through other people's blogs and got my idea.
I've noticed that people have a lot of spare time on their hands. It doesn't really matter about age, it seems as though a good chunk of the users on GameSpot have a lot of free time to play games. I see various posts of people changing topics (this week they're playing Game X, next week they're playing Game Y and are already planning for Game Z). How is this possible? I am 24, I live on my own, I work a full-time job with a clothing company so my time during the week is limited, while I see online people talking about playing so many different games during the week. First off, how the heck do you have all this free time? Even if you're younger and/or in school (high school and/or University/College) and I remember those, even then I didn't have time to play so many games. Further more, if you're not in school, then you must be working, so again, where is the time?
My typical weekday is as such:
- Wake up at 06:00 for work
- Arrive at work at 07:00
- Leave from work at 15:30
- Arrive home at 16:00
- Transfer Podcasts onto my iPod, check the mail, do any quick tasks around my place (eg. Vacuum, Throw Laundry into the machine or Do the Dishes).
- Leave for the Gym at 17:00
- Arrive, Work-Out, hit the Sauna/Steam Room, Shower and head home around 19:30
- Get home, prepare dinner, do any other arrands and then be able to relax for the rest of the evening by 21:00.
That only gives me between 1-3 hours before I go to bed at Midnight to do anything just for me. That could be reading, watching a movie, TV program or sport, or playing a game. I thought this was ok, but when I look at other people, they have even more free time that that to do just about anything. Mind you, I only sleep 6 hours a day (if I'm lucky) so I'm not getting the proper amount of sleep, so I'm going to die young.
If you're in school and playing games, just how the heck are you playing games? First of all, how can you be purchasing games if you're not working? Are mommy and daddy buying you the games you want? If that's the case, lucky you...my mother never let me play video-games. My father was more lax (but he passed away when I was younger). I've had to work since I was 15 to have spending cash, so I know that even as a teen that time was limited as I had to juggle school and working a part-time job. I remember having to sneak into my house the PlayStation I bought back in the day in fear of getting the beats from my mother (Eastern European parenting). A teenager who is working and going to school has absolutely no free time. From the 6-8 hours of school, plus the 3-5 hours of work, you're not left with a lot of extra time. If you're a University student, chances are any other free time you have is used to study, or at least it should be.
I don't know where I stand on this issue. On one side, I envy all those who have nothing to worry about. They can do what they want, when they want and thankfully, your parents who work hard for everything, have given you everything you want/need. If you're the person who goes to school, works and still finds time to enjoy themselves, then again props to you. But if you're one of those people without purpose, you're milking your parents or the system (eg. Welfare) then I'm disapointed. Or maybe I'm just reading this wrong. Maybe people aren't playing as much as I think or that this extra gaming time people have is spent on weekends, which makes more sense.
For me, I've stated my gaming time. If I can find time in the 1-3 hours in the evening, I might be able to play a game, but otherwise I only have the rare moments here and there on the weekends when I'm not running around do social things (like hanging out with friends, watching/playing sports, or trying to flirt with members of the opposite sex). I'd love nothing more than to spend an entire weekend playing a game from start to finish, but it's just not possible and with adult responsiblities, the days of being able to spend all that time playing will never come again...unless I quit my job and milk the system.
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19Oct 07
Considering the amount of time I have spent wandering the pages of Gamespot there was some interesting things I noticed with quite large part of the community. Apparently there are a lot of Gamespot Relationships between users. While it doesn't really surprise me that people are getting together, it's our nature to find a mate but there are a couple of interesting set-ups.
The We-Met on Gamespot Couple
These are gamers who while surfing the unions, news and games end up chatting with each other, find they have a lot in common and now are in a relationship. In this category, the likelihood of the people living in the same city are slim, so this creates that ever-popular, although highly difficult to last long-term relationship. It's nice to have someone you can call 'babe' but how realistic is it that the boyfriend/girlfriend label will last? Outside of the odd video-chat (graphic or not), you probably will not have the chance to see each other face to face and to really have a meaningful relationship. I have noticed that this category is popular with Teens (ages 12-21), the guy being older and the girl usually about 2-4 years younger, so outside of the awkwardness this can sometimes create (a University guy with a High School Gal), the fact that neither are finanically inclined/able to pay for a flight to see the other, it's more likely that these two will cheat and that the other won't know. Odds are that the guy would be the cheater, but he probably will not care; he's got a real girl and a 'cyber' girl on the side and the props from his buddies will increase, especially if the girl is a hottie or a cuttie.
The relationships that do end up lasting are a true testament to human emotions. If you happen to find someone who lives relatively close to you, then you've hit the jackpot.
The My Wife/Girlfriend/Etc (Husband/Boyfriend/Etc) and I are both Gamespot Users
The internet is like a costume party, you can say who you are and it's unlikely people will find out the truth. You could return to the 'we met on Gamespot category' and then put that point into play (you say you're 18, but in actuality you are 35 and soon to appear on an episode of 'To Catch A Predator' ). On Gamespot, reality is far from the norm and you want to enjoy yourself, leave lewde comments and express yourself in ways you wouldn't be able to do so at home or in public. But if you and your significant other is online both of you acting fake lives or reversely showing your true colors then the relationship might turn sour.
Here the issue is do these people really care? If you're on G-Spot, you probably do not care what you say and will act the fool. If you're a guy, you'll post pictures from your latest Cosplay adventure and no one will mind. But what if your significant learns something about you that they maybe shouldn't (you dress up in Cosplay, unknowingly to your wife/husband) or they find out that you're arguing with a 14 year old kid in Britain over best football club in the world (you're a grown man god-damn it). How weird would it be to explain to your lawyer 'My wife wants a divorce because of my use of Gamespot'?
But on the flip side, this could also help the relationship build stronger. You have interests that keep you together and the more time you spend together the more in love you'll be.
The You're profile makes you seem Hot or You Hot and I want to be your Friend Users
Everyone is guilty of this, regardless of sex. You see a picture of the Gamer and you just have to be their friend. You know nothing about them but you assume since they look good in their picture or you've seen a small shot of them you just assume you can woo them with your Halo Chat and they'll want to 'Kiss' 'F**K' and/or 'Marry' you. What is interesting here again is the costume aspect of the internet; how reliable and authentic are the pictures these people post? Or the reverse, you assume the person is attractive until you go deeper in their profile, click their images and then realize he/she a blubber butt, he's a geezer, etc...
There are two (three) ways this relationship goes:
1) The person (the attractive one) realizes you're only adding them as your friend because you think you might score and they reject your friend request
2) They do find you as well intriguing and add you as a friend; you chat a bit, post on each others blogs and a friendship is created...where it ends up is anyone's guess
3) You're so shallow that you'll accept any friend request just so you can get the popular and/or neighbourly emblem on your problem. Or you need friends so desperately that you accept any request to boost your own self-esteem.
The We're just buddies usersThe last category I'll be looking at is the best category since it has nothing to do with members getting their freak on. Here you just have the basic plutonic friendship between people. While there are relationships online in the other categories, for the most part the people you know on Gamespot have no intention on hooking up, but are online just to meet friends to play, talk and read about games,sports, movies, tv, music, etc... You could care less if the people on here are male or female and you would rather have the company of a real significant other in your bed that night. You simply want to complete the co-op mode online and you just need someone to help you out. Or you've created some really cool graphics that you want to show off. Maybe a true friendship or relationship will follow but that's not your concern at the moment.
The best part of the internet is how it has bridged the gap between East and West, North and South and everything in between. We are able to talk to people from all over the world about similar topics and we learn just how small the world really is. As long as you can distinguish the real world to the cyber world, you'll be fine. If you realize that your 'friends' on Gamespot are similar people with similar interests you'll be fine, but if you start depending on them and start working your life around them then there is something seriously wrong. Have fun on Gamespot and but remember the real world is outside and it's waiting for you.
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6Oct 07
Last week when Halo 3 came out I wrote my initial impressions on the Single-Player storyline and how I was disapointed. Because of work and having spent last weekend in Seattle, Washington I only managed to finish the campaign late last night and now I can finally conclude my assessment on the biggest game to come out - I just didn't like it. I don't hate it, but it's just not enough for me.
I already know that I am not alone in this; talk to a few people and you'll find that a good chunk of them also felt the same way. This isn't Sony FanBoys who are trying to undermine the series, these are gamers, especially FPS gamers who just felt that the single player aspect didn't offer enough to those who waited so long for this game. Unlike a lot of people who have time to play for hours on end online, I do not have that luxuryor so I look for games that will satisify me on a 'play by yourself level'. Don't get me wrong, I love multiplayer games, if you look closely at my reviews, I play a lot of sports titles, it's just that I often do not have friends over and when I'm in the mood to play a game, I want to play something that will engage me for 2-3 hours at a time. I need a game that will satisify me for that period of time, hence why I loved games like BioShock and classic games like God of War, Resident Evil 4 and just about any RPG. I have heard that Halo 3's campaign is really enjoyable with a friend, but again, if you don't have the time (or in my case the ability) to play online with a friend, you are stuck. While I know that I would like the single-player a lot more with a friend since the dumb-ass AI wouldn't have such a problem driving the car or shooting the enemy from stupid, impossible angles if I don't have someone either sitting with me in my living room or online, then I can never enjoy this.
I have not written my review for Halo 3 because I do not want to give it my score since I cannot judge the game merely on its weak single-player mode. I recently bought an Xbox Live Gold Card so I can play online, so once I get some multiplayer games under my belt, I will write my final assessment. I strongly feel that my final score of Halo 3 will be around an 8.0; which seems to be a fair score. At this moment, I'd give the single-player a 7/10 since the graphics are good, the sound is incredible, but the weak AI and storyline and the fact that nothing really new was added to the game outside of deployable items (bubble shield). I still feel that had Halo 3 done more in the single-player game, it would truly would be that 'special one'.
Regardless of what I've said here, people have already made up their minds on the game. Those who are Halo fan boys who bought the drinks and spent the money on the Helmet will love the game regardless of what someone else thinks. If you are a peson who doesn't work or study and has hours to waste playing online you'll love this game, but if you buy games to enjoy it on your own then buy BioShock, you won't be disapointed.
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3Oct 07
After loving BioShock and being disapointed still with Halo 3, I am going to hold on buying The Orange Box until I read reviews. I expect good-decent reviews, but I'm more concerned about the graphics upgrade. I played Half Life 2's Xbox version and it was incredible and it looked really nice, so hopefully the fact that we get so many games in one collection will make things all right. That is truly the best value for money.
I really hope the Orange Box does infact come in an Orange box...that would be so cool. All the box would need would be the Half Life Symbol and that would be enough to sell the product to anyone. The box can simply be cardboard and it would be fantastic.
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28Sep 07
I never thought I'd be the person to write a blog complaining about GameSpot but I've noticed that my level here has not changed in a couple of days. I have been stuck on Level 21 Rescue Ranger and at 69.15% complete since about Monday or Tuesday and I have been online and blogging those days, so my level should have moved. I wonder if this is a problem others are facing as well.
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27Sep 07
Since I have such a crush on BioShock every news piece on the game gets my attention. I read this morning on Gamepro's web-site that we could expect to see the game on Wii and PS3 in 2009. In my opinion, I do not see this happening as that is an extremely far date for this game. Even if the game is released on Jan 1st, 2009 that is more than 15 months since it's initial launch on the 360. It is doubtful this rumor is true, I would believe that if a BioShock sequel is created (which is possible) then that would release in 2009 and on multiple consoles. I really hope they don't bother to make a Wii version since most ports from to the Wii have been poor knock offs. While the gameplay would be fun (using the wii remote for shooting and plasmids), I doubt the game would transfer beautifully from HD Graphics to Wii Graphics.
Consider this rumor as false but do expect an annoucement on a BioShock sequel or a spin-off of the game to be announced and then released in 2009.
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26Sep 07
**NO Spoilers**
I think I am probably going to be the first person to say this, but I need to do this...I'm not enjoying Halo 3...so far!
I played the first mission last night and I just wasn't too impressed. I started the game on Heroic because I wanted to experience 'Halo the way it was meant to be played' but unfortunately I found this difficulty to be a bit too difficult for me taste. It wasn't me, it was the stupid AI of the Arbitor who just runs into a fire-fight with the Sword and gets killed instantly. So what is supposed to be a two against an Army ends up being one against an Army; not to mention near the end of the first level, you've got to worry about Snipers, Brutes and a Mo-Fo with the Hammer.
So you're probably thinking, you can't take it on a harder difficulty so you should play it on an easier one; I did, but this time on Normal, the game is too easy. I managed to replay the entire first level in about 15 minutes. Yes, since I just went through it on Heroic it makes it much easier the second time, but I think that I need a middle ground between Normal and Heroic to enjoy this game fully.
The Graphics so far are ok, but nothing ground-breaking, BioShock spoiled me with it's great Art-Direction, so I am judging Halo 3 unfairly there. Also, I've only played one level and of course, it was jungle setting so this assessment is still pending final judgement.
The Sound is great, the same annoying Halo voice-work is there and but the score is to die for. I would have loved if Halo 3 had as a bonus with the game was MP3s of the score.
I really want Halo to be a great game. I need to see how the story ends and having played the first two games, I am going to finish the fight regardless of how I feel about the difficulty. I honestly think that once I complete the game I will find the story to be decent and probably my early view will be changed towards the positive.
So that's it for now, I know I'm only judging this early. I have not tried to play the multiplayer, and even though the game has gotten great reviews from all the major sites, the reason why it's gotten the great reviews is becuase of the multiplayer. I think that once I start fragging online and fooling around with The Forge I will change my ways. But I want the total package and so far I have not gotten that.
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23Sep 07
Only moments ago, I managed to finish BioShock but only managed to get the soft-'bad' ending. The game was absolutely incredible. While there were some graphical hitches here and there, it still had one of the best plots and characters I have played in a long time. I think I might play the game again to obtain some more achievements and to see the good ending, I am glad I finished in time for Tuesday and Halo 3.
As for Halo 3, I am a bit surprised that nearly every major Game Site has rated the game above 95%. I thought the game was expected to do so much that the reviews would be good but with a 'but, not what we expected' associated with. It seems the consensus is that the graphics are decent, but not ground-breaking and the game's storyline (single player) is some-what short but that everything else really stands out. Halo 3 is banking on being the #1 multiplayer game, and that should definitely happen and the 4-player Co-Op over Xbox Live should be really fun.
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19Sep 07
I doubt most people here pay attention to the news, specifically business news, but ometime this week (Thursday more likely) the US Dollar and the CDN Dollar will be 1:1 with the likelihood that the Cdn dollar will be worth more than the US Dollar. What this means is those days of us paying more for any form of entertainment will be gone (for the moment). Canada has always had a higher price for games, dvds, cds, books, magazines, essentially everything imported from the states. Stores will probably still captialize on this by charging us more, but those who have access to the close US border will probably start purchasing these items in the US. Cdns who want to buy Halo 3 Legendary for 159.99 won't have to, they can travel to a US city and buy it for the US price of 129.99 and still have money to spare.
God Bless America!!!
