Hey guys, I thought I'd keep you posted as I'm going to be compiling a list of my favourite women in games. To clarify, favourite means characters that have amused, inspired, or impressed me, rather than write about a DOA Voleyball jug-a-thon.

To tell you the truth, its hard to make such a list since women are not very prominent in video games, but there are certain characters that have stood out from the scantily clad, bouncing sterotypes, and in the next few days I'll post it in the next blog.

You may not agree with my choices, but lets be fair, its MY choice, and so I expect you to respect my opinions, but primarily I hope to entertain you, since I believe the women I describe are original and fun to read about (and look at, if you really are into that).

Anyways, talk to you all soon, and be sure to check back in the next few days.

Peace

magic_dragon

I got my repaired 360 a few days ago and I'm happy and impressed. It was a very simple procedure, didn't take too long, they repaired my dodgy disk tray free of charge, it sounds smoother than ever, and also got a 1 month free LIVE coupon. Very pleased.

Back to DMC4 then

Guess who got the 3 RROD on their 360? Thats right, me. I've had it for over a year now and up until now it played fantastically, and I have kept it in relatively good condition with plenty of ventilation (although it WAS vertical), then two days ago i came home from lectures to beat the bejeesus out of some demons in Devil May Cry 4 and i got the fuzzy red screen and the 3 red rings.

Its funny how you think that something bad only happens to other people, never you, but this wasn't the case for me, unfortunately. I called Xbox customer support, and despite the 15 minute wait before i talked to a human, the guy i spoke to (from Lima!) was really helpful and it only took around 15 minutes to confirm the problem, my email, and my address, and get him to send me a shipping label. I was anticipating spending an hour on the phone and getting genuinely pi**ed off, but it all went smoothly.

All I can say is, hooray for Peter Moore extending the 3 RROD warranty for 3 years, because my standard warranty finished around a month ago. Now all I have to do is send it and wait...and wait...and wait...

Hopefully I'll get it back in time for Gears 2

I just finished playing the demo and I can say I am very impressed. The fighting style and feel of the game has not changed drastically from the other titles, but it has been polished and looks stunning, especially the Berial fight. The only thing I'm not comfortable with is the controls, but that can be changed. Nero plays similar to Dante and is not as annoying as I once feared.

Download it if you want to try it out, it came today.

Enjoy

Here's a good video that a friend of mine made of the sharks of Crysis.

I take no credit for the video, I just thought you might enjoy seeing it, especially if you like FFVII music. I know I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93wvYdN754o

Wow i created a topic this morning on the news on a man shooting his son over an Xbox 360 incident, and now theres 300+ replies and still going strong. I had no idea gun control was such a sensitive issue...

Here's the topic with the link if you want to discuss it

http://uk.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26143840

Get out, meet your mates, watch a film, or have a few drinks and try and chat up some girls. It's what I do.

Simple.

I made a promise to myself many years back, when i bought the original Blade II for the PS2: never again will I buy another shoddy console version of a blockbuster film. Being the wise gamers that we are (well, some of us), we know to steer clear of Fantastic Four, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Golden Compass on our 360, PS3, DS, or whichever console has the misfortune to be associated with said game.

Granted, there are a few games that stick out as above average, such as LoTR games, King Kong, and Chronicles of Riddick, but these are the exception, and after having played games for more than ten years now, I cannot recall more than a handful of successful games based on a film.

This makes me wonder...how are game designers able to get away with hastily slapping a game together, stick the film logo on, get a few character voiceovers (usually fake) and release it to the general public? Not only that, but to have the game reach no.1 in the sales chart!

The answer, I believe...is the children.

Thats right, the children.

Think about it: a majority of films nowadays seek to appeal to the widest possible audience to get the most profit: first come the adults with films like Bourne Supremacy, and then the children.More and more films are seeking to appeal to kids' sense of wonder and fantasy by creating blockbuster films with a huge cast, impressive CGI effects, and a booting soundtrack which is as shallow as a very small puddle: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass. Kids get swept up in the fantasy of genuinely decent films such as Shreck and Pirates of the Caribbean, and they want more. This is where the gaming market steps in.

Not only can a child watch their favourite film, cried the early film-game tie ins, but star in it too! These kids, after enjoying their McDonalds or BK Happy Meal and getting a toy of Jack Sparrow, Harry Potter, or Lyra, go on to convince their parents to buy the game that everyone else owns.

We, as adults, or at least mature teenagers, are for the most part not impressed with a completely messed up plot, questionable visuals, and more bloody button mashing. Its only through experience that kids begin to realise that the new Golden Compass game isn't as good as the film (which isn't saying much) and save their money to buy great, more appropriate titles like Mario Galaxy and Viva Pinata (it deserves a try, guys!)

Well there you have it. If you have a younger sibling who plans on paying X amount of their parent's hard earned £/$ or whatever...let them play your copy of Mario Galaxy.

(Sorry if I ranted a bit, and maybe I sound like an old moaner, but I'm only 20, honest. )

Reached and surpassed 666 posts...just waiting for a knock on my door.

Just thought I should let folk know that I'm busy studying and taking exams for the next month and a half, so won't be able to come on gamespot much. However, after exams are over I'll be able to put more time into reviews and blogs etc, and will be on LIVE for a while too for anyone who wants a game.

Merry Christmas, Gamespot!

Halo, of course.

I'm getting sick of people saying "Oh no, don't bash Halo 3, you noobs!" on the forums.

Don't get me wrong, Halo is a good game...GOOD, not GREAT.

The graphics (lighting aside) were generic and bland, with only the boss battles, few as they were, to make the game stand out as more than an Xbox game, the weapons were so unbalanced it was ridiculous, the AI is nothing spectacular (especially with your teammates), and the soundtrack was recycled from the previous two titles. Oh, and the multiplayer, fun yeah with all the customization and vehicles, but it gets boring unbelievably fast since everyone always goes for the damn Gravity Hammer or Brute Shot and everything else gets ignored. And don't get me started on the melee system (you know what I'm talking about)

Oh and I forgot to mention: the single player mode is repetitive, drawn out, and plain boring. Also I cannot stand that the resolution is below native 720p, and that when you play co-op you lose the widescreen ability. No other game I can think of has made such basic errors. To be honest, I had more fun watching Master Chief sucks at Halo on youtube. At least THAT was original, memorable, and satisfying.

And there you have it, an honest and justified response to the Halo fan/atics who cannot/will not listen to a voice of reason.

Have we finished the fight now? Let's just move along guys, and wait for a better FPS.

So finally, after constant heckling by Sony fans, the Dualshock rumble feature is finally incorporated into the Sixaxis controller for PS3. Strangely enough, it worked fine for the PS2, yet the 'supposed' reason that it wasn't implemented for the PS3 was because it would interfere with the Sixaxis movements. This, I believe, is either a lame excuse or an outright lie, since the Wii managed to do it fine with the Wiimote, so for Colossal Sony it shouldn't have been a problem, should it?

The real reason was a legal battle between Sony and Immersion, the latter claiming that Sony had, without permission, used the Rumble feature in the previous PS2 console, and therefore sued them. Here is a link if you are interested. (Ignore the old photo of the PS3, the article was written hours ago)

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2199194/sony-bringing-rumble-ps3

Why didn't Sony settle all this earlier, before deciding to release the PS3? I for one looked forward to the PS3 with rumble, since nothing is more satisfying than shooting someone in the head, crashing a car, or feel explosions in your very hands. Although the Sixaxis movement sensor is quite clever and a step forward for the Playstation, it still needs alot of improvement when it comes to playing games (Heres looking at you, Lair)

Yes this is a rant, but i feel it is justified, as only months ago i wanted a PS3 badly (i loved my PS2) but this is one of many factors that stopped me doing so. Come back for more soon for why i turned from Sony to 360. Am i a 360 fanboy? Maybe, yet i often find faults with it, but what is true that Sony has really disappointed me, and countless others, in how it has been handling this round of the console wars.

Thanks for reading