Hooray for my latest achievement!

Now, as most of you probably already know, reaching the infamous level 30 is the initiation of veteran status. I wouldn't consider myself a vet of the site just yet, however (I've only been around for a little over a year... you be the judge). In my opinion, with so many users in the 30s level now, I'd say it's more like level 35 being veteran status, but that's just my look on things.

But stiill, woot!, right? Big party! OMGzorzWhatThe*Bleepzorizez*BBQSNAPPWND! When I first came to this site, I never would've guessed that some day I'd be on level 30. But still, is that an achievement to be proud of in say, real life? Mmm, I'd like to think otherwise, or at least disagree that being well-known on a site like GameSpot means nothing as to about who you really are. For all we know you could be a... a, well, I'll not say so undiscreetly.

Anyway, one major achievement has marked a huge impact on my GameSpot career. (Un)fortunately, it be this achievement: reaching level 30. Now, I'm willing to bet that these next couple of paragraphs will just fly over the heads of a few people. But unless you favor your friendship with me, it's important that you read on.

It's contemporarily the nicest day of the 2007 year, and I'm sick...

It must be a hangover of Friday the 13th.

The title alone should draw fifty comments.

However, I feel that I've been misinterpreted through the bounty of GameSpot emblems, mostly because of that emblem rant I made quite a while back, and partly because I just think of them as amenities, which has sort of caused the emblem addicts (not naming names, but there's a lot) to turn on me. I've even been dubbed "unworthy" of my job as an officer at The Emblems Union...

To put it in simple words... I like emblems... just not as much as the most people do. This seems to take offence to those who claim they'd do a better job in my position at the union. Well, that's not for you to decide, I'm afraid. I could be the technical manager for all you know.

Let's just say, my negligent decline for taste in emblems has primarily derived from the sudden proliferation of emblems. Emblems to the left! Emblems to the right! I honestly liked it better when emblems were in more of a paucity and were "earned" rather than "gained unfairly". I thoroughly enjoyed the incipience of live feed emblems, but they've grown innumerable and monotonous to my taste. On top of that, "emblem hunting" has become a modern fad for basically everyone on the site, and it's hard to maintain any balance between "cool" emblems and "not so cool" emblems. It's like they pop up like the Bubonic Plague from the mid-1300s.

I haven't received an emblem for a while now. I missed my shot at Scavenator twice, couldn't manage to make avatars cool enough to get the Avatar in a Bottle emblem, and... what was that other one that shortly followed the Best of 2006 emblem? Well, no matter the case, I'm sorta desparate for a new emblem, just to prove the haters that I do care about them. Although I'm not doing it just because of that... I still find emblems intriguing, just not as much as before.

T

Yeah I want a Wii again. Man that was a good marathon.

Damn you, MikeMoose!

However, I figure that if I get both systems simultaneously, I will enjoy and respect them at the same level of quality. Hehe, smart huh?

To do this I'm going to need approximately $1,000 after all of the extra crap like controllers, Xbox Live Gold Membership, and the games especially. Super Paper Mario, Brawl, Assassin's Creed, and... probably Halo 3 (don't worry, all of these games will be out by the time I get both systems, so it all works out) will be the games I'll get to start off. Of course, the premium system comes with Ethernet and a headset, so that saves me some money there. Supposedly it comes with a copy of GRAW as well, but that will probably change by the time I get the console. Yeah, the speculation is huge for me right now. >_>

Then of course Wii Sports will come with the Wii, which should be pretty cool. I might buy two extra controllers, one possibly being a cla$$ic, just because of the Wii's profound multiplayer atmosphere. I keep hearing that there's enough memory in the Wii itself to save files, so I'm not worried about a memory card. I would like some Wii points, however, to delve back into the sweet nostalgia of yesteryear's achievements. Anybody know if getting an online status costs money? I've heard that it's free, but that seems sort of hard to believe.

So yeah, looking at it all it's going to be a $1,000 bundle--maybe a little more. Now, if you're thinking, "Dude, you should be thinking about getting a job for more important things, like a car and college"... Well, let's just say:

1. I'm not stupid.
2. I'm totally not going to blow away all of the money I earn for games (though a fairly huge chunk--35-40% of the earnings I get after this $1000 bundle--might go to games and whatnot).
3. I still have at least 4-5 years in the house still. I got plenty of time.

On a side note, it looks really nice out. I use the linking verb "looks" because the looks are deceiving. It appears to be a normal Spring/Summer day with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky with an uncharacteristically short breeze every so often. Weird thing is, it's 33 degrees. One degree above freezing. No clouds. Hardly any wind. Nothing but sun and rainbows at the end of the road. And yet it's 33 degrees. This is kind of pissing me off because my break ends on Monday and it's supposed to be like this all week: looks nice out but it isn't. What a shame.

T

I made a similar list back at the beginning of the year. A lot of the games I chose have already come out, so I'm doing another, more optimistic list with only five games. After narrowing the selections down, this could very well be my top five most anticipated games of all time.

Number Five
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Release Date: Q4 2007

Synopsis
I've never been able to coap with portable Zelda games. Not the Oracles. Not Link's Awakening. The only portable title I haven't tried is Minish Cap, and, with my strenuous history on portable Zeldas, it probably wouldn't work out any better. But after checking out some recent previews and footage on the new Zelda for DS, I think I can lay my past troubles aside. Phantom Hourglass is the full-fledged sequel to Wind Waker, a game I thourougly enjoyed, and there's more to it than just handed down mechanics and supportive elements from the previous adventure. After all, the stylus is an innovative tool that expresses a game's limits unlike anything else. Unlike other portable Zeldas, Phantom Hourglass will be pitted in a full 3-D scale montage that should make up for the lack of room on a screen as small as the DS portrays. I'd immediately fork over $35 for a game of this magnitude.

Number Four
Super Paper Mario

Release Date: April 9, 2007

Synopsis
Originally developed to be ported to the GameCube, Super Paper Mario made the jump to the next level and will be available for the Wii. Most of you probably know by now that I hated the Paper Mario series. I guess you could say that I'm not a big fan of Mario RPGs, even though almost every Mario game has some sort of RPG aspects. So sue me. However, if you know anything about Super Paper Mario, you'd realize just how different it will be from the two past adventures. This sequel is mostly a 2-D slash 3-D side-scrolling platformer, though it contains some traces of RPG life. One exciting fact about Super Paper Mario is the manipulation of your surroundings. If you've ever played an older Mario game and noticed the backgrounds in the distance--the mountain-top valley landscapes--you'd know what I'm talking about. In Super Paper Mario, you can travel from the front of the screen to the back of the screen instantly, and find yourself on top of those mountains you see in the background. You can also switch from a 2-D perspective to a 3-D perspective instantly. Now that's what I call "free play".

Number Three
Halo 3

Release Date: TBA 2007 (though I've heard rumors of a November release)

Synopsis
Not only has the Halo series become one of the most popular of all time, but it's revolutionary model for first-person shooters is something to ponder. And while Bungie isn't big on developing an assortment of games, you can be sure they're putting a lot of time and effort into a game like Halo 3, a game that anyone would be crazy to not have on their most anticipated list. Just watching that most recent trailer made the hair on my skin stand on end. Although I'm not entirely familiar with the series (I will be eventually, don't worry), I'm definitely looking into this game as one of the premier purchases when I get a 360.

Number Two
Super Smash Bros Brawl

Release Date: TBA 2007

Synopsis
With the most recent addition to the character roster, Fox, it's still a mystery to whether or not the essentials from Melee will be present this time around. We're still missing the basics, like Bowser, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Captain Falcon. Nevertheless, you can bet that Brawl will be a masterpiece in the making. There are still many things to question, such as the $tyle of play. Will we need to use motion-sensing for combat? Maybe the cla$$ic controller will be a requirement? Or could the GameCube controller fill in as the replacement even? One thing's for sure, this will be the most explosive Super Smash Bros game yet, with the addition of Wi-Fi and online play across the earth.

Number One
Assassin's Creed

Release Date: TBA 2007

Synopsis
Assassin's Creed easily claims the number one spot. In fact, I don't think I've ever been hyped over a single game in my life. A game like this is a reason alone to buy a console like the 360. I'm not even kidding. The interaction and visuals are extremely captivating and profound. While I'm not a big fan of Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed is just plain genius. You're an assassin named Altair in the Third Crusade of the 12th century. If there's one thing I love, it's an educational video game with a lack of technology, a lot of brute force, and the asset of sneaking up on your prey. I'm keeping my eyes on the Xbox 360 version, for obvious reasons, and there's no doubt in my mind that this will be the first purchase I make when I get a 360.

T