Well, well...haven't been round these parts in ages. Is anyone out there? Decided to check out the Halo Reach info...so what's more popular now - Gamespot? Or did everyone flock over to Giant Bomb? I don't check either much these days. A lot's happened since the last time I logged in to Gamespot. Life, mostly. Got married last year, and I have a beautiful wife and two awesome step sons who - when I do get some game time, I play Xbox with. I got a new job as a video producer, which is a lot of fun, and I'm really happy with. Things are good. I'm a family man now, and as my wife jokingly reminds me, my "bachelor days are over." "You had a perfect life," she always jokes. "No responsibilities!" Yes, while unlimited game time was nice every once in a while, I wouldn't trade what I have now for anything. I'm no longer an Xbox fanboy, though if I do play, I still enjoy that console. No, I'm actually an Apple fanboy now. The iPhone makes a perfect portable gaming system for me for those fleeting gaming sessions in the middle of a busy family lifestyle. I even have an iPad, which I'm typing this on right now from the comfort of my couch. I wish I would have been so prophetic as to predict Apple's metoric rise in the gaming space the last time I was signed in to Gamespot. It's clear that traditional console gaming has taken a hit, though, and maybe because my generation is growing up and we're finding that we just don't have time for the 20 hour FPS anymore. Even my stepsons' summer break seems shorter than mine ever was, back to school already... Anyway, I'm looking forward to Halo Reach, and to capturing a few lost minutes of the multiplayer gameplay with people I've never met. Maybe I'll see you online. Even sing a song about a certain pink weapon that no longer sucks ( I take full credit for that, by the way). The name is Super Dave. But you may know me as Archie Gates.

I have perhaps a different perspective on Jeff's firing than most of the regulars here. I used to check Gamespot many times a day to engage in long winded debates but I slowly and quietly found myself not having time.

So when I logged on and saw all hell breaking loose, it seemed to me like a lot of people were jumping ship without really knowing the facts. While there's no shortage of conspiracy theories, the only fact is that we don't know the reason why Jeff was fired. And, while I'm as much a Jeff Gertsmann fan as anyone (I even included a reference to Jeff in my Achievement Unlocked song) that doesn't mean that he's immune from ever making a mistake. I'm not saying that Jeff did anything wrong, only that we don't know why Gamespot did what they did.

I've always been a little naive about people, willing to trust the people I admire most. Lately, that trust has been shaken a bit. The boss of my department at work suddenly resigned one day, and the pretty reliable rumor is that is was because of a sexual allegation. Nobody saw it coming. And I have had close friends recently behave in ways I never would have expected from them.

It's easy to put people we admire, like Jeff, on a pedestal, but we have heard neither Jeff's side or the story nor have we heard Gamespot's reason for firing him. If, hypothetically speaking, Jeff did something really wrong or inappropriate, itis actuallyhonorable of Gamespot for not saying what that was, even though it would be much better for their image to do so.

Now, if Jeff comes out and says, "I got fired for my Kane and Lynch" review, well now we have reason to reconsider Gamespot's editoral integrity. But that hasn't happened.Yet people are still leaving the site that they trusted for years and years without the facts, without even the shred of a benefit of a doubt. Thisis the behaviour of people that are, perhaps, too involved in the minute-to-minute happenings in a website about video games. And it's also pretty insulting to the rest of the editors here who really don't have anything to do with what happened, and yet, are still being treated like criminals by the die hards.

I'll wait to hear Jeff's side of the story. Innocent until proven guilty -- that applies to both Gamespot just as much as it does Jeff.

I've got my latest song up on my website.  This one took two solid weeks, thanks to incorporating like 7 different songs.  The variety of music really pushed my computer to the brink.

This one was really fun to write though.  I just put my iPod on shuffle and eventually I'd hear a song that would be perfect for the medley.

Oh, one more thing.  FREE download!  So grab it and throw it on the iPod.  It's a 192kbps MP3, so big file size, but good quality.  Man, I can't wait until I finally get enough songs for a CD.  The sound quality of the original WAV files is so much better than the Myspace streaming or even the MP3s.  Seriously, I listened to Beautiful Needler the other day and I was so used to the MP3 sound that I was amazed at how good the uncompressed version sounds.

 Have a great weekend everybody!

Then maybe you should head over to ArchieGates.com and download a bunch of songs!

I finished my website, www.archiegates.com so finally all of my songs and videos are accessible in one spot, rather than having to search all over the internet, you tube, myspace, and such for them.  Add it to your favorites.  And while you're there, join the mailing list and you'll be notified as soon as there's a new song available.

Making a website isn't as easy as I thought it would be.  I learned a lot in the process, and I have a lot more to learn.  My site is no Gamespot, but it ain't bad for a beginner!

 

I posted this week's song to my myspace page.  It's called ESRB Notice, and it's about the freaks, jerks, and punks you encounter while playing games online.  Check it out!

 

I have written a new song about games, which you can find on my Archie Gates Myspace page.  The song is called "Achievement Unlocked," and I think it's something many of us can relate to.  I actually think it's going to be a pretty big song, so faithful blog readers, you can say you were among the first to hear it!

This is the first song in what is a much larger scheme of things.  Namely, I'm going to be offering up a new song every week about games and the video game industry.  Any topic that comes to mind will be fair game in this episodic musical commentary.  Think of it as a musical Penny Arcade or Red Vs Blue.  My website is coming along, but for now you should bookmark the Myspace page and check out the songs as they appear there.

I've always loved to write music, but in the past, only my friends would hear my songs.  Then the Needler Song came out and I found a way to merge my love of music with my love of gaming.  I haven't had work at my normal job for many months now, and it was somewhat depressing until I looked at it as an opportunity.  Now is the time to merge my talents and do what I really love to do. 

Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to make these songs.  These aren't parodies, they're completely original melodies, chords, lyrics, and recordings.  The whole process of recording and getting it up to the website can take a long time, so it's basically a full time job for me right now.  That's why I'm making it so you can listen to the songs on the website, but if you want to download it, it costs 99 cents.  I hope that if people get enjoyment out of the music, they'll download a track or two and I can keep making songs.  That's the plan anyway.  I've already got more songs on the way.

 

Anyway, enough talk.  Go listen to Achievement Unlocked! 

I've become addicted to Tapper on XBLA.  The game is seriously fun - probably my favorite classic game, alongside Ms Pac Man.  The online play has really made Tapper shine, though. 

I'd probably be tired and done with the single player arcade game if it wasn't for online leaderboards and online play.  I saw Duskit post a score of 58,000 and I had to beat it.  It took me a long time, but I got to 62,000.  Now I'm just waiting to see if he'll pass me up again.

The online play has proven to be a blast too.  I'm surprisingly good at it....or else other people are bad at it, because my win-loss record is at 26-4 so far.  I've played so much that I know all the strategies and have learned the pattern for when the people appear on the bar.  But every once in a while, it'll surprise you or you'll make a little goof - and that makes it exciting.

The only problem with the game is that as soon as you get to level 7, the game gets pretty much impossible.  I can't for the life of me pass level 7. 

There's a co-op mode too, in which you team up and try to score as high as you can.  I need to get the 80,000 points in co-op achievement, so if anyone sees me online, hit me up for some Tapper co-op!!!

Jon L gave me the heads up that someone made a music video for the song "Beautiful Needler" and it's hilarious.  I think the people who made the video probably put more time into it than I did to make the song.

The video has something like 28,000 views on YouTube, which is pretty insane since the whole thing started out as a little inside joke between a few Halo 2-loving folks here at Gamespot.

Seeing this has me seriously wondering about the star power of this guy known around the internet as "Archie Gates."  Have I misjudged my potential to wreak havoc and cause hilarity across the internet?  Or is this simply my 15 minutes of fame, stretched to 20 thanks to someone's extremely clever machinima creation?

Well, there's only one way to find out: Myspace.  Archie Gates officially has his own Myspace page at myspace.com/archiegatesmusic.  So check it out, add Archie to your friends list or whatever.  Perhaps there will be a new song coming to an iPod near you in the future.  Heck, there's the Wii, the PS3, Halo 3 coming soon....plenty of material out there.