I'd like to say Gamespot is a place that fosters outside-the-box thinking and contrarian views.

As an open forum for people of all walks, this site is a refuge from adolescent rambling and is the cradleof many an unsung talent. While these folks aren't likely to pen hard-hitting editorials like "Bobby Kotick is Bad, Bad Bad!" or "Paying for Horse Armor Makes Me Sad", they have a spark and a perspective that often transcends.. well... mortal thought.

Perhaps it's jealousy that compells the Jbul's of the world to not look any further; to dig deeper. Perhaps it's just laziness.

I, however, have scoured this site for it's free thinkers. I have gone beyond the norm. I have unearthed folks who could redefine this place - this entire community - if only given the chance.

To wit:

For hard-hitting political satire.

For the next big edgy web comic.

For in depth analysis that exposes the industy's darker side.

For bizarre yet relevant gaming humor from a fresh perspective.

For lulz.

For first hand experience on indie game development.

For enlightening editorials.

For romance and dating insight and advice.

For sports takes.

For adult oriented game-based art.

For 40-something angst mixed with biting social commentary.

For the best blog series featuring a weekly bikini babe.

For daring humor and raw, real life experiences.

For hilarious satire of GS staff and other community members.

This list could go on and on.

And on.

I hate directly calling out another community member, but when it's so clear that this place isn't about conformity or espousing two-foot-putt takes, I just have to say something.

You sir, should be ashamed.

As I've stated elsewhere, the staff and volunteers of this site work overtime to create (and enforce) a "Disney World meets remedial junior high summer camp" kind of vibe. Drop the "13"; It is straight up PG-rated.

No soapbox. No griping. Matter of fact. It is what it is.

The reason I come here is:

- I love this hobby. From the games themselves to the industry as a whole, it interests me.

- It's hard to find anyone with whom to discuss the finer points of this hobby in the "real" world, so therefore...

- ... I like the people I encounter -- more so in the blogs I track, than in the accursed forums.

- All other gaming sites are inferior in how they facilitate expression & interaction through blogs, unions, user reviews and news pieces.

- All other gaming sites are inferior in how they archive info on the games, themselves.

- IGN has it's own thing going and is good for the occasional review, but it has no social flow. Not a whiff.

- GameInformer is bland, boring and random. The magazine is quite good, though.

- 1up is unintuitive to navigate, also bland & boring and seems more cliquish and exclusive than other sites. I truly care not about it's staff and what hi jinx they may be up to.

With this recent redux, for reasons I'll never know, this site has taken a big step toward it's competition in terms of look and feel. It was already unique, had a distinct & intuitive flow, looked good and was light years beyond other sites. Other than to update some technical stuff (I'm guessing), I'm really wondering why they did it.

Before it becomes even more well-plowed territory, I thought I'd chime in on the whole PSN debacle.

Not really meant as an editorial, but rather, a few predictions and a little opinion stroking.

Once it became clear that the theft of info and vitals stats from seventy seven million PSN accounts was indeed fact, I turned my thoughts away from the antisocial, adolescent stereotypes of the hacker world and it dawned on me: This ain't lulz. This is highest bidder stuff. It took on a new kind of evil.

An act that [screws] with commerce - or more importantly interstate and international commerce - on a massive scale goes far beyond thumbing one's nose at a corporation and once someone or some group crosses that line, agencies like the FBI and Interpol are going to get involved. Sure enough, we are hearing the first rumblings of higher authorities stepping in and to be honest, if I were a prominent hacker, I'd be pitching hard drives into whatever local water body was closest and laying very, very low... But of course, I am not and of course, hackers tend to be a brash, haughty bunch who feel they're too smart to ever get caught. They think they're badass. I think they're about to get a lesson in what badass really is.

I think there are going to be some sacrificial lambs on this one. I think houses are going to be turned. I think the FBI is going wipe their collective rear ends with The Constitution. I think the new term for hacker - especially anyone with even loose ties to the so called consortium known as Anonymous - will be "cyber terrorist". And like warlords in Afghanistan and Iraq, we'll never know the names of the ones who cut their deals early, start playing for the "good guys" and turn in their cohorts for cash or immunity. I'm sure things like this are always happening on a smaller scale, but in the face of the biggest identity theft heist -- and the magnitude dawns on me as I type this -- in history, there has to be an proportionately equal reaction by those who uphold the rule of law. And I will note that a wise man once told me that good has always been better at evil than evil could ever hope to be.

This is not going away.

This is bigger than than a bunch of arrested-development and prepubescent video game junkies getting their accounts cracked open. This is a potential billion dollar heist and as a result, I think Sony, it's fans and it's customers have lost some innocence. It's truly amazing to think a billion (trillion?) dollar company like Sony can be naive or innocent, but in this case, I truly think hubris takes a back seat to an utter lack of preparedness and blissful unawareness to the rigors of high-profile existence in the "cyber age".

Regardless of who did this, whether it was some Eastern European group in it to make millions, or it was some kid in a dorm room, I think the gravity of what just happened is (ever like the true core of our beloved passion and hobby) escaping the mainstream.

I think, whether we admit it to ourselves or not -- whether we are fans of Sony or not -- and whatever way we define ourselves as enthusiasts, we are all effected by this and we've crossed, suddenly, from something that was fun and make-believe - totally escapist - into the harsh realities of life in the eat-or-be-eaten, privacy-bereft, modern computer age.

Forgive the ominous title. Couldn't think of anything better on the spur of the moment.

This entry might be bit long, but I promise it'll go quickly and HEY! I read your stuff, so give me a break, 'kay?

I'm turning forty - a milestone age - in early April and I can't help but reflect on friends and family. It's been a somber 2011 and I'm sorry to say I've lost two significant people before I feel the year has even started.

One was (and is) a friend - my brother-in-law's best friend whom I pretty much adored - who departed tragically in late January. By himself, he went fishing in his kayak on a lake in North Carolina. He had gone to a fishing expo the day before and was very excited to try out his new "kit" (as our British friends might say), so he begged off a birthday party for his young daughter's friend and made for his favorite spot on the lake. It was an unseasonably warm day and he stayed out beyond dusk. Apparently on his way in, the kayak capsized and he found himself in 38 degree water, wearing no life vest and over a thousand feet from shore. He yelled out for help, locals called 911 and emergency crews responded immediately. Unfortunately, all the factors combined were too much and my friend perished in the lake.

"Perished in the lake."

Such a tidy way to put it.

He probably did at some point, but I honestly don't ever remember him cursing or speaking ill of anyone. He was an adventurer who had an easy laugh and a way with words. He was a special, loving and innocent soul and the world was better with him in it.

The second loss of 2011 is my great aunt Helen who is significant in many ways, but not the least of which is she was the last of the "Greatest Generation" in my family. My grand mother - her sister and a great, great grandmother(!) at the time of her passing - died last year.

I'm sad, sorry and a little ashamed to say I didn't see her much in her years of decline; she was in and out with her faculties and I never made it a priority to go and visit. As a matter of fact, I thought at length about her the night of her death. I was playing The Darkness or Gears of War (or something) and she popped into my my head. I thought, "Here I am wasting my time with stuff like this and I can't find time for my own blood? What good are you if you can't find time for your own blood kin?" A little rough, I admit, but that's what I thought to myself. I figured that it was time to "sack up" and see her in spite of her condition or whether she'd recognize me or not. I figured I'd call my older brother and we could go together later in the week. The next morning as I walked into the office (I work in the family business) my dad told me flatly that Aunt Helen died the night before. The pangs of regret are strong.

I always joke about the "weak", beleaguered, and submissive women portrayed on Lifetime and in the movies, because, to be frank, I've never seen one. From my mother to my sister to my wife on through to my grand mothers and their contemporaries, the retiring, "wilting flower" type may as well be a unicorn to me: something that exists only in ancient stories and mythology. My Aunt Helen is no exception. Among too many things to remember or list, she was captain of her high school basketball team, recovered from losing her husband in World War II, took flying lessons, and managed the iconic D.C. area restaurants Booeymonger and Roy's Place. If you ever make it Roy's Place in Gaithersburg (and I highly recommend you do) the Bender Schmender is named for her. It's a five-decker described as "Corn beef, turkey, roast pork, chicken liver pate and golden brisket with lettuce tomato, golden sauce and a psychiatric appointment." It is served with the kitchen staff following while clanging pots and pans. What could be more appropriate?

At any rate, I've been wanting to write something about current events, gaming in general, my stupid pets and whatever else comes to mind, but it all seems silly right now.

If Sony ever sees fit to put a second analog stick on a PSP, it would probably be my #1 system.

In the recent past, Sony farted around with PS3 to PSP interactivity and the use of a Dualshock for certain (meaning one, solitary) titles, albeit in that convoluted "Please-buy-$700-worth-of-our-product-to-play-a-PS2-level-game" kind of way. That and they allowed you to connect with your PS3 and actually see your wallpaper and settings... but not actually play anything that couldn't already be played via THE UMD OR DLC YOU ALREADY HAD ON THE DAMNED HAND HELD!

Not to mention the vise versa effect of watching your PS3 vids and checking out your friends list. On a tiny screen. With your PS3 & 42" plasma... you know... two feet away.

Silly and not entirely thought all the way through, but I appreciated the effort.

Well, folks, this changes all of that.

This may even be the beginning of the end for consoles as we know them.

Before all that headiness, though, I fully expect Sony to straighten out the above mentioned nonsense.

I expect to link up with that aforementioned 42" plasma (whenever I get one) and lose not one pixel of resolution. I expect to use a Dualshock 3 while doing so, if I so choose. I expect an end to inferior ports. I expect to play legitimate online games - the ones that don't suck - sitting by a campfire, smoking a cigar. Hell, I expect to play everything sitting by a campfire, smoking a cigar. I expect to give up nothing and gain everything I love about portable systems.

Of course, on the other hand, I expect either waiting for price drops on these games or re-buying old favorites to play on it (what with me being an addict and all) is going to suck, but 'tis a small(ish) price to pay for getting what one wants.

I'm really excited about this.

Seems like Sony finally got it right.

Seattle to win 54-0.

Atlanta to squeak by Green Bay after seven overtimes. Oh, I don't know... 37-34 would be fun.

To see Tom Brady hurled into Bill Belicheat like a 230 lb. spear, resulting in a mini nuclear chain reaction that takes out the entire New England sideline. Yeah. I'm that jealous.

The Pittsburgh and Baltimore team buses collide on the way to Heinz Field, leaving a vast, charred crater where the blight called Pittsburgh once stood. In mourning and due to the magnitude of the "tragedy", both teams are dissolved. All records, merchandise and literature referring to either team is burned and it becomes federal law to never utter the words "Raven" or "Steeler" ever again.

Amen.

Not too much to ask, I think.

Go Seattle. Love that neon green.

Is smart and beautiful.

That is all for now.

Carry on.

They are having a just-after-midnight release party for Black Ops at the Toys R Us where I pre-ordered my copy.

They say the line will start at 10:00, or so.

Because of work and family obligations, I probably won't get there until 11:00 or 11:30, which means I'll probably miss out on a T-shirt.

FML.

[EDIT]

Yeah, I picked me up that copy of Black Ops and I'm going to play it until my eyes melt out my head. By then I should know the maps and weapons by heart, so sound and feel alone should keep my kill ratio from dipping too much.

Y'know, I make up the whole T-shirt thing just to have a little fun with mprezzy's blog and he doesn't even come by to comment.

FML.

I play my PS3 about 90% of the time - it's a friend thing and trophies rock over achievements (sorry) - but I do have a 360 for those special occasions where an exclusive is just too good not to have.

This is an excellent video for and excellent game that really came out of nowhere and was totally off my radar.

This is one facet - really the most basic facet - of what gaming is all about, folks. Especially to those of us who fed quarters into the likes of Donkey Kong, Galaga and Robotron back in our misspent youths.

Enjoy.

Yepper, nothing gets people to NOT read your stuff like serializing it, advertising that fact and leaving it undone for weeks!

So, I've been thinking about the state of our hobby and even though I'm not big on "b***h blogs" (love reading them if they're done right; don't like writing them) a disturbing, insidious trend has developed that I feel is worth pointing out.

Let's go back a little to go forward.

I remember so many years ago I saw a stupid promo on Good Morning America or some such haus frau morning talkie where a bunch of slinky, halter-topped booth babes were crawling all over a black trailer emblazoned with green "X's". There was a lot of commotion, some kind of coronation music and tons of smoke. The rear gate dropped. The smoke cleared. And in the trailer?... was... nothing. I'm guessing it was brain the child of some Madison Avenue douche, you know, probably one of those guys who comes up with tag lines like "Liquid Hydration" for Powerade or thinks that pluralizing with "Z's" will sell product. Anyway, I suppose it was to "sizzle" the new console that Microsoft had in development and, if I have my history right, was still about eighteen months from actually revealing. I suppose the sound and fury, signifying nothing was to keep what was coming in our consciousness until the blessed, blessed day The Halo Machine would grace us all and allow prepubescent rats from all over the globe to spout homophobic, racist insults at us in the privacy of our own homes, during our leisure hours.

I digress in a big, big way to tell that story, but there is a method to the madness: That was the moment I thought - erroneously - I was witnessing the end of PC gaming as we knew it. Maybe entirely.

I figured that a PC world heavy hitter like Microsoft was going to bring more horse power to the machine itself (which it did), make it a multimedia hub (which it kinda did, I guess) and use it's long-standing relationships with PC game developers to bring otherwise impossible-on-a-console titles to the unwashed masses. In other words, I thought the world from then on would be: "Mr. Smith, here is your business and computing machine. Mr. Smith, here is your leisure and gaming machine." Titles like Crimson Skies and Deus Ex: Invisible War were followed by the likes of Jade Empire and Operation Flashpoint: Elite. Stuff that Sony couldn't touch and Nintendo would never entertain. I loved the ease of a pop-in-and-play console interface and appreciated the more complex and beautiful games you could only get with a PC experience. It was the best of both worlds, or so I thought, and a sign of things to come. I thought the beauty of developers like Papyrus would be made clear to a whole new generation and subset of gamers.

Boy was I wrong.

Now, I'm not about to go chapter & verse about EA and Activision and their franchise buy-outs, nor am I going to get into the pervasive, Johnny-come-lately casual element, although both have their place in this trend. I'm simply stating that in the latest console generation - when machines are as powerful as ever and devs have the experience under their belts to get the most out of them - the arcade-like trend of dumbing down sims and removing features is rampant and pandemic... And if it's going in any direction, it's the loyal PC gamer who's now most affected.

I'll give you some franchises, mostly sims: Colin McRae Rally, TOCA: Race Driver, Il-2 Sturmovik, Operation Flashpoint, NASCAR and BattleField. DIRT and GRID are the current names of the first two (enough said). OpFlash saw it's creator, Bohemia Interactive, beat feet half way through the dev cycle as creative control was wrested from them by Codemasters - who own the rights to the name. It's a 'roided up version of GRAW, really, and a game I love to death, but to call by it's venerable PC namesake is a crime and a lie. NASCAR was bought out by EA, arcadized, dwindled in popularity (this is a billion dollar sport, mind you) and was ultimately abandoned after 2008. Il-2 Sturmovik (the worst culprit, IMO) completely abandoned it's sim roots and plays like Heroes over Europe with fancy cockpits. Crimson Skies was/is still better... And it, my friends, is no sim. Battlefield on the console doesn't come close to it's eight year old PC counter parts. It's Call of Duty without the tactile feel in it's weapons, set in huge maps with floaty disembodied vehicles. Go back and play 1942 if you disagree. There's a reason Counter Strike and Red Orchestra are still available at Best Buy, even though they pre-date the current console generation.

So because I'm nudging toward "TL;DR" territory, I'll wrap this up with the point I probably should have said eight paragraphs ago: IS IT REALLY SO FREAKIN' HARD TO BRING THE REAL DEAL TO CONSOLES?

Is it money? Is it dev time? Is it a keyboard thing? Look! I have one attached to my PS3! I'm looking at it right now! All modern systems have USB ports and can run whatever a top end PC will... Maybe not as handsomely, but they can! Are they afraid to tell console RTS fans "Hey! Better get a keyboard & mouse, because it'll play better with them!"? Now, I admit I have the programming skills of a guy whose toaster oven clock still blinks "12:00", but keeping a "hardcore" feature like this alongside a controller option doesn't seem too difficult. Does it? Can't it be a mode like any other? I'm asking.

And who are they listening to? Il-2 Birds of Prey apparently started sim, but testers found it "too hard". Who are these testers? Nunns and house wives? Flashpoint is going all co-op, eliminating PvP and killing the most unique military shooter on consoles while taking a giant (profitable?) leap into MedalofDuty: Ghost Battlefield territory. Isn't that segment, kinda, you know... flooded?

Are they listening to their critics or their fans?

Or their shareholders?

Two out of three, I'm betting.

Guess which.