I can't believe it. I thought I was done with Gamespot. I left in early 2008 believing leaving this site behind was the right thing to do and that the site would go up in flames for destroying it's own integrity. Giantbomb became my only video game website and I was happy for it. Today, after finding out GB was coming back here and hearing Jeff being talk candidly about being fired, I decided to get my old account back. Man, it is like opening a time capsule. I forgot about the photoshopped images and my blog. Reading what your over four years younger self wrote is weird. Giantbomb will still be my main place to be at (Jimbo7676, look me up!) which is odd in a way because I only had a few small blog posts there and I never worked on a blog like I did here nor was I really active in the forums like I was in the Gamespot Live Union. Probably had to do with getting a job and finishing college. Looks like Unions are dead. Darn shame, I wonder if some of the dudes I conversed with are still on here. I'm looking forward to coming back to this site. I feel kind of bad in retrospect for telling people to unsub and leave the site. I know now the editorial staff had their integrity but bad management stole it from them by firing Jeff. I should have known when they made that heart felt goodbye video that they were candid and were as devastated and confused as the rest of us. Those people in management are gone now and Giantbomb has complete control over their own content and the sites will remain separated which is as it should be. I will miss Matt Rorie, Will Smith, and Norman Chan a lot and the rest of the Whiskey crew (Dave is staying with GB though! Woo!). I look forward to all the new shennanigans the GB crew will be able to get up to in a giant office building. Anyway, no one will read this but I posted it anyway. Awesome on Gamespot's part that all my old stuff is still here. This account is nine years old (!). I'M BACK! See yall on the site.

PS: If you do read this and are not a member of giantbomb.com, get on over there already.

It's time to get over it. It's time to get over the little details in video games that put people off of an otherwise good piece of entertainment. I am guilty of it myself but too often have I seen people swear off a good video game because of some minor detail. I know someone who wouldn't play FF XII because he thought it didn't make sense that they had airships and guns but some people still used swords. I pointed out that he had played other final fantasy games that did the exact same thing and he explained by saying "well I was younger then". I see a similar situation in the whole fallout 3 debacle where die hard fans of the old games won't even consider giving the game a chance. I played fallout 1 and 2 and I beat the first one like four times but I am looking forward to fallout 3. I'm just happy the fallout license is being put to use. I see people just filled with anger that they are doing what they are doing with fallout 3. Why are you so angry? I would love for them to make a new fallout using the same game system and especially the complex dialogue trees and the same dark humor of the old games but I realize that what is considered the "main stream audience" wouldn't so much go for that kind of thing. Don't swear off the game just because of this. Another game I can think of is Final Fantasy VIII. This one will be hard for me to explain because of reasons I don't fullyunderstand some people just have an undying hatred for that game. For me it was my second favorite just past VII. I'm not sure if it is theinnovative junctioning system or the fact that monsters level up with youor the romantic elements in the story but some people can't talk about the game without cursing. I can understand someone just not liking the game for whatever reason but why do they act like thegame was trash? Some people just need to try and ignore some of these details in these games.Give it a chance. Keep an open mind.

The key is just to keep an open mind when playing a video game. Don't get any expectations for the game. Yes a game might not be what you wanted it to be but it might be even better in a different way if you give it a chance. Now I'm not saying force yourself to play cruddy games but don't be put off by such simple things. Another example I can think of is Oblivion. Most people see this as a good game in it's own right and it got great reviews but I see people who just can't stand the game because of either the auto monster leveling system (which does suck but it shouldn't make or break your experience) or because it wasn't as complex as the older elder scroll games. Now you have every right to not like a game for what it is but it seems like some people just won't play this otherwise great game because of these details. Another thing that I read recently was where Aaron Thomas said he wouldn't play Zelda on the wii because he had to swing the controller to attack. Now if he just didn't like Zelda then whatever I'd be fine with that but just because of the controller movements? What about the positives like firing arrows and other thrown things? That feels great with the wii controller. Other then what he says about Super Paper Mario and Zelda I agree with what he is saying though, you should read it.

My brother is one of the worst of these kinds of people so I have first hand experience on what it is like for him. He has been playing video games for far longer then I have (he is the one who got me into them) but I've probably beaten over five times more games then him. He has played more games then I have but he'll quit a game half-way for reasons beyond my understanding. He'll quit if he sees a water level coming up.He sold his xbox 360 because he didn't like the picture on his hdtv (looked fine to me). Although it was when the system first came out and he made a small profit. Any number of small details will stop him in the middle of a game. He's the same way with movies. It makes me sad to see someone unable to have a good time and enjoy themselves because of things like this. He's an extreme case but there are many people out there like him. You all know what sort of person I am talking about in this editorial you might be one of them. Once again I'm not telling you to force yourself to play a bad game or anything but when you see something that you don't like in a game or you hear about it on the internet don't just swear the game off. Give it a chance and try not to dwell on whatever that detail is. I bet if you can live with whatever it is that is bugging you about the game that you'll manage to have good experience with it. I don't know maybe these sorts of people can't have a good time even if they try. If so that makes me sad but if you do find yourself doing these kinds of things then just remember to try and keep an open mind.

This is actually a reply to Brendan Sinclair's postin his blog which is titled "The RE5 trailer (Capcom shakes the hornet's nest)". I have modified my reply by taking out the parts where I actually mentioned his blog post and removed a lot of the terrible grammatical errors which plagued that post.

Racism is one of the vaguest concepts that has been bandied about in modern times. Everyone is on their toes about being politically correct and trying not to offend anyone. With such strong racial hatred having been the norm in this countrynot that long ago it is unsurprising that everyone is walking on egg shells. Defining racism or racist actions is where problems arise though. Resident Evil 5 probably has some sort of story where the umbrella virus got unleashed on some African village in some form or another, perhaps through secret medical testing by some foreign branch of umbrella or by some company continuing its work who knows. The fact is within the story it only makes sense that all the zombies are Africans and not a nice happy ethnic blend of different races. However is capcom racist for making the story itself? That's the real question. I'm sure capcom wasn't even thinking of the racist aspects of the game but ignorance is no excuse, in fact it would highlight their insensitivity if the game was blatantly racist. It's hard for me to grasp all the concepts of what is considered racist.

At first glance I thought it was ridiculous that people were freaking out because the game was set in Africa. However now I can see how just the image of a white protagonist killing hordes of African zombies would be disturbing. Despite if the story made sense the action and the image itself seems wrong. In truth if the tables were turned and it was a Black protagonist shooting white zombies there would be no issue. People say things like this and believe the situation absolved and though it is true that there would not be an issue we can't deny our past and that the way white people relate with black people in the United States is a much, much more sensitive issue then the other way around. As much as we'd like that Utopian ideal of racism and hate being equally offensive and wrong in all directions we have yet to achieve such a thing. Our terrible past is all too close for such an ideal.

The people at capcom are from Japan and cannot know the depth of sensitivity of the American audience. Racism is a vague thing indeed and is different for everyone. Capcom's ignorance does not excuse them but we must step back and consider the extreme differences of the approach to concept. Japan doesn't have our same embroiled past, and though one would think they would research the response of the American audience it still doesn't change the fact that they are very different from us. The world is a big place and even in this age of the internet and bringing the entire world together the core cultures remain. In short for us (Americans) the game may be offensive but for many other parts of the world it may not. Does that make us "more" or "less" racist? Who knows? Trying to define what is and is not racist is in itself just a statement of your own opinion on the subject (at least when dealing with tentative situations like these). With our past of course Americans are going to be more sensitive about such things. Do we have a right to be upset? Does it make sense that we are upset? Not everyone is going to be offended, and those who weren't can't decide that it isn't offensive. At the same time people who were offended can't decide that is offensive for those who aren't offended. It may seem like I'm saying nothing but what I am saying is no one can decide what is racist or offensive other then yourself.

Activist groups can say it and other people can say it but no one is the racism guru who knows ultimately what should and should not be said. It's all relative; so no matter what people tell you is and is not politically correct or what is and isn't offensive; ultimately no one's opinion but your own matters. Sure this doesn't really apply to extreme situations of outright hate but do people have the right to call capcom racist? Do people have the right to say since people are saying it is racist that they in fact are racist? Opinions matter and fighting for what you believe in matters but don't go thinking your opinion is the defining one. Try to come at from other people's perspective; they have just as much entitlement to their opinions as much as you have to yours. Calling people stupid for what they think or insensitive is not really up to you. You can state your opinion and argue it but know that other people have the same right as you. Arguing and debating is fine but we live in a free country where every opinion should be considered valid. Remember this before you bash someone for what they think.

Well I have been on gamespot for quite awhile and I have been semi-active on the forums (especially in the gamespot live union). However I never got around to making a blog. So here for the first time ever out of sheer boredom is my first ever blog!!!:

I find myself now extremely exhausted after having stayed up all night beating KOTOR II. I recently aquired the game (a little late I know) and I have lost significant amounts of sleep over the past few days because of it. I found the game to be extremely entertaining. I don't really fancy myself a completionist, you won't ever see me shooting for 200.6% in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Finding all the extra stuff in a game like GTA: San Andreas, but you give me an rpg like KOTOR II or Oblivion or Baldur's Gate II that has side quests and lots of story and dialogue to be found I will attempt to do everything humanly possible to complete all the side quests and find every little side story and bits of dialogue. Now I can't really go doing that in Oblivion if I want to keep my sanity (and to a lesser extent Baldur's Gate 2 especially with the Throne of Baal expansion pack), but for the most part when it comes to games that have side quests that involve actual stories and not just hidden power ups I can't help myself. I really enjoy a good story and listening and responding to dialogue. I figure the voice actors and writers put their work in and it wouldn't be nice of me to breeze through the game ignoring all the hard work they put into making the game world bigger and more diverse. KOTOR II had alot of side quests and extra dialogue to be found, the sheer amount of voice acting in that game is amazing. I did every little side quest I could manage to do and talked to everyone who was willing to talk. The thing is I was a light side jedi so even though I did all that there is still a bunch of dialogue and story that I haven't experienced yet. I'm sure I'll eventually play it again as a dark jedi.

In other news I sold my WoW account to my brother for the sum of one hundred dollars. I had a level 70 warlock and had canceled my subscription, he expressed interest in the character and we came to an agreement that I could still get on and pvp and screw around with my friends. A hundred dollars is cheap for a level 70 character but since I know I can still play him anytime I want and I don't have to pay a fee anymore and I was done with that game anyway I think it is a good deal.I am just plain burnt out on that game, my friends still play it though and we use it too keep in contact with each other since we all went to our respective colleges. I just wish WoW would die and go away or better yet be bested by another MMO. Everyone plays WoW but I am done with that game and I desire a new MMO to waste my life away on, but I want that MMO to be a great game that is hugely popular and has a strong supporting company. More then that though I want something new and innovative, that totally changes what the MMO genre can do. I'm asking a lot I know, but as long developers look at WoW and think that they need to make their game similiar because apparently it is what people want I don't seem my dream coming true. I tried City of Heroes but it's not really working out, it is kind of a grind fest and at first the multiple instances was cool but now it is just repetitive and boring. Constant enhancement management can also be frustrating. If anyone actually reads this blog maybe you could suggest an MMO for me. Also I tried Lord of the Rings and I thought it was a good game but it just didn't stick, maybe I'm just burnt out on MMO's period who knows.

Well I rambled for long enough,

Citan76 out.

PS: If anyone actually reads this blog post a comment and you'll make my day.