I know its been quite a while since I have posted a blog, and I felt compelled to put something down, albeit, I don't really have alot to say.

2008 is coming to a close, and I have to say, this has been a pretty great year all 'round. Sure, we're still at war and the economy is taking a nose dive, but 2008 held some pretty great moments. From the Giants amazing Super Bowl win to Michael Phelps unprecedented Olympic performance to the first African American president being elected into office, 2008 had alot of momentous occasions.

But let's be honest, we're all here for one reason, and that's video games, right? 2008 definitely was a great year for the gaming industry as well. We saw the "console war" become more defined, Nintendo continuing to dominate with their casual/family approach, many great games were released on all consoles, the new XBox experience...the list goes on and on. We got to see new installments of to great series in GTA IV and MGS4. Metal Gear was simply amazing, and it felt like a culmination of all the hours I had put into the first three titles, and it all came to a glorious end that had me and my wife both glued to the screen. The final meeting between Snake and Big Boss has to be the greatest moment in video game history (at least for those of us who played all the other titles).

Here we are, at the curtain call of yet another year, and hopefully next year will be just as spectacular. If all the momentum of 2008 carries over, how could it not be? We have Resident Evil 5 showing up next year, so things can only get better, right?

Hope everyone had a great Holiday season, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year.

So for the last few weeks, GameFaqs has been running its annual "Best Videogame Character" event in which users can vote each day for their favorite character. The list originally consisted of around 125 characters, and 4 characters go head to head every day until only one remains. It's been fun, and I cannot wait to see who the winner turns out to be. My issue however, is that I can almost guarantee that it will be a Final Fantasy character...I would put money on Cloud or Sephiroth. While both of those are great characters, the thing that really bugs me is that any FF character always wins its bracket. Today, for instance, Auron is winning. Now Auron is a cool guy with a big sword and a kickin' voice, but c'mon people...best character ever? I don't think so. He is beating Bowser...yeah...the Bowser...and Ryu from Street Fighter. As the title says...I love Final Fantasy, I have played them all since FFII came out for the SNES, but I am not some mindless fanboy who has to vote for a character simply because they were in the series at some point. I really apologize for sounding like a broken record here, but it has just been bugging me for a few days now, and I felt compelled to moan and complain about it. :)

P.S.- This is going to tick alot of people off, but just think about it before you call me crazy, stupid, etc. Sephiroth is not the greatest character ever...he's not even the greatest Final Fantasy villian. He is simply a momma's boy. He is Norman Bates, but on a planet-wide scale. Albeit he looks really frickin' cool, and has a big a$$ sword to boot, but yeah...momma's boy. Kefka could take him any day.

I knew that this quarter was going to break me, and the money has officially begun to drain from my wallet. I have already bought Zelda: Phantom hourglass and paid off Tabula Rasa, although the next day they announced it was getting pushed back. I still have to buy Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, and Hellgate: London...and that's just the one's off the top of my head. So needless to say, I'm going to be broke for the rest of the year.

Why don't studios release games throughout the year instead of going insane at holiday time? I know there have been a few exceptions this year, but all in all, the majority of stellar titles are coming out in the next few months. It really ticks me off that instead of having quality games all year, I am forced to break the bank, and squeeze in the gametime for all of these titles.

Anyway, just thought I would get that off my chest. I know everyone harps about this, but maybe the industry will start paying attention if we keep voicing our concerns.

This is simply to tell everyone to watch "Death Proof". Amazing, amazing movie. I bought it last week, and I have watched it four times already. It is one of Tarantino's best films to date, and I highly recommend it to everyone. I don't want to say too much about it and ruin for anyone, so just go see it. Now I just have to wait for "Terror Planet" to come out. (Also worth seeing is "Knocked Up". Solid comedy by the writer/director of "40 Year Old Virgin".)

Well, today is the day. The day that gamers have been waiting for years to experience. That's right boys and girls, Halo 3 comes out tonight. Now I am sure that noone needs me to tell them this because the news has been plastered on everything from TV commercials to Mountain Dew cans. I personally am not purchasing the game, but that's not really my point here. What I really want to talk about is: A) The ridiculous "ram-it-down-your-throat" advertising campaign. And B) The gross overpricing of "Collector's Edition" game bundles.

First, the advertising. Now I know the "uber elite" Halo fans loved every TV spot, commercial, trailer, and promotion that occurred, but as for me, I got tired of hearing about the game weeks before it was to even be released. I couldn't even go to Burger King without seeing Master Chief's helmed face staring back at me. Please don't get me wrong, I'm glad that video games are starting to get alot more attention from others outside the traditional gaming demographic, but I can say that I will complain the same way about a movie that gets the same amount of ridiculous campaigning, i.e. Spider-Man 3. I don't need burger joints or soft drink cans telling me what games or movies to buy. I can make that decision for myself. My favorite had to be the Wal-Mart ads that boasted the check-out lines dedicated solely to Halo 3. Sure, the idea is great, but do you really need to tell everyone about it during every commercial break? Just put some signs up at the store and let people figure out. Once again, human beings are capable of thinking without a corporation doing it for them. Of course, the best part of the Wal-Mart ads is that the Halo 3 only lanes are not even available at every store...just those in large cities.

Now onto my second topic: "Collector's Edition" game packages. Okay, here we go. My question is, why? Why should I pay extra money for the same game wit a minor fraction of added content usually consisting of a DVD of behind-the-scenes footage that I can watch for free on Gamespot? The answer is simply money. No more and no less. They play up the super-special bonus edition, you fork over ten bucks, you get slightly different box art, and a fifteen minute DVD that you may watch once. Now, I'm a realist, I understand that the video game business is exactly that, and no matter how much we want to believe that it is about the experience or the art it is in fact always about the almighty dollar, and I am fine with that. What I do not understand is why are we not getting something more for our ten dollars. I am already paying an extra ten bucks for 360 and PS3 games, why another ten for a DVD of worthless content. I know there have been a few exceptions that even I have bought (Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XII, and Gears of War to be specific). There are some other games such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted that allowed extra in-game content with the collector's edition, and a few games such as Gears of War offered the sleek metal cases. I am a sucker for the metal cases, and I will occasionally splurge to have them. (I have a three year old daughter, so every ounce of prevention is worth it.) It just gets under my skin that every game that comes out seems to have some sort of collector's package, whether it deserves it or not. The one that really blew my mind was the Legendary Halo 3 package. Once again, this is geared towards the hardcore Halo fans, and I completely understand that noone is forcing anyone to purchase it, but 120 dollars is a crazy amount of cash to plop down on a single game and a tiny (probably plastic...I could be wrong) replica of Master Chief's helmet. Basically for the price of two games, you can be the proud owner of helmet that would more than likely retail for twenty dollars if it was sold separately. There is, of course, the argument that it is a collector's item and will be worth alot of money down the road, and that is true...if you don't open it, and I know maybe one in twenty of the people who buy it will leave it sealed. I just hate to see such blatant price gouging invading the industry, but as I said, it is a business.

I hope all the Halo 3 fans enjoy the game, it definitely looks great, and the reviews are nothing but positive. I will be checking it out soon, but who knows when Blockbuster will have an available copy. :)

So today I was reading the news articles here on Gamespot, and found something completely asinine. It wasn't contained in any of the articles themselves, but in the comments, or I should say, in the number of comments. Two stories in particular I will use as examples. One was concerning the injunction in the Oklahoma gaming law. A judge declared that it is unconstitutional to ban the sale of violent games, which is a huge step for all gamers and developers alike. However, there was also a story in which a study predicts that the 360 will end up last in the console race. Here's the sad part. The article concerning the law in Oklahoma had 70 comments, whereas the other article had 570. Basically, the article concerning events that could have shook the video game industry to the core warranted less attention than the story concerning which console is better than the other supposedly. Now my last blog was all about the "Console Wars", so I won't harp on that all over again. What I'm saying is instead of spending so much energy bickering about what some report from a third party says, concentrate the attention on real issues so we can continue to enjoy the games we love so much.

I want to start out my first blog by going on record and saying that I choose no allegience in the so-called "console wars". I may have a preferred system, but I will never try to debate how great said system is, and why everyone else is wrong for saying otherwise. The fact of the matter is that everyone has different tastes and preferances...'different strokes' as they say.

The most rediculous part about all the "fanboys" who zealously boast their preferred system is that none of them get any money or kickbacks from the companies, nor do they see any percentage of profits made, so why is it so important that everyone play the system that they choose. I guess it's akin to the political parties and the way democrats always say republicans are wrong and vice-versa. I imagine most of it boils down to human insecurity and the need to feel that we are somehow better than others...regardless of how ridiculous the claim is, or how irrelevent the topic is.

Here is my solution. Play whatever system you want...hell, play all three. Play what you like and don't worry what everyone else is doing. If you are the only person in the world playing the PS3 and you enjoy, then good for you...continue playing it. You don't, however, need to go on some sort of crusade trying to convert people to your system like you are a missionary for Christ.

You will never hear me bash someone for the game or system they are playing. Occasionally, I will question why people pay $50 dollars every year for Madden when it is just the same game time and time again, but I don't go on message boards and ridicule those who do so.

I guess tthat's that. I know that this will, in no way, stop the bickering that is so prevailent on the boards, but I can say I tried. We all know the only thing that can stop the current "console war" is when the next generation of consoles release and we get to start all over again.