How about 'em?

This (last?) fall has kinda been kinda weird in that, while there are now more triple-A titles, I've been playing less games. Don't get me wrong, I've taken care of all of the must-plays (for the most part), but 2008's future lineup doesn't really do too much to get me excited for games anymore.

Instead of finally finishing up Mario Galaxy or my however-long I have to go-quest in Mass Effect, I've started to get into more of a "less traditional" gaming diet. Maybe it's the next evolution in casual gaming's eventual dominance, or I'm just part of a huge majority of gamers in that I like my gaming done in bite-sized proportions. Outside of marathon Halo binges, I've never really had the attention span to sit and play a game for hours on end. Games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Everyday Shooter, Super Stardust HD, and of course, Halo have been in a constant cycle recently that I'm having too much fun with to put to an end.

I played about an hour of Mass Effect today, but I realized I get too caught up in all of the sidequests, which typically involve less of the game's (IMO) terrible combat system. I absolutely love the game, the universe, and most of all, the story -- I'll even forgive the happens-too-often framerate dips, but there have been several moments when I just wished the Gears of War-esque cover system was actually more like the Gears of War cover system. I'll finish it eventually, I just don't fell pressured to anytime soon. Unlike many I've never been sold on the whole Bioware/KOTOR vibe that the vast majority of gaming enthusiasts are into.

I've been thinking about relocating or better yet, establishing my own blog, most likely using Wordpress as the foundation. It's not the whole "I'm Boycotting Gamespot" thing, it's more of a "permanent" situation where I can collect and make more writing samples and editorial type articles -- which I want to start doing more of. So keep an eye out for a URL to that.

I haven't really been posting on GameStooge too much anymore -- it may pick back up, but it's hard to get inspired to "work" for free when I know I could be doing better things to further myself.

Even though I hardly ever comment, I actually do read every post that's under my subscriptions, so all of you keep up the good work!

-Devin

Part of this is taken from comments and articles I've already made elsewhere, but here's a condensed version:

It's a strange situation, and we'll likely never know the truth to what actually happened.

Either way, something shady went down, whether from the business or editorial side; frankly, most readers don't like that. It's a shame business as a profit-driven machine has to be so integrated into opinions as a reader-driven machine; with sales trying to land deals with a certain publisher conflicting with editorial review scores, something is bound to go wrong.

We don't all know what is going on behind the scenes, but too many people jump to conclusions that Publisher/Developer pressure has all been a big money hat scandal. If it has been at Gamespot, then why the hostility now from Gerstmann? Several editors stated that the review has to be looked over among each other before it is published; if something was clearly wrong, it wouldn't have been published. The video review was rather slanderous, but firing him two weeks after the fact just to keep company moral up is just cold.

It's certainly not a step in the right direction from Gamespot, whether if it was the review itself that got Gerstmann canned or not. It's understandable that CNET wouldn't want to divulge details on exactly why he was fired, but the current hostility towards the site and looking forward, it's reviews on "AAA games" cannot bode well. It's a shame the rest of the editors who've done a great job so far have to clean up the mess and persevere with the usual charm. It'll be very interesting to see the future of On the Spot and The Hotspot.

I'll be sticking around, but consider my GameSpot Plus account canceled. I know Alex, Brad, Bryan, Aaron, all of the Ryans, and the rest of the crew can continue to make something great, but it's truly the end of an era, here at Gamespot. This site is a large part of what got me into writing; whether in the games industry or outside of it, and I hope it continues to excel at being one of the best sites on the net.

Gamespot needs to take a step backward and assess what really matters: the readers. Forgot ad-driven profits and focus on the readers and restoring integrity to the written review. This is what inspires us to pay the $50 or $20 for a Total Access or Plus account. Don't go out of your way for advertising dollars, make advertisers go out of their way for you.

l

So after checking out a on one of my blog posts*, I decided to check out my "admirer's" own opinions...but this is what I got in turn, which is completely awesome.

I know I haven't been commenting on others' blogs, but I promise I've still been reading them, which (for the most part) have been quality reads...special awards go out to Wootex who has managed to incorpoate the most the best hats-to-blog post count yet.

Now onto the usual game rambling:

I'm one of the few who still haven't played BioShock yet...fortunately my copy arrives this week. I don't know why I waited...

The Call of Duty 4 Beta is addictive for some reason beyond my comprehension. It looks, plays, and feels like a "been there, done that" situation, but leaves me enthralled at it's glory for hours at a time. What's so great?: The reward based gameplay. Filled with mini-achievements such as getting X number of kills with a weapon (which gets you different scopes and camo), and the kill streak awards that let you do air-strikes and summon helicopters fell...rewarding (sorry -- all out of creative words for now).

Like many, I just started college, which seems to be going well. My only regret is scheduling an 8 AM class, which means I need to leave around 6:30 -- not fun.

*http://www.gamespot.com/users/Dgrimes14/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-24881005#last_msg

Not linked because GameSpot's HTML/BBcode seems to think I haven't closed tags...it's the most confusing system I've ever seen.

Not willing to go ahead and miss the next-generation bandwagon I went out and bought a PS3. After feeling fairly biased towards the Xbox 360, I figured if I want to start taking and analyzing games from a critical view I need to be as well versed and cultered as possible with what I'm playing.

Initially one of the many Sony detractors (although not one of the vocal ones) I kept feeding myself countless reasons why the Playstation 3 just wasn't as good as the 360, and why it just wasn't worth buying. Now that I look back on it, after owning one for a few weeks, I'm more relieved to say that the console definitely has it's own distinctive merits.

The XMB, while many may consider it confusing and intimidating at first with the myriad of options, provides a very attractive looking, very clean interface and looks pretty damn cool -- if only to use it as a screensaver.

And maybe it's just my wishful thinking, but connected via HDMI everything just feels a whole lot cleaner and definitely more crisp. Going back to the analog reception the Xbox 360 uses, while things still look as good as ever, text seems slightly more blurry and whatnot.

And the Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo -- hot! I'm not sure how many times I've played it, but June 26 just can't come soon enough. I've never had the oppurtunity to check out the original on the Xbox so I'm definitely amped to see what's in store.

You may notice a few new things since my last picture of my setup in that picture. Namely a new HDTV (27 in. Sceptre 720p blah,blah,blah) and a sweet Wal-Mart TV stand to go along with it -- which I'm completely happy with. Gaming on a small PC monitor, hunched over, just doesn't compare to the experience of sitting back in the couch playing games how they were meant to be played.

I could probably ramble on forever, but you can catch a good bit of my musings at Game Stooge (I know I pimp that site way too often on here) dealing with all the latest news and reviews. I know I haven't been too active in the community, but being a news hound isn't exactly the most time granting thing in the world.

Until next time.....

Dgrimes

Frankenstein cannot truly be appreciated in Guitar Hero, so Watch This

Thank God for the gaming drought.  I'm officially out of money, and have way too many games to play right now.

The current list:

God of War

God of War II

Boom Boom Rocket

Castlevania: SOTN

Doom

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Halo 2

Super Paper Mario

Of those, there's definitely a few that I'm just kinda...done with.  I picked up Castlevania with my free points due to the release hype, and maybe it's just me (and I'm sure it is), but it's just not doing it for me.  I can appreciate that it's a great game, I just don't have the patience for it.  It's old-school good, but old-school, unforgivingly hard too.  Sure, there are those of you who can fly through it, but between learning spells and the Metroid-style exploring, it's hard for me to be a fan.

Doom's nearing the point of me never picking it up again too.  It's a fun game, just a little repetitive, and tough in some parts.

Boom Boom Rocket came out this week, it's not too bad, but man could it use some more songs.  Not only do they all sound similar, there's only 10 of 'em.  It's good fun, and my only other gripe is the achievements are damn hard.  The first few are classic EA-inspired achievements, but getting A's on medium and hard would be a well...achievement.  Guess that's kinda the point, though.

I'm loving God of War right now, it's just that it's hard for me to get excited about an older game.  Its got some great puzzles, excellent boss fights, and a story that's surprisingly good.

Notice how for once, Gears of War isn't in that list?  Yeah, I'm kinda done with it.  Annex is a completely different spin on the multiplayer, but the lack of getting your kill achievements in the mode leaves me uninspired to play it.

So, what's next for multiplayer gaming?  Since the Halo 3 Beta's coming out next month I've decided to sharpen, or in my case, create my skills in Halo 2.  I'm one of the rare breed who had an Xbox, and Halo 2, but barely ever touched the Multiplayer.  Not because of choice, however, I just never had the privilege of having Xbox Live until I got my 360.  It's fun, and it's a little tough to get into, given everybody else's skill level.

Additionally, I plan to pick up the Vista version of Halo 2 to score some of the achievements.  Vista, which I recently put on my laptop is nice, but it's hard not to think it's just a shinier version of XP.

Okay, now the game that inspired me to create this post: Super Paper Mario.  I've never played any of the previous Super Paper Mario games, given that I never had a Gamecube, but from what I hear it's probably a good thing.  To me, turning Mario into a turn-based RPG seems like complete defamation.  Of course, having never played the games, I could be completely wrong.  Now, at least from what I can tell, the game's more platformer than RPG.  You've still got your RPG elements such as buying items, tons of text boxes, parties, and all that good stuff, but the puzzles and gameplay are very reminiscent of Mario old-school 2D days.  Flipping between 2D and 3D is a breeze, and adds a unique element...I just wish the camera were a little better.

That's it for this post!  If you've made it this far, thank you for reading my mindless rambling.  If I haven't been commenting on your blogs, I'm sorry, it's just that my computer/writing time's been taken up by constantly updating GameStooge with all the latest gaming news.  I'm starting to feel the site's really starting to take off, especially with our controversial editorials, and being the first to break several news stories.  If you haven't already, you should check it out, leave some comments, and help us create a community around the site! 

So, what are you guys playing? 

Jaiku!

Let know if you're on board... 

As you may have noticed, I've been kinda busy lately mainly posting stuff over at GameStooge, and playing some games.

I've actually been playing a ton of XBLA games lately, including: Alien Hominid HD, TMNT Arcade, and Worms. All of which are amazingly good. TMNT is such a c l a s s i c and at $5 is a no brainer to pick up, and while Alien Hominid is unforgivingly hard, it's quirky humor and art s t y l e lend itself well. Check out my Alien Hominid HD review here.

Also today, I just put up a GRAW 2 review which you can check out right right here.

I've been meaning to finally play through God of War, and now I may have some time now that I've completed a bunch of games. It's been sitting here for over a year now, and I've yet to pass the first level.

And I still can't find Hotel Dusk: Room 211 for Nintendo DS. Everytime I call they're either sold out, or they just got them in and immediately sold out.

That's about it for now, keep an eye here and GameStooge.com for some more!
P.S.  Why can't we write c l a s s or s t y le on GS blogs?

Wondering who the man behind the Sonic mask was...well here you go...

Check it out at Game Stooge:

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/02/23/stooges-view-crackdown-for-xbox-360/

Or 2old2play:

http://www.2old2play.com/News/Crackdown_for_Xbox_360