I don't get angry very often, and I've noticed when I do, its something that sends me near the boiling point. Unlike my fantastic vids that can easily be restarted or simply turned off, people is a WHOLE different subject, yet still within the spectrum of anger. Before the dark days of media exploiting vids as a #1 culprit to poisining young minds intoviolent ways, videogames, especially violent ones were best known as great methods of ventilation.

Not completely hard to believe I hope. Inourvast world we have numerous things that are deemed "proper" stress relievers. Acupuncture andrigorous workouts are a few, even strangely titled stressballs is a popular one.Yet some how vids get the low end of credit insuch a discussion, if hardly any credit. Maybe my unfairand lazy observations are not enough to argue this topic, so I'll do my best to not dragon... point is... my stress reliever isn't even working for my current level of anger :|

No need for rad flags or caution. I got full control and know exactly how to keep myself in line, even if I feel like punching the world in its gut with brass nucks on.

What could be the cause behind such puzzling anger from the hippie who claims to never feel rage? Yea, thats right kids... WOMEN! Or in better respects to the rest of the bunch,one in particular. I'm usually pretty good about keeping my personal life as it should be... personal.
But as I've known this girl for many years, I'm pretty sure she will never see this nor will any of her douche bag friends. All the better for me, because who would have guessed that typing is a major stress reliever for muwah :P Seriously tho, the idea of NOT being able to lose myself in a game on the console or PC is not troublesome... its more of how wickedly rocked I am by this dumb chicks words and ways. I could easily brush them off as nonsense and go back to chainsawing foo's on Gears, but I'm without concentration and timing. I should be ableto fire up Counter-Strike (long time favorite) and win a few rounds... but I can't even bother to use team radio commands because I simply don't care...

All this drama could be chalked up as some gamer guy who really cares for a stupid girl who some how or another said or did something thatgreatlyaffected their realtionship... and his gaming ways. I say... suckit and die! :evil:

Either way you turn it, I'll get over it, and most likely her. I'm just pissed that I was looking foward to gaming and then I'm hit by female BS. Maybe I brought it on myself, but she could have at least waited until I got a few minutes of Prince of Persia before you made the move... some chicks I tell ya... jerks!

My personal anticipation for this game has been long over due. Being a huge fan of the 2k sports series since day one, Visual Concepts has returned to the grid iron with a football game that is not as heavily inspired by its NFL roots, yet offers enough in the area of solid gameplay to garner some attention.
I can't say this is my official review of the game, but it does serve as a major check point for going over all the things I've found so far in this game that simply pisses me off...

character creation - or more like the lack of! Yes, you can setup teams from scratch, even make individual players ranging from gold, silver, to bronze rankings. which in turn means, special abilities is limited to 3, 2 or 1 skill. Since the game has no actual numerical rating system, skills is what distinguishes the stars from the bench warmers. I drooled over the endless possibilities in making entire teams, but that was all shot when I noticed once a player is made, thats it... no improvements or ways to advance rank and skills, nothing left but to watch him play with a stupid name on his jersey :evil: Just in case yer wondering about physcial features, all you get is body details, some facial adjustments and thats a wrap... LAME!

whack season mode - apparently when EA made the NFL deal and 2k discontinued on football, VC and crew just went to sleep on anything innovative like franchise mode from 2k5 football. I played the maxium amount of years in the old football which was a robost 30 years worth of franchise that ranged from awesome drafts of rookies, trades and hussle from the front office, pre-season training and tons of depth chart adjustments. Some laugh when I admit to so much time spent in one game, but it honestly never became tiresome... which is creepy now that I think about it *need a life alert*
I'm half way thru the 16 game season in 2k8 and the only teams you really compete against are pre-made legend rosters which sucks because the only way to judge who is worthy of defeating are teams that have more gold ranking players than others. Computer Ai is on par no doubt, but say if yer rolling with a team (which is limited to 2 gold players at max) and someone vitial gets injured badly...might as well play the game over or look foward to plenty of @ss whoopings later in the season/playoffs :(

graphic issues - right away, for anyone who has played the previous football game (especially as much as me) will instantly recognize a majority of the designs, animations, layouts and so on. In no way did VC air ball on basically revamping an old xbox game for the 360, but they did make slight errors in things that you would imagine easy to fix. For instance, there are tons of new animations for characters on field and they do look cool, yet every now and then penalties are called for stuff like holding or face masking. Strict rules in the world of football, but insanely frusterating when watching replays that show no such injustices... and if you watch closely, its more of a matter in things not linking, connecting, contacting properly or whatever the hell they call it in animation... its funky! Besides often glitches in graphics and character/object clipping, its not something that interferes too much with the overall game.

the small things - no matter what any person says, fan or not... the minute details add up. Commentary thru the game is enjoyable and accurate, especially compared to other football games. But nothing impressive since its mostly the same content they used back from 2k5 :| Tons of stuff can be going down on screen and rarely at times will the audio distort when a player gets blasted hard or catches a massive gang tackle. The new kick function is just plain silly... I'm use to it now after missing numerous easy kicks on and offline, but out of all things they could have revamped or changed, thats one I would of put low on the priority list. 2k Beats is the music provider while in menus and the track selection is pretty decent. Just don't have the volume too loud or you'll likely hear the same song too many times in a 30min time span.

Now that I've wasted plenty of time talking about the game, lets see how I fair against the LA Legends who are packed to the brim with 6 gold players and no losses in the season :?

A lot of people have books, especially me, and in one of those books yer okay with me GameSpot;)

I just soaked in just about everything E3 related thats on the site thus far and man O man does it feel great to be somewhere without actually being there. Not only is it a mighty nice privilege, for free especially, but to know there is so much more in the form of news, updates, demos, dates, pics, vids, and personal insight still coming.
I'd love to be in publication one day, simply because its a field of work that I know I could excel at. Besides being a genuine blabber mouth, I'm always down for keeping up with anything media, so for others to deliever for me... thats respect. Never will I sum it up as "they could do better", but I will stay critical as ever :P

After viewing all the major gaming companies spout their numbers and games to come, I can't really say if I have a particular favorite. Microsoft is the company I've invested the most money into since I've had it from release, which could be blamed partly on XBL. Nintendo really played their cards right by doing things that are safe and very expected of their company. Sony actually pleased me with what they have lined up in games and future plans, yet the leap is still a weary stretch on the wallet.

I could nit-pick at all the lil things like the numerous other gamers sitting on their greasy butts complaining about system wars and what not, but I'm still in awe at how every year during these kinds of events... no matter how many times I've paid witness to them... I still feel like a kid in a candy shop :oops:
Nintendo is bringing the arcade world of gaming to yer home, which is awesome! Sony is finally showcasing the power of their beast machine. And Microsoft is on the safe track in delivering high caliber games and expanding their online service. What could a gamer complain about?! Whoever said it, it was no lie... these coming years are going to be some of the best yet for the gaming industry and gamers alike.

After over-dosing on gameplay footage and reading tons of reviews and previews, my wish list is as follows: Assassins Creed, Jade Raymond, Call of Duty4, Mass Effect, Halo3, Stranglehold, and maybe some stuff for my DS and Wii.

In the mean time, I got some C&C3, APF2k8, The Darkness, and a few XBL games to keep me busy until the new goodies come along. No doubt I'll be online, either on LiVE hamming it up or here at one of the best sites on the web for gaming news and info. Not many places get me stoked enough to say such nerdy things openly, so like the big man Reggie of Nintendo said... I am happy 8)

Okay, all silly talk aside... as a day one adopter and a heavy spender of their products, Microsoft has offically made my sleepless nights a thing of the past. Is this because during their E3 presentation of Assassins Creed, which was hosted by the lovely Jade Raymond, I was in complete awe? Not quite.
Is it due to the massive loads of goodies they have coming to the arcade (which I already spend way too much money on)... close. How about the actual gameplay footage of big name titles like CoD4 and Halo3, that must have won over even the nay-sayers who were clowning on graphics back in the beta. No no... it was confindence!! 8)

Besides all the Halo garbage they will bombard the world with in the coming months, nothing speaks louder volumes than a cast of characters project themselves and their company with a level of pride that money or strict demands cannot immitate. Bill Gates not being around does kind of linger, but the people who spoke said what I needed to hear.
Most of the games that were shown or spoken about are all familiar. Yet, to see the games in motion, like Assassins, was the ticket puncher for me. Could a lot of the titles I was droolling over end up beingstale attempts of something special...

*glance at Mass Effect*

I like to think not.

Speaking of good times, come next week I'll be back in football bliss thanks to 2k finally releasing APF, which if it wants to contend at all with Madden this year... coming out a month ahead of time seems like a good bet ;)I still say charging 40 bucks for a football game that doesn't have the actual NFL hoop-la attached doesn't seem like a bad idea. Hell, Test Drive maybe didn't sell in droves, but racing fans I believe enjoyed what they payed for. Just in case APF ends up being a lil too shallow features and not having enough online to keep muwah busy, 40 bucks would be awesome... but I have NO problem offering money to the people at 2k for a revamped version of my favorite game from years ago :oops:

In the mean time, I have C&C3 keeping me busy, or more like flustered as all hell. Damn missions get so difficult on the harder levels its almost not even fair. But I wouldn't want it anyother way... you can't buy anger like this in a jar...

Seriously, videogames have come a long way in history to where it stands tall now in modern times. Yea, the industry is still being blamed for ill people within society, gamers are still declared dirty low lifes, games themselves are never looked upon with a positive light and so on, so on... bummer...

One major positive I can say without a doubt that you will find more in the world of gaming is people like this...
Jade Raymond - Ubisoft - Assassins Creed :oops:

Not only is this lovely lady working on one of the hottest and most anticapated games of the year, but she is quite the cool character to boot. Not that I know her personally, but there is a pretty good chance that if I did, I'd still find some corn-ball way to boast about her.
With this person in particular, who I think is a complete fox, ladies all around are making their mark known in the world of videogames. You could chalk it up as just another foot note for women equality in a world that is mostly dominated by males and their activities. With one glance around the world, especially in modern day gaming, ladies are really finding their nitch in everything from competitive teams like the Frag Dolls laying the smack down, to creative teams full of diversity in race and especially gender working on all kinds of big name material and properties.

I know this could doom me witha label of pure geekdom, but I like to think Ms. Raymond and most female game enthusist would agree... this is pretty cool stuff!

Tragic assumptions of people who take part in certain activities will always be a flaw within our @ss backwards society, yet every bit of the ice berg that is chipped away reveals more for outsiders to see and understand. Maybe vids are not such a bad thing. Nor are they primarily a thing for children or man-boys who have troubles with girls and hate being connected with the regular world. The world is connecting more than ever with the gaming industry itself, which can lead to nothing but brighter days on the nerd front for all walks of life.

Especially for me and my future ex-wife Jadey-poo :P

I have to admit so that I may sleep well tonight,but I'm one of the few people in Americawho don't really enjoy the 4th of July :? Yea, big whoop, but you'd be surprised how many people, especially the ones who spend a majority of the year complaining about how they hate this country, how that makes no sense. Someone even compared me to the guy who sits in the middle of a strip club and complains about women not being treated fairly... whatever...
Yet for once, in a long time, a holiday really went in my favor, with no hic-ups. Did I blow anything loud and colorful up... not so much. Half the reason I don't like this time of the year is all the dip sticks who spend oodles of money on crap that stinks up the air and sets off alarms.
I like to think I'm not a complete prude in my aging, I just don't fancy the idea of amateurs handling explosives. Maybe when you attend one of those parks where all the pro's put on a massive show for the whole area, yea... those are cool. But I'm already paranoid as it is, so walking thru the streets hearing crap pop off every other night leading up to the holiday and most likely gonna hear it weeks after the day... its just not a super time of the year for the dreski :cry:

Beyond griping, I did have a super holiday today! With no money to my name, plenty of issues with and around my daily life, and no one particularly special to boast about as my WOMAN, I made due with my own agenda.

Some gaming to start the day, afternoon tacos, some football at the park, a few beers to chill, hit a lap aroundthe social circut, catch up with some old friends, network, a few more drinks, dinner at Red Lobster, a bit of (professional) fireworks, another viewing of Transformers, a bit of CS to wrap the gaming fix, and now I plan on watching some Guyver.

Yea... :roll: the day was in my full control and not one thing went out of place... besides the @ss who flew out the alley without looking and almost ruined my day, all was well.
Now that the R&R has been fully appreciated, back to the grind. I got this job oppertunity a friend suggestedfor me, so I'm definently gonnakeep my fingers crossed for that working out. If not, got to still clock in at 6:30 and hope that I can at least make a stop by the comic shop before my evening torture. I'd like to say something heart felt and caring for others concerning the holiday, but I really don't care. People were having nothing but good times every year and had no problem always reminding me things could be worse. So finally the tables are turned and with little spite I say with a grin on my face, I had a good time this year... what about you?!

After my friend had a brief conversation with me about how much he thought Lost Planet sucked, we kind of went off on a tangent about what kinds of great games such a company as Capcom has produced over the years. And no doubt, the list is mighty hefty!!
Everything from gaming legends like Megaman, all the way to new titles that are legends in the making, like Resident Evil. This company seems to be fueled by nothing but pure awesom'ness. I use to trip about how cool the artists who did the profile pics for characters in Street Fighter, and to see that immense level of detail and fresh new sty.le find its way into new stuff like Viewtiful Joe and Okami, you begin to wonder if Capcom literally farms their own super talent children :P

With so many gamers going bonkers about what system is better or what company is worth the money and attention, I can't help but scratch my head and think... "to hell with who has the petty spotlight, I want to pay respects to the humble provider who quietly delivers time and time again!"
Besides someone like Capcom, who has been around since day one entertaining on every level: arcade, handheld, 8bit, 16bit, 32, 64, 128, and now next gen. Who else could you really say is STILL around doing the damn thang... KONAMI!!

Basically, Konami has been around just as long as good ol' Cap, and has just as much street cred as the other big dog, which says a lot for both companies. Respect, honor, proper staffing, good marketing, worthy titles, and best yet they seem to never fuss about who is doing better than the other. I can't say that mind set applies to all who adore these media giants, but the equallity that you find coming out of these good people reminds me a lot of sportsmanship. After a long day proving yer worth, if one team comes out on top after you gave what felt like your all... you can't help but wanna shake that hand and say "good job!"
In entertainment, thats what I feel is the drive to strive.

You guys started with Megaman, we did Castlevania. People loved what you did with Resident Evil, so check out our take in Silent Hill. Dead Rising is the future, but Metal Gear is still kicking. So on and so on :roll:

Gametrailers.com - VS segment

After watching that lil tid bit, and chit chatting with numerous gamers where some desire a defined "winner", and others simply love variety (like myself). To choose which company is better is like declaring your favorite child, totally not fair. I honestly can't vote on which is better and I don't really feel like there has to be a defined "better" company when in reality, both are doing exactly what they should be... creating amazing game experiences ;)

Ever since I began my silly adventures into the wide world of the web, I found what felt like a digital sanctuary. A place where I could express my views and personal thoughts without public scorn. My home away from home, until the faithful day I came across the masses who took full advantage of free video uploads.
In no way am I trying to claim a certain group as the single culprit, never would I desire to stoop to such a petty level. Yet, I do have a bone to pick with the media mongrels who capitalize on the numerous people out in this fine world of ours who allow free expression to the unhindered max.

Maybe... just maybe, all the data that circulates on the massive web could for once be considered a bunch of usefull crap :roll: Instead, we have tons of websites such as YouTube, free memberships to countless places that allow for pics and video uploads within a certain amount, but of anything the user desires. Is this the high brow pish-posh attitude I carry towards freedom of expression, far from it. Plenty of observation and a sour taste in my mouth tells me otherwise... look at modern television!

We live in a world where programs like Jerry Springer, get more viewer attention than political associated content. Yes, both are a not so funny joke, but one has to actually do with a country's future while the other makes a spectacle of it. This is not my best example, nor is it one meant to move people into different ways of living or thinking. Simply observe... if a clothing maker decides to manufacture jeans for a reasonably high price that appear worn and torn, and people actully buy them. What does that say to the group that really does have real clothing? How does this affect fashion as a whole? Who is really making profit, the maker or the buyer? Why is there even profit in such a meaningless use of resources? Why even ask why?

Well... because its annoying :|

I could easily turn a blind eye to all the facets of life that are being overly indulged, dangerously exposed, blatantly used, and shrugg my shoulders at something that I apparently can't change even if I felt like it. But attention is a wonderous thing to pay mind to. And with that, if any ever feel the urge to complain, do so, but stay righteous in such a quest. You never want to come off as the one who kills the vibe or flattens the buzz.
I really had something I was trying to say in all this nonsense, but my lunch time hunger is getting the best of me. What I really wanted to express was the internet is full of crap! Pornography, voyeurism, pop ups, bad advertising, bulk mail, girls that are really guys, and my near and dear favorite... video bloggers :evil:

We are all good people deep down inside, but when you toss that little gum wrapper on the ground even though there is a trashreceptacle only a few feet away, yer not helping the solution. Next time you chuckle about the free whatever something you have the "right" to post on the internet, just think about it. No need to morph your life into a cause for aiding the handicap children. Just ponder about that little gum wrapper and think who the heck is this really helping. Can value really be found within something priced for free, or does baby stepping towards something that could actually be of worthwhile use seem like too much to ask :question:

I just recently seen some all too revealing gameplay footage that just blew my mind :shock: Simply amazing what FPS's can do when it comes to taking the gamer and giving them an experience that allows them to forget they are playing something. Half-Life was the game that really hooked me on this concept and made me a believer that every FPS has to offer such an experience or its not worth playing.
Other games that got me pumped are All Pro Football 2k8, which had a seriously whoop @ss spread in Game Informer magazine. I'm not toostoked about playing a football game without actual NFL teams, yet my faith in awesome developers like 2k, I'm sure this will turn out better than anything anyone else could do... *coughBlitz cough*

How bout that DiRT game!!
Yea... I'm really inbetween on this one. I had it reserved and everything, money ready to spend and then I find out the online function is basically nonexsistant. LAME!

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom... nuff said!!

As for what I got in my favor right now, my games are my all loving babies. That may come off a bit freaky to anyone who may not know of my horrid condition, but my games are what I spend oodles of time critically squeezing the life out of. Besides my money being a big factor in hitting the pleasure button, my games have to maintain a level of entertaiment and interest that so many actual real life people can not. Please, apply the LAME label now :oops:
I got some movies to watch and no work for the rest of the day, so I might hook up the Xbox Live for a bit, see if anyone is playing something fun, and make a few sandwiches. Hope other people are having a good weekend thus far, if not, hit me up on Live... I might be able to cheer you up by smashing yer face in some Gears :P

Man, being a kid from MN and seeing a great deal of your state teams being the butt of so many lame jokes, it begins to be bothersome. I'm usually good at understanding a team or player who doesn't feel the groove, has an off night, can't make the bigplay, did a little choking in the clutch, its how it goes in the world of competition. For anyone who only knows the position of the fan or spectator to add extra emphasis, they can place blame on just about any stupid thing they can conceive...

I wish I stayed in sports, but insteadI got side tracked with less stressful things. No fault can be placed, simplybeacuse I chose not toblame anyonenor anything for a decision at the time seemed right for me. I didn't like how things were ran in the sports world,and I was only a teen at the time. Maybe I'm sour about abad call the coach made, or I found out the hard way that I wasn't the #1 star, choking in the clutch could mentally scar any player who doesn't have the composure to bounce back... so what is my deal?! Nothing...
Blast into present day, and turn on the TV andwatch a littleSportcenter. WOWSA!! Everything from Terrel Owens media antics, Tiger Woods losing his edge due to age/fatherhood,league officals making VERY questionable calls in big games or situations, the madness... its all crazy, and I can't help but think I could have been apart of that :oops:Guess I'm no better than the people who gander at those celeb magazines.

Besides my dreamy thoughts on what couldhave been. How about the passing NBAbasketball season, current MLB baseball season,and the coming NFL football season.B-ball is notmy best sport (not enough handles to keepup)but I suredo love watching and understanding the play calling and execution. Seems my team the Timberwolves,is hurting simply because they have a super star like Kevin Garn-not, a lack luster bench, and a coaching staff that just isn't doing much besides wearing cheap suits. Harsh opinion or true observation... yea... I hear KG wants a trade and that kind of warms my heart and boilsit at the same time. He may not run the entire team and hasiffygameplay in clutch situations, but the dude hasinfluence! With this, you can either motivateyour team thru example or advice, its not brain surgery.
My Twins are doing what they do, so besides being inconsistent, I got faith they'll make the playoffs in baseball.
Then we have the good ol' once glorious purple people eaters, the Vikings. I love this squad, ever since I was a wee one. The colors, the battle horn, the concept of doing battle like a barbarian on a football field is apretty damn good motto. Yet, over the years, or at least since the 98'season, this team has been a giant snore-fest :cry:No easy feat in expressing such displeasure in my favorite team, but Iforsee a mighty turn around and it may be this coming season. Just think, 98' was a season they had valuable pieces that had to blossum into a mighty cohesive that nearly took them to theSuperBowl. And just in case thats not enough dreamy thinking for ya... a 10 yearwait cycle for theteam to shine once againsounds mighty nice if I must say so myself. As for facts, they have a decent combination of young andveterran players, a coaching staff that is much more familiar with what they got and how they can betterhandle it, future hopes for a new stadium (outdoors, oh yea!!), and a state that is more than willing to fully support them if they put on the goodfight from pre-season to championship.

All this sports ranting is making me hungry.A few scrambledeggs and bacon with wheat toast sounds mighty nice right about now. Since I didn'tfollow thru on buying DiRT when I had the chance, I think its best to continue my time with games I already own, like Test Drive 8)C&C3 is awesome, but I really need to be in the mood to sit down and tweak out on thatkind of game. Possible excuse, or more of a realization that I have plenty of time to enjoy my multitude of new games this summer... never any reason to rush entertainment. Which reminds me, I just got Children of Men and the FOUNTAIN... which one should I watch this afternoon sinceI have the day off from work?? :roll: