Gah, just missed my chance to play Halo Reach, 3 days before it's released.

Stupid cash flow problem.

In other news, I'm currently making my through the suspense thriller, Alan Wake. Despite some dodgy voice acting it is a very solid game with some interesting concepts. The episodic nature of the 'levels' plays out like a TV show, much similar to the eye wateringly visceral racer, 'Split Second', also I haven't used a torch to kill baddies since Luigi's Mansion...and we all know how rubbish that was.

Just to let you guys know that I will be launching my new website soon. It brings my love of video games, photography and drumming into one place and features new content on a daily basis. I'm still working on the hosting but it should be up pretty soon, I'll keep you posted.

I've wanted to bring it all together into a blog/website for a long time and have finally got around to sorting everything out. I intend to start a new project next year so keep checking back for more information on that.

Unfortunately, that means my posts on here will dwindle (more than they have already) as my site is being regularly updated with erm, updates...so check there for new gaming news, views and opinions.

See you on the other side.

I have a new emblem!

At last, all that slaving away has finally paid off as I now have the 'Points Junkie' emblem. I think that means I've spent too much time on my Xbox and neglecting the world. Ah well.

Plus, it was my birthday yesterday.

MAXIMUM WIN.

A new job brings with it many things. New experiences, challenges and obstacles to overcome plus you have to get to know a whole bunch of new people, most of which you'll end up hating by the end of your first week. Alas, I am not here to rant about the social circus of one-upmanship that is my place a work. A new job brings with it only one thing that I care about, a wage.

A wage enables one to live, payment for services rendered and so forth. Yes, but it also means I can finally add some new games to my ageing collection and possibly breathe new life into what once lay quiet and unplayed. So, with that in mind, I headed down to my local Gamestation and here's what I came away with, plus a huge smile on my face of course.

Mirror's Edge £5.00

Having been impressed with Mirror's Edge when I first picked it up at a friend's house a couple of years back and with a price tag at only a fiver, this was an obvious choice. I love the visual style of ME, boasting awesome graphics (and music) even on a standard definition TV. Although short and with many frustrating trial and error segments (including the simply dreadful melee and gunplay elements), the interesting premise of a free-running game kept my attention as I progressed through the levels. Jumping over pipes and swinging from rooftop to rooftop is all good and well on it's own but the real skill and enjoyment of ME can only be fully achieved when these moves are chained together in a fluid sequence known as the 'flow'. It's a FPS, Jim...but not as we know it.

Batman: Arkham Asylum £20.00

Continuing on the theme of games that I had seen a brief glimpse of when it was originally released, here is the newest escapade of our beloved caped crusader as he battles wave after wave of evil villainy...yeah, we've heard it all before, but wait! This time he has cool X-ray vision! Yes, that's right folks. Everybody is here from the Joker to the Scarecrow, and I have to say it's probably the best Batman game I have ever played. That may be due to the fact that it's not a movie tie in, merely a game that makes subtle hints to the hi-tech, brainy superhero we know today, and not the disturbingly camp, bloke with his underpants on the wrong way superhero of old. I haven't given it much of a go yet but at £20 it was a steal and is the newest game in my collection.

Lego Batman/Pure £8.99

Jumping Jack Rabbits, Batman...you're back again! Yes, Robin, but this time in Lego form. It's yet another Lego game tie in which I'm still yet to tackle but hey, who doesn't like Lego? Well, I will if they make a total hash of it here but that remains to be seen. However, I have given Pure a fair old whack these past couple of weeks and I must say it is an absolute hoot. It's a quad bike game, so as the activity in real life is very much a laugh I thought that the game would be a laid back affair with more focus on stunts than actual gameplay. Boy, was I wrong. First of all, this game is pretty difficult. It's safe to say it's the hardest racing game I've ever played. We've come a long way from Gran Turismo where I would just pile into every corner too late and end up winning by knocking everyone else out the way. You can't do this on Pure, everyone seems to be going so much faster than you it can end up frustrating. However, the achievements are aplenty and air on the generous side so I'll forgive it for now. What I absolutely cannot forgive it for is that I'm only just half way through and I don't think I can advance any further due to the difficulty of the other opponents. The tricks are amazing to look at and the presentation on the whole is excellent but I'm afraid that no amount of modding my quad (or 'quadding' as I have just made up) will give me enough skill to get that first place. You make one mistake and your race is over, I just hope next time I do pick it up I have a little more patience...or the race leader has a terrible accident.

Kane and Lynch £4.98

You may think that this is stupid purchase. I mean, it gets pretty much slated in the review (a video review, that I understand has gone down in Gamespot history as a massive turning point for it's fans and contributors alike) so that automatically rings alarm bells. I for one don't like to have anything in my collection, unless it's ridiculously cheap, that has scored less than an 8 on Gamespot. So, why you ask? Simple. My surname is Lynch. So when I saw this on the shelf for less than a couple of pints I knew I had to have because I knew, that at one point in that game one of the characters would make reference to my name and it would make me feel good. Proud to a Lynch. Maybe someone would say 'Nice one, Mr Lynch' after I shot someone in the face. Yeah...that sounds cool. For that split second where I was not just Nick Lynch, a twenty something guy in a cold flat in the UK...I was Mr Lynch, professional ass kicker.

Battlefield: Bad Company £14.98

I've never played a Battlefield game before, although I am quite experienced at the art of First Person Shooters so this was right up my street. I was also on the lookout for a game that wasn't a COD in one incarnation or another, so I welcomed Bad Company, and it's price tag with open arms. When the credits rolled just after the last boss went hurtling towards the ocean in a ball of flames, I sat back and pondered at what had just been revealed before my eyes. For one, I don't think I've played a game that was as funny as Bad Company. The chemistry and banter between the four lead characters is nothing short of hilarious at times, and comedy isn't the first thing that comes into your head when you think of a game based around war, death and shooting people in the face. While it doesn't make light of this, Bad Company doesn't take itself too seriously either. This in turn made it feel more real and in depth than any 'war simulator' that COD could offer me. I felt a sense of camaraderie and gritty realism that you don't get in a lot of games, never mind just FPS's. I felt involved, like one of the guys. Also, it's is the ONLY game which I have enjoyed so much that when those credits had finished rolling, I went straight back in and did it again on the hardest difficulty setting. It takes one hell of a game to do that.

Grand Theft Auto 4: £19.99

18 months ago, everyone was talking about GTAIV. Just like they were all talking about the original in 1997. I was in school at the time, and I remember one of my friends got hold of a copy, even though were were a good 6 years under the recommended age restriction I couldn't believe there was I game I could play were I could drive cars around city streets and commit serious crime without reprieve or remorse. It ushered in a whole new era of games that were more realistic to the seedy underbelly of life. It was the antethesis of everything that my gaming was about. I'd just finished prancing around on Parappa the freakin' Rapper and now I was running down groups of monks so I could get the 'GOURANGA' message in big yellow letters on the screen. Fast forward to today and not much has changed. There is still those elements that remained. The law breaking, the fast cars and even faster women, the drug dealing cartels and the money that goes with them. The plot (which was for a long time distinctly lacking in other GTA games) is now pushed to the forefront and is nothing short of deep and involving if you want to get into it. If you don't, then just enjoy the latest installment in a long line of sandbox games and do whatever the hell you want.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood: £14.99

Another game that hasn't been out too long, here comes Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood riding into town to have a shootout with the sheriff and other cowboy type stuff. You would think that Western games would make a seamless and very popular transition onto the home video game console, just like they did from the silver screen to straight into your living room. However, the games based on the Wild West have been few and far between as of late and have ranged from the downright awful, to just about passable. There was 'Gun' and 'Red Dead Revolver' on the Xbox which the displayed graphics and AI of a baked potato, but even though the gameplay was verging on adequate what let both games down was that they didn't 'feel' like a Western. I didn't feel like I was standing in a circle, going mano-a-mano with my enemy waiting for the bell to ring to see who could be first to draw as the breeze blew the tumbleweed between us. They were, as I was, amazed that no-one had taken something so iconic as the Western and made it into a decent video game. All the elements were there: Guns, gals, deserted towns, Indians, those bits where you go into a Saloon and the music stopped as everybody turned around to stare at you...these were what made Western films so timeless and popular, so why could no-one make them into an enjoyable and immersive gaming experience? The creators of the Call of Juarez series set out to change all this.

Three brothers, two of which are cowboys who deserted their post in the American Civil War, and the other is the only one keeping them from killing each other, a girl...and gold. It may sound cheesy but through excellent and immersive settings, presentation and a long, involving plot line (with some individuality in regards to side quests) you can play was either one brother or the other, bring class elements with each character having different skills and abilities to suit your playing style. Sprinkle in some bullet time and a crazed military leader and you're in for a wild ride. Sure the AI is a bit rubbish at times, but you can forgive that. There are the shootouts from the perspective of your hand as it hovers over your gun so you can time it just right for when that bell rings, you better be the first to pull the trigger or it's game over, muchacho. It's by far the best Western game I've ever played, and a standout among the many FPS's over the years. I wanted a game that mixed the best parts of Back To The Future III and my Year 9 American West class in school. Thoughts of which take me back to my child hood, to simpler times...and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is no exception.

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So, they we are. A mish-mash of discounted and pre-owned games that I'm sure will bring me hours more pleasure as I unfold their many plot twists and meanderings in the oncoming months. Fair to say that I'm going to be quite busy so expect some more regular updates as I progress. One thing is certain though, I don't think I'm ever going to pay full price for a game ever again.

As some of you may or may not know, I've been pretty much obsessed with gamerpoints and the status symbols attached to them. After hitting the fabled 10,000 mark last month, the only thing on my mind has been achievements. And that's bad. I have come to realise that those damn things have become and blessing and a curse.

I used to really enjoy the games that I played. Loved immersing myself into the world at my fingertips and watching the story unfold in front of my unblinking eyes. Occasionally I heard a strange beeping sound and a message appeared in the corner of my screen, 'Achievement unlocked...' it said and with it my tally of points grew larger the more I played. I then began to notice other people had a similar score system...however more often than not, their score was much larger than mine. I felt small. Insignificant.

Upon signing up to Xbox Live I found, to my horror, that I became jealous of these people. I wanted to have more points, more credibility...more awesome. I became more aware of what I was playing in a different sense. I started to concentrate on the games that I already had in my collection so I could get the most out of them and refused to buy anything else until I had maxed them out as well as I could. I read through screen after screen of achievements on the Xbox dashboard and achievement websites like some servant searching for orders from his master. Outrage would follow if those orders were out of my reach. I became a slave to that seemingly insignificant beep-beep sound I had heard all those months ago.

Upon noticing that I was only a couple thousand off 10k, I set a goal within myself to hit it before the end of the month. I imagined that this goal would not only make me look better in the eyes of others (I was appalled at how shallow I had become) but might herald the end to fruitless chase of perfection that is achievement hunting. So I set out on the quest. Checking the dashboard, checking the sites...endlessly updating and searching through my collection for the easiest and quickest to the achievements. I stopped taking in the plot, didn't give a crap about the characters and I sure didn't care if your best mate betrayed you in the final scene. I was on the point of obsession.

I did it, and with hours to spare. And I felt nothing. No elation...I didn't even do a happy dance. I knew that in the big scheme of things I was a grain of sand in comparison to others. If you remember, in my previous posts, I have mentioned 'Stallion83' who is trying to hit 1,000,000 points. Now that IS, an achievement. He's currently just past the 400k mark and the mind boggles as to how he's done it, completing games as fast as I eat peanuts. Even the majority of my friends on Live had beat my score, and they were probably as bothered about it as I was bothered at the new releases on the market. Not a jot.

I recently bought Borderlands, and I thought I could break the stranglehold that achievements have upon my weak and feeble soul and finally enjoy a game. But unfortunately, I was back scrolling through the green screen of death trying to see how I could squeeze the last remaining points out of its frail storyline and unrelatable characters. It didn't help that the plot was almost non existent so I had very little to concentrate on unfortunately. That said, it is a really fun game and one I would recommend.

On the face of it, achievements were, and still are a great idea. They are a great way of extending the life of a game and shows you there's more to a game than just the main plotline. It's also a great tool for developers and game creators as they can really show off certain facets to a title such as how it fares online against others. It's an idea that has since been copied (to varying degrees of success) by Sony for the PS3. Even though it means nothing in the big scheme of things (they don't count as currency on Xbox Live for example), and because of that the only other use for them has been some sort of virtual penis-measurer...it kind of leaves me feeling a bit insignificant.

Achievements are a great idea. It just gets worrying when your Xbox plays YOU more than you play IT.

Oh, and by the way.I promise that this is the last time I will go on about these bloody achievements.

Maybe.

Well, it's been fun girls and boys, hasn't it?

Yes, that's right. I did it. On Sunday 22nd November at about 3:30pm...I hit 10,000 gamerscore...exactly.

First of all, I'd like to thank my good friend Zuriel147 for helping me get some co-operative achievements towards the end and also to xbox360chievements.com for their excellent achievement guides, I couldn't have done it without you two, so thanks.

Hitting the 10,000 mark triggered some interesting emotions. For one, I expected some huge firework display to explode from my console. This never happened. Humph. I must say, even though attaining 10,000 is nothing compared to some of the scores I'd seen I was proud of myself for hitting a goal that I had set myself. I've set loads of goals in the past, but I can't name any that I've hit.

One of the stipulations of my challenge was that I wasn't allowed to add any games to my collection as I was trying to raise my achievement/game ratio abover 50%, which incidentally I failed to do. This made me go through my collection and play some great games that just got better and better the more I delved into them for achievements, I realised that there was much more enjoyment to be had just by digging a little deeper into the game. Try it sometime, it really is worth it.

If there was a negative reactiong to my experience, it's the sense of unfulfillment. I expected to be jumping around my front room but I didn't feel anything much at all. Maybe it's because 10K isn't a high score in the slightest or maybe I now had nothing to aim for anymore. Strangely, I have no interest in adding anything to my collection at least until after Christmas as I've really enjoyed the journey into the exisiting games on my shelf, so I'm going to carry on as before.

The experience has taught me to never give up on a game just because you haven't been able to nail everything the first time round and you might just discover something awesome that was just sitting there, waiting to be found.

Ah well, thanks for all the support.

Here's to 20,000!

As the title suggests, we are in the final stages of my mission to hit 10,000 gamerpoints (or gamerscore, I forget which) as my current score as of today is 9640.

However, the deadline originally set by the powers that be have moved the start date of my new job to a week earlier! So, that leaves me with 360 (a coincidence, but a funny one) to get before 11pm this Sunday night. To remind everyone, here are the stipulations:

1. No new games must be added to the collection (as that reduces the achievement percentage)

2. No campaigns, unless already completed, must be attempted as attention may be detracted from game itself.

Apart from the above two, it's pretty much carte blanche to attain whatever achievement I can, however obviously I'm going to get the ones I can get the easiest. For example, there were 50G's just waiting to be had at the end of Fable II and all I had to add were a couple of saves! It's not all that easy though, as I can't tackle any campaigns, and they are often the ones that yield the most XP.

With the help of Xbox360achievements.com and Trueachievements.com tracking my every move I'm able to see just what I need (and how easy it will be to get it) with just a few clicks.

See you all on the other side!

After my last update regarding the titles I have never 'got' (starting to dislike that word but can't really find a suitable replacement so it's going to have to do for now). I received a reply from a friend of mine who gave it some pretty choice criticism to my opinions.

You've had my opinion, now here's his.

Hype, or a Case of Sour Grapes?

Alas, I have read something pretty alarming, so let's discuss it. There is a mistaken notion that when someone doesn't buy in to the "Hype," they automatically won't 'get' the game. A thought pattern that irrevocably winds up in a disenfranchised tangle of emotion, which ultimately concludes in a slamming of a future, or current ****c.

I am, of course, referring to the above article which discusses, in brief, the notion of "hype" or potentially - retrospective adoration. The author of the article in question is a pretty decent guy, I know him and have spent time with him, he can spell. He washes himself and I'm pretty sure he can wipe his own backside, the downside to him is that he's unfortunately got a habit of cross pollinating concepts, in this case, one of "hype" and one of the afore mentioned "retrospective adoration".

In his gathering of thoughts and observations, he really demands a well balanced response, he's expecting me to insult and abuse him (believe me I will, but I won't smash his opinion publicly in the usual abusive trashy way I do when we're at the pub) I won't do this in this post, that wouldn't be fair and it would devalue what he's said.

He's made a valid point, albeit in a roundabout way, but his point is valid. There is a HUGE amount of hype in modern gaming, hell we're talking about a massive industry raking in more money than the movie business. That is commanding some serious bank my friends. If you look at the actuals with regards to money – a copy of a title may cost a retailer say £20, they sell it on at £40 (on average) there's a ridiculous margin of profit involved here people. A single store may get 100 copies of a game – at £40 per copy, they may sell them all in an hour – that's £4000 folks – nearly £2000 of which is direct profit. – multiply that by 250 and you've got SERIOUS money involved. With that kind of profit you can start throwing major cash into marketing, which brings me back to the notion of hype. Is it Hype or is it marketing being referred to in the above article. Hype is an offshoot of marketing – the BUZZ is what "gamers" are actually saying about games.

Gamers only "Buzz" about games if they look like they're going to be good or they are likely to have a number of particular elements present. What are they? – they're whatever gamers are buzzing about at that particular period in time. At the moment, it's all about online multiplayer, Co-op play and the like – the community experience. Gaming is no longer the realm of the girlfriendless geek. Football fanatics, pissheads and chavs are ALL gaming – what is the world coming to?

My good friend here is ignoring a fundamental aspect that has changed over the past 20 years (Yes 20 years of mass market gaming people.) since the launch of the Megadrive and the then, soon to be huge Sonic The Hedgehog (one of the first titles to receive a huge TV marketing campaign) Gaming is now a million times more huge than it has EVER been.

So let's briefly discuss what I call "Retrospective Adoration" – Which I'm guessing is what our author friend is unabashedly taking a pop shot at, when he's discussing FFVII and Zelda and titles of old. People connect with things in different ways – because you don't get it is again an unfair point of view from which to launch an offensive on popular or beloved games – Back in the day when FFVII was released game trading was pretty rough around the edges, the notion of pre-owned was pretty far from common knowledge and certainly not the behemoth it is today. So getting hold of games was the avenue of the truly wealthy and not always a place where noobs could get into games – Our author is also ignoring many other titles that "sold" playstations at that time – Resident Evil (had a million sequels) was one such title, as was Gran Turismo (which now has a million sequels and copycats) – So his aim is solely placed on sequels in his rant and the notion of **** sequels it pretty clear in the gaming world (Toejam & Earl II anyone?). People liked Final Fantasy VII because they thought it was fun – I personally hated the bloody thing – I could never fathom the notion of turn based combat – but I understand its appeal. I don't was lyrical on it's validity – Perhaps they looked at you like that, kind sir, because you being an opinionated narrow minded goober, Like me.

Take note: The dark cloud of Introverted players slowly meandered its way into the rant very early on.

Simply labeling a title as "hyped" because you're an introverted player isn't fair. In fact it's pretty harsh. Saying I don't get the hype about this game because I don't own it and can't play it online is a rotten thing to do – super opinionated and it devalues the hard work that has been put into a title – The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series isn't simply an exercise in over hyping a game or series – it's been a project that has successfully brought to the forefront the notion of online gaming in a way only one other title has done and that was World of Warcraft. A game so hugely talked about and loved by its player's that they aired a South Park episode centered around it people. If gaming can capture the minds of contemporary artists from outside of the realm of gaming then Gaming has officially landed as a respected and valued pastime – The hype centered around Modern Warfare 2 has been pretty bad, bad news sells and bad news sells games particularly well – my god look at GTA – millions of copies sold and a tremendous amount of wasted time and headlines where the Daily Mail was trying to educate in the ways of righteousness to a nation of gamers who simply wanted to play a game. It was good. It was fun, it achieved that which games are supposed to achieve – It entertained.

Also, it entertained MILLIONS of people – it was aiming to entertain those people and it achieved its goal. As did Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – It didn't entertain our author friend – is this a bad thing? Maybe so, as he states that he's a fan of FPS shooters – Contrary to what his Gamertag indicates having only played a very few FPS shooters on there – No CODs, no Bioshock, No Rainbow Six Vegas – hell the dude hasn't played the games, to any degree of completion – How on earth can anyone comment on avoiding the hype when they don't give it a go past I spawned and I was killed loads. Well Practice and you'll get good, then you'll start to enjoy it – this isn't Half-Life II or Halo with auto targeting, this is Modern warfare my friend – where you have to be good, or at least enjoy it when someone else is and keep having a go.

I'm a COD fanatic, and unashamed of it. I'm also not ashamed to say I'm not any good at it. Like sex, if you're crap you keep having a go until you find the right match and right combination of moves. I try and I love the fact that I can go online with my friends and share laughs about different things that happen when you play, I mean in the game, not sex obviously.

I want to start a clan, in the game that is, and have all my friends in it and play huge matches with other people, who also enjoy the game. Here's where call of Duty differs from other online experiences – it's an FPS, where you can chat to your friends, shoot EVERYONE and talk about it when you go to the pub…. And they add new maps – and you can play the campaigns with your friends. Bliss, if like me, you're crap – you can gain achievements whilst your mates get gunned down. Blood!!!! It's a community of likeminded guys who go online to have fun with no arrogant pre-disposed notion of being a "Gamer" – that narrow-minded point of view is long dead. As is the notion that any of our opinions count – as a long time friend once said to me. So step down from you pedestal as it's pretty clear why the article was written in the first place, as an attempt to upset the status quo and say something shocking – when really you're saying – I want a copy and to have a go, but I can't afford it so I'll play Fable II instead.

Yup – I been keeping tabs on what you're playing!

I assure you – an online game is only as fun as the people you play with – you play with strangers? You're never going to have that much fun. The single player campaign is pretty damend good as well – you just obviously need some practice ;P

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This is first bit of criticism I have received towards my articles and I can understand where he's coming from, however his argument is that I'm bothered about games that are over-hyped, which isn't entirely true. The aim of my blog was to go into some detail as to the games that everyone else has been into, but I haven't. Maybe I didn't get my point across as clearly as I thought I did.

What do you think now that you've seen both opinions?

If you have 'Blogger', please connect with this guy, he's a sound bloke and knows what he's talking about...and is a hell of a lot of a better writing than I am!

Seemingly, I am one of the few people on the planet that hasn't been raving about the release of Modern Warfare 2 earlier this week. I am in an even smaller minority of people that pretty much 'haven't given two **** about it.

Now, you may think I am a few sandwiches short of a picnic for saying this but it's not the first game that I haven't 'got'. By that I mean that I haven't understood why certain titles are so hyped by the press and games alike. Don't get me wrong, I love video games, have done since I was a kid, but there are some 'classics' that have come along that have been very similar to the genre of games I've been playing at the time and yet I have failed to see the appeal.

So, I have compiled a very small (but concise) list of all the games that I have come across in my gaming life that I simply haven't understood why pretty much everyone would give their Granny's right arm to have a glimpse at. These are the games that I have given the highest accolade of…'meh'.

Final Fantasy VII

Even though the first Final Fantasy game in the series was released since 1990, it wasn't until the 7th instalment that people really sat up and took notice. For one, it was the first Final Fantasy to feature 3-D graphics and in doing so, put it streets ahead of it's ancestors. It also helped sell loads of Playstations as initially it was only available on that console. The soundtrack - epic and the gameplay was groundbreaking. Not for me though, I never could get my head around the appeal of FF VII as the whole world went mental for one guy with a massive sword and beating enemies in turn based combat.

On the face of things, it all looked great. At the time of release, I wasn't really into RPG's, having only played around with a few early adventure titles which had RPG elements. But even now, with my experience with World of Warcraft and its competitors…I still couldn't understand why FFVII had sold over 10 million copies worldwide. It's not just the seventh one though, I've NEVER been able to get into it and when I told people of this plight they looked at me as if I had two heads. 'Maybe it would be better on the PSP with slightly better graphics?' I told myself. Why did I ever think having it on a tiny screen would make it BETTER?! Madness, I tell thee.

Legend Of Zelda

Another confession here, folks. I don't, and never will like anything to do with the Legend of Zelda. From it's cutesy, flute wielding pansy protagonist (which as a matter of note, I never wanted to aspire to) to the endless searching through bush after bush after sodding bush for that illusive heart when I know I'm just going to lose them all trying to cross that gap which is just…too…far…away.

Once again, the whole catalogue of Zelda games were in the same vein of similar games that I loved in the adventure category, but I just couldn't get my head around that once again…the world went mental from what is basically the Nintendo version of the Final Fantasy Series but without the turn-based jiggery pokery that made me so mad so very, very often.

Metal Gear Solid

This is a different choice than the last two titles that I have mentioned so far. In those, I liked the elements and other games in the surrounding genres. However, I cannot stand stealth games (which is probably why Gears of War appeals to me so much) and never have. The reason for this is that I think I'm just too damn lazy to wait and hide for that illusive guard to forget that I was ever there after I went into the first level with all guns blazing. Don't get my wrong though, after all the hype got too much for me…I gave it another shot with my sensible trousers on and still got frustrated with Metal Gear Solid. They don't call it Solid for no reason, y'know.

And finally...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Ooooooh, either this is a complete surprise to you or has been blatantly obvious, but alas, probably one of the games that I am the most annoyed that I don't 'get'…is Modern Warfare 2. This is 'hype-not-getting' in it's purest form, folks.

Once again, I love First Person Shooters; if you look at my collection you will that it's clearly my favourite genre. Not only that, but I have loved a lot of the Call of Duty titles that have preceded MW2, but since they have split and formed Infinity Ward the Modern Warfare series has failed to spark my interest. Or maybe getting killed all the time over Xbox Live was the final nail in the coffin. The feel of the series since Call of Duty 2 has never appealed to me a much as the later games. In its first DAY of release it's manage to reign in over $910 million in the US and UK alone. Am I missing something here, or is there something wrong with me?

There we have it, I hope some of you understand why I haven't been able to get my head around what everyone else seems to be dribbling over around me and I wonder if you have felt the same at one point. Saying that, there are a load of there games and series' that have been brilliant. The Halo's, World of Warcraft and pretty much all the Street Fighter's I have loved, but as I have demonstrated, we all have different opinions and you can't hate on someone just because they haven't gone the same way as the general populace and followed the norm. Are they any games that I've missed out that you just simply haven't understood the mega-hype? Let the world know in the comment section below.

Maybe I haven't given these games enough time, should I sit down with all the above and really commit them to my subconscious and give into the mass peer-pressure. No. I have no inclination, as they failed to grab me at my first exposure to them, and therefore I am perfectly happy continuing to love the games that have.

*EDIT* I wish to make it known the readers of this particular blog is that my commentary is merely on games that I have played (or even owned) in the past that have, through various means, failed to grab my attention as much as other games in the series or genre. It is not a commentary on the subject of over-hyped games at all, it is merely trying to get some insight as to why I haven't 'got' the games that so many others have.

To commemorate the first year anniversary of the release of the frankly brilliant Gears Of War 2, Epic have got together with Xbox Live to host a 10 day event packed with loads of goodies and special modes...guaranteed to nail you those tough achievements that so far have been eluding the grasp of your clammy and blood-stained hands!

The event runs from Friday November 6th (last Friday) to a week on Monday (November 16th)...that is 10 days of chainsaw-duelling awesomeness and will have the following modifications:

> Triple experience (!!!) for all game types.

> All games will be in the new Tactical mode. Tactical scenarios feature increased weapon damage, decreased ammunition, and longer bleed-outs.

> A separate playlist with every game type listed, allowing you to choose a specific game types.

> Public horde will now be set to the Hardcore difficulty.

So now there's no excuse for teaming up with all your buddies and fragging the hell out of wave after wave of bad guys for those ever-illusive gamer points and push on to rank 100!

I only found out about this today, so will be nailing it for the remainder of the event. I could probably do with the help so please free to add me as friend on Xbox Live (Gamertag is Latrelus), spam with me invites, pop your headset on and we'll have a good ol' chinwag about carving up the opposition. Also, you can check out the Gaming Sessions on TrueAchievements to see who is boosting what and when.

Good luck, and I'll see you out there!