It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't logged in since Oct 10 2013. But I came to take a look at the E3 coverage and I was impressed despite the lack of pics of the showroom floor. Great job to the E3 GS staffers.

Now onto something that I feel sad to be lost is the unions, but there are more than a few of us that saved some of them and here they are!

Warrior Clan is the most active at warriorclan.shivtr.com

Mass Effect Union is at meu.shivtr.com

The Hierarchy is at hierarchy.shivtr.com

Veterans Union needs serious help at metalgearsolidveterans.shivtr.com/

and Fuze is still going at http://www.gameinformer.com/members/fuse/default.aspx

Gather around and raise a glass to JodR and this site she ran! Oldspot is gone as are the unions who made them great!

Cheers old (the Unions I'm not calling Jody old!) friend!

And now is the time for a new generation to come in. What do you all think of it? I was glad to see them keeping the levels and trophies in my Beta Access, and I haven't had the time to fully look around.

2 questions how do I follow games, and more importantly WHERE ARE THE SMILIES!?

Anyway I want to know how many people I like on here are still here, so I hope you post something!

The King is dead, long live the King!

In Memoriam: The Old Site:

Please comment!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alpEO0GYtjY

GTA V Online is out! So I am putting a crew together! PM me with your http://socialclub.rockstargames.com name if you want to add me to your friends list :)

Don't worry you can join 5 crews so you have other options as well.

http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/crew/hierarchy_syndicate

See you in there :)

Seriously where is the skip button with this one?

If you have a weak stomach don't watch this on you tube. I just played it in the game and I hated it. I'm not into brutality it made me feel sick. This isn't an article about whether it should be there (freedom and all that). This is about my wish for there to be a way to skip it.

GTA V is really fun, it's tong in cheek humor makes sure that no one, who isn't trying to make a name for themselves in politics, gets that it is a parodic joke. Sure it's R18+ for obvious reasons, but so is the Shield, Game of Thrones, excerta. With movies, TV, and even books I can skip any content I feel uncomfortable with. With the exception of Modern Warfare 2 this is something we are unable to do in gaming so far.

So what if someone loves a game like GTA that's content is fine except 10 brutal minuets? Should game developers consult this issue. Find away for all types to be able to enjoy content that is spoiled for them due to their own individual tastes? 

I kind'a like what Trevor said at the end of the mission. It was almost as if they were trying to put a serious message in it.

However Rockstar this isn't a serous game..

The new version of GS wont allow officers and leaders to kick out trolls, as it wont allow officers and leaders at all. The forums and all we have done to create it wont be ours anymore   

Because of this a lot of unions are looking for a new home.

I highly sugest making the Unions you love live on on THIS site. This way the places you love will live on, and you can still hang with the friends you've made.

Here are several Unions that have already made the change:

hierarchy.shivtr.com/

meu,shivtr.com 

warriorclan.shivtr.com/ 

metalgearsolidveterans.shivtr.com/

Here are the details::

Forums
A core communication tool for your guild siteDeeply integrated with permissions, ranks, activities and more

Easy to use BBcode editor for writing postsCompletely customizable structure with sections and subforums

Messages

Hold private discussions with members of your guild Send mass messages to everyone from a certain group or rank

Message alliance members across different guilds Easy notifications for new messages in your user status bar

Chat

Chat with your guildmates just as you do in-game Web Socket enabled for instant chattingSupports emotes and other slash commands

Color-coded channels for nice, game-like display

Polls

Poll your guildmates on the topics that interest you Restrict polls with different view levels for sensitive topicsSupport for voting publicly and privately. Embed polls within forums to enable discussions

Guild News Keep your members up-to-date on your guild's latest exploits

Deeply integrated with permissions, comments and more Delegate select officers to post through permissions

Atom feeds for easy syndication

Journals Allow your members to post character stories on your site Deeply integrated with permissions, comments and moreGreat for roleplay guilds!

Media Galleries

Share your in-game footage with image and video galleries!

Easy video integration with Youtube Comment and discuss your favorites

Showcase new media through slideshows, side blocks and activities

ApplicationsEasily customize the form applicants fill out

Review and accept the best applicants Comment and discuss applicants with your officers

Optionally allow applicants to view and comment on their own app

Alliances Form alliances with other guilds using Shivtr

Share features across your sites including events, forums and more!See whose online across all allied sites

Allied permissions allows to control what allies do on your site

Activity Feeds Two types of activity feeds available: site and guild Site activities let you easily see new content added to your siteGuild activities let you easily keep up with in-game changes

Mobile Version Optimized views created specifically for mobile devices

Simplified, touch screen actions menu at the bottom of each page

The option to switch between the mobile and web client at any time

Endless Pagination, allowing you to scroll to load more items

API

For advanced users/developers, Shivtr includes a REST API Access XML and JSON views of (nearly) all data on your site Login and perform (nearly) any action directly through our API

Admin Panel

Our Site Admin panel gives you easy access to all your global settings Changing your game, server, timezone and other options is a breeze 

Set metadata to control how your site appears in search engines
Audit LogThe Audit Log tracks (almost) every action on your site Review logs to see who created, modified or deleted specific contentSomething accidentally deleted?

The audit log makes recovery easy-mode

Permissions

The most advanced permissions system you'll find anywhere!Choose who can view, use and admin every aspect of your site

Organize permissions into roles to hand out to your membersAssign permission roles to ranks to mimic your in-game guild structure Permissions

Races & Classes Customizable races & classes put you in control 

Choose from preset options for many games or design your own

Create that goblin only guild you always wanted!Deeply integrated - the options you set are used throughout your site

Domain Names

Freedom to choose any URL you wish for your siteChange your URL anytime you like from your Site Admin panel

Select any .shivtr.com subdomain that is available... or use any full domain name you own

Themes

Select from a large variety of official, pre-made themes. Create your own design with our easy-to-use theme editor

Browse the hundreds of themes created by our awesome community Dress up your site for Halloween and other holidays!  Theme Editor Craft your own theme with our full-featured theme editor

Offers everything you need to make an amazing, unique design Load any official or public theme and change it anyway you like Layout. Our layout tools let you choose the content important to your community Choose from over 70 blocks for your home page and side columns

Select from shoutboxes, slideshows, twitter, ventrilo and more!Easily re-arrange your blocks layout with drag-and-drop

And a whole lot more, but I'm out'a room :)

Unions are on the way out, as are downloads and pretty mutch everything that makes GS unique...

Since we're starting from scratch, we have had to make some tough calls as to what features and functionality we're going to carry over, and while I'd love to tell you that ALL OF THE THINGS have made the cut, I just can't do itLark Anderson

Ominous words... What arn't you telling us?

Now, obviously mistakes were made on our part, and the current usage stats are a reflection of that, but at the end of the day we need to make sure that we can properly maintain and support all of our features so we dont end up with things that are busted and unloved. To that end, we have decided to focus on our core features--the ones the vast majority of you guys depend on--and not to bring over Unions to the new GameSpot.

As for User Created Boards, there's a lot of crossover in terms of functionality between these and Unions, and without the one we won't have the other.Lark Anderson

What will be the dirrerence between GS ans IGN then?

According to some of the beta testers the new site is going to be a copy of Giantbomb.

If I wanted to be on a site like giantbomb I would, oh I dunno, join Giantbomb.

There is a petition telling GS what we think of the chages at: http://au.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29438636/save-our-unions?page=0

Join in and save GS!

BTW Lark Anderson is Gamespots Product Manager

Bring back JodyR!

Trying to fit 11 years of gaming into a little blog is near futile, but here goes.

I brought the 360 a few days after launch because I was told that Mass Effect and GTA4 were going to be exclusive by Microsoft, oh how naive I was. Naturally PS3 had been delayed in Australia (let us hope there is no repeat of that!) but I got it day one.

The lines in Akihabara Japan were miles long and people had camped out overnight to get one.

In the USA on day one, two men ran into a department store in California brandishing machine pistols, the teller fearing for her life was ready to give them all the money, but that was not what they wanted the two men escaped with a shiny new Playstation 3. Dumb sods I hope they got what they deserved.

Anyway Mass Effect was unlike anything I'd ever played before, and I knew instantly that the future was going to be good. Give or take a few popups the graphics were awesome, the story genius, although taken from J. Michael Straczynskis epic, and the game play was unique for an RPG.

Now back then I didn't have the net so I had no idea what was happening when it came: The Red Ring of Death! If your new to gaming this is not a digestive problem but a horrible crippling bug in the 360's build. I sent it away for a repair and enjoyed GTA4 on my PS3. While not as frantic fun as previous installments GTA4 did have a lot going for it. Graphics, voice, acting, gameplay, and serious story overtones. It is the last two pluses that were also its minuses. No more could we jump out of planes, skydive, get on a bmx, and ride off a cliff with a parachute, the story also had its sad moments something that caught me quite off guard at the time. Big beautiful missions were needed but only one really produced; the infamous bank job with my favorite irish family. The main character on the other hand in my opinion was refreshing in his ways as he sought redemption rather than a quick buck.

The Playstation 3 could do a lot more than the 360 like store videos and pictures to the HDD, play older PS2 and One games and it was instant love.

Of-course love is rocky and I was to soon find out that the PS3 also had it's read ring version. Over the 11 years I had two 360 breakdowns and in the end I brought a newer version. The PS3 broke down once and I got a new version replacement for free! Though it did not play the PS2 games.

I did however loose all of my saves :(

A new era was beginning for me I had made an account wth GS while at a net cafe and I was going to get the internet put on soon. Normally technology doesn't freak me out (unless it goes wrong), but for some reason I was kind'a anxious about it. I soon realized that it wouldn't work on my consoles, it was sad , but one thing good I had joined the Gamespoter community! Shy as ever it took me some time but I fit in once I discovered the Mass Effect Universe Union, JodyR's leadership, what a moderator was, and the wonderful world of website glitches lol.

Mass Effect 2 had been released and I had found a gem of a game, a gem called Alpha Protocol.

It was MI-5 (Spooks in AUS), mixed with Mass Effect 2, and MGS. Sadly it wasn't well received and not many played it. The problem was in one simple game mechanic the critics thought was a bug. It wasn't. In the game you had a circle cross hair not unlike ME2, however unlike ME2 you had to wait till another cross hair lined up for a precision shot. This of-course could be hastened by the LV Up system.

I soon had to get another wireless modem because the old one kept overheating. I also got a new PC with nividia so I could finally play the Witcher that I had owned an been unable to play for several years. I also foundout how to connect my modem to my consoles through my new laptop :D

I discovered the joy of multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 and eventually Battlefield 3.

And so it came to pass that the year of Dragons, bugs, and bad endings had begun!

Skyrims launch was as epic as the game, battlefield 3 was unplayable until the biggest patch in history was released and then there was Mass Effect. Mass Effect was brilliant all the way to the end, and then meh... Three colours to chose from with little difference between the endings. There was an uproar and Bioware acted fast, releasing an extended, mutch better ending completely free.

Final Fantasy XIII-2's ending sucked (Spoilers)

Everyone died.

(Spoilers End)

Battlefield wasn't the only great game to get a massive fix, Skyrim, Star Trek Online, and even Gamespot needed patching!

I soon discovered my first MMORPG called Star Trek Online F2P although I've spent around $200 on it :P

 << My main Romulan MMO Character.

I learned that JodyR is leaving us, so be sure to say goodbye folks. She has been our leader all these years. Great job girl!

Now there is so much left out: FFXIII, Fallout, my love of Cyber/steampunk games libe Bioshock Infinite and Deus Ex, smilies! and because of this there might be a part two to this, but to move along we get to the future bit.

The Playstation 4 and Xbox One generation is coming, and for the first time in 12 years I'm not going to get both consoles. 

I plan to get a PS4, inFamous Second Son, Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (PS4 version), Killzone Shadowfall, Saints Row IV, Beyond Two Souls, and to finish this generation on a high GTAV!

EDIT: With the news of Microsofts 180 turn around one most of what they have been saying I'm going to watch what happens over the next year before I buy it, or should I say if I buy it.

Sony - "Our console is $100 cheaper than the X1 and give you a 500GB hard drive!, we think second hand gaming is good and you shouldn't have to pay more, we trust you are not a pirate, we love you gamers."

Microsoft - "We found out that we can get around the legal system that requires warrants to invade your privacy by scanning your system ever 24 hours big brother style! We are going to give you lower end graphics because we are a general entertainment unit not a games console, we will make you download all your games from the disc and only give you 8GB to do so, we are going to charge you twice for second hand games, if you can't get a good connection please buy our 11 year old system, we don't trust you in anything other than that you will buy any new crap we bring out because your all a bunch of dumb fanboys"

Two statements that I cut down on what was said. Who the heck in Microsoft was dumb enough to think this was a good idea?

I should mention that I have always been a multi-console gamer... until now :(

Chek out this laughable statment from Microsoft

and THIS to LYAO! (please tell me what you think)

It is going to be up to you guys and girls if I buy a X1 or not. Ill buy a PS4 and read your blogs on the X1 because I am not satisfied with what I have seen so far

Too many questions left unanswered:

What happens when your console breaks down? Do I now have to log in every hour?

The big picture When the Gen after X1 ends does this mean I cant play it anymore?

I buy consoles for my younger cousins, if they cant afford the internet they cant play - this sucks!

I dont buy many second hand games but being charged full price to play one is extreme especially when the price includes shipping and DVD distribution costs that are not relevant in second hand games.

If you are new to my blog I'm not a fanboy, I'm a multi-platform gamer.

Check out matastigs blog for thurther thoughts on the X1 HERE - comment here first though ;)

(pics are net finds)