I have updated my gamespot blog profile page. I was known as CaliforniaGirl for playing Command & Conquer, Quake and S.C.A.R.A.B. online on Mplayer, a former multiplayer gaming service. Therefore, I think my brother felt it would be good to keep my grass roots. Obviously, the CaliforniaGirl alias evolved into CaliGirl or XP-CaliGirl because killing people in games like Quake made it more difficult to see who I killed in the game. If you don't know what I mean because you never played Quake... I don't think we can be friends anymore! :P

This banner above was one of the three designs my brother did for me. Some of you may have known him as DarkViper, the guy who created UnrealKingdom.com among many other game fan sites in the late 90s. He was well-known for also being the creator of Epic's make something unreal contests. This design reminds me of the first time I played Unreal 1. I was beta testing it as a volunteer for Mplayer at the time. :D

I was playing Guitar Hero 3 with Kristin Reilly a few nights back. We were working towards the co-op Xbox 360 achievement. She kept telling me that I failed. I definitely did.... I was playing Medium and she was playing Hard difficulty. By the way, any of you see her in my video from last year's E3? Yep, she was one of the blonde girls in that video. Now you know why she may look familiar to you.

Kristin is pretty hardcore at Guitar Hero 3. She went out of her way to give me some pointers to improve my skills but also made sure I was aware that I stunk at the game. I mainly played Guitar Hero 1 on the PlayStation 2 when it first came out. Might I add that I never finished it and only got to Medium difficulty.I recently started playing GH2 on the 360 and noticed how much more difficult medium is in GH3. It was fun playing co-op but we never finished to receive the co-op achievement. I got tired of playing and it was getting late that night. I realized later that I could probably play co-op with other people online. Although, having her remarks of "you failed at life" wouldn't have been nearly as cool. Plus, hanging out with Oliver was also fun. I don't think he likes the sounds of the guitar controller though.

Anyways, I figured that I would also admit that I have also been playing Kareoke Revolution: American Idol on the Xbox 360. I've learned some tips from this guide here to help me overcome some of the achievement obstacles. I've been playing this game off and on for about 2 weeks now. I keep feeling like my neighbors are going to think I'm silly because I am singing my heart out to some cheesy songs. My voice keeps getting tired as well. I think it's a good karaoke party game to play with friends. I need to get another microphone to unlock some of the co-op achievements. However, paying 150 MS points to download other songs isn't so nice. I think I spent about 30 bux yesterday downloading about 15 of my favorite songs.

To be honest, I am being humble by admitting this! It is very hard to admit that I am playing a game and that I've unlocked most achievements on this than any other. Ya know? I mean, I have watched some American Idol episodes over the years but I'm not a fanatic of any sort. I am a fan of singing even if some people would call that silly. The only American Idol season I watched from start to finish was the one where Kelly Clarkson won. I would fail at any trivia questions if asked about all of the American Idol seasons.

Other than that, I have my finals at school this week. Have two papers due by tonight and I'm here writing a blog. Bad, me. *goes back to writing papers*

Over 100 Lego Batman screenshots have been added today. After giggling like a school girl at what the Batman characters looked like. Two of the three female characters I have enjoyed reading in the Batman or Catwoman comic books series will be in the game. I wonder if Poison Ivy will be in this game. Anyone hear anything about her yet?

I haven't checked out Lego Indie game yet. I plan to check it out but I'm not sure if I'll buy it. However, Batman, Cyberforce and X-Men are comic books with my favorite female comic book characters. I know I'll buy Lego Batman when it comes out. In my opinion, there aren't that many comic books that showcase such crazy, insane and mysterious female characters all in one comic book series.

Catwoman

Harlequin

Do I really need to describe why Harlequin, Catwoman (DC Comic books) and Poison Ivy are one of a kind?

Wha? GH Metallica? Don't get me wrong, there are a few Metallica songs I have loved in my time... however, I wish both companies would focus on getting me a keyboard! Maybe the future of rock band will fulfill my electric keyboard dream. However, I also want a way to sing a duet in rock band. I find that I am usually arm wrestling people to sing the songs.

Give me the mic! *slap person's arm, pulls microphone from hand*

You know, I thought about this a few days ago. Ever since Rock Band came out, I no longer have the craving to upload videos of myself singing songs. I sing so much that I get tired of singing after a few hours. :D

There have been rumors about this but it has been finally confirmed. I'm looking forward to this one... so much that I want to walk down to Ubisoft, down the street, knock on the doors and beg them to let me see the game in works! Pey'j looks so tough these days. [News | Trailer]

All of this Wii Fit talk makes me sad that I don't own a Wii. :( Wondering if I should buy one in the near future. Any of you play with the console system on a weekly if not daily basis? I'm concerned that I won't play it enough after buying it.

On a related note, last week we hosted the preliminary rounds for Fight or Flight, GameSpot first Wii Tournament. The finals on Tournament TV will be held tomorrow at 4pm PT. Three of the players who won during the semifinals last Friday will fly out to participate in person. I've posted the a Brawl Tournament reported in Spam Filter (Community Blog) with the latest.

This has got to be the coolest cargo trailer I have ever seen! Wish I was living in Texas again; I would have totally drove out to see this thing in person! [Motorcycle Cargo Trailer]

Not sure how long the page will stay active so here are the shots of this amazing cargo trailer!

This weekend I was swamped with school and some things for work but I stayed up late on Saturday and Sunday night to play Call of Duty 4 on the 360. I had a hard time getting the buttons down in CoD4 because they were different than Gears of War. The reload button was the main issue. Accidentally throwing a grenade when I am trying to reload was the worst of it. I am sure glad friendly fire was off because I would have team killed a lot of people this weekend.

Do you frequently get your fingers handicapped when you change from game to game? I am too lazy to change the buttons on the 360. I recall when UT and Q3 came out years ago I had 50% of my friends that went from Quake 2 to Unreal Tournament. The other 50% wanted to play Quake 3. Back then I was having a hard time to choose which game so I played both of the games back and forth. The secondary button on my mouse was for a quick change to the Rocket Launcher in Quake 1 and Quake 2. You can imagine how bad it would get when I was playing Unreal Tournament. I would end up walking over my grenades from using the secondary button in Unreal Tournament.

Now that I am getting the buttons down for Call of Duty 4 I have been enjoying it much more. I am currently level 11 so I am still a newb. Also, I get lost in the maps so it has been taking some time to know where to go. The really nice thing about CoD4 is how I can tell if a player knows what they are doing if they are a high level. I can't say that for many other shooter games I have played over the years. I basically follow them and mimic what they do because I have no clue where I should be on these maps.

My first headshot last night had me giggling on the microphone. The guys were like hey, you're having too much fun Cali. I apologized and told them I would be serious. It reminded me of the fun times I used to have playing Unreal Tournament 2004. I recalled how ticked off the guys would get when they received many headshots from XP-CaliGirl. :D

*pinches you!* You aren't wearing green, are you?

I love St. Patrick's Day! I think it's because I like to buy cute green blouses that are always on sale around this time of the year. You know, the t-shirts that talk about being Irish. I wish there were t-shirts about being a mutt though. I have in order of percentage: Scottish, Irish, English, and then German.

We have a Scavenger Hunt that begins next Monday. Start brainstorming on things in video games that are green. Also be sure to stop by this Q&A thread in the forums as well. It's just a fun contest but an emblem is at risk. Not every will get the emblem for participating. It's going to be worth GOLD! No trading emblems to friends either. Only five people will receive the emblem for this contest so you should start doing your research now! Dig up those video games in the closet. Seriously. I am a little jealous about that. Staff can't participate in the contests. :(

I bumped into this Quake 3 video tonight. I am surprised I never saw it before now. Hrm, I am sure it was dangerous.