I rarely air my political beliefs or opinions through my blog here at GameSpot because I don't believe this to be the appropriate outlet for those specific viewpoints. But concerning recent, tragic events that have happened in this country--as well as some of the more obtuse and ignorant comments made in this article--I feel compelled to speak out.

The attacks on the Second Amendment--and by extension guns themselves--is ridiculous. The rationale put forth to validate these attacks is equally absurd. The events that were perpetrated by a sick individual in that Connecticut town are nothing short of horrifying and despicable. But to turn it around as some sort of immature "I told you so" argument is purely infantile.

A lot of the comments I read in regards to the above article that seem to be blaming the Second Amendment and/or guns seem to stem from pure ignorance because the people making them clearly don't understand the importance of the Second Amendment. We're witnessing a mass brainwashing in today's society that, so far, has been successful in getting citizens (particularly the youth) to believe that the Second Amendment is this evil clause that is outdated for a "modern society," and those who still support it (and by extension the entire Constitution) are a bunch of nutjob conspiracy theorists living in a bunker. Nothing could be further from the truth!

What's really scary is out of the millions of responsible gun owners (including those with a CCL) get dragged through the mud any time some idiot commits a violent act.

"Well, the problem is guns! If we didn't have them then they couldn't kill anyone, could they?"

Really?!?! No, I guess they couldn't kill anyone...with a gun. Unfortunately the world we live in just about anything can be fashioned as a device to kill. If you have any doubts whatsoever about that then I kindly re-direct you to the prison system where some of the most creative and ingenious methods have arisen to create weapons to kill. It's an extreme example to be sure, but not irrelevant and only serves to illustrate that everyday, innocent household objects can be turned into a tool to kill. What about crimes involving knives? Or cars? How about we outlaw those as well because certainly if there were no more knives to stab people with or cars to run over people, then that would eliminate killing by those means as well.

Guns are clearly not the problem.

"We need to stop the wrong people from getting their hands on guns. That'll stop it!"

Again, no, it won't. If you honestly are going to sit there and tell me that it's possible to not only track every citizen living in the US as well as being able to monitor their behavior and intentions, then you're crazier than I am! Bad people exist. Bad people do bad things and we will never fully stop them from doing said bad things. But to have a knee-jerk reaction to one person and punish the millions of responsible citizens is just stupid in plain English. It simply is not feasible to do this. There are crazy people and if they are motivated to get a weapon, no matter what that weapon is, they will do so.

Not just crazy people either, but what about criminals? Do you want criminals to have guns and not the average citizen? That's a brilliant plan! Because here's a little gem for you: Criminals don't abide by the laws. They will find ways to get guns whether they are legal or not--moreso if they are illegal. So once again, that's a great plan, let's disarm responsible citizens and let the criminals run loose robbing and killing at will because there's no one there to stop them. And no, cops can't be everywhere to help you either.

"Well let's limit the type of guns people can buy. Certainly that will alleviate crimes like this."

OK. Let's analyze this: You think by banning certain types of weapons and/or limiting the clip/magazine capacity that somehow it's going to magically solve the problem? As if the people intent on committing these crimes won't take this into account either and won't simply buy more clips/magazines to make up the difference? What planet are you living on if you honestly believe that? The type of weapon is moot since you can easily kill just as many people with a pistol as you can with an AR-15. All weapons are semi-automatic (which means if you pull the trigger once only one round fires, etc.). So this argument that says we need to ban assault-type weapons lacks credibility as well.

"Only cops and soldiers should have assault weapons and not your average citizen!"

Another idiot argument. According to who? You? The President? Congress? God? Going back to the argument above, the type of weapon doesn't really matter since they're all designed to kill. But there is this misguided crusade from the Mainstream Media that highlights assault weapons as taboo, yet they don't give any valid reasons why other than the weak and lame "it holds more rounds" and the answer to this problem is by limiting the size of the clips/magazines because that will magically fix the problem. And as I already stated, no, it won't for common sense and obvious reasons.

Fun fact: The average citizen is supposed to be one of the defensive forces of the United States. That's part of the reason why the Second Amendment is so important because the Government can't always be there to protect you.

Our Founding Fathers were smarter than a lot of people want to give them credit. They had the foresight to give us ten unalienable, God given rights because they knew what happens when individuals come to power. The US is the most unique country in the world for this very reason because it gave power to the People to govern and protect themselves from outside threats as well as internal threats. The Second Amendment isn't just there for hunters to go out and shoot Bambi. It was put in place for one specific purpose that has many tangential purposes as well: To allow the People to overthrow a corrupt or tyrannical government.

The US Constitution is one of the most important documents in human history because all throughout history men, women and children have all been ruled over in some form or fashion; often with detrimental results. The USA is in a unique position because of this history and men who understood this as well. If they were alive today I don't think they would have a change of heart, either, because while tragedies like this are not what anyone wants, clearly the reverse is just as dangerous as well.

I ask a simple question that lacks a simple answer. Just where exactly is the video game industry headed? After reading the recent news article about BioShock Infinite skipping the WiiU--as well as some of the more intelligble comments by various GS members--it sparked this burning question in my brain.

It's no secret we're coming upon the precipice of this generation. It's arguable at best, but the launch of the WiiU last month can be considered the "official" start of next gen consoles despite using slightly more powerful tech than what is currently available in the PS3 and Xbox 360. But taking a look back a mere ten years we can all agree that the gaming landscape we find ourselves in now is vastly changed and probably more different than we could have possibly imagined.

Where does the game industry go from here? With each respective company offering more and more bells and whistles to their systems we've never seen such a fractured environment with motion controls, 3D-stereoscopic games, the proliferation of high speed online connections, the digital marketplace, streaming movie services, and the rampancy of DLC and online passes.

The gaming industry seems to be lacking a focus as they strive to offer everything in order to try and please everyone at once. Unfortunately, pleasing everyone cannot be done as inevitably some facet will suffer. I'm cautious about what the next gen has to offer because if it's simply going to be a repeat of this gen, then what's the point? Nintendo is already experiencing this from their lackluster sales of the WiiU. Sony and Microsoft need to seriously reassess what is important.

Assassin's Creed III

I wish I could say the last entry in this breakout series was a fitting swan song, but I just can't. Personally, it left me disappointed far more times than it intrigued me. What ACIII sets out to do is reshuffle the deck completely by adding a host of new features. This isn't a bad thing, but it doesn't really enliven the experience either. You can track and hunt animals in the wild, craft items, engage in trade, and even take to the high seas for some naval combat. And while each of these activities is engaging for their own sake, they aren't reallynecessary to the core game play experience. The naval combat sequences are well done, but again, if they had been completely left out entirely ACIII would be none the poorer. The story also seems a bit bogged down in its own setting and seems to act more as a "Lets see how many historical references we can place the main character in" instead of actually feeling more organic and natural in flow. Combat also seems to have been streamlined as it is now stupid-easy to take out dozens upon dozens of enemies and never suffer a scrach. And the assassinations you must execute (no pun intended) seem a lot more "dumbed down" (for lack of a better word) this time around whereas in past games they seemed a lot more thought out and intimate.

ACIII isn't a total loss, however, and those who have been playing this game since the beginning will no doubt have a good time. The graphics are better, the way you navigate the main character has been vastly improved, and the story (I assume) concludes. Bear in mind I haven't beaten ACIII yet, but I feel I've played enough now (close to 15 hours) that I have a good sense of the overall gist of the game. This is in no way my "final" judgment on the game, and I hope my impressions change for the better. But as of right now, this is how I feel about it.

Score: 7.5

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Ah, XCOM. How I love thee--sorry--I mean how I hate thee; let me count the ways....

This is a game I initially struggled with. After taking it over to a friend's house and both of us taking turns, my attitude has completely flipped on this game. After watching my friend pick up this game for the first time and play on "Classic" and, as of this writing, he still hasn't lost a soldier yet, I realized it wasn't the game at all--I just completely sucked!!! Seriously, we played this game together and "our" base is maxed out with all four levels constructed. Our monthly income is over $3k a month. We have the best armor, we just started researching plasma weaponry. We've completed all other research. Our "main" squad have all ranked up to colonel.We have full satellite coverage over the entire world, and worldwide panic level is down to one bar. We have a full squad of fighter aircraft that is upgraded to the max. And the last mission we just assaulted the alien base and won. If you're familiar with the game--to give you an idea of where we are--the last alien base assault introduced us to the mind control aliens. I have no idea how close we are to beating the game since we still seem to have a little ways to go yet as we just started to research psionic abilities.

Needless to say, it's a blessing that I just happened to take this game over one night because it truly made me appreciate it more than I did when I was playing (and losing horribly) alone. I still stand by the score I gave it a while back. The only "problems" we've encountered is occassional freezing which locks up the PS3 and requires a manual restart, as well as some jinky anomalies with how shots are calculated (for instance, why does an alien further back have a higher percentage to hit than an alien right in front of us?). XCOM is an outstanding strategy game.

Score: 8.5

Quickie blog today

My new rank!

Level 40 - Abobo - Name of the boss in Double Dragon for the Neo-Geo.GameSpot

Yesterday my best friend helped me "fix" my motorcycle which was suffering from an idling problem. Tore the bike apart, cleaned the carbs and now it's back to working like a champ. Now I have to scrounge up the money to get new plates so I can actually drive the damn thing! :P

Can you believe it's December already? Where did the time go?

Received both my new 360 and Vita from Amazon. I haven't gotten around to setting up either; maybe this weekend.

Still talking with that one chick. Hopefully set up another date some time soon. Let you guys know how it goes. The good news is we have been "talking" through text in the mean time and I'm apparently making her laugh a lot. Looks good so far :cool:

That's it!

What'd you get, if anything?

As for me, I spent more than I thought I would/should:

• Dishonored for 360 - Amazon $25
• MEElectronics M6 Sport Noise-Isolating In-Ear Headphones with Memory Wire (White) - Amazon $14.99
• Xbox LIVE 3 Month Gold Membership - Amazon $10.49
• Assassin's Creed III Liberation PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Bundle - Amazon $179.99

I hope everyone had a sated Thanksgiving. As for me, it's one I won't forget any time soon. I'll try as hard as I can to relate the Reader's Digest version.

In short: Celebrated quaint Thanksgiving meal with family then went on unofficial "date" with a nurse followed by witnessing and capturing a UFO fly directly over my house on my camera phone.

No, I am NOT lying and/or exaggerating nor am I currently or at any time during today been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

So I had a nice dinner with my family around 2pm this afternoon. Just me, my mom and grandparents. My aunt and her husband and kids couldn't make it due to my aunt working until 5. Not to mention they seem to be sick or not feeling well which segues nicely into my next point....

I just got released from the hospital yesterday. The specifics as to why I was there aren't really relevant, and should you be the type of person that gives pause for concern after reading that, thank you, and please know that I am fine. So the prospect of having more sick people around me when my system has already been compromised is another reason that factored in my aunt and her crew not joining us.

Secondly, I did go out tonight on an unofficial "date" with a certain individual a couple of hours after eating. I really don't want to get anymore specific than that since this is the Internet and you never know who is reading. Sorry to sound so cryptic over the more interesting aspect of today, but I can't risk details since you just never know. Rest assured in the future I will probably be able to give better updates. But let's just say for now I had a good time from the most unexpected source.

Thirdly, after coming home I spotted a rather large, fiery-orange circle in the sky. Whatever it was was gliding very slowly and steadily and also very SILENTLY. No sound whatsoever meaning this was not a helicopter, a plane, a flock of geese or Superman. I managed to capture some of it on my sh itty camera phone, but the video in no way does justice to actually seeing this object in person.

I've had several UFO sightings during the course of my life, and I can say without hesitation this was by far the best and most convincing. It's just a shame it was pitch black and my camera phone was the least capable device for such conditions. But at least I have something.

All right. I'll let all of that soak in for a while for you guys.

Don't eat too much! :)

Sometimes It Works Out

So I just wanted to share a positive shopping experience yours truly just had concerning Amazon.com.

I made up my mind to buy the 360 Halo 4 bundle a couple of days ago. Since I'm a paying Prime member at Amazon they are usually my first choice.

I just placed my order tonight and selected the default "Two-day shipping" method available for all Prime members. However, upon checkout the estimated delivery date was showing up as Novermber 26, 2012; obviously a little longer than two days.

"How can this be?" I asked myself outloud and quite awkwardly. Why should it take eight days to reach me when they offer two-day shipping and there's nothing on the order page detailing this shipping discrepancy. Yes, I realize Thanksgiving is this week, but it's at the end of the week and should have no effect whatsoever on an item I order today--a comfortable five days out--so there shouldn't be any conflict with shipping. Had I placed the order instead on, say, Wednesday the 21st, then I can understand a delay, but not five days out.

So I ponder this and decide to contact Amazon directly. I opted for them to call me as I always prefer to talk to someone rather than exchanging e-mails.

They call my phone immediately and I'm placed on hold very briefly before getting transferred to a rep. I politely tell him why I'm calling and that I was just curious as to why if I placed my order today and they are offering two-day shipping how, then, does it take eight days to deliver my item?

The rep was very nice and explained to me that apparently this particular item is in high demand and that is the reason for the delay. I tell him that's understandable, however, it would be nice if Amazon had some kind of indication of this reason on the order page detailing this to customers as I told him there was no such alert to customers explaining what he just told me.

He apologizes and says I'm correct and there is nothing indicating such on the order page and how he is going to e-mail the IT department to alert them that they need to post something accordingly. I tell him that's a good idea to avoid future calls like mine. He apologizes again and we hang up. So I resign myself to expect my shipment next Monday. Bummer, yes, because they offered two-day shipping and apparently can't deliver on that promise.

My phone rings about a couple of minutes later; it's Amazon again. It's the rep I had just spoken to about this problem. He goes on to inform me that after consulting with higher-ups or whoever at Amazon that they were able to bump up my order to this Wednesday, the 21st. Sweet! I thank him profusely and we hang up again.

The End :cool:

Just a little bit of happiness I wanted to share with everyone. I know everyone has different experiences with companies, but when something positive like this happens I just feel obligated to share it. Ditto if I had a really negative experience, but so far that has not been the case in my transactions with Amazon.

I will be getting Xbox Live again so please feel free to add me to your friend's list: Maj0rPysch0 (the "o's" are zeroes, and yes, I realize I misspelled "psycho").

Have you voted yet?

I haven't and I'm not going to--mainly because I didn't register in time. But even if I could vote I still wouldn't because my vote doesn't count: The Electoral College does.

So for those of you buying into this scam that "you're making a difference," good for you! Unfortunately, the reality is, whoever wins WE, the American People, still lose.

But enough ranting.

Secondly, gremlins. They're at work on GlitchSpot as this morning my rank was a Level 38 - DJ Boy around 84% complete. And the next time I check in I notice my rank has inexplicably jumped...by a LOT!

I'm almost half-way through Level 39 - Max Force! Wha'???:o:|:?:D

So whatever mysterious magic is afoot, I thank you. This sort of makes up for all those times I was modded and lost points which affected my progress!

Happy All Hallow's Eve!

Secondly, I went to a job fair today at the local community college. I got dressed up all spiffy with a nice shirt and tie, and I might as well have stayed home and applied online for jobs since that's about all this job fair was good for.

I understand "dressing for success" and all that crap, but if I'm going to take the time to look like a professional then I expect the same from the businesses I am scouting. I think I only handed out a couple of résumés (out of the fifty I had printed). Not to mention the types of jobs there I wasn't qualified for (warehouse, manufacturing, fork lift ops, etc.). And of course they had every branch of the military present to sucker in gullible youths.

And someone please remind me what's the point in sending reps from your company to a job fair if your company isn't actually hiring people to work??? I don't need to get up early, get dressed to impress only to be handed a small card telling me to "check them out online to apply," or to be told "Thanks, we'll keep your app on file." Wonderful! Gee, thanks for justifying my time and expense (gas to get down there) for attending a job fair where the best you can do is point me to the "Career" link on your website.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I'm disgusted. The whole situation in this country is disgusting, and there are a lot of people in the same boat so I'm not trying to throw a pity party or anything. I'm just disgusted.

Anyway, Happy Halloween! I've long ago surpassed the appropriate trick or treat age so my mom and I will be spending tonight at a local church that is hosting some sort of festive party.