Today started off horribly. It hasn't gotten much better. Some of you may notice that my game collection has taken a sharp dive. I'm not talking about a few titles here...I took 50+ games out of my collection and sold them today. But sometimes we have to do things for our kids. I have learned a valuable lesson about parenting. As a father, it's not all about me and what I want anymore. My child comes first and sometimes I'm going to have to make sacrifices in order to provide. That's all I have to say about it for now, so don't mourn for my game collection...I am a better father today for what I have done.

All the best...

-Will-

I realized today that there are so many things video games can teach us. And I'm not just talking about hand/eye coordination. There are a lot of lessons to be found in any number of games if you just know how to decipher the information. Let's take a look at some of them now shall we?

Learn To Swim - This is ESSENTIAL! Especially if you plan to be a vampire hunter or adventurer. How many times have you been wandering along a bridge in your game and all of a sudden...oops!...something pops up and knocks you into the water and you sink to your death? More times than I'm sure you would care to admit...so, LEARN TO SWIM! This will keep you from joining the rest of the Belmont clan at the bottom of some river in Transylvania. Lord knows I've put plenty of them to rest there...

Conserve - How many times has your mother told you to "save for a rainy day"? And isn't that great advice for one of those days it happens to be raining zombies? I bet you saved up grenade rounds for that final battle with the tyrant...and you were damn glad you did. And if you didn't, I'm sure you thought how nice it would be to have those at that particular moment. So put a little aside for when you really need it.

Sometimes you don't necessarily need to "keep your enemies closer" - You know how the old saying goes, right? "Keep your friends close..." and all that. Well, try keeping close to an angry Metroid...what happens? They suck the life right out of you. This could have easily been avoided if you would just take care of the problem from a distance. Now if I could only find someone to outfit me with a freeze beam...

And finally, Eat your vegitables - Again, something Moms have been saying since the beginning of time. "If you eat your vegetables, you'll grow up big and strong." It's much easier to take on a horde of koopas with a few leafy greens and mushrooms isn't it? They make you grow big and give you the power to kick some ass. So what are you waiting for? Grab up a healthy fire-flower salad and top it with a tasty mushroom or two. And for all you who think I'm preaching vegitarianism, I'm not. You need a good balanced meal to make it through. A good, hearty pork roast or some other large portion of meat can really round out a meal. Just ask the Belmonts at the bottom of the lake...I'm sure they'd have one right about now.

I was working on some questions for my next "Getting to know YOU" blog when I started thinking of things that completely irritate me in the gaming world. So, I'm going to delay the next installment of my new series of blogs in favor of this special rant. Enjoy.

Upon reviewing some recent entertainment news headlines, I have discovered that so many issues could be avoided if people would just do things right from the beginning and quit acting like they haven't got the common sense of a sack of bricks. Most of it stems from "public outcry" or "company research", but doesn't it all boil down to someone saying "Hey, let's try..."? This is my opinion of some of those "let's try..." moments that haven't quite shaped up for the better.

Good idea - New and innovative Nintendo consoles and handhelds

Bad idea - Releasing the same system several times before moving on to the next.

I've been a Nintendo faithful for many years now. I've grown to love their catalog of characters and game series, but what I haven't figured out is why they can't just release a system and work on titles for it until time to develop the next system. It was less thana year and a half after the release of the Nintendo DS here in America that they announced the DS Lite which would offer a smaller, lighter weight system with brighter screens and better battery life. Less than 6 months later, another announcement that there would be 2 more color options available. 1 year from that, another color option. What's my point? This isn't the first time this has happened with Nintendo. Think back to the GameBoy Advance for a moment. There was the original Advance, several color choices released, the Advance SP, again several color choices, the GameBoy Micro (which was just a tiny Advance), and then the Advance SP+ (brighter screens) with, again, more color choices. And this doesn't only apply to handhelds. Some of you may remember the redesigned NES system that was supposed to look more like the SNES and released in 1993 (called the NES 2). Even the N64 and GameCube had several different color schemes released throughout the life of the respective systems. You know why I haven't purchased a Wii yet? Not because they're hard to find...I'm waiting for them to release it in black like they did with the DS Lite because I'm NOT going to buy another Nintendo system twice (4 times in the case of my DS).

Good idea - Sony dropping prices on the PS3

Bad idea - Sony can't decide what to package with the PS3

The price tag on the PS3 has turned me off from the system from the very beginning. Now, Sony can't make up it's mind as to what to produce. To recap, Sony released the system November 11, 2006, (LESS THAN 1 YEAR AGO!) in a 20GB and 60GBmodel. 5 months later, they completely discontinue the 20GB system in North America because of a lack of demand. Another 4 months later, we have word that the 60GB system is being discontinued in favor of the new 80GB systems. Now, here we are on the threshold of another holiday season, and Sony has announced a new price point for the 80GB system and a new40GB system which has LESS FEATURES than the original 20GB system (only 2 USB ports as opposed to the standard 4, no SACD support, and no PS2 backwards compatability). How long will it be before Sony decides to offer up a 120GB system? How long before consumers get worried that Sony can't make up it's mind and settle on a system to show support for? And while I'm on the Sony topic...

Good idea - Sony enters the handheld market with the PSP offering TONS of features.

Bad idea - Didn't all the other Sony consoles have 2 analog sticks? And let's talk about this "redesign" and it's packaging...

Take a quick look at my game collection and you'll notice that I have over 80 titles for my PSP. I absolutely LOVE this system. But what the hell were they thinking??? ONE analog stick??? Exactly who was the brilliant designer that suggested this one? Didn't you know that people were going to be burning up the gamer forums about this? And then you so brilliantly announce the "slimmer and lighter" design. Have the Sony developers been watching Nintendo for ideas? Face it Sony, you're grasping at straws here. There was nothing wrong with the original PSP (except for that omitted second analog stick). Yet you want to waste valuable production time to make it "19% smaller and 33% lighter". Brilliant. Sure you added a video output so PSP games can be played on your home television, but doesn't that cut out some of the portability being teathered to a TV by an A/V cable? And I thought the ideaof handhelds was to play them on the go...where having a TV and console aren't convenient...and a large majority of the games are designed for single players. The alternate colors were a nice idea, but they should have been available at launch. And I can't reiterate enough that the development costs (time and money) of the "Slim & Light" should have been directed towards the PSP2. While I'm at it, what's with the packaging of the redesign? It looks like one of those cheap "plug and play" systems you see at the game shop for $20 or less. And I found out a few days ago that the included copy of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron HAS NO CASE! That was brilliant in and of itself! Who comes up with this crap? Would it have really taken up so much room in the box to include the case and instructions for the game? Think, Sony, THINK!

Good idea - High definition gaming and movies

Bad idea - Multiple formats of high definition

Let's forget for a moment that not all of us have thousands upon thousands of dollars to spend on huge, widescreen, hi-def televisions and 7.1 surround sound systems to complement. Let's also forget for a moment thathi-def players and discs (HD and Blu Ray) are also a bit pricey. Do you really want to spend money on yet another copy of that movie you probably had on Betamax, VHS, LaserDisc, import VCD, DVD, and Super Special Collector's Director's Cut Unrated Extended And Enhanced Edition Double DiscDVD? (For those who said yes, I bet you bought it on UMD as well didn't you?) This is a new generation of the Betamax Vs. VHS war from the 80's and there will be only one survivor when the dust settles. Right now, I'm sticking with standard DVD. If I need to make a prediction, I'm going to side with HD DVD. Sure, the specs don't measure up to Blue Ray, but right now, the only thing Blue Ray really has going for it as support is the PS3, and Sony can't seem to figure out what the hell they're doing (see previous commentary above). The more recent announcement that many studios are siding with one format or another shows that the battlelines have been drawn. Paramount and Dreamworks are siding with HD DVD; Sony Pictuers and 20th Century Fox with Blue Ray. Overall, Warner Home Video has the right idea with their Total Hi Def format (HD on one side, Blue Ray on the other), but what's to say that either format will catch on? For now, I'm content with my standard DVD format.

Good idea - New hardware / software releases

Bad idea - New hardware / software releases near the holidays

What better way to boost your sales than to release a brand new system or highly anticipated title right before (or during) theWinter holidayshopping season. (For the record, I'm using the term "Winter Holiday Season" to encompass all religious and non-religious gift-giving holidays that fall between November and January.) Last year was a shopping nightmare. Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys R Us,and Wal-Mart (just to name a few) were beseiged by campers holding their place in line for hours...days...even weeks...just to be the first to grab up a brand new Wii or Playstation 3. Copies of Zelda: Twilight Princess disappeared from shelves as fast as they arrived. Being a retail veteranwith 15 tours of duty under my belt (I seem to get suckered into working at some retail store for the winter holidays every year), it bothers me to see grown, adult people go to war in a public shopping mall so their child can have exactly what his or her spoiled ass wants because he or she can't wait until next month when there are 1500 copies of that game on the damn shelf at every retailer in the city. I'm not suggesting that developers stop releasing titles and hardware during the holiday months, but it'sstupid to set a release date around the holidays just to create an unnecessary demand. I think everyone knows exactly why Reggie Fils-Aime announced that there would bea shortage of Wii systems this holiday...to boost demand. Which brings me to my final portion of this rant...

Good idea - Shopping Ebay

Bad idea - Shopping Ebay during the Winter Holiday Season

I like shopping Ebay. There's nothing more satisfying than paying a fraction of the price for whatever you're looking for. But not during the holiday months. Once an item makes the "Top Gift" list, you can bet that people are standing in lines at the stores ready to snatch up whatever they can just to turn a huge profit on Ebay. And there are people dumb enough to pay huge percentages over the retail price because they MUST HAVE IT! I saw PS3's going for multiple-thousands of dollars. Wii systems reaching the thousands. It was DAMN STUPID! What is wrong with people who can't be patient enough to wait until the systems are more readily available? I made a prediction last year that by January 21st, you could walk into a store and buy a PS3 right off the shelf. You know what? I was right. I said the same about the Wii, but I didn't think they would continue "having trouble producing systems" the entire year, but lo and behold, they managed to create a year-long demand for the system by keeping supplies short. And this means that there will be people scouring Ebay again this year paying hundreds of dollars over retail just to grab up a system for some bratty kid. I remember seeing a news clips online of reporters interviewing some of the first people to get Wii and PS3 systems. What did most of them say? "I'm going right home and putting this on Ebay and hopefully turn a nice profit". To those people, you make me sick. To the people dumb enough to pay these outrageous prices, you need to re-evaluate your lives. It's a damn video game people! It'll be around for a few years! I promise!

That's all for now. Take care of yourselves...and don't do anything stupid.

First of all, I'm going to start this blog with a note to all the unions I was a part of...I have resigned from ALL unions; even the one I tried to create that never got all of its charter members. I realized I was receiving far too many messages that I would end up deleting because, let's face it, I didn't participate in ANY union I had joined. I thank everyone who has ever invited me into a union, and I thank you for future invitations, but the fact is, I don't have time to post much in the standard forums, much less the union forums. Thank you all; it's not your union...it's me...

Ok, so on with today's questions:

1.) What game have you most recently been skeptical of, but then became hopelessly addicted to? (and why?)

2.) In contrast to Question #1, what game were you most excited about and then became horribly disappointed by? (and why?)

3.) For those of you with multiple consoles, what system do you find yourself playing the most? (If you only have 1 console, what,other thanprice, is keeping you from your next console purchase?)

4.) What gaming achievement are you most proud of? (This is your chance to brag...and I'm not talking about just Xbox 360 achievement awards.)

And my answers:

1.) Puzzle Quest (DS)- Ipurchasedthis the same week asZelda: Phantom Hourglass and Luminous Arc, only because I had so many people telling me what a great game it was. I didn't get it...an RPG played through a Bejeweled-style puzzle?How could this possibly be any good? I popped it in when I only had a few minutes to play, thinking it was just a cheap rip-off of most free online puzzle games. I was almost late for my appointment because I didn't want to turn it off. So, bravo to the development team that brought us this fine game. (Although I really can't see myself playing it on any other system than the DS...the stylus is perfect for this game!)

2.) Knights Of The Old Republic (Xbox) - Was I ever steamed about this one! I felt so mislead about the gameplay...from all of the screen shots I looked over,I was anticipating a fantastic 3rd person action title; not a half-ass psudo-RPG with a Star Wars logo plastered on it. I'm sure it's got a great story line, but it wasn't for me. And I know I'm offending some people by saying this. Hell, I even wrote a review for the game and someone went so far as to report my review to the GameSpot higher-ups that I was trolling! And my review was DELETED! (It's an OPINION GameSpot! You don't have to like it! It's what I really thought of the game!) What made it worse was that I had never played an Xbox, so when I got my 360, it was the first backwards compatable game I looked for...and I looked EVERYWHERE for a copy that wasn't scratched or had a beat-up case. This one hurt me bad.

3.) DS and PSP (tie) - As most of you know, I recently moved back to North Carolina from Florida. I'm living in my friend's spare room and most everything I own is in storage. Portability is key for me right now. I don't want to feel like I'm moving in and not look for a place of my own when I finally get a decent job.

4.) Zelda 3: A Link to the Past - Finished the entire game in one sitting and DID NOT DIE. Took me 8 hours and 36 minutes (with a couple of short breaks to get up and stretch my legs).

Now it's your turn...lets hear it peoples! Booyakasha

I'm always posting something about my life, what games I'm playing, or what's irritating me at any given moment. I've had conversations about the history of video games, unexplained phenomena, personal victories, and personal tragedies. But I realized, when all is said and done, I don'treally KNOW any of you. So this will be the first part of a series of blogs to get to know my friends on GameSpot. I'll post a new segment every couple of days with a couple of questionsI'll answer first and you can either reply here or send me a message with your answers if you don't want it posted where everyone can see. It won't be anything super personal...just a way for me to learn a little more about who I talk to on a regular basis. So, let's begin...

Today's questions:

1.) What irritates you more than anything in a video game? This can be anything from bad controls to poor text translationto even something console-specific like the DS touch screen or PS3six-axis sensitivity issues. Feel free to give specific examples.

2.) What games in your collection would you never trade and why? (Let's keep it to a maximum of 3 games or series of games)

3.) What games have you traded in the past that you most regretted and why? (Again, maximum of 3)

My answers:

1.) I hate not being able to fully customize controls. There were many games Icould have loved IF I were able to find a comfortable control set-up. There are some games that I struggle through, but ultimately I want to be able to find what works for me. Example: Call Of Duty: Roads To Victory (PSP). I picked this one up after I completed Medal Of Honor: Heroes (PSP) and I'm having a hard time playing through it because I loved the MOH control set-up and COD had nothing close to it. I still haven't finished more than 3 or 4 missions...

2.) James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing - fantastic use of the James Bond license, and quite a decent story to boot.

Second Sight - talk about story line! This was so good I sat down one day and played it from beginning to end again just to enjoy it like a movie. Not to mention I love Free Radical games. (Time Splitters is an awesome series too)

Mega Man Anniversary Collection - I love Mega Man. You can't beat the classic series. The X titles are good but they don't compare to the original.

3.) I kick myself all the time for trading Goldeneye (N64) and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2(Dreamcast), but the systems didn't survive so all I can do is hope that they'll be ported to a next-gen system (or the price of a PS2 copy of MVC2 drops significantly).

Now that the hard part is over, it's time to play the waiting game. The certification course I'm looking to take is only available to 15 people per semester. I'm on the list of qualified applicants, so all I can do now is hope that I make the cut. The admissions councelor told me about the different ways they narrow down the listof 30 - 40 people to the 15 that get to take the course. All I can do is be there every time there is an opportunity for someone to get cut so they'll know I have the determination to make it. More updates to come...

Moving back to the 'gaming' topic...

Let's start with the DS...I've done some shopping around recently andfound some great deals on a few new titles. I'm currently working on Puzzle Quest, which I didn't think I would like at first but I've grown quite addicted to it. I don't see how anyone could play it on the PSP though. I know the graphics are MUCH better, but I love having the stylus.It seems it would be awkward, like sudoku without a stylus. I've also decided to complete a few games before purchasing more. Easier said than done considering I just traded in Trauma Center and a few DVDs towards Zelda: Phantom Hourglass last weekand picked up Bleach: Blade of Fateyesterday. I decided it was time to trade Trauma Center because I was causing myself physical discomfort playing the game. I guess it was writer's cramp due to the nature of the gameplay in the higher levels...I haven't had problems with any other game since I've had my DS Lite (or the original DS for that matter). I've become addicted to Puzzle Quest, mainly because I can pick it up and play a round or two and switch it right off if needed, so I haven't had time to try out Zelda. I've played Bleach a little bit and I'm enjoying it. This is what Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers should have been. I'll post a full review once I've had more time to play.

As for the PSP...I've been putting off so many titles lately. I'm on the last few missions of Ghost In The Shell: SAC, but I just can't seem to bring myself to finish it. I love the game, but I think subconciously that I don't want it to be over. I have to finish SOMETHING in the near future though. Even so, I've decided to work on Tomb Raider: Legends for now so I can move on to TR: Anniversary. I'm one of those people that won't play a sequel before finishing the first title. Which gives me an idea for my next blog...more on that later though.

Cheers everyone!

Today will decide a large portion of the rest of my life. After 30 years of doing mostly nothing with my life, I'm taking myself back to college...IF Ido well with my placement exams.I've been a lot of things in my working career; a retail store manager, veterinary technician, stagehand,martial arts teaching assistant, bartender, furniture delivery person, copy center technician, and most recently a radio DJ. Todaycan decide if I will finally get out of dead end jobs and get certified to make REAL money...not minimum wage any longer. Today, I can finally do something to make my family proud. Everyone think positively for me today.

For my daughter, Alex...and in constant memory of my daughter, London Rose (Sept.16, 2007).

I've been looking around lately andhave taken notice of what's being said inthe blogs and forums...and it bugs me. I know that gamers are no longer growing up in the "old school" days of Atari, most kids never heard of Colecovision or Intellivision, but it's time to educate the youth of the gaming world. Kids today think "Old-School" means PS1 or N64...that's like country fanswho think old school wasthe first Rascal Flatts cd...or like one kid I hadto enlighten who thought Metallica began with the self-titled "Black" album. Old school in video gaming is NOT Crash Bandicoot 1 or Mario 64. It's not even Super Mario World and Pilot Wings (SNES). Those were all innovative and next-gen for uswho were there in the beginning. Hell, the NES was outstanding technology to me. Ihad an Atari 2600 for several years beforeI got my first NES. I played Donkey Kong in an arcade in 1982. I played Pac Man, Space Invaders, and even the ORIGINAL Star Wars arcade game. And this was back when arcade games cost a quarter ($0.25 formy non-American friends) to play. Not $0.50 or $1 for3 minutes or less of fun. Kids in my day would have mom and dad drop them off at the local mall and they wouldn't be going from store to store looking for their next shoplifting target, or looking for someone to jump because they were wearing the wrong colors...they would go to the arcade with a pocket full of quarters they had saved all week long, just so they could try to get the high score on Galaga or Q*bert.

Those days are long gone now. Most arcades had gone the way of the dinosaurs by the mid-90's...when most of my target audience for this rant werebeing born. So for those of you who do read this, take the time to mention it to a friend. Have them look into the history of video games. It's all right there on Wikipedia. All you have to do is look it up. Learn a little about how it all got started and progressed from a block bouncing back and forth across the screen (Pong), to a circle running a maze gathering dots (Pac Man), to a plumber bouncing on turtles (Mario Bros.).Learn abouthow it all came home to our living rooms, thhe great video game crash of 1983, and it bounced back and became the billion dollar industry that it is today. Learn about the evolution from 2D side scrolling 8-bit games into the monsterous 3D adventures we have now, thanks to some early gimmics such as Mode 7 (making 2D look 3D) and Blast Processing (Sega Genesis'claim to be faster than the SNES). The bottom line here, people, is LEARN. And if you have already gained appreciation for where your games came from, TEACH. There are far too many children out there who have yet to grasp the concept that they are so lucky to start out with games like Halo and God Of War...

In continuing memory of London Rose - Sept. 16th, 2007

What I'm loving right now:

I just played the demo for Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and I'm extremely excited about it's release next week. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is also on it's way...other than that, I'm waiting for price drops on a few titles. I'm also in negotiations for a job with GameStop (again) so a discount would greatly help my addiction.

What I've lost:

Some of you may or may not know that my girlfriend and I were expecting a daughter in December. I was called back to Florida last week to be by my girlfriend's side as we lost our child. I know this seems odd to be writing a blog about it, but it's my way of getting through this very difficult time. For those of you who have already expressed your condolences, we are very grateful. We are both continuing to heal, and thank everyone for their support.

In memory of London Rose - Sept. 16, 2007

Well, here I am...650 miles from my former home in Florida; back inmy hometown in North Carolina. And what a ride it was just to get here. I'm not just talking about the 10 hours in a car with 2 disobedient dogs; I'm talking about what it took to get out of Florida in the first place. I was scheduled to leave on Saturday, Sept. 1st but due to circumstances beyond my control, I was not packed and ready to go yet. Sunday came and went and still unable to leave town. Monday, September 3rd, 5:00 PM...I shut the door on the Uhaul trailer, load up my dogs, say goodbye to my girlfriend, and head for the gas station. After fueling up and prepping myself for the coming journey, I start out for the interstate. Less than a quarter-mile later, my trailer fishtails and I'm off the road and into the trees. My truck is totaled by the insurance company, a bunch of my furniture was damaged, and I'm still not out of Florida. So, after some help from the parents, I got another Uhaul and managed to get back to Noth Carolina in one piece by Wednesday night.

Now that I've made the move, I'm living out of a 10x10 storage unit, a duffle bag, and my friend's spare room. I have no access to console games, so my PSP and DS are my best friends...as are my portable DVD player and a few James Patterson novels. I've been wondering if this was even a wise decision since I had to leave behind my ex-wife, daughter, and pregnant girlfriend, but I keep telling myself that it's for the best and they will all be following me to NC in a few months. On the bright side, I'll be getting a part time job (which may progress to full time) with GameStop so I'll have the employee discount to help with my gaming addiction, and I should be able to replace my PS2 (and maybe the 360) in a few weeks if all goes right. In some ways, it's good to be home...