Giant Bomb is launched. Goodbye

First off: I guess it's kind of ironic that literally as soon as I step down from the leadership position at my union, seemingly about to abandon GS, I have a renewed interest and start posting more blogs within a couple weeks than I had in months. Funny. Anyway, as far as the title goes, Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness: Episode One (or PAA:OTRSPD:EO, for short) released today. There has been this trend lately with me where I have almost no interest at all in a game but out of nowhere I become a near-raving lunatic about it and absolutely cannot wait to get it. Case in point: Penny Arcade. Maybe because I, and what seems to be a numerous amount of other gamers, have gotten in the mood for a good old fashioned adventure game. Also, (and I came about buying Bioshock from almost the same spontaneous craving) I just seem to like entire vibe that I get from 1920s - 1940s themed subjects. The game is very enjoyable although the battles become more difficult a bit faster than I had expected they would. It is really not a problem, however, as your team (I hesitate to use the word "party") seems to completely heal in-between battles. All the token Penny Arcade humor is there, and it's good that I enjoy it because I hardly ever read the comic, though I know it's consistently funny. If it weren't for the 1600 point/ $20 price tag, along with the fact that this is only one of an as-yet-undetermined amount to come (meaning I will have to spend more money), I would say this purchase has been completely without anxiety, but I can't say I'm not glad I made it. Now, enough about that. I put this in the "Movies" category because A. I'm sick of putting it in the same two every time, and B. I saw the Death Note movie yesterday with some friends. Dubbed Japanese movies based on something that would still be considered to have a cult following in the U.S. do not get wide releases, so we had to go on a 2-hour drive to Knoxville, TN, to see it. Surprisingly, the theater was packed, and yes, there were cosplayers. Cosplayers. In Tennessee. Need less to say, not something you see everyday. I was in no way dressed up for the occasion, since I have never even seen Death Note, yet it has been strongly recommended. However, while leaving, one of my friends remarked that, had I worn a white t-shirt and jeans, I could have passed for L (the brilliant young detective, for those who haven't seen/read it). I proceeded to curse him for not thinking of it sooner. I got back about 11:30 at night, after having left school early. Good thing I didn't have to go in today. It's my first off ;)

Well, seeing as how my mother is still adamant about not letting me get GTA IV, no matter how much I say in its favor, it appears I must settle for less. I've had the free downloadable version of GTA II from the Rockstar Classics site for a while, but didn't really like it that much and I can't remember if I just deleted it a little while ago or not. So last night, I got a sudden urge to play GTA III, or any GTA that I could get my hands on. I will just say that music is probably the greatest of stimuli to trigger memories (screw scent!), and so when I heard a song my friend played when I was trying out GTA III his house a few years ago, I had, absolutely had, to play the game again. Luckily, LimeWire proved its use once more, although the game's .exe file would not respond, thus the game would not launch, and I was once again GTA-less. So like any good deadbeat with a craving, I went to the Rockstar Classics site to get anything I could. This time I got the first, the original, game and was about to install it until my computer had another stupid error and shut down. Allow me to state that 512 MB of RAM is just $#!+ these days, and so when I do something too "strenuous" for my crap comp, it can't take it and buggers out. Piece of $#!+ ! Anyway, I was going to re-download GTA, until I went back to the III file I had and had a glorious revelation in which I realized I should run the Setup file, then voila!, it works. So now while everyone else in the world is playing Grand Theft Auto IV, and while everyone who really cares will already have beaten it, I will be playing Grand Theft Auto III. That is, until I get sixty bucks and my mom isn't home.............Hooray, summer vacation! (3 more days)

Whoa, it's been a long time since I last posted a blog here (or anywhere, really). Well, that's because I've lost my interest in GameSpot. None of the guys that made me love it are here anymore. The guys that are still here are great, don't get me wrong, but you just cannot have GS without the rest. It is this reason, along with having many things like school, family, etc. on my mind, that I have not been active on GameSpot for the past several weeks. So, while I'm here, I might as well post what's up with me:
Basilisk - I bought all 5 volumes of this manga based on the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls over Spring Break. It's kind of Romeo & Juliet-ish, but in a more mature and Japanese way.
MySpace - I finally made a MySpace the night before Spring Break. If you have an account and would like to add me, just e-mail me. Also, please be sure to tell me who you are :P
BioShock - Having a spurt of Art-Deco enthusiasm after reading about the 1920s and 1930s in my history c|ass I was (for the second time) in the mood to just go out and buy BioShock. I finally did one day after school. Seeing as how I turned 17 in March, I was able to pick up a Used copy, which was originally priced at $45, for only $20 (Edge card + $7.70 store credit + fact that BioShock was on sale). I've only just gotten to the Smuggler's Hideout, meaning I just exited Fontaine Fisheries and have played no further, so I still have a ways to go, but the game is awesome nonetheless. I love hacking, shocking then headshotting Splicers, and of course getting achievements. Yes, I actually save the Little Sisters, but the Big Daddies are a b****.
School - I am currently reading two old books, one for Chemistry and one for English. I made an 88 on my last test in History II, and I need to study for my Final, which is in about 11 days. For World History, I must make a Powerpoint presentation for a project due tomorrow on the Silk Road. In fact, I'd best be getting to work on that. Prom is in two days. I bought a ticket but I'm not going to go. It's a waste of time, seeing as how I didn't really want to, my friends aren't going to, and the girl I was going to take decided as well that prom is overrated. I guess I'll just spend my night playing Team Slayer. Good enough for me.
Other - Pretty much anything I forgot to mention. Of course, if this is all the stuff I've forgotten about, there's really not going to be anything here, now is there? (Except this)

:shock:OMG, the Giants just won the Super Bowl! I mean, !!! . I just saw the Patriots lose their perfect season and it could not have been sweeter.:twisted: It was looking pretty bad around 2:00 left in the 4th, but NY pulled through with that nice touchdown pass from Eli to Burress. Now that that's done, all that remains is for the Colts and Giants to meet at the Super Bowl next year and it be a tie game. Somehow.

Exactly as the title states, nothing really exciting has been happening. Like just about everyone else, it seems, I have been doing a lot of stuff other than GameSpot, like, oh, we shall not refuse to say that most wretched of all human institutions made distinctly for children, as the public school of which I speak, and so are countless other escapades upon which a young human might endeavor, and so test their hearts, minds, and altogether being to make true blah, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah, blah.

If you did not understand that last sentence whatsoever, then you know what it feels like to read the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's collection of run-on sentences, old & obsolete words, and unneeded exclamation marks. It is the first reading assignment for my English III Honors class, and I have a display board project on it due tomorrow. It has a kind of sad ending, but it is only sad if you like the characters (and seeing as how Hester Prynne is played by Demi Moore in the movie, what's not to like?). The day that got wrenched from the hands of school today by bad weather gives me time to finish the project on which I have hardly even started. That, and just piss around all day. (My way of saying "screw around", so don't freak out or anything)

Man, oh man! if that last Call of Duty 4 achievement isn't the hardest ever. I got all the intel pieces, all the TVs busted, and beat the game on Veteran. But even though I've seen people's strategies on YouTube for beating it, I cannot complete Mile High Club within 1 minute. The only game where I've gotten over 900/1000, and I'm only 20 short of the full amount :evil:

Well, from the way things are looking, the format war is almost over. HD-DVD, although comparatively cheaper and probably just as good as Blu-Ray, appears to be the loser. Universal and Paramount are the only exclusive studios, while the Blu Bastards have Fox, Disney (not that I care), obviously Sony Pictures, and now Warner Brothers. I wouldn't be so against Blu if it weren't so against Sony. I used to love the Playstation brand and I even used Sony as part of a project for school in 7th grade. But then they went and screwed us with the PS3. Combined with Halo, that is the reason that I now own a 360 and, although Microsoft is really no better, I hate Sony.

Yes, everything feels like crap lately. I'm sick again, I'm 2-3 days behind on my Chemistry homework, and I broke my sword making a video about the Crusades for World History.

But hey, at least Undertow was free.

I finally got over 5,000 achievement points today, which I know is nothing compared to many of you out there, but for a more casual gamer like myself, it feels pretty good. They came from Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, which is in fact a very good game despite a few issues with somewhat sensitive controls. I'm not quite done with it, but thanks to a good bit of snow here today, I will have enough time tomorrow to finish it up. Yep, school was supposed to start again on the 3rd, like usual, but apparently someone thinks we shouldn't go in tomorrow. Fine by me. Gives me time to become a Chunin :)

Oh, and if you want a laugh........

Today is December 25th, 2007, and I hope it's a good one for everybody. I hope everyone got at least most of what they wanted. I got a new keyboard/mouse combo, because my old mouse was screwing up, and I figured it was worth it to get the whole deal. I just got that, new earphones, a proof set of coins that I get every year (unspendable money? that's unheard of!), and a couple stocking stuffers like a Hershey's Special Dark bar and gift cards for iTunes and Barnes & Noble. That's less than I've gotten before, but pretty much because Halo 3 Legendary was an early present this year. Now I'm off to go eat dinner at my neighbors'. Merry Christmas you guys!

Well, I'm beginning my Christmas Break early and heading back home to Florida today. I'll stay at my grandmother's for about a week and then head back up here just before Christmas. I am still not sure whether or not I will be taking my 360 along, or for that matter, if I will be on LIVE even if I do. Hypothetically speaking I am on LIVE, I will be playing CoD4 or Halo 3. If it doesn't say either of those nor the Dashboard, then it may just be my mom watching a movie at home. So that's just letting you guys know about my potential LIVE presence for the next week or so. I will however be able to get online because this grandmother, unlike the other, has Comcast high-speed, so I won't want to kill myself when browsing the interwebs. Anyway, just telling you all where I'll be, and in case I'm not on again by the holiday, I want to wish all my friends and those reading a Merry Christmas, all my friends of the Jewish faith a Happy Hanukkah, and to everyone a Happy New Year. And to fans of Seinfeld and Jerry Stiller, Happy Festivus. Peace, Joy, and fragging to you all! :D

In light of recent events, why should I? I think that anyone who loves the old, once-great GameSpot, whose age is now sadly coming to a close, would agree that there will no longer be anything worth paying for. I may act stupid some times, but I'm not dumb enough to pay 20 or even 40 dollars just to see my favorite game masters drop off one by one every 5 months or so. Greg's departure was a disappointment, but at least he was moving on to another job. The loss of Rich was one of the saddest days recently that I can remember, just because that man was the face of GameSpot. He was everyone's favorite host, and no head went unhung. This latest incident, if reports are true - which I wouldn't doubt - is very appalling indeed, and neither C-Net nor any of its lesser business incorporations shall see another cent of my money until a certain editor and gamer-extraordinaire is reinstated to his former position and no Eidos advertisements ever grace the pages of this website again.