So, another year has been put to rest and twenty ten is just on the horizon. For many, the new year represents a new beginning, a chance to do things different, to boldly go where no man has gone before. I am one of these people, emerging into the new year with a shot of adrenaline to the arm (not literally though. Remember, drugs are bad people). I am back and better than ever. The future is just ahead, and my friends it is brighter than an atom bomb. Let me show you.

Last year, I would probably make some remark around here about how the Wii looks like it will have another craptastic twelve months of underwhelming games, but even cold hearted PS3 and 360 fanboys have to admit that this is a great year for Nintendo. No More Heroes 2 is just around the corner, and we know Nintendo is working diligently on Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. I have my doubts as to whether Metroid will be released this year despite it being announced as a twenty ten title, but even without it there is also Sin and Punishment 2 to fill the gap. Xbox fans won't be left in the dust either, with Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2 and Dead Rising 2 to get those controllers pumped, as well as their Project Natal to be most likely storming out of the gates later in the year. And of course, it looks like another fantastic year for Sony, with God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Yazuka 3 and more to fill our blu ray drives with delight. Whether you like it or not, this looks like the most balanced year for gaming across all consoles I've seen in a while. I hope your wallet is ready.

To kick off the year, and as a part of the title, gamers already have two games arriving on January 5th: Bayonetta and Darksiders. Most of you probably know already about Bayonetta and its crazy, flashy combat, so right now I actually want to talk about the lesser known, more personally anticipated Darksiders.

Now, to be fair, I didn't know this game existed until a few days ago, when I was looking at the upcoming games for the year and spotted it being released very soon. The art grabbed my attention immediately, with plenty of gorgeous looking demons and wonderful aesthetic to the world. Interest peaked when I read more into the game and found that it apparently borrows a lot from the Legend of Zelda series, meaning intricate puzzles mixed with fun combat.

Storywise, you play as War, one of the four horsemen famous for leading the apocalypse. Something goes astray, however, when the end of the world starts prematurely, and it is up to you to find the other three riders of chaos and stop the current apocalypse from getting any further.

The concept is cool, the comic book look of the game seems well detailed, and this will probably be my first gaming purchase of the new year. Speaking of which, hope you all had a fantastic 2009, and an even better 2010.

After looking through several past blogs I've posted, I noticed a few issues and items that kept coming up with each one. First off, I'd like to apologise for lying to all of you.

See, in many previous posts, I promised many, MANY game reviews to be on the way, to be gracing you fine people on a regular basis. Little Big Planet, Fallout 3, TWEWY, and most recently, a Professor Layton review have all been promised by me, and I've yet to deliver. The thing is, while I would love to write reviews for every game I own, a problem keeps rearing its ugly head at me. To put it bluntly, I am a slow writer. Heck, typing this blog alone will take me two hours to finish, with not even counting the editing. Typing up game reviews takes even longer, especially if they're to be of top quality. Pierst179, if you're reading this, I salute you for continuing to write such fantastic and detailed reviews on a regular basis. With enough hard work, I may be able to meet half of your abilities.

Anyway, again sorry for the lack of anything and everything from me. I will continue to TRY and write as much as I can, though I will make no more promises about doing so.

Getting back on track, the second item I saw in past blogs is that every school semester, I would give impressions of the courses I am taking. With this being my fifth year in High School (some call it the victory lap or "super 12"), I thought it would be appropriate to do the same thing again this year.

Always having a knack for math, I decided to raise my own difficulty bar and took Advanced Functions, one of the hardest math courses available. It is a preparation course for Calculus, another course I will be taking in Febuary. With one week in, I can't say we've tackled any hard problems yet, but I'm sure they're around the corner. The two hours of homework everyday (again, slow writer) is what will keep me from gaming and blogging most, though it definitely won't stop me.

Next up is English Literature, a course I would've not even consider four years ago. It was only a year and a half ago that I started to take an interest in English in general, and it was Writer's Craft that boosted my enjoyment in the medium. Taking English Literature is the next step, and we will be reading extensively in the course, which I am very happy about. One of the books we will read is Pride and Prejudice, so if you've read it then please let me know if you liked it.

Wanting to learn more about Coding and software (specifically video games), I am also taking Computer Science this year. It's a somewhat similar to the Game design course I took last year, but with more of a focus on C++ and assembly code. It's only been a week, and I already know fancy terms like branching and preambles. I'm extremely excited for the things to come in this course, and I can't wait to try and build my own game with this knowledge.

Lastly is a course that really is just filler, but can still be fascinating. Theory of Knowledge is a course that teaches you to be a critical thinker, and to not always take things as 100% true. In one of our classes for example, we discussed the question "How do you know you exist?", and before long people where talking about theories and ideas I thought would only ever be heard in a movie like The Matrix. It's a strange, but potentially fun course.

So...how DO you know you exist?

That's all from me at the moment guys. Keep reading, keep blogging, and I'll catch you next time.

Hey guys, I'm back from Fan Expo! For those who don't know, last Sunday I went up to Toronto to see one of the largest conventions in North America. I had an amazing time walking around and seeing all the people in their costumes and all of the merchandise for sale. I decided to bring my video camera and got a bunch of great footage, thanks to the nice folks who participated. I edited together a compilation for your viewing pleasure, which you can watch from the link below! :D

NailBail's trip to Fan Expo 2009

I'll give my summary in retrospect to the video. Being the gamer I am, I immediately started towards the gaming centre, where plenty of demos were on display for anyone to try. Sony seemed to have been the big contender, with playable demos for games like Uncharted 2, God of War 3 and Ratchet and Clank Crack in Time. Lines to play these games were fairly long, and I didn't feel like waiting an hour just to play a few minutes of a video game. However, I did manage to get a quick play of Bayonetta, just to say I played it before all of you :P. Other games being displayed include Madden 10, Wii Sports Resort and Smash Bros. Brawl.

At around 12 PM, Steve Downes began to sign autographs for all the eager Halo fans. After waiting patiently, I finally got a chance to meet him for a brief moment. He was really cool and kind enough to sign my copy of Halo 2, as well as say a quick line on camera for me. Unfortunately you can't hear him very well, what with the amount of noise in the hall, but just the fact that he did it made my day right there.

Shelves upon shelves of action figures, comics, masks, DVD's, plushies and just about anything was on display for purchase. It would have been easy to spend a whole grand that day, but somehow I managed to keep my budget at just over $100. I bought an awesome vinyl poster of Link from Twilight Princess, a stand up cut out of Phoenix Wright (you can see it in the video, on the table at 3:55), the complete volume of Gungrave on DVD, a bunch of buttons, and a Light Yagami plushie.

Being in close proximity to celebrities was cool, though I didn't actually get a chance to meet Leonard Nimoy or Lou Ferrigno. Just meeting the spock himself cost $60! :shock:. That's insane! I got a shot of Aaron Dismuke (from Full Metal Alchemist) signing autographs, and I believe Brad Swaile's signing was free, but by then it was 5 PM and my family was ready to hit the road, leaving me just enough time to film him real quick.

The art on display was phenominal. So many artist were there to show off their work to the public, and lots of talent was clearly present at the convention. Great work on the art guys, I wish I had enough time to see it all!

Lastly, the cosplayers made the Expo a sight to behold. People dressing up in their favourite character's costumes made it feel like a true convention. I tried to get as many shots as I could, but even with my camera put away I saw costumes that showed dedication and hardwork in their apparel.

By the end of the day, I was tired out. Endless walking, filming and buying made it an exciting but exhaustful day. I've learned a lot from filming at this Expo, and I hope to see others in the following years. Thank you to the people who organized the convention and all the fans who attended. Enjoy the footage, and I'll catch you next time.

Aggh! What's wrong with me! I bought 3 new games within 2 weeks! At this rate I'll be broke :cry:. As some of you may know, I bought Blazblue a short while ago, and I was content with playing it for at least until Scribblenauts came out. However, my eyes found themselves on an article showing that this game:

would be on sale the day it came out for $40! And to be the sneaky buggers they were, the deal was a one day thing. Not being one to like spending $70 for a game, I rushed down to the store to pick the newest Dark Knight game up. Luckily I also still had a gift card from the holiday season, so all in all I spent only $20 for a brand new title :shock:.

But NailBail, that would make only 2 new games that you've bought so far, someone would say. That would be correct, except that on the way home I also bought:

With its recent hype about the newest sequel, Diabolical Box, I decided to add this praised game to my library. I've been enjoying both games so far, and in fact I've already beaten Curious Village. How was it? You'll have to wait for my review to find out. ;) That leaves me with wandering the corridors of Gotham City's most frightening place, Arkham Asylum. Since I was a wee little lad, Batman had always been my favourite hero. Even as a kid I knew Batman was cool, so I thought buying this game would sort of be like an homage to my childhood. The game is certainly better than I expected it to be, and you should be expecting a review for it on the way as well.

Be careful exploring new places my friends, and I'll catch you next time!

FanExpo tomorrow!

In about a week, on Sunday the 30th, I will be heading to Toronto to be apart of FanExpo, supposedly one of Canada's largest conventions. it's a place where Sci-Fi freaks, comic book guys, anime junkies and, yes, even gamers can go to have a great time. There should be plenty of merchandise to buy, so I'm holding off on spending moo-lah for now, though I don't know how long it'll last. Of course, what kind of Convention would it be if there weren't some special guests coming too? Luckily, quite a few people are on the guest list, many that I don't know, but it's cool that this many people care to actually come to our cold, isolated, freezing country :P. Definitely one of the biggest stars there will be...

the spock himself, Leonard Nimoy!

Also, arriving for us gaming freaks, Steve Downes will also be there. You might know him as the guy who does the voice of...

that's right, Master Chief will be at FanExpo. Yes, I know what you're thinking. The Chief doesn't talk a whole lot in the games. But it's the words that he DOES say that cling to ya, like the infamous..."I need a weapon".

Not only that, but quite a handful of anime voice actors will be there. I am particularily excited to see Brad Swaile , the guy behind the voice of Light Yagami from the hit series Death Note!

Ahh! I just remembered I haven't even bought my ticket! :shock: I need to go and do that now!

If you'd like to see the official Expo site, it's right here.

I've also been playing a lot of this lately:

That's enought outta me. See ya next time!

Most of the time, trees serve nothing more than being a barrier or nice scenery. Our earth brothers never really get their chance of fame in the sunlight (which is unfortunate, cause they thrive on that stuff). Hardly are they ever seen as a prominent role, so here's a tribute to the ones that stand out. Here are some of the best trees in gaming that make our games that much greener.

Whispy Woods (Kirby series)

Why does this tree always look surprised? Mr. Woods has been around ever since Kirby's Dreamland and is forever persistant at throwing his apples at the pink puff ball. Whispy gets points for being an evil tree, which you just don't see a lot of, though he doesn't exactly have the most threatening demeanor. Also you have to wonder, how hard is it to FIGHT A TREE?

The Great Deku Tree (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

This tree...has a mustache. I don't really need to say more, but I will anyway. Like any old man, the Deku tree is filled with webs and spiders, and it's up to Link to clean him out. He watches over the Kokiri, a group of children who never seem to age. Being wise and also brave, this tree stood his ground (quite literally) and refused to give in to Ganondorf's demands, and ended up cursed for it. Tough break big guy.

Iifa Tree (Final Fantasy 9)

Granted, I haven't played Final Fantasy 9, but the tree looked so amazing that I had to add it to the list. The way it manages to tower over the surroundings menacingly while still somehow looking beautiful is astonishing. From what I understand, the tree emits a mist that's used to create Black Mages, and is also used to filter the souls of Gaia. Zidane and his group travel to it to find Kuja, a villain in the game, and if there was ever a tree to be used as an evil lair, it would be this.

Harold (Fallout 3)

Think of Harold as Treebeard's mentally deranged cousin. Well okay, that was a bit harsh, but being a half-human half-tree mutant definitely doesn't make you the prettiest flower in the garden, if you get me. Harold should've known something was wrong with him when a tree started to grow on the side of his head, and now he's rooted to the ground. Despite not being able to move, Harold didn't forget to have a sense of humor, and even named his tree Bob (though he sometimes likes to call him Herbert).

The Boggly Woods Great Tree (Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door)

I'm no botanist, but I don't think black trees are real. Even so, this seemingly threatening giant is not a fortress of doom, but actually the home of cute little Punies (yes, they are called Puni). Our famous plumber comes across this gothic plant on his quest to find Peach (gasp!), as well as seven power crystals that Will help him on his journey.

The Trees in Grand Theft Auto

I know what you must be thinking. These are just plain old trees! There's nothing special about them; just ordinary, run of the mill trees! Well, in any other game you would most certainly be right. However, in a game that's based around destruction and mayhem, these trees turn from "innocent scenery" to "instant car stopper". Light posts, mailboxes and traffic lights tremble in fear as my blazing corvette rams into them, laughing as I go. But that laughter quickly stiffles when I see a driver's worst nightmare: an incoming, terrifying log of timber in my path. Whether a lurking palm tree or a three foot stick, it will stop your death ramage in your tracks, making them one of the most feared trees in video games.

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next entry!

From helmets to hoodies, there are many pieces of headwear that complete many recognizable costumes in video games. Whether it be Mario's red hat or Master Chief's Spartan helmet, they are in games to spice up the characters, and the following are some of the best head accesories in the business. Glasses, bandanas and the like are what I'm looking for, so you won't find any crazy hairdues here (we'll save that for another list ;) ). Also, please don't be a whiny baby of your favourite doesn't make it, it's just a list.

Best pair of Glasses: Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)

Sure, Wesker's dark shades are badass, and Gordan Freeman's specs have a mix of smarts and ass kicking potential,but their face windows just seem...plain. However, plain is no way to describe Mr. Touchdown, or No More Heroes for that matter. Incredibly zanny, Travis's yellow tinted sunglasses shows that he doesn't give a flying fish what anyone thinks of him. And if anyone objects, they can answer to his lightsaber.

Best Bandana: Solid Snake (Metal Gear series)

Seriously, when you think bandana, who else do you think but Snake? Before Marcus Fenix donned his head cloth, there was Solid Snake bearing his awesome bandana as he snuck his way around military facilities and weapons factories. You never see him without it, even in the final showdown against his brother Liquid. I know Ryu from Street Fighter is also a worthy contender for best bandana, but he's not as iconic for his head band as he is for...well...HADOKEN!

Best Headphones: Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You)

I honestly couldn't think of any other character that rocks the 'phones more than Neku (then again, I couldn't think of ANY other character that wears headphones period). Neku wears these purple ear-blasters throughout his adventures in the Underground as he tries to win back his right to live. Not only are they stylish, but they also represent Neku's separation from the world and his distant nature towards others. Yay symbolism!

Best Hood: Altair (Assassin's Creed)

Altair's mysterious, sneaky attitude is perfect hoodie material. He actually uses his white hood to help blend in with the crowd, making it one of the more useful assesories on this list. Never has tilting your head down ever been so enticing since this crusader made his way onto the video game scene. Now let's just hope that his great ancestor Ezzio can pull off the same look.

Best Helmet: Captain Falcon (F-Zero series)

Holy...Crap. Don't look at the picture too long, or else you'll overload on cool (it can happen). Captain Falcon's blazing red racing helmet pretty much blows any competition off the track, whether it be the intimidating Brotherhood of Steel power helmet or Olimar's bubble head. The gold falcon emblazoned onto the front is enough to strike fear into the hearts of racers and people around the great captain. Women want him. Men wish to be him. And everybody loves the helmet.

Best mask: Goron Mask (Majora's Mask)

You all thought Link's pointy hat was going to make it somewhere on this list, didn't you? Well you're wrong, mostly. In the sequel to Ocarina of Time, Link had an ossortment of mask's that he could wear on his adventure, so it's no wonder one of them made it on here. My personal favourite would be the Goron mask because it turned you into the coolest race this side of Hyrule. Not only that, but you also had the ability to turn into a ROLLING BALL OF SPIKEY DEATH!

Best Hat: Metal Cap (Mario 64)

There are a lot of different power ups in the Mario universe. Some can make you fly, others will throw fireballs out of your fists. One in particular turns you into a walking T-1000 from Terminator 2. Ya, I think we have our winner. This cap you were very lucky to come across in Mario 64 encased you in metal, allowing for underwater travel and causing heart atacks in Goombas across the mushroom kingdom. Honestly, if you saw this coming towards you, I bet you wouldn't want to be around either.

That's it! Thanks for sticking around, and I'll see you on my next entry!

What, you want more? You say there's more pieces of headwear? Like what?

Earrings? Umm...okay. How about...

Best Earrings: Rachel (Ninja Gaiden series)

Yes, those are definately some nice...earrings.

Alright, time for a good ol' fashioned update, since I haven't done a real one in a long while.

First off, the final video project from school is done and posted on Youtube. It is titled "Illusions", and follows the adventures of Ricky Jones as he decides not to take his medication one day, and strange things start happening to him. Technically the film is unfinished, but it is still very much watchable. The only problem is that a few transitions, sounds and effects never got into the movie before the deadline. Anyway, I liked the way it turned out, and the class seemed to like it as well. It's worth watching at least for the fight sequence I think :P

Click to view Illusions

I also posted a collection of bloopers from our previous film, The Encounter. Warning: strong lanuage is used...all by me -_-

Click to view The Encounter bloopers

So Grade 12 is done for me...kinda. I'm happy to say that I'm going back for a fifth year (also known as super 12) in September. This is because I'm one of those oddballs who likes school, and because I don't want to be thrown out into the real world just yet. To tell the truth, it makes me kind of nervous, nearing the age where I'll have to get a full time job and live on my own. :S I need to start looking into some colleges...

Gaming wise, a big turn of events is that I sold my Xbox 360 a while ago. I think this was a good choice because I hardly played it since I bought my PS3 and I was in fear of it breaking for the third time. It's also helping me with my video game hiatus. Yes, that right. As part of my summer plan, I've decided to shorten my time playing games to lenghten productivity. Throughout the summer, I hope to do things like cook, learn how to drive, write a bit, volunteer for some community sevice, and a whole bunch of other awesome things. I love playing games, but I think im overdue for a long break from them.

Another thing I've noticed over the past two months is that I have begun a starnge fasination with anime. Normally I hated them for ridiculous plots involving underaged teenagers going on grand adventures (Pokemon, Naruto), and for never ending in ridiculous amount of episodes (Bleach, One Piece). But recently I've found a few series that are quite mature, dark, and short on length. My favourite of them is probably Death Note, in which a high school student (NOT a ten year old) finds a notebook that can kill people. The series spands over 37 episodes, so check it out if you get the chance.

Hope all of you have a great summer!

We as humans like numbers. That's just how we roll. They can sum up our value of anything, and are used to show pricing, quanity and quality of every day items. We depend on them for grocery shopping, paying bills and basic math. Why you would almost think we are dependant on numbers. Luckily though, we still have our opinions and independant thoughts, and those couldn't possibly be represented by ratings, right?

Sadly no, of course they can. I mean, how do you think our grades in school are made, or television ratings monitored? Our opnions are simplified into digits so that they may be easily processed by the big shots in the industry. It's the same with reviews; the writer puts a score based on his thoughts onto the review so the general public can get an overall grasp of his views. That's all fine, but the problem I have with this system is that many people only look at the digits, and the actual review itself becomes secondary. What's the point of voicing opinons then, if no one's going to read them?

Look at the arguements fanboys typically make.

"On GameTrailers, Halo 3 got a 9.8, but Killzone 2 only got a 9.2. That clearly means they liked Halo 3 better. Do the math!"

Honestly, this is an insult to reviewers everywhere. Instead of hearing what reviewers have to say about the quality of the game, gamers compare the score like immature children comparing school test marks. The statement tells nothing about the qualities that make Halo 3 score so high, or what could make Killzone 2's slightly lower. That number we reviewers give does not justify our opinion, or yours for that matter. For example, which of the following people would be more helpful to a reader:

"inFamous is a great game. The gameplay is a lot of fun and the missions are well varied and keep the concept of electrical powers fresh and exciting."

"inFamous is a great game. Definitely a 5/5."

Obviously the first guy is more useful. He tells of many positive aspects that make inFamous a great game, where the second merely gives a score. Numbers do not prove a point. Let your words do that.

Unfortunately, the second guy's arguement is used more often, and that my friends is because people are lazy. I'll even use one of my recent reviews to prove it.

Not too long ago, I wrote a review for Resident Evil 5 and posted it on several gaming sites. This was my first review without a score, but since Gamespot's posting system required one, I'd decided to just give it a 1/10 as a joke and make a disclaimer in the header saying the rating meant nothing. Apparantly the disclaimer wasn't enough.

Link to NailBail's Resident Evil 5 Review

As you can see, the review was thumbed down numourous times, most likely due to the fact that I gave the game "such an atrocious score". Yet if any of those people actually bothered to read the darn thing, they would see that I actually didn't mind the game at all. I wasn't even angry about their ignorance. In fact, I was laughing because the controversy of the low score made it my most popular review, with more than double the ratings of my previous articles. This proves that readers value the number we give more than the words behind it.

As a reviewer, I can say that most of us take some time and thought to put together a decent article. We do it for the benefit of the public, to let them know what are the hits and misses. That's why I get a little upset when fanboys brandish scores and ratings around like weapons, and why I don't want to use a score. A number is not what makes a game, but the experiences felt from the gamer, and that's what we try to tell you in our reviews. Read what we have to say, listen to our opinions, or else you'll just be a calculator processing numbers.

Movie Review: The Godfather
Genre: Drama
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Rating: 5/5

An offer you can't refuse? How about a movie you can't miss!

Ever since it was release back in 1972, The Godfather has been known as a masterpiece. Not only considered to be the best mafia flick of all time, but one of the best movies in general. After seeing this film for the first time, I now know why it is still so acclaimed to this day. The actors are brilliantly casted, the characters are likeable and believable, and has one of the best stories in cinema Hollywood has to offer.

Don Vito Corleone (Brando) is the leader/head of the Corleone Mafia Family, and hosts his daughter's wedding while arranging business plans. His youngest son, Michael (Pacino), returns to New York from World War 2 in time for the wedding, and is the only one in the family not involved with "the business". When the Don is attacked and is almost killed, it is up to Michael to avenge his father. After the revenge is complete, Michael goes into hiding in Italy while war wages between the five Mafia families in NY. The members of the Corleone family need to figure out how to settle the war, as well as decide what will become of the Don and his unknown successor.

Probably the most interesting character in the movie is Michael, the aspiring college student destined for great things. His development from being a civilian to a boss leader is one of the biggest aspects of the plot, and really drives the story. If there is a thing to critique about this otherwise fantastic development of a character, it is that Michael's motives are never really made clear. We don't know why he suddenly changes his mind about joining the family business, or why he's willing to kill for them. Maybe it's because of his love for his father, or the business somehow seduced him into it, but we never find out, leaving his intentions a mystery.

Every actor in The Godfather is fantastic and wonderfully casted. Brando and Pacino make great leading roles, and even smaller parts like Bonasara and Solozzo do terrific jobs in creating a believable world of crime. It is their performances that make watching the nearly three hour flick great, though cutting the movie's length down would certainly help move it along.

It is astounding to know then, that this perfect cast almost never was. Paramount Pictures hated the idea of Brando playing as the Don, and even stars Al Pacino and Robert Duvall were thought to have been poor choices. Thanks to Coppola's persistence and determination however, the studio gave in and allowed Coppola to have the actors he desired. Who knows how the movie would've fared if Coppola decided to back down?

There is no doubt on The Godfather's legacy. Even with some slight confusion on character development and being quite a lengthy film, it's still a phenomenal movie that deserves the praise that it gets. It has a great plot with fantastic characters to boot. Go see The Godfather, or you'll be missing one of the timeless movies of all time.

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Oh ya, and on a side note, sorry for not being here in like a month. School had been really pressing with all these projects and exams coming up. Luckily the summer break is almost here, and I'll be able to continue doing blogs and other reviews and such. This review was one of my assignments I had to make, so I thought I might as well post it. See you guys in a few weeks!