... To say Thankyou! Over 800 profile views now, and that makes me sorta proud. It's a respectable number, especially for someone who's never been featured in the Soapbox or anything.

So thankyou, readers, for your continued... Reading!

Nab's thought: 3 days to go.

My second review here at Gamespot ever has just gone up, and it's for Crackdown. Perhaps a little late, but I wanted to put enough hours into the game before making my final judgements.

Here it is, if anyone is interested:
http://tinyurl.com/2lqlek

(Link changed to TinyURL due to the URL being a bit long, and the end becoming unviewable for most screen resolutions. Looks like you'll need to copy and paste it though. Or wait until the review shows up under Newnab's Contribuitions).

Edit No. 2:  Forgot to put a Nab's thought... So here you go:

Nab's thought: I finally saw the movie "Hot Fuzz" today. Awesome movie, I reccomend it to all of you (It comes out around April 20th in the US of A), especially any fans of Shaun of the Dead (It's made by all the same people).

I've been steadily working my way through Crackdown now, and I'm enjoying it very much.

Just as my interest was starting to wane in the game, I realised I was a few short feats away from getting some more achievements.... And I just played for hours without even realising it, trying to get them.

That's what achievements should be about. They shouldn't be about quickly giving the people who buy your games a quick 1000, and they shouldn't all be about being some super 1337 skillz master. They should be about encouraging people to play games to the full, and the way they were meant to be played. And Crackdown, for me, has pulled that off superbly with it's range of achievements.

Let us hope forthcoming releases (C'mon Worms... SO much potential for great achievements there) deliver more of the same, and here's a toast to developers who think about their achievements and make our already awesome games even better.

Nab's thought: 4 days to go.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12878/Worms-Passes-Certification-Release-Date-Still-Unknown/ 

Not long now..... C'MON WORMS! I'M WAITING!

http://topsecret.acclaim.com/ 

That just popped up... It seems interesting. I signed up. I doubt they'll take anything from a 16 year old, but still. It's pretty cool and just fun to go along with.

The Videogame industry is one that I'm sure lots and lots of people from Gamespot would like to get into, in some capacity. The industry is doing very well and you have to compete with.... Millions, I bet, of eager others all wanting the same first step on that ladder.

Some of us (Like me) have no real talent in creating games (Though over time, I seem to have accumulated roughly 20 videogame ideas fully fleshed out in my head)... If there's any way into the industry for me, it'd have to be in a journalistic capacity. I've spoken before how this would be EXCEEDINGLY difficult in my area... Sadly, there's nothing videogamey in the rural county of Cornwall. But it's nice to dream.

Anyway, it's weird to think, isn't it? Some day, in the future... Some of your Gamespot friends... People whose blogs you've read... Who you've seen post rants or raves on  the forums... Some of them may actually make it, and you may be playing their games in a few years. Rather incredible, if you ask me.

Good luck to all my Gamespot bretheren in finding their way onto that ladder... And watch out for snakes. ;)

Nab's thought: Come to think of it, why the hell isn't Snakes and Ladders on Xbox Live Arcade?

Well, with the first major title I wanted for 2007 now finally mine, I thought I'd just plan ahead to what I'm going to get, and decided some of you may be interested. Maybe not, but tough. I'm writing it now and that's final.

So, next up (Hopefully) is Worms on Xbox Live Arcade. Cannot wait. Pleeeeease happen soon. I have 2100 MS points ready.

By the time June/May comes around, I'm going to have a difficult decision to make. Shadowrun or Mass Effect? I may be able to afford both by then but I wouldn't bet on it. One is going to be an awesome single player revolutionary RPG extravaganza... And the other is going to revolutionize multiplayer, is awesome according to everyone who has played it, has cross platform play and is a new twist on the FPS formula... Tricky decision for sure.

My thoughts will then turn to Halo 3... Being a massive Halo fan, and having missed out on the special collectors edition of Halo 2.... I'd REALLY like to show my appreciation for my favourite videogame series ever, and something that has shaped the kind of gamer I am. I want the Legendary Edition (Comes in Master Chief's Helmet, 4 disks of content) but it'll probably cost a hell of a lot of money... I'll find someway to make it work.... Someway.

And from there, I will look to Half Life 2: Orange Box (If it hits this year). Half Life 2 I want to play. I'll probably want to play the two episodes, too. And Portal will be fun to play... But Team Fortress 2 is going to be where it's really at, for me, I think.

Mmmm.. Good year for gaming.... Someone send me money. >_>

Nab's thought: If you've noticed I stopped putting "tags" on all my blog posts... It's because I was only doing that to get the emblem and now I'm bored of it. :P

... Up here, atop the height of all awesome gaming. ;)

Crackdown arrived, and I finally got myself Uno thanks to a free code from an online aqquaintance. I have 2100 MS points waiting in the wings for Worms on Xbox Live Arcade.

Crackdown is proving to be very, very fun. So glad I bought it. And, yes, I got a Halo 3 beta invite copy!

Next up: Shadowrun. That game looks hot. Or maybe Mass Effect, depending on which comes out first.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12813/Girls-Who-Play-Video-Games-Have-More-Sex/ 

 I'll give you a sec to let that sink in. The URL was enough to shock me for five minutes. It gets worse when you open it. The article almost actively encourages stalking, but, put away your penis This isn't specifically what I'm going to talk about.

As those who know Steinbeck may have already worked out from the punned title, this blog post is... A case study of how things just don't work out for some people. Not to slate the guy as much as hopefully entertain you somewhat. Let me introduce you to a lil' guy called Vadcol. Well. He'd prefer it if you called him Major Vadcol.

Vadcol is a man who... I've thought disturbed since I met him, who basically, has an irrational hatred of Halo 2. Such evidence can be found here:

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=5695816&postRepeater1-p=2 

You may notice he keeps referring to "his people" and taking his opinion as fact. As... Sad as he was, he sure had ambition (disproportionate to his ability, but whatever.). Here's a little quote:

"As for me creating a game that can blow away Halo 2 or even Halo 3......I can definitely do it. All I would need is resources from Microsoft to develop my own studio called SoftCorn. The product engine that my studio would create is called FOMAC.......Futuristic Online Military Assault Campaign. Without going into details......trust me, with the power of Xbox 360 and dedicated servers......this unknown game would blow the crap out of Bungie and Halo 2 into pieces. If Microsoft would like to contact me to put Sony's POS3 out of business and take Xbox360 to the next level, you can reach me at *******@Hotmail.com."

So. Yeah. Where am I going with this? Well. In a full circle. That quote about how he was going to revolutionize the gaming industry and bury PS3 was about a year ago. Going back to that original article about gamer girls getting more action in the bedroom. Take a look in the comments section, at what he is up to, one year on:

"Major Vadcol memo: 1030 hours

I'm sorry, but I have played with many females on Xbox Live and became good friends with them. They have never offer sex to me, never. Even though I am a married man, I would not turn down any form of sexual advances (including cyber-sex) from soft spoken ladies if offered.

If there are any gaming ladies on this thread, 18+ and over, that would like to have cyber fun with a 35yo military officer on Xbox Live Video Chat, please contact me at ******@hotmail.com or add me to your Friend list. My gamer tag is *****.

I will accept all of forms of female companionship, thought I do prefer mature married ladies to help me get started. I have never performed cyber-sex on Xbox Live; I may seem shy at first. You must have a XBL camera and good headset. I will not do 3some with hubby."

Best laid plans, eh? XD Guess we'll never see SoftCorn or FOMAC...

Nab's thought: Over 700 profile views. I feel special.

Well. I did it. I pre-ordered Crackdown.

Those eagle-eyed keen readers of Newnab's blog may infact remember my inclusion of Crackdown in my "Most wanted of 07" list. Those who follow me like a stalker may know even more about the anguish I finally went through before buying it, but I'll detail it here anyway.

So. Crackdown. It looked awesome. I got the demo. I didn't like it at first but as I experimented with levelling up the abilities I grew to love it. And I had my cash set aside to buy it. Plus. Halo 3 beta! Lovely bonus.

Then Gamespot's review had to come along. Now. 7.8... That... Isn't fantastic. And Gamespot didn't usually lead me astray. Was the demo all the fun there was to be really had? And now what was I going to do about getting into the Halo 3 beta!? At this time I made a rant (Rather eloquent and well put for a rant, I reckon) on the Bungie.net forums (The first thread I've made there in years) about how the UK and other parts of the world have simply been shafted. While Americans got multiple ways to enter the beta, more than one of them for free, everyone in England had one option. Buy Crackdown.

And this in itself was a further problem when you consider that High Street stores in England usually sell 360 games for rediculous prices. Online, most 360 games are £40. In the high street, they're usually £50. To put that in perspective for any American readers, that difference of £10 equates to $19 American Dollars.

So. If I wanted the Halo 3 beta (Which I did. I really really did.) I would have to not only buy Crackdown, but, buy a specially marked box from a store to ensure I didn't get shafted by the vendor. Major WTF.

I have since come to believe that this situation is Microsofts fault, and not that of Bungie (Who're usually very good to their fans). I also finally heard that Amazon.co.uk are as good as promising those who pre-order from them will be given the ones with beta access. But was it worth it still? Gamespot's score told me otherwise... Eventually,  I gambled. I put my money down as pre-order on Amazon (Aswell as picking up some more MS points for WORMS and so I can finally get Uno.).

There you have it. I bought Crackdown and more MS Points. And now? I'm glad I did. I simply have to disagree with Gamespot's score and say it deserves more than that for sheer fun value. And now I get to enjoy the Halo 3 beta, too (I hope).

Time to get some final play out of Halo 2 before the beta for 3 hits, methinks.

Computer problems have kept me away for some time, but now I'm back with a new article for anyone else interested in me. According to my profile views that's actually quite a lot of people.

Anyway, I may have briefly gone over this in an early blog post quickly, but this is a more indepth version of my "Gaming Journey." And by that I mean... How did I get to be the gamer I am today? How did I become an Xbox 360 gamer and FPS fan? Well. Here's the story.

It all started when I was little. My friend had an N64 and I liked to go over there and play Super Smash Bros. I myself got a PS1 and got into games such as Crash Bandicoot and Micro Machines (Games which still hold a special place in my heart.). I got into Goldeneye on his N64, and I got a new PC which had The Incredible Machine, Swiv 3D and a demo of MDK on it. I loved all these games (Swiv is a Helicoptre flying game, for those who've not heard of it. It had an awesome intro sequence.). I went on to buy MDK for my PS1 and my love of shooters was sealed.

Then, the new generation dawned, and I found myself with a choice. To me that choice was between PS2 (For MDK 2) and Gamecube (For Super Smash Bros Melee).  I decided there was only one way to decide. To go to the shop and play both demo kiosks. But both were in use when I got there. However, one was not. The Xbox one. I had heard of the Xbox (Only from digs and insults hurled at it by the Playstation 1 Mag I was subscribed to) and decided to just play it to pass the time.

The demo was the "Silent Cartographer" level of Halo.

Ten minutes later I knew which console I had to buy. An Xbox. And an Xbox I did get for Christmas that year (With Halo, Splinter Cell, and TimeSplitters 2).

That year I was sick at Christmas. Everything I ate came right back up again, so when my family tucked into their Christmas Dinner, I had hooked up the new console and seemed to be into TimeSplitters 2 the most. But I decided to give that game I tried in the shop a bit more love, and started to play that. I played it almost all day.

The next day I played it again, but invited my lil' brother to play Co-op with me. We did, and much fun was had.

I went on to enjoy a wealth of good games on the Xbox, including JSRF (Which came free with my Xbox, I should add, and got me in love with Cel Shading), Knights of the Old Republic, Mashed (A throwback to my Micro Machine days) and finally, Halo 2. I also replaced my computer, and lost Swiv, MDK demo and The Incredible Machine, and became a big fan of Bungie.net as it was, before they switched everything for Halo 2. ;) During this time also, Xbox Live dawned (March 2002 I believe? Or was it 2003. I cannot remember.) and I decided I wanted it. I had to have it. But my internet was AOL and that sucked, because they didn't support it.

Then, the Xbox 360 came about. Gears of War looked great. Mass Effect (from Bioware, makers of KOTOR) looked great. Plus... Halo 3. So it had to be done. I invested a lot of cash in my 360, and finally sorted out a wireless router and got myself Xbox Live. Now, I enjoy Gears and Halo 2 on a regular basis online, and very much look forward to my gaming future. :)