Guilty? Me? Does this even make sense? I find it amazing that even after nearly three years, I still have something that can best be described as guilt over returning Gladius to the store.

Where does this come from? Why would I even have these feelings after a decent amount of time has passed? I have a few theories:

-I want to know how it ends! I enjoy a good story - and games are no exception. This explains how I can have as much fun watching a game as well as playing (Metal Gear Solid), or how I can keep playing a game deviod of fun but from good source material (Star Trek: Klingon Academy).Gladius had a great story; slow-building but definitely there.

- I feel like a wimped out on the game. I started Gladius, and I should finish it. It's that simple. I can't stand starting a book or movie and not finishing it, and the same thing applies here.

- When a game garners high critical praise, it seems like I should have enjoyed the experience more. I use GameSpot a lot to help decide what purchases I should make. Gladius received a very respectable score (8.4), and that was important in my decision to pick the game up. I'm not blaming the high score at all, I just feel like I missed out on something.

So there you have it - the reasons for my "guilt." Are they good enough reasons? I mean, do I deserve to feel like I messed up somehow by not sticking with the game? In the end, I think the answer is no. And here's why:

First, you have to establish context. The main reason I didn't stick with the game is being recently married, spending hours a day on a RPG that your wife finds incredibly boring tends to lead to some disagreement. If I want video games to be a part of my life now that I actually do have more important things going on, I need her on board if I'm going to play something for any length of time. Gladius didn't make her cut, so that's one huge strike against it.

Second, in keeping with context, I had only just begun to enter the world of RPGs. Some might not consider Knights of the Old Republic a true RPG, but it was the closest thing I had come to the genre so far. Going from the quick pace of that game to the slow walk of Gladius made it easier to let it go.

Third, the game's high score does not have to reflect my own personal taste. This may seem an obvious fact - but I do put stock in what people in the industry say about a game, and I concede that their experienced opinion holds more weight than mine. That being said, I still don't have to agree with it. With any game, it comes down to what I like - not what someone else tells me I should like. (I give you Panzar Dragoon Orta - I hated that game!)

To sum it all up, Gladius was a great game. It had a great world map and soundtrack. It had great cutscenes with dramatic flair. It had good combat system, interesting storyline, and fun characters. But, it wasn't a great game for me. I think it is possible to label a game as great without personally liking it as the same time.

February 24, 2007 My brother came overthis past Saturdayand we capped off a great afternoon with a little Rallisport Challenge. I hadn't played the game in awhile, since I'm stuck at that insurmountable plateau Ialways seem to find.

That plateau is defined by me not get any closer to beating the game in roughly three years. It inevitably happens in every racing game I play. Burnout 3, Gotham Racing 2, etc., it doesn't matter - I always get to a point that I can't get any further. Every once in a while I'll pick it up and try again, but I can never seem to get beyond my limit, so to speak.I keep buying racing games though - so I must get some fun out of it.

Having him over also made me remember how much fun it is to actually play with someone else. Not having Live or the Internet (my computer's so slow I'm not sure if it could handle the double-click of a mouse on a webpage), it's easy to forget.

I love my single-player world, but it's nice to have a friend over now and again.

Thoughts on Fable: The Lost Chapters - First off, the atmosphere of the game was amazing. The most recent action RPG I've played was Knights of the Old Republic II, and that already had a pre-packaged world to build around. Fable had to start from the ground up, which is no small task.

But every area in the world, from the Guild to Hook Coast, was masterfully rendered and presented. Towns, taverns, shops and fauna were beautifully done to make an amazing world for the Hero to quest in.

The story was good, but it could have been better. How? How about this: if you want to build up tension for a climatic final battle with your arch-nemesis that will decide the fate of all of Albion - don't do it by having the main character read about it in a book!

The only way to get a back story (other than cryptic remarks from your long lost sister) was to read about Jack of Blades, your bloodline, and the Sword of Aeons from some random text you hopefully picked up along your wanderings.

Jack of Blades could have been a great villain, but you don't even hear of him until you're captured by him a little over half way through the game.Then- before your know it - you have the showdown of the world with him! It just seemed to happen so fast, since there was no build up to itin the actual game world. A cut scene, or better yet some actual events in the game itself that revealed to you who (or what) Jack of Blades was, what your relationship was with him, how your family's bloodline figured into all this, etc. would have really beefed up the tension for the final confrontation.

Instead, after Jack is defeated, the world seems pretty much the same. Because he didn't affect it too much when he was around, his death doesn't seem to rock anyone's boat in the end. You're told it does, but you can't really see it. All in all, still a really good story - but it could have been great.

While the main story could have used a little more, the "game story" - the atmosphere in general (as I mentioned before) was fantastic. Being able to own homes and rent them out for money was especially satisfying, although I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because I felt I was actually earning something on my own merit - I don't know. If only I could have bought a shop or two...

Having the Guild be a place I could revisit anytime I wanted also brought a wholeness to the adventure. I love the exploring and constant travelling - but it was nice to have a place you "grew up in" that you could always return to.

I enjoy games that give me a sense of "hominess" - a sense that I belong to that world. Fable: The Lost Chapters certainly did that.

This game also has me wanting to play through on the evil side of things. Usually when I finish an RPG, there's really no motivation to play through it again - even if there are slight changes with how the game ends. You can usually predit the outcome - and the same could be said of Fable's ending. But sinceyour character (and NPC's reactions to him) really can change throughout the game, I really would like to see the other side of things.

A few bullit points to wrap this up:

- Never had time to get married - kept putting it off, and now I've finished the game. Thank goodness life hasn't imitated art!

- The singing guy in some of the towns was a nice touch - actually putting a few of my adventures into verse. Cool.

- The Chamber of Fate was sweet - I loved the tapestry and the bridge, just the sense of reverence the place gives.

- After reading a book in Maze's quarters, I was able to find Avo's tear (incredibly powerful sword - the ying to the Sword of Aeons yang). Since the main game was already over, I now had this sweet sword with nothing to swing it at. Would getting it sooner had made it sweeter? Oh yes.

- The final final boss battle with Jack in dragon form was very cinematic, very well done. A little lame how after defeating Jack the first time he now simply reappears a year later, is twice as powerful, and taunts you like you're nothing.

- Glad I have the Lost Chapter's version. Based on what I've read, I would have definitly missed the new content.

- I love the detail in the game. Small, off-beaten paths / names and clever sayings on every gravestone, etc. Nice.

- I can't get the oracle to work! YMCA? Huh? Not working!

- Soundtrack was fantasic - still in my head.

- Best use of magic I've ever seen in a game so far. Quite a number of spells, and many of them sweet. I loved using them and it made the combat fun.

- Very clean level-up system. Menus and items also done very well. This wouldn't matter, except there are so many items (including tofu) that it all could have been very messy.

- Bowerstone South...Tavern...memory card game...BEST MINIGAME EVER! Actually fun! What a concept!

As always, if I can find a game that my wife enjoys watching me play (and actually looks forward to doing it), then I know it's priceless. Fable: The Lost Chapters is a great game that gives your imagination a lot to work with.

The Fourth of July, 2005. A time of family, food, and fireworks. But this year, that morning held another memorable moment - Knights of the Old Republic II is history!

So, on to my thoughts. First, this Knights was everything I could have hoped for after playing the first one. Great battles, interesting characters, and (above all) an amazing story. Suiting up in the Ebon Hawk for the second time never felt so good.

There were a few weak points. On Malchor V, when Hanharr come back to fight Mira, I had to roll my eyes a little. How did that all happen? Did Kira bring him? Why was Mira just wondering around the planet? And then, after the fight, I just let him walk away (light side)? Kind of lame.

Another weak story point also had to do with the final planet. You see your ship fall to its death down the cracks of Malchor V. As a matter of fact, the cut scene is called, "The Death of the Ebon Hawk." Yet, when my character needs to leave the planet, the ship just floats up and takes him away. And what about the other characters? Darth Traya (Kira) tells you what happens to everyone, but then you fly away from the planet without dropping anyone off. Where did they go? How did they get to the future that Kira saw for them?

I guess I had problems with the story because, to me, that was the best part of the game. And with that said, that still was the best part of the game. When you went back to Dantoonie to meet the three Jedi Masters who you spend the entire game up to that point searching for and they simply try to sever your connection with the force again, I couldn't believe it. I really thought, based on the dialog from at least two of the Masters, that they had learned from the mistakes that they admitted they made when judging me before. Yet, as I stood there, they told me what a danger I was and how I had to be stopped.

And then Kira comes in and kills them! That blew me away! I thought she has just used the force to simply to hurt them, but when I walked up to their bodies they were dead! Now what? Ah, onto Malachor V. The whole sequence of going through the ancient temple, fighting Darth Sion, and finally facing Kira (Darth Traya) was fantastic. (Facing the other Sith Lord was also sweet. Landing on the Ravager, placing the bombs, then the long walk up to his bridge to finally face him. . . very dramatic - loved it.) So she was a Sith - even though she didn't want power. She wanted the death of the Force - and sacrificed herself for my character to try and accomplish it. The connection with Revan and my character, that he left to fight the true Sith in their empire and that I might also have a similar destiny, gave the two games a nice continuity.

The final scene of the Ebon Hawk sailing out into open space after the destruction of Malchor V was nothing short of cinematic. The music added the final touch to truly send off a great game.

One of the greatest compliments you can give a game is to want more, and I can't wait for Knights of the Old Republic III.

I'm nearing the end of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - just landed on the last planet of Onderon. (Probably not the last last planet - I'm sure there's some twist still yet to come. Regardless, I think I've got about ten hours left. Is Kriea really evil? Will I have to fight her for sure, or choose to let her live? We shall see...)

I'm enjoying this one as well as the original Knights, although that game was really my first true experience playing a RPG so it will always hold a special place. I'll have to write about that event later - definitely a Great Moment in Gaming...

I love the sense of accomplishment in the game. I'm sure it's true of most RPGs, but to go back and visit a planet I had been to before was a great experience. Walking down the corridors of Telos nearly thirty-five hours later in the game was like old home week. "Oh, there's the plastic cylinder I opened last time," or "here's the shuttle bay where I fought what's-his-name."

If I'm going to talk about video games, then I have to start off by dedicating this post to my grandma. When I think about it, she was the first one to really get me interested in video games. Well, she didn't start my interest - but she was the one to get my brother and I an NES so we could actually play.

Ah, our own system! No more would I be forced to sit on the sidelines at my friends' houses while they played. No more would the phrase, "You can play the next game" bring a sting of resentment into my heart. My grandma bought us a system, and it was all ours.

You know how grandmas are. She had always spoiled my brothers and I, and the Nintendo was just another step in that process - a precious, precious step. God bless her! She had it all - cable, late bedtimes, and now a real NES for her grand-kids to play.

But she didn't stop there. What was different with my grandma was that she actually played the games with me. I remember countless time when we would play Super Mario Brothers. She would be Mario, I was Luigi (I always liked him better, I don't know why), and we would go through the stages. Of course, as anyone who has played the game knows, the "2-player" mode on Super Mario Brothers only let the other person play when the other died.

One last thing: I know there are some people out there who play their games in this way, and if so, I completely understand. I still do it myself from time to time, if the pressure is high enough. What I'm talking about is the ability to mimic on-screen moments with your controller, or even your entire body in order to help yourself through the game. Come on, I know you know what I'm talking about - Mario jumps, so you move the control pad up when you hit "A." Master Chief peeks around a corner, and you find yourself moving your head to the same side. It's an interesting (and sometimes unnerving) gaming phenomenon - and my grandma was the best at it. You could actually measure the height of Mario's jump in real time by how high her controller went up!

So, I raise my controller to you grandma - and thank you with every save, every stomped Koopa, and every 3-hit-combo.

Ah, my first post! Well, to get to the point - I (so far) only have the Internet at work, so all my postings and viewing of GameSpot tomfoolery is on the clock. What does that mean? It means I'm technically getting paid to do this. I don't know how long this situation will last, but I like it.

If anyone ever reads what I write here, I want to give them a heads-up: this is going to be my thoughts on GAMES and how they interact and (I believe) enhance my life. I'm not going to talk about the latest movie, what I had for breakfast, or list my various complaints about the world. While I'm sure those posts are interesting and popular to many people, I'm on this site for one reason and one reason only: the gaming baby! GameSpot is hands-down the best site on the web to do this, and that's what keeps me coming back.

On that note, a big thank you to GameSpot and its editors. All the hard work you put into this site shows, and the world loves you for it. Seriously, I enjoy coming and here and not only getting any info about the gaming world I could want (reviews, news, videos, etc.), but to see a group of people who seem like a blast to just hang out with and who truly care about and enjoy the games they play.

Finally, I'm married and we just had our first baby - a daughter! :D Why does this matter? It matters because that's my life, and gaming is something that enhances it, not runs it. Towards this end, I won't be posting every other minute of every day about the latest news on how many bees are in the new Zelda trailer. If I say something I want it to be something important to me.

In the end, no one may even read these posts besides me, and that's fine. All I want is to be able to glance back from time to time and see how, without video games, my life would have definitely been missing something. :)