So I hope I'm not the only one that gets caught up in the music of a game sometimes. But the music can make a great game fall down on the rating scale or climb to a new height. So here are some case in point examples.

GTA Series: Vice City made have at the greatest radio soundtrack ever. It really made me feel like I was living in the decade that I was born into and only get to be in for 4 years. But GTA 4 had the best opening score. Michael Hunter did a great job with "Soviet Connection", it really felt like your going to have a tough time and a troubled past.

Halo: The Breaking Benjamin song was used very well in the game, I almost missed it the first time through the game. Martin O'Donnell and his orchestra made some great scores in music for a sci-fi game.

Metal Gear Solid: Amazing scores, full of emotion ranging from sadness to pure anger. Tense moments are made more nerve racking with the small amount of music.

Fable: Danny Elfman and Russell Shaw, made a great song for the opening scene of Fable 2. Danny Elfman is a great composer and has made many great scores in his time so far.

Final Fantasy Series: I may only have played VII, but the music for all the games is top notch. The emotion you feel in very song can make the moment in the game the one that you'll never forget. Aeires song is sad yet hopeful, One Wing Angel is a get rock song full of energy, Those Who Fight Further is another rock song full of directional anger.

The songs from the commercial campaigns that don't make it into the game, but make the hype even bigger.

Cage the Elephant with No Rest for the Wicked made Borderlands seem like a very open world were anything could and would happen.

Sun Kil Moon with Heron Blue makes Gears of War 3 fell like the end is near for the Delta Team and maybe Carmine(depending on the shirt count).

Gary Jules with Mad World made the first GOW seem epic and a depressing climb to the top. Thou the song is more well known for being in Donnie Darko.

DeVotchka with How It Ends made the second Gears game fell like some headway may be made in the series and yet the game could have been the end.

Chopin with Raindrop Prelude made Halo 3(the clay battle scene) seem epic and grand. A great song for the ending of the series.

Go on youtube and watch and listen to some or all of the songs and see how they make you feel.

This time I tackle Modern Warfare 2.(spoiler not happening) After playing the single player campaign, I took some time to let the experience go from being at the front of my mind so I would not pass quick judgement to anyone. So after about a week I was a my college job in the one dorm building and I got to thinking about the game. Here are the things that came up in my mind.

The overall feel of the game was epic. Grand scale of the story was a shock, and the graphics were beyond amazing.

First the story. The basic training was just as fun yet somewhat tedious after running through it a few times. But once you get in the thick of things you stay there and never get out of that hole you got into. The missions get more difficult as the game progresses but not to the point were you just give up and run to your room to cry. Was the game progresses, the story evolves into one very screwed up, twisted tails of being left for a dead man I can remember. There are some "aw" moments where your mouth hangs open and stays there for a few minutes as your mind tries to wrap itself around what it has just learned.

Combine that to the graphics and the games leaps up in the atmosphere. I felt as though I was running through the slums of Brazil to climbing the icy face of a mountain in Russia to taking down an oil rig in the North Pacific ocean off the coast of Russia. Every location felt real and could have been a real place in the world. Seeing the huge statue of Jesus in Brazil was one of the aw moments, just because they decided to put it in the game to say the statue is real and it makes the game just that more realistic.

I also liked that when you start the game a player can have the opinion to skip the graphic 3rd level which is in the Russian airport. Now I played it, because I wanted the full experience of the game and being 24 I have a handle on what I can see and not see. But it was nice to see that they were thinking of parents with younger kids who didn't want their kids to see it or take part in the mission. Skipping the mission won't ruin the game, you'll just go from the second mission to the fourth mission. You will be told about it in the loading scene.

Overall the game was momentous and aw inspiring. the cliff hanger at the end was worth the price of the game and gave me more incentive to wait for the next game installment. Plus the mulitplayer is addictive for any player. Almost missed a college course or two.

Video games are Violent!Unless you have been in a cave for the past 40 years or so you would have noticed that video games are violent. Most entertainment is to some point. People that say video games cause people to be more violent are just trying to give you their unwavering opinion. Having done research for two college papers, looking up articles on both sides and books that talk about influence of violence and gaming, I have found no real scientific proof that anyone can say with any data that video games are the cause of people being violent in life. Yes people can be idiots and try to reenact a stunt from a game, but that is because their idiots. Yes violence is something most everyone is exposed to on a daily bases be it from television, movies, music, video games, playing outside, walking down the street, or riding in a subway train, violence is everywhere. So if video games are the main cause then why are people not complaining about them being the reason for all violent acts? They usually use video games as a reason for youth violence.

I have been playing violent games since my sister and I started playing our NES in 1989. I didn't get into violent content till my dad got me a copy of DOOM on shareware. I have played plenty of games that make Doom look like a car accident involving a dog. I have seen some bad accidents driving/riding in cars or on a school trip, but a video game is nothing new to me. Why? Because my parents sat me down when I started playing Doom and talked to me about the game and the difference from the game world to the real world. I understood what they were saying and guess what....I have yet to commit a crime of any kind.

Games are not the issue, parents not talking to their kids are. If they parents are not able to then someone needs to talk the the kid or kids that are playing a violent game. The kid(s) will understand what your saying if you just give them a chance. Don't shield them, they'll just go to a friends house and play the game there.

No I don't mean to say let the kid play GTA 4 or Resident Evil 4 right off the bat, make them prove that they can handle it and not just say they can. When a kid sees that their parents trust that their not going to go out a shoot someone because they saw it in a game, the kid will listen to them when they say a game is not right for them to play just yet.

So the ESRB ratings are in place to help with this and most states in the US(not sure about the rest of the world) have laws that prohibit stores from selling games rated R or AO(adults only for those that don't know the ESRB system) to anyone not 18 or older and they must ask to ID with a birthdate. So if you are a parent of are thinking about having kids someday, and letting them play video games, you may want to get an understanding of the ESRB rating system. And if you can rent the game and play it before they do that can give you the best idea of what you fell they are ready for or not.

Sorry about the rant, but I get into this mood sometimes and hate that video games are made as an excuse for violent act in the world, when there is some other reason that is actually the reason someone did something terrible or stupid depending on what happened.

Please leave comments I would like to see what people think about the subject no matter what side you are one or what you think.

So after voting on the greatest villian poll I got to thinking about all the villains that I got to meet in games.

President John Henry Eden: A distant voice on the pep-boy, till you get to go face to screen with him. Through out the game you believe that he is real, you just can't find the man. Once you meet him in a bizarre manner of walking up to a door and hearing his voice. You start to realize that He knows his a computer, but he believes he is the real president and that he is the leader of the country. That is until you get him to destroy the compound and himself.

Andrew Ryan: Great scene with that crazed creator of a decaying Utopia. He basically gets you to kill him using the phrase "would you kindly". Makes you think about the game and if he was really that bad of a guy as your meant to believe.

Sander Cohen: Weird, creepy, bizarre, just insane. He has the greatest and creepiest entrance into a game I've seen so far. He kills a man for not continuing to play the piano then has you snap a photo.

GlaDOS: The Computer that only wants to see you fail. She gets you on her side with a reassuring voice and a promise of cake(lie). Then you get to go face to Hal-9000 eye with her. She's so convincing she gets gamers to get bad about killing the companion cube.

Dutch: He may not be in Red Dead Redemption till the last act, but he gives the player more insight into John then John does telling his life story. Up to his death he is still believing in his theory of what is right and wrong.

There have been more villains that I have run into but most of them are on the list or they were not the cream of the villiany world. these are just the ones that struck a sting in my mind as great villians. Some are good or even great, but they were just missing that one memorible thing that made them stand out.

Do you remember your first stroll into the realm of RPGs. Well my sister just reminded me of an RPG that we both played years ago. Earthbound was (i believe) my first stroll into the RPG genre of gaming. It may not sound like the best game to start with, but I didn't have any friends that played Final Fantasy yet, or any other RPGs at the time. So Earthbound was found by us at the local movie rental store, remember those places? So we rented it and got hooked right away. The third time we tried to rent the game was around Nov. and our dad stopped us. Well we know what that meant. We were getting a copy of the game. So that Christmas we opened the game and after the other festive things were over, we started up the game.

I years later hooked up the SNES and put the game in. After the opening cinematic I remembered most of what i needed to do in the first stage. With the book to refer to if need I got to the ending of the game in I think a 2 months, school and all that other social life took up some time. But that was the game that lead to me getting in to RPGs. I have played Final Fantasy games, I enjoy 7 the most but have played others. Now I am into what could be called a FPRPG. Oblivion and Fallout 3 are the new addition to my gaming life. Looking forward to New Vegas and the next Elder Scrolls game.

Earthbound may not have been the best game out but it was one of the few games that my sister and I both played. The story was not as epic as they are now, but that was not the important part, the enjoyment factor was right up there with the great games. The controls were simple, the story easy to follow, the gameplay increased at a good pace, the graphics were what they were of the SNES. Plus the game at what was a cover of the Blues Brothers Band in the game that helped you out later on.

So if you still have an older system and a game that you loved years ago, plug in the system and put the game in and life the excitement over again.

1: I'm a recent college grad.

2: Not a fanboy to one system, love the my PS2, NES, SNES, Xbox, Xbox 360. I want a PS3 or a Wii which ever comes first.

3: I'm a graphic Designer. The banner was made in Illustrator CS4.

4: Give a game a great story and a great cast and I'll paly it if i get a copy of the game.

5: I am a calm guy.

6: Enjoy meeting new people, thou I am kind of shy.

7: Most of the time i listen to rock or heavy metal music.

8: I like to help people when they need support with anything.

9: A great listener.

10: I do have facebook, but I rather call someone, then talk on facebook.

11: follower of the rules.

12: Would love to work for Bunge or Pixar if I could.

13: I watch movies more then once on dvd.

14: I beat a game, then let it sit for a while, that way the next time I pick it up, it's fresh and somewhat new to me.

15: Love to drink Irish Cream Steamers.

16: Hopefully I'm a great friend to my friends.

17: I don't trade in games.

18: Love videogames.

19: I like to watch the credits of the games and movies to see all the names of everyone involved.

20: I spent time reading your blogs.

Hope you had enjoyed my list.

So I'm sitting hear listening to Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" and other songs, thinking about how the damn heat that is hovering above where i live. Anyway, now to the real subject. Today on DVD came Red vs Blue:Reconstruction or Season 6 of the series. If you have not heard of this series then here is a quick debrief for you. Two teams, one red and the other blue(obvious). They occupy Blood Gulch. They never really fight each other, cuz one side gives up to the other. Anyway, they get a common enemy in and A.I. and face it for 5 seasons. Now they are trying to kill a freelancer that is host to many A.I. components. So now your up to speed. So what is it about season six that I can't wait to relive....the voice overs at the beginning and end of each episode. To see how they combined all the episodes into one seamless movie with the voice over work. If it is made like the other seasons, it will not disappoint. If you want to get your hands on it and not wait for it to be shipped from their studio in Texas, run on over to your nearest Best Buy(sorry for the promo) and pick out the two disk box set. So StarCraft 2 part 1 is also out today. Can't wait to play it, but I am looking for a full time job, since not being in college anymore money is something i like to save for the important things. But once i get a job then StarCraft 2 is going on the mac. Also a short side note, I made my own version of a Red Dead Redemption trailer, which i downloaded from the offical site, edit in iMovie added in Muse-Knights of Cydonia and removed the voice work from the trailer. so its on my facebook page fro right now. if you want to see it ask me for my facebook url and i can give it to you. Comments are welcome.

Having seen E3 this summer, and now with the news coming from Comic-Con there are many games coming out that I think should be checked out.(changed song on iTunes to Battle without Honor) Anyway, most of the games many people have heard of in some fashion, and others are for the few fans that remember them. In the Gears of War world, there is a great debate going on, the subject is if a character named Carmine, should live at the end of GOW3 or be killed. Now I have not yet played GOW2, not much free time at college and needed money for supplies for art classes, But Carmine is the 4 brother in the family of five(i believe). So there are many that think he should make it out in a Saving Private Ryan style moment, and there are others that think he should just face death and get it over with. I think if they decide to let him live, then they need to make the moment they own style and not just some hollywood version(I enjoy watching Saving Private Ryan). It got so big that there are avatar shirts on Xbox Live that count in a poll that goes to the Epic team and lets them know what the fans think. So if the fans want a dead Carmine and a living Carmine, then they will need to spent the points to get the shirt that shows off the side they stand on. Halo: Reach, is the last in the saga of Humans vs Covenant. This game has no Master Chief, which I think is a good idea, if he isn't the most important Spartan yet then don't tell his story in the game, but make mention of him some how. Hopefully Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Alan Tudyk are voices in the game again.(Big Firefly/Joss Whedon fan) There is a new American McGee's Alice game coming out. I remember the first game, only cause my sister played it on the computer and the is in love with the story of Alice and Wonderland. But the trailer is only 30 sec. long, but it is very disturbing to watch, when you think about all the different movies and games already made on the story. Tim Burton is on its weird and SyFi is not that odd to make an trailer with a girl opening her mouth full of blood, and someone asking her what happend in what she called "Wonderland". Rock Band 3 is adding the long waited keyboard. Which means more songs from bands that have keyboards in them. So here comes Steve Miller Band, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Edger Winter Group and more from decades past. So if you play the piano and want to be in a band here is the next step in that direction. Finally, I will end with this. I am still waiting to hear something about the next GTA game. I just want a location, and if they pick Boston or Philadelphia then I will be very happy. I think they would both make good locations for the game series.

There have been many films based on video games. From Super Mario Bros. starring the late Dennis Hopper, Bob Hoskins, and John Leguizamo to all the terrible Uwe Boll films that should never be considered films to the newest Resident Evil 3D adventure coming out later this year or early 2011. The film that got me to think about this subject was the information i found on IMDB.com on the up-and-coming film version of Kane & Lynch. An ok game that didn't pass all the hype it was shooting for, but the story seemed to good to just stay in a video game form. When I was looking at the imdb page i noticed the cast list was only at two stars. Playing Kane is Bruce Willis, which i think is a great pick. Since he starred in Sin City, he seems the best fit for the role. Now playing Lynch is Jamie Foxx, which I don't get, the character is Caucasian and Jamie Foxx in African American. I like Jamie Foxx as an actor from Collateral to Ray and most of the roles he has played, he can act, but why are people changing the race of a video game character that is staying the same in the upcoming sequel Dog Days. This is just like The Prince of Prussia film staring Jake Gyllienhaal. They should have gotten an actor that fit the nationality of the character over the name of a star. Jake Gyllenhaal has done a number of movies, but non are that great except Brokeback Mountain. So Kane and Lynch could be a great film and Jamie Foxx could rock at playing Lynch better then any other actor. There are some games that should be made into films at some time down the line, hopefully before I die, but they need to have the right director, writer/s, producers, and cast. Here are some of the games I'd like to see get made: Portal Left of Dead or Left of Dead 2(which ever is easier to make first) Red Dead Redemption Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Bioshock Zelda:Link to the Past Metal Gear Solid Halo Gears of War Beyond Good and Evil Mass Effect Again this is just some of the games I would like to see made, I know i may have missed some and that is cause i have only been playing games for almost 20 years give or take. If the game can get a great script and director, then a cast that can handle the script and bring it to life, the film could stand a change at making some major money. I'm not looking to see it win best picture at the Oscars, but to see critics(like Roger Ebert) give it a great review would make me feel good about the progess. Now if i could just get Uwe Boll to stop making movies altogether, that would be a step in the right direction.