I wanted to post here to let you guys know that I'm pretty much done with Gamespot. This just isn't the place to go for games anymore. I'll still be checking some of your random blog posts and maybe commenting here and there, but I most likely will not post blogs anymore. You will probably see me at Giant Bomb once their community functions are up and running this summer. And in the mean time I will get my game news from Kotaku and Joystiq, which post 20x as often as Gamespot News.

If you want to play games together, there are multiple ways to get ahold of me:

Steam: poost65@gmail.com (will pop up as AOD_Poost)

Xfire: poostaru (will pop up as AOD_Cpl_Poost)

Xbox Live: Poostaru

I also have a Wii, but I don't have the number handy atm (contact me by email if you'd like to play some SSBB).

I will probably be on PSN by early summer, once the MGS4 pack is released in June.

Interested in online PC gaming with a great group of people? Check out Angels of Death at www.clanaod.net. We have divisions in many popular games such as World in Conflict, Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, World of Warcraft, Warrock, and a few more. I am in the TF2 division, and it's always a blast.

Take care guys, see ya on the flip-side!

According to Joystiq.com, Ryan Davis is leaving Gamespot. The reasons are pretty obvious, but if you are interested check out the full article here.

EDIT: Gamedaily.com and Kotaku have also posted articles within the last few hours and can be found here and here (respectively).

EDIT2: Official word from the man himself.

No movie since The Sum of All Fears has put me in such a great state of suspense. The film as a whole can be summed up in one word: intense. From the initial monster attack until the end, you never really know what to expect. And with a monster as crazy the Cloverfield creature, be prepared for some "oh snap!" moments.

The entire movie is shot from the view of a single camera held by one of the characters. There are no cuts to different angles or aerial shots to give wide views of the landscape. We see only what the camera sees, and know only what the characters know. Though jarring at first, the shaky camerawork gives the film a great feeling of realism, in an era where Americans love to watch amateur video on the internet.

The film begins with introduction to the characters. The camera is owned by Rob, who has recently been hired to work in Japan. We see him and his girlfriend Beth planning a trip to Coney Island. The camera cuts and the timestamp jumps a few days. Rob's friends are throwing him a surprise party as a send-off. The camera is used to collect testimonials from people who knew Rob, as something for him to remember them by. In the middle of the party, the ground shakes as the monster attack begins. Suspense quickly builds as we watch the events unfold. Hud, who is holding the camera, decides that he needs to tape everything so that others could see what they see.

As a movie filmed from a single point of view, the filmmakers have done a great job of putting scenes together that can be witnessed in one take and from one view. Though there are no wide or aerial shots that allow us to see the monster destroying buildings, you won't be disappointed in the views that you do get during the movie. The monster is certainly very unique, and I have never seen anything quite like it. But going in, you should expect a movie about people trying to survive a monster attack, and not a movie about a monster.

There are only a few things that bothered me about the movie. The guy holding the camera (Hud) is pretty annoying, which is sad because we hear his voice right next to the camera for the whole movie. The film will leave you wanting to know more about the monster itself. There are a few points where you wish the camera were a little bit more still, or looked at something a few more seconds, but overall, the handheld effect works very well for the movie.

For those who want to forego the movie altogether, and may just be curious as to what the monster looks like, then too bad. I have searched all over the place for shots of the thing, but there is none whatsoever. A search for the monster may yield a picture of a giant blue whale with legs, but that is fan-art and in no way resembles the actual creature. But we may not have to wait long to see this again though. There are rumors that the DVD may be released as early as April, with a more conservative estimation placing it in June.

Emblems for Cloverfield:

Good: Oh Snap!, Innovative, Sucks You In, Great Sound Effects, Good Boss

Bad: Annoying Characters (Hud)

Specific monster description in the spoiler:

[spoiler] I just HAD to talk about the monsters. The big monster seems to walk in a similar fashion to Gonarch from Half-life. It had four main legs, with multiple tiny legs wrapped around his abdomen like a crustacean. Its skin was gray, with a rough texture like an elephant. The skin can also withstand everything the Army is able to throw at it, including the Mother of All Bombs. The head was demon-like, with multiple eyes and large teeth. It respirated with some sort of lung-like structure on the top of its head. It had a powerful tail, at least strong enough to bust through a bridge with a whip-like action. Its feet were dinosaur-like and had enough crushing power to flatten a tank. Its lower body was covered with dog-sized parasites that reminded me a lot of zerglings from Starcraft and fel hounds from WoW. A bite from the parasite infects the host, who hemorrhages everywhere, followed by their torso exploding. This may be a method of reproduction, but we don't get to see if anything came out of the torso in the movie. Of all the pictures of the "Cloverfield monster" on the net, there is not a single one of the actual monster in the movie. The one that looked most like the creature in the film (at least in a general body plan and stature) is in the picture below. The actual monster lacks those spikey appendanges and has a more rounded head and face. As for the way the movie is framed, I really want to see more footage of the incident, and I want to know where the thing came from. Though (and I'm really pissed I missed this when I saw the movie) in the last little scene from Coney Island at the end of the movie, you apparently can see something falling from the sky into the ocean in the background. [/spoiler]

EDIT, PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately, the BBcode for spoilers is disable in blog comments. So please read the comments at your own discretion. But to be honest, you can know alot about what happens in this movie and still be totally blown away (I read a bit too much before I went to see it). In this movie it's not about what happens, it's about how it happens. Reading about it just doesn't do it justice.

This is today's {1/25/08} comic from http://xkcd.com. Enjoy.

Alex Navarro provided a link on his blog to a blog on 1UP written by editor Sam Kennedy (posted Monday, January 21st). It is a very in-depth look at the events at Gamespot over the past few months, and addresses alot of important questions for Gamespot, editorials, and the game industry itself. It also puts things in perspective, and may provide information you hadn't heard before. Word of warning, his post is extremely long. Even if you are tired of hearing about the Gerstmann incident, I still highly recommend giving it a look.

Sam Kennedy's 1UP Blog

It's been awhile since I have posted, and so I thought I would kick off 2008 by blogging not about games, but instead about music, television, and film. And…go!

Music

Over the two weeks I spent in my hometown over the holiday break, I increased my music library by about four albums, which for me is quite a bit at one time. I just wanted to offer some recommendations for all you music-lovers out there. I haven't written about music ever, but I'll try my best.

Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (2007)

This new album from metal group A7X is filled with quite an interesting mix of songs. The tracklist starts off with the political themed "Critical Acclaim", filled with screaming and half-sung, half-spoken lyrics reminiscent of System of a Down's "Prison Song". Now that they got the screaming out of their system, the rest of the album follows the same styIe that is seen in their last album City of Evil which had A7X straying from their screaming and heavy metal styIe of the first two albums. Among the tracks in their self-titled album are an 8 minute Broadway-styIe song "A Little Piece of Heaven" that sounds like it came straight out of Sweeney Todd, and a surprisingly good country song "Dear God". Yes, that's right, country. Having already listened to this CD many times, I highly recommend this to anyway who is a fan of rock and enjoys bands that are willing to experiment with multiple genres. Also try City of Evil (2005) if you are interested.

D-Sides - Gorillaz (2007)

I'm not up on the music industry jargon, but I think this album is the B-sides from the Gorillaz' 2005 studio album Demon Days. For those not familiar with Gorillaz, they are a virtual band created by Damon Albarn (and some other dude). They have lots of different artists come in to add various elements to the songs, and they end up with a really unique sound. For example, the first single from Demon Days has Albarn singing the chorus, with De La Soul rapping (and laughing). Anyway, Gorillaz uses many elements from multiple genres including rap, R&B, and electronica, among others. D-Sides is basically more Albarn, less guest artists. D-Sides feels a lot more like the Gorillaz' self-titled first album, which had a lot more singing on Albarn's part. If you enjoy a great beat, thought-provoking lyrics, or already a fan of Gorillaz, then I suggest buying yourself some Gorillaz. You should probably start with Demon Days or Gorillaz, even though D-Sides is still awesome.

Yours to Keep - Albert Hammond, Jr. (2006)

This is the first solo album from the rhythm (occasionally lead) guitarist of the Strokes, Albert Hammond, Jr., and you can really tell. The styIe on every track is very similar to that of The Strokes, though a bit softer. Having only heard Julian Casablancas sing for the band, I'm not really sure why they didn't have Hammond do more back-up vocals or something, because the talent is certainly there. I have been a big fan of The Strokes for awhile now, and Yours to Keep is certainly on par with their albums.

Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon (2005)

My brother, knowing of my interest in the Strokes sound, recommended this album to me. The band is made up of four brothers, sons of a traveling preacher. Aha Shake Heartbreak is the group's second album, with their third, Because of the Times being released in 2007 (I am going to buy it soon). With my lack of music-writing expertise, I can only really say that this album totally rocks, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys modern rock. Alternatively, you could get their third album (which according to Wikipedia is generally regarded as their best to date).

Television

This writer's strike has put our non-gaming entertainment industry in quite a bind. Despite the craziness, there is still some good TV to be had. Here are the shows I have been/will be watching this month, and I highly recommend all of them.

Arrested Development on DVD (3 Seasons)

The most intelligent and hilarious sitcom I have ever watched. The cast really pulls out all the stops to present the most ridiculous family ever. Created by Mitch Hurwitz, Arrested Development features the Bluth family, who run a successful home-building business, until their father is arrested after having been found to be using company funds. The main character is one of the three Bluth sons, Michael (played by Jason Bateman), who seems to be the most 'normal' one of the family, even though he still has his faults. Michael takes charge of the company to try to turn things around. The show is shot in a documentary styIe, and has no laugh-track (+100 points right there). Sadly, the ratings didn't match the shows quality and the series was canceled before the end of its third season.

LOST Season 4 starting Jan 31 on ABC

Eight episodes of Season 4 were finished before the strike began, so ABC decided to go ahead and show them starting later this month. Lost is often criticized for being fairly hard to understand if you jump in mid-series. I can kinda understand that. This drama has a very extensive story web and there are many relationships between characters that you may miss if you hop into the middle of the series. This is made even worse by the fact that there are TONS of characters. For those that don't know about the show, it's about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, which mysteriously veered off course and crashed just offshore of an island. The survivors quickly discover that they may not be the only ones who have found this island. You really owe it to yourself to start this show from Season 1. Trust me, five minutes into the pilot, and you will understand why Lost is the best show on television.

Mythbusters on Discovery Channel (Wednesdays at 9pm)

This show is for anyone with an interest in science, explosions, folklore, and a good laugh. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman test out myths from around the world to see if they are true or possible. Using their special effects expertise, they scientifically test the circumstances behind the myth, and if it doesn't work out, they see what it does take (which often involves explosives). The show is really entertaining and is often fairly funny, seeing as the mythbusters and the build team often do some silly things.

Film

I haven't seen any movies since 2008 began, but I just wanted to discuss one movie that I do plan on seeing soon.

Cloverfield (spoiler free)

This Blair Witch meets Godzilla film has been getting quite a bit of hype since then, and is finally out in theaters. The movie is shot from the video cameras of a group of friends. So you see what they see, know only what they know. I still plan on seeing it sometime in the next week, though it has been getting mixed reviews (around 70% on the Tomatometer). I was hooked the first time I saw the teaser trailer last summer, which showed the following events: A group of friends are throwing a party for a guy named Rob, when the lights begin to flicker and the building shakes for a few seconds. They turn on the TV, where news stations say it may have been an earthquake. The partygoers go to the roof to get a view of what is going on. The camera shakes and they all turn to see a massive explosion in the middle of the city. Flaming debris is expelled from the burst and everyone runs for cover into the building. They descend and emerge into the streets, which have turned to chaos. Another explosion rocks the scene and loud roar can be heard, the camera turns as a giant piece of debris is flying down the street. The camera follows it and comes into focus, revealing it to be the head of the Statue of Liberty.

Well, that's all I got for now. Enjoy your three day weekend, however cold it may be. Thanks for reading.

Heya everyone! I just wanted to post something about the progress I have made on all the games I have recently puchased. I would write reviews for the one's I have finished, but I have been fairly lazy as of late, especially since my fall quarter is now over. If I get really really bored, you may see a few pop up.

First off, I have been promoted to recruiter status in my Team Fortress 2 clan. Basically, I help my clan by finding potential recruits and getting them into the clan. I didn't have much luck at first, because it seemed like every applicant I chose to pursue would post an app then dissapear. But within the last few days, I have managed to recruit two really strong members, and they should make a wonderful asset to our clan division. If anyone is interested in a serious clan and league play for TF2 or any other of AOD's divisions (we currently have more than 10), check us out at www.clanAOD.net.

I finished Assassin's Creed with 100% completion and 1000 gamerscore. I used some scanned player's guide images to aid me in locating the 420 flags and 60 Templars in the game. It was a big undertaking, but I'm glad to add AC to list of 1000 gamerscore games (a list made up of Call of Duty 2 and ES4:Oblivion). I will eventually be playing through the game again, but for now I'm going to concentrate on some of my other games

Last night I got my 120th star on Super Mario Galaxy. Whew, some of those last stars are near impossible. But after taking the time to gather the four 1up's located in the observatory after each star, I had enough lives to grind through the difficult levels. I must say the absolute hardest star in the game is "Luigi's Purple Coins" in the fire galaxy of the sixth observatory. You must collect 100 of 150 scattered coins, but every tile either dissapears entirely or begins twirling when you step on it, and every spot not occupied by a tile is dark matter. be prepared for death. Now I get to collect all 120 stars as Luigi, who can jump much higher, but seems to have problems stopping in one spot (He likes to slide around).

I finished Mass Effect over the weekend, and was really happy with how the story ended. I highly recommend the game for any RPG fan. I was dissapointed I didn't get the achievements for Krogan and Asari ally, even though I used those two for EVERY mission and every uncharted world.

Crysis is still totally unplayable. Actually, it's more unplayable than it was before. DX9 no longer works due to graphical tearing in cutscenes and ingame. DX10 seems to run perfectly until I load the level. Once I get in, most of the plants and many other textures blink in and out, and they cause a crazy framerate slowdown. I can now safely say that these Radeon 2900's will be the last ATI cards I ever buy. If ATI isn't going to support their most expensive setups, then what's the point. Hopefully, they will get their act together soon enough so I can actually play the game, and maybe even beat it.

My roommate recieved Phantom Hourglass for his birthday, so I will slowly be playing through that also. The control scheme is really cool, but I can't stand to hold the tiny stylus for more than an hour or so at a time. The little plastic indentations at the end are extremely uncomfortable and the stylus is way too short and thin anyway. How are we supposed to control Link if our ****ing fingers are covering the entire screen (and that's if I hold the very end of stylus)!!

That's it for now. Good luck on finals and have a safe holiday!

I've gone on a game shopping spree recently, and I assume many of you have as well. The purpose of this post is just to offer some of my first impressions of all the games I'm currently working on.

Assassin's Creed for the 360

Impressions rating: 9.5-10

I could just go on and on about this game. I haven't had so much fun with a single-player game in a really long time. Scientists at a mysterious research company, Abstergo, have discovered that memories are stored in our DNA. You play as Desmond Miles, and you emerge from a strange digital dream to realize that you are laying on a machine called the Animus. This machine reads your DNA and allows you to relive your ancestor's memories. Abstergo is apparently after some object that your ancestor, Altäir, knows about. The only catch is that these more important memories are harder to relive, as the user must become attuned to his ancestor. So you must start with minor memories and as you become attuned to your assassin ancestor, you will get access to the memory that Abstergo is after. As far-fetched (and impossible) as this is, it makes for a great fantasy story. As you play, the story becomes more and more involved, and you learn more about Altäir, Desmond, and the company that is hold you hostage.

The story is just one amazing facet of this game. Assassin's Creed also features some of the most expansive continuous-play areas in any game. The three cities of Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre are all recreated and are fully navigable. The graphical detail is just breathtaking. Even after probably 10 hours of gameplay, I still find myself stopping just to look at the scenery around me. The combat is also involved and really fun to watch. The game also plays as a stealth game, and it's really hilarious to backstab a guard and then assassinate more guards as they come to investigate. The cop/criminal mechanic makes for some Grand Theft Auto moments, where you really want to see what happens if you ^insert random action here^.

Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii

Impressions rating: 9.5-10

This is Mario platforming at his best. One word sums up Galaxy: innovative. The level design for each galaxy is superb, and there are not many mechanics that are used over and over again. The galaxies are often clusters of many smaller planets, each planet having its own gravity. The planets all have distinct shapes and designs, and always fit the galaxy's theme very well. As you progress through the game, you'll witness many different methods of applying the crazy gravity mechanic, which adds a whole new level to the classic Mario platforming.

Crysis for PC

Impressions rating: 9.0-9.5

I have only put in about an hour into this game so far. ATI's current drivers do not work well for my dual 2900 XT Crossfire rig, so I want to wait til they improve them before I spend much time in this game. From the parts I have played, I think this is going to be a great FPS experience. The detail in every model and texture really stands out, and the real-time physics make for some realistic gameplay. I can see how this could be a fairly challenging game. Even on medium difficulty, the Koreans put up a really good fight, or it could just be my low framerate.

Changing the nanosuit settings on the fly is really cool. You can stealth up into an enemies face then switch to armor and blast their faces off before they can even react to you being in a new spot. The few vehicles that I have driven so far also seem to be pretty awesome, and add even another tactic to your arsenal.

Mass Effect for the 360

Impressions rating: 9.0-9.5

Mass Effect is all about the story. Bioware has created a unique and very deep universe that will have role-playing junkies searching for every piece of information about the well-developed intellectual species in the game. Every conversation has its place in the lore of the game, and you really feel like you are a member of it. There are many different ways you can approach the same problem, and each path its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, you need to acquire a special pass to be able to leave the main port on a certain planet. A merchant asks you to smuggle in a piece of equipment. You can take it to him, or you can turn it in to the administrator, who will give you the pass for it. Or you can help one of the businessmen in the port by stopping the corrupt adminstrator's henchmen who are ransacking his offices, and get the pass from him. You are also asked by an undercover agent working for the administrator to convince the businessman to testify against the administrator.

Mass Effect has many of these moments where you feel that your decisions really make a difference in what happens, and what other people think about you. I'm really having a great time exploring all the uncharted planets also. The Mako is awkward to drive at times, but it is pretty fun to blast away at incoming enemies. Combat is very strange at first, but is really interesting once you get the hang of it.

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted anything on here. I've been rather busy with multiple games and dealing with med school applications. I hope everyone is enjoying this non-stop stream of amazing games. I've thoroughly blasted through The Orange Box, with 4 playthroughs of Episode 2 and Portal, and have probably put at least 100 hours into Team Fortress 2 so far.

Speaking of TF2, the Gamespot tournament is starting tomorrow, and I'm really excited to be playing in my first sponsered tourney. I had originally attempted to get a team full of my clan mates, but due to the glitches on the site not allowing non-subscribers to join teams, and also poor timing, I have a team made of a few clan members and some other random members. We had our first practice with 5 of the 7 members on Thursday and it was really fun. Everyone is willing to work together, which is rather important for TF2, where winning depends on your teamwork and strategy. Hopefully you will see us in the finals next friday. Wish us luck.

I bought Guitar Hero 3, a few days after it came out, and was able to play it as soon as my 360 got back in the mail. They sent me a new one, but it doesn't seem to run any quieter than my old one, and it also doesn't have an HDMI port on it. It's not that I needed it anyway. I'm just glad to be able to play GH again. I am stuck on Cult of Personality at the moment on expert (encore of 7th tier). I got my roommate to try the co-op with me and he really likes the game. I also got my girlfriend wanting to play it all the time. The new interface is really nice, and there is a huge improvement in graphics from the 360 version of GH2.

Though there are quite a few great songs in the soundtrack, the overall quality of songs seems to be a little lower than with GH2. The songs seem to have been chosen for how good they are as a song, not how good the guitar track is. There are quite a few songs that are fairly boring to listen to, and to play, as the guitar track is the same riffs throughout the whole song. Also, how can you call this game Legends of Rock, when very few legends have ever appeared in a GH game. The ZZ Top song is a horrible horrible cover of an amazing song, and there are many bands that are still no-shows: Led Zeppellin, Pink Floyd, The Doors, the Cars, AC/DC, Buffalo Springfield, Foreigner, CCR, CSNY, Thin Lizzy, Doobie Brothers, The Guess Who, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller Band, Yes, the list goes on and on.

Instead we get some of the worst songs I've ever heard, like Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing", and Dead Kennedy's "Holiday in Cambodia". I do commend Activision and Neversoft for some of their choices, however. Same Old Song and Dance, Mississippi Queen (ok cover), Paint It Black, Even Flow, Slow Ride (sadly a cover), and Black Magic Woman (a pretty decent cover) are certainly assets to this game. Also, Impulse and My Curse in the bonus tracks are amazing, although they are two of only a few of those bonus songs that have a decent guitar track.

Dear Activision/Neversoft, please select for songs for their guitar track. More safari, less track.

Below I'm just going to list maps from the old TFC that should see TF2 counterparts in the near future. These are from memory and from suggestions I've seen on multiple forums. Also, if you have any maps you remember playing all the time in TFC, post them in the comments! I will use the TF2 game type designations that I feel would best fit the style of the original map or provide the most fun gameplay. As for cp and tc designations, they are fairly interchangable depending on the kind of gameplay the map maker is looking for. Obviously, these maps should not just be cloned; it would be nice to see a faithful successor to these maps, but modifications must be made for the TF2 style.

I also made up a new designation for my purposes: VIP hunt (civilian hunt, hunted) as "vh", and murderball (hold the ball as long as possible) as "mb". I think both could be easily modified to fit the style of TF2, and make for some nice variety of gameplay types. I really hope to see the Civilian (VIP) return as a special cIass.

cp_avanti

ctf_badlands

cp_canalzone

cp_casbah

tc_epicenter

vh_hunted

tc_mooncheese

mb_murderball

cp_osaka

tc_rats

ctf_rock2

ctf_turkeyburgers