There are three types of media I thoroughly enjoy. You already know the first. The other two are film and literature. They're three very different beasts, running the gamut from no interactivity to full interactivity. I like that. I like variety.

For the longest time, video games have been my absolute favorite of the three, with books and movies more or less in a tie. Recently, though, it seems like movies are giving video games a run for their money.

Used to be, I'd play video games with anyone else I could, whenever I could. Good games, bad games, long or short, it didn't matter. If I was playing with friends, I was having a good time.

But that changed, somehow. While I still avidly play video games, I haven't played with others nearly as much. What I've instead been doing is going to the movies with friends more. Good movies, bad movies, long or short--See where this is going? As the communal experience of gaming has dwindled for me, it's gone up for moviegoing.

It's weird to think about, my affinity for movies eventually trumping my affinity for games. Will I stop wanting to be a games journalist and become a movie critic instead? I say no at this point, but you never can tell, as Chuck Berry once sang.

I'd like to go on more about this, but I'll have to save it for another time. The point I want to make here is that I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other night. It went a little like this:"So, best and worst movies of the last ten years?""I really don't know, but I can tell you my favorites for best and worst of the current decade: The Last Airbender will be the worst and Inception will be the best."

Hyperbole? Probably. But let's have a look see.

The Last Airbender. Movie adaptation of a popular cartoon series on Nickelodeon. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. All Shyamalan jokes aside, I can only say one thing: Why?

Why did they do this? I don't have much of a frame of reference here, but people have assured me time and time again that this is an awful bastardization of what they describe (on average) as a pretty decent show.

Let me explain that why. Why is everything in this movie so weak? The acting, the storytelling methods, the choppy, rushed story. Everything about this movie exudes putrid, suffocating stupidity. They have bad actors playing poorly written characters. They have good and great actors doing the same. Not even Dev Patel and Cliff Curtis can bring any dignity to their roles. Aasif Mandvi takes it even farther than that, seeming to go out of his way to play his character from The Daily Show.

You know how a lot of people who hate Twilight said New Moon was awesome because it was an unintentional comedy? This isn't even that. I think there are maybe two things like that in this movie: the shot of the girl's hair that makes it look really phallic, and Aasif Mandvi's character (who's apparently earned the nickname "Captain Exposition" for his pointless monologues meant to explain things that both the characters and audience almost always know already).

…And that's it. That's all. You think you'll laugh? Maybe you will. But that laughter will probably be brought on by temporary insanity as you--actually, that was going in a really morbid direction. Back up a bit.

I don't know what I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said. I can bring nothing new to the table here. I've already spent about five minutes typing what everyone (who bothered to read about it, or, God help you, actually watched it) knows.

So, Inception.

I'm gonna qualify that "best" and "favorite" stuff right now. Inception is not my favorite movie, nor, in my opinion, is it the best movie ever. It's a hugely enjoyable movie that is, as it happens, one of my favorites.

I'm by no means a "fan" of Christopher Nolan. I've mostly enjoyed his movies, and he's definitely a competent and talented writer/director, but I won't put him on a pedestal. …At least not in general.

There's one thing Nolan is very good at: Playing with conventions. Memento was, at its core, a noir-ish revenge mystery/drama. Inception is a similar breed: At its core, it's a simple heist movie. But Nolan turned the heist aspect on its head, moving the location and the goal from a safe or a bank and into the mind.

First, I guess I should rip on Inception just a little. The plot was predictable. Not overly predictable, but I had it figured out pretty early on. Honestly, it might have been intended that way, like saying to the audience, "Good, you figured it out! It'll make the next couple scenes even more interesting." And it did, usually, but there was a little bit of a trade-off; when you all but confirm what's going to happen next, however subtly, it does kill suspense.

That's not to say Inception doesn't have its fair share of surprises. It's a freaking Nolan movie! There are quite a few "Oh snap!" moments in Inception, like when a certain character sneakily learns about another character's past and is treated to a mildly disturbing meeting with another principle character. …Or when that principle character shows up to do increasingly insane things.

Even if the story is a little predictable, it doesn't diminish the sheer fun of everything else. The action is intense, spliced together nicely with the different dreams happening at the same time. The world of dreams allows for a whole different level of action. Characters asleep in a van making a sharp turn experience altered gravity or no gravity at all. Oh, yeah, and there's a freight train barreling down a city street. Why? Well, there's a plot-relevant explanation, but I think it was done mostly because it was awesome.

You're never really sure what's a dream and what's real in Inception. Is the "real" world also just a dream? Dreamlike events certainly happen in the real world. Nondescript goons appearing out of nowhere to chase a character down, claustrophobic spaces. A character conveniently showing up to save the day. Is it all just a dream, or is it plot convenience? It's never explained, intentionally, and the audience is left to wonder. And for a movie that's about dreams, that really, really works.

Inception, unlike The Dark Knight, is accessible while also being very smart and compelling. The Dark Knight was compelling and very fun, but it seemed to think its audience needed multiple characters to repeatedly explain the theme of the movie. It was a little too accessible. Inception doesn't do that. Any thematic explanations or references are done naturally, in ways that never break flow.

You know how The Dark Knight had those characters whose sole purpose was to explain the theme over and over? Of course you do! I just said that. Again: Inception doesn't do that. Characters who come into the story only stay in as long as they're relevant. Michael Caine shows up, imparts some wisdom on Leonardo DiCaprio, introduces a new character, and then he's gone. He doesn't overstay his welcome, and that's great. Most characters get at least one really funny/awesome moment. Some get several.

I think what really ties everything together so brilliantly is the atmosphere. You watch characters build and manipulate dreams. You see how things in the real world or higher-level dreams affect things in dreams. As the movie goes on, you see increasingly surreal worlds and situations. It all comes together in a way I obviously suck at describing, and the atmosphere of the movie alone might make Inception worth a look.

I'm sure this is going to get comments like, "I had no interest in Inception and this didn't change my mind. Also, best movie of the decade already? You're stupid for saying that." Maybe you're right. But now that I've done your job for you…

Final ratings?

The Last Airbender: 1/5, avoid it like the plague

Inception: 5/5, see it sometime

E3 is like the Christmas of gaming, to use a broken simile. Once every year, the gaming community gets together to share tender moments and try to tear the other guy a new breathing hole. Always a subject of much debate is which of the Big Three stole the show. Which company's fans get to say, "We won!" and hold it over their rival fans' heads for the following weeks?

Needless to say, that's always going to be a subjective "victory." It's not an election. It's not a sporting event. We don't vote on a clear winner. Nobody gets more points than the other guy. So, of course, most people will probably say, "No, my company won and here's why," and a reasonable argument can typically be made for any winner.

Except, perhaps, for this year.

Microsoft

Microsoft's reception was lukewarm at best, with GameSpot's senior editor Brian Ekberg saying there were "some highlights and a few 'meh-lights'". While there was no shortage of big names, it felt like more of the same. Can you have too much of a good thing? Microsoft doesn't seem to think so.

The somewhat familiar lineup of core games, like Gears of War 3 and Halo: Reach were certainly crowd-pleasers, and it's always safe to bet on a Call of Duty game selling like crazy. Metal Gear Solid Rising and Fable III also made fairly strong appearances, though it seemed like Kojima and Molyneux were in a rush when they presented their respective games, slipping out of sight in a hurry.

"Molyneux was only onstage with Fable III for about a minute," said Justin Calvert, senior editor at GameSpot.

Crytek also debuted a new projected, codenamed "Kingdoms." The trailer, while intriguing, was only so because it gave away nothing--then again, that's normal for debut trailers. Kingdoms is a significant break from the modern/post-modern shooters Crytek is known for, instead going for an atmosphere reminiscent of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "300."

And then, something strange happened: Microsoft devoted well over half their conference to talking up their new motion controller, Kinect (formerly Project Natal). What followed was a series of titles that left many with a sense of deja vu--especially Nintendo, considering they'd done the same thing with the Wii for a few years straight.

Calvert called Kinect Sports a lot like "a game I already own on the Wii."

I'm worried about Rare, a studio once known for stellar titles like Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007 and Donkey Kong 64. Seeing them lowered to doing a Wii Sports knock-off is very troubling.

That's not to say Kinect wasn't technically impressive, but to say it's met the promises made at last year's E3 is ridiculous. Microsoft promised a gaming revolution, that the face of gaming would forever be changed. What they showed this year was instead a hotbed for minigame compilations and gimmicky motion controls. Sound familiar? If not, those are both criticisms leveled against Nintendo's Wii for the past four years.

Even worse, some of the Kinect games showed off seemed like they'd be fun if not for the fact that they had no controller.

"Watching Kinect Joyride in action, I couldn't help but think, 'Well that could be fun if only I had a controller in my hand while I did it,'" said Kevin VanOrd, editor at GameSpot.

Fortunately for Microsoft, none of the Kinect demos were as horrible as Nintendo's somehow endearingly awful Wii Music demo of E3 '08. Everything shown off was at least functional, if underwhelming (though that's a bit like saying Highlander 3 wasn't as bad as Highlander 2 on the grounds that it was "at least watchable").

It seems Forza was the only true nod Kinect gave to the core audience, though a mildly interesting Star Wars lightsaber game might just give Kinect the push it needs to sell to some of this elusive core audience. That's, of course, provided the game amounts to more than a glorified shooting gallery. As for how the lightsaber game will work with no physical controller to offer feedback, that's anyone's guess. Presumably, LucasArts has something up its sleeve to make all the pieces fall into place, but it'll be a while before we know for sure.

Nintendo

Conversely, Nintendo seems to be this year's Cinderella story. It wasn't without skepticism that much of the press and the fans anticipated Nintendo's conference, but they came out swinging this year with a myriad of exclusives, many of them due out this year.

"There's no question that Nintendo won," said Craig Harris, executive editor of IGN. "They not only showed us a Zelda game and a Donkey Kong Country game… but the big hit of the show was pretty much the 3DS."

Harris also pointed out third-party titles like Disney Epic Mickey and NBA Jam.

Tom McShea, associate editor at GameSpot, said Epic Mickey was his "standout." From a gameplay perspective, he said, it looks like a standard platformer, "but the fact that you can alter the story, environment, and even the characters around you by the choices you make sounds incredible."

Though Miyamoto's demo of Zelda Wii (now with the subtitle Skyward Sword) was shaky in its better moments, it's since been confirmed via show floor demos that the control issues present in Miyamoto's demonstration were due to wireless interference. Skyward Sword featured yet another new art direction this time somewhere between the realism of Twilight Princess and the cartoony of Wind Waker. Due to control issues, the Zelda demo ended up falling a bit flat, and it was probably the second most anticipated part of the show. That was a big failure for Nintendo's conference, which had an otherwise almost flawless lineup.

Almost, anyway. Nintendo, too, made an obligatory nod to the casual crowd with titles like Wii Party and Ubisoft's Just Dance 2. With the success of games like Wii Sports Resort and the original Just Dance, it's hard to blame them, but they detracted from what was otherwise a fantastic showing.

Nintendo revealed Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Activision debuted a reimagining of GoldenEye. The hits kept coming from there. New Donkey Kong Country and Kirby titles, the former from Retro Studios, the latter due out this fall. From there, they talked a bit on the previously revealed Dragon Quest IX and Metroid: Other M before they went on to the second of the most anticipated points of the show: the 3DS.

Reggie and Iwata seemed to really talk up the glasses-free 3D play before revealing the 3DS. The new platform, which is roughly the same size as the smaller DS redesigns, features graphics comparable to those of the Wii and will sport improved online capabilities. This was arguably the best moment of the show, because Nintendo showed off a new Project Sora title: Kid Icarus: Uprising. The long-rumored Kid Icarus sequel was shown off in a trailer featuring both cutscenes and gameplay.

Then came the developer and title list for the 3DS. Developers like Ubisoft Montreal and THQ will be contributing games like Assassin's Creed, Saints Row, Ninja Gaiden, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Street Fighter IV and many more. This was just a preliminary lineup, but more will be revealed in the coming months as the launch of the 3DS draws ever closer.

To say the least, the 3DS made an impressive debut, and if early media impressions are any indicator there's a lot to love that we haven't yet seen.

Ekberg said the 3D screen of the new handheld "simply works just as promised," though the demonstrations featured no actual gameplay. In spite of that, Nintendo, he said, did "what you'd hope for with an E3 press conference," and mare him want more.

It's amazing to think that a company that so badly botched 3D play with the Virtual Boy could come back from that to deliver true 3D play--no glasses or clumsy headgear--in a way that actually impressed.

Sony

Sony, on the other hand, was neither bad nor good. The conference opened on a high note with Killzone 3 before quickly falling prey to the same problem as last year's conference: Boredom.

The middle segment was plagued by awful marketing and sizzle reels, the latter of which I've mentioned many times is not an adequate replacement for trailers and demos. Many of the games shown were neither exclusive nor new--something this conference had in common with last year's.

Move made a relatively impressive full-game debut with the Harry Potter-esque Sorcery, a game that has you flicking the controller to cast spells like fireballs, shields and environment reconstruction. Sorcery looks enjoyable, if uninspired--honestly, it seems like Harry Potter would have been a perfect fit, but they opted instead to go with something other than the cherished franchise with millions of fans. The only problem with the Sorcery demo wasn't part of the demo itself, but the audience, who cheered when the player drank a potion to turn into a rat. That seems, to me, like the audience at a football game cheering over a two-yard gain.

Then came Tiger Woods 11, which somehow had even more difficulties than a full-on action game. The demonstration was derailed when the rep spent about two minutes explaining the game and adjusting his posture to play, only to barely nick the ball off the tee. He did get it right shortly thereafter, but for an onstage demonstration, he could have done a lot better--but at least it was a slightly embarrassing demo of Tiger Woods, rather than Zelda.

Heroes On the Move looks, enjoyable, if unremarkable. It features Ratchet, Clank, Jak, Daxter and Sly Cooper, among others, as playable characters in a sort of action-party game format.

Then came easily the worst part of the conference: the marketing. Sony announced a partnership with Coca-Cola and talked about it for a full two+ minutes before Kevin Butler, Sony's fake VP of unfunny Stephen Colbert rip-off speeches came out in a very obvious ploy to attempt to fill space with pointless fluff and redeem the Coke partnership. (Spoiler alert: It worked for most, and some circles have called it the "high point" of not only Sony's conference, but E3 as a whole.) While I have no particular issue with Butler, it seems as though the campaign is wearing itself out pretty quickly.

Eventually, they did get back into games--sort of--after revealing a $50 price point for the main Move controller and revealing even more marketing. This time, the campaign was aimed at the PSP, which Sony quietly acknowledged isn't doing that well by way of introducing the campaign and the language used in the campaign itself. The ads feature a hip, young boy named Marcus, using much more street-savvy lingo than any child of his age would know (see those advertising dollars at work!), telling Sony to push harder to get the PSP out there.

Sony got back into "games" ever so briefly with a teaser for God of War: Ghost of Sparta, before doing more advertising for The Tester. Because one season just wasn't enough.

In fairness, Sony got back up on it with some huge news. Exclusives like Littlebig Planet 2 made impressive demonstrations of the expanded development tools, which allow for Space Invaders and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots type of games, as well as some more complicated role-playing design. The main LBP2 game looks about the same as the original, with Move allowing for environmental manipulation, but the real draw for this game should be in the expanded and improved customization and design elements.

Sony went on to unveil a new premium PlayStation network, PlayStation Plus, which costs a subscription fee but offers exclusive downloads, from avatars to map packs--but didn't PSN already do that for free? Well, they have to gain ground on Xbox LIVE Gold somehow.

Dead Space 2 had an impressive demo, though the boss fight they showed off seemed to have little actual interactivity. 10/10 for flash, though, as the demo was one of the most impressive demos shown off in recent memory (from any conference).

And then, Valve's big surprise showed up. Gabe Newell took the stage and in seconds (with very little effort) became funnier than Butler's entire speech. Newell announced that Portal 2 will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and will be the definitive version of the game. This was possibly the biggest moment of the entire conference, with a possible exception being Twisted Metal.

Yes, a new Twisted Metal game, at long last. Of all the games in Sony's conference, it could be argued that this one stole the show. David Jaffe vehemently denied for years that a HD Twisted Metal was coming, and how here he was, taking it all back and demonstrating the new modes and features, from guided missiles to helicopters.

So, who won?

Not Microsoft, that much is certain. While Kinect made a moderately impressive appearance, it was bogged down with a lot of really boring demonstrations, though the Dance Central debut at least was good for laughs. It's good that MS had Cirque du Soleil introduce Kinect the day before their conference in one of the most hilariously bad publicity stunts in gaming history, because that alone might have killed their conference. In their defense, they opened the show with some huge franchises, all of which are sure to be heavy hitters, but over half the conference was devoted to Kinect demonstrations, and much of that time wasn't even actual games.

Not Sony, although they had significantly more surprises and a motion control device far more compelling to core gamers. They confirmed onstage that the Move will be compatible with games like Resident Evil 5, Heavy Rain and SOCOM. Not only that, but the Sorcery demo looked like it could be a lot of fun later on, depending on how much they do with the controls. No, where Sony really faltered was the blatant and shameless marketing, and the attempt to conceal it by replacing actual demos and trailers with more sizzle reels. They made up for a little of that with some impressive demos and even more impressive announcements, but Sony's conference's biggest problem was that it seemed devoid of emotion: none of the sense of awe at Uncharted 2's scale and beauty or the warm feeling the Last Guardian trailer gave viewers.

The winner of this show was Nintendo, by a landslide. If Nintendo's conference wasn't a 10, it was very close. I don't think anyone expected more than a cursory nod to the core audience this year, but Nintendo came out swinging with game after game, from Kirby to GoldenEye, NBA Jam to Donkey Kong. And even though Zelda's onstage demo was unimpressive, the hands-on looks by the press have been overwhelmingly positive, all but confirming the technical difficulties were caused by wireless interference. But the real gem of the show was the new 3DS, which promises to take handheld gaming to all new heights with a slew of new features and exclusive content, along with the promise of an improved online experience.

"Nintendo had passion for what it presented and showed us what's most important: games," VanOrd said. "Good games. Games that matter. Games that look fun. That's the kind of press conference I can get behind."

I said I wouldn't be doing another E3 blog, but this year, I felt compelled to do a full summary/rant on the Big Three once again. I'm doing it differently this time, using quotes from the Gut Reactions staff blogs as well as several of my cohorts from the Web. This one will be in an actual blog format and may even wind up in my university's paper, provided they're really lacking in content this week.

Title wasn't supposed to make sense. Do I have your attention? No? VERY WELL.

As we all know, E3 is the greatest thing ever and never disappoints anyone (wait, what?). Scratch that, disappointment is inevitable, but that's probably because gamers love to complain more than they love to play video games. Me, as long as I get some of what I want, I generally consider it a win. And with E3 '08 still on my mind, even after two years, it's hard to really feel any resentment for last year's show, or even this one. This is the part where I talk about things I want to see, or things that have been confirmed and I want to know more about.

Project Natal: Morbid curiosity, mostly. I know I'll never buy the thing, because I never was sold on the "YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER!!" bit, but if the demonstration this year is as hilarious and awful as the one from last year, it should be a pretty fun time. I'm just waiting for them to try to play an actual game with the thing.

PlayStation Move: I'm actually interested in this, but the price tag is a little intimidating. Still, I do like the Wiimote/nunchuk setup, and playing that in HD is intriguing to me. For a game like Resident Evil 5, it seems like the Move would make all the difference in terms of control. To be honest, though, I don't see much use for it outside shooters. We'll see.

Mass Effect 3: The likelihood of this showing up is minimal at best, considering BioWare already confirmed they wouldn't show anything for several months. Still, they did confirm that there'd be more meaningful DLC for ME2 that bridges the gap between 2 and 3, so it's possible they'll have a bit more on that. I really hope so, because ME2's DLC so far has been hit-or-miss, and I really want to see the Hammerhead used in a more meaningful way, and I'd love to see a lengthy Earth mission.

Zelda: I know nothing about this, and I want to know everything about it. Is it really coming out this year? Whats this altered structure the game is going to feature? Is it still going to be a lengthy and satisfying game with large-scale bosses and excellent dungeon design? Will there be an orchestral score? Will there be voice acting? No answers, only questions. (Alan Parsons Project...? Time to move on.)

Medal of Honor: I'm not big into shooters, but EA seems dead set on rebooting the franchise in a meaningful way with this new game. I may not buy it (or even play it), but I do want to see what it's all about.

Beyond Good & Evil 2: Seriously, Ubi, stop jerking us around and show us more than a teaser and some leaked footage that we all guess is from the game. I fell in love with BG&E when I played it years after its release, and if the sequel does it even a hint of justice, this'll be one excellent game. It's only been about two years since we last heard anything concrete on the game, and I think it's time to take the wraps off.

Vitality Sensor: Again, kind of a morbid curiosity, but I do have some cautious optimism about this. As long as it's used for more than just fitness games (and used in a meaningful way), I guess it's okay by me.

3DS: I think this pretty much says all it needs to say. I love the DS, and a more powerful DS sounds great.

Final Fantasy vs XIII: Final Fantasy running on the Kingdom Hearts system and engine? I might have been sold at Final Fantasy, honestly, but the KH engine is more than I need to be interested. This is another game that hasn't been shown much, apart from a few exceptionally pretty trailers. Still, Nomura writing the story concerns me a bit, considering KH has become increasingly messy as more stories are thrown into the mix. Which leads me to...

Kingdom Hearts: What's it going to be on? Wii? PS3? Everything? Will it be more of Sora, Riku and Kairi? What'll the new enemies be? All we have at this point is vague hints that something is being worked on.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: I played WoW for a while and then fell off the bandwagon. It was entertaining enough for a while, but it began to feel like a chore. I've always been more into sci-fi than fantasy, so maybe the atmosphere will keep me engaged. Star Wars is one of my favorite franchises (depending on the game/movie), so the prospect is interesting to me. I'm just concerned about whether or not BioWare can keep something like this fresh, even with EA backing them. They certainly can't beat WoW (or not right away), but they can get their foot in the door. Will that be enough? If it is, the only real winner is the consumer, because both will be forced to constantly innovate.

Retro's Game: Retro did an amazing thing with Metroid Prime. I can't wait to see what they do with whatever Nintendo gave them now. I have a couple theories (maybe Star Fox or F-Zero), but like everyone else on the outside, I'll have to wait and see.

So, what about you guys? Any speculation? Games you absolutely have to see?

As part of a suggestion that I use Twitter as a journalistic tool, I guess I'll be twittering E3. This is instead of last year's lengthy blog/rant. If anybody feels like following me for that (not that I expect a lot of people to use Twitter, considering it still leaves a foul taste in my mouth), you can find me at AMKinneyJMC.

Not a creative name, but eh. Gets the point across. If anybody cares to follow and offer pointers or anything based on my feedback, I'd appreciate it. If not, that's okay, too, and I hope you guys enjoy this year's E3!

...You know, I watched every single E3 conference last year and multiple days of GameSpot's show, but I still only have the Nintendo conference emblem. Where're my pointless emblems? Yeah, I know, that was almost a year ago, but I'm nothing if not willing to beat a dead horse. Anyway, that just popped into my head now, but I'll probably forget it before long. You know, except when I'm staring at this blog as I drink alone, wondering where my life went.

Okay, but seriously, I wouldn't drink alone. And I'm not a fan of drinking anyway. ...You know, in case any of the two people who read this think I'm an alcoholic.

What's up with all this achievement tomfoolery? Not that I'm complaining. I'm always thrilled to show off my mad "normal mode" achievement skills and utter failure to get some of the easiest achievements in Mass Effect 2. (Seriously, I've incinerated dozens of armored enemies' armor away and it somehow only counts as 4? Get out, BioWare. Just get out right now. But make sure my Shepard doesn't freeze in place while being mauled to death by a YMIR mech again first.)

I like how most of my "rare" achievements are from a game I haven't played in six months or so--World of Warcraft; good night, sweet prince. That's never going to go away, either. I'm sure I'll be getting messages about that, to the effect of "scrub didn't even hit 80" or "hay want 2 join my guild were coo!!" No. NO!

There was a point here somewhere. Probably something about how I'm not sure what I think of this whole thing. I like getting achievements, don't get me wrong, but it seems like we should only take this whole, "show off achievements to all your friends like 360 Kid," thing so far.

Maybe I'm just a traditionalist in that respect, but it seems like, while this is a cool feature for the suckers who want to do it (see: me), we're getting a lot of unnecessary and even redundant media convergence here. Last I knew, both Facebook and MySpace had similar systems built in by third parties. Not that I'm lumping GameSpot in with the likes of them, but it seems strange that social networking sites beat an actual gaming site to the punch by over a year.

Speaking of Facebook, I'm seeing now (weeks or months late, as I've made a concentrated effort to ignore it) that I can link my GameSpot account to my Facebook account. Good Lord, when will the madness end? I can now have my Facebook stalkers lurk on my GameSpot profile (or indeed vice-versa)? Stalkers are flattering and all, but I do like to keep certain aspects of my life separate. For instance, my almost-nonexistent social life and my gaming life. You dangle a connection between the two in front of me long enough, and I will get curious, despite knowing I'll sorely regret it.

I think I said earlier on that there was a point to this thing somewhere, but I might have been mistaken at the time of writing. At this point, who can tell? Not this guy.

What do you guys think of all this newfangled achievement stuff?

While enjoying my spring break, I played Rock Band 2 with some friends and was disappointed to see that some of the artists I'm fond of are apparently not yet (and may never be) included in Rock Band's library. Because I feel like going on about it, I'm going to... go on about it.

4. Arctic Monkeys

It's weird; I actually thought these guys were in Rock Band already, but it seems I was mistaken. With all the indie popping up in both of the major rock franchises, it's weird that one of the more energetic indie bands haven't made their way into Rock Band's massive library yet.

Possible tracks: "Still Take You Home," "A Certain Romance," "Brianstorm"

3. Reel Big Fish

The ska/ska punk band haven't been in the spotlight for some time, but they're still playing and still having a great time with it--their "Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album" CD is one of my top five live albums. Their music isn't necessarily complex, but what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for in fun.

Possible tracks: "Beer," "Take On Me," "Sell Out"

2. Kenny Wayne Shepherd

A lesser-known musician who probably hit his peak (at least his peak of fame) in the '90s with the moderately successful "Blue On Black," Shepherd hasn't had a lot of exposure outside of blues festivals and a fairly small but devoted fan base. Shepherd and his band have collaborated with artists like Noah Hunt and Kid Rock over the years, though such efforts haven't been quite as good as their normal work. He's not exactly famous, but he deserves a couple songs in the game.

Possible tracks: "Blue On Black," "Deja Voodoo," "Everybody Gets the Blues"

1. Chuck Berry

Considered by many to be the first and most important contributor in the rock and roll era, Chuck Berry is a living legend. Despite his age (he's now 83), Berry is still rocking, and his influence on bands like The Beach Boys and The Beatles paved the way for a lot of the music we know today. It's practically a crime that Berry doesn't have at least three songs in Rock Band by now.

Possible tracks: "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybellene," "You Never Can Tell"

I saw three movies this weekend; one in theaters, two otherwise.

The first was "How To Train Your Dragon," which is apparently based on a children's book I'd never heard of. I saw it in 3D, and while it used the technology to a greater extent than "GOOD HEAVENS A TEACUP FLEW AT YOUR FACE!" I wouldn't recommend seeing it just for the 3D. 2D is fine in this case, although if 3D is the only option, go for it.

I guess there's not a lot to say about it. The CG was very nice, as is to be expected of Dreamworks. The characters, story and dialogue were all pretty engaging, though the acting did occasionally falter, and there wasn't a whole lot of time put into developing some of the characters. The story is pretty much the standard coming-of-age/man's-best-friend tale, but with dragons, which means it's better.

The whole thing had a very charming visual style, and there were some really great moments (like pretty much every flying scene or any scene that involved fighting a dragon). I don't know how to "sell" this movie (or if I should), but it was very enjoyable, and I left the theater feeling very satisfied--despite the fact that I paid a lot to see it.

The second movie I saw was "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." Also based on a children's story, also very good. This was easily the best movie of the three, and one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Just see it sometime. It's out now, so rent or buy it. I don't care which.

Anyway, the third movie was the much-maligned "Twilight." What can I say about this one? Well, at the risk of stepping on some toes...

Some movies are masterpieces. Twilight is a movie.

A great man once said he'd revisit his old reviews to make them not suck. It's taken him about two years to do it, but one of them is finally done. Unfortunately, this'll probably be the last in that series.

For now, I want to focus on reviewing two more current games: Mass Effect 2 and Pokemon SoulSilver. I don't know when they'll be up--the former will require some research, while the latter will require me to complete most of the story proper before I can adequately review it.

So, if you feel like checking out my thoughts on a more recent entry in a classic adventure series, I'd be glad to have it looked at by anyone willing to offer feedback. I tried to make this review a little less wooden than some of my previous ones, allowing for a little more anecdotal stuff. As usual, I tried to avoid bogging it down with "OMG I TOOK AN ENGLISH CLASS I NEED TO USE FANCY WORDS!" and other such notions. So, no, there's no prose, there's no metaphor or hyperbole. If you like that sort of thing, there are other sites you can check out for it. By all means, feel free. This tangent has gone a couple sentences too long.

Anyway, my rage at certain reviewers in certain sites aside, it felt good to try something different with a review. Unfortunately, I don't have an editing staff, so it's not as professional as I'd like it. I hope anyone who's read my other reviews perceives an at least noticeable improvement in this one from the last few.

I should study for Politics now...