I am not really sure why I am here, on the internet getting my VG News fix. Real gamers should be playing, right? Sometimes that gets old, or you otherwise just don't feel in the mood, so you go to the internet. You try a few portals, you settle on the one you like, you begin to join the community, posting a little, getting your feet wet. Then, just as it begins to spin up: BLAM they shut down most of the old site to 'renovate' the place. Buttons go missing. The forums (and System Wars, my guilty pleasure) stay shut for days, right as FarCry: Instincts OWNS the hermits, no less!

But after a few days, you notice the cool new details, like the video at your fingertips, easy access to different parts of the site, the admittedly more modern gesalt of the whole place. It begins to grow on you.

There are things I still haven't figured out, like how to change my avatar or my sig.  Heck, I just figured out the whole 'adding games to my wish list' deal.  Am I slow?  Perhaps, but then again, why did this stuff have to change?

Also, what is up with the forums?  I liked being able to click on the forum name at the bottom of a page instead of scrolling back up to the top if I wanted to jump ship on a crappy topic.

All in all, I like the new layout from an aesthetic point of view, and I appreciate the way they have thoughtfully rearranged the News area of the site (Rumor Control more often?  HELL YEAH!).  With the clear expectation that I will get more used to the little niggling details, I give the new GameSpot a 9.1/10. They need to work on the signatures and avatars to make them easier again, though.  I miss the 'easiness' of the old GS.