I don't know if is me or does this gen seem very bland? There is no real clear divison between Xbox 360 and PS3 owners like there was last gen. No huge gap in power nor a big gap in games this gen! It makes SW a very boring place.

Lets take a second to actually look at the current market situation. Nintendo and M$ are battleing for 1st place while Sony is at a third place yet the gaps between all of these are not massive like there were. To top that one the games released this gen have been mostly multiplats while the exclusives haven't been really anything to special outside of Gears and MGS4. Then you factor in the multimedia features and online capabilities and the PS3 and 360 are damn near equal.

The Wii is the only one that really has any difference but it has shown us time and time again that it is not competeing directly against the other two consoles. Where the Wii stands now is in a close 2nd place and quickly overtaking the Xbox 360 yet the PS3 and 360 don't show slowed sales only bringing further evidence that the Wii has attracted a new audience.

So where does this leave a former SW champ? I left being a Sony fan after E3 2006, you know the one where Sony shot itself in the foot. Since then I have been kind neutral as there are really no good sides to take this gen. SW is not fun anymore not becuase of the crackdown, it is not fun before because there is really no clear fanboyism anymore towards a particluar console. They are all starting to blend together.

Is this a bad thing? I guess not. I just miss the old days of System Wars where there was a reason to actually post there. Now I am just lost...

/rant

As we all approach the end of Summer 2008 I am going to take some time to refelect upon the summer...

*ponders*

Better yet, lets skip that. My summer was about as fun as watching the paint on the blades of grass of a football field slowly fade away. I hope everybody else had a great summer.

This has been the first summer of my life where I just wanted it to end. I have worked tirelessly in a factory for 40 hours a week for the past 3 months as my summer job. Sure the pay was good, but now I am finally nearing the end. I have 4 days left then I finally get some freedom once again.

Next year I will be returning to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire to continue to study computer science. I will however be living in a hotel instead of a dorm for the first semester. Its going to be intresting to say the least. At least I got a pool all year round I can relax at.

Anyways a lot has happened since my last blog post. I'm to lazy to do a video blog this time so instead I will just type. Since then I quit Age of Conan and Gamespot gained a few pounds. Both were good things as I am enjoying the new layout of Gamespot and look forward to them updating the fourms.

This winter I will be persuing something I like to call Wasdie TV. I will have more details in the future.

As for what I have been playing this summer, it has been a good mix of PC and 360 games. Since Age of Conan lacked content, I have been playing much more World War 2 online, Call of Duty 4, Counter-Strike Source, and various others on my PC. As for the 360, I have been playing lots of Halo 3 and GTA4 online with friends and AC6 by myself.

Overall its been a decent summer of gaming, but gaming cannot make up for the lack of social contact I have now. Luckly in two weeks that will change as I head back to school.

A few upcoming things people should be aware about. WWII Online is getting a graphic update in the near future, keep your eyes out for that one. Mount and Blade is finally coming out of beta and going into full release in September, I will have more on that when that comes out. I will be reviewing many games over the next couple of weeks, including video reviews and written reviews.

So those who keep in check with my blog will have more to read in the next few weeks. Until then, game it up!

Alrighty guys heres my first ever video blog showing my summer gaming setup before I move back to school.

[video=JHw3lmf65b0Kuz7c]

Alright I don't know how many of you guys remember my glory days of System Wars. The days where me, Fuzzysquash, and Diggyzoom absoultly owned SW by ourselves. BlackBond may say he was a major player, but even he cant deny those days of the cow trio.

Back in those days I was a hardcore console gamer and played mostly Sony. Yes I did own an Xbox but I was a cow through and through. Well until E3 2006. Yeah well lets just say that Sony let me down just a little bit.

Since then I have converted to pretty much a hermit. I built a computer and have been blasting n00bs in Crysis (with my mighty 25fps with high settings!).

Though lately something wierd has been happening to me. As much as I love my computer and all of the FPS and RTS goodness that comes with it, I have been having these strange urges to play a console. So I decided to buy a Playstation 3 (see a few blog posts down).

Well about a month ago a game called GTA4 came out and all of my friends started playing it. Though they all started playing it on their Xbox 360s. This put me in a very difficult position. I have a ton of history defending Sony and using their products, I really really want a Blu-Ray player, and I really think MGS4 looks amazing.

Though when it came down to it, I looked at not what I could have in the future, but what I could have right now. So I bought an Xbox 360.

:shock:

*looks at the stunned look on people's faces*

You can pick your jaws up off the floor now. If for some reason you didn't catch it the first time or believe I just made a typo I will repeat myself. I bought an Xbox 360. I have the pics to prove it!

Heres my setup now. My uber rig (about one year old and still kicking baby 8)) and my 360. I use my monitor for HD.

Heres it in the dark :p

Lets just say that I love it. I play a lot of Halo 3 and GTA4 on XBL. My gamertag is Wasdie639 (R.I.P. Wasdie :(). Please add me, make sure you say your from Gamespot or I probably wont accept :P.

Hi all you happy people who read my blog, all 5 of you. Lots of stuff going down in all apects of my life. For starters I am transfering back to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. I will miss being apart of a college jazz band, but I don't see jazz getting me anywhere in life.

Other things going on in my life outside of computers. Not a whole lot. I am doing classes and playing piano in my spare time. I got my job back for the summer so I can make some money and buy myself a PS3. I am excited for that. Oh I guess I could pay for college tution as well. All I know is this summer will be cheaper than last. Last summer I had both a new gaming computer and a girlfriend. This summer, neither. Well I still have my computer but I dont have to drop money on it.

Lets see what else is going on. Well as may of you probably know I am a memeber of the Gamespot Users Fellowship Union (GUFU). We have started podcasting on a regular basis. I am the host of the podcasts. You all should chck that stuff out. You can find all of them here.

In my gaming life I am despreatly looking for a decent free MMORPG to last me for a while. I heard Shadowbane has an active community, so I will check that one out. I am also in the middle of shooting a quality Mount and Blade trailer. Also I am really looking forward to Age of Conan.

I think the next blog entry I have will be like podcast kind of a blog. Check back later this week for that.

Well now that you have suffered with reading about my boring life, I will leave you with something far more intresting...

[video=InJnkzes5b0MuzHf]

ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*crickets chrip*

Hmm I guess not. Anyways I have had the pleasure to experiance one of the things that makes being a gamer so great, a night of Rock Band with a bunch of my friends late at night in my dorm. It got pretty crazy with the horrible vocals, the laughing, and the abusing the drummer (house rule #3, abuse the drummer).

I was so fun that I had one of my slightly drunk friends take my camera and film the awesomness. The result? Only the best Rock Band music video ever made. With a little audio editing I made it feel like we are actually in a real band!

That band is called Same Difference. Me (Wasdie) on drums, Creature on drums, Sam on vocals, and a guest bassit who isn't important. We played our signature song "Welcome Home" and scored 1.25 million points.

I am the one in the blue shirt on lead guitar. Check out my sick guitar solo the end.

[video=KnQznzWo5b0NuTPb]

Anyways I had a crap ton of fun both playing the game and making the music video. You can expect future, more professional music videos from Same Difference in the near future.

Apparently Teuf loves me so much (though he will deny it to the grave) he has decided to "tag" me. So now I guess I have to say 5 things about myself.

1. I play alto saxophone. This is for those who don't know me well. I play alto sax in a number of bands, my favorite being the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Jazz Band. It is rather an honor being part of the band because those who auditioned had much more experiance than myself.

Im the alto sax player with his head turned to the left btw.

2. I drive a 2001 Grand AM SE.

(not my car but the exact same model and color)

3. My favorite video game of all time is Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. It is still the only game I have played through at least 30 times and still have not gotten bored of it.

4. I am glad the PS2 beat the DC last gen. Yeah I said it. Wanna fight about it?

5. I ran cross country for five year. My 8th - 12th grade year I was on the cross country team. I was also the worst male runner on the team for all five of those years. I am not a runner but I loved being on the team, simple as that.

I guess I have to pick 5 people now...

1. BlackBond
2. lafigueroa
3. Redmoon
4. RK-Mara
5. Ibacai

Incase some of you have not realize I have been posting more and more movies onto Gamespot. About two years ago, after watching several Xbox 360 and PS3 game montages, I set out to make my own. I was armed with a Pentium 4 computer with about 512 mbs of ram, a cable internet connection, and a love for Metallica. This was the result.

[video=dnA0lWGq5bIEsjM]

I learned a lot about gaming montages with this one movie. I learned that you need to match the footage with the song in more than just timing the video clips with the music. So after learning what it takes and upgrading to a bit more powerful computer I got this...

[video=KiFnnjb65bsJujfW]

As you can see it is much improved, the flow is much better and it is less cheesy. Now I finally have my 1337 gaming computer and I have the advantage of recording my own footage. Now I don't have to search and search for good footage, I can shoot my own. So I made this montage of World in Conflict to show off how awesome the game was.

[video=d3Mzkmf85b8FujPd]

I love video editing and shooting movies. My ultamite goal is to produce a machinima. That will take a lot of hard work on my part and the efforts of many people, but I think I can pull it off.

As for the rest of my life, things are going better. After the breakup with my girlfriend I started hitting rock bottom and lots of stuff fell apart in my life. I am happy to report things are back to normal. I did have to make a few adjustments and decisions. For one I dropped my Calc 2 class and I have decided to transfer back to my original college the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.

As for my gaming life things have never been better. No girlfriend = more money and more time and that means more games and more time to play games. I have stopped playing WWII Online because I want to expand my gaming to other things. I picked up Dyansty Warriors 5 for the Xbox because I love the series, I also picked up Sins of a Solar Empire and plan on really playing that a lot as soon as I get home this summer (damn school internet).

Right now I am looking for a new MMO, hopefully a MMORPG that isn't WoW.

Also I have decided to start budgeting for a PS3. Finally I have enough reason to buy one (thanks MGS4). I hopefully will beable to E-bay myself a 60gb PS3 and upgrade the HDD to about 500gbs. So that is my plan.

Anyways I will leave you guys with a bang. Heres a montage I made of the latest GUFU gaming match. We played Supcom and I won.

[video=dyBlnzTw5bwFujLZ]

Well not like anybody cares to much but me an my girlfriend broke up. I am sad but at the same time I am happy that I have more freedom. Oh well I'm only 19, I have many years ahead of me.

Anyways now that I have a freedom I can do more stuff, mainly more gaming. Expect to see many new reviews of the games that I own and a few more that are coming out. I am working on a WWII Online project and a Mount and Blade full trailer. You have seen the teaser trailer, I need to make the full one.

There are also a few other things in my life that I am going to change. Going to get a shorter hair cut, going to go shopping for more clothes, also going to be playing sax more and more. Yes I play saxophone, I play alto saxophone to be exact. This semester I am playing 2nd alto for my first real college jazz band. This is no longer some stupid little one night a week thing I was in.

I have many influences, but this guy is surely one of the biggest. I love his style of playing and I wish to show him at his finest to all of you.

[video=cXE2kjTw5bwKujHW]

That is my goal, to beable to rock out on stage the way he can, but in my own way. It is after all jazz.

So a bit more about what is going on right at this time. I am playing a crap ton of PC games in the form of WWII Online, Company of Heros, Mount and Blade, World in Conflict, and hopefully soon Sins of a Solar Empire. Money is getting really tight so I don't believe I will beable to afford it right away.

So that wraps up this. Hopefully I will get my Crysis review done soon and get that posted.

I have found one of the best PC RPGs ever. It is called Mount and Blade. It is located at www.taleworlds.com, and everybody with a PC should check it out. I don't want to go in to much detail. I made a big detailed post about it in the fourms, but instead I made a teaser trailer...

[video=cnU1lGGq5bwJuTHZ]