Today I'd like to take a topic that recently has been very close to home for me. Just recently I rented, and played through, Sonic and The Secret Rings. And with this I'd like to ask sega, as well as other developers who think that by changing the gameplay everytime a sequel of a good game comes out that it will be a hit, Why? Sure, Sonic and the Secret Rings would be embraced by me if it was a completly new series coming out for the wii, but with my remberance of the glory days of sonic, I just can't embrace it. I know I may be sounding anal here, but even though the new game is fun, the fact that it isn't the same sonic anymore really bothers me. Rember the good old days, I asked myself as I paced through a side mission that I just had to complete to get to the next stage, when sonic was fast, new, and incredabily good, what happened to those days? Not that I'm saying that changing the series is wrong, I mean Square Enix succeded with the new combat system in Final Fantasy XII, and I'm not saying that you should wring out what works until people are sick of it, all I'm saying is that sometimes series don't need changes, especially when they're this drastic. Why is it that the game in the Sonic franchise that is the most different from any other in the series is being embrassed the most by critics. And I finally realized that its because people were sick of the 3-D flops that were of the past (looking at you, Sonic Heroes) and Sega had almost forced themselves to have to change so drastically just to get something out that was half-way decent, and not completely terrible. So I ask you, developers, to please stop changing what works so drastically that it isn't the same game anymore, just stop.

Recently Jack Thompson released a statement that all video games now-a-days should have an M (mature) rating. Then somebody that knew what they were talking about released a statment to contradict the ramblings that Jack Thompson had spewed days earlier, saying that they were actually in a decline of rated M games lately. Now, if you don't know who Jack Thompson is, lets just say you're lucky that you havent heard of him yet. He's the hater of everything videogame, and is always going on and on about the kid violence/videogame relation that is "happening all the time". He is the reason that the news has ever even given a crap about Video Games, and is almost the epidemy of why things like the idiotic Mass Effect contreversoy even start. He eggs on the media and has blown up minor problems since the dawn of video games, and I now sort of understand why. He is a prime example of primitive nature. Because of human nature we take things that are new to us and become scared of them, and things that we don't understand become the ultimate frightening demonic presence that we must be cautious of all the time. But Jack Thompson doesn't understand video games, and think they are provoking and promoting how killing is fun. Its entertainment, which no one understands except for the gamer. Seriously, just because we play GTA doesn't mean we're going to go kill some hookers and car jack random people on the street. Anybody in their right mind would understand that, but thanks to Jack Thompson more and more people are agreeing with the supposed "facts" he spews out every other week, and are starting to think of games as something that will harm anybody who gets tempted to play them. So today i am happy, because somebody is stepping up and tell Jack Thompson that he's wrong, hopefully we can see more of that in the future.

THE Nintendo party game. THE game that everyone will want in 2008. You as well as I have heard all the hype surronding Nintendos newest release. But the question that has accompanied this hype, and which I am seeing on many forums lately is the question "will this be the last game Nintendo makes for the Wii?" and i'm here to adress that absurd question. No. The answer is no, and if any research was done by the people who say that it will be, they would quickly change their answer. To me, Super Smash Brothers marks Nintendo really pumping out a lot more 1st party titles. I mean, you can't call yourself a Nintendo fan if you haven't been absolutely obessing about the newest details on Super Mario Kart. And people have been speculating of a possible kirby title coming to the wii. Why does everybody think that Nintendo is done with their console when its only been out for a short period of time? Plus, what would Nintendo come up with this soon to get out a new console, A helmet where you view the games? Maybe a huge machine where you go into and become the character? I'm being sarcastic of course, but Nintendo has no need to release a new console. Currently the 480p really doesn't make a difference when it comes to people buying the console, and I'm sure if, as some say "there will be a new Nintendo console by the end of the year" Nintendo would've told us some details by now

As my friends and I start to get engrossed in the gaming world, my friends as well as others ask me "Why Wii?" I myself wonder this from time to time as I gush over the 1080p blockbusters that shine on the display T.V.'s at Best Buy, as I see shiner armor and more refined face wrinkles, but I've finally come up with the answer, innovation. The sole purpose I choose the Wii over PS3 and XBOX360 is that it was something exciting and new, and over all the other systems on the market it showed what gaming is all about. Gaming is about innovation, new endevours and exciting new concepts, not about HD resolution and internet capability. And as I look at Nintendos newest prize, I believe it throughly embodies what gaming should be, and always has been. No matter what the graphics, gameplay is what its all about, and Nintendo has done the smart thing and continued to focus on that as the previous console generation did. Sure, this isn't as mindblowingly revolutionary as the light bulb (as I may have built it up to have been) but to me, it really knows what gaming is all about and will always truly be about, and that is why, in my opinion, the Wii is the console for me.

Usually I can simply ignore the ignorant portrals of video games in conservative and news media. But this recent Mass Effect contreversy has finally blew my composure when it comes to these situations. Cooper Lawerence and Teri Van Horn released a story dealing with the game saying that it had,"pornagraphic material" and was marketed towards young boys. Not only does the ignorance of Cooper and Teri bother me but the entire story is blown way out of preportion. Clearly the big M on the cover signals that young boys should not play the game, but the quote "pornographic material" is much less offensive than described in the story. Following in the news footsteps, a conservative blogger complained about the "lesbian innuendoes" or something like that in the game. What is this, the 1950's? Since when has the idea of homosexuality become irratating now-a-days except to the hardcore conservative political figures which no one cares about. Oh, and one more thing to add, Jack Thompson (famous for complaining about Rockstars game Bully) doesn't even think that this is a big deal, and he hates everything to do with video games. So, in conclusion, i have a message to all the people out there who spend time just sitting around waiting for something to complain about in a videogame, STOP. You have no reason to do this and it makes absolutely no sense when you try to do it.

I have seen all the characters, and I love them all, but maybe in the next game these five people could make an appearence

5. Leon S. Kennedy

4.Bomberman

3. Simon Belmont

2. Gray fox- technically he's been in the games before, but I think he's deserves to be in the ring as a playable character

1. Mega Man