I am currently 9 Hours and 31 Minutes into Red Dead Redemption and I Am LOVING IT!!!!!! To be fair, 9 and a half hours is quite pathetic but with exams and the gorgeous weather we've been having in England recently, it's really cut back my gaming time. I'm currently doing missions for Landon Ricketts (awesome character) and some other guy who I haven't been to yet. But how freaking awesome does this game look! Seriously, when I was riding through America I was impressed, but Mexico is out of this world. The dusty deserts and little towns are just amazing to look at. I hardly ever quick travel as it is a complete pleasure to just ride the whole thing with a horse and lose yourself in the amazing graphics.

Other Stuff

I also had my braces yesterday. So that's 18 months without Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper or any fizzy drinks. Well, that what my Dad thinks. ;-) I'm still getting used to them and it is a bit painful when I eat but hopefully in a week or two, I won't even notice them. I'm also going on holiday down in Devon from Saturday till sometime next week so I'm afraid I will be inactive...sorry. :(

Also, thanks to Mike (@tntkng) for naming me #9 in his favourite GS people. Cheers, mate! :D

Okay, I'm really, really tired. However, I decided that I should throw a blog this evening and also decided that should be a more "musical" blog. So here are my Favourite 3 Albums of all time.

1. Definitely Maybe (Oasis)

This album is just pure rock 'n roll. The lyrics are awesome, the riffs are awesome, Liam's voice sounds out of this world. Definitely Maybe is just pure magic and makes me proud to be British. Songs like Live Forever and Supersonic are top tunes and even better when drunk.

2. Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not (Arctic Monkeys)

Just the pinnacle of Garage Rock. Four lads from Sheffield post their tunes on MySpace and end having the fastest selling album since Oasis' Definitely Maybe. Alex Turner's lyrics are amazing and songs such as I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and When the Sun Goes Down turn this album into something special.

3. Nevermind (Nirvana)

The most powerful album ever made. Kurt Cobain's voice sounds so good and the riffs in Smells Like Teen Spirit and the lyrics in Come As You Are just remind you how good Nirvana were.

So, do you guys agree? And post you're favourite albums in the comments!

One of the greatest TV series ever, LOST, aired it's final episode last night. And to make it even more exciting, Sky1 decided that they were going to show this final episode at 5AM- so that us Brits could watch LOST go out at the same time as people watching in the US. I decided that, seeing as I normally wake up at 7AM for school anyway, I would set my alarm two hours earlier. So, my alarm went off at 5 and I got some breakfast and sat down to watch the finale that would "answer all the questions". Wow, I was disappointed.

The "finale" just answered nothing! They were hardly any adrenline-pumping action scenes that we saw in (my favourite season) Season 3. And the parallel universe where they hadn't crashed, turned out to be everyone dead. Then Jack starts talking to his dead father. And, it was just so frustating and annoying when I could've had two more hours sleep.

Anyway, on to games and I have finally crossed the border in Red Dead Redemption, crossing the river to Mexico! The assault on Fort Mercer mission was the best so far in the game, and I am so looking forward to carrying on with the engrossing story. Won't get a chance tonight though as I have some studying to do for my English Literature exam tomorrow.

:(

27C! To most of you across the globe, that's nothing. But here in England, 27C is sweltering. Rather than sitting outside, I've decided to spend my day with a nice cool fan and lots of football on the TV. I'm currently watching the Championship Play-off final, which Blackpool are winning. And at 8PM tonight is the Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Should be a great game.

Red Dead Redemption

On Friday, Red Dead Redemption was released here in the UK and I got my copy. I'm currently around 6 Hours into the game and so far, I'm loving it. The game looks amazing, definitely the best looking game Rockstar has ever produced. When I'm playing Red Dead, I actually feel like I'm playing a Grand Theft Auto game. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know, but the game is so, so similar to GTA. The game hasn't engrossed me like other games such as Mass Effect 2 but I gathered there is still more to come.

Okay, guys. I really apologise for going AWOL recently. I really needed a break from GameSpot so I decided to make my profile private and just disappear for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I'm now back for good.

Recently, I haven't been getting in much gaming at all. Mostly due to the fact that I have pretty much completed every game I own. The last game I bought was Bad Company 2, which in my eyes was a bit of a disappointment. But there's a new game I am definitely getting on Friday!

Red Dead Redemption looks freaking awesome! Seriously, this could actually beat Mass Effect 2 as my favourite game of the year. I've gotta say, I'm pretty guilty of ignoring Red Dead so far, mostly due to the fact I wasn't very familar with the name. However, I just checked on MetaCritic and the game has a 95. Better than games such as Halo 3, Gears of War and Call of Duty 4. The open world looks stunning and as most of you will probably know, I am a massive GTA/Rockstar fan so I am sure to love this game! Definitely getting on Friday!

Also, Steam was also recently brought to the Mac so I downloaded it and snagged Portal for free. Which is an awesome, awesome game, although it does my brain hurt a bit. So, if you're on Steam, you can add me as a friend my gamertag on it is danscfc.

So, again, apologies for disappearing off the face of the Earth, and I'm not going to disappear like that again. I have my first GCSE exam today, so wish me luck!

Okay, I was due to fly back from Florida last Thursday, however, some volcano decided it was going to erupt and spew volcanic ash all over the UK meaning I couldn't fly back. CNN was obviously helpful with the weather man saying that the ash cloud could stay over Europe for weeks and one other newsreader saying that the volcano could erupt for years. I PACKED FOR TWO WEEKS! But finally, finally, finally I flew back last night and arrived in Manchester at about 10pm UK time. Gotta say, so happy to be home! I missed so many Stoke matches!

Before we had to stay in a hotel with no room and in the middle of nowhere, I had such an awesome holiday. Disney World is such an awesome, awesome place! I did ride the Rock n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios and Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom but the weather was also gorgeous! Sunny every day! Did get a nasty surpise when I landed back at Manchester to 6C. When we were also sitting in the hotel after the proper holiday, the reps for the holiday company organised a trip to SeaWorld. Which was awesome! The weather however, was awful, but SeaWorld is amazing. The shows they do with the whales, and dolphins are just amazing! And the Krakon ride is probably the best ride I have ever ridden.

So, thanks Iceland, but I'm finally back and looking forward to playing some games. The Halo: Reach beta is here in like a week and a half and I am so excited for that!

-danscfc

Okay guys, you've probably thought that I've just fallen off the face of the Earth recently because I haven't had ANY time to read your blogs. And again, I'm going have to go AWOL because I'm going to America!

Disneyland Florida! For two weeks! Looking forward to the sun and all rides and fun! So sadly, I'm going to have to leave you for two whole weeks. Any people from Florida? What's the weather like over there?

I also picked up the Stimulus Package for Modern Warfare 2 last night. Due to an emergency though, I didn't get to play it. But hopefully tonight I should get to play it. Although not for long as I want to watch Arsenal v Barcelona tonight and I've got to get up at 4AM to catch my flight to Florida.

And everyone should join the Football Fanatics Union courtesy of Mr_Fuji! If you're reading, mate, I'll definately be involved with that Union when I get back!

Have a great Easter, everyone!

First of all, I want to apologise for my lack of actvity here on GameSpot for the last week. I have been completely snowed under with coursework recently. Graphics, Maths, English, you name it... I have coursework for it. However, it's Friday. And next Thursday, I'm jetting off to Florida. Can't wait. Anyway, during my period of inactvity I watched two new things. Here's what...

Band of Brothers

Rating: 9/10

Band of Brothers was freaking awesome! My mate let me borrow the whole series on DVD and I watched all 10 episodes in just 3 days. The realism was top notch. From the battles, to the injuries, it really shows the horror of World War II. I also made the mistake of watching the episode when they liberate the concentration camp right before bed. It was absolutely disgusting, and a little reminder to all of us to never let anything like this happen again. Band of Brothers is second only to LOST as my favourite TV show, a must for any WWII fan.

Watchmen

Rating: 6/10

Watchmen was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. It dragged, the story was all over the place, and it just didn't feel like I was watching a Super-hero movie. By all means, make it "darker" but Watchmen just goes over the top. There are some cool moments (mostly involving Rorscach) but the poor music choice and other factors drag the film down.

If you guys have seen any of these two: Do you think I am right or wrong?

Oh, and I also leveled up recently. Level 25. :D

-danscfc

Okay, on Thursday night, I completed the single-player of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Even though everyone seems to be really enjoying it, I'm feeling slightly disappointed. I can't see how you can rate a game so highly when it doesn't seem to add anything new to the FPS genre. The single-player is a massive Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty wannabe. The last level is very, very similar to CoD4's: Mile High Club and there is a level that is also very similar to MW2's Cliffhanger level. The multiplayer I find is very slow-paced and vehicle based which is not to my liking. Call me stupid, but I just don't get Bad Company 2. Look for my review tomorrow. Score: 7.5.

So, in my opinion, Modern Warfare 2 is heads and shoulders above BF: BC2. And sometime this week, I finally prestiged for the 2nd time! So I'm now 2nd Prestige, Level 3 with a 1.53K/D. I will be trying to plough through the ranks tonight on MW2 so if any of you want to play add me on Xbox LIVE and I'll send you an invite about 8PM GMT.

And continuing with the "military" theme of this blog, last night I got to watch Black Hawk Down on DVD. Gotta say, it's a great film. Not quite as good as Saving Private Ryan, but it really does get you as close as you'd probably ever want to get. Great editing and lots and lots of action.

Have a good weekend, guys.

-danscfc

You'd think, with Modern Warfare 2 making over $600 milliion in its first week, Activision would be quite reasonable and price the upcoming map pack suitably. WRONG!

The 'Stimulus Package' will feature five new maps. Three will be brand new, two will be remakes of Call of Duty 4 maps: Crash and Overgrown. It will be released on Xbox LIVE on the 30th March, but it's the price that is completely ridiculous.

1200 Microsoft Points. So, if you're like me, you're going have to buy 2000 Microsoft Points, which will cost £16. Sixteen pounds for three new maps and two I've already played to death. Half the price of the full game. I knew Activision loved their money, but come on, this is just theft. Sad thing is, people will actually buy it. And I'll find it hard to resist becoming one of them.

I'm also very close to completing the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 single-player and it should be finished by the end of the week. It's not the best game I've ever played, but it's not the worst. However, if they aimed for Modern Warfare 2 standards, it falls well short.

I also got a new avatar, which contains the legend that is Buzz Lightyear! Anyone else really excited for Toy Story 3?

-danscfc