I am a total access subscriber again. But I am sure you can all figure out why.... BECAUSE I LOVE YOU ALL!!

This has been a rather slow week. On top of that I have been sick since Monday. This is the first time I have been sick in over 2 years!! But I am no complaining. The only thing my sickness is slowing down though is my radio show I have on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I really enjoy doing it and I hate missing because my throat is in pain. O WELL!! Take care all!!

Or maybe I have to much time on my hands! But either way, I am picking up my old job back in a couple of weeks to rack in some more mullah in pursuit of purchasing some.. HALO STUFF. Yeah, I am trying to collect some Halo stuff and see how it goes from there.

After 4+ years of speculation and quietness of what really happened to Jeff when he was fired from GameSpot in NOV of 07, they finally announced what really went down and the reasoning for his termination. I honestly was one of many who was in belief that it had everything to do with the Kane & Lynch review and the pressure from the publishers to take action toward Jeff for giving their game a not so great score. I am glad that both parties have put everything behind them and am looking forward to the same stellar content from both GameSpot and GiantBomb. But this time... ALL UNDER ONE ROOF!!

Hello everyone!! I must say that it has been a long time since I have posted in here. I actually was one of many who jumped ship from the whole Gerstmann Gate incident back in November/December of 2007. Since that time I have been a member of Giant Bomb and have on occasion stopped by GameSpot to check things out. I must say that I am excited about what is going on now with Giant Bomb coming together with GameSpot and for things to have the chance to be like they were in the past. I hope to be more active on here like I have been there. I will be honest and say that some of the most memorable and best times of my life were here at GameSpot and I hope that can be relived again. LETS DO THIS!

School has been insane!! Everything about college being both fun and hard...is true!! But I just wanted to post about how I completely realized that its been over 4 years since creating an account here on GameSpot..and man how quick it seems..heck I remember just like it was yesterday when they held the "Pedal to the Metal" challenge with Nascar SimRacing on tournament tv. It was probably the greatest and my most favorite online competition in the history of video games. ROCK ON GS!!

My total access account expired today, its a sad day :(

Back when Halo 2 was announced for the PC back in early 06, many fans of the Halo series, specifically the PC side, were ecstatic to here that the number one shooter for the xbox will be making its way to them. Now with that being said...the real talk of this subject was the catch that followed along, grabbing everyones attention and pushing people away from it before the game was even being produced. This was the requirement of Windows Vista, Microsoft's newest operating system set to debut later that year. Now when people first gazed upon this news, they had one of two reactions: 1) They were extremely happy that Halo 2 would turn out to be new and improved with loads of new features and graphics because of Direct X 10 and HDCP (whatever that really is...) or 2) Extremely upset because Vista is going to require people to upgrade their machines for it to even run good and then dish out more to get Vista which would burn wholes straight through many people's pockets. Now, my reaction was simple...I fell under category 1, not because I had a kick ass machine or because I had the money to get Vista, but simply because I was happy to see Microsoft and Bungie coming together to bring a fantastic game to another platform, and along with that Games for Windows- LIVE. Now, my impression of the game itself... - After weeks of delays and waiting, I picked my copy up and immediately went into it. I did not try the "Tray and Play" because I didn't trust just yet and I wanted a quick. painless install. I get it installed with no problems at all and I began the process of setting up my LIVE account within the game. This was extremely easy and only took a few minutes. After that I went STRAIGHT to the game browser and joined a match online. Before I entered into the game it self, it took me to the pregame lobby like it did in the xbox version and I got to see the nice little chat box they threw in so those without a microphone can join the chaos of conversations that can occur. Next, it took me into the game with the same old blue screen and the Halo 2 loading screen as well. I shortly was in the game and began playing, the first thing I noticed were obviously the enhanced textures on the guns and the vehicles. The changes were not drastic but were noticeable if you have been playing Halo 2 on the xbox practically since its release almost 3 years ago. I also noticed the in game chat that was occurring and also how the controls in the game vary extensively from most shooters, for example, crouching is done with the "shift" key, and you check your score with the "c" key. I am used to score being "tab" or "f1" like in the original Halo. Unfortunately, I pressed the "tab" button for my score but instead I threw a grenade. One major change I noticed in the PC version was how fast everything is compared to the console version due to the fact that the frames are not limited, or capped. So everything felt cleaner and quicker. All in all, to put everything together, I think Halo 2 Vista is a great port from the xbox version and is a great multiplayer addition to the PC community. My personal score: What I liked: Custom video options makes the PC version look alot better, multiplayer browser makes finding a specific game you want easier, Games for Windows-LIVE is great from the start. What I disliked: No v-sync in the video options, graphics were not drastically improved, found some annoying bugs in multiplayer which were not present in the xbox version. I hope you liked my take on Halo 2 Vista, I have been wanting to get my opinion out since I got it but haven't had the time to sit down and spill out my thoughts. Have a great summer and I hope to use this blog a bit more.

Lake Effect Lan Party v.7 was announced today. If you live in the NWPA area and are hungry for a LAN, head over to www.lakeeffectlan.com

Now I dont know about you..but I can't wait for Halo 2 on the PC. Something I have been waiting for way before it was even announced. I started playing Halo 2 the day it came out and played it frantically for months after that. Now I hop on a few times a week for a couple of games and I can still have a blast. I hope Halo 2 on the PC lives up to what I think will be incredible and bring me back to the old times I had as a little xbox gamer 3 years ago. I hope to see many of you on in a short 2 weeks from now!!! Have fun!!!