1 and a half years have passed since my last blog post. It seems in the past year I've neglected Gamespot, which I don't know if I should consider a good or a bad thing. I've dropped in from time to time, but my visits were brief. The news however that my team, Man Utd, have finally caved in to Real Madrid justifies a new blog post. Today marks the end of an era, an era that I thought would've lasted for many years to come. Cristiano Ronaldo was indeed a great player, and with this post, I would like to thank him for all the help he has provided to United in the years he has spend with the club (3 Premier League titles and a Champions League win is by no means a small feat). His 42 goals in the 2007/08 season were phenomenal and to see this small-town Portuguese kid evolve in a world superstar has been a great pleasure for every United fan. However, with Madrid declaring an interest in him in the past summer, Ronaldo's heart never seemed to be with Utd anymore. Fergie did a good job to keep him away from Madrid's grasp last summer, but last season, Ronaldo did not play with the same conviction that earned him the Ballon D'or and the FIFA World Player of the Year accolades. With Madrid renewing their interest in him this summer and with big-money spending Florentino Perez elected as President of the Spanish outfit, Utd could not resist the record-breaking $130million offer. And so, this season will be the post-Ronaldo era, and even though some fans may not consider him a legend yet, I think his contribution to the club justifies some sort of acknowledgment. I hope he does well for Madrid, even though I have a feeling he will fade in the filled-to-the-brink-with-superstars Madrid squad. I sincerely hope that the money we have received will be well invested and hopefully United will bounce back. Here's to Ronaldo - the wonderboy-turned-superstar.

Hey guys! First of all I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I'd also like to thank fishdalf for the idea of a Best of '07 blog entry. Anyways, enough blabbering, let's cut to the chase.

Best Movie

Nominees: 300, Disturbia, Superbad, Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

And the Winner:

300

Now, I may have missed on what many would believe are much better movies than the ones listed, like No Country for Old Men and The Bourne Ultimatum, so one could criticize this category as being somewhat limited. But the hell with it :P 300 is a movie that is may not be historically accurate, but sure kicks ass. From the sumptuous fighting scenes, to the well-crafted CGI scenery, to bodybuilders in minimal clothing (:P). There's just no denying that 300 is a milestone in a genre that seemed to be running out of creative ideas. If you want more on 300, you can read my 'review' here.

Best Game

Nominees: Call of Duty 4, FIFA 08, Assasin's Creed

And the Winner:

Call of Duty 4

Call of Duty 4 is just an all-round amazing game. The single-player campaign may be short, but what a campaign it is! It's not the quantity but the quality that matters, and CoD4 really drives home in that department. The sniper mission is probably the single best mission I have ever played in any game I remember. And once the single-player is over, the fun has just began. The multiplayer takes on the helm thereafter, and it's just unbelievably fun to play. Such an amazing game, kudos to Infinity Ward for continuing the legacy of Call of Duty with another great addition, perhaps the best in the series.

Best Sportsman

Nominees: Cristiano Ronaldo (football), Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1), Cesc Fabregas (football)

And the Winner:

Cristiano Ronaldo

Well I can't really claim to know a lot of sportsmen, as I am primarily an avid football fan, and rarely watch any other sport except for Formula 1. Some may also call me biased, being a Man U supporter, and even though it was a close contest between Lewis Hamilton and Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano just edges past the Brit. It truly has been an amazing year for the Portuguese wing wizard, with his abundant trickery and talent. While Lewis Hamilton had a phenomenal year in F1, just losing the title in the last race to veteran Raikonnen, Cristiano was the driving force behind United's title charge and also was a key factor in United's Champions League amazing run and reaching the FA Cup semi-final. Voted the second best football player in the world (although he should have been first), and being just 22 years old. there's no denying that future United fans will be looking back at the Cristiano Ronaldo years.

Best Album

Nominees: In Rainbows (Radiohead), Hold Your Colour (Pendulum), Blackbird (Alter Bridge), Leaving Eden (Antimatter), Blackfield II (Blackfield)

And the Winner:

Blackbird (Alter Bridge)

The second album by the brainchild of Creed, Alter Bridge, Blackbird is truly a masterpiece. There simply is not one song on the album that I don't like, and as the tracks progress, the songs just keep getting better and better. The highlight of the album is of course the song 'Blackbird' - a seven-minute beauty of a song. Competition was fierce however, with Antimatter's Leaving Eden coming a close second and Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows, coming in third. Some Radiohead fanatic might hate me for ranking the album at third, but it's difficult to simply ignore my favorite album of 2007, 'Blackbird'. Check it out, buy it, enjoy it!

Best TV Show

Nominees: Scrubs (season 5), Heroes (season 1), Dexter (season 1), Top Gear (season 10)

And the Winner:

Heroes

Again, another category with fierce competition. But I find it necessary to note the season of each program I am referring to as it may not be the latest ones shown in the US. In this category, for me, Scrubs would have been a clear winner. Until I stumbled upon Heroes. This show is definitely a breath of fresh air in the series industry. The plot of season 1 is quite deep, and each episode asks more question than it answers, leaving you wanting more and more. After finishing one episode, I felt compelled to watch the next one. That's how gripping this series is.

Top Gear is another great TV show, and season 10 is admittedly one of the best TG seasons. Some amazing challenges, and Jeremy is such a funny guy. But Heroes just had to be top spot for me, and I'm glad I indulged into watching this show after hearing all this hype about it, because it ends up (surprisingly) that the hype was right. I was expecting an X-men spin-off but Heroes is just so much more than that, and if you haven't seen it yet, it's definitely worth checking out.

And that concludes the Best of 2007 'Awards'. I'd love to hear your 'best of 2007' and which of these you agree with or disagree with. Overall, a great year and hoping the same for 2008.

Until next time! :)

The title says it all! Merry Christmas everybody! Hope everyone had fun. I'll leave you with one of my favourite Christmas songs.

Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John Lennon

Haven't made a blog in what feels like ages. I guess nothing special happened, but I think it's because I haven't had the time to sit down a write a blog. It seems lately like I have very little time. It's times like these you wish a day had 36 hours and not 24.

So I had the chance to watch Superbad, and I have to say it was awesome. Being the Seth Rogen fan that I am, I decided to watch Knocked Up as well, and I have to say I was not disappointed. It seems that Seth Rogen is steadily propelling himself to the top of Hollywood with his amazingly witty comedies and spot-on acting.

I was also quite disappointed to find out that the Scrubs Season 6 DVD will not be released in the UK until the 14th of January. I was so looking forward to its release which was supposed to be on the 14th of November but apparently I was misinformed. So there goes my short-term wishlist I compiled a couple of weeks ago. However, I did manage to buy the Scrubs soundtrack CD which has some amazing songs. One of them being this amazing song from this awesome Scrubs scene. Definitely in my top 10 Scrubs moments.

Till next time :)

Expectations were high for the next-gen installment of the Pro Evo series, and for the first time in the series PC users get to enjoy the benefits of next-gen graphics, instead of those dreadful PS2 ports. But as always, great expectations are rarely met. I was excited by the release of Pro Evo, because I saw those beautiful screenshots and got carried away by the hype. However, when the demo was released I was bitterly disappointed by the direction the game took. The camera angles were awful, the graphics were not as good as you would expect (although the cut-scenes are gorgeous), and the gameplay was horrible. But, alas, I decided not to judge Pro Evo by the demo, as Konami have a tendency of making demos that don't resemble the actual game (go figure).

Anyways, having picked up my copy today, and having played my first game, I realized - this game is exactly the same as the demo. Konami finally released a demo that resembled to the game, at a time where I was hoping that it didn't. However, Pro Evo is one of those games that grows on you, much in the same way as a rock CD becomes better everytime you listen to it. And Pro Evo would have growed on me, had I been given the chance to actually play the game they way it should be played. Unfortunately, the game is riddled with problems. During a match, I have experienced slow-downs or lags (a drop in the framerate) and I'm not sure if this is because Pro Evo proves too hot to handle for my graphics card. And that's my most major concern. Because I can look past the fact that there are no EPL licenses, and the poor stadiums, because I know they will be fixed in due time. But the framerate problem...I'm not sure that will be fixed.

And so this is a plead to Konami - if you plan on making a PC game with next-gen graphics don't make a direct port from the 360 because the PC is so much different from a console. Because this game feels like a 360 port - I think the fact that the controls are shown on the 360 controller gave it away.

With the release of Pro Evo 7 looming ever closer I decided to compile a short-term wishlist of things I wish to buy in the following weeks. I know that you expected a considerably large wish-list, but surprisingly, or unsurprisingly I only wish to buy two items.

1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (release date: 26 October)

2. Scrubs: Season 6 (Release date: 30 October)

To be honest, I'm more looking forward to the release of the sixth season of Scrubs. I love that show. Talking about shows I love, the tenth season of Top Gear began these past few weeks, and I must say the first two episodes are amazing. The pursuit of the perfect road brought up some stunning imagery. Jeremy Clarkson is awesome, as always. I just think that all three of them are a match made in heaven.

Anyways, I'll leave you with a relaxing song. Stratovarius - Forever

I was watching a Scrubs episode today about how all the little things in life define where we are. Of course, I always thought about how we have more control over some things than what we think, but this episode today gave me a reason to post a blog about it. I guess, everyday we are faced with decisions, and it's these decisions that may judge whether we're going to have a good day or a bad day. And in the grand scheme of things, it could very well decide where we end up. So, I would like to know, if you believe in fate, or if you believe that we define our own path, and everything is up to us.

Also, this week I'll leave you with a beautiful song, by a British band that I didn't see anyone mention here at the GS forums. They're called Anathema, and this song is called Are You There? The quality might not be so good so you might need to crank up the volume. I recently bought their 'A Natural Disaster' album, and I must say it's one of the best albums I ever had the good fortune to listen to.

Anyways, till next time. :)

Fall has arrived, and what a game it has brought with it. FIFA 08 is the next-installment in the highly-acclaimed FIFA series, which promises the most realistic football simulation ever. This raises an important question - does it live up to expectations? In a short answer...yes. The battle between PES and FIFA over who will deliver the most realistic game, has finally shifted in FIFA's way. Having played the PES demo on the PC, I have been disappointed to say the least in the direction the series has turned - arcade, shallow football. The people at EA have utilized the potential presented by the 360 quite well, and have created the first truly next-generation footy game.

So, what is so unique about FIFA 08? Well, the most important aspect of the game is the fact that the football is now considered an entirely different entity, thus creating an unscripted football game, where every goal is different to the next, and every match is unpredictable. No longer do you see 4-0, 5-0 or even 6-2 scorelines as often as you did with the previous FIFA games. The game is now much more compact and scores now reflect reality.

However, that is not to say that FIFA 08 is perfect. I am slightly disappointed in the passing system, as most balls seem to be weak and are regularly intercepted by the opposition players. Through balls are much more difficult to pull off, and opposition defences are tough to break down.

EA has definitely taken a step in the right direction with FIFA 08 and for now they are a step ahead from Konami. However, it remains to be seen whether PES2008 will offer superior gameplay - however that doesn't seem to be the case from the PC demo. Overall, FIFA 08 is an enjoyable game that offers an authentic football experience, and with some minor gameplay tweaks could become the best footy game yet.

Score: 8.8/10

Hey everybody! It seems like a long time since I last made a blog post. Anyhoo, this week I decided to post a song that I'm currently trying to play on my guitar. It's called Disarm and it's performed by the Smashing Pumpkins. I think it's a brilliant song, one of my favourites from Smashing Pumpkins.

Also with Halo 3 on the horizon, it seems that the gamers from around the world will go crazy on release day :P I'm not such a big Halo fan, but rest assured that I will check it out. The iPod touch has also hit stores, I'm assuming, but I don't think it will hit the stores in Europe until Christmas, I think.

But by and far, the most shocking news of the week was the departure of the great Jose Mourinho from Chelsea. The man everyone loves to hate, but when he left, everyone was quick to praise him. As much as I hated the guy, I'm kind of sad that he won't be in the Premiership anymore, but hopefully he'll return later on in his career.

'Yes, I know you're not happy Jose, but what can we do?'

Hey everybody! How's everyone? You know what time it is? Yes...It's time for another song of the week :P This week's featured song is Too Many Humans, by the extremely talented Buckethead - the guitarist whose true indentity remains a mystery. He is an American guitarist and composer and only one known photograph exists of him unmasked. He's known worldwide with a KFC bucket on his head - hence the name - and a mask. He must be really talented in order to play guitar under these conditions.

Too Many Humans is a particular favorite of mine, and albeit being a long 'song', it just doesn't seem like it, when you're listening to it. It goes a long way to calm me down.

On other news, I bought BioShock the other week, and I have to say that it's AMAZING. From the detailed and dark surroundings, to the characters, to the plot and the implementation of the idea, everything about BioShock is unbelievable. I can't wait to finish it and see the whole story, and it just gets better along the way. I feel that it deserved more than a 9 from Gamespot.

Till next time! :)