Just got a ps3 slim! So I thought I'd try and bet back into the swing of things in the gaming world.

I’ve been so busy at of late gamespot took the back burner, so to speak, for the last month. I didn’t even see that I made level 11 ‘til I was level 12, lol. I relies is took a month but with basically no activity how is it possible to gain more then a full level? But…no complaints here. I am however starting to wonder when it becomes harder to level, I hear people saying 20 is the worst. Anyone one know? I don’t want to forget my gamespot level lore so here we go.

Atomic Punk

Something like a portable version of Bomberman, you all remember that game…right? It was a couple of bomber games in one for the the Game Boy. That’s right “Game Boy” not a color, advanced, DS, or any of the several other versions.

Rad Racer

Rad Racer, known as Highway Star in Japan on the Famicom, was a racing game made for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was programmed by Nasir Gebelli, designed and supervised by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and featured music by Nobuo Uematsu, all of whom later contributed to Final Fantasy in similar roles. It was licensed by Squaresoft in 1987. Since the release of the NES in 1985 to 1987 few racing games existed for the NES. Rad Racer had a simulated 3D landscape and excellent graphics, inspired in part by Sega's Out Run. The game has a special 3D mode, where 3D glasses (packed in with game) could be worn to give the illusion of 3D. In 1990, Rad Racer II was released. It differed little from the first version, and players considered the gameplay inferior so it was not as successful as the first version. The game appeared in an infamous scene in The Wizard, where Lucas Barton (Jimmy's rival) uses a Power Glove to play through the first stage of the game, a feat in itself considering the much noted unreliability of the device. Rad Racer is Uematsu's 15th work of video game music composition. This is Uematsu's last work before the inception of the Final Fantasy video game franchise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rad_Racer

This has to one of the coolest emblem out there, at least as far as gaming credentials go anyway. It’s strange to think of myself as old-school, I’m only 21…I guess that was about 15 years ago. Old-School:  Been gaming since before it was cool. Those who are old-school have been actively busting joysticks, buttons, and gamepads for many years. One look at this individual's collection demonstrates this beyond a reasonable doubt. We salute this longtime aficionado.

Just got the "Voted Twice" emblem, it's number five in my collection. Guess the twice part came from voting on the price of the PS3 over and over again, each time I sing-on...I've been trying to get it for some time now. Voted twice: For exercising one's inalienable right to vote. Not once, but TWICE! Rock on!

Phoenix Down

A staple of many Final Fantasy games, a Phoenix Down is used to bring a fallen party member back to life with a small portion of HP. In Japanese, this item is known as the Phoenix Tail. In some of the earlier games, the word was translated as FenixDown, possibly because of size issues with fitting English letters in the space previously occupied by Japanese characters.

Usually, a Phoenix Down will instantly kills or inflicts maximum damage on undead and other creatures harmed by curative spells. The item is supposed to be the feather of a Phoenix, a common symbol of life and rebirth; "down" refers to the down feathers of a bird, the undercoat of feathers beneath the visible layer on top. Other representations of the Phoenix Down include the bottled tears of a Phoenix, bolted quivers and bead necklaces. Variants of this item include the Phoenix Pinion and Mega Phoenix. In Final Fantasy VIII, the Phoenix Pinion was an item that summoned the Guardian Force Phoenix in battle. In Final Fantasy IX, it could be used like a Phoenix Down in battle, but also could be equipped as an accessory. Final Fantasy VIII and the games after it also introduced the Mega Phoenix, which revived all dead party members.

Ikari Warrior

I remember this game! Although it was getting pretty old by the time I finally got around to playing it. I rented it for the NES one time at my grandparents house (they were the only ones how would let me play video games at the time) with some others…man those were the days. Before jobs and responsibilities…I must have been 10 when my gaming days started, if only I had that much time now.

Quad Damage

Most notably a *****in' power-up in Quake 2, also the name of it's expansion pack (the one nobody played). However I've seen this phrase used in all kinds of games.

Not much else to say about that, nothing like all the cool stuff I found on level 7 anyway.

 

Myself and some other lucky Gamespot members just received some of the newly up-dated emblems, here’s a little bit about the two I got.

Good Taste:

For the connoisseur of fine games.
Those with good taste are judicious about what games they add to their impressive collections, and would be reluctant to pollute their rows and rows of classics with anything approaching average quality. Ask these fine individuals for advice on what to buy next, because chances are, you won't go wrong by following their guidance.

PC Aficionado:

Personal computer = game system
PC aficionados are drawn to their home (or work) computers for their gaming thrills. And why shouldn't they? Are you saying you hate the PC?!

Some people don’t seem to think much of emblems in general; but I’m excited about the ones I’ve gotten. I’m glad Gamespot finally got around to giving out some more, hopefully there’s more to come.

Sectoid

First Encountered: First Alien War, Frontier Wars, Third Alien War, Alliance Encounter

Designation: Specialized Alien Core Genetic Race

Known Sub-categories: Navigator, Medic, Soldier, Leader, Commander, Engineer

The Sectoid Alien Race is widely regarded as the first alien race to make direct contact with the Earth during the latter decades of the 20th Century. Possessing a highly evolved brain-stem and cerebral cortex along with advanced technology, Sectoids commonly were found engaged in scout and capture raids during the openning skirmishes of the First Alien War and acted as an apparent "light infantry" and "servant" race to the more highly evolved species prosecuting the conflict (Ethereal's). The reasons behind this apparent servitude remain shrouded in mystery and will probably remain so until the Sectoid's rescued during the closing stage of the Third Alien War can be fully debriefed by XCOM's Hybrid Psion Soldier's.

Suffice to say, that while physically non-robust, Sectoid's possess better than average psionic assault and defense capabilities and intelligence enough to utilize rudimentary combat tactics. Again if shot from behind the chance of a crippling or kill shot is greater and as always extreme caution should be take when attempting to engage a psionically active alien race in combat. More Details forthcoming.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/5504/sectoid.html

Over the past several months, being fairly new to Gamespot, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my level. A friend of mine and I have even been trying to see how can level faster (stupid I know…yet, extremely fun somehow). I’ve really put lots of effort into it and have managed to reach level 5 with some work.

Today somehow I skipped level 6 all together and went right to level 7 for no real reason. I didn’t do anything other then vote in Reader’s Choice 05, guess they like to reward people for voting…I got an emblem for it too. I’m not really complaining but now I don’t know the name for level 6’s…o well.