Hello all, old friends and some new. I have not been on the site for a time. My interest and pleasure for playing Mass Effect has been renewed. I purchased the Legendary pack on XBOX 1. Now playing through the beginnings of Mass Effect 1, which I had not played previously. Mass Effect is still one of the most ambitious and best games created that I have played.

What r u guys playing tonight?

Today might conjure the weaknesses of a nation for some. It might conjure the horrible types of persons whom made September 11th 2001 what it was. For me today conjures a nation who I saw stand together. All differences put aside to mourn with one another, to rebuild, to rescue.

You may look at humanity today and say we are lost. So much hate, disunity, hell even evil. But all of that is not larger than the love for each other that I have seen shown on the day of and in the subsequent years. We are not lost. We have not completely hardened our hearts.

Take a moment with me and remember our brothers and sisters of our human family who passed from this earth in the events of September 11th 2001.

A coach, a student, a writer, along with so much more, I'm a woman who loves gaming. No social awkwardness keeps me glued to the screen. It's not complicated. I game because it's fun. I entertain, take care of my household, and let my hair down by trying to knock my opponents block off in Madden. I have notebooks where I track my progress in baseball, golf, Madden, and NCAA football. So what does a female gamer supposed to look like? Whatever it is I have a sneaky suspicion I'm not it.

I went to a Madden party and you would have thought I was an alien. First I dressed as if I was going to a party not like I was rolling around in my back yard. I didnt smell like a barnyard animal because I can't get away from gaming enough to take care of my hygiene. I spoke to folks. I didn't stand in the corner as if I was afraid of human contact and the computer was my only friend. I congratulated folks when they bested me in competition. I played on a PS3 even though I have a 360 and didn't mind at all. I danced because music was playing. Being the only woman at the party did not bother me. It only made me wanna kick some butt a little more.

I recently had my carpets cleaned and when one of the gentlemen moved one of my containers he saw that the container held video games. He frowned and, without me being able to explain the confusion in his voice, he said "You play video games?!" I laughed and told him that I do. All he saw throughout my household, up to that point, were books. As some of you know, when people come to your home, one of the first things they do is try to figure you out, per the things that you have. Now what he saw was that I was in a dress in the middle of a Madden game on my bedroom television. He was so interested that for the rest of the time he was working, he questioned me about the games I play.

I wonder what folks see in their minds eye when someone says they are a gamer. Even better, I wonder what folks see when someone says female gamer. From the looks I received and the energy that was intensely palpable at the party, an educated, sexy, friendly, black woman, is not it. ;)

It seems as though a lot of watchers of the Madden 12 review are up in arms about the opinions of the reviewer. It is my opinion that Gamespot has it about right when it gives Madden 12 a 7.5. There are new tweaks to the game. Some of which are, the glossed skin of the players who, themselves, look more like their live counterparts, the pre on-the-field celebration as the players get ready to run onto the field, the bidding in franchise mode for potential players and a little more that I have not spelled out in the on-line play and elsewhere.

What I find, though, is that all the tweaks are underwhelming. Some may even be unnecessary because the change does not add to the experience. Experience, that's a good word. I am looking for a broader experience when playing Madden. The Franchise has yet to put a package of goodies together that many types of football fans will enjoy. The game seems to be narrow and is becoming narrower with the removal of several pieces from Franchise mode. It appears that the Franchise does not have its finger on the pulse of the different demographics of players that purchase the game. For example; I like to control everything in Franchise mode to see if I can be successful in all areas of the football brand. I want to control prices, stadium upgrades, movements of stadiums, team contracts, on and off the field disciplinary action etc. I'd even like to control the lifes.t.y.l.e of my players, houses, cities they live in, cars, clothes...you get the picture.

Madden could also use episodes in its game like NFL network and halftime could actually have a sports desk where the game could be discussed in detail. How about complete pre-game coverage.This is what I mean by giving the players an experience. A smorgasbord of juiciness to appeal to a broader audience, which includes women. Interviews could be given during the week when games are not being played. There could be television and a daily sports show that talks about the players. In the game, we should be able to have a choice to do what the owner and GM of the Cowboys did to his stadium to attract fans and bring in more revenue. We should be able to bid for the Superbowl to be played in our particular city. Some players should come out of jail or have not so fabulous college issues and we make decisions on character traits and other things about a player that would harm or help his chances in making the team. Heck, there could even be a player's union of sorts and impending lockouts and the owners and GMs could scramble to make deals. How about endorsements for the players?

How the game plays needs some new artistry also. When a player is hit, he holds the same body part for all injuries. If a player's knee is hurting, how about having the player hold that part, or if he has a broken clavicle why not have the player reach for the neck area? Hits should knock helmets off. Shoes should occasionally come off. Hits should keep players from getting up every once in a while and too many hits on a quarterback should get him out of the game. Big hits should have an effect and coaches should have the ability to play them in the upcoming games or not. Fights should ensue and fines get doled out. Random drug testing puts players careers at risk, put it in the game.

I believe the sky's the limit with all the revenue the Madden Franchise receives not only from fans purchasing the game but from the additional content fans purchase throughout the year. The Madden game costs the player approximately $60 dollars as a new release. For the hard core fans, the game can be $100 or so. I say give us a completely mind boggling game experience that we just cant put down. Do not just update the roster and tweak the game engine ever so little so that you can say you're doing something new. Don't hold out every year on greatness just so you can say you did something every year. I'd take Madden every 3rd year or so just so the Franchise could put out a masterful piece of art if that is what it took. I'd update my roster every year but I'd wait for goodness such as the ideas and examples I have typed here.

Apart from Madden, I hope all of my GS buddies fared well with hurricane Irene bearing down on us. I hope all is well with your families also. Blessings and game on.

Howdy my gaming fam. Missed ya as always. Question. Have you played Fallout 3? If you haven't, get it. It is filled to bursting with quests, "moral" choices(which I'm having to deal with right now), weaponry, sites to explore, and more. It is not a game that you rush through. If you do, you'll be missing interesting interactions. It's so creepy, at times, that I dread going into the metro stations that I discover. The wild life give me the heebie jeebies and I get satifaction from wiping them off of this fictional Washington DC. Sometimes, I feel like I've been walking for days but the head shots make up for the occasionally stagnant parts where you wish one of the motorcycles was still working.

Right now I'm having to make the decision as to if I should round up a few people and give them over to some sick m***** just so I can get into their compund to save two kids. This game will not let you play it too tidy. You have to get your hands dirty a little or maybe a lot, depending on how you play. So far I've been pretty neutral. My karma is not squeaky clean but I'm not wanted dead either. Lets see if my choices in the game change that.

I'll be back with updates of my Fallout 3 experience. 'Til then, game on!

At which point do we stop paying for the game we've saved our coins to purchase?

A topic that has been on my mind for some time now. Monitoring my spending habits, and watching the habits of some of my gaming friends, I have become conscious of the fact that a $60 game often costs more after the initial purchase. I have become interested in how games are brought to fruition not only because of their awesomeness but to see what it is that we are paying for. I wanted questions answered like; Should add-ons be something the consumer pays for or should they be downloaded "free" as a part of that $60 we initially paid for the game? Is someone who pays for upgrades enjoying the game in a way that I can't if I don't pay to play for scenes that maybe should already be in the game? Are we getting bamboozled with paying for enhancements? Gaming is expensive. With what we pay to play it is possible that gaming will come down to have and have nots.

Hey GS buddies. I looked around and didn't see new blog entries from many of you. Is everyone too busy for GameSpot? Well as the title says this entry is about whats on my mind.

Sports

Shawn Merriman, of the San Diego Chargers, got traded to the Buffalo Bills of all places to play. I think the Bills are 0-6 this year. Moss(Randy Moss)was waived after 4 weeks with the Vikings and picked up by the Titans. The Vikings season is drama filled guys.The Broncos are stinking up the field so far this year. They're playing horribly. How the heck you go to London and let the San Francisco 49ers beat you when they hadn't won a game yet? Or had the won 1 game prior to playing in England? Either way! I'm watching how the Miami Heat play with it's top 3. LeBron, Bosh and Wade. They lost their opening game but has since gone on a 4 game winning streak. Do you think they're about to tear through the NBA with wins?

Politics

I watched the voting coverage yesterday evening. I was keeping my eye on whether the republicans were taking over the House and the Senate. I kept texting my friends yesterday about the results of the voting. One thing I was shocked with is that the seat in Illinois now belongs to the republicans. Illinois was the seat that Obama occupied. Did any of you watch the coverage? Sarah Palin tweeted something like, we're coming to DC to stop your fundamental transformation of America. I guess she was talking to Obama.

Games

The Sims 3, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, EA Sports MMA and Call of Duty Black Ops are some games I'm interested in getting.

Thoughts of Football

More Madden folks are disappointed each year. I think the people that are most put off are the long time fans. I still have my '98 Madden. It's pure football love that makes us continue to purchase the game each year. Is it because we continue to make this purchase that the series producers do not take it seriously that many of the fans are continually disappointed with the final product? A thought just came to mind. Maybe the tweaks that are being made to the game are tweaks the inside guys are asking for because they also play the game. I find that many things in Madden that I actually enjoyed are removed.

Franchise mode is a lil lifeless and boring after a couple of season's. And Superstar mode is hard to play after two years on your respective team. It's bland and repetitive. The NFL season, for football fans is never over. Transactions and other happenings in the NFL are constant all year round. As a coach your front office is always busy either with other folks or just you at your desk making moves. You have line coaches who have the guys in the film room studying tape. Game-day is game-day sure. But there are many things going on besides the game.

Superstar mode has a calendar where you can navigate to practice and go to your game-day. Other than that, the calendar is useless. So is your agent. When you visit the agent, there are maybe five choices. Where is the fun in that? You don't even go into a business office. It's a screen with just five possible statements.

Madden is quite expensive for the little tweaks here and there. And if you purchase downloads for this and that, you may have spent close to $100 for Madden. Crazy expensive for a game right? Are we asking too much from this franchise to make large changes to their music choices, Superstar and franchise modes? Is it too much to ask that we be blown away by a football game the same way we're blown away by games like Bioshock, Halo, Assassin's Creed etc..Sounds like a fantasy huh? I know.

New Games so far this month

MLB 2K10 : Addictive

UFC 2010: Haven't started

CSI Deadly Intent: Based on review sounds like it sucks but I like mysteries and it was free.

Red Dead Redemption: Just cracked it open.

I just watched the review for Red Dead Redemption. I had no idea that it looked so good. My dad passed recently and this game reminds me of him. He's from that period where little boys liked and wanted to be cowboys. He dressed like one and all of his favorite movies are Clas.s.ic westerns like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. Missing him catches me off guard sometimes and it's always sad. But seeing the review for Red Dead Redemption made me smile at his memory for the first time since his passing. I'm going to Game Stop tomorrow to replace my MLB2k10(which is awesome) with a new one and I've decided to pick up Red Dead in my father's memory.