I'm not sure sales are going to continue climbing for gaming consoles in America with the troubles in our economy.

Priorities are being revamped. Food and gas prices, along with prices for most other things, have soared. With each societal class changing their spending habits, games and consoles might not be on the radar for many during this upcoming holiday season. I have stopped purchasing games or any attachments for my consoles. Twenty dollars here, thirty dollars there, sixty dollars for a new awesome game, does not seem smart. In fact I know it's not. People are using credit cards, on a larger scale, for their most basic needs. For me, going to Target, Gamestop or any other store, to purchase a game, is not the intelligent choice. Even for those whom do not have the heavy responsibilities of providing for themselves or others, someone else is providing for you and it is possibly a strain on the savings to purchase anything outside of the essentials.

My honey and I have had discussions about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. These are the times when people spend the most money and when January comes around, the family is stressed because of having to play the finances close to the chest. It's stressful and straining on relationships and on others in the home. We have decided to not host any Thanksgiving parties and to purchase no gifts. We have become incredibly conscious spenders. For right now, games do not fit into the equation.

NOTE: For those whom are new to my page(my friends know better) please be respectful in your comments. These are our opinions. Do not come here and bash me or others for their views. Most importantly, before you comment on my entry, be sure to read it in its entirety. It is not wise to pull out one or two sentences without knowing the whole point of view of the writer. If you do not think you can do this do not return to Cafe X_pressions. Thank you.

I'm continuing my viewing of E3 08; The Show Behind the Show. I'm also watching NickToons every show marathon of Avatar;The Last Airbender. I've been watching since yesterday. A new episode debuted last night at 8 or 9pm. I'm also making dinner. I haven't eaten all day. I was busy cleaning my home. My in-laws are visiting tomorrow.

E3 is showing awesome demos of games coming to us soon. Games that I would not have given a second look, I'll be purchasing because of what I saw during the showcases.

Some examples;

Last night I stayed awake playing Getting Up on my PS2. I have dedicated very little time to game playing in the past months. Responsibilities call.

Before I finish up here, I want to know, what games would you guys like to see come back or continued with new stories? I'd like to see Syphon Filter come back. Logan was awesome.

I am impressed with the 360! I love the new look and interaction with the system. The avatar system being introduced is awesome. I'm impressed with the games debuting by the end of the year and in 2009. Madden looks awesome. The AI in Madden will show more of an " active intelligence" and the graphics are more believable. More games that impressed me were; Fall Out 3. It looks incredible. Resident Evil 5. Fable II. Where, when a scene for it began, a guy coughed and you could see the thickness of air when he coughed. It was incredibly believable. Also, in another scene in Fable II, a bird pooped and the dimension in the poop when it was falling was incredible. The animation was such high quality. I was also impressed with Gears of War 2. Man it looks bad a_ _. Whew!

XBOX live community games, movies and television shows look great. At no additional cost to a Netflix subscriber, you'll be able to rent vids. If I remember correctly, there will be over a thousand game titles launching by the end of 2008. I enjoyed watching the 360 presentation because the presenters were more lively. They looked like they enjoyed being there and enjoyed what they were talking about.

I do not have anything "high end" to say. This is all from my feelings and interpretations of what I saw during the conference. I actually watched all the conferences. GS had video streaming problems. To get it all I watched G4 TV at the same time that it was being shown on GS. My impressions of the 360 are very good. The system seems to be bringing to us more games with a lot of depth, mystery and action. I look forward to playing the 360 in 2009.

ENTRY UPDATE: I never get new achievements. LOL Here are my new ones. and I'm laughing because I've been a member of GS for some time and this is the first time I've left the first row.

What's up all my buddies on GS? How have you all been? Share with me what's been going on in your gaming world. I've missed you all. I have been so busy with my new married life that I'm usually tired when I think about coming onto the site to visit or do a new blog.

I've been playing my Assassin's Creed and GTA IV, whenever I can see the screen. LOL My living room television is a 52 inch plasma. So, when the sun shines into that space, I cannot see the television screen. I usually play at night. I've been reading voraciously and watching lots of MSNBC, BBC and the Fox News Network. I'm closely watching the election processes. One of the most interesting books I'm reading right now is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

I have not kept up with what's going on in the gaming news. Anything that sticks out to you guys as headline news on GS? I have to check out the new games debuting soon. I'd love an update as to what's going on with you guys.

What's up cool kats and dolls. I'm dropping a few lines here along with my personal screen shots of GTA 4 from my game play.

I'll start off with my screen shots.

Along with GTA IV I have been playing a demo disc that has Army of Two, Major League Baseball 2k8 and Turok. It also has a bad arse video showcase of Ninja Gaiden 2, Too Human and Gears of War 2, among others. You guys have to check out Ninja Gaiden2. It's vicious.

To my collection, I have now added, and am playing, Assassin's Creed and MLB 2k7 . Assassin's Creed is amazing. The story is meaty and the look of the world is phenomenal. The main character's movements are amazingly fluid. Of course I play for the fun of the game. But, to add, I am definitely playing this game for the story. Pick it up if you haven't. I don't think you will be sorry.

Until I stop by again, have a great Holiday weekend and day off Monday(for those whom do). Game on!

With the debut of GTA IV I have wondered has company production been affected at many of your jobs. How many people have taken days off from work to play GTA IV? To think that there are some gamers who are so into video games as to take time off from work scares me a little. How many people are there like this and what else would they not do just to play a brand new game? Do these people take care of their personal hygiene, their children's? Do they do anything besides play the newest thing in the game craze?

These questions came to me as many of my buddies on GS and many other's have completed playing GTA IV. Many people completed the game within the first three days of it's debut. That's some serious gaming.:P What about you, if you have played the game, what else have you done besides play GTA IV?

There's a frenzy going on about the new Starbucks logo. Or, better explained, the logo is not new. The Mermaid, or Siren, with the two tails is based on a 16th century Norse Woodcut. It's meaning was that the coffee was seductive. Between 1971 and 1987 this was Starbucks logo, except the Siren was completely nude. This "new" symbol has been modified to fit our own bashfulness(my funny little opinion). It has been modified because of the feedback Starbucks had received concerning the logo.

The frenzy? A Christian group called "The Resistance" has called the logo too risque and has asked it's supporters to boycott the company. The group has said that Starbucks should be called "Slutbucks" if they keep this logo. Because they see it as a Mermaid with her legs spread open like a prostitute. Did you know that Mermaids had legs?! I thought they had tails! Calling Starbucks Slutbucks is oh so very Christian. Body parts, sexual themes can be seen anywhere if we spend most of our time looking for them. We can make ourselves see anything especially based on the suggestions of others. I do not look at the logo and think sex or sexy. I see a Mermaid with two tails. What do you see?

My cousin's business has been torched as well as his apartment. South Bohan is our new home for now.

Hey guys. How are you? I'm not as sophisticated a game player as many of you are. Meaning many of you have gotten much farther than I in the GTA IV game. You find secrets easily, while I stumble upon them occasionally. This does not mean that I enjoy the game any less. This is the first game that I am consciously trying to unlock all the achievements and find all of the secrets.

So far I find GTA IV incredibly detailed. The in-game Internet is so full, it's mind boggling. I wonder how long it took the company to create just that part of the game. A walk through the city is crazy. I listen in on the interactions of the virtual folks around town. The television programming is hilarious.

MY GAME PROGRESS 21. 19%, MY ADDICTION LEVEL Detox/Retox(lol), CURRENT MONEY $6,191

What I'm wanting right now is for more clothing stores to open. I'm ready to take off this ugly outfit that I've been wearing since I started the game. Too bad I can't shop on-line(unless I can later in the game). I don't like that the in-game Internet has so many inaccessible pages, like the clothing shops, car dealers and food.

Before I sign out, I'd like to know your thoughts on something. GTA IV was a hefty price. Do you agree or disagree with the price tag for the game? Why or why not? Please respond. I'd really like to know your thoughts. Thanks guys.

Hey guys. I gave this entry the title of SPOILERS although I was not sure if what I intend to share would be considered so. I'd rather be thoughtful than to spoil the anticipation of this awesome game for my buddies here.

I purchased the game yesterday and began playing it during the night. I made mention, in a previous entry, that I'd hoped that this installment of the GTA series would remain edgy. I soon found that I had no need to worry. :D GTA IV is chock full of edgy, absurd and the down right hilarious. From those of my buddies here whom do not understand why I play this game. Let me say that I do not take games seriously. I keep them in their place. And, for me, that place is the fantastical, the absurd. I do not over think the games that I play. I enjoy them for what they are and I keep it moving.

I recorded some of the cut scenes and Nick watching television in the apartment. Excuse the crudeness of the videos, especially you video wizards reading this.:) I recorded the videos using my camera. I do not, as of yet, have a video recorder or a TV tuner card for my computer. I will have those soon enough. This is for sharing purposes only. I'm not trying to win a video of the year award(yet).:P Hope you guys enjoy. Game on!

EDIT: There is a glitch that is not allowing me to embed the vids in my blog.

This is not about the violence in the game but the alleged violence during the release and the verbal violence and racism perpetrated on this site.

I read through all of the comments about the mugging and stabbing at the midnight release. It's terrible, yes, and should not occur. But that is redundant and I will not mimic what has been said abundantly already. I know you all get the point.

What is incredible to me, are the racist comments and verbal attacks that I read in the comments section of the article. Incredibly, not only did many not read the article and comprehend it, many whom did comprehend it still blamed the violence on America and on the victims. How atrocious!

I was tagged twice by TheLegendKnight and DazKurupt to tell you all 5 things that you do not know about me. I'd forgotten because I have not been spending much time on GS.

My 5 are; (1) Three of my favorite cartoons are Johnny Quest, Gargoyles and the Smurfs. (2) I thought about going to Seminary school for a long time, since childhood. (3) I watch Pro Bass Fishing on Saturday and Sunday mornings. (4) I do things that I'm interested in whether I'm good at them or not. Painting, Golf etc... (5) One of my pet peeves is dirty dishes in the sink.

That's my 5 guys. I'm late getting it to you but am glad it's done. LOL I'm not big on chains so I'll stop it here. Anyone wishing to pick it back up can do so.

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Only because I am feeling quite nostalgic am I considering purchasing Ghostbusters, coming to us from Sierra and Terminal Reality. When I saw Slimer I remembered, when I was a little girl, my older male cousins would scare me by turning off the lights when they were playing the movie. Now, when I see the Ghostbusters movies, I wonder what the heck scared me about the Stay Puff Marshmallow. :P I watched the official trailer and the interview with the terminal Reality president Mark Randall and thought they both sucked. Mark looks like he's about to bolt from his chair because he's afraid of the camera. He's so under-excited I'm almost glad that the interview video was only 33 seconds, almost glad. That's the next thing that bugged me. The interview was 33 seconds long. Very little info was given. It seems like the video may have been shortened. If I purchase this game, it will be because of my warm feelings for the movies. The trailer is... well look for your self; [video=6183011] [video=6190014]

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Swordfish Studios is working on a game starring 50 Cent and selected members of the G-Unit crew, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Dj Whoo Kid. There may be others added by the completion of it's creation. In the game, a promoter, does not deliver on the cash owed to 50 and G-unit after an overseas concert. The promoter offers 50 a diamond encrusted skull that gets stolen by international gangsters. You can read more info on this in the news and previews sections on GS.

What gives me a bit of a frown is when I got to the final paragraph of this preview it said "Blood on the Sand is shaping up to be a loud, shiny parade of gun violence and rap music, which suggests that Swordfish Studios has got its target audience pegged." Okay, now what is it that is meant by this? I thought this line was sarcastic and narrow. The target audience should be wide seeing as Hip-Hop and Rap are used in the marketing of many things to a wide array of ethnicities. Loud, shiny parade? Are not most shooters loud and parade like? Very interesting to me folks.

I'm not sure this game is going to do well 50 Cent or no. I feel it will be competing with the likes of GTA IV(even though players of GTA IV would have had it for some time now), the first Socom for the PS3, MGS 4 Guns of the Patriots, Tomb Raider Underworld, Fall Out 3 or even Saints Row 2. It's my opinion, from reading, there is no depth to the writing of the story. And the game-play is almost predictable to me.