Hey there all! It's a little late to say... like 37 mins at this moment late, but happy Easter! :D

Well I just wanted to get on the subject of a few things, before I hit the sack tonight. There aren't large things, but something I'm reconsidering to do on my reviews, one thing about upcoming blogs to expect, and lastly... umm updates on my life? :P

Firstly, I just wanted to say... I'm thinking from now on... my reviews are going to be a little more or less... strict. What I mean is, I'm going to stop using the .5 increments in games when I review on Gamespot. To be frank, I think it's a damaging thing to have scores in the beginning, and if I could I'd maybe use a letter grade system or even just no grading scale... more or less just "pros and cons" would be the simplest thing you'd find, but since I can't. I'm going to try ruling out a game from being 9.5, 8.5, 5.5 and whatever else.

So to elaborate, my scale will consist of solid 1-10 numbers here on GS. Now, this isn't to say that every game I review will get 9.0s if it would have gotten a 8.5 in the old scale, or even 10s to a game that would probably 9.5.

I am however going to stop being so darn "technical" if that's what you can be in a review, because I honestly feel that reviews have begun to ruin true appreciation for games. Let me be clearer... When I was much younger, new to gaming almost, and even in my more "experienced" years, I never had a review source to go to. I never even bought gaming magazines till...2003? I was about...14 years old when I first subscribed to my issues of Nintendo Power and EGM. Frankly... I never even took or understood the point of reviews, and you know what? I believe I was glad I didn't. Because I had played so many great games that I enjoyed and love them still to this day. I never knew there was framerate hiccups in say... Goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie, or hell... any N64 game for that matter. Never knew what the hell Bloom lighting was in 2000, or what polygons meant, or cared a flying rat about most of the mundane stuff you read in reviews today.

So I just want to go more simpler and basic now... to a time where as I was young, I just bought a game, enjoyed it or not. Mostly I ended up picking a game I greatly enjoyed... I either rented a game first, got a friend's advice from it, or borrowed from someone before I even bought it. Believe me, I did some weird things... Like I rented the SAME Banjo-Kazooie cart (I would re-rent the instant it was due) three times, till I completed it 100%. Then a few weeks later, I bought the same game. Despite having beaten it, completed it, did everything you could, I owned the game later. I know I had some wierder things too, but just to give you an idea, if I loved a game, it wasn't just a thing I got tired of in say... two weeks or a month. NO!

So my reviews will consider these follow..

• Price/Replay (Does the price justify the value of the game?)
• Gameplay (you know, the thing we buy games for?)
• Originality (Mostly, does it try too hard to be something it's not, rip off much?, or is it something you've seen before?)
• Overall, is it just fun?

Now, maybe you're looking and saying "Well I don't take games like that, I go for the artistic direction, I want to fledge my games as a masterpiece!" or what-not, and if that is so, I'd advise you to just step away from my reviews.

Yeah, I get it, you think games are "art" so do I, but I also buy games to enjoy and play. I want the interactive experience to leave me breathless, to have me crying for more, and leave me anticipating a sequel while I play to death the original.

So to break it to you, here's what each score would mean in my review

10- Highly Recommended, a fantastic game worth buying for the system. No doubt the best game to ever grace this console, and it's highly enjoyable.

9- Another must buy, however a few oddities that can't be totally ignored, or maybe it's just not for everyone? A game with this mark is considered one of the system's best highlights. Be it motion control, graphical/technical power, or just a fun as hell game that you'll enjoy for many days/weeks/months to come. A game with this score is also highly replayable, or just has one of the most intense and satisfying experience you've played.

8- Perhaps not the best of the best. This game is either not justified for the price and should be wait for it to be cheaper, isn't long enough to satisfy, has a few issues in the gameplay department or technical issues that drag the experience down a bit. Usually this is a score I'd say you may enjoy if you love the genre or series, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

7- For the Fans mostly. If you're willing to overlook the moderate shortcomings, technical issues, or paying the game at it's current price, you may be satisfied. Games like these may have a good start, idea, or mechanic in the gameplay that just was never fully developed, realized, or fell apart in some places. It could be the story, or experience of the game may not have delivered quite like one expected, but a game like this is still worth a look if you are a fan of the genre, game, or still curious. More or less, this is suggested as a highly recommend rental.

6- Rent this. Even if it's cheaper, I cannot fathom paying this game for a price perhaps at a very low cost. This game will have technical issues, gameplay problems, and mostly it's likely unoriginal or anything worth noting. It's not terrible or anything, but if you are interested, I really recommend you rent this game instead.

5 or less- Rent. Mostly if there's anything I give that's maybe 3 or less, just avoid it at all costs. 5 is maybe something you'd want to rent if you're still interested, but maybe even renting won't be worth your time with many other great games to play.

Now one more thing to add-on because I didn't figure this blog would be THIS big...

I'm currently going to begin, but no date is set yet, blogging my opinions on the three big consoles out right now. As an owner of all three, and having them for quite some time, I'd like to give my general feelings towards each of them, give the strengths and weakness I feel right now, and my wishes and hopes to see this console improve. I won't be scoring them via a number, but rather a letter. The letter grades are A- Satisfied Very Much (FYI it isn't perfect still, but at the moment I'm very well enjoying this system. Doesn't mean it can't be improved) to F- Totally unsatisfied.

Which console will recieve what grade in my opinion? Well find out. ;)