I posted this in the System Wars thread, but figured it may also work here: 

There are two reasons I have stuck with Gamespot forums for so long.

The Community
My Continued Level Growth

Gamespot was the first video game website + forum I found and got into. I made the account in 2004 and have since continued to level to a high place. I've seen posters come and go, and I remember when seeing someone around level 30, especially 40, was a big deal to me. And so I've continued being a member here. I log in every day, look through a few posts and my user level grows higher. 

It seems silly because it is, but my current level is a constant reminder of my time here in the Gamespot forums and resetting levels, or doing away with them entirely, is the change I dread the most. It's who I've been on this forum; only a few thousand posts in nearly nine years, no moderations, and a slow, constant progression since I don't post nearly as often as many users to get my level up. It's a symbol of how long you've been with the site and how strong of a user you are. 

Like I said, silly. In the end, it won't matter. Supposedly some of these achievements will transfer to a "trophy room." Cool. It is disappointing though. 

/srsbsns

I do welcome the site changes. I would love a more user-friendly and design-oriented site which is where I hope they are headed. Let's see what happens. 

This was something fun to do on Reddit, take a look at my four favorite Pokémon from each gen and sound off your favorites below! 

Spring break has come and gone and boy have I made some drastic changes to my gaming. I sold my 360 and games in exchange for a 3DS XL, a copy of NSMB2 and I paid off Luigi's Mansion. It was a tough decision but it was the best decision in the end; I have hardly touched my 360 in months and I have been wanting the XL for sometime. I gave my other 3DS to my gf so she can play SM3DLand, Ocarina of Time, and Pokémon X. 

And now, I bought a Wii U and sold my Wii in exchange for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and New Super Mario Bros U. I purchased the Deluxe model so I have NintendoLand as well. I've gotta say after playing around with the Wii U I am really satisfied with it. Playing BLOPS 2 on the controller in another room is fantastic, Miiverse is pretty great (will be better as more communities are created) and the TVii functionality is very well done. I'm happy with the purchase and can't wait for E3 to come so I can see what is in store for the console. 

If you have a Wii U and want to add me, let me know below. I'd love to get some GS friends online on the system. My NNID is "Zassimick." 

So I have myself a new sig. Here it is: 

I'm pretty happy with it; it's a lot more dynamic than my "dat zASS" sig from before (which followed the theme of my profile banner.) I'm currently thinking about undergoing a redesigned theme for my Gamespot personality but will see how it goes. This sig probably isn't done yet but it's an idea of where I'm headed. 

To all you haters out there (I'm looking at you mmmwksil :evil: ) I finally have a new sig and avatar combo!

Here is the signature.

Hope you all enjoy seeing the new combo out there! And mmmwksil...

I kid. :P

I also gotta thank my college friend for creating the combo for me and thanks to commonfate showing me the Bublasaur image!

EDIT: I feel bad for forgetting but I have to give a shout out for the man who came up with "dat zASS" : Thanks killab2oo5! It has finally become a thing!

It is a little early for the resolutiions, I know that. But I actually have some resolutions for next year that I want to post so I remember them. Plus, if I figure them out now there's a possibility I could fulfill a couple of them over Xmas break.

• Get a new avatar and signature. Either I'll make it or maybe someone could make one for me. :O
• Beat these games:
  • Chrono Trigger
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
  • Persona 3: FES
  • Final Fantasy IX
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  • Final Fantasy VIII
  • Final Fantasy VI
• Purchase a lot fewer games day one

A lot of games to beat along with any new releases or any games in my current gen backlog (Deus Ex, Skyrim, LA Noire, Tomb Raider Underworld, etc.) But what do you all think of my resolutions? Planning any resolutions for yourself?

Hey everyone! With my college years behind me now and with some new consoles and a bunch of new games coming out I think its time for a makeover! And so I'm looking to change my Avatar, signature (which currently I don't have) and my profile banner! :D :D :D

This is an exciting time. :P

And I want my GS friends to be a part of it! I'm a very indecisive person so its difficult for me to decide what my new look should be like but I have a few different ideas that I'm considering.I do know that whatever theme I have now, I'll want it to be video game themed. Should it be centered around one title or multiple titles?

Of course, if you have a different recommendation by either looking at my tastes or changing up the game (instead of Skyward Sword, The Wind Waker or Twilight Princess, etc.)

Here is the list of what I'm thinking for possible themes:

• Pokemon, i.e. showing off a team I like or something
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Bioshock Infinite
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
• Uncharted
• Mario

Sound off below in the comments section to help me out! I'll take comments into consideration and go from there. :)

Because of this, I'm going to list the things I am hoping to see announced.

• The Last Story gets an American release date. We are in desperate need of some more JRPGs and that game looks awesome and has been selling extremely well in Japan. Wish I had the opportunity to play the game here. I also wish that Xenoblade gets an American release.
  
• The Witcher 2 gets consolized. The original Witcher was one of the main reasons I wanted a PC, and then a console port was incoming. Then that got canceled. Rumors are flying around that The Witcher 2 could be coming to consoles and I hope that these rumors are true.
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword gets a release date, specifically a 2011 release date. One of the most anticipated titles, I'm hoping I get to play it this year.
• Tomb Raider gets a 2011 release date and gameplay shown. After reading this month's OPM with its coverage of the new Tomb Raider, I'm more excited for the game than ever. I just hope that it is as good as it can be.
• Project Cafe turns out to be pretty cool and not too expensive. This is the part of E3 that I am worried about. First off, I am excited for a new Nintendo console. The chance to play a Zelda title that has the graphical level of detail that Skyrim does? Could be incredible, though I'm skeptical because, while first party titles are great and there are many great gems, lately Nintendo consoles have been lacking in amazing titles. Here's to hoping.
• Both Sony and Microsoft choose not to announce their next consoles. Rumors are floating around that these companies could possibly announce their next console, and this would bother me. I'd find it incredibly dumb of them to try to force new peripheals (Kinect and Move) onto customers just to have those customers find out new hardware is coming and what they bought is left to the dust. Chances are those peripheals will work with the new consoles but many people would be mad, simply because many bought a 360 when they bought Kinect. Not the smartest move.

The other problem I have with them announcing a new console is because there is so much untapped potential in this console generation. Where's the charminig titles? Where are the titles that are less about the graphics and technology and more about the experience? Most games these days are better than the good games of generations past, but there's a problem with this generation that can be fixed if we continue with it for a while longer.

And here are a couple other things I'm looking forward to this E3:

• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• God of War IV
• Mass Effect 3
• NGP Information, including Price and Release Date
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2?
• Bioshock Infinite
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Halo 4/Halo: CE Remake
• Batman: Arkham City
• Prince of Persia 2008 Sequel?
• Heavenly Sword 2
• Something about Square-Enix doing something to fix themselves
• More games that I haven't even considered
• New games that are new IPs

I've done it. 100 blog posts. Do I feel like I've wasted my life. Of course not.

Then I look at how long I have been a member on Gamespot. I realize I'm still as active as I have always been, which isn't much but still make a post here and there, and... I realize how many years I've spent just reading stuff on System Wars, etc.

Oh well.

For the 100th post, here is a list of some of my favorite games this gen. I hope to hear thoughts from you all. Also, have anything to say to me? Speak your mind. I want to hear what you have to say! Do you have any questions about me? Want me to do something, such as post more? :P Lemme know!

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
3. Bioshock
4. Red Dead Redemption
5. Mass Effect 2
6. Lost Odyssey
7. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
8. Dead Space
9. Batman: Arkham Asylum
10. Assassin's Creed 2

Honorable mentions include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Orange Box. They don't qualify because I originally played Twilight Princess on the Gamecube and The Orange Box is a set of games, a set that I partly played the generation before.

And there it is. My 100th post.

So I was thinking yesterday about how great this generation of consoles is. I have never beaten so many games in one generation or on several consoles, and so many have been great and diverse experiences. Some examples are Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, Uncharted, Halo, Super Mario Galaxy, Arkham Asylum, Enslaved, Dead Space, etc.

But it was after thinking about it that I realized something was wrong with this generation. The problem is, I'm not sure what it is.There are maybe multiple answers.

It could be the DLC that is huge today. There are some amazing pieces of DLC to get, don't get me wrong, but there is also a lot of crap that developers thrown in or take out of the main game just to make a buck. Its terrible for the consumer, especially the 'hardcore gamer' who wants to make a stand. Really, you think if you get all the people in an online forum to sign a petition to not buy the CoD map packs that you'll make a difference? There are millions of casuals who don't go online and just want to play more of the game. So Activision easily makes their profit, no change is gonna happen, and then you, the hardcore gamer, has to decide whether or not you want to prolong CoD and pay the $15. So you caved and all that whining was all for naught. No wonder Activision is continuing to sell their DLC for $15.

Could it be the game design of all these games? Aside from open world games like RDR or Just Cause 2, where's the freedom? Final Fantasy XIII? Get from point A to point B in the easiest way possible. Dead Space? Same. Enslaved? Yeah, that was follow the path game. Where's the freedom? Why does it take a game to be open world to allow any freedom?

The focus on multiplayer? Singleplayer campaigns sometimes get the shaft while the multiplayer component gets all the time spent on it. Unless your Call of Duty or Halo, chances are your online multiplayer isn't going to last very long unless its unique. Yet developers still strive to make that better and lose focus on the singleplayer.

Or is it other game design elements? So many games use the Unreal Engine 3 and you can see that they're using it. And there aren't that many developers that can use it and make their game look clean. Detailed? Sure. Clean? No. But that can't be my problem with the industry...

The lack of inspiration, maybe? The lack of creativity? The lack of fun, new IPs? The lack of platformers? The lack of JRPGs? The over-abundance of shooters?

I've played a lot of games, a lot of amazing games, yet I feel that something is wrong with this generation. If this generation lasts for another four years and continues to give me games that I enjoy, I'll be happy. But there is something wrong and I don't know if I'm the only one that feels it. And do I think there's a fix? No. It bothers me though and I'd like to know why.