2007..."rock" you!!

As this year comes to a close, what games will you play to ring in the new year? Or will you guys be too wasted to even play?

Aw, who am I kidding? I'm gonna drink my ass off into the new year!!

Need...more...sleep...

Didn't I say this week was gonna be light? Well, didn't I?

I'll be ready to ring in the new year next week, so I'll see you then.

Merry Belated Christmas, my gamers!

Apologies first. In lieu of the holidays, I took a 5-day weekend to celebrate the holidays and my wife's birthday, and forgot to let you guys know. Well, I'm back! And somewhat rested.

Well...back at least.

I hope everyone got their fill of holiday of Christmas food, Christmas cake, and Christmas games. I know I have. Well, the vacation's still going on for me, so I'll still be gaming until the new year.

So yeah, that's the jist of it. Expect this week to be light on updates, and I'll be up and ready for next week.

Remembering Christmas: a gamer's memory

Being not as big a gamer as myself, my wife has found it somewhat troublesome when trying to buy a gift for me, and I don't blame her. She knows that most of the time, if there's a game I'm interested in, I'll eventually buy it myself. No matter what, however, she finds a way to surprise me...which is why I recall last year's Christmas.

I'm a sucker for a game's rarity, and the last thing I'd think my wife would've bought me was a rare game. So I mentioned it only once, not thinking for a second that she would even consider the idea...seeing that the game was out-of-print and only obtainable through eBay.

Lo and behold, though...my Christmas gift last year was a copy of Ikaruga! And an awesome NES T-Shirt! I was so unexpectedly happy that I just went "thank you" nuts!! I believed her gamer heart grew three sizes that day.

To this day, I still love that gift and am reminded of how lucky I am to have her. She'll always be my "player 2."

Kirby + Snake = ...

Never thought Kirby would ever grow a beard...

And while I'm on the pet peeve wagon...

Don't be surprised. Yes, it's "lazy Wednesday," and yes, typically these posts have no meat on 'em. But I must get this open letter off my chest, since it involves my favorite video game reviewer Yahtzee AND it correlates to my "revealing spoilers" rant yesterday.

Dear video game blogs,

Don't blatantly exploit his jokes all over your post when posting his weekly reviews.

Thank you.

Ever since I started spreading Yahtzee's love around my blog and imploring everyone to check out his other reviews, I never once grabbed a joke from his review to sell a post. Yahtzee appeals to people all on his own, and shouldn't be patronized. He shouldn't be resorted to half-assed postings trying to get a snicker from his own material. That's like the first step to becoming a stand-up comedian.

Having said that, here's his review on Mass Effect. Is it funny? Check it out yourself - I'm not gonna hold your goddamn hand.

Pet peeve of the day: Spoiler posts

Undoubtedly, this will be one of many posts I'll be doing on this subject, but it's one that many people have bumbled over, time and time again: posting spoilers.

I think there's some proper procedures to follow when it comes to posting video game spoilers on web pages, and not everyone follows the rules. Failure to follow these guidelines will brew spite and ire to your sites, so pay attention!

1. Don't post spoiler news or pictures straight on the main page.

It's hard to catch these, because once they're out, the internet's pure outrage and intolerance for the reveal usually forces the moderator to rectify their post...but it happens. People's posts revealing screenshots of images are not the best way to generate site traffic. Most sites employ a more voluntary link for users who wish to view the spoiler goods, shielding the others who do not wish to spoil for themselves. For any spoiler text, some sites and forums have same-color text as their sites' backgrounds, and force users to highlight if they want the full story, which works just as well. Just, don't be a jerk and post it straight out.

2. Don't post spoilers AS the main subject header.

This is just as asinine as posting news and pictures on the main page. To post the big reveal in marquee lights for all to see is a humongous no-no.

3. Post actual text warnings about spoilers.

Protecting people from spoilers via links is all well and good, but it doesn't mean squat if you don't warn your audience first. You have to consider that the average internet surfer usually clicks faster than they tend to, so anticipate their...well, anticipation, and give them ample warning before they take that spoiler-filled step.

I think those are the 3 most major rules to follow when posting a spoiler. No site's infallible; I've seen lots of my favorite sites accidentally post game spoilers at times, and as a result stayed away from them for a while. To me, when I see a spoiler, it's like the equivalent of a friend's betrayal; after the act, you don't feel like you can trust them anymore for a while.

What would be considered "spoiler," you ask? Well, anything that can potentially put off anyone from playing the game if they had known. Believe me, I've stopped playing a few just because of simple spoilers.

What do you guys think? Oh, and keep the posts spoiler-free, too.

Tis the season to SHOP LIKE MAD!!

The Christmas spirit is all around us. Let us take it in and bask in the festive glow of the holiday season.

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? You guys have a week left of gift shopping to do, present company included!! I've got no time to blog today!!

Well, that and work...

I mean, where do people learn to fly like this!?!?

This may not be another Ikaruga (I mean, seriously...it's like asking for another 500 kicks to the balls), but in a world where SHMUPs are a domestic rarity, it's a welcome genre to next year's Wii line-up.

Of course, like Ikaruga, Castle of Shikigami III will make me repeatedly crap my pants.

The one game that makes a PS3 look appealing

Rest assured, I will buy a PS3 for this game. Fortunately, the US release date won't be for another 3-4 months, so my wallet can breathe a sigh of relief for now. In the meantime, this will just taunt me until then.

100th post + Lazy Wednesday = Yahtzee's review of GH3

w00t!! 100th post!!

Now that that's out of the way, here's your lazy Wednesday post for the week, courtesy of Yahtzee. I think his review of Guitar Hero 3 is spot on, and has many of the similar arguments that I've had with the game since I got it. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, vulgarity and swearing and the like in the following video, blah blah blah.

The best gift this holiday season: Player 2

The Christmas season is upon us, and nothing reminds us more of the merry season than the insipid countdown of shopping days left as you panic on what gifts to get your loved ones. Sometimes, however, the best gifts are the ones that cannot be bought by money. Here's my gift suggestion for this festive occasion: become their "Player 2."

With all the dinner gatherings and family reunions, it's sometimes frightening to gamers who constantly play online to be around so many people at once. This apprehension can be eliminated, though, with the simple gesture of offering to play a game with someone. To the "gifters," do not be alarmed if the gamer is initially shy at first; countless hours of online gaming may have affected their ability to assembly full sentences, and they may not maintain eye contact very well. To the gamers, do not be scared at the gifter's peace offering to play games with you; they merely want to do something fun, unlike having their cheeks tortured by relatives or being wrangled to help clean up around the house.

Oh, and gamers? One more thing to remember - the person you're playing with can see you. So please...don't be a dick.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

No games...finished!!!

So yeah, it's been a while since I finished a game. Who do I blame? Myself. And new games. Well, mostly new games.

For starters, the sudden upsurge of Wii titles in my household has really surprised me. I mean, I'm rocking out, solving puzzles, fighting aliens, soaring through galaxies, and, soon, fending off zombies. Yikes, that's a load and a half.

The addition of the PSP doesn't offer much release in tension, either, with two SRPGs to deal with, along with some nice, old-fashioned whipping in between.

Then, of course, my PS2 and its notoriously long list of RPGs. Nuff said.

Thankfully, my DS is the one system that eases my soul, with a single Phoenix Wright 3 game in its inventory to beat.

Good grief...I better get cracking. I miss using my "Finished" stamp.

Ugh.....

This has been just an extremely busy week. I'll make sure to have some good posts next week, especially one for my 100th post! Have a good weekend!

Work work work...

Sorry, no post today either. Possibly no good one tomorrow, too, but I'll see what I can do.

Yahtzee's review of Assassin's Creed: wear protection.

As being one of those guys who gets infuriated by people who blindly post spoilers about games on their sites without any regard as to if it even is one but is posting about it anyways, I have to say that I didn't mind so much after watching Yahtzee's review on Assassin's Creed. Nevertheless, I shall alert you guys that the following review does contain a spoiler about the game, so if you've kept your Assassin's Creed virginity intact, watching Yahtzee's review will pop your cherry...and probably will give you a disease or two.

I give you exhibit B

In a small continuation of my previous post, I present you a simple comparison shot between two shooting peripherals. On your left is the Wii Zapper, and on the right is the GunCon 3. You decide which one looks more menacing, if anything.

Let's compare the similarities, shall we? Both have dual handles, both use one color (both non-threatening shades), and both employ pretty much the same holding format.

Differences? First off, the GunCon actually has the word "gun" in its name, as opposed to the Wii's Zapper, which is...well, it just sounds more futuristic. Aesthetically, one looks more like a real gun than the other. I'll let you figure that out on your own. And, of course, one has a wire straight to video input, while the other relies on the wireless functionality.

Can we lay to rest the whole "Wii-Zapper-will-teach-kids-how-to-shoot" and become more sensible about shooters? Thank you.

Posting's not easy...

Sorry, no post for today. It's been a long weekend, and I'm slowly recovering. I'll be back tomorrow, though.