I played Santa to myself this year, which means my gifts come earlier. I'm back from school but my mom is out of town taking care of my grandmother, so she didn't have any time to do holiday shopping. Instead, I turned to Amazon to pick out a few things for myself and found a copy of Rock Band in the store the other day. BTOWWWH!

Oh, you mean to say that I don't need to make a crazy noise every time I progress? Rock Band teaches otherwise. As you navigate the menus of the game it makes guitar sound effect. Though Guitar Hero did the same thing, it wasn't quite to the extent of Rock Band. As my friends and I play we just scream "BDTOW!! BRRDOOOWWW! BDTAA!!" It's a little annoying, but it's the price you have to play if you want to rock. Jeff Gerstmann was right when he said that Rock Band is this year's Wii Sports: the game that people come over and can play even if they don't play video games regularly. Well, Wii Sports is really this year's Wii Sports still, but Rock Band is a close second. BPTWAAAOWW!!

Now, you might be saying, "but, Bobby, you said you wouldn't be buying Rock Band." I did. And if you weren't saying that, you're now thinking, "Bobby, why did you just admit that you said that when you just as easily could have fooled us?" Touche. But technically I'm not buying it because it is a Christmas gift... Though, in reality, I've decided that life's just too short. I was playing Rock Band in the video game lab at my school during Finals and really fell for it. It's fun, as those of you who have played it know. So I kicked my convictions to the curb and that's the end of that. One thing that sold me on it is the potential for DLC in the marketplace. I'm hoping a lot of bands hop aboard the Rock Bandwagon (HA!) and start submitting stuff to Harmonix.

I'm also playing that game where Mario goes to space and the New York Times Crossword Puzzle game that one Rich Gallup loves so much. I can understand why, since it's all the fun of crosswords without the inky smudges. In fact, I even got some multiplayer going last night as we were watching the Redskins beat the Vikings. My friends girlfriend, who never touches video games, got really excited about NYT Crosswords and helped me to victory. She was also in an acapella group in college so when she sang in Rock Band our ears didn't bleed. It was a refreshing change of pace.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and hope that your days are filled with family, friends, cookies, and games.

PS: BRGTDDOWW!!!

It was easy to jump off the ship when somebody told me it was sinking. Little did I know that somebody just put the captain on a rowboat and sent him off. We just assumed that we needed to be in those rowboats as well. Little did we know that maybe the ship had just sprung a leak. The other crewmates were told that they couldn't talk about the crack in the hull. Needless to say, everybody was in a bad position. Little by little the crewmakes started reassuring passengers and each other that they could take care of the vessel. They still couldn't talk about the damage to the ship, but other news sources came in and the passengers started putting things together.

I'm a passenger that has a theory, which I will elaborate on in a forthcoming telegram. It absolves the captain and the crew, and instead focuses on the shipping line company.

I'm tired of this metaphor, but to let you know, I'm sticking around to see where things go. GameSpot is good people and I have faith.

With all the news blogs out there, I rarely come to GS for news. I don't even read previews all that often. I basically only come here for reviews and user blogs. Oh, and The Hot Spot.

Like everybody else, I'm now concerned about how reviews can be affected by advertising. Unless they tell me otherwise, I don't know how I can trust the GameSpot reviews any more. 99% of them will probably be fine, but I can't take that chance. My dedication to this site has always been based on me trusting specific writers. Now that Jeff is gone, the only reviewer I actually like is Alex. Kevin and Aaron do fine work, but I don't have the connection with them. When Rich left, at least Jeff was still a part of the Hot Spot. When Jeff leaves... well, something is missing. I like Vinny, Ryan, Brad, Alex. But they need a Jeff.

Here's what I'd like to see in the future. I'd like to see Jeff start-up his own thing and hire a bunch of writers. I'd like to see that site be just reviews and a weekly podcast. There are so many other outlets covering everything - news, reviews, previews, catalogues, forums. My vision for Jeff's game site would work on a number of levels. First, it gives Jeff creative license. Second, by scaling down the scope of the site the infrastructure is cheaper to sustain. Because Jeff already has a following he would instantly have readers and the decade-plus experience he has in the industry wouldn't mean he's just some Jack trying to start a new site out of nothing. I'd read it, that's for sure.

As for GameSpot, it was a good run while it lasted and these things always seem to come to abrupt closes. I'm probably going to "retire" from the site, unless some visible changes are made. It will no longer be my source for reviews. It will not be getting my renewal money next time around. I'll come back to read user blogs and to keep up with the staff members I've enjoyed, but most likely I won't be updating mine any more. I do have a couple of other blogs and projects if you want to keep up. Add me to your favorite feed reader. I'll be adding my favorite users' blogs to my Google Reader feeds. Also, if you want to plug other places I can follow you, do so in the comments.

I hope CNET learns something from all of this. The second biggest thing (next to not letting ad dollars affect editorial decisions) is that they need some sort of PR mechanism to handle this. They say they're not allowed to comment on GameSpot employees past or present, which leads the public to believe only what they read. Given the number of former employees who have blogged on the subject, plus Tim's simultaneous departure, we know something's rotten in the state of Denmark. We'll have to see what unfolds in the next few weeks.

Ciao Mr. Gerstmann and Mr. Tracy.

**Note: Let it be known that I do not blame the entity we know as "GameSpot," but rather the suits handing down these dictum from on high. I really feel for all the innocents caught in the crossfire. I hope this is rectified for everybody else. I'll come back if the suits admit they did wrong and changes are made, for all the excellent employees' sakes.

I wanted to recognize the rumor that is circulating across the Internet right now, because I think it's an important story for us game players to follow. However, I will hold my tongue and reserve (or at least not outwardly express) my judgements until after the dust has settled and we can sift through the rubble.

Needless to say I hope this doesn't prove true because it sets a terrible precedent.