THEME
Final stretch to 2010. The question is....are....you...READY?
1) The Year That Was
Lets see how was my year, I continued another year working for Carrabbas(even started bartending). Ended my run at Queens University of Charlotte, moved back home to Long Island. Moved Out into an apartment with my girlfriend and finishing up my bachelors degree at St. Jospehs.
Some good boozing, some great food(non of liz's cooking), and some good partying. Summer could have been better I guess since I was working through 3 jobs. Oh well you lose something to gain some freedom I guess(apartment).
All In all I had a fun year, had another great year with friends and family. Chatted it up with GUFU as usual, did my SW fix when I needed it, oh and I saw a crap ton of movies(what up netflix).
2) Favorite Movies of 2009
Pixar's UP
-easily Pixar's best in my opinion, and depressing as hell to boot at the beginning
Moon
-Sam Rockwell is the man. I don't need to say much more than that
3) Favorite TV Shows of 2009
Supernatural(duh)
-Still the best show on television, and still unwatched by many. That's cool though Season 5 is going to come to a dramatic end, and the series hopefully goes out in one epic blaze of glory.
How I Met Your Mother
-Ok guilty pleasure here. Me and my girlfriend have gone through the first 3 seasons and absolutely love this show. Neil Patrick Harris is so freakin awesome. I'd argue it's the funniest show on Television with runner ups being 30 Rock or Crub Your Enthusiasm
Dexter
-Season 4 had a ton of flaws, but the ending was just depressing and powerful enough to make up for a lot of things. Hopefully the show can continue to be more consistant, as the first half of season 4 was borderline mediocre
I liked other shows this year as well The Good Wife(totally surprised at how this show didn't suck), 30 Rock, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lost, and Breaking Bad were all worth watching that said I had to say that Supernatural(which is the best show on TV), How I Met Your Mother, and Dexter are easily my top 3.
4) A Decade To Remember
Some people like to look at this decade in a negative light, others like to continue to remind me the decade is technically not over(if you wanted to get technical the new decade starts in 2011) that said I honestly have to say It was a fun, and exciting decade overall.
I had a good one. Did it have some downs sure, I lost my best friend in a car accident, but it also had it's ups and It's a decade that WE lived. You can look at past decades for whatever music, movies, etc. That said you gotta enjoy the decade that you got to live yourself. I had a hell of a decade to remember, and I hope so did you.
Cheers to a good decade, and heres hoping the next one is just as awesome if not more
5) Games of the Decade
Simple as can be. It's my games of the decade
10- Deus Ex
-The Best game Warren Spector ever made, and still my favorite FPS RPG. Too bad Invisible Wars sucked ass. Heres to hoping Warren gets it right next time
9- Metal Gear Solid Series(2,3,4)
-Between the bizzare train wreck the ending of Metal Gear Solid 2, to the much tighter paced Metal Gear Solid 3, to the plot hole fest that was MGS 4 there is a lot to be annoyed by. That said MGS has always had this sort of rebellious charm that I just love, and the gameplay only got better. The First 2 acts of MGS 4 are just epic in terms of stealth gameplay, and the nostalgic fan service throughout the game is something I can't ignore. Hopefully next time Kojima makes a game, he doesn't butcher his own storyline, give it a crappy ending, and make it a clustered train wreck
8- Silent Hill 2
-Mark it down, still the definitive horror game(oh yeah I said it). Haunting atmosphere, a psychological narrative worth mentioning, and the sequel to one of the best horror games of the previous decade. Yeah Silent Hill 2 is that damn good. Way to snub it Gamespot.
7- Ninja Gaiden Black
-The Combat may not be the best combat of the decade, but considering that the game that has the superior combat is the sequel I think you can understand how good the combat in Ninja Gaiden Black is. Obnoxiously difficult, satisfyingly brutal, a ton of depth, and some of the most exciting boss fights of the decade. Kratos and God of War need to take a seat, and watch the superior Action game at work
6- Resident Evil 4
-The biggest bastardization of the horror genre is also one of the best third person action games ever made. It's influence this generation can't be denied when you look at games like MGS 4, Gears of War, Uncharted and other action games building on a lot of the success that RE 4 had from it's game design. Excellent pacing, a strong atmosphere that could not be denied, fun boss fights, and the usual capcom cheesy narrative that keeps us all going for kicks. Resident Evil 4 is a brilliant game that not only holds up pretty well, but easily bests it's sequel.
5- Grand Theft Auto series(3, 4, Vice City, and San Andreas)
-Liberty City, 80s Miami, 90s California, and all the way back to Liberty City again for GTA 4. IT began in a New York City like environment and so far it's reimagined itself in a New York City environment. The cartoonish, over the top insanity of GTA 3, Vice City, and SA were genre defining, and innovative in their own right. It's easily sparked the sandbox genre to what it is today, and GTA 4s realism, gritty feel was a nice change of pace and the character focused narrative was a huge plus. RockStar maybe a developer built around controversy, but the greatness of Grand Theft Auto just can't be denied
4- Half Life 2(plus the episodes)
- Garry's Mod and Source Engine. Both standing the test of time, but while an awesome mod is fun, and a graphics engine that still holds up nicely in the character model department(pretty good for a dinosaur engine right Haze) it wouldn't mean anything if the main gmes weren't worth mentioning. Half Life 2 may still be the definitive game of the genre. The Pacing, the set pieces, the story telling, the atmosphere it's all there. Sure the gunplay was average the day it launched, and sure the AI is rather more decent than exceptional, the ending isn't that good, and the episodes hardly change a lot of the feel of the game. That said Half Life 2 is all the proof one needs to say Valve is still the gold standard in the First Person Shooter department. Now fix your combat...PLEASE
3- Halo(series)
-Ok so I did call Half Life 2 the definitive genre. That said I'll say this right now. In terms of lore Halo>Half Life any god damn day of the week. Not to mention still the most badass sountrack in gaming. The campaign may have peaked at the first game, but the multiplayer only got better and even the campaign had some bright spots in Halo 2 and 3 like the Covenant Civil War in Halo 2, and the dual scarabs in Halo 3. The coop was always a blast, and quite frankly I honestly don't give a rats ass what you have to say. Bungie may be inconsistant, needs to work on there story telling, and maybe Halo needs to recapture the magic it didn't get back after Halo 1, that said Halo is still one of the best series of the decade and I'd be lieing to myself if I didn't put it in my top 10 this decade
2- Ico/Shadow of the Colossus
-Team Ico understands how to tell a story in a game, and they understand the word unique. The art work in their games are usually nothing short of majestic, and both games are a gameplay experience thats just unforgetable. If these 2 games are any indication to how awesome The Last Guardian will be, than 2010s GOTY is already locked in place.
1- Metroid Prime Series
-Halo and Half Life set the standard for what a console shooter and what a PC First Person Shooter in general should be like. They pretty much stick to the formula found in most common FPS and take that formula and crank it up a notch. That said I would never say they are the best First Person games of the decade. That honor belongs to the Metroid Prime series. Everything about this game is not only ground breaking, transcendant, and long lasting. It's simply epic. The narrative is there for those that do the hunting, and its told in a rather unique way because of it. It's all players choice to hunt for the story, the game worlds in Metroid Prime 1 and 2 are atmospheric, stunning, beautiful and easily worth all the exploration one will do in a Metroid game. It's still the single best series when it comes to excting, well designed, well varied boss fights. YOu want difficulty you got Metroid Prime 2 if you want some challenging boss fights. It took some steps back and became more FPS than Metroid with metroid Prime 3, but that doesn't stop me from saying the Metroid Prime Trilogy is the best first person action videogame series known to man. I'll put it above any of the top FPS games anyone wants to name. It may not be a FPS in traditional form, but that's probably why it is so awesome.
No Chicks, no questions. That's how I want to end 2009. Enjoy your New Years Folks, I'll be enjoying mine drunk. Enjoy your holidays. Peace out
Title says it all. Finally got internet up and running for the time being, so I hope to be a little more active now. Still have plenty to clean up, but I'm more or less settled in. My new roommate brought his PS3 and HDTV, so him and I will be gaming well into the new year.
And speaking of which, I bring my heartfelt holiday wishes to you. Yes, you! Who else would I be talking to? Hopefully Santa looked beyond all the terrible stuff you've done this year and filled your Christmas socks with games galore. Just lay off the fruitcake, ok?
Yep its 00:14 here in UK and i just had to do this post now before i forget to do it during the day itself....
im now officially old....crud, lol....nah still young at heart and always will be ^_^
Will obviously make a new blog showing everything i got...though im gonna be honest and say its not going to be a lot....probably 3-4 small things.....probably not gonna be the best birthday but oh well...
seeya 
Which one should I decorate my posts with?
Option #1: An updated version of my current Samus Sig.
Option #2: Braid Sig.
Option #3: Dead Space Sig.
I had some free time, so I made not one but two sigs and updated my current one, and now I don't know which one should I use D:
Thanks in advance, gentlemen.
Greetings to all.
I.B.
I have officially decided to put some money up and start saving for an XBox 360, and here's why.
Looks amazing, yes? I went to a party last weekend and a friend of mine showed me the first preview for the game. Prior to that night I was completely oblivious, yet still perched precariously on the edge of breaking down and abandoning my plans to purchase a PS3 after the price drop next month. Too Human and Fable 2 are the two major titles that influenced this decision, and it's one that I proudly stand by.
In other news, I am steadily approaching Level 10 here at Gamespot. For those of you who don't already know, this is sort of a cool occasion because it means I'll finally be able to post videos on my blog. I'm kinda tired of spamming my blogs with pictures at this point, so yey!
I know there are more than a few of you veteran video bloggers out there, so I have a few general questions for those who would care to lend a hand to a brotha in need.
1) What program would I need to acquire in order to record videos of myself playing certain computer games? I'd like to make a video of some of my creations in Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and possibly some epic battles from Age of Empires III.
2) Which media program should I look into for general video editing stuff? I'm talking about adding images, transitions, and music to a video that I have recorded with my camera. I have Windows Movie Maker, but if there's better software out there that can achieve my purposes more easily then lemme know.
3) Is there a certain program that you guys use to compress your videos, or does the Gamespot uploader do that for you?
I will award all satisfactory responses with pretzels and beer. 
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Oh, and check out this lady. Crazy!
Sony seems to have made a lot of mistakes and it would seem that this console war is between nintendo and MS
Sony; is placing too much time and effort into the blu-ray player, knowing sony`s track record this propetiary device will not fare well outside of the PS3 console, just look at betamax, umd`s and mini discs - yes it can store more info but that doesn`t matter, if a programmer is good he can condense info and program wisely. For instance take the program kkreiger which is only 96k, it looks as if it werer several hundred mega bytes. never heard of it heres a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.kkrieger
and in reality who cares about blu-ray or hd-dvd for that matter, i mean are people really going to upgrade all there movies, tv and so on for this- albeit gamers who are money poor to begin with, maybe they should have marketed that for movie buffs, not gamers. Another thing is Sony`s reliance on just having the fastest most powerful console; well thats all well and good but it needs to be resonable as well, i feel this console war is going to be less about power and more about experiance. it seems sony is making the same mistakes sega did years ago - making the most powerful console regardless of price and ability to program for.
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MS; well what can i say over 5.3 million sold so far with great games, connectivity and its only just begun. _real time counter
The developers of gears of war had said that that game was only using 1 core at E3!!! the 360 has 3!! http://xbox360.qj.net/Gears-of-War-Only-Running-on-One-Core-/pg/49/aid/3378
The 360 also has xbox live and arcade which are very succesful.
NINTENDO; well again what can i say nintendo has rabid fans, a great looking system, a great price to performance ratio, its got it all and is going to be tough to beat.
so i have changed my view for a third time i think MS will come out on time after x-mas with nintendo right behind
by next x-mas i see nintendo taking the lead with MS very close behind and Sony very far behind, in 5-6 years SOny will catch up and surpass but for 2-3 years MS and nintendo will be fighting for the top spot
