Oh gamer tree, oh gamer tree,
Thy games shine out brightly!

Thought I'd give my tree a makeover before taking it down Click to enlarge.

..

Happy new year! Hope you're all off to a great start. My 2010 began with another renal colic, woo!

A new decade just came rolling in and its time to look forward to the future! However, it usually is pleasurable to look to the past to remember the good times of past days. However, there are some horrifying experiences that we can never, ever forget no matter how hard we try. If anyone recalls the 7 Games Guaranteed to Make You Rage Quit article I wrote some time ago it should be noted that this list, unlike the aforementioned piece, is about games that are frustrating due to poor programming. I have played my fair share of horrid games over my 15 years of experience and, while some of the bad ones were annoying, the following should have each and every existing copy smashed to bits with a hammer and then thrown into a smelting vat:

7. Enter the Matrix (PS2)

A cookie-cutter game in the strictest regard, Enter the Matrix was the most obvious cash-in I have ever played. Every part of this game is lazily done: the shooting sequences lack any kind of depth to be immersing (not to mention aiming can be a pain), fistfights against bosses can be incredibly one-sided due to unpredictable AI behavior, and the graphics are simply ugly for the PS2. Enter the Matrix is one of the most joyless, bland experiences gaming has to offer.

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w98RbvEU_d0

6. Hybrid Heaven (N64)

Nowadays, Hybrid Heaven is a forgotten title and I can rest easy knowing such. Although it had some interesting RPG elements (such as stats of each body part's offense and defense), there was way too much bogging this game down. The exploration elements were absolutely awful (due in part from a bad camera system), the combat controls were stiff as a board, the sci-fi themed story was incomparably shoddy, and it had the most erratic difficulty curve of all time. Who knew that Konami could dispense such a horrible game?

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6g169ccFk

5. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (DS)

Taking a great name in gaming and grounding it into the dirt is exactly what Ubisoft did with its DS adaptation of the series. The free-roaming styIe was replaced with unfair, unresponsive platforming sequences and cheap enemies while thieving was done mainly through a gimmicky touchscreen version of Operation in which the item needed to be taken couldn't touch the sides or other items in the target's pocket.

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35sxJVMMppY

4. Conflict: Desert Storm (PS2)

A shameless SOCOM: Navy SEALS clone, Conflict: Desert storm took each and every aspect of the superb squad-based shooter and put them through a wringer to make a paper-thin, dull replica. Nearly every aspect of this game was atrocious. From the lackluster story to the frustrating gameplay (both single player and Co-op) and everything in between, there was nothing redeeming about this horrid piece of shovelware.

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dwL2xIEljQ

3. Advent Rising (Xbox)

First off, let me note something about this game: it had a $1,000,000 contest that never saw a winner. That should set the tone for a game like Advent Rising: a title that promises too much and ultimately fails to live up to any and all expectations. Horrible glitches, shoddy controls, and a story with characters ripped straight out of Halo made Advent Rising not only one of the worst games I've had the displeasure of playing, but also one of the most derivative. There was very little to like throughout the experience, especially in regard to characters and their design. Humans looked like bow-legged rag dolls with generic personalities and the aliens, as stated above, were not original in their design. By far the worst part were the majority of cutscenes which featured some of the laziest camera work I've ever seen.

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2b1tP_gkM4

2. Superman 64 (N64)

I refuse to give this garbage a larger image.

Yes, it may seem obligatory to put this on a horrible game list but its nightmarish in every sense of the word. Honestly, I required therapy after playing this abomination. I probably don't need to describe this game for well over 80% of people who read this but for those who are unfamiliar...Oh, just look at the video. Even talking about this makes my blood boil...

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNpBwU3PTX8

1. Red Alarm (Virtual Boy)

...And I refuse to even show a picture of this abomination's box.

Now, before I begin, let me say that I never bought that abomination of a system. Instead, I played this as a demo at a toy store when I was a kid and it did more than enough to convince me that this system harbored the worst graphics in all of gaming history. Its literally impossible to even know where anything is in this wire frame mess, making Superman 64 even more playable than this piece of rancid trash. Seriously, just look at that video I posted; doesn't it look like Nintendo stopped halfway through developing this? I could go on forever about how much I loathe this game but I'll let the gameplay video do the talking.

The horror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQ7GqEDoGM

WARNING: video may hurt eyes...Just like actually playing the wretched thing did to mine.

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In closing, let it be noted that these are only games that I have personally played, which is why such horrible games like Big Rigs and Dragonball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 did not make the list. Before anyone asks: No, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever want to play games on that level of badness.

With all hope, I will never play another game on the same level of horror as the above.

Feel free to share some of your experiences in the comment box so you can leave those memories to lie and never, ever have to think about them again for the rest of your oxygen-breathing days.

Happy New Year 2010 GameSpot!

I hope we all didn't party too hard the past couple of days . I have one new year resolution: stop making new year resolutions.

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Like I've done every year since I started to be active here on GameSpot here's a yearly recap of my progress and stats for the site

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(SkullZoma was my old GT)

For reference purposes here's 2008's stats

It's amazing how fast that decade went by and how much gaming has changed. Let's see where the next 10 years will take us.

My Life 2009:

Well what can I say? Its been up and down this year. At the beginning of the year I had 2 jobs working at Blockbuster and as a Vendor for Home Depot. My x-manager for the Vendor job was such a bi7ch and wrote me up for the dumbest crap. She also cut my hours to only 3 days and 5 hours each so 15 hours wasn't cutting it. So I left because I couldn't stand her and the lack of hours. As for Blockbuster, in August, my Store Manager got FIRED and this other lady came into his spot from another store. What I didn't know is that she didn't like me for some reason (supposedly she did not like how I handled a customer's question) So since she didn't like me, she cut my hours to force me out of my job and that's what exactly it did. I quit because shes a bi7ch I keep getting screwed left and right.

For jobs, I was jobless until they were hiring at a new Bed Bath and Beyond. So I applied and they hired me for the temporary time. I worked my ass off so I can get a permanent spot. I worked over 40+ hours and 8 of the 10 temp days and on my last day, I get called into the office and find out that they cant keep me. I was shocked and pissed wondering why they wouldn't hire me? I worked so hard and was counting on that job to pull through. So I guess that store only wants lazy people and people that barley speak English. They even hired some dude named Jaja? WTF Why not hire me. My name is Jason and I have alot of experience and excellent customer service......but noooo. They are gay So now I am unemployed once again. Things arent going good for me, but my wife is doing great. Shes a CNA and working really hard and making lots of money. I NEED A JOB. WTF. New York SUCKS. I hate living here.

Games 2009:

As for gaming on the PS3 I got 6 Platinum Trophies this year.

Dead Space (100%)

Fallout 3 (before Sony released the DL-Addons)

Need for Speed Undercover (100%)

Resident Evil 5 (before Sony released the new DL-Addons)

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (100%)

Terminator Salvation (100%)

I also got 100% on a couple of PSN games I bought.

Bejeweled 2 (100%) (took a while for this one because this one trophy was almost impossible)
Flower (100%) (This game was on sale during Thanksgiving for half off)
Linger in the Shadows (100%)
Wolfenstein 3d (100%) (I had to get this because i remember playing this growing up on my friends old computer. It was fun I never beat it until now since im older heh.)

My Gaming Guide 2009:

Games I Beat:
Return to Castle Wolfenstein (PC)
Portal (PC)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (PS3)
Quantum of Solace (PS3)
Resident Evil 5 (PS3)
Terminator Salvation (PS3)
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (PS3)
Dead Space (PS3)
Grand Theft Auto 4 (PS3)
Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3)
Flower (PS3 PSN)
Wolfenstein 3d (PS3 PSN)
Bejeweled 2 (PS3 PSN)

Games I Bought:
Bejeweled 2 (PS3 PSN)
Dark Sector (PS3)
Dead Space (PS3)
Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3)
Turok (PS3)
BioShock (PS3)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune (PS3)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Super Mario Bros 3 (Wii)
Condemned (PC)
Command & Conquer 3: Deluxe Edition (PC)
Flower (PS3 PSN)
Wolfenstein 3d (PS3 PSN)

Games I Got: (for my Birthday)

Silent Hill 3 (PS2)
Silent Hill 4 (PS2)

So yeah that kinda sums up much of what happened this year and what I did. Im still in a rough patch but Im trying

In other words, BioWare is a little overrated.

Note how I said "little" meaning that they're good developers, no doubt. But I think they get some extra slice of cheese by reviewers who seem like they're too lenient on them.

Case in point, Dragon-Age, which is a good game by the way. But I'm not faulting the game at all as a game because it's a well-crafted WRPG experience. I'm really enjoying it. But I'm talking about the technical aspects of it like the graphics, animation, etc. I've seen Bethesda improve drastically on the stuff Oblivion was guilty for with Fallout 3. The animation, character models, textures, etc. look so much better in Fallout 3. In Oblivion, some of the characters don't even synch well with the voice-overs. The textures look like plastic, they're emotionless when they speak, and the animation is flat-out terrible. And did I mention the women in Oblivion are ugly? Well, they are!

But Bethesda addressed these problems in Fallout 3. Playing Fallout 3 really shows the improvement they made after Oblivion, which is a good thing to see.

I see Dragon-Age having similar problems like Oblivion. Everything I mentioned about Oblivion is in Dragon-Age. Maybe it's because I'm playing on a 360. But that's no excuse because the PS3 version has framerate problems. With where developers should be at during this current-gen, don't you think a high tier developer like BioWare should know how to make things work by now no matter what console they're working on? For example, if you see Valve's work, their character models and animations are superb! BioWare's animation and models in Dragon-Age is ugly, which is a shame because the whole game is really good.

But it's not just graphics, models, and animation. It's also the programming. So many people criticize Mass Effect for having broken combat and Dragon Age has framerate issues. These shouldn't be a problem if BioWare are the developers as reviewers claim they are.

This is not professional and with games like Fallout 3 and Japanese developers showing some skill with their JRPGs when it comes to character models and animation, BioWare has a lot of catching up to do or they're just not as good.

This is how I see it, which is why I think BioWare is overrated as developers. If they really are the cream of the crop like they and reviewers claim they are, shouldn't they be able to program state of the art looking character models and animation with fine-tuned programming regardless of what console they're developing for?

So after waiting inline at bestbuy for an hour. I manage to get Fable for $19.99 with no taxes and 28 MS points i decided to skip buying Borderlands and DA.Origins cuz i misestimate the amount of money i had in my bank by $30 doller and i got sick the next day...nice Plans for next year go about 2 hours eariler to be further in the lines

got christmas cash and i dont know what to buy i think i will wait and see the dsi xl goes and what price point it hits at. hopefully not 250 or 200 lol i still want to pickup heart gold

Haven't made a blog since late August, haven't made a serious blog in forever. Leaving for Miami for a week, probably won't be on much, not like i've really been on much anyway. If I ever do come on here, it'll be at the Consoles Debate Union.

As far as updates go, I've been doing much of my gaming on PC, you can see my gaming list on my profile if curious. Torchlight being a really good game.

If you are into old school adventure point and click style games such as the King's Quest series, this game will not disappoint. I purchased this game for 10$ from http://machinarium.net/blog/2009/12/16/amanita-design-christmas-pack-machinarium-samorost2-for-10-60-off/for a couple more days, it comes included with another adventure game from the same company called Samorost2 which I have not played yet. It took me about 6 hours to get through Machinarium and I enjoyed every minute, although it can be very challenging at times. Please, if you are at all interested in these types of games, give this a purchase and support an indie company that deserves your money.

edit: Also, it runs on almost any PC, mostly hand drawn 2D (awesome art **** with some light animation from the characters. And it comes with the soundtrack, which to me was unique and refreshing, I have it on my MP3 player!

With Christmas just around the corner, I have to decide which game I'm going to get with the money my parents give me every year.

I either want to get Rock Band 2 or Band Hero, but I'm not sure which one is better, seeing as how I've only played Guitar Hero

I'd appreciate it if you guys could help me decide which one to get

So have have food now as Terry got me to accept there offer to buy me food and they got me about $140 of food so am good for the mouth. Now don't thank they did it out of the kindness of there heart no they did it to cover there asses as a payee has to make sure the bills are paid and I have food and since they gave most of my money to mother I had almost none for food. I have a girlfriend now and she's been staying over for the past week or so and it feels pretty good not been alone all the time and a few days ago Terry's girlfriend flew from Delaware(I think that's where she been) to his house and they pretty much been ****ing 24/7 so he's pretty happy. I think a week ago we made a podcast and it was pretty good but heads up Terry and his father who was on it too made some racist remarks so I have been on the fence as to uploading it I might if you guys want it as it has some pretty funny parts. Yesterday I rode my bike about 4 miles to wal-mart to buy a game as I was bored and it was like 5AM and came home with 2 mini blinds and 12 fluorescent light bulbs and my question is why?

30. Fable II (XB360)

29. Fable (XB)

28. Elite Beat Agents (DS)

27. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (PS2)

26. Soul Calibur II (GCN)

25. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (XB)

24. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)

23. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)

22. Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

21. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)

20. WarioWare Touched! (DS)

19. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (DS)

18. Eternal Darkness (GCN)

17. Jade Empire (XB)

16. Panzer Dragoon Orta (XB)

15. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)

14. Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town (GBA)

13. F-Zero GX (GCN)

12. WarioWare Mega-Micro Games (GBA)

11. Bioshock (XB360)

10. The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Wii)

9. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (XB360)

8. Dragon Age Origins (XB360)

7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

6. Pokemon Gold/Silver (GBC)

5. Mass Effect (XB360)

4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

3. Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom (PC)

2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XB)

1. Zeus: Master of Olympus (PC)

This is my personal list for the top 30 games of the last ten years (2000-2009) with the system I played it on in parenthesis. It's a list of the top 30 games that most moved me, captivated me and addicted me to their siren song. Many of these games also trigger emotions and memories of times gone past and people gone away. In that sense, they aren't just just the best games I played, but games games that have actually helped shape who I am. It has been a great ten years for games, In fact, if I were to make a list of my favorite games of all-time, this list would hardly change. What do you guys think, what were your favorite games of the 00's?

Well It is Friday, another one of many. I am not in a bad mood persay, nor could I categorize myself as being in a good mood either. Rather I am in somewhat of a middle stage. I am just waiting for my number to be called, for me to get out of work early. I spoke with the person who handles when others get out early and what not, and he assusres me that we should be offering the option to people to leave early around 3pm today. ( I am first on the list.)

I am not sure why I am so excited, Perhaps because I just want to play some mindless video games and let reality slowly fade from my mind, into a form of cmplacency that does not exist in this world. So many times and so many weekends past, and never to be present again I have lived in worlds so far and away, so distant that the mind could never understand, only the eyes and hand. People have asked me many times why I play video games to much, and I always have an answer and it never wavers, I am not here, and more times than not that Is enough for me, to exist outside what we see and feel to transport ourselves.

I just cannot wait for my magical journey to beginm to break free from it all.

...i Dreamt that somebody loved me.

Sorry i havent commented on any of your blogs.. everything will be back to normal soon.

Waiting for the great Christmas!! ^^ So I can get my most loved games

I made a little xmas List for the games I'm looking forward to!

Cooking Mama 3 Shop & Chop! (Of course, huge Mama fan!^^)

Tamagotchi Connextion 3!! (Huge Tama fan! lol)

Wanna play this so bad!! Just to see what it's like!

And that's my DS xmas list ! There's no new games on the Wii I want at the moment~

So It'll be a DS Christmas lol I also want Okami and new pokemon Gold but they're yet to come out ~

Can't wait !!!!!!!!! ^^ xx

I rented Call of Duty World at War for the Wii since my PS3 has been down and had fun, but overall the Wii version of this game is about 1/2 the game that the PS3 and XBOX360 is.

Some missions are not even in the single player campaign(Black cats - air gunnery mission), many modes for online matches were left out (S&D, Domination, capture the flag, sabotage, Headquarters)

Also no unique challenges were in the rewards system other than the simple marksmanship challenges (shoot XX number of people with X weapon).

Overall I give it a 6 out of 10, but if you only have a Wii it is a good game. It took some time to get used to the controls, but I ended up completing the regular single player and the online mode to level 65 (max besides prestige, in which you just go to level 65 over and over again) in 12 days.

Oh, and this game HAS NO ZOMBIES either....what????

Oh yeah zombies are not family fun, but shooting people is????

Hey there! ~de arimasu

I'm about to go to sleep, but I cannot seem to log off. This always happens to me when I have a "free" week. I should be practicing since I'm playing piano with the Christmas choir. ~de arimasu

OMG! The recital is getting closer and closer every day! I think I will be able to learn everything though, I just need to finish that Schubert piece and a short Oscar Peterson one. This would be my playlist: ~de arimasu

- Invention No.7 in E Minor (J.S.Bach)
- Three Part Invention No.1 in C Major (J.S.Bach)
- Fantasia in D minor K397 (Mozart)
- Impromptu Op.90 N.3. (Schubert)
- Vals op.64 n.2. (Chopin)
- Fantasia Impromptu (Chopin)
- Jazz Exercises 1 & 2 (Oscar Peterson)

I finally started to watch K-On, and wow, I really love it. The characters are really lovable, the plot is good, and best of all is about music! (well, sort of). I, however, wonder why in almost every anime of this kind there has to be a beach episode (and this one has two, no less). ~de arimasu

Wow... 2:42am, I seriously have issues. Good night. ~de arimasu

So I was checking out some Modern Warfare 2 information today when I decided to pop my head into the forums. In particular, I went to The Virtual Underground. It was quite sad to go in there and see that it was a shell of its former self. I clicked on some of the profiles of people I used to know, people I haven't heard from in forever, and saw that many of them hadn't logged onto this site in over two years. I used to share lots of thoughts and feelings with these people, on topics about more than just video games, and now they are effectively gone, their old profiles and posts remaining as ghosts that haunt my old home.

It's sad for me, as GameSpot played a very important part in overcoming my depression in 2002. Some bad things had happened in my life and I literally had no one in my life except my family. Posting on GameSpot gave me a sense of friendship that I needed at the time and it helped me pull myself out of depression and back into the real world. I'll always have a soft spot for it in my heart. I guess that's what makes it even more sad to see what this place has become to me.

It's still an active site with a thriving community, for sure, but for me it will always seem a little dead.