Hi Peeps....

I just wanted to share this little nugget of gold that got me out of a super Crysis jam...If you struggling with lock ups at checkpoints and sick wait times to load your saved games try this: http://www.philoking.com/2008/02/26/crysis-crisis-fix-your-crashes-freezes-and-long-load-times/

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

11-18-2007

....

If you could hear my thoughts during gameplay, it would sound something like this:

What the hell is wrong with everybody? Why is there a weird corpse chopping butcher in the middle of the game? Why are peoples arms missing, and why do all the baddies look like they've been soaked in acid? Ewww, that's gross, I don't want to reach in there. Why does the serial killer keep letting me live? Maybe he isn't the serial killer. Damn he's ugly.Who is the killer? What's that flashback? Is that me? Who is that? Am I the killer? Ohhhhh that would be exciting if I was the killer! Maybe I am the killer! Oh I'm not the killer, damn. Why does that guy have nails in his head? Oh he's the evil. Is this Hellraiser? Who am I? Where's the last damn bird carcass? What? I don't understand. That was really gross. What the **** is that ninja doing in the game? Who's the killer? The killer is killing killers. Am I a killer? No, I am not the killer, damn. I wanna be a Ninja.

.....

You can read the rest of the review on www.dawngrrl.com

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Here I am in the land of Oz, the world of the free, the Zion of Master Chiefs and I'm having withdrawls. I have yet totrip over a lobby with a 360, though I plan to correct that today.

I decided when I miss playing video games I can officially call myself a hobbyist (addict?),even though my world of warcraft is attached to my hip via my laptop. There is something to be said for regularly shooting baddies, like stress management or something.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

I love Halo3 and enjoyed every minute blasting my through the beatsies in the solo, and recently began it on legendary. Here I am a shooter master! I can snipe or mow my through fairly comfortable while finding perfect places on the grid to stealthly planmy moves. When I play coop, I spend more time coming back to time then I do living. *sigh*

There is a 360 in the lobby at my office along with a delightful selection of games, the most played of course is Halo 3. More often then not, you can find all 4 controllers occupied by one of the 10 regular Master Chiefs in the office, myself included. I have YET to win a match! In fact I super suck! First of all, when the screen is split into 4 I get so easily offtrack, misguided, or totally convinced thats me when looking at any other part of the screen (oppps!! I just fragged myself!) not to mention the sneaky bastards creeping up behind me and snarkin me with a grenade launcher to the temple. Owe!

Notes to self

* Do not stand still

* Run frompink bullets

*Don't throw grenades againts walls

*For the love, don't look at anyone elses screen!!!!

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

WOW! After being immersed entirely in graphically stellar titles such as Halo 3 and Bioshock, the demos for Jericho and Conan were more then disappointing.

Conan first: I won't be able to give you a very detailed description of the game because it only had the ability to garner my attention for about 4 minutes of actually play time. The graphics are terrible: Conan, an embarassing insult to Arnie,looks like a 90 year old and the whole feel has more of a bad graphic novel experiment tone to it.

Even if the game play could compensate for the choppy miscolored visuals, (which they can't) the audio and story (at least in the demo) are lacking in the ability to get you interested enough to play anyway.

I was excited to see this one because I had heard previous attempts at bringing the epic Conan story to game time had been well done and ultimately successful.

Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed.

Cliver Barkers Jericho: Clive Barker is everyone's horror maker hero, so I have to say shame onMercurySteam for themuted representation of such imagination.

The story is super playable;a mysterious reappearance of a lost city in a remote desert, a form of evil that goes right back to the dawn of days, a Special Forces squad trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, their mission: hunt down and destroy the evil that lurks at the heart of the city before it destroys humanity.

Again, the graphics are muted and lacking in background detail that really puts a game in your face. The character swapping while a great game play option, is too much too soon and confusing at best. It appears to be very hack and slash, chaotic in movement and certainly not an example of what the PS3 can do graphically. If your rushing to the store on the 23rd to get it, I hope for the sake of your 60 bucks that the demo was ultra dumbed down!

Let me know if you think these guys deserve a second chance.

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Girls who game have an unwritten obligation to bring thier "now playing" obsession into thier reality at least once a year.That's right, Halloween. Last year, with little effort and what I had thrown together from my bottomless pit of a wardrobe, I pulled together a passable, though not entirely complete, Succubus chick - a summonable pet from world of warcraft.

This year is going to rough. First, It's already the middle of the month, that equals a late start. Second, I have to take a trip to the mothership for 5 days, which leaves me less then 10 days to make a decision and begin the costume building process. Not to mention the fact, that I then have to convince the Boy Genious not only to dress up, but also to head to a series of Hallowween bashes.

Wouldnt you just love to be Halo 3's Cortana? Anyone gamer chick out there with the bodacious bod and willingness to get that haircut - shoot me a line I've got some great ideas on the ssssssexy neon bodysuit!

How about Ninja Gaiden's Rachel? I wonder where I could find a giant furtuistic looking axe......

Princess Zelda, Lara Croft, Samus Aran, Alyx Vance, Rayne, ohh so many options!

Joanna Dark (PD0) is calling to me......

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

Nothing celebrates all Hallows eve like first rate creep, and that's something that Bioshock boasts plenty of! You'll find yourself crawling out of the ocean into a dark run-down water damaged hospital with blood stain walls,and surgical patient rejects gone nutso. The sound effects are so ultra freaky, I would be hard pressed to play it in a dark room by myself.

One of the first things you come in contact with is a screaming female patient on a gurney being stabbed violently in gut by some pshyco scientist whose complaining about bad body parts and worthless specimens. Bioshock has no shortage of gore, in fact it's so scary and uber gory that I almost hate to admit that I think it's ingenious. I'd much rather slap its hand and say "no!", but truth be told it's morbidly engaging and very much like being ported into "Rob Zombie & Peter Greenaway Build Atlantis" movie, in which you intimately get to interact with.

The story takes place during 60's, in Rapture, an underwater dystopian city built by Andrew Ryan, (scientist gone mad) in an effort to make his idea of Eden. There are lots of intricate details to the story that add a unique "morality" choice for the player. To sum it up foryou; there are"Little Sisters"or young girls, pitiful little kiddos really, with hollow eyes and a ravenous hunger for dead corpse.They were created with a special sea slug embedded in their bodies and with mental conditioning to suck energy from the dead that isused as a resource in Rapture. The little girls don't hurt you, but they each have a"Big Daddy" agiant scientifically enhanced guy in a crazy diving suit whose sole purpose in life is top rotect the little girl. This is where the story line gives you opportunity to take the high road and save the little girls or to take the mytopian route and harvest them to give you more ADAM (one of your energy resources)to make it through Rapture. Both choices throughout the game give you very different outcomes and this adds a smart replayability factor for the game.

Coming off the heels of finishing Halo 3, I had really high expectations. All things being equal, I like Halo 3 better, but it's just not apples to apples. Bioshock should be in genre all on its own, and most certainly gets the "Pee your Pants" award for its scare prowess. This is just a first impression, I'm only a couple ofhours in and I still have a long way to go to find out what's to become of my selfish harvesting path, but so far, I am somehow impressed with this brutally macabre game. I can't say enough about the soundtrack, 2k has gone on all out on this one,every audio effect is perfectly executed to help scare your pants off.If you want to get into the spirit of Halloween this month, the cost of admission is well worth it. Go get Bioshock. If your an easily freaked out by horror gamer chick like I am though, plant your boyfriend next to you for the duration. Its a screamer!

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

http://www.dawngrrl.com/

My 360 has been taken from me by bad freezing behavior and has been shipped off into xbox repair neverland. My heart cries blood tears from the very pulp of its barely beating center.

In my beloved's absence I have decided to lvl up my poor neglected undead warrior so I can run amock in The Outland.Slap me some cyber skin if your on Kel Thuzad.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Upcoming Bioshock by Irrational Games takes place in an an underwater city taken over by science gone mad! A delicious story line, and for those of you with thick skins and stomachs lined with steel, this is going to be a super fly scifi horror! There is a scene in the recent trailer where one of the baddies comes up behind you and plows a giant bore drill bit that serves as an arm right through your bloody guts. You look down and see your torso busted open as the drill is yanked out and you fall to the ground. I couldn't find a screen shot of it to post for your viewing pleasure, but suffice it to say it was a reactive scene; at least for me. I don't have the stomach for the guts and up close an personal dismemberment. Not to mention the kiddos running amuck with starving zombie like behavior. It's like Children of the Corn: Atlantis or The Little Mermaniac. The game over all sure looks cool, but it freaks me out, man!

Another in a long line of games with prequels I never played, BioWare and MS Studios Mass Effect, ETA Novemember 07 looks brilliant! This is definitely on my list to straddle and go for a ride on. Graphics look stellar, great story line, and the sci fi guys are bad ass. The alien bully Saren with a hankering for humanic genocide looks like yoda and the predetor were munged by time travel, what a great character! The trailer is entirely in game and its entirely climactic! If you don't have a 360 - this a going to be a good reason to go get one.

Who doesn't love to run around jungle and hunt and kill giant angry dinos in their spare time? One of things that excites me about this game is exactly that! King Kong almost did it for me, but in the flavor of movie themed video games, it just didn't put out. What I did like about it was the roaring dino play in the beautiful green jungle and Turok looks like it will be just that. It's a nice change of pace to fight the overgrown reptilian earthlings as opposed to the futuristic galaxy crawlers.

Likely the most anticipated gameof the year and just a mere 2 months away, Halo 3 looks like it's going to be everything we all hope for. Being fairly new to "serious console gaming" as opposed to my historical loving relationships with WOW, Zelda and Mario, I get the virginal benefit of being twitterpaited like an adolescent by these next versions of ****cally epic games revamped and written for next gen systems. I don't know how I'll have time for anything through November and December with all these titles headed our way. I'm going to have to buy BG another 360 so my game time hours go unnoticed next to his.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Prince of Persia, while already released (june 07) is on my grocery list next time I am at the store, if for nothing more the then melancholy visitation of great game days gone by.

Here at MS we will occasionally partake in Friday afternoon frivality which may or may not inlcude beverages which may or may be of an alchoholic nature and discuss things round the water cooler like how awesome the Zune may or may not be. This afternoon's topic, much more reality based, was using 360 cheats, "yes or no".

My answer was "No, cuz I'm a hooker!" To some, hooker has a dirty hum behind it, though in my mind, it's definition doesn't necessarily have derogatory connotation. Achievment hooker, that is. No I'm not referring to unspeakable physical acts for monotary embursment, I am referring to my XBOX 360 gamerscore and the reasons why I can't use cheats and why walkthroughs are like crack. Here's the 411:

Yes, I want to get my gamer score up. I know it's silly in the grand scheme of things it means absolutely nothing. What I really want is knowledge and experience of playing a myriad of games, but the primary goal is to have a good time. After all it's the game play experience at the end of the day that makes us VG junkies. When I combine my desire to raise that lil (itty bitty tiny molecular level) number next to my tag up with a walkthrough, it cheapens my experience, but by the time I'm through the first chapter, I'm hookered, whored, addicted, jones'n for the next step by step move. So I just can't do it.

Cheats....no no no! Bad gamer grrl, or boy as the case may be! I've yet to hear a really valid reason for these tempting morsels of dissatisfying trixies. I justified it once by saying....it's just to unlock a gun! Alas, the game gods delivered swift justice and I was handily spanked for using the cheater code and the game went into an never ending recursive cycle of the same chapter. Drat!

My point, although somewhat random (as hookers tend to be) is that I cannot use cheats and walkthroughs for the sake of my gaming experience and the sake of well punished virtual butt.

So... walkthroughs ... pros ...cons?

Obviously having a place to go to look up particular things after you've tried a failed...a good thing. If I get too stuck in a game and can't find a way after hours of failed attempts..I'm done and looking for my next foray.

I know, instant gratification and all.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Listen, I know the ratings have been less then par, and I am aware of the fact that at first glace, and second and third and forth glances, it's a hack and slash, action without much adventure game, deviod of any intelligence requirements, but I've been playing N3 for the last few days and I think I might be enjoying it. Perhaps it's because I needed somemindless thug ****video game time to recoup from the stresses of life, or maybe I am working out some kind of agression therapy with 5000 kills per hour, I really can't say.

Graphically it's quite beautiful. It reminds me of LOTR forrests and flatlands, even some of the characters actually. The last few times I tried it I didnt really get it, the moves or the point of the game. Im still on the first character, and don't know how far I am going to take this folly, but for the time being, the all action ****game is giving my blonde self a nice break from having to work so hard at lucid thought.

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

It's an almost, a close call, and a could've been. There are so many groovy little gamer things about Shadowrun that I want to like it. In fact, I have gone back and tried to convince myself to like it. Alas, once the foreplay is over, it just doesn't keep it up long enough put out a good time.

If you started out with the training, the let down is even bigger. You get 6 chapters of weapons, tech, movement, and magic training that really wet your appetite. The trainings are well written, the controls are really quite brilliant with a unique and efficient way of handling a fairly complex inventory of skill and equipment. Your movement ability is very fun, from flying (using a glide Tech - you actually sport these superfly glider wings - and during gameplay see the other players using it. It's very cool) to warping distance and jumping with in air controllability. The Humans and Meta humans available have complex abilities that add interest and variety and the wide range weapons gives you a ton of choice. All the options make for good complexity and excitement in the game, very good attributes in my book.

The overall story of RNA Corp, of which you are a member of it's security team, versus The Lineage is compelling. The game book is written like a stolen employee handbook for RNA team complete with post it note messages handwritten by The Lineage.

The problem is that the actual game itself has no real point or purpose. No story to follow or missions or anything other the capture the flag (as BG puts it) sessions over and over. It's really cool for like an hour, until the "what now" and the "is this it" questions come. What it's missing is single player story mode.

The only thing I can adequatelycompare this to a really good tease that excites you enough to invest in the date, the dinner, even the flowers, only to be bruttally denied at the door.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

I am really a one-at-a-time kinda girl....when it comes to gaming anyway. Now the Sigma is finished, I am debating my next late night video tryst. I feel it only proper to give the consoles equal attention, and since pre Sigma I had short lived affair with Resident Evil 4 on the wee Wii - I think the 360 is due for some lovin. With the new addtions of Forza 2, Tenchu, and Shadowrun, not to mention the 30 plus titles I have not yet played or have not finished playing, I'm left with quite a decision. I think Tenchu would be a giant disappointment on the heels of Ninja Gaiden and I suspect I'll leave Forza driving to Boy Genius. That leaves me with going back and playing GOW or starting Shadowrun....of course The Darkness beckons froms its PS3 case....Sigh....

Whats a dumb blonde to do....

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Ryu found vengeance as he brought down the final boss and rescued the breast bouncing Rachel last night. The triumphant last slash of the sword does not come without a slight disappointment, however. With the completion of Ninja Gaiden Sigma; my newest favorite adventure the game comes to an end. After BG and I put in our final hour last night, bringing the total time played to an shamefully high 77 hours, I can truly say that it was a remarkably fun game, and with the now unlocked missions and difficulty levels, I still have hours of unique play left.

Games in general have about 5 minutes of initial play time to grab my interest enough for me to continue. People will say "Just get through the first few levels and you'll really like it". Alas, I have no patience for that. I want to be engaged in game from the beginning, and NGS got me in the first minute of the demo. So for what it's worth, here's my 2 cents. I did not play the original for the Xbox so this review is an uncomparative Ninja Gaiden Virgin's perspective. Though, I have heard many NG fans claim that its predecessors left big shoes to fill which Sigma did very well.

The game is visually stunning. The colors are so brilliant and rich that I was immediately drawn into the vibrant scenes and brilliant detail. From the intricate shadowing to the lighting effects, it was a continuous buffet of eye candy. From scene to scene, the bosses and the environment stay graphically creative and unique, eliciting reactions from awe to disgust.

Game play: this is by far the biggest contributor to my foray into the depths of a game. If the controls are clunky, or the movements of my character are sluggish or erroneous, then put the controller down and back away from the console. For me, no story or graphical representation is going to overcome bad movement flaws. NGS is on the mark throughout. Actions are fast and accurate with an entire arsenal of fighting moves and special attacks that are simple in execution - no button fumbling required. Ryu can run and jump walls while sporting Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ****ninja moves that really make the game fun. The only exceptions to this are the scenes where you play as Rachel. She is a bit slow comparatively and has a hard timing swinging her weapon around. For such a visual bad ass, sexy thigh high boots and giant swaying rack and all, her ability to "kick-ass" was less then I would have expected. In fact, even when she won fiend challenges, she was rewarded with a new hairdo, instead of a new weapon like Ryu.I think theintent of her character was to be the helpless hottie.It did add a bit to the whole damsel in distress tone of the story and ultimately her rescue was very sweet, even though Ryu leaves here standing there in a puddle of "Please take me with you" in the end.

The game is not complex by any stretch. Locating maps, doors, hidden objects and areas to farm (bore hunting for all you WOW players) are easy to come by and figuring out puzzles or next moves doesn't take much thought. Its reputation of being a toughie comes directly from the boss fights. There are some hard bosses to beat in the game for sure. The first time you fight Alma you might consider throwing in the towel; I was more than frustrated with that wench! Oddly enough, the weapons, the strength increases, the ability to carry more life, along with becoming more acclimatized to the moves and controls as you play, aren't really balanced towards the end. Meaning the boss fights get easier, instead of harder, as the chapters fly by. There are lots of challenges where you slash and hack numerous ninjas and monsters that spit green blood. In fact there are lots of bad guy characters that keep the game freshy fresh throughout; from blood sucking ghost fish to zombie like dead guys, even a few possessed cat women to behead.

In the theme Tomb Raidery toned games, NGS gives you a good story, and a hero that does everything you would think a Ninja should be able to do, and sends you on a fast paced adventure through underground eygptionesque tombs, darkened city streets, angelic cathedrals, creepy depths of hell, and bountiful fields of flowers (Ryu lands in floral utopia right before all hell breaks loose - awesome touch.) With a final fly up into the sky in very Neo-in-Matrix manner, Ninja Gaiden Sigma gets a definite dawngrrl thumbs up.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Are video games violent? Of course they are - I don't really think anyone can argue that point.

Are video games too violent? Yes and no. They are too violent for some, and not too violent for others.

Are they responsible violence incarnate or responsible for violent people? No.

Those are my answers to the repeatedly asked questions about violence in gaming that are constantly and vehemently debated. The first is the easiest to explain: games are representations of us and part of who we are is violent. We fight, we serve and protect, etc. Are video games violent? Of course they are - I don't really think anyone can argue that point.

With the next gen technology both in hardware and software, we have the ability to put together games that take us in other worlds as close to its reality as we've ever come before. This movement towards making games as real as possible comes with it some pretty heavy concepts when you're talking about fighting games, shooter games, RPG, and even some strategy games. The sound effects of shooting, hitting, or hacking a person, alien, or other being, the pouring or spitting of blood, the gore/dismemberment, and ultimately the death of the characters in video games is astounding. Again, all efforts are towards making the experience real to our sight and sound senses.

Why? Games in general deliver a deeper and more exciting experience when what we see and hear is realistic. The gore and violence is a side effect of that evolution. Nobody thought arcade Street Fighter was the genetic code for serial killer production. The yellow sparks and the "Pow" and "Shazam" just didn't pack enough life like punch to seem threatening.

In the game I am currently playing, I chop off heads. Whack 'em clean off. The man screams and moans in pain, his head flies, blood splatters, and the decapitated corpse slumps to the ground with blood and gut oozing onto the pavement. Then I am rewarded for this heinous virtual act, either monetarily or by providing me life longevity, or a gain in some recognized skill that makes me a better virtual person. I sometimes further celebrate my murderous head removal ability with a fist dap, a clap or cheer.

I personally can handle this dive into fantasy without being confused or affected by it after I shut the console down and go about my daily life. I don't have nightmares, I don't think I'm really becoming a Ninja and I don't think that I'm really going be the master of the universe and get the hot chick in my bed when I beat the final boss. That game is okay for me, but there is no chance in hell that I would let my son play it, he can stick to Zelda and Mario until he can handle diving into those arenas of fantasy. There are also games that are too violent for me. Bioshock (beta) for example. Its creeps me out, makes me nauseous, and it's far too gory leaving me generally feeling ill. Are video games too violent? Yes and no. They are too violent for some, and not too violent for others.

That leaves me with the responsibility question. There are always arguments of this game or that game being the cause of this or that incident or behavior. Just like music; Ozzy, Marilyn, etc. I am a huge advocate of personal ability and responsibility. I am also a huge advocate of choice. These things inherently challenge us as living, thinking, evolving beings, and provide a great river of opportunity for failure and success. It is born from that foundation that I truly believe the removal or the restriction of the taboo, the feared, the negative or the debated does nothing but dumb us down intellectually and emotionally. Whether its violence in video games, porn, war, death, political rebellion, revolutions, blasphemy, etc., its part of who we are, and we don't live in Pleasantville. We live in reality. The reality is this: Common sense and good judgment, with age appropriate law abiding content, there is nothing that we are able to see in fantasy or in reality based representation that are we unable to handle as humans. If you end up on a mass genocide mission, I assure you that it is not the fault of the talented game graphic designer for Manhunt or the company that employs them. Are video games responsible violence incarnate or responsible for violent people? No.

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Ryu takes on his first battle with Alma in Chapter 9 and she is one tenacious witch. I cursed her pretty pink scaly toosh hundreds of times in the last few days with much stronger vernacular and highly derogatory in nature. I searched around the web for tips to beat the evil hooker but found only the standard "stay away from her attacks" stuff, which is peachy but at some point you have to hit her back. I finally clobbered her last night and wanted to share some juicy tidbits of 411 on how to fight her.

Definitely stay away - First of all, get use to jumping a lot. Wall runs and jumps will keep you away from her attacks for the most part - make sure to stay away from her pink vertical beams of light when she hovers over you and picks you up into the air, those attacks do a ton of damage.

Kick her when shes down - Alma will land on the floor every now and then and crouch a bit and walk around. Thats the perfect time to attack her. Flying swallow attacks will damage her and paralyze for just a few seconds long enough to getoff a good slash attack.

Mid Air attack - One of the feminine fiends moves is a flying attack where she flys straight at you. This is another time to make you move! Jump attack her as she heads straight for you - then move it!

Ninpo - I've read alot that Ninpo doesnt work on the Bosses - but in this case it does! It doesnt do a whole lot of damage - but if youre getting down to the wire, use the ice on her. It will effect her and buy you a little bit of time.

Hope it helps!

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Boy Genius asked me if I was singing a different tune in the console wars since my new addiction, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, released for the PS3. It's so much fun and visually awesome - by far the best looking game I've played. Give me NGS for all the consoles though and I think I would still play on it on the 360. Though I am admittedly curious to see a comparison of game that good, i.e., if it's the harnessing of the PS3's potential or if the 360 can pull off a game that spectacular looking as well. Notorious hardware failures aside -I'm still whistling dixie about the Xbox. Live simply has no competitor and the controller is entirely comfortable contrary to PS3's under weighted Sixaxis thats far too small to hold comfortably.

PS3 Lowers price - Still the top wallet muncher!

The PS3 drops a benjamin but still holds the highest tag of the trio. The 80GB console bundled with Motorstorm (One of the better I've played on the PS3) is supposed to be available here in August for the low low price of just $599. You can only buy 3 Wii's for that.

Microsoft does too love the little people!

Even though all you little ankle biters are out there shouting conspiracy (again) about how they knew the boxes were faulty and should have delayed RTM, I am sending a Gametart kiss & kudos to Redmond for stepping up. That's right folks, MS has extended its warranty on the 360 to 3 years post purchase due to the infamous Red Ring of Death (three flashing lights indicating a hardware failure). As a side note: whoever you are that named the blue screen of death and now the red ring of death please get outside for some sunshine and leave the comic book macabre mentality in the dark place.

Chick WOW Player gets popped for relationship with 17 year old!

No kiddng. The 31 year old Austrailian woman, Tamara Boone (left) met her beloved boy somewhere in the wide world of warcraft. She flew to the states, North Carolina where the 17 yearold minor lived with his parents,to pick up herboy toy and return to the outback. The folks didnt like the idea of their son MIA and called the cops who arrested Tamara at the train station with a US Postal Worker (huh?). She gets charged with child abduction and thrown behind bars. Sigh. Young love.

What box do you fit in?

Tor Thorsen for Gamespot.com reportson industry standard research that sections us out into six sub categories of gamers and estimates who is wielding the spending sword: Avid PC Gamers, Secondary Gamers, Avid Console Gamers, Casual Kid Gamers, Heavy Gamers, Mass Market Gamers.

"Although they make up just 2 percent of the gaming public, "Heavy Gamers" own an average of 2.8 consoles and 1.9 portables. They play a whopping 39.3 hours a week, mainly on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, and buy a budget-busting average of 13.1 games every quarter-or roughly 4.5 games each month."

According to this, BG and I are heavy gamers because we buy 4 or 5 titles a month and have all the systems, though its been a long time since I plugged in for 39 plus hours in a week. Maybe during the teenage years of my Horde warriors life, but that's even pushing it. Interesting article though. After looking at these numbers, I feel pretty good about my game to life balance, but a little concerned on the game to checkbook balance ...Eeeek!

Kiss Kiss

Dawngrrl Gametart

Sony issued an apology Friday for its bloody gameplay outside a catherdral that bears a striking resemblance to the Manchester Cathedral. Oooppsss!!!!Thankfully - and those of you that have played I am sure will agree - Sony has not responded to the churches demands to pull the offensive game off the shelf.

The church had demanded Sony Corp. stop selling the game "Resistance: Fall of Man,"specifcally due to a bloody gun war with an American soldier and some grotesque looking aliens. I did not play the game personally, but I did watch the entire game played, and even as Boy Genius was spraying alien guts all over the catherdral, I didn't find myself offended, nor did I think the game had any intentional connection or reference to the Church in general. Of course I dont attend mass. Maybe if the scene had been in a Prada or Louis Vuitton store and some shoes or bags had been harmed by the bloody debris.......

According to theapology in The Manchester Evening News, company officials had met with church community leaders and Sony acknowledged the game had caused offense.

"It was never our intention to offend anyone in the making of this game, and we would like to apologize unreservedly to them for causing that offense, and to all parts of the wider community who we might also have offended," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe President David A. Reeves said in the apology.

Sony says Ooppsss, accepts its pennance, perhaps says some hail mary's deep in the depths of the boardroom andpromises to never do it again. Not Enough says the church! Dig deeper into the depths till you reach those brimming pockets and show me the money! Part of the church's outstanding demands, also included a donation to the church's education department, which works to fight gun violence in Manchester. I am soshocked.

No further comment from Sony who now considers the matter closed.

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart