Just wanted to wish everyone here on Gamespot happy holidays, and Merry Christmas. I'll be writing an update soon to let you know the goodies I recieved.

I realize that in my previous post I may have sounded a little too...condescending with Mass Effect. While I was writing the blog I did feel like Mass Effect in some way had let me down, if I recall I may have been "slightly dissappointed." Well in my 23rd hour of playing Mass Effect I can say that I'm enjoying the game to it's fullest. I just needed to learn how to effectively play the game.

Well let me get to the meat of this blog. I was playing Mass Effect oh say an hour ago...I had just landed on a world which held the objectives to the sidequest I was actively engaged in. I noticed that the game had been loading alot more, taking brief pauses everytime I entered a new area or went onto the galaxy map. The game had just given me the reigns of the game after a cutscene...that *sigh*...was when it happened. Not a second after I resumed control, everything went dark, my tv shutoff, and up came 3 red lights that I prayed I would never EVER see.

Yep. I caught the 3 Lights of Death....my reaction was instant, vulgar, and very loud. What's mind boggling is that my 360 is an Elite, everyone I talk to is surprised that my Elite got the 3LD (3 lights of death). I asked everyone why and supposedly the Elite somehow is "unable" to get the 3LD, and if that's true how come I was so lovingly graced with those deathly red illuminations. Well I powered down, and turned the 360 back on and it seemed to be fine, but I know "fine" is just an illusion...I honestly don't know what to do right now...I really don't want to send my 360 in to be repaired for obvious reasons...and I don't know if the elites are still around for purchase...I wonder what effects will happen if I ignore it and continue to play like it never happened.

If anyone can give me some insight as to why the Elites supposedly can't get the lights of death, please let me know.

You know it really is disturbing when you buy a game, experience its brilliant concepts and then feel slightly...if ever so slightly...dissappointed. I got Mass Effect today, I had to skip getting it on its release day due to financial reasons. I immeadiately popped that sucker into the disc tray, fired up and began my galactic career. Right from the get go I loved the game, amazing graphics, a deep epic story. During the first few hours of play I was in absolute bliss. Then I started noticing things, things in games that usually don't bother me unless it happens frequently...and it happened frequently. Don't worry, I'm not saying that Mass Effect is a bad game, no far from it...I am in fact theorizing as to how Mass Effect can be so utterly entrancing, and yet...it suffers from graphical glitches and framerate hiccups. By my 6th hour into the game the game these hitches were torturing me left and right. The texture pop in happens almost every second of the game. Say you look at one character, you turn your point of view, then return it to that same character, and most likely that character will most likely be the victim of an extreme amount of pop in. I'm not talking about the slight details of the face, I'm talking about the major texture in any and all objects. You will also notice that the game at points will constantly have to load, and that during almost every battle the framerate dips...whether it be major or miniscule. Although I can understand why there are so many glitches, hitches and bugs.

It literally is the Galaxy. Yes all who have played the game will know that Mass Effect is a really, really, really, REALLY big game. You'll travel across our entire galaxy playing this game. It's the scope...the magnitude of this game can sometimes...well most times cause these graphical distortions. It's funny actually, the game is so huge, so epic, that sometimes the game needs to catch its own breath. Oh well...the sooner you move past the glitches the more you'll enjoy the experience.

Tuedsday night the Sci-Fi channel had this show about Mass Effect. It was called Sci-vs-Fi, and it was about comparing the elements found in Mass Effect with the elements of space in real life. I didn't watch the entire show...actually I watched probably about 3 minutes worth of it. And in those three minutes, it was a bunch of people from the gaming community (developers in Bioware, magazine editors, those idiots over at IGN, even someone from G4 *shock*) talking about how big the game was, how different it can be for different people. There was one quote that caught my interest. I forget who said it but whoever it was, was referring to ME's combat system, and the statement was: "You can play the game different ways, you can play like a chess player, or you can play...like a Halo player." This sentence...is the biggest LIE. I tried it...I tried to fight in Mass Effect like I would fight in Halo...and guess what...I got murdered everytime I even THOUGHT about trying to run and gun. No, to succeed in combat you must play as the chess player, strategizing each and every move, then executing them with startling efficiency.

Besides those two lil'...nitpicks aside, Mass Effect is excellent, it's a fun new experience. I truly appreciate that BioWare made this game so epic on a grand scale.

Can someone please explain to me how Eidos managed to SNAFU Kane and Lynch. After all the hype and the awesome, dramatic trailers, they pull the 'ole "Overhyped Dud" on us? Ahh man that was one dissappointment I didn't see coming. I watched the video review here on Gamespot, and Icould hardly believe my eyes. The gameplay looked TERRIBLE, the visuals ATROCIOUS. Ugh man don't you hate that...a developer promises an excellent game experience, they fill the internet with stylish trailers, they even get a cover spot in Game Informer magazine, and for this? If I had the power, I'd shove a copy of the game in the lead developers mouth, deprive him of a nights dinner, and tell him to make it again. I had my hopes sooo high for Kane & Lynch and we get screwed over. Then again...that's what usually happens when you delay a game repeatedly....COUGHarmyoftwoCOUGH. Yeah...that's the effect Kane & Lynch has bestowed upon me for Army of Two...although given EA's terrible track record with action games THEY develop it shouldn't surprise me. So yeah I'll be waiting for Army of Two to be getting a 7 or below...and I'm guessing it's going below 7. Although if they do manage to make a good game, I will be impressed.

Well we can always depend on Ubisoft to make a great game. I picked up my limited edition Assassins Creed last wednesday, and I just gotta say that Ubisoft has managed to outdo itself in every aspect. I don't know how they did it but Ubisoft crafted a world that truly does feel alive...perhaps even more alive than Grand Theft Auto. Every little thing you do can juice a reaction from the people of the game, whether it be benign or not. Creed manages to maintain the familiar control that Prince of Persia did oh so well back in '03 when it burst onto the scene. But Creed...Creed just, makes it evolve...I don't know how but if you've played it you'll know. Ubisoft truly has created a masterpiece. Perhaps Eidos should take a page from Ubisoft, and learn how to deliver a great experience when you promise one.

I did it again didn't I? Yeah I went on another little hiatus. Well it's not my fault, games have been ripping through my wallet back and forth. I mean first it was Bioshock, then my birthday waddles along and I treat myself to Guitar Hero II, Stranglehold, and The Godfather which was more decent than I thought. Then Eternal Sonanta, and then FINALLY Halo 3 just drops the ultimate bomb on my 360, to pretty much guarantee that I wasn't going anywhere for a while. Yeah...it's been chaotic since August man. And now it's October....OCTOBER! Man where does the time go? Too much, it's just too much for me to handle. So many awesome games, so little time I mean come on. I'm actually thankful that Army of Two got delayed until early '08. So much time has passed, and so much has happened. I guess I should really start back from August from when Bioschock came out.

Well back in August is when I got it, my HDTV set. Yep, it's a Sharp AQUOS, 37 inches, and althought it doesn't do full 1080p it does do 1080i. It's not the exact model TV I wanted, but I am in no way complaining. So yeah that was one of the highlights of this past summer for me. And as if the Gods of Gaming knew I had just gotten my HD set they had blessed us with Bioshock and its heavenly goodness. Bioshock...that game alone totally ate up August for me. You can damn well believe that I put my set through it's paces popping in all my 360 games to check out what each and every one had to offer on extra resolution that my TV pumps out. I popped in Gears of War which is just plain Sexy on an HD set. It's definetly safe to say that an HDTV is an awesome investment, especially these days since all the consoles are moving into the fabled "HD" Era.

Then came September Ohh September. Nothing interesting for the first couple of days then came my birthday where I was appropriately greeted by more games. My buddy got me Metroid Prime 3 which in my humble opinion blows the other two away for miles. Pops got me Stranglehold which is incredibly fun. Mumsy actually shocked me and graced me with Guitar Hero II. And to top it all off I treated myself to one more game, The Godfather. I honestly didn't have high hopes for The Godfather, but it actually turned out to be pretty decent. A while later I picked up Eternal Sonata after playing the demo, and although my RPG days are long behind me, Eternal Sonata...was Great. Yeah it's really fun to play, and it looks absolutely stunning on said HD set.

Then...oohhh, then came the BOMB! Yeahhh Halo 3 ohh man was that day sacred for me. I wasn't able to get down to my local Gamestop to pick my copy up at the midnight release like I had promised myself when I beat Halo 2, but I did watch the G4 special. It's funny because while I was watching that glorious near 3 hour special I felt like a crack addict in need of a fix. And at first I was dissapointed that I didn't get to my local Gamestop, then I got pissed because I couldve gone to NYC to watch that awesome show they put on with the Mongooses riding around and the Hummer, and the dude in the Master Chief suit aww man I wish I coulda been there...I really could have too man, NYC is a 20 minute trip for me. Ahh well what're you gonna' do.

Well...it's October now, a couple of high list games came out a few days back. Clive Barkers Jericho came out which I gotta' pick up. Ace Combat 6 which is a game I DEFINETLY need to pick up...I've been playing the Ace Combat games since they were on the very first Playstation. I picked up Conan, and it's exactly what I thought it was gonna be. God of War. Yep, Conan derives almost EVERY aspect of itself from God Of War...I still think its fun to play though. I'm on the fence about getting Virtua Fighter 5, the demo was pretty sweet, and there hasn't been a good fighter in a while so only time will tell

Hopefully with the start of this blog I can get back into reviewing more games. I know I've been saying this forever, but I need to get back on the horse here. Oh well...Peace be with all.