Rather than spurt some hateful diatribe, I've just decided to say goodbye. Everyone knows why, and I'm not the only one. Yes, I haven't paid for this site in a long time and yes I don't really do much outside the VU these days except reading reviews, but I am still a statistic -- a number that lets CNET court advertisers. And while I may only be one, I am one of many who will be leaving. And CNET will see the effects soon enough. All I can say is that it's a shame a company so obsessed with money has failed to realise that looking after the pennies will mean that the dollars take care of themselves. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised if CNET really didn't think that their actions were going to have the consequences they did. We are the gamers that dissect and dissent -- did you really think we wouldn't notice and/or care?

I've been here for 7 years (over 5 with this account) since the days I typed in videogames.com into Internet Explorer's address bar. Since being here I've done and seen a lot of things, I've gone through good times and bad, I've done well and I've made mistakes, and I've met an amazing bunch of people. But things change, things evolve, and my morals cannot allow me to stay here any longer. It's a shame, but even if I did stay, how could I trust GameSpot now? I've decided to move on and post my thoughts at the NZGamer forums and occasionally Gameplanet's forums. They might be small, but no smaller than the VU and they perhaps allow me to take a more... down-to-earth approach to video games. I might also check out NeoGAF if I'm feeling snooty.

I've always felt like GameSpot was a kind of home in the vast realm of the Internet, and now I feel like that home has been burgled and burned to the ground. Still, the times I did have I will always remember fondly.

It's been real all. Make sure you all stay in touch.

--Liam

[The irony of the following diatribe is that I work for a video games website reviewing games. Hah!]

So after months and months of build-up and I guess hype, Assassin's Creed is finally upon us. And its release has highlighted how reviews really aren't much help at all. There are two reasons why I think this. Firstly, as much as many reviews try to pretend that they are fact, they are opinions. Yes, I realise that you can't second guess your audience when it comes to recommendations, but facts are usually undisputed and the reviews for Assassin's Creed are all over the place. No just in terms of subjective things like what makes a game fun -- these reviews can't even agree on what version of the game looks and runs the best.

Even if you take reviews are unashamedly opinions, like 1up's worthless spoiler-filled review, how can a score be justified? On that logic, I could say I don't like brussel sprouts and as a vegetable, they get a 3.5.

The fact of the matter is that these reviews have failed as a buyer's guide, as the conflicting nature of the reviews has caused a large majority of the internet to become confused. I am confused myself; will I like this game? It's obvious that this is a love-it-or-hate-it game, and while I can tell from some of the better written reviews that there are elements to Assassin's Creed that I will find enjoyable, I probably won't be able to tell until I play it myself. Bioshock reviews made it sound amazing, but when I got the final product I realised that everyone hate overlooked just how boring and shallow the gameplay was.

The second problem is that With limited funds, I am unable to afford every game I want. Consequently, I often tend to listen to the word on the street to see if a game is worth my hard cash over another game I will probably like just as much. It's like choosing between sushi and onigiri. But in this situation, I wouldn't be able to find out about either food until I had tried each one.

I'm talking about embargoes. Assassin's Creed opinions were kept under lock and key until the final hour, meaning that it was nearly impossible to cancel your pre-order if the game sucked. Now, I live in New Zealand so the game isn't out here until the 23rd, but that's also the same day Mass Effect is released and I know that there is an embargo on that too. So how am I supposed to tell whether or not I should pass on Assassin's Creed and get Mass Effect more? Even listening to the rambling opinions of the industry, I should be able to work out what is likely to appeal to me more, but with the exception of a few leaked tidbits floating around the net (thanks to the fact that no one can keep a street date) it's nearly impossible to find out whether the game is more my thing.

Consequently, I'm at a deadlock where I'm stuck between choosing Assassin's creed and Mass Effect. I can only afford one and this is my final game purchase for a loooooong time, and I can't really help but feel left out to see by the very industry that turns on a profit on the premise that it helps me with these kind of decisions.

Can you have too much of a good thing? Maybe. I picked up Guitar Hero III on its release here the other day and I've played a bit, but I've kind of shelved it already. It'll probably last me well for those "I'm too tired to be bothered playing anything intensive" sessions that I find I get, but I don't see myself committing to it the way I committed to Guitar Hero II. I was wondering if it was because Guitar Hero III is an inferior game. And I whiledo think that perhaps the ridiculous note charts are little too extreme (although I'm sure the Score Hero crowd will all claim the game is easier), I think it's basically because the charm of Guitar Hero has finally worn off.

That's right; I'm just over it. I think being saturated with three games in as many years might have something to do with it, but I think that mainly the charm has just gone. It was the same with DDR: it was new, fresh, and insanely cute fun, but after a while it just got dull for whatever reasons. Now, when I go back to it and play whatever super-new version is out, I smi in wonder at the newsongs and featuresand it's all happy memories about the days of 5th Mix, but I still stopped. Maybe that will happen with Guitar Hero -- maybe I'll come back in 5 years times and see Guitar Hero VII and be all like "Awww!" But for now, I think I'm just over it. It's going to be good, occaional fun, but it's certainly not gripping me or tempting me into playing it all the time.

Guess I'm just glad I didn't buy the bundle with the wireless guitar.