I can no longer support GameSpot because of what Josh Larson did to Jeff, and what he's currently doing to the editorial team. I have cancelled my Total Access subscription, and I encourage you to do the same by clicking here. I'll probably still read the site just out of curiosity, but I certainly don't have any reason to trust the reviews anymore. I will no longer give GameSpot the privilege of my patronage. I won't be posting any more video reviews, or partake in the community in any other way. I know I'm only one user, and that I can't make a differnce, but this is a personal choice. I need to stand up for what I believe in, and what I believe in is honesty.

So I guess this is goodbye. I'm going to make this short, because I would rather not dwell on it. I had an awesome four years here, but I guess every good thing does eventually come to an end. If you want to stay in touch, you can IM me at cubbers89 on AIM, or send me an email at mynameiscolby@mac.com. I'm eventually going to build a personal website at yocolby.com where I might start a blog, so check that site if you're interested in what I'm doing. I know this seems abrupt, but at least I get the chance to say goodbye. That's a privilege Jeff didn't get. After over ten years working at GameSpot, he was locked out of his office and told to leave the premises. Pitiful.

It's been real, GameSpot. Too real.

Most sincerely,

Colby

Back in 2004, when GameSpot's forums were still run by Lithium and my username was still Corubi, I used to make a lot of forum signatures. Yama had a user-created board called the "The Signature Banner Critiquing Board" that generated an awesome community of artists. I was by far one of the worst sig-makers on the board, but everyone was really helpful, and I went from never touching Photoshop to eventually creating signatures that looked somewhat professional.

Some of the artists from SBCB were actual professionals, and others might as well have been. Looking through my old Photobucket accont earlier today, I got nostalgic and tried to see if anyone still posted there. Most people have left entirely, and it's pretty sad. I'm not exaggerating when I say that some of the best graphic talent on the internet was there, and always ready to help. I was thinking of trying to revive the board, but it's not really mine to revive. If you're interested in GameSpot history, you should check it out though.

I guess I'll post my sigs in chronological order (as well as I can remember):

My first signature ever!

Notice "by Corubi" in the top-right

This one's a banner, and it's pretty cool, but too big to fit here. Just click the link to see it.

Another banner.

Also made this avatar:

I guess I got from like really crappy to less crappy, but it was still a lot of fun. I'd like to start making sigs again, but I don't really like using them myself. If anyone has a request, I'd love to take a shot at it.

I haven't updated this thing in almost a month. Actually, I wrote an article about my new job a couple weeks ago, but I found out on the first day working there that I can't disclose where I work on any blog or forum, so I had to delete it. If you read the entry, I appreciate it, but please respect the confidentiality. I'd hate for them to forbid me from posting on GameSpot, or worse, fire me.

The last few weeks I haven't had much time for video games. I've been playing Guitar Hero III on co-op with my brother here and there when we both have time, and also recently started the Call of Duty 4 campaign. Surprisingly, I'm not too enthusiastic about Call of Duty 4. I can't seem to care about the single- or multi-player. I think Halo is more my thing for online competitive play. I also finished Half-Life 2: Episode One from The Orange Box, and plan to move onto Episode Two any day now. I really enjoyed that, and can't really complain about the short length (about three-and-a-half hours). In fact, I probably prefer it. With less and less time to play games, it's still nice to have the satisfaction of finishing them. Assassin's Creed is still sitting in its GameFly envolope, and who knows when I'll even start it, but I'm still really excited, because Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is maybe my favorite game.

My eighteenth birthday was on November 3, and my parents got me an iPhone. So far it's better than I could have expected. It's an incredible device that I highly suggest to anyone looking for an all-in-one. It's as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. Other than that, this weekend should be really fun because all my friends are coming back from college and this girl's throwing a big party for everyone from our high school. I'm working on Black Friday, which should be both fun and miserable, but hey, it's a good experience, right? I'm also looking forward to some good eatin's for Thanksgiving of course.

So what have you been playing? If you haven't been playing anything, what have you been doing instead? Excited about Thanksgiving? Got questions about the iPhone (I can certainly answer them)?

Look forward to hearing from you.