I've returned after my long absence. I'm not really sure why I left, either. But either way, I'm back, and I'm ready to post more reviews and blogs, and I shouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

I suppose school has been a major reason I've been gone so long. I also have been making my own line of Youtube videos now. I already have over 40 videos online, so I'm definitely proud of that. If anyone's interested, you can actually check them out here:

www.youtube.com/user/livelytv

But anyway, I'm back, so I thought I'd let everyone know.

I'm pretty shocked by the rating. I watched blood effects in every single CoD4 video out there, and they look no different from the pretty crazy CoD2 blood. I think ESRB is becoming a little more sensitive...

[ESRB rating a Mickey Mouse game]

Head Honcho: (plays game) Did that mouse just hit that duck in the head with a...a giant hammer?! This constitutes a T rating.

Short stubby guy with glasses who works at Disney: But sir, that was one of the most non-violent things I've seen in a video game! Not only does it have awfully blurry graphical effects, but the only thing that came out of the duck's head were Tweety Birds!

Head Honcho: But come on, man! You think we want kids to grow up to become hammer-weilding murderers? We have to make sure that doesn't happen!!

Short Stubby Guy: But NOBODY is a hammer-wielding murderer nowadays! Nowadays, it's just guns, axes, or chainsaws!

[On the game, the mouse pulls out a toy gun and pulls the trigger. A small red flag pops out that reads "BANG."]

Head Honcho: Holy $#%@! He has a gun!!

Short Stubby Guy: Sir! It's a plastic TOY gun!

Head Honcho: You think I care!? The last thing we need is more drive-by shootings!

[The stout man groans]

Head Honcho: This constitutes an M rating!

Short Stubby Guy: With all due respect sir, NOBODY age 17 or older will EVER even THINK of purchasing a Mickey Mouse game!

Head Honcho: Maybe you should've thought of that BEFORE you made this game so violent!

[On the game, a female mouse kisses Mickey on the cheek.]

Head Honcho: Holy %^&$#@! You think you can slip THIS past me!?

Short Stubby Guy: Sir! It's Mickey Mouse!! Have you ever even heard of it!?

Head Honcho: So?? All I see here is suggestive themes! AO it is!

Short Stubby Guy: WHAT?!?

Head Honcho: Good day, sir! We hope you sell a decent amount of games.

Short Stubby Guy: Oh come on, sir, we both know that's the biggest load of--

Head Honcho: GOOD DAY!!

[End of rant.]

I have played many, many racing games in months past, and I have to say, the soundtracks put together for the games are most certainly not the best in the world. To be completely honest, I have heard some much better music in shopping malls. It makes you wonder if the developers and publishers even listen to the music they insert mindlessly into the games they make. There are many of these games out there, but the genre I have seen it most in is racing.

Forza Motorsport 2 is a fantastic game. I probably play that game the most often out of all my console games right now. The only thing wrong with that almost-perfect racing game is the music. Don't get me wrong, some of the music is at least moderately catchy. But the rest seems like it's repetitive dance tracks. Unlike many other games, Forza does not include any rap, hip-hop, or rock tracks, and I respect it going in a different sort of direction. However, I would rather have had variety than the same music genre drilling a hole in my brain as I customize my cars. I'm glad they faded out the music while you raced! :-)

Need for Speed, one of the most infamous racing game franchises, suffers from the same problem. Need for Speed Most Wanted is also an awesome game. However, it seems like you're listening to the same hip-hop song when you really are listening to a totally different one. It has a few rock tracks here and there, along with a ton of metal and a few dance tracks. The chunk of music, however, that really impressed me was Paul Linford's score during the pursuits. It sounded very involving and extremely action-packed. It was his music that made the game's pursuits what they were.

Then came NFS: Carbon, one of the biggest assortments of bland techno/dance ever. Firstly, when I heard there were pursuits in this game, I was expecting a whole new score from Linford. As you NFS players know, I didn't get what I had expected, but I got the same action-packed score in a watered-down version of Most Wanted. Then, the tracks themselves were quite unimpressive, save a couple that were still only okay. Heck, they threw in a truly horrible song that actually dropped the 'f bomb' in an E10+ game. When I heard it, I laughed. A lot. It seemed like proof that game developers simply throw in random tracks, just as long as they were a specific music genre. Man, what developers will do to put a little extra cash in their pockets...

But we do have one thing now. One brilliant idea that saves us from listening to miserably repetitive music. One of the most useful ideas the gaming industry has ever spawned. Custom soundtracks, thanks to media sharing software, has reached a whole new level. I personally have tons of music on my computer, so anytime I switch on my 360, I head straight for my custom soundtracks and playlists, and there you have it. Your concerns about in-game music are gone. Just like that. This is one advantage consoles now have over PCs. And what could be better than listening to your favorite ever music while playing a good game like Forza or Most Wanted? Who DOESN'T want to do that?

Well, that's my REALLY LONG blog entry for a while...what do you think?