Haven't blogged in a while (obviously, so I figured it was about time. As the title suggests I haven't been working and I am really starting to feel the pressure. I'm going to have to increase my efforts in the coming week beacuse I really don't have a choice. To be honest I haven't been trying that hard, but my slacking has finally caught up with me. One of my biggest motivators at this point, as pathetic as it may be, is that I have a serious gaming habit to support. There's a ton of stuff coming out in October (Dead Space, Little Big Planet, GH World Tour just to name a few) and I must obtain them.

Since I can't buy any new games I've been attempting to tie up some loose ends. I've finally finished Resistance after a long hiatus. I also beat Gears of War on Insane (finally and after much frystration). The most noteworthy title I've finally finished is Metroid Prime 3, which I completed a full year to the day after putting it down. I also played through Bioshock, Uncharted, and Twilight Princess again somewhat recently. I've also revisited some last gen stuff too, such as Call of Cthulu, the God of War games and Yakuza. Speaking of Yakuza I really want the recently released sequel. Very unique game (to an American anyways) that I recommend to any fan of action-RPG's. If you loved Shenmue by all means try Yakuza, because it's the closest thing us Shenmue fans will ever get to a sequel. I also want to take a moment to pimp Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth which, as far as I know, went pretty much unnoticed. It came out toward the end of the original Xbox's life and didn't get much press. Horror and adventure fans should check it out as it's an atmospheric, sometimes intense experience. Plus it's backwards compatable and probably pretty cheap by now. But be warned: it can be damn difficult.

I also rediscovered my love of the Dreamcast recently, thanks in part to the 9th anniversary of the system's release and the ensuing discussions. I went hog wild making Dreamcast game back-ups (fancy term for burned games) and currently have over 80 titles. I'm not one to pirate games (I never have, ever) but since the DC's been dead for six years or so, I don't feel so bad. I've been playing Sonic Adventure and Seaman and loving it. Dreamcast's definitely the best sytem to ever die prematurely. Sad.

Despite my lack of funds, I did manage to obtain one new game: Rock Band 2. Of course I had to sell my soul to Gamestop to do it but sometimes you have to sacrifice things (yeah I'm being a little melodramatic). I like it a lot, but there is one feature I would like to have patched into the game or at least put in future titles. That is the option to remove songs from active rotation once you beat them. Because I'm so damn sick of that f***king AFI song. The tracks from Panic at the Disco and Modest Mouse can also go to hell. It's difficult to articulate exactly how much I hate them so I won't try. But overall I'm pleased with the song selection in the game. One thing I was waiting for in a rhythm game was some straight-up-balls death metal and I finally got my wish in RB2. The band is called Abnormality and it's brutal as hell, and just as insanely difficult as I thought something that heavy and fast would be. But it's a start. Now we need some Black Dahlia Murder and Necrophagist so I can truly injure myself by playing a game. Until next time...

Just kidding. Actually it's everything you could possibly want out of a Batman or comic-based movie or even movies in general. I know it's being said all over the place but Heath Ledger's Joker is IN-F**KING-CREDIBLE. I'll spare you any description simply because I can't do it any justice in words, so I implore everyone to GO SEE IT. The supporting cast also does a marvelous job but Ledger definitely steals the show and drives home what a loss his death really is, especially for folks who weren't fans of his previously. I have a couple of teeny tiny complaints though. A couple of lines of dialog don't flow quite right, and Christian Bale's death metal singer voice he gives Batman can sound weak and forced at times but I am really just nitpicking here. This is the triumph that critics hailed the first Tim Burton Batman film as being. A comic book movie nominated for Academy Awards? You never know...

Hi folks. Firstly, if you're reading this, thanks. Secondly, if you're reading this that means you're tracking me, which I appreciate and want you to know that in no way is this directed at any of you. I appreciate a degree of level-headed-ness in a gamer, which is why I tend to track people who don't show obvious signs of fanboy-ism. Which brings me to my point. Usually when I read an article I end up glancing at the first handful of user comments and lately have been getting f**king FURIOUS at the rampant ignorance and hypocrisy. It only gets worse when one ventures into the forums, which I don't do unless I'm totally desperate for a piece of info. Of course this phenomenon isn't exclusive to GameSpot. I also frequent 1UP and Gametrailers and it's the same trolling **** looking to poop all over someone who disagrees with them. The inspiration for this blog, however, is thanks to GS and it's awesome community. My b*tching won't really help but it helps me to vent to a group that will most likely agree. GS user DouglasBuffone recently posted a blog with some similar sentiments and I totally see where he's coming from. Hell of it all is, it's not remotely wothwhile to fire back at these people. Trying to communicate on some normal level with the unwashed masses can be extremely trying and sometimes flat-out impossible. So I fight the urge to post a comment calling people on their **** because at that point I'd be no better than these fools. I'm already not the biggest fan of humanity so I usually take people's opinions with a humongous grain of salt. But when your most loved hobby is plagued by legions of deluded morons, it becomes personal. And it kind of pains me that there's nothing I can do to stop this madness. I've always been aware of fanboys and their ridiculous ways of rationalizing their beliefs, but it wan't until this hardware generation that I truly understood the depths that these people sink to. So to wrap this rambling mess of a blog, simply put - I YEARN FOR THE TASTE OF FANBOY BLOOD. I'm probably heading to my local Gamestop tomorrow and am thinking about hanging out a while, profiling a fanboy (console preference is inconsequential) and beating the sh*t out of them. I'll let you guys know how that goes (and maybe give some impressions of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith).