First off, Merry Christmas all!!! Season's Greetings and all that jazz. Got a few "new" games to test out: Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Mario Galaxy, and Mario Soccer...yay!

With that being said, I hate that old cliché of "it's the end of the year, time to start fresh..start anew"....bleh, I guess I can't escape it either.

So I just graduated, after many moons I finally got my degree (technically a gaming degree, but who's keeping tabs?). Much of that had to do with my disappearance here. I still don't feel like I'm out, so why not run with it? Next up, got the gaming site up so now finish up my graphic design site, get into investing, reel in that new job, and make preps to relocate to GA.This's not a New Year's resolution...it's a promise. Good luck to you all out there...the real world's a coming!

I'm looking at this ad for World of Warcraft (great ad by the way), and I'm so impressed by the graphics and level of detail that's been put into it...to get your attention and everything.  So I'm hooked by now.  Well when you go to open the game, where does all of the over-the-top cinematics go?  Am I the only one that has an issue with this?

Not to complain or anything, but this has got to be a serious pet peeve I have with video games.  Developers put all of this talent into the into, and then the game itself isn't quite so aw inspiring.  Believe me, not that I'm a developer myself, but I have a very good understanding of what goes into the game, and stuff like this is a bit of a disappointment.  There's a disconnect between intro and actual show - kind of like you're at the Christmas tree opening a present that's in the shape of a video game you've been eyeing but it turns out to be some book.

This was more of an issue in the past than in the present with more powerful consoles / PCs, but it's still here and I think should be dealt with. If anything, I'd like to see either the gameplay graphics amped up or the intro movie dumbed down.  Good example, God of War.  The intro is just as powerful as the gameplay itself, something that's continuous throughout the game.

I just wonder why politicians like to press the issues that have no real need to be pressed?

Let's jump straight to the subject...video games are too violent and should be regulated so that kids can't have access to them.  I just read an article on http://www.gamasutra.com/  about this - irks me every time... here's my thing about this.

1) Games are too violent - First off, what happened to all the other genres out there that don't encompass such endeavors and are just as popular as the blood-fests... Guitar Hero, Madden, Geometry Wars, Paper Mario? There are plenty of games out there that don't meet politicians' ideals.  If they're so up and arms about it, why not focus on the violence of television and movies? They're just as bad as video games most times, but their a MUCH LARGER public engagement and tend to be based off of real life scenarios.

2) The games need to be regulated - They are.  They're regulated by the gaming industry who possess some of the strictest guidelines compared to any other industry to date and are sited as being the most productive/innovative when it comes to evolving.  Every game is clearly marked for which age group the game is designated for and are VERY quick to label a game rated "M" - for mature, if it contains even the slightest hint of drugs, sexual content, violence, or even strong language.

3) Get them out of kids reach -  This is the sole responsibility of two entities: the stores that sell the games and the parents of the child.  The industry has already done their part in making the content known.   Once it leaves their hands, what else can they do? They don't regulate sales, they can't force a store to follow the store's own policy of not selling games to minors...and how are they to stop the parents who either don't pay their kid enough attention to know what his playing...let alone care??

I'm just glad that there are still some level headed individuals out there that know these issues are being covered and are keeping needless politics out of the industry.