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Updates forthcoming... I hope: Updated 12-10-06
OK so to be blunt, my freetime blows. I rarely find time to play games all the way through so bear with me. I will be seeking to do a series of fast "5-minute reviews" effectively short reviews that I've written to summarize the game w/o spoilers, but sadly without a lot of content detail. On the upside I have expanded my console library to also include an Xbox 360. Yup this tide me over until Wii and 360 shipments improve will be where I get to do most of my console reviews for the time being.

Best Times of Gaming Behind it? Added 1-17-04
A recent article linked on Slashdot had me rather intrigued. Is the consumer trend within the gaming industry really a recipe for disaster? Naturally gaming appeals to a broad audience but admittedly even as I've grown up/older/wider I've realized that my own tastes have changed from the days of simple fighting games to flight simulators, to ultra-realistic FPS shooters. As an 'old-skool' gamer I've seen the days of Pong, the first Nintendo systems, the birth of MMPORPG's and the seemingly endless plethora of consoles, PC games and handhelds. Yet what ever happened to the jaw-dropping days of old? Are any titles really that epic. Case in point, Half-Life often touted as having been one of the biggest titles for the gaming world in it's day (1998), while certainly marking a change in direction for the gaming industry, really wasn't as earthshattering as I remember it. It merely took the formula for FPS games and added a bit of plot. Yet, if we look at the legacy is birthed there is no denying that it left its mark. Community developed MODS such as the genre-defining Counter-Strike expanded HL's lifespan to a level unheard of in gaming. Copies of HL are _still_ being sold as gamers discover the various MODS available to them. Yet with cutting edge graphics, sound and blazingly fast processors, titles seemed to have run out of ingenuity. Instead we've become a gaming industry interested in spin offs, movie tie-ins, ungodly service agreements and overall making every gaming experience a chore. I might be getting old, but I am certainly glad I can look back and remember the glory days.