Everyone on here gives me a hard time for my horrible taste in music and as a joke (or quite possibly it may have been true) I was going to say I really liked that one but I just...I can't do it. It's like a really horrible version of that Muppet Song:

A few more games that I'm not playing anymore: Arkham City, No More Heroes and Mortal Kombat for the PS3 and The Sims Medieval for PC. I'm willing to sell the entire set to you, or each game individually. Just make me a decent offer on them.

Thanks FurryFace. I hope you like it.

I had recently published it on Smashwords, but for the week it's going to be free. You know, for the one of you that actually wanted to read it.

I don't get it.

Like I do with all things video game related that are set to go on Ebay, I wanted to post this here first.



It has everything you would need to actually play the complete version of Shining Force III--the Saturn, the Action Replay (which allows you to play imports as well as providing extra memory and works as a Game Genie) the controller and all three scenarios.

Everything is in excellent condition. I just have yet to play it and it's been over a year. Could use the money more than I could a system that is collecting dust.

It will be a couple days before I put it up on Ebay so if you want, send me an offer via HG Mail. If it's worthwhile, the system is yours.

I know not who is more obsessed, he or I. But I know we both will appreciate this:



Meh. Who am I kidding? He's probably watched it ten times already...which is ten less than me. :P

Lame Video For Emp Time:



True Baby Out

Though none could say for certain if Sony would offer any kind of restitution to disappointed gamers, many were hopeful that the mammoth company would do more than simply say "thank you for being patient".

According to a recent press release, that hope has become a reality.

Patrick Seybold the Sr. Director of Corporate Communications & Social Media announced via direct blog the following: Now that some PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have been restored and you’re once again enjoying online gaming and entertainment, we’re happy to provide details about the “Welcome Back” appreciation program for customers in North America. We developed the program as an expression of our gratitude for your patience, support and continued loyalty during the service outage. From all of us at PlayStation, thank you and welcome back!

The full list of what gamers will receive can be found here, but the most note worthy are two downloadable games (some good ones like InFamous and Little Big Planent) and a free trial for time lost on various services, such as Plus and Music Unlimited.

Though it's incredibly generous of them, as they could have simply opted to replace lost time for certain subscriptions like Plus, Unlimited or DC Universe Online, after what we've been through is it enough?

My credit doesn't take a hit and no one steals from my bank account, yeah. I think it is. I've encountered worse over my two decades of gaming. Are they totally absolved? Not quite.

I just caught the new Facebook addition near the bottom and have to say that's a really good idea of getting even more exposure and traffic.

I mentioned it a while ago, and I don't know how much work it would be, but I still think maybe implementing something specific to reviews--even if it's the high-profile games or staff reviews--would be a good idea. It wouldn't have to necessarily link directly to Facebook, but if someone could click Like or Dislike on a review it might help with feedback and morale around here. Just an idea though. I'll run some other ones by you if I get the chance.

I try to avoid linking to a competitor's site whenever I can (I actually think this is the first time I've done so) but HG and RoG are somewhat unspoken partners and I know there are a lot of Assassin's Creed fans so I wanted to share. It's not much, but for those frothing, agonizing fans like me it's the best news I've seen all year.

So, after reading your post and thinking about how popular some of these other threads tend to be I wanted to just throw an idea out there.

The 600th review is a milestone and should be a game that you're always going to remember. The 599th, though, is fair game.

In an effort to show our support and inspire the guy who gives us all a place to congregate and write what we enjoy, basically gives us a system in order to express our passion to the masses, I say we suggest and vote on the game we'd all like to see him review right before he breaks that feat.

I, for one, would love to see you do Arkham City. May be around the time-frame and just...sounds like it is going to be an incredible game. One I think you would do really, really well with.

That's my vote.

Cause I did, and frankly it's making me a bit nervous. Basically it's saying that they did get hacked, my personal information was at risk and also gave me some information on how to deal with it.

Now, I'm not sure if this was a pre-rendered letter they sent out to everyone because they're still not sure who was directly affected--because let's face it, it's Sony and as of now my faith in them is entirely shatter. Or if they know who was attacked and I was one of them.

If that's the case, I'm suing the fuck out of someone. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid.

If you did get a letter, let me know. Thanks.

If you would ever be willing to pass some along, I would love to read it Joe. Also, if you ever get the chance you should find Defiant Light, Venter's book. Just make sure you buy it off the official site as opposed to Amazon. He doesn't make anything and it's usually more expensive.

Update - This is what I've written so far. I have a lot going on right now so it's hard to commit to it, but last night was the beginning.

That Which Shined, Now May Dim

There is no greater testament to one’s character than that which is implemented by morality. An ideal Grahamas never believed he would have to encounter. Life for him, despite his struggles, had always been simple. Right and wrong, good and evil, love and hate, just and wicked. A clear, very definitive line existed and though at times crossed, it remained and he always knew on which side he stood. Perhaps it was luck, possibly fate, that had never required him to blur the blazing mark. Others had encountered such several times in one life, he who had lived several managed to escape it. However, his would be the greatest test and the most decisive. Others determined the outcome of few, possibly dozens. His would be the deciding factor for all. And though he had always carried their destiny in his hands, his struggle would be far greater than winning back their freedom. This would ask of him to do what was right, not what was necessary. Even for him, the last glittering light of hope in a world that decayed, would be enough to shatter his unyielding resolve.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

This is the winter of our discontent.

Call me Ishmael.

The opening line can make or break a book. And though I've yet to muster up the courage to commit to Chaos I have thought long and hard about the opening line.

Just wanted to get some opinions on it. A random, tired blog really. Trying to inspire some of my friends to start their fiction...Jason, Joe, Andrew I'm looking in your direction...and maybe work up some of my own. Anyway, here you go:

There is no greater test of one's character than that which is implemented by morality.

New Bloodrayne. Hell yeah...wait...I hope they don't screw it up simply because fans have been demanding it and they're trying to shut them up. Oh, never mind. It's Majesco, not Square/Camelot.



Sorry for the recent surge of Power Metal (I'm really not). I've been on kind of a Chaos kick since I haven't written anything novel related in about a year.

What are Jason and Andrew doing? Maybe that would help inspire me if they were working diligently.

I used to be really good at them, but in part 3 I think it was, you had to be in a specific area and that made them a lot harder to do. I suppose that was probably the point.

It wouldn't be as relevant if I wasn't playing the game and encountering this experience daily, but it's still pretty amusing.





Journey Cover, Baby!

Man...

I seriously hope they turn this into something more than just a few previews. It's the complete opposite of what MK is but they are just...fucking brutal.

I traded in 7 games to afford it, and waited 45 minutes in the rain to get it at midnight. So far, it's totally worth it. A lot of things--like the freedom allowed in combos and the brutality--I've already mentioned in my preview but there are so many other aspects I didn't get a chance to see that I'm loving now, like the tower, story mode and mini-games.

I'm starting to believe they've done this one right, and I don't imagine they'll screw it up. It's been a while since I wrote a fighting review but I'm thinking this one may end up being one of my best.

The rest of my opinion will be saved for that, for now though a list:

Favorites so far - Scorpion, Kitana, Sub-Zero, Sonya, Nightwolf and Ermac.



Their lead singer, Stu Block, is the new frontman for Iced Earth. He can definitely sing but I'm curious to see how he's going to do. I don't think they'll ever fill Barlow's shoes but this guy may actually get close.

3rd Birthday - Square...just when I think you can't do anything worse than FFX you put this junk out. Do you even know how to make a sequel anymore? I'm keeping my background up, mainly because Aya is still wicked hot (or is it Eve? I really don't know after that bizarre, useless, lame story you made me sit through) and I'm too lazy but know that I am not happy about it at all.

Let me know when you start making good games again and I maybe, just might possibly consider buying one....if it's cheap and it gets rave reviews by everyone I know, and it has a hot chick in it, and you hand over the company to someone who's not so money-grubbing, intellectual-property motivated, fan-disregarding. And that's just maybe.

You're lucky I got 3rd Birthday for free or I might be angry.

Fuck You - So I went to Gamestop to trade in a few games in order to get the new Mortal Kombat. And no, I'm not going to bitch that I had to trade in 7 games to afford it, and some of them were new like Need For Speed and Tactics Ogre. No, this complaint is not in regards to giving up 7 games. It's because there should have been 8.

Without even looking at the disk, the guy behind the counter hands DC Universe Online back and says they can't take it. When I ask why, he explains to me that the game came with a code specific to it and by using that code I linked the entire game to my PSN account and no one else can ever use it. Basically it turns it into a computer game that I had to pay $60 for. Oh? Really? That's an utterly wonderful idea. Because that means the copy I paid for is one-of-a-kind and I can now use it as a coaster or a paperweight because it's not going to do me any good. Maybe, possibly, I would pick it up again somewhere down the line but you fucked me there too, with your stupid $15 monthly subscription fee to play it. And yes, WoW does that too but they don't pull this $60 bullshit to even purchase the game and then continue to charge you after. I downloaded WoW for free and they allow that; welcome it even. Why? Because they make enough money solely on subscriptions. But no, not good enough for Sony. They have to get you to pay regular price for a redundant, half-assed game, then $15 a month for sluggish, weak service all the while developing a system that locks you in for eternity so that I can't make at least a portion of the money I wasted back by buying that catastrophic mess. I would say that maybe someone on Ebay might want it, as they could find another code (possibly through illegal means) but we all know how the last hack-job turned out, don't we?

You're getting worse, Sony. And it saddens me.



Go tell your classes, go dig you graves
Then fill your mouth with all the money you will save

Wow that line is fitting.