Gaming journalism lost two of it's best (to development, they didn't die or anything) over the past two weeks. Both Jeff Green and Shawn Elliot, formerly of CGW/GFW left the 1up network.

Jeff is, and has been a pillar in the industry for a long time. One of the people who most appropriately criticizes the very industry that he serves, Jeff represented more than just himself. Calling out companies that give out scores for exclusive covers, and helping gamers to see through the BS by showing them how to spot it rather than just telling them what to think inspired a much more intelligent fan base than most. Jeff wasn't the average reviewer and GFW was not the average magazine. The interviews and features in GFW were top of the line, and Jeff was responsible to a great degree. Sadly, when the magazine shut down it was only a matter of time before Jeff felt the need to leave. He's headed out to EA's Sims team as an associate producer.

Shawn is/was my personal favorite, not just for his writing, but the incredible insight he offered on the GFW Radio podcast. If you haven't heard it, go a few episodes back and take a listen. Or check out Shawn Elliot and N'Gai Kraul talking on 1up Yours, really deep, really interesting. He was funny as hell, of course, and his stories are incredibly told, but it's his unique take on the industry that'll truly be missing. He's heading out to 2k Boston to work with the Bioshock team (including Ken Levine) on a project.

Sad to see them go, but I'm sure we haven't heard the last of either. If you've never heard GFW Radio (aka, 97.5 The Brodeo), check out this episode from Christmas of 2007. One of my personal favorites and a great mix of the serious discussion and amazing humor that made the whole thing click.

http://download.gamevideos.com/Podcasts/CGW/122007.mp3

For daring to suggest that a recent incident involving an 11 year old accidentally killing himself had more to do with his access to a loaded weapon and less to do with the game Halo, I actually got some pretty decent hate mail. Check it out over at Xbox Focus, see if you want to send me hate mail too!

Seriously, am I crazy? Letting an 11 year old have access to a loaded firearm while he's home alone? Really?

So, after a series of issues with my web host, the blog is finally back up and running. Short entry today, but I've got plenty to go on about from the last few months. Specifically: Fallout 3, Castle Crashers, Viva Pinata, Too Human, and plenty more. So hey, keep checkin back!

In the meantime, get a Clone Wars review over at Crucial Pop. Babylon AD and of course, Bangkok Dangerous to follow. Check out the podcast every Saturday for some insight and some good laughs!

That's not all - check the review of Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise over at Gaming Ring. Spoiler alert: it rules.

My first appointment of my incredibly busy Wednesday is with Valve. Left 4 Dead is one of the games I am personally most excited for at the summit. I’ve got a few minutes before I get the opportunity to play, but I’m able to watch other players as they go through and it’s really something special. Valve has provided some breakfast complete with Cranberry Juice. Not a bad idea after all the parties last night. Oh, and muffins!

Don't forget to check out all my E3 coverage on Xbox Focus and Gaming Ring!

About to head into my first appointment. I have no idea how these things work but I’m psyched to find out. The show floor is honestly a bit underwhelming in appearance, but I’m certain that the amount of games available for play is sufficient. After all, this isn’t about the babes, the parties, the spectacle… this is about the games. Infinite Undiscovery is available for play, as well as a few others I’ve been dying to get my hands on. Should be sweet!

Sitting in the airport in Detroit is a fairly funereal affair. No, funeral would imply activity, this is more like a wake. People who don’t know each other are gathered together, all dealing with the same difficult emotional baggage. Waking up early enough for a 6:30am flight is difficult enough, but going through security is a herculean task even for the most stalwart traveler. All single travelers are silent, with the only noise coming from a man adjusting his wheelchair. Then with a wave of energy and cheer enough to fill all other travelers with instant disdain comes a group, presumably from a school or church, all wearing the same happy shirts. I’ve decided that they’re a cult.
My flight from Detroit is short, as I debark in Memphis Tennessee. It’s only about two hours, but I know the time will pass much more quickly. Hopefully my time in the Memphis airport will be eventful. I begin to wonder if anyone else on this flight will be going where I’m going, or even know what it is. Videogames are like professional wrestling. While a fan would surely be insanely excited at the prospect of meeting Ricky ”TheDragon” Steamboat, no one outside the sport even knows who he is. The same can be said I’m sure of Shiguero Miyamoto. Developers aren’t stars, and to anyone outside the core audience, these aren’t videogames, they’re toys.
Still, I brim with the excitement of the trip. Off to get a muffin before the flight starts. I’d hate to be hungry the whole way there.

So, I'm not sure if it was basketball on Monday, kayaking on Sunday or just cracking my back in a weird way as a workmate theorizes, but my back kerploded again. Only a few days before E3 I'm in some pretty severe pain, but luckily, my job is nice and flexible(yeah, I don't get paid for writing yet... not enough to move to full time anyway). I did a lot of work from home which was nice, and managed to get in to work today. It's been a rough one! I should be fully recovered by the first press conference, which I imagine will be incredibly uncomfortable, seating wise. Don't it figure?

Picked up Dungeon Runners on Tuesday, and I'm actually having a ton of fun with it. It's somewhere between Gauntlet and Diablo, but not quite up to the par of either. It really doesn't matter though, since it's fun, and cheap. I paid for a box copy to get some super cool member bonuses, which is nice. The Bling Gnome that picks up gold and autosells items is invaluable. The game's pretty funny too, which is a huge bonus. I'm only level 7 at the moment, but will relay more as I advance.

Hancock, not so great. The following review contains spoilarz.

E3 is fast approaching. Is 'fast approaching' a phrase that's used way too often? Maybe I just say it a lot...

Anyway, E3 is coming up quickly and I'm pretty jonesed. It'll be my first year attending, and my schedule is insanely busy. Starting Sunday night at the Kotaku party, and lasting until late Thursday, I'm busy all week. Friday and Saturday will be time to attempt to see friends that have moved out that way, but will likely be filled with a lot of writing and emailing. Amazingly, the next week it will be a relief to do something as simple as my full time job.

That's right, July 2nd is officially the birthday of one Dick Ward. This year for my birthday I'm seeing Hancock and I'm buying myself a laptop. Pretty exciting stuff! Of course, the one thing that is giving me nervous shivers of anticipation and fear is over at this site. An image of a ticking clock on a page labeled CTDS. There is only one thing that this can mean, and if it truly is what it looks like then it could either be the greatest, or worst birthday gift of all.

Chrono Trigger for DS. One of my favorite SNES games of all time, (Super Mario World, Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, E.V.O., Final Fantasy VI), it is always exciting to me to hear that something may be happening with it. If it's remade to look stupid and kiddy like FFIV or if this is some sort of terrible pseudo sequel like Chrono Cross my head may explode, damaging all those around me. I'm honestly not sure if I feel that this is legit, or just Square searching for something that can get them a financial boost.

Without further ado, based on a breakup letter from an ex girlfriend, I present an open letter to Square.

Squaresoft,

Remember when I used to call you that? Before all this Sqare Enix stuff happened? Way before Squeenix? Those were wonderful days. I loved you and I thought you loved me back. I played Final Fantasy 2 and you gave me Final Fantasy 3. I played Secret of Mana and you gave me Chrono Trigger. It was an amazing relationship.

Then you changed. Or rather, you didn't change, but my perception of you did. It turns out you were making other games without me knowing it. It turned out that after all this time you lied about how many Final Fantasy games there were before three. I was playing the sixth game and believing it was the third. You lied to me and I learned to hate you for it. I even played Mystic Quest for you! And all that junk about Secret of Mana not being the only game in the series? Imagine how excited I was when I thought Evermore was part of it! It wasn't a bad game, but it was still a lie, and in a relationship like ours that's inexcusable.

Now you're more honest, giving me every Final Fantasy remake you can and shoveling out bishonen after bishonen in an attempt to make me love your games. I loved you before you were doing all that, and the fact that you feel the need to do it shows me how truly bad it is between us.

Maybe it's me, maybe I've grown up and you haven't. Maybe I just didn't see what you were all along. Amano's art should have been a giveaway, but the low res graphics were so wonderful.

Now I heard that you're going to make Chrono Trigger DS. Well that just shows how desperate you are, and it's just not attractive. Your efforts as of late have all been pretty sorry, and I just don't know if I can take a bad Chrono Trigger game. Not another one, not like Chrono Cross. Why can't things just be the way they were?

I loved you Squaresoft, but I'm just not sure if I can be with you anymore. I feel like we've grown apart, me with my western RPGs... Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk treat me well. Sure they're not perfect, and they'll never be like you were once. It's still a lot better than dealing with you.

Squaresoft, if you can change, maybe we can still have something. We might never be like we were in the beginning, but maybe we can get close. If you can't change though, then it's over between us.

- Dick

Reviews are up for Get Smart as well as Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. Good stuff!

I've posted a new column at Xbox Focus about the Xbox 360, and how it handles simple things like saved games. I've entitled it "Next Gen My Ass" and I think it gets the point across pretty well.

E3 is coming up and my schedule is filling nicely. Fallout 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are my most anticipated games going into it, but who knows what surprises await!

I've also played through Dracula: Origin and done a review for Ace Gamez. It's neat and all, but really, if this is all the adventure genre has to offer , I'm okay with not seeing it again. Luckily, Sam & Max is around to prove that point and click adventure titles don't all have to be frustrating and outdated. I just wish others would pick up on it.

It's not the money. It's not like adventure games look bad, and I love the low system requirements, its' the one thing they're doing right. How hard is it, though, to put things where I can see them, support widescreen, make some decent puzzles, and for god sakes let me quicksave. If there's no autosave, I want to be able to F6 to save and F7 to load, none of this old school 'select a save slot' nonsense. If your game has the same save system as Daggerfall and it wasn't made in 1996, then we have a problem.