...................

He fondled his balls, staring out over the city, a gold Rolex was produced from an Armani sleeve, it was three in the afternoon.

"Sir?" The voice of his personal assistant echoed through the giant  black office.

"The creative director is here to see you."

Bobby lurched over, his fat stomach hugging his chest, and pressed a black button built into his million dollar marble desk.

"Let him in."

An automated door slid open with very little sound, the stank of the workers entered his office, Bobby smirked at the smell, he didn't enjoy the smell, he never did  associate himself with the rest of the kids in school, they were his underlings, they were servants, all of them.  He masked his contempt as Adams stepped through the door, Adams, the cunt.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, I did didn't I."

A smile slowly smeared across Bobby's face, this unsettled Adams, as he knew the man to be vindictive and hateful, rarely smiling except when calculated necessary. 

"I'm not going to fuck around with you, I don't want to waste your time, and you definitely do not want to waste mine standing there playing with your dick, I want you to produce a shooter, I want you to have it target the mainstream, and I want it in six months."

"Six months, but sir-"

Bobby slammed his fist on his desk, a loud, yet dull thud rang through the office, Adams jumped, this pleased Bobby, cunts, they were all cunts.  He let the silence paint Adams' discomfort a while longer as he reached for a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat from his neck, under the desk, Bobby was still playing with his balls.

So I reluctantly accept the game purchase at my local brick and mortar store, my girlfriend insists I should get the new shooter game Homefront instead of Skate 3, I actually went to the store to pick up Black Ops, as I have now had my fill of Battlefield Bad Company 2 on both the PC and 360, they were out of stock.
 
I half halfheartedly agree with her as I pick up the 360 copy of Homefront.
 
I pop the disc in the 360, and go straight to multiplayer, the exact same thing I did with Battlefield Bad Company 2.  It was 9:00AM then, at about 11:00PM I stop playing, these developers are on to something, this is a really, honest to God, incredibly satisfying multiplayer experience.  There is not a hell of a lot by way of originality going on in the Homefront multiplayer package, the visuals are incredibly mundane and the framerate (On the 360 iteration anyway) isnt exactly Forza worthy, though I remember a friend of mine bought a GTX 580 this week, and reported the performance lacking as well, must be some kinks needing a work out. 
 
I think its safe to say that Homefront is a fusion (Literally) of Battlefield and Call of Duty, now, this could either turn out an immense fuck up, or go down as a gloriously addicting romp, Homefront is dangling closer to the latter, it does a great job of pointing out some very neat use of spotting, using drones instead of just "marking" the enemy, and I remember actually telling a friend a few weeks back that the idea of resetting weapon and gadget unlocks after each match would really drive the fun factor up in modern multiplayer centric FPS games, and yea, this mechanic shows up in Homefront, thank you universe.  
 
Graphics:  Yes there are graphics 10/10
 
Sound:  The game has sound. 10/10
 
Playability:  The controller worked (After charging) 10/10
 
Multiplayer:  Someone shouted racial profanity over my TV, so MP does work. 10/10
 
Overall: 8/10 
 
Actual Screenshot of gameplay below:
 

For the past few weeks, I have started listening to podcasts whilst stuck in traffic to get to work.  
 
Giantbomb, Sarcastic Gamer, PC Gamer, Game Informer are all awesome casts which really kills time in the car for me.  What sort of solutions exist to have your iPhone play music over your car radio?  That would be pretty awesome.  
 
I have also started re-listening to the same podcasts over and over again, you might think it weird, but its incredible the amount of detail you miss from going through just one sitting,  I fully recommend picking your five recent podcasts, then giving them a few  plays!

Ive spent my entire Saturday playing Gears of War 2 on my modest 32 inch HDTV.
 
I remember when the game came out, I owned a crappy CRT television, playing the game again, I cant believe the amount of details Ive missed just because the resolution got bumped up.  Playing at a higher resolution also creates a much, much more immersive experience, EPIC did an incredible job with the textures, though I wonder if any of the texture artists from the Unreal series worked on this project. 
 
Character design is top notch, all the characters are easily recognizable in-game thanks to the stunning Unreal engine, Dom, Tai, Baird, Cole and Carmine joins Marcus Fenix in a myriad of suicide missions against the ridiculously monstrously Locust army.
 
This game is solid, easily switch weapons, the awesome cover system, combat flows, and you are engaged in warfare almost constantly, its one hell of a ride.   
 
If you haven't gotten around to play Gears of War 2 yet, please pick it up, especially prior to the release of Gears of War 3, hit the game on Hardcore mode, it isn't overly punishing and really ramps up the satisfaction when you hear the combat disengage jingle play after each intense combat encounter.

Its good to see that Fantasy has become an integral genre in modern day gaming, from Gary Gygax to World of Warcraft, the evolution of Fantasy has been steady and has kept up with consumer trends.  The problem with this evolution is just that, its evolutionary, one can argue that the Fantasy genre has gained more innovative gameplay depth and mechanics than say, first person shooters have, but has it been truly enough to warrant the current praise and adoration from millions of Fantasy gamers?
 
Gaming today has changed, people want instant gratification, heroic warriors, clad in plated steel and riding ferocious war mounts, blindly charge into war not caring to read even a few paragraphs of lore, mighty rogues and wizards duel seemingly eternally without even so much as care about their character origins, only about who can deal the most damage the fastest.  
 
Could it be that the spirit of the modern day western RPG has been lost to the masses?  Small armies of texture artists slave away, creating lush and vibrant Fantasy settings, only to be fleetingly viewed by passing by groups of loot hungry elves, goblins and orcs, creative directors are congratulated by executives for pushing the envelope of concept and  originality, whilst all their creative achievements fall on deaf ears as millions get addicted to the game, and not its beautiful content.
 
I personally know of a few gamers, who would spend hours slowly exploring every nook and cranny of every fantasy game, soaking up the aesthetics, writing and sounds the genre has to offer, sadly, as for myself, I fall into in with the majority of gamers out there, instant gratification, instant loot, instant achievement.  How can we learn to appreciate Fantasy again the way it was meant to be appreciated?  How do you enhance your own immersion of Fantasy content, do you read books based on a game prior to playing it?  Do you not care how long you play a game for and instead focus on every detail of every texture and every piece of writing?  
 
It feels that the content is there for the taking, we just need to slow down in order to appreciate it.

Good lord, im getting amped for Dead Space 2,  
 
Only one problem, its $100 here in South Africa. Yep, you read that right, one hundred Dollars.  How do you justify spending a hundred bucks on any game.  Im all for turning a new leaf and support the developers, but God damn this is a bit tough.
 
What is the most you ever spent on a game? 
  
Do you think Dead Space 2 is worth $100?