Giantbomb has a way of getting me hyped up for games and they practically made me buy Street Fighter 4 and while it was technically great it wasn't for me. So when I started being drawn in to Starcraft 2 by them I said to myself I would not buy it. However, my friend Andy (Takedown50) did not resist and bought the special edition resulting in me playing is free trial all day today. I really don't think I can resist and when the trial runs out no doubt I will buy it. Putting those codes into the special edition was a stroke of genius on Blizzards part and no doubt it will hook many more weak minded people like myself.

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I have just sat down and played a few hours of Red Dead and I realise a lot of you have already played but I will tell you how I feel non the less. I love how the game looks, great voice acting and so far decent story. A couple of times I had trouble with my horse with it not coming when whistled or just wandering off as well as getting stuck behind fences it could normally jump. I also managed to kill it by riding it into a coach. The other thing is the game can seem overwhelming at times with a lot of mechanics being introduced in the corner of the screen when you need to be concentrating on something else. The cover system also seems to have issues as I often found myself moving round a rock when I simply wanted to look around. Its clear that this game has issues but so far I am loving it especially for the random encounters with bandits etc. I will report back once I have finished the game with a full review but I am not going to rush.

This year at E3 I was probably most impressed by Nintendo's up and coming line up. The Wii and DS were among some of the most innovating consoles in history and the 3DS looks to continue this trend. However, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the announced games (which don't get me wrong look great) simply go back to old fashioned side scrolling. When I think how ground breaking mario 64 was it seems like where nintendo could be pushing the boundaries with motion controls they have simply given up and gone back to side scrolling.  
 
I am kind of torn on this myself really so what do you think. Are Nintendo bringing back the side scroller in new and interesting ways or have they simply given up on motion controls and are trying to salvage their gaming reputation.

This week I finished my exams for the year and despite making my glider project next week I am done at Uni for the year. With this new free time despite getting needles shoved in my arm I have mainly been playing some video games. First thing is I played a few demo's mainly split second and blur. I wasn't a fan of blur mainly because it seems pretty much like Mario kart which I love but it just doesn't seem as fun with the more gritty realistic feel it doesn't make me smile in the same way the cutesy Mario characters do. Split second seems really cool although I imagine once you know all the power plays it could feel repetitive. My main game is Alan Wake and I am probably about mid way through at the moment and it seems brilliant. The atmosphere is amazing when you wander through the murky woods jumping at shadows and the graphics look great in the dark. I love the gameplay the addition of light really mixes up the standard 3rd person shooter formula and I felt pretty bad ass taking out the taken. Story seems pretty solid although not quite as gripping as I expected either way I am looking forward to continuing the story and expect a review in a few days. 

My xbox returned from the magical world of German xbox fixers the other day and I have been ignoring it in favour for revision but today I finished my last exam. Plan is finally play Alan Wake which I bought the day my xbox broke then I think pick up Red Dead and Arkham Asylum when I get back from climbing Kilimanjaro. Has anybody else got games they have been saving for after exams or to keep them occupied during the summer?

I am currently a student snowed under with perhaps the most intense course at my university but I am also an avid gamer. Right now in my room I have my Xbox 360 trying to stay alive despite lacking the ability to read most discs. Luckily at the moment the game that's keeping my habit up is the Halo:Reach multiplayer beta and I have to say its doing a good job. Despite the small scope of the beta getting to grips with the new armour abilities and weapons has me entertained for now. Halo has always been my go to multiplayer game but I am a lot more excited about the Reach campaign than the multiplayer and I guess I will have to wait for E3 for that. Either way they seem to have got the balance right of keeping it up to date and still Halo. What's next for me well I am currently making my way through the endurance run and twin peaks ( which I love) and guess what Alan Wake is out next week and I am really excited to play it so expect some impressions and a review when I find the time to play it.

I spent this weekend working ahead to so I can play Reach today. Just put it in my xbox to discover it has stopped reading discs. Occasionally it will read it but very occasionally I am so frustrated I am kinda hoping it will red ring soon so Microsoft will fix it. I know this is a common story but man I was lookin forward to the beta.

I wonder how many people are going to blog today just to get the quest. I have to say thats what I am doing but I love the quest system I have spent all day doing as much of it as I can. I now have normal Giantbomb stuff, 2 endurance runs as well as quests. I am going to have to do some serious managements to stop me becoming a wierdo who does nothing but Giantbomb or I could just stop sleeping. Either way thank you giantbomb but also I hate you.

In july I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Childreach International. The thing is in the next 8 weeks I need to raise £2300 for the charity. If anyone has done some fundraising before and raise large amount fast I need some ideas. On the other hand if you are feeling generous head over to www.virginmoneygiving.com/thomasofford and help me out.