Just finished Far Cry 2 today, already started a new game so I could do a few things differently (not let my buddy die when I mistakenly thought the mission had already been completed).  Between Fallout 3 this week and Left 4 Dead not too long after, I probably won't end up getting around to it anytime soon.

I'd choose Duke Nukem as my commander in chief and Destroy all Humans as his running mate.  I think their forgiegn and domestic policy would be unparalled in it's brilliance.

The single-player goes without a hitch but the online...yikes.  I've only been able to get a few games, they usually end up crashing, and I haven't been able to get a full 4 person game going yet.  Finding a game takes a lot of patience plus usually a couple console restarts, and even then sometimes nothing works so I'll end up playing single player instead.

I have a Wii?  

no, no I don't.  I did, however, permanently bind two gamecubes together with some staplers and copious amounts of flypaper.  When I close my eyes and flail my arms around wildly while Double Dash plays in the background though, I swear it's just like the real thing.

So I can't read reviews from the enthusiast media anymore.  I just can't.  Whether it's GI saying GTAIV is perfection, or EGM changing their scores to grades and then giving B's to absolutely everything and hoping nobody notices, I just see no point in them anymore.  I wish demos were more prevalent.  If every game had one, there'd be no need for reviews at all, but as it is, the enthusiast media isn't writing reviews for users anymore, but for developers and publishers, and it's so obvious that it's like getting slapped in the face everytime I turn to the review section of a given magazine.

So I don't read them anymore.  At all.  If it weren't for podcasts, I don't know if I'd ever see or hear an honest opinion from a voice in the public eye, and that's sad.  What's even more sad though, is that these reviewers don't seem to realize that you can't write reviews for the publisher and developer.  It has to be for the audience, or else you're going to find yourself with no audience at all.  Those developers and publishers whos interests seem to be held so closely to reviewer's bosoms should also realize that sometimes mistakes are made.  If your game's sales aren't up to expectations, especially when it's a previously successful storied franchise, chances are you went wrong somewhere in the concept-design phase. 

I wonder if honesty will ever return to the media, and not just in games journalism, but journalism as a whole.  Do you not realize that your audience knows when they are being intentionally decieved or misled, and that your attempts to further confuse and distort the truth only reflects badly on you and your controlling interests?  Or is it that there are motives more important to you than trust and reliability and truth?  The secret, The play, and The centerpiece of each individual's psyche are in disharmony, and every attempt I see to address this is simply another spike driven into the heart of reality where meets perception and confidence.  Do us no favors, say no to the microchip, don't forget to tell your mom you love her, and try not to drool all over yourself when you finally realize life is bigger than human-meanness.