Everyone talks about the big hangover received after attending a major E3 party. However, for someone who doesn’t drink like I do (well, alcohol at least), it was not hard for me to be hung over from the party, but when you consider I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before because we found our hotel so late, and spending the next 16 hours on exhibits and parties, not even a case of Bawls (heavily caffeinated soda water) would help me overcome Day 1. Fortunately I was able to get a decent night’s sleep in preparation for Day … Continue reading Day Two – Party Rolls On →

I am writing this report of Day 1 at exactly 12 midnight, exactly 15 hours after seeing the first exhibit on my E3 schedule. Why so late you may ask? It was because I attended my first ever Microsoft XBox party. I will admit though it was a little below expectations. While getting out for a couple hours after the expo was a nice diversion, and it was a nice way for me to play the latest XBox titles without a massive crowd, the rest of the setting was very crammed, the music was extremely loud (I could hear it … Continue reading Midnight, Day 1 →

The week before E3 should not start off like this. At first I expected to write a very convincing preview for next week’s big event, but wouldn’t you know it, I get home from a small trip out of town only to find out that my computer will not power on. Turns out that during a heavy storm the day before my power supply ended up being fried. And if that wasn’t enough, when I wanted to take out my tensions on a game of NHL 2002, I inserted the disc into my PS2, only to be greeted with a … Continue reading Pre-E3 2002 →

God how I hate these slow times. For the last few weeks there has been very little for me to try out. Most of my time has been spent continuing my High Heat season, as well as playing some old classics that I still have yet to finish. I even decided to go back to Madden and start a new season. But still, with only 2 1/2 weeks until E3, this drought is starting to kill me. In fact, this drought is even affecting my writing, as it is getting harder and harder for me to find new subjects to … Continue reading Slow Down Partner →

My name is Todd, and I am a recovering fanboy. Support Group: "Hi Todd!" Maybe I should be a bit more specific. I am a recovering Sega fanboy. After the events that have occurred over the past year and more, both bad (the backstabbing of the Dreamcast, NFL 2K2 being overshadowed for once by Madden, taking away the Dreamcast's swan song Shenmue 2) and good (Jet Grind Future on the Xbox, and VF's return to glory with VF4) I realized that it would be best for me to treat Sega like any other company that we receive products from for … Continue reading Recovering From A Sega Bender →

(this means you Big N) General Hardcore to Nintendo: Make some original stuff ASAP! I find it hard to believe that after just one commentary, I am already receiving tons of feedback, both written and verbal. While most of the comments I have been receiving have been positive, I also have received a mess of hate mail regarding my stand against IGN. Admittedly they are mostly from fanboys who think that IGN is the best thing to come out in gaming since the Virtual Boy (and yes, that is what they have said). As far as I'm concerned with those … Continue reading Make Something Original! →

Hello, I’m Todd Hargosh, but you can call me The General. I’ll be writing about the hardcore side of gaming each week, opposite GiN Playmate Chella. So every other week you can check in and read my battle plans. You won’t always agree with what I have to say, unless of course you are a hardcore gamer too. But I will always shoot straight with you, and you know that when I say something, I mean it. So watch out toes, cause there is going to be some squishing going on. Ok, onward to the first Battle Plans. You know, … Continue reading Salute! →

XSux"XLax"X-anything derogatory. Until last week this has been my opinion about Microsoft’s black and green monster. I had my reasons to feel this way too. The initial presentation at E3 couldn’t be described as anything but disappointing. In addition, the fact that Microsoft originally forced stores to bundle their systems with extra junk was not a turn-on to me. Sega’s final betrayal of Dreamcast owners by making Shenmue II an Xbox exclusive didn’t help either. (Although now DC owners can be lucky enough to import a European copy to play here) Not to mention the fact that I was being … Continue reading Fearing The X →

Originally this commentary was going to be entitled "What the hell is up with EA lately?" However, some shocking events taking place the Tokyo Game Show have caused me to do a minor change. I will still go into the sudden change (for the better) of what Electronic Arts has been up to lately, but I must begin with some bad news. As I predicted back at E3 this year, and as Ken noted in his last week’s corner column, Sega was full of hot air when they claimed that they would still support the Dreamcast until first quarter 2002. … Continue reading Tokyo Express →

With the US launch of the Game Boy Advance, and last fall’s launch of the PlayStation 2, it seems that all retailers have to follow a series of horrifying trends in order to increase their profits. Look at the hell I went through last year trying to get my hands on a PlayStation 2, eventually winning the right to buy one in a lottery. Now I ended up having to go through the same thing in order to procure a Game Boy Advance! Right after returning from E3, I decided I was going to own a GBA, and I went … Continue reading Bundles, holdouts, and sellouts →