To blog, or not to blog...

WIKIPEDIA describes a 'blog' as being a 'website which provides commentary or news on a particular subject'.
The University of Oxford, responsible for providing us with - so it seems - the only real dictionary in the world, has it down as a 'personal record that people put on their website to give an account of their activities and their opinions'.
Personally I describe a blog as being an 'opportunity'.
You see, what was once called a diary entry is now called a 'blog'. In my eyes a blog is a rant, an opinion or indeed a tribute. It's everything the creator wants it to be, and indeed nothing if it's misunderstood.
The influx of bloggers on the web has created a whole new generation of people who think:
a). Not only that they can write; but b). They are writing something that is of interest to people.
It has also bred a whole bunch of loonies with a grudge, but we won't go into that now.
The majority of people, it seems, are egotistical - or bored in equal amounts - and have nothing better to do than to spurt out jargon about nothing in particular.
Now at this point admittedly, your minds are thinking 'pot', 'calling', 'kettle' and 'black' but I urge you to consider... I'm getting paid to do this.
I'm far from being a great writer, I still stumble on spellings and, even on a cloudy day, I don't really enjoy ranting.
But this small space entitled 'Game On' allows me to throw some thoughts out there, share experiences and ultimately enlighten people in some shape or form.
I'm not told to do it. I do it because I enjoy it.
And that's the thing about the internet nowadays. I reckon there must be something of interest for every single person in the world. Like grains of sand on a beach, one person's blog will be read, and enjoyed, by at least one person.
Wikipedia believes there are 112 million blogs being tracked online.
I'm still yet to find that one person who enjoys mine. Most blogs gain comments. Mine does not. Game On has generated two comments so far... and they were both colleagues taking the mickey about something.
What do they say? One person's rubbish is another man's treasure... I'll leave you to decide.

Here's the best of the latest game releases:

Title: Asterix at the Olympic Games
Platform: Nintendo Wii
RRP: £34.99
Hit count: 3/5

Review: First things first, when this game landed on my desk I immediately put it in a draw and thought 'I'll pick that up when I'm bored'.
Games which tie in with films are very often pants. Not disrespect, I'm sure every effort is made to do it justice... it's just that they don't work.
Transformers was a prime example. Although the film was awful too.
Anyhow, with that in mind I found myself already hating the title. But, within seconds my mind had changed.
For once it appears the developers have got it right. It looks the business and some thought has gone into its make up.
It is a game that you can actually enjoy playing. As well as the main storyline of Asterix's (and Obelix's for that matter) appearance in the games, you can try your hand at a number of mini games which are all fairly enjoyable without going over the top.
The main fun is had in running round bashing the Romans. But with the mini games and the main story to play as well, it's actual worth the money and the effort.
The Wii controllers are also used well with the ability to pick up a Roman with the Wiimote before using him as a whip to attack other Roman's by shaking the nunchuck. Okay, it's not real life is it? But is sure is fun.


Title: Army of Two
Platform: Xbox 360
RRP: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5

Review: Following in the wake of Gears of War and Call of Duty is no easy task but Army of Two holds it's own.
Alright it will never be as good as the two former but it is pretty nifty in its ingenuity and gameplay.
As the manufacturer's description states, co-op gameplay is no longer an option with this title. It is a necessity.
Like the title suggests, Army of Two sees you take hold of not one but two characters working as a team in various modern day scenarios.
At the very least it's a decent shoot em up. But it's got so much more to offer.
When you shoot people the two dudes high five each other. And they swear! Like all good shooters you can upgrade your weapons and bling your kit to the max.
It is hard to see any flaws in this title.
But the bestest best thing about it? The ability to take it to Xbox Live with a partner. Rock on!

The end of paperbacks...?

VIDEO they say, killed the radio star... and it seems a new gadget could pave the way for the end of paperback books.
Internet giant Amazon has just launched its latest gizmo known as the 'Kindle'.
This handy electronic book e-reader is a handheld gadget which allows users to download book titles from an Amazon library boasting 100,000 titles.
Slightly larger than a Gameboy and actually around the same size as a hardback book, the Kindle has a large grey screen and several buttons to allow you to flip the page forward or backward.
Dubbed by many as the iPod of reading, it is apparently easy to use and it will eventually connect to the web in much the same way as today's mobile phone or iTouch.
While I can almost hear the groans "I don't like change" from the older generation among us, I'll ask just one question.
Is anyone really surprised?
Technology is moving at such a pace now that it's difficult to gauge how anything will not be outdated within weeks, months or years.
I mean, they're now giving away laptops with phone packages?! (Further evidence of a tech world gone mad...) Anyway while the Kindle surely won't completely replace paperback and hardback books it is inevitable that it will change how we read and the whole process of how we go about obtaining a book.
I mean, the prospect of being able to use your credit card to get a copy of the new Harry Potter book within seconds of its release without leaving your home... the possibility is simply staggering.
According to research, in Japan around 50 per cent of the best-selling novels in the latter part of 2007 were originally released as page-per-day serials sent directly to mobile phones.
I'm afraid to say the writing has been on the wall for sometime and that the change is not only possible, it is happening before our very eyes.
To date the Kindle has only been released in the US priced at around $400. While Amazon's e-reader might not be the only one on the market, it could well be the (so far) most widely recognised and easiest to use. The jury's still out on this one I'm afraid.
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle.
Meanwhile last month another epic store battle ended with Toshiba announcing it would stop manufacturing HD-DVD products such as HD-DVD players in favour of Blu-Ray. Toshiba's announcement, which had been widely predicted in the manufacturing world, cemented forecasters vision that Blu-Ray would be the preferred platform for the High Definition future.
For PlayStation 3 console owners, the news came as a welcome relief given the platform's built-in Blu-Ray player. For those with HD-DVD players I can't help but feel that it's money wasted.