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Sitting in the airport in Detroit is a fairly funereal affair. No, funeral would imply activity, this is more like a wake. People who don’t know each other are gathered together, all dealing with the same difficult emotional baggage. Waking up early enough for a 6:30am flight is difficult enough, but going through security is a herculean task even for the most stalwart traveler. All single travelers are silent, with the only noise coming from a man adjusting his wheelchair. Then with a wave of energy and cheer enough to fill all other travelers with instant disdain comes a group, presumably from a school or church, all wearing the same happy shirts. I’ve decided that they’re a cult.
My flight from Detroit is short, as I debark in Memphis Tennessee. It’s only about two hours, but I know the time will pass much more quickly. Hopefully my time in the Memphis airport will be eventful. I begin to wonder if anyone else on this flight will be going where I’m going, or even know what it is. Videogames are like professional wrestling. While a fan would surely be insanely excited at the prospect of meeting Ricky ”TheDragon” Steamboat, no one outside the sport even knows who he is. The same can be said I’m sure of Shiguero Miyamoto. Developers aren’t stars, and to anyone outside the core audience, these aren’t videogames, they’re toys.
Still, I brim with the excitement of the trip. Off to get a muffin before the flight starts. I’d hate to be hungry the whole way there.

So, I'm not sure if it was basketball on Monday, kayaking on Sunday or just cracking my back in a weird way as a workmate theorizes, but my back kerploded again. Only a few days before E3 I'm in some pretty severe pain, but luckily, my job is nice and flexible(yeah, I don't get paid for writing yet... not enough to move to full time anyway). I did a lot of work from home which was nice, and managed to get in to work today. It's been a rough one! I should be fully recovered by the first press conference, which I imagine will be incredibly uncomfortable, seating wise. Don't it figure?

Picked up Dungeon Runners on Tuesday, and I'm actually having a ton of fun with it. It's somewhere between Gauntlet and Diablo, but not quite up to the par of either. It really doesn't matter though, since it's fun, and cheap. I paid for a box copy to get some super cool member bonuses, which is nice. The Bling Gnome that picks up gold and autosells items is invaluable. The game's pretty funny too, which is a huge bonus. I'm only level 7 at the moment, but will relay more as I advance.

Hancock, not so great. The following review contains spoilarz.

E3 is fast approaching. Is 'fast approaching' a phrase that's used way too often? Maybe I just say it a lot...

Anyway, E3 is coming up quickly and I'm pretty jonesed. It'll be my first year attending, and my schedule is insanely busy. Starting Sunday night at the Kotaku party, and lasting until late Thursday, I'm busy all week. Friday and Saturday will be time to attempt to see friends that have moved out that way, but will likely be filled with a lot of writing and emailing. Amazingly, the next week it will be a relief to do something as simple as my full time job.

Reviews are up for Get Smart as well as Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. Good stuff!

I've posted a new column at Xbox Focus about the Xbox 360, and how it handles simple things like saved games. I've entitled it "Next Gen My Ass" and I think it gets the point across pretty well.

E3 is coming up and my schedule is filling nicely. Fallout 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed are my most anticipated games going into it, but who knows what surprises await!

I've also played through Dracula: Origin and done a review for Ace Gamez. It's neat and all, but really, if this is all the adventure genre has to offer , I'm okay with not seeing it again. Luckily, Sam & Max is around to prove that point and click adventure titles don't all have to be frustrating and outdated. I just wish others would pick up on it.

It's not the money. It's not like adventure games look bad, and I love the low system requirements, its' the one thing they're doing right. How hard is it, though, to put things where I can see them, support widescreen, make some decent puzzles, and for god sakes let me quicksave. If there's no autosave, I want to be able to F6 to save and F7 to load, none of this old school 'select a save slot' nonsense. If your game has the same save system as Daggerfall and it wasn't made in 1996, then we have a problem.

Truly, I have arrived. I received the first piece of what will inevitably be a great deal of hate mail. Not that my views are particularly offensive or disparaging, of course. I assumed that when it came, it would come from the "Top 10 360 Games for Your Girlfriend" list, which garnered much unwarranted accusations of sexism. Seriously, people were upset because I recommended that a girl who had never played a game before in her life may want to start playing Rock Band on easy.

Alas, no, the hate mail seems to have spawned from a rather innocent preview of Fable II. In the preview I stated that the fate of the game really rests on Peter Molyneux and whether he can live up to his promises. This is a pretty typical sentiment, as Molyneux has consistently over promised on what his games can do, especially with the original Fable. So while I do feel that it's a bit tacky to trot this sort of thing out, being my first opportunity to do so, I feel I have the right to indulge, just this once.

From John
"screw you man fable 2 will be amazing. molyneaux has demonstrated everything he said. you are a cumm guzzling astronaut. just remember, forskin is not a chew toy."

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this, as I am both complimented, lied to, and given what appears to be a fairly helpful tip. I'll take it as it goes.

screw you man fable 2 will be amazing. - I fully expect that it will be, I was a big fan of the first and am looking forward to the sequel.

molyneaux has demonstrated everything he said - I would expect such a rabid defender of his to spell his name properly. Aside from this point, no, he certainly hasn't demonstrated everything he said will be in the game. He has offered glimpses and renditions as well as the usual Peter Molyneux stories.

you are a cumm guzzling astronaut - I don't believe that I have ever guzzled anything in my life, including "cumm". Also, I'm fairly certain that without the proper degrees, I'm unfit for the job of astronaut, but would love the opportunity.

just remember, forskin is not a chew toy - This could be read one of two ways. Either "For skin is not a chew toy", which sounds rather Shakespearean, or "Foreskin is not a chew toy" which is probably good advice but confounds me as to the neccessity of the advice.

So thank you John, for making me truly feel that I'm doing my job properly. Your email has been spell and grammar checked and sent back.