And now what about video game blogging on the Xanga Network? Is it, pardon the pun, Left 4 Dead? Thankfully, no. Mancouch will very soon be featuring a tab for gaming content, much in the way Lovelyish has its Beauty, Advice and Style Court tabs. The current HardestLevel staff will still be writing for this new tab. For the sake of a video game analogy, it's like pressing the reset button on your console, or perhaps better yet, like playing a game on a newer-gen system that has backwards compatibility. There still will be a haven for video game blogging on Xanga!

I'd like to give my thanks to everyone I've worked with, if you're reading: Alex, Andrew, Jim, Justin, Konrad, Matt, Tanner, Tiffany, Tim and Yuliya. I'd also like to thank the dragon and the knights for being faithful mascots to our little webpage. We really should've given you fellas names, now that I think of it. Finally, and most importantly, all of us at HardestLevel would like to thank all of you readers and contributors who supported our site, our writing, and made it into a community. After all, that is the essence of sites like Xanga: the community.

In all, thanks for the memories and I hope you'll continue to keep writing and supporting all the destination sites, including our new home. May you have a Happy New Year, a Happy New Decade, and may you never stop gaming.

Sincerely,

Joe A.K.A. awinnerisyou

I dropped by my girlfriend's on Sunday when she came home after spending Christmas with family. I planned on bringing over my new PS3 Slim for some Little Big Planet and Tekken 6 before I left to see her but ultimately decided against it. Eventually this turned out to be a great decision.

We ended up playing Scrabble when we got to her house, and it was a long, grueling match that had us cutting each other off at every turn and using up almost all the letter pieces. It was a close game, though my girlfriend ended up winning (yes people, this is why I have a BA in English!) We really enjoyed ourselves. But in my mind, I couldn't help but think about the very nature of games in the process. As a whole, games were originally devised by mankind as a way of passing time when there was little else to do. But they were created with the purpose of stimulating the mind, bringing people closer, and serving as a generally harmless outlet for competitive urges.

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To me, It's absolutely no secret that PC gaming completely dominates console gaming in almost every genre save a few. Less lag, more (and cheaper) games, better graphics, more downloadable content - both official and player-created; it's generally a better experience. At least in my opinion.


What is the one place where PC gaming falls flat on it's ass?

Online. Multiplayer.

Sure. We PC gamers have the advantage of dedicated and private servers, and even larger matches in general (though I remain firm that 64 player grenade fests are overkill)

Here's my problem though: There is no repercussions for quitting in any game I own save one, Guild Wars, where quitting out of a PvP match gives you "dishonor" which can translate into a five minute no-join penalty. (I'm sure there are others out there though, obviously) However, many players called this too strict. After all, you might have to leave for something legit - you know, your wife having a baby or something. But the way I see it, this is a great system. The penalty is not too harsh, but it discourages you from leaving and entering a new match just cause "we were going to lose anyway" - it forces you to stick to the end unless you're sure you want to leave, and that the five minute penalty is shorter than the five potential minutes left in the match. It also leaves no lasting penalty, in case you had a power outage or something similar (in my case, my PC overheats occasionally). More Here...