It's been a long time since my last blog entry. We've been hard at work tweaking the new GS and adding new features. The latest of which (and probably the coolest) is the brand new video section. Check it out by clicking here or just click the "Videos" link above in the menu.

Also, I got that Samsung LCD display I was talking about a while ago (the 226BW). All I have to say is that it's great. If you're looking for a good monitor, look no further. It has amazing picture, resolution and not to mention it's 22''. I hooked up my old monitor as well, so now I have a dual-monitor setup, which is really nice. I still want to try hooking up my Xbox 360 to the new monitor just for kicks.

I've been playing Mass Effect quite a bit lately (actually on-and-off since I don't have a lot of time to even play) . I'm getting pretty close to beating it. I'm on the last level I think. The game was good, but to be honest, I was expecting a little more.

I downloaded the Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack today and I'm somewhat disappointed. Not only were the maps a little on the expensive side (800 MS Points to be exact), but they were kind of mediocre. Standoff was the only one that really stood out to me. It's a great map. Foundry is okay, but I guess it will only show its true value once people start getting creative with it in the Forge. Rats Nest, on the other hand, pretty much sucks, and it's quickly becoming apparent throughout the Halo 3 community. If you don't feel like shelling out the 800 Points, you can wait until this Spring to download them for free. Bungie also made clear that this is around the time that the next map pack would release.

I'm also planning on upgrading my PC pretty soon. I made a list of my current specs and of the stuff that I plan on upgrading to in the forum. Check it out here. I'm planning on getting the new 8800GTS that NVIDIA just dropped. I might even SLI a couple down the road. I'll also be picking up a quad core to go along with that. Crysis, here I come!

Wow, it's been a really long week. The GS team has been working tirelessly day and night to get the new website up, and it finally went live today. We're really excited about the new features and plans we have for down the road. My personal favorite of the shiny new features is the blog system.

I'm sure some people will be upset that everything was lost (mainly their post count for the forum), but we felt that it was a necessary sacrafice and that this will be much better in the long run. There are still some bugs left to squash both in the forum and in the website itself, so we need everyone's help to report them in the Report Bugs thread. My main concern right now is that the "mark all topics read" button in the forum function properly.

For something completely off topic, I picked up Mass Effect last Tuesday, and honestly, I haven't had much of a chance to really get into it (getting the new site up was my primary concern). However, from what I've played, it's fantastic. I'm not a huge RPG fan aside from a few games like Oblivion, but this game is definitely my kind of RPG. It's focus on dialog is really cool with how you can choose everything your character says, and each choice has a different impact. I'm looking forward to getting deeper into the game. I still have to beat Call of Duty 4 as well (which is also a really good game), but I don't think I have much left to finish.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow (...looks at clock...) today, and I'm looking forward to that. Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays, for reasons only known to fat Americans.

Oh, I almost forgot. I plan on ordering this Samsung monitor I saw on Newegg for my PC soon (as in before the end of November, so I can get the $40 rebate). It's the Samsung 226BW . It's 22'', has a 2 ms response time and a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1. I think it looks pretty good, and it's received very good reviews. Can't wait to get it.

Anyways, enjoy the new GS and happy Thanksgiving!