My brain gets caught in a loop sometimes. Lately I have been waking up with the idea of soon to be purchased Samsung 650. What the hell happened to me? The first thought of my day is a fucking TV? Man. Whatever, I am willing to roll with it. The reason I am wasting your valued time is because this has gotten me thinking about games and movies and how they are effecting our dreams. There was a study done about how folks who watched black and white TV as children still in fact dream in black and white. Don’t quote me on this. I got this nugget from NPR and I am too lazy to find it on the net at the moment (ah illustrious blogging). This concept is directly related to an idea I had a few months back (sober I swear). I believe that the cinematography of films and the gameplay of video games are effecting the way we dream. I would argue that people who dreamt before the dawn of television never dreamt about themselves as a third person avatar, yet I dream this way all the time and would wager that a lot of game players do.

 Just the other day I was at Russ’s house and he was playing Call of Juarez (I know). Anyway, he was hiding in a bush or something and that image translated directly into a dream that I had last night. The content was different, as my dream was more post-apocalyptic, fascist government and high school reunion orientated, yet the image remained. I think this is an interesting concept that is worth exploring. I have even had dreams that are effected by the amount of lag I had back in the day when I was playing Counter Strike in college. I dismissed it as sleep deprived, drug induced dreams at the time, but now I am not so sure. The fact that visual media may be altering the way that we dream, and the way that we dream is altering visual media makes me smile. I have a thing for the ouroboros. Anyway, what say you? Is it bullshit? Common knowledge? Wacky bacon?

No, no I am kidding. I love the New Xbox Dashboard (NXE). In fact I just spent the last hour getting my Netflix queue in some kind of searchable order for my wife. My pleasure sadly does not translate into Gabe's (from Penny Arcade). He is pissed that the friends list "freezes." No, this is not "news," but I just wanted to tell you folks to be patient. I don't think the dash is freezing as much as it is loading your friend's avatars. I don't have too many online friends so mine takes about 10 seconds to load. I imagine that Gabe has more friends than virtual Jesus so it is taking seven days and seven nights to load them all.  There is no progress bar and there probably should be. Hell, this shouldn't even take more than a second or two to load, but it does. Be patient, don't throw your controller or turn off your console, go make a sandwich, maybe add some movies to your queue, and for the love of god, don't go play WoW. It is all those friends that got you into this mess in the first place.

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When they should be getting a full version of GT5 in the eagerly waiting racing gloves of driving sim lovers like myself, the eggheads at Polyphony are instead seeing how amazing they can make the parts of the game they already made look. By linking four PS3 together they can either make a huge image at 2160p (each machine takes on the duty of processing a quarter of the image) or lace together the 1080p images from the four to multiply the Frames Per Second rate to 240. Holy shit. Read more about this techy time-wasting and the party that ensued at the GT site. You'll have to scroll downpast the D-List celebs to get a more accurate description of what actually went on.

Long before Gran Turismo came along, there was Pole Position (mocked above by some smart-ass theater kids). Contra was exploding on our screens decades before Gears of War. Face-meltingly awesome games aren't a new concept. Entertainment Weekly would like to remind us all that pulse-quickening action was available as far back at the 80's. They put together a little gallery of their old favs. [EW.com]

You can play many of the games that EW is reminiscing about at Classic Games Arcade. They offer a ton of old-school titles you can play right in your browser window.

Well, it wasn't just a one time fling boys and girls. 7-Eleven is throwing there proverbial hat into the ring of game sales. This is a dangerous thing for me. I constantly find myself drunkenly buying things I regret the next day. But what was once chips, and frozen burritos will soon become "AAA" titles that I wouldn't buy in the harsh light of day. If you recall, 7-Eleven has broken the street date for every major title they have sold, here’s hoping this trend keeps up. I would much rather wait in line behind a hobo chugging Scope, than have to deal with the snarky staff at GameStop and their unearned air of confidence. Click here for the full story.

We are getting reports (i.e. a few of our friends are bitching to us) about the inability to save during a co-op game of Call of Duty: World at War. If you are like me, and you enjoy putting in hours of on the couch co-op gameplay, with burritos and Brooklyn Lager this is a big detraction for the game. It appears that the only way to gain replayable access to co-op campaign levels is by beating them in single player. Part of the fun of these games is the ability to share the experience with a friend. I for one found Gears of War 2 almost unplayable without a friend to laugh at the poor dialogue with. It's sad that Treyarch did such a piss poor job in handling the split screen co-op. Not only is the screen set up awkward and distracting, but now we have the fact that you can't even save during co-op. I don't think that I am in alone in saying "that is fucking retarded." Let's hope they fix this with a patch.

I like horror movies. In fact, I like them so much I challenge you to a horror movie duel with Kandarian Daggers. I know there has been lot of hubbub about running zombies and Simon "king of the fanboys" Pegg has his knickers in a bunch about just how far his belief can be suspended. We have some bad news for Grandpa Pegg, Left 4 Dead comes out today, and it is bringing the fastest fucking zombies I have ever seen. They aren't infected and they don't have rabies. They are just the good old zed word, and man are they fast, scary, and fun to shoot in the face with a shotgun. I understand the argument, the horror movie fan in me agrees with Mr. Pegg, but it's like arguing against the rain man, you are only doing to so you can be heard doing it, you aren't going to change a thing. It's like King Lear baby.

I have only played the demo of Left 4 Dead so far, and I would recommend that you do the same before you run out and buy it. The game itself looks like it can get pretty repetitive. Which begs the question, how many times can you shoot a zombie in the face before it gets old? The answer is of course a resounding "until every last one of those rotten stenches are dead!"

Valve looks like they hit another one out of the park with this one. They took a simple concept, much like they did in Portal, and made a potential classic out of it. If you are not going to play Left 4 Dead with friends though, I recommend renting it and not buying it. This is multiplayer gaming at its finest. Rest in Peace Shadowrun.

Street Fighter IV has been dated for the PS3 and 360 in the States. You will be able to pick up your copy Tuesday February 17th. That's right, the same day as my father's birthday, it's so sweet of you to remember. I would appreciate an email on the 13th from someone so I can get a card out in time. I was initially pretty indifferent to this game and slightly miffed that it was such a nostalgic cash in, but the more videos I see, the more I am getting excited for it. Head over to Wired and check out the video of Gouken. I am already bobbing my head to the tunes and biting the top of my wrist from the undoubted frustration I will be in when I get hit with that double fire ball.

25 years ago today, the 13th of November, 1983, a Jersey teen named Scott Safran borrowed a quarter from his mom and set the record high score for Asteroids. That record still stands. Asteroids is fucking hard. Read more about Scott over at Wired.

Witty title huh? I was racking my brain trying to think of something that showed some panache and was coming up with squat. All it took was a sip of corporate coffee, one letter and bam, a clever and appropriate title was born. Yes. I typically write the title of my posts first. I am more of a desert before dinner guy. Not that I'm not enjoying myself right now swimming in the meat and potatoes. Introductory tangent aside, some Halo 3: Recon information has leaked to the general public via the December issue of Game Informer.

For those of you expecting a full 10-14 hour game, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Halo 3: Recon is going to be about the length of a Half Life to Episode, which is to say 3-5 hours, depending on your ability to admire architecture and character designs. Joe Staten from Bungie assures your angry, recently fisted wallet that they "do not view this as a $60 title." Reading between the lines, you can expect this sucker to be priced at 49.99. My faith in corporations abusing their rabid fan-base would be shaken if it’s any cheaper. They are even holding a string with the Halo 3 Recon armor in front of your glazed over twitching retinas, praying for an impulse buy.

Fox news, ever the bastion of level headed information, has recently warned parents against the dangers of online gaming. According to Sgt. Tim Stadler with the Tulsa Police Department’s cybercrime unit "people have to understand is that child molesters have to groom children. They will start out green, just basically playing the game with the child, communicating with them, telling them how good they are at the game. Then the next step is to obtain a picture of the child and slowly work their way to where their confidence is there and they want to meet to play a game." We here at 8bit take child molestation seriously, and you should too. We have decided to put together a list of how to identify an online pedophile so you can block communications with him or her.

Five Ways to Identify a Molester Online

1. Their screen name

Be weary of screen names with coy names and excessive numbers. For example "kiddieluver325871 sexyplaydate4U5253 and Imgoingtofuckyourchild3117 are all names that you should avoid.

2. Their Gamerscore

Take a look at the games that they have been playing. Cars, Surfs Up, Open Season, Avatar, Eragon should all be red flags. This is a big win because even if the person is not a child molester, they are an achievement whore and you will want to avoid them just as much.

3. Their Skill

If you are better at playing the game than they are, just call them a newb and ignore them. Online gaming is no place to help people. If anyone asks you for help, or compliments your playing you should consider them a pedophile. People who respect your skill will try and molest you, only trust people who claim that you are a cheap camping little bitch with a high voice that spawn kills.

4. Their Gaming Picture

Anybody with a Smurfs related gamer pic or any cartoon from the 80's should be avoided. This demonstrates their aloofness from society and their need to relive their childhood by literally raping yours.

5. Uno

Anybody that asks you if you want to play Uno (with or without your camera) is probably a pedophile. Stay away from online Uno, or any other game that someone can play with one hand and a mouth full of amyl nitrate.

Well, we hope this list was helpful. Also, parents, if you think your child might get molested by an online gamer, you may want to talk to your child about the dangers of meeting strangers online and perhaps set some ground rules about where or when they can play their games. I was lucky; there was no online gaming when I grew up. We just had to worry about every blue van with no windows that drove by the playground and killer bees.

Click here for Fox's attempt at fear mongering news coverage

Most people would just use a razor to shave, but no, not Keith. He uses a Gears of War 2 Lancer.

Electronic Arts! What the fuck do you think you are doing!? I mean come the fuck on. Original IP's? When did you hit corporate puberty and realize that original IP's are pretty? I know, you are just going to rape them to death later on in life and wear their skin around the house, but I must say that the two IP's you have given birth two this year are truly great. First we had Dead Space which the children ate up like razor blade Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and now we have Mirror's Edge which is promising to be the most innovative first person perspective game in the past several years. I have my eye on you EA, I fully expect you to milk the hell out of your new found audience with micro-transactions, or I don't think our relationship as I know it will last.

Mirror's Edge is truly a blast to play. If you have not downloaded the demo yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out. I know the games are dropping from the sky like men and you may think that Mirror's Edge is just one too many. I am here to say, just give the demo a try, if you like it (and I would surprised if you didn’t), Christmas is around the corner. I know Gears 2, Fallout 3, and Little Big Planet are all run out and buy games and there is no hype machine behind Mirror's Edge but it is an IP that deserves to be supported. It would be a shame to see this type of first person platformer not get a fair shake by the gaming public. Mirror's Edge fulfills the wish that FPS cut scenes have promised. No longer do we have to feel like we are driving a Cadillac with a gun, or worse a Tie Fighter in Rebel Assault. We finally have a first person game that plays as smoothly as a Prince of Persia title. Mirror’s Edge is going to be a game you experience, not play.

I don't know what feels worse, that horrible guilt ridden feeling I get after I leave a strip club, or waiting in a greasy line in front of my local GameStop for a midnight release. You guessed it, your humble blogger sacrificed sleep and pride last night to pick up Gears of War 2 at midnight. I left my house and about 11:00, deciding to pick up some butts to hopefully mask the smell of French fries, energy drinks and sexual frustration that was bound to be the line. I get to the counter of a 7-11 and there is a stack of Gears staring at me behind the counter. Alas, I pre-ordered mine with money down at GameStop, money that I know I would have to fight to get back. So I suck it up and head to the train, trying to convince myself that the Gold Hammerburst is worth a hour and a half not playing the game and the inconvenience to standing with my dick out in Brookline (Spoiler: It wasn't).

The line is what I expected. I was probably one of the oldest people in the line. It hurt. I closed my eyes and inhaled picturing my wife in bed, the cat purring near her thigh, the old days when I just considered myself knowledgeable about books, music and films and not the cummed in corpse of gaming. The smell of French fries was unbearable. Conversations about Fallout suddenly bring me back to reality and then a funny thing happened. I stopped hating everyone around me, and I started...conversing with them. The free form jazz of gaming conversation took hold and we just riffed off of the excitement of the moment. My hate subsided. And for all their white heads, dyed hair and failed exams...these are still good people. Honest, hard working, salt of the earth, blue balled people.

GameStop itself was fairly organized, more so than I was expecting considering all the hate I spew their way. They weren't the enemy tonight, I was. A pompous little blogger ashamed of his desires and spitting virtual vitriol at strangers. I walked into this experience thinking this was my final midnight release. I don't know if I can honestly say that anymore. Oh, by the way. Gears 2 is great. For our full review read that last line eight or nine times.