My workspace is a mess, and I show it to you. Oh, and I blab a lot.

I love when Halloween comes around because I am a huge fan of horror films. This is the time when I dust off my horror movie collection and pop in a few to watch. I love being scared and not knowing who is going to die next. The thing with scary movies, now a days, is that they have become a joke. The movie industry does not care to create horror films that are interesting and scary. Most horror films are just torture porn flicks, and I have to say that I am not a huge fan of torture porn. I love the suspense and not knowing what is behind the door or what is beyond that corner, so I decided to create a list that showcases my favorite horror films in the 21st century (so far):


1) The Descent
One of the best horror films in the past 20 years. I watch this movie about twice a year still, so go see this film people.
2) Orfanato, El (The Orphanage)
One of my favorite del Toro movies. Unlike any horror film you will ever see.
3) 28 Days Later
I am a sucker for zombie films, and this one is no exception.
4) The Hills Have Eyes
I thought I would never say this, but the The Hills Have Eyes remake is better than the original movie.
5) Shaun of the Dead
I know people will say that this is a comedy, not a horror movie, but this film does such a great job at creating horror elements and making fun of the genre.
6) Final Destination
A movie with a cool concept and fun to watch. Has some pretty neat death scenes as well.
7) The Others
The ending to this movie is a trip and I love me some Nicole Kidman.
8) Saw
I know I wrote that I am not a huge fan of torture porn films, but I really do like the first Saw movie. I also liked Saw 2, but the rest of the Saw series has gone down hill and has become a joke.
9) The Ring
I believe that the Japaneses version is better but when I saw this film in theaters I was very surprised, because it turned out to be pretty good. The best part is in the last scene of the film. I will not give it away, but it spooked the hell out of me.
10) Dawn of the Dead
Like I said before, I am a sucker for zombie movies, and if Romero is behind it then count me in. This is another remake that was well done, but not better than the first one.

I'm on a manager's conference call right now at work and I suppose I'll take the free time to discuss a couple of things:

FALLOUT 3:
Holy shit. This game is fantastic. Getting the Oblivion+Fallout analogy out of the way, this is yet another great installment in the franchise and another tick in the positive box for Bethesda. No frame drops from loading, seemingly huge universe, and mature as (to keep the theme) fuck.

For those of you worried about the V.A.T.S. system being over-powered, once you've chosen your targets, the action progresses in a slow-mo representation of real-time. You WILL take damage. However, this system contributes to the tactical backdrop of the Fallout franchise. Plus, you get the most amazing deaths this way. Just like Oblivion, though, don't bother using the third-person perspective for anything but looking at your kick-ass sheriff's duster. It just doesn't work that well.

Character customization, freedom of action, and choice of gameplay style ensure your game will be different in some way from your friends'. I've been talking with other people that have played the game and I can't tell you how many times I've heard in response to one of my excited stories, "I didn't go that way," or "Oh, I killed that guy," or "Really? Because I can drink blood now and regenerate limbs. Can't you?"

If you only kinda want this game, I've made up your mind for you. You want it If you already want it, call off work tomorrow.

GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR:
Don't mind IGN, I was very impressed by this game especially the track list and note-blueprint. I'm a Harmonix fan all the way and was very let down by Guitar Hero after they left, but Neversoft really stepped it up with World Tour.

The new features like the extended sustains, tap sections, and open-hand bass notes are satisfying and fun. Character creation outshines Rock Band by a country mile, to mix metaphors.

The Instruments--
Drums: Bouncy, quiet, and well-placed. The pedal is cheap like the old RB set.
Guitar: Feels slick, but I still like the RB one better. The slide bar is interesting and useful, but VERY hard to master. You probably won't be using it as much as intended.

The music creation is way too complicated for what piddly little sounds it produces. The ones you get from other users may be interesting, but in no way will they ever compare to what's on offer on the disc.

It should be noted: I have experienced just about every problem with the peripherals that you have heard: sticking buttons, sensitive drum pads, and the slide bar registering strums when I'm not doing anything. Activision is replacing everything for me, and you, too if it happens with your stuff.

I know a lot of this sounds bad, but trust me when I say it definitely rivals Rock Band. I'm not going to complain about two great band games that have different things too offer, though it won't be long until they end up just blending together.

For arcade purists, Konami came out with their game and it's not that great. So, grit your teeth and pick up a GH or RB.

CASTLEVANIA: This is simple-- better than any of the 3D iterations, but very much the worst Symphony-Clone.

LITTLEBIGPLANET: If you own a PS3, there is absolutely no reason not to own this game. It comes into stores for general sale Wednesday, so if you haven't picked up an early copy this weekend, snag one up like your life depended on it.

This ended up being a long conference call.

-Arlo

I have been one of the many people out there who knew that E For All, which was suppose to be the successor to E3 after the big cut back in 2007, was and has been a complete joke. With E3 coming back to it's previous form last seen at E3 2006, I knew it was a matter of time before E For All was done for good. Today was the nail in the coffin as a press release from IDG World Expo, the group who ran E For All, said that they were closing down E For All.

In the release, CEO Mary Dolaher states: "We want to thank all of our E for All partners for their support, and we encourage E for All exhibitors to participate in the E3 new event, which we believe will meet their needs as well as those of the industry at large." "IDG World Expo is very pleased to be partnering with the ESA on E3 and continuing to play a central role in that important industry event. We look forward to furthering our contribution to the success of the video game community."

With 2008's E For All reminding us how much we really missed E3, no one is going to miss this. So what are your thoughts on the closing of E For All, and E3's return to the big stage? Hit the forums to discuss.

-Justin

Tired but surprisingly alert from unexplained insomnia, I got up at 5:30 his morning and recorded this video blog. Oi...didn't even bother putting my contacts in. -_- Anyway, I know it's kind of a cop-out because it's a "list," but hey, people love lists! And I couldn't really think of anything, so I figured I just go for it, just to get the ball rolling. So yeah, it's me being boring for five minutes, talking about boring games. Enjoy!