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Which games are you guys looking forward to?

So we're putting the HotSpot out to pasture, which is a bummer for me because I really loved doing that show for about three years, and was excited to see where it would go with Magrino at the helm. Anyway, we said it was going on hiatus a month or so back, but we were getting a slow drip of comments on the old shows, e-mails, and PMs from people asking when it would return. It was great to see that people missed the show and wanted it to come back, but also frustrating because I had nothing to tell them. Eventually, we made the decision to end the HotSpot and put our time and effort into a handful of other projects (both audio and video) that we hope will fill the gap for anyone still missing the show.Once that decision was made, we figured it would be good to put together one last HotSpot to give any loyal listeners (and to be honest, us) some closure.

The first HotSpot aired July 20, 2005. It ran for 330 episodes as an audio program and 29 episodes as a video program. It liked mom jokes, rambling conversations, and the marketing campaign for Ubisoft's Haze. It is survived by a Wikia page. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made by purchasing a copy of ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman for PSP (and downloadable for PS Vita).

I used to love stats, one could have even called it an obsession. Every morning when I started up Firefox, there was that tab, a manna of kill/death ratios, accuracy metrics, kill counts, headshot totals, and the oh so vague but ego gripping skill changes. I'm a big Battlefield 3 fan.

At least that's how our relationship started, a hundred fourteen hours and thirty two minutes later; I woke up and realized I wasn't having fun. It's not that the game itself had become less engrossing, challenging, or even that I was just ready to move on. It was because I was avoiding taking on new risk to protect that precious battlog page. I had my best loadouts, I knew my maps, lanes, and general match flow. The problem was that my tactics, however effective, had become wrote. It had gotten that way because it feels horrible to see your overall k/d drop, and for other people to see it to.

I finally came to the conclusion that I should no longer look at stats, ok, at least not as often. I had already gained whatever I was going to gain from them. In its stead, I have gone back to what is pure, the kill cam. The kill cam tells you who(flipabird22), what(shotgun), where(building), how(buckshot to your groin). The kill cam does not remember, does not judge, the killcam just is. Recently I spoke with some Modern Warfare 3 players in the office who felt the same way.

The following entry appeared in a series of tweets a few moments ago, but I thought this would be a good place to post these thoughts as well and see what you all think. There are no story spoilers, but obviously if you are totally averse to finding out even the vaguest structural details of the ending, you probably should wait to read until you're done.

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Mass Effect 3 is a game about death, and viewing it as such provides an illuminating way to interpret the reactions to the ending.

The end of the game is like the end of the trilogy, like the end of a life. Consider, then, The Five Stages of Grief.

1. Denial - "This can't be the real ending, there must be DLC." "If you analyze it deeper, the symbolism points to a truer, better ending!"

2. Anger - "BioWare has betrayed me! How could you distill the long hours I spent in Mass Effect to one stupid choice! CHANGE IT!!"

3. Bargaining - "Look, I'm not bitter. I respect BioWare. But, please, I'll donate thousands of dollars to charity to support a new ending."

4. Depression - "Nothing I ever did in Mass Effect 3 even mattered in the end. It was all just sound and fury, signifying nothing."

5. Acceptance - "I may not like the way it ended, but I loved the time I spent with the Mass Effect series, and I'm thankful for that."

When I finished the game, I wasn't thrilled. I wasn't angry. I just kind of sat there thinking, "Huh. So that was it." Did I think that maybe something more elaborate would be more satisfying? Yes. Did I feel like I wanted to know more? For sure. But we've all experienced endings that were unsatisfactory, whether in books, film, television series, or whatever. The only thing we can control is how we choose to deal with it.

Personally, I strive for acceptance. The measure of a life is not taken in its waning hours, after all. A few minutes at the end of the road does not make all that I experienced any less wondrous, exhilarating, heartbreaking, and fascinating. I love this series, and I loved Mass Effect 3. And there were some moments in that ending that I really loved as well.

So how do you deal with it when something you love doesn't end in a way you love?

One of my favorite characters in the Mass Effect universe died last night. It left me soul searching as to what I had done to contribute. It made me think all the way back to Mass Effect 1. Ultimately this tragedy is something I will have to live with. I refuse to erase consequence by returning to an earlier time and changing my fate, this would be a betrayal of what makes Mass Effect great. I now feel that film is inadequate by comparison. My Mass Effect story continues.

Hopefully you may have noticed this, but we've been going through a huge period of change here at GameSpot of late. We have evolved so much over the past six months or so, but we are still on our journey to bigger, better things. Last month I was interviewed by Stever Peterson at Industry Gamers, and the resulting conversation seemed to resonate with a lot of people. You can read that chat here and part two here. Given that people seemed to like what we talked about, I thought I'd share with you what we're striving for in 2012, and what I hope you will judge us by. This is by no means a full expression of editorial policy, but more a mini-manifesto for the year ahead.

• In a modern media culture where everyone has a voice, our role has dramatically changed. GameSpot was built on many things, but a big part of it was being a source for screen shots, trailers, and basic preview content. These days though, this kind of content is more of a "commodity" than something special, and frankly it's boring. For us as well as you. At a time where we all consume content from the Internet as a whole, our job is much more than an asset delivery service.
• The landscape has shifted, and our competitive set has changed. In the past it was different media brands pitted against each other, racing for exclusives. These days we have to differentiate ourselves from the commodities that the publishers and studios themselves distribute through official channels, and from the fantastic content being produced by passionate gamers on their blogs, on YouTube, in forums, and on livestreaming services.
• We have resources, and we have access. It is our responsibility to bring these to bear for your benefit. Gaming is as much about culture as it is product, so we will endeavor to assert the personalities of that culture wherever possible. Gaming is about people, and what entertains them; not just "product." Our programming will (hopefully, or I'll be out of a job) find a balance between information and entertainment that works for you.
• Our observations, reviews, and analysis pieces are intended to start conversations. Sometimes it's about the merits of an individual title, sometimes it's simply to highlight that something is funny or entertaining. We are curators.
• We will never be afraid to adapt. If something isn't working, we'll change it. Nothing we do is so precious that it should exist purely for the sake of legacy. As gamers, you are on the cutting edge of media consumption, and your tastes lead trends in the way that media is absorbed. We'll be watching you very closely, and taking your feedback very seriously. If we think a content type, or approach isn't working - we will adapt. Just in the past few weeks we've been able to do this with our new show Screen Tear. By speaking with the audience on both GameSpot and on YouTube we have been able to change the format, the focus, and the voice of the show thanks to your input.
• We will always look at opportunities to bring you coverage in terms of the different media types we produce. Video, live video, audio, written, or social media...we'll bring you the best possible coverage through the most appropriate media. Sometimes the best way to convey something is with a live video stream, sometimes all that's needed is a tweet. As an extension of this, we're mindful of the environment for this content too. In the past, our mission was purely about bringing you to GameSpot. These days our job is to bring GameSpot to you. As such, we are creating and adapting content to push to YouTube, through Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ through live services like Twitch.TV and beyond.

You are a vocal, passionate, and articulate bunch, and we want to give you the coverage you crave. We will bring you into the creative process wherever we can, and let your input, and feedback shape our content. The bottom line? You love games, we love games - let's make some awesome stuff.