Bound and helpless in a tiny hut surrounded by fierce Japanese soldiers, you watch. You watch as a fellow soldier is grilled for information by a cigar-smoking general who would give up his own life for his Emperor. When your Marine brethren won’t give in to their relentless torture, he receives a searing hot coal to the face. As he spews blood all of the face of his interrogator, his life is quickly ended by a violent slashing of his throat. All you can do is look on in horror as you realize that the soldier coming toward you is about to offer you the same fate.

Just as you come to the realization that your time serving your country has come to an end, a glimmer of hope appears. A knife slices cleanly through your captor and he falls over, dead. A stream of Marines enter the rundown tent and offer you a weapon with which to exact vengeance on the Japanese soldiers who trapped you there. With that, the explosive campaign to Call of Duty: World at War begins.

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If you’ve been a follower of my posts since my time at Girls Don’t Game, then you probably know by now that rhythm and music games hold a very special place in my heart. With that said, I’ve been a fan of Guitar Hero since I was following the success of Guitar Freaks in Japan. I’d always wished we could have something similar Stateside. And one magical day, I got my wish: Guitar Hero was born.

Mixing some classic rock favorites with more modern hits, Guitar Hero opened up a whole new world of rhythm gaming to American audiences who may have never touched this kind of game before. However, since its inception and the torch passed to Activision, the franchise has gone just a bit downhill. What do I think is wrong with the whole thing, and why? Read on and find out.

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It’s that time of year again.

Yes, it’s time to don your best costumes, run from door to door demanding candy, then run home to sit comfortably on your couch and get some late-night levels of Dead Space completed, or make some time for Silent Hill. At Girls Don’t Game, it’s time to conjure up horror stories from the vaults of our minds. I’ve started it off–what we need is for you, the reader, to comment with your most horrendous gaming moments.

For the faint at heart–don’t venture forward. Instead, visit Barbie.com, if that’s more your speed…

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We’ve all been there. We’ve all sat in the lobby listening to some wannabe rapper spouting lines about popping caps in people’s (fill in the blank), or that kid who isn’t even old enough to be in the game to start with. And some of us have even endured hounding from members of the opposite sex hoping to get some pictures or voice chat for their trouble.

Some of them aren’t even interested in getting much gaming done at all. They just want to complain or mess things up for others.

If you haven’t seen them, now you will. They’ve been conveniently collected in one place. For your entertainment: the top ten most annoying online gamers.

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After finally obtaining my Xbox 360 this past May, I was instantly entranced by the achievement system put in place. Having witnessed friends racking up points for their gamerscore, I always knew it was something I’d be quite interested in. With every new game purchase, a door was opened to the potential of a usual 1k of gamerscore to be added to my online persona.

Points? Milestones for completing certain objectives in-game? Genius. However, as time marched on I was introduced to the more ugly, cheap world of the in-game reward system, and the people that inhabited it. As I struggled to complete a game by Xbox Live’s standards, I realized that this would be impossible in a number of ways.

So, achievements–the bane of some gamers’ existence, and the reason some load up the disc tray and even bother signing in. How do I feel about them? Read on to find out, and earn 50 points of gamerscore.

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With the economy in the shape it’s in, some of us simply can’t afford to pre-order every single release coming out later this year (and boy, are there a lot!), pay them off in full, then have money left over to buy everyone in the family a new car. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. As long as there’s enough money to pay the bills, that’s fine.

But how do you support a healthy gaming habit when some of your wardrobe is second-hand and ketchup and water (tomato soup) is part of your regular diet? Okay, so maybe most of us aren’t that downtrodden. But feeding your gaming habit can get ridiculously expensive. That’s why I’ve decided to do a monthly series of posts concerning great games on the cheap! Break out your wallets and let’s get started!

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