You're fired!

If only thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife designer of the Okami Wii packshot was in The Apprentice. He wouldn't have lasted long. Using a piece of IGN artwork WITH THE WATERMARK STILL ON IT as the main image AND THEN LETTING IT GO TO PRESS is a disaster. Check it out over at GameLife.
Back on the blog after a few days and there's loads to tell you. I finally managed to get some hours on Call of Duty 4 single-player. I can't get past the missile silo level. In fact I can't even get in the missile silo compound. I'm getting nailed. At the entrance. Back to the drawing board on that one. Or GameFAQs. Ha.
Played one of the new record-breaking Call of Duty download maps on Friday night - the TV station one. What a map! Bloody big though…
Last night I grabbed a best-of-three on Pro Evo 6 against a mate. Despite only being about 18 months old it looks awful, when compared to the new one, though at least there's no lag when you play it online.
I've also been back on eBay hunting down some classic games. I almost bid on a SNES copy of Chrono Trigger which was going for over 100 notes. Then I came to my senses and remembered I have a baby son to provide for.
Being a gaming dad I've now got a big dilemma to overcome, and that's whether to blow money on GTA IV. I've hardly had time to play CoD4, but it's like Rockstar are tantalising me with their new ad. The guy is staring at me saying: 'You need to buy me'. Quite how I will get the time to play this, I don't know. I might wait awhile. Christ, I've even got Orange Box, Lego Star Wars and Ghost Recon 2 upstairs to nail yet. A friend of mine said: "It's one of those games you can have a blast on for ten minutes." I wish I HAD ten minutes spare when it's not taken up with work, looking after my son, catching up on good TV and reading the new awesome Empire with their ace cover.

TV Times

For once I'm not going to rant about games. It's time to rant about that box-in-the-corner. Hello TV, nice to see you again. Reasons being? I've just seen Empire's Top 50 TV shows of all-time.
Now, I won't spoil the No.1 for you, but quite how Empire can rate the likes of ER, Family Guy, 24 and even the classic Quantum Leap below Buffy The Vampire Slayer is beyond me.
It gets some things right, and I'm heading off to my living room for some Family Guy viewing in a sec instead of the virgin viewing of Carlito's Way that I had in mind. But there are so many great programmes that didn't get a sniff – The Day Today, This Life, to name a few that have just popped into my head.
Have a guess on the No.1. You probably know what it is already. It's not Thundercats by the way.

PLEASE, SHUT UP.

I haven't got much time to post today, except that I heard the giant price Rock Band is coming out at here in the UK.
But anyway, I remember shelling out £60 notes for some import stuff in years past. And that's when games were rock hard to get on import!
Last night my baby boy woke up crying every hour from 3am until 6.15, the time he normally wakes up regardless of whether the calendar says 'Saturday' or 'Sunday'. It reminded me of Baby Mario in Yoshi's Island. If you've never played this gem, please hunt down a copy now. For those of you who do, reminisce some more with GameTrailers' top ten SNES titles ever. The voiceover at the end of Yoshi's Island is hilarious.

Rebirth of a classic

As much as I'd love to say that Nintendo Official Magazine is going to return to its roots with the guys I worked with, I'd be lying. As much as myself and an old colleague would love to do it, it's just a daydream that will probably never happen.
But what I do know is that Computer and Video Games magazine, CVG for short, is returning to newsagents later this month. The first issue, dedicated to the Grand Theft Auto series, will cost a fiver and is brought to you by Future. Is Yob going to do the letters pages? Hope so.
In my land of gaming, Call of Duty 4 took a back seat last night as Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy got some playtime. I'm not a massive Star Wars fan, but had heard a lot about its tongue-in-cheek humour. So far I'm having a great time, slicing up Lego Stormtroopers with a lightsaber and using The Force to overcome some particularly difficult puzzles, even for a thirtysomething like me.
There are now some quality new Tees over at http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif. Check out the Hotty Tee!
Outside gaming, I've been sucked into the fantasy world of Amelia Maylock, written by an old schoolmate called Jason Ellis. Empire Magazine is still keeping me enthralled with their Indiana Jones coverage, as has this book about pop bible, Smash Hits.
Other than that, my world is taken up by my 11-month-old son, Harry. Please post any fatherhood blogs you might be know about…