I believe in the freedom of expression, but only if it is tampered with wisdom and thought. I am sure many of us would think the same as well.

Webcomics are a form of expression. Gamer webcomics are a subset of these, orienting around humorous portrayals (or outright parodies) of digital games, the people who made them, the people who market them and the people who play them. Unfortunately, while some webcomics do so in a good-spirited manner, others resort to banality and carnal jokes.

Reading VG Cats from comic #1 to the last sapped half my spirit. At first, the cute cat characters and the oddball felinization of game characters attracted me, and then I made a mistake of reading it to the latest strip. There can only be so much gore in every strip, dubious themes and profanities in the same panels as the very cute characters are in before a mentally stable reader would have to take Prozac and aspirin.

(A not-so-mentally stable one would be taking alchohol next. Or editing out the heads of the characters so they can be made as avatar pictures.)

Penny Arcade used to have such crap, until the authors wisened up and gutted such themes from their webcomic to concentrate on (making fun of) developments in the gaming industry, games market and other related sectors, which is what gamer webcomics ought to focus on.

Miscarriage and abortion both exist, and I believe it is not taboo to debate about them. The former is a consequence of medical/physiological complication brought about by trauma, while the latter is a medical procedure that has yet to have any formally defined objective, other than the morally dubious goal of foetal removal. However, making comics and jokes about them is actually a mark of bad taste.

Subjecting game characters to grievous harm or virtual death when they, in the context of their original (fictional) existence, are not supposed to suffer as such, is also a very hideous parody.

Making violent and bloodthirsty mockeries of otherwise benign, cute, peaceful and/or noble characters is actually the worst of sacrilegous acts, no matter how humorous they are. Yes, personally, I laughed at these as well - before straightening myself out.

Making another strip with similarly horrible content afterwards in a mark of defiance against the torrent of reactionary abuse is also evidence of bad taste. Sure, one can say that arguments over the Internet is futile, but not when its users can encourage boycotts or take more active action, such as virus-driven blockades, digital vandalism and other forms of cyber-crime, if they are offended beyond rational limits.

The most recent strip of VG Cats, the one where the protagonist is shown making the choice of turning Megaton into a crater and has apparently chosen to join the Tunnel Snakes Gang in the game Fallout 3, is quite a clear indicator of the direction of the authors' moral compass. For your information, there were other Fallout 3 parodies, most of which involve fun-poking of the V.A.T.S. system and the apparent hatred of mutants prevalent in the game. None so far actually touched on the subject of nuking the aforementioned town.

As the Greek philosopher Plato would imply, the notion that freedom of choice and of expression should be given to anyone, even the most destructively idiotic of persons, ought to be rejected.

However, we should also keep in mind the adage "live and let live". While webcomics with dubious content (and authors) such as VG Cats and Eegra have been running for a long time and whose style has probably been set in concrete, the objective purveyor of web-content should continue to monitor said media. Penny Arcade was initially quite terrible and offensive - it perhaps even pioneered the act of hideous parodying - but it soon developed into a (quite) responsible (& hilarious) expression of opinion that it is now.

The first quarter of 2009 has seen many lackluster games being released amid a lot of hype. These games have been well-anticipated for various reasons, such as gorgeous visuals, interesting new IP and/or they are simply expansions or sequels to some of the best games of 2008.

Therefore, it is rather harrowing to see products like Red Alert 3: Uprising and World in Conflict: Soviet Assault failing to deliver. Even worse, these products stink of greed, as in one would opine that these games were rushed through development in order to fleece as much money as possible from gamers. This is particularly apparent for game series with an already huge fan-base, such as the aforementioned Red Alert 3 and World in Conflict.

Some of these games showed promise in their previews, yet most of the ideas that were portrayed in these previews failed to achieve. An example would be the flawed control system in Stormrise, while another is the lack of quality and depth that Halo Wars should have deserved, no thanks to its rather cheap plot that took advantage of fantastic Halo lore and the game's very dumbed down gameplay. Both games should have been the vanguard of what would be a profitable venture of RTS games on consoles. Yet, Halo Wars can be said to be evidence that despite the injustice of a game undeserving of its parent series, it can still fleece a lot of hardcore fans of said series. Stormrise is simply proof that game design is a serious matter when it comes to releasing RTS games on consoles.

Whether these games are casualties of the global economic problem or simply the crap that corporate greed excretes is debatable. However, in my opinion, they are both. If they are, then we, as gamers, ought to prepare ourselves for even worse to come.

The worst could be the various movie tie-ins, especially X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Now you may have noticed the category for this blog post - "Writing". Webcomics? Writing?! *Pwok-hah-haha-ha* you chortled. Well, I admit I cannot find "Literature" in the options for Category. Yes, literature. As supposedly underrated as webcomics are, they are, however, the most accessible form of comics in the real world. Moreover, because they are mostly free, the writers/artists are not constrained by whining fans, censors, regulators and *cringe* the Marketing Department/Division. Unfortunately, this also means there are some truly hideous webcomics out there, even more so when these parody classic characters like Mario (whom I noticed was the most hideously and frequently parodied character, much to my dismay). The following list includes the gamer webcomics that I follow, for good or outright dubious reasons. 1. Penny Arcade 2. Roosterteeth 3. F@nboys 4. Nerfnow 5. Awkward Zombie 6. Eegra. The Good: No self-respecting gamer should ignore Penny Arcade. Unlike the other webcomics currently out there, Michael Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are rather mature authors compared to most other ones out there. Of course, it's mostly Tycho that is doing the writing, but at least his blog is not all non-constructive ranting. His well-written passages are in major contrast with the incoherent dribble that accompanies the panels on other webcomics. Of course, if you are looking for parodies that bring about major stomach-wrenching laughter, you had better look elsewhere. Most of the comedy in Penny Arcade is satirical, especially nowadays (relative to its early years), and it also reflects the bitterness of its authors. The Cool: Roosterteeth, for lack of better words, is one of the "cool" comics. While it cannot compare to Penny Arcade due to Penny Arcade's impressive track record (the most notable being its jeering defiance at the hideous former attorney Jack Thompson), it has rather good art, even from the start, and pretty good themes for its many panels. Most young adults would be able to relate to the scenarios in this webcomic. However, any mature follower of this webcomic would notice the rather questionable commitment of its parent group to it. Most of the comments - by the original Roosterteeth founders, no less - that accompanied the panels are rather detached, or outright denies what is in the panels, even though the webcomic has characters based on them, with their (somewhat) real names and their appearances. One would suspect that Roosterteeth had a gamer webcomic for the sake of having one. Fanboys, like Penny Arcade, started out as simple scrawls and coloring, though its author and artist, DeWitt matured and developed so much faster than Penny Arcade's Krahulik; the progress was very evident as one goes from panel to panel. Currently, the characters look very, very good, with Sylvia being the most comely young woman, Lemmy being the cutest "adult kid" and Paul being the most likable jerk that I have come across in webcomics, what with their gamer stereotypes. In other words, Fanboys simply has the best artist for a webcomic, in my opinion. The Funny: All of the above are funny, generally speaking, though some are more meaningful than the others. Yes, gamer webcomics can be meaningful, as they point out dubiousness in games, which are actual commercial products. Penny Arcade is foremost in parodying dubious decisions within the game industry and related sectors, so if you like parodies of the US Congress's sessions on regulations on games, you will like Penny Arcade. Roosterteeth mostly concerns the outrageous behavior of the webcomic counterparts of real-world Roosterteeth founders, so if you like Burnie being portrayed as an unapologetic glutton or Gus a jerk obsessed with conspiracy theories, when their real-world persons probably only have hints of such leanings, you will like Roosterteeth. F@nboys have so far, the most hilarious non-offensive parodies, and is also one of very few webcomics where the characters do not swear, or at least have the expletives scratched. Even simple themes, such as a rather poorly preserved Pikachu gumball candy, was executed to great comedic effect. DeWitt has really under-rated ingenuity, actually, despite the accusations of him being a Penny Arcade copycat. Nerfnow is purely a webcomic, what with its author doing part-time commissions for people. While Nerfnow is heavily anime/manga-influenced, its parodies are rather cute and even heart-warming at times (especially its parody of Starcraft). However, it does have a strong Team Fortress 2 theme, which may confuse gamers who have yet to play this gem of a game from Valve. The webcomic generally assumes that readers already know the nuances of games, especially Team Fortress 2, further confusing readers who have yet to experience any of the games that are parodied. Awkward Zombie mainly pokes on the dubiousness of game designs and is a self-deprecating satire of its author's decisions as a gamer, such as the constantly returning theme of the design choice of characters for Super Smash Brothers Brawl and the author's self-perceived ineptness at playing games. Of course, Ms. Katie may well develop further, considering that she is currently a minor. Other webcomics generally have authors with personality and attitudes that have reached dead ends, partly due to their age. Eegra is an adult parody of game characters, game designs and, well, games in their entirety. Gamers who want to look at game characters being made fun of in the most offensive manner, you may well like this European webcomic. The Hideous: As I have hinted above, Eegra is the one that I single out for being hideous. If not for previous "entertainment" media that had done so already, Eegra would sap away half of my soul. Eegra largely hosts webcomics by a certain Patrick Alexander, who does not tire of horrendous parodies of gamer stereotypes (often portrayed as awfully ugly or with stupendous gastronomy) and potentially offensive gags involving well-known game characters, namely Mario. I would also mention that this webcomic is even more graphically offensive than the others. This is not for the weak-bellied. There, you have been informed (and warned) of some of the gamer webcomics in the Internet. However, I will warn you to read them in a gradual manner, and not in one single go, if you haven't already. Those strings of panels take a lot longer to go through than you think. Eegra's webcomic, in particular, will sicken you if you do read it all in one shot.

So GameSpot has hosted new screenshots showing off many of the weapons for Red Faction 3. In an odd departure from the two previous games, many of the weapons seem to be improvized industrial equipment.

Lately, there has been a few (very good) games that use improvized or weaponized industrial equipment. The most recent of which are Dead Space, where every weapon was actually an industrial tool, but tragically turned into weapons to battle the necromorphs. One other is Fallout 3, where seemingly innocuous items can be shockingly turned into rather sadistic (but very fun) weapons. Another, older, example is Bio-Shock, where apparently extra piping, compressors and springs can be used to upgrade the lethality of weapons, one of them being entirely home-made.

In light of the rather ubiquitous sci-fi designs for sci-fi games out there, it is rather refreshing (and rather tragic) for the protagonists (& antagonists) of these games with new weapons to utilize supposedly industrial tools like chainsaws and compressors to deadly effect.

Perhaps the worst (and saddest) case is those ships used by the T.E.C. in Sins of a Solar Empire. One of them was actually an asteroid-mining vessel turned planet-killer, one other being a weaponized space research vessel and another being, of all things, a former mobile colony. And all three have been armed with flipping nukes.

I just read the new Space Marines codex, made for the 5th edition rules. It introduces (or re-introduces) some units that were mentioned in previous editions, and organized them in ways that would, interestingly, make for some pretty good ideas for any expansions that DoW II would have.

Of particular note are the newly reorganized veteran units (the ones without Terminator armor) and the Master of the Forge, which would make for a good upgrade to the Techmarine, if there is some odd new power that would somehow upgrade the Techmarine to a Forge Master.