Blog Herding: Editor And Reader Picks 3/11

Every Thursday we highlight both editor and reader blogs worth your undivided attention. Now's the time to get blogging! Check out our picks this week and then get writing. Maybe your posts will appear in a future herd.

New 1000 Club Inductee: Mass Effect 2
Joe's 1000 Club is made up of games that he has completed 100 percent, and this week he highlights his most recent inductee, Mass Effect 2. Read on to find out how he managed to survive Insanity mode, and get a few tips on how to snag this Achievement to pad your Gamerscore.

Final Fantasy Blogs
This week marked the long-awaited launch of Final Fantasy XIII, which inspired several of our editor's blogs this week. In Final Fantasy Versus The West, Reiner explores the decline of JRPGs as Western RPGs increase in popularty creating a dichotomy between nostalgia and innovation. In Yes, Crybaby, Final Fantasy XIII Is Linear, Joe addresses the linearity complaint, and how it doesn't make the game any less awesome. In a special FFXIII edition of CosBlog, Meagan highlights a group of cosplayers that bear uncanny resemblance to the lead characters of Square Enix's latest JPRG. Want more FFXIII coverage? Be sure to check out our hub.

Violent Video Games: Who's The Solution?
GIO community member, GWNightmare highlights the people and organizations that help keep games getting into the wrong hands. "The topic here is not whether violent games do or don’t affect kids: we’re concerned with the game industry as a whole. So read on to see who’s the champion of the gaming world, the heroes who deserve our fanboyism and praise!"

Sound Matters
"In the past two weeks, I've managed to sit through the closing credits of Heavy Rain, Dante's Inferno, BioShock 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Looking back on those games, I realized just how critical the sound design was in shaping each experience." Jeff C. discusses how attention to sound design in games can truly make a difference.

An RPG Idea I've Been Kicking Around For A While Now
"Like a lot of gamers, I'm tired of the RPG premise of teenagers saving the world. I was thinking about it one day, and wondering what I'd do differently. I totally wanted to scrap both the teens and the world-saving, and here's a taste of what I came up with." GIO community member, Tanooki, proposes an RPG that involves the elderly, walkers as weapons, and grinding through a retirement home. Intrigued? We sure as hell are. Read the post for the full idea proposal.

Thoughts On Bad Company 2's Multiplayer: Part 1
"I wrote a blog post last month about how much I was enjoying the BC2 demo. Now that the game is out and I’ve gotten a chance to play some of the full-fledged multiplayer, I thought it would be fun to do a follow up and post some more detailed impressions on the cool things BC2 does." Jeff M. provides in-depth impressions on his experience with BFBC2 multiplayer.

Your Gaming Education: What Is It Really Worth?
"We gamers love to share our past experiences with one another. While employing all of the overbearing, fate-of-the-world-at-stake bravado of a Deckard Cain-like figure, we recount to our friends (or, really, anyone who will stay a while and listen) the tales of our most unbelievable combos, highest scores, and speediest run-throughs. However, nothing seems to be worn as a greater badge of pride than one's 'veteran' status." GIO community member, Kevin Maskornick, questions if number of years as a gamer truly has any worth.

Quantifying Your Nerdiness
Dan is out of his mind. He places a lot of weight on hours played in a game. "If I play a game for a certain amount of time and it's not going towards my official tally, I'll let the game run for the appropriate time when I am back on my profile. For instance, if I play Street Fighter IV for two hours at a friend's house, I'll leave mine on the menu screen for two hours when I get home." You think that's bad? He's documented more extreme examples. Read his post for a personal case study in OCD.

Have you produced a blog post on gameinformer.com that you think should be considered for upcoming installments of Blog Herding? Read a fellow community member's blog and think everyone should give it a read? Send over an e-mail with a link to annette@gameinformer.com. I also accept bribes.