Blog Herding: Community Edition 09/29/11

If you were concerned that the release of Gears of War 3 was going to impact the level of activity from the blogging community, worry no longer. This week's edition of Blog Herding marks the most activity and biggest selection of blogs since the series returned. Check out this week's collection of blogs from your fellow friends and gamers.

Blog Herding Stats:
Period Reviewed: September 19-25, 2011
Number of User Blogs: 114
Number of User Bloggers: 70
Number of User Blogs Herded:  17

Upcoming Events:

Need A Good Karma Boost? Help Some Sick Kids And All Will Be Forgiven
On October 15th, Extra Life is holding their annual 24 hour gaming marathon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Mojomonkey12 is championing the effort and has taken the lead with establishing TEAM GIO. If you're interested, read the blog and sign up.

Community Blogs:

Freedom Fighters 2, Where Art Thou?
In an age where most games, regardless of success, seem to breed a sequel, Cameron Koch reminisces over the original Freedom Fighters while brooding over where the sequel is.

Reviewing Expectations: A Community Blog
Inspired by the backlash from Dan Ryckert's review of Resistance 3, Demon Ragnarok gathers up some members from the community to ask them their thoughts on the process of reviewing video games.

DRM, DLC, Lawsuit Waivers, Crap Hardware, And Other Insanity
Veteran gamer and community member Marco Polo states, "I can't remember a more promising, or more frustrating time in gaming as right now." Read his blog and see why he thinks so.

10 Years Of Game Informer
How long have you been reading Game Informer? Community Member Forsberg provides us a short and sweet blog about his GI magazine collection of 120 issues spanning the last decade.

Setting The Stage For The Next Generation Of Gamers
As a gamer and parent, mojomonkey12 chats about the importance of promoting responsible video game behavior to the next generation of gamers with a series of tips and recommendations.

German Gaming: The European Difference
Certain pockets of the world cater to gaming more than others. This short but informative blog by Elias provides a snapshot of gaming in Europe, including costs and availability.

The Quest For Perfection
Continuing the debate on whether video games should ever receive a perfect score, The Fox analyzes a number of games that received perfect marks from Game Informer to see if he agrees.

I Am Not A Gamer
In the past few weeks, various community bloggers have deliberated on what it means to be a gamer and whether elitism exists in the industry. DeadManWalking counters with the claim that he's not a gamer; or at least not just a gamer.

The Dragyn's Lair: All I Want For Christmas Is Diablo 3 For PS3
In response to the closed beta launch for Diablo III, diehard Blizzard fanboy, ShadowDragyn, voices his concern over whether the game will be available on consoles and that he's not a part of the beta.

PC Gamers Are Elitist Pigs
One of Game Informer's most prolific community bloggers returns from an extended absence making the outrageous claim that PC gamers are elitists. Don't miss out on Euphoric Ennui's snarky yet artful commentary.

My Top Ten Most Anticipated PS Vita Games
Sony's new handheld gaming device isn't due to release until sometime next year, but that can't stop The87thNemesis from blogging about the PS Vita games he's most excited for.

Smiling Through The Pain
Many gamers share a mutual response to Dead Island - a really fun gaming experience, but a really frustrating gaming experience. Read Shootist2600's blog to see why he felt this way.

What Can Valve Do With Half-Life 3?
With rumors circulating that a hint of Half Life 3 was leaked, Lancehead seizes the moment to talk about what the next installment in the Half-Life series might look like.

Gaming For A Cure
Need further proof that gaming is good for you and gamers will save the world? Jack, The Quixotic Gamer discusses how gamers contributed to a medical breakthrough searching for a cure for AIDS.

POKÉMONth Post: Starting Out With Special Partners
Everybody remembers their first - their first Pokémon that is. Oni no Tenshi talks about the quintessential part of EVERY Pokémon game - the Starter Pokémon.

How Bulletstorm Brought Me Back To Gaming
While scanning the shelves of his local Game Stop, Dustin G took a chance on Bulletstorm, a game he knew nothing about. Read his blog to see how this selection process worked out for him.

GI Brotrip 2011. Where You Can Win Your Very Own Brand New Car
More details are emerging about the upcoming gathering of gamers from the Game Informer Community. SMACKEY provides some follow-up information about the first ever GI Brotrip 2011, while hinting at prizes - including your very own (Hotwheels) car.

Review Of The Week:

An End To All Average Things
Gears of War 3 was the big release for the week, and several members of the community posted their reviews, including this one by Matt-boy, who awarded the game an 8.50. Game Informer associate editor Adam Biessener rated the game a 9.50.

Community Podcasts, Vlogs, and More:

The Indie & Mojo Show Episode 6
The hosts of the show discuss Dead Island, Gears of War 3, and Jetpack Joyride, as well as the charity event sponsored by Extra Life that is being coordinated by mojomonkey12. Also, this episode marks the return of the "Burns and Butters" segment. Tune in and check it out.

Gameinformer Online Radio - Episode 26
Mray901 and the gang chat about Back to the Future: The Game being free on PSN, Dead Island, the Tokyo Game Show, and Disney character pick-up lines. Who could ask for more?

The 4th Floor Episode 21: True Freedom
Despite his departure from blogging at Game Informer to pursue other writing interests, TOGNick stops by to drop off another episode of the 4th Floor, a podcast devoted to various industry topics.

Robot In The Corner Podcast: Episode 2-2
Titus, Wes, and Dean talk about Lego Rock Band, DC Comics' The New 52, and a restaurant called Zombie Burger. Also, their pick for the Netflix Instant Queue Movie Review this week is The Thing.

Don't forget to send your feedback, recommendations, and community events in to my personal Game Informer account located here to ensure this feature continues to provide the content you're eager to read.

Happy Blogging!

Your friendly neighborhood blogging community for the week of September 19-25, 2011:
A Dark Knight, Apozem, Ben the Stud, BlackHeartedWolf (8), blaze6106, born4this, bungtoad magee, Craigaleg, DeadManWalking, Demon Ragnarok, derth44, dethmatic, Di5a5terp13ce, Drym Shyuan, dude the hedgehog, Dustin G (2), Elias, Emily, EuphoricEnnui (2), Evil Deej, Forsberg, freak24 (2), freezeimacop690, Fry0127, GAMERISAY, GTA mushroom kingdom, indiejones, Jack, The Quixotic Gamer (6), Joshua Weibel, KAGEHOSHI-, kingofsheep42, Lancehead (2), LEVON (2), Livia , Mafia Merc Mike, Marco Polo, Max a young true gamer (4), mojomonkey12 (2), Mray901, Ninja Rhino, Oni no Tenshi (4), Porkchopington, Rabbid Dungeon Boy (2), RadiantChaos, redlitez76 (2), Robert (3), Romars202129, Samurai Zero, ShadowDragyn, Shawn Gordon, Shootist2600, sk8terguy97 (2), SMACKEY, Still_Insane22, superpretendoboy89, thatfoxguy, The Fox (3), The Game Store Guy (4), the guy who is meh, The Stranger In Us All, The87thNemesis, thegodofwine7, Titus212, TOGNick, Tony DAurio, Wallrunner, Warbuff, wayoverdue (3), yoshistrike64 (4), and of course yours truly...Saint.

Video Game Quote of the Week:
"Overconfidence is the greatest enemy!" - Yoshimitsu, Soul Calibur 2