Blog Herding: Community Edition 01/19/12

What you are witnessing is that period after the holidays where there is a lull in the release of new games. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long until the action picks up. In the meantime, the Game Informer blogging community has published a number of thought provoking blogs, including the ones included below.

Blog Herding Stats:

Period Reviewed: January 09 – January 15, 2012
Number of User Blogs: 96
Number of User Bloggers: 60
Number of User Blogs Herded: 11

Community Blogs:

Standing Up For The People Who Are Worth It
A touching blog by Anticitizen-One that retells the heartbreaking story of one dysfunctional family's controversial visit to their local GameStop and how the store employee stepped in to make it all better.

Did Sony Make A Mistake By Releasing So Many Games In 2011
The blogger formerly known as Demon Ragnarok (but now known as Chris Mrkvicka) belts out a persuasive post on Sony's 2011 marketing strategy and whether it was a wise business plan or not.

The Classification Of Gaming In TV/Movies
A collection of thoughts and ideas including a few video clips packaged together in one tidy little blog by Craigaleg that discusses how gamers are represented in TV and movies, including what the future of gaming might actually be like.

Clones, Frogs, Ghosts, And Call Of Duty
Noobtubin8er returns with another compelling piece characterizing the notable similarities between comparable games over time, but questions whether the core of the game ever really changes.

Bioshock Infinite And The Original Sins Of America
Politics in video games seems to be a trending topic lately, and this blog by Doctor Apozem focuses on the role government and political affairs contribute to games like Bioshock and the world of Rapture.

The Gamer Connection
A heartwarming post by Oni no Tenshi relating her personal relationships and experiences, both real and virtual, with her fellow gamers and how that makes gaming a more enjoyable experience.

Best And Worst Companions Of Mass Effect
With the release of Mass Effect 3 looming, there has been a fair amount of discussion about non-player characters (NPCs) from past episodes. Matt-boy discloses his feelings towards his fellow teammates.

Dragon Born Loser
Despite its release nearly two months ago, Skryim is still receiving a fair amount of attention from the blogging community including this picturesque phlog by Shootist2600 that captures the game in all of its dragonborn glory.

A Handy Guide To User Reviews
A few members from the GIO community have banded together to improve the quality of user reviews, and armed with this guide provided courtesy of Jack, The Quixotic Gamer, hopefully we'll continue to witness noticeable improvements.

Custom GI Avatars: 2011
TurdFurgy has been turning out custom GI avatars for over a year now and to commemorate the accomplishment and a new year, he has re-released some of his former favorites.

Handheld Gaming And The 3DS
Over the last few weeks, we've seen a number of blogs relating to portable gaming devices, which is a testament to their importance in the gaming community. This blog by 2D (Stranger) focuses on the Nintendo 3DS and what led to his decision to get it.

Community Reviews:

User Review Herding – 01/14/12
Samurai Zero is doing an outstanding job sifting through quite a few user reviews to bring you the very best, and this week he has rounded up some for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bastion, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Crysis 2, Limbo, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, and Amy.

Uncharted 3: An Adrenalin Fueled Exercise In Linearity
Reviews don't get any better than this one by Jack, The Quixotic Gamer, who provides his evaluation of Uncharted 3, complete with a detailed analysis, photos, and a trailer of the game he awarded an 8.75 out of 10, compared to Game Informer's score of 9.5 out of 10.

Community Podcasts:

The Indie & Mojo Show Episode 20
The podcast that some listeners claim reigns supreme over all others, Indiejones and Mojomonkey12 talk about The Old Republic, the new Game Informer XCOM cover, and the fact that Oni no Tenshi was the latest user to be featured in Member Herding. Don't miss Mojo belt out his rendition of Piano Man.

The Armchair Gamer Podcast Episode Nine
The AGP podcast returns with its first episode of 2012, featuring a number of co-hosts from the GIO community, who discuss various trendy topics including the controversial issues surrounding SOPA.

Robot In The Corner Podcast: Episode 2-15
Those crazy robot guys are back from the holidays with their latest podcast where they share what new goods they scored and what games they played while they were off the air.

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 (01/09/12 - 01/15/12):
2D (Stranger) (2); aidanrinku; Aless Ale (2); alpacaman15; AndyDwyer; Anticitizen-One; AVENGERLDZ; benderstrike64; blaze6106; BMW; born4this; Boss Kowbel; Chris Mrkvicka (formerly Demon Ragnarok); Commando Man; Craigaleg ; crimsonbrony; Derreck (2); Di5a5terp13ce; Doctor Apozem; Evan; Ezio9heAssassin; FamilyGuyGuy7 ; Game Over... continue?; GoldvsSilver (7); Hist; Jack; Jack, The Quixotic Gamer (3); Jonathan Harrison; KAGEHOSHI-; Koob24; Light Gamebeast23456; markus1142; Marz; Matt-boy; Mike (4); mohawkman5; mojomonkey12; Mr. Charmander (2); Noobtubin8er (3); o_JMan240_o; Oni no Tenshi (3); RadiantChaos; Romars202129; Samurai Zero (2); Sawadashan; Shootist2600; stormfront; That guy who can play 8 different insruments; thatfoxguy; The guy who is meh; The guy who never really fought Ganon himself; The Handheld Tank; The Legendary Ewok King (6); The Monster Hunter (2); thegodofwine7; TurdFurgy; wayoverdue (5); xl9; YepImAPersonWaving (2); and of course yours truly...Saint.

Video Game Quote of the Week:
"Now you're gonna pee in your pants every time you hear my name!"  – Etna, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness