Are Reviews Unreible or are people unsensible?

Current Dilema:

Lately, there has been a shift between the people who write reviews and the people themselves. I don't pay attention to much into reviews so I can't tell you the trend but I remember popular gaming sites have the same consensus in score. The problem is that I don't how to pinpoint the problem. One thing, it started this generation where all this hopla over scores started. Could it be over zealous fanboys, meta-critic, bias review, site need ratings? Whichever it is, it is hurting the industry as a whole.

How do we solve this problem?

Something that I've been thinking about if the game media industry would banish all scoring whatsoever. This would force people to actually read reviews and determine there own opinion about a possible purchase. That would never happen but the though process is intriguing.

Current Pace:

As things are going now, game journalism is going to lose it credibilty. It persecption of linking journalism with games is bad enough but it to lose credibilty from your own base is saddening.

Can this improve?

Probably not, there are so many sites popping up from no where today that there is going to be one with a different opinon about the rest. Whether they were paid off, bias, or just nuetral, everyone sees things differently.

What people should do?

I honestly don't know. It's the internet after all.

Next Xbox Has HD DVD Drive; Battle Far From Over

Every time I go online, I see Blu Ray wins either 3 to 1 or 2 to 1. Then you have fanboy bashing and all that other crap. At this moment, it seems that HD DVD brought a knife to a gun fight. But behind him is a mega ton cannon waiting to fire. (Sorry for the bad analogy). What people fail to realize is that the next gen xbox should have a HD DVD drive considering the process of elimination (or just plain obvious). This should propel the format just like how the PS3 propel Blu-ray.

If you take a step back on how MS approach this generation with the Xbox 360, there actually quite smart. If MS would of came out with a HD DVD drive, it would of been delayed possibly a year and cost just as much as the PS3. If so, then the Xbox 360 would most likely be in last place. Now with the Next Generation Xbox, not only would the HD DVD drive be substantially cheaper by then, it wouldn't affect us consumers by jacking the price up by another 200 buxs. It was a smart decision made at MS and resulted in their lead against the ps3 today.

Well, the war shall continue and we are still going to see different formats for a long time. So to those "the war is over people", prepare for a rude awakening in the coming years.

...Presuming HD DVD is still alive by then...

Halo 3 is God? No

The infinity people have with Halo 3 has to stop. It is not the end all to be all of gaming. The perfect reviews were boaster from hype and it's hard for the media to admit it. The single player was good (co op a plus) and multiplayer is above average. At best it deserves a 9.0 or 9.1 because of all the extra features.

Now I must admit that I bought into the hype, but was left disappointed. I was hoping for a immerse single player, and a diverse multiplayer. All I got was a fun warthog ending with a cliffhanger and shotty snipers. The most fun I had was in Theater because the pics I took were beautiful.. :_)

If the ending wasn't any indicator that a "Halo 4: We Want Money" wasn't coming for the next generation xbox then you're blind. Still, it did present some enjoyable moments with co-op & multiplayer screw ups. It doesn't certifty it as the best game ever but its definitly a must try.

Two things come to mind when verifying Halo 3 Non-Godliness:

1. After a week, I continued to play Gears of War which is a lot more fun.
2. I was more satify with Bioshock and a dozen RPGS at the end.

I miss when RPGs were the king of the console. Deep Story, Music, Good Gameplay, those were the days. It came to an end when the Japanese developers couldn't help but make it cheesy as hell. The last thing I needed to see was a CGI Go-Go girls music video taking me out of the world that I've already given up playing.

Oh well, to those who don't have a history playing a multitude of games in the past, this is probably the best of the best. To the rest, it's just another game to delay us from the Game of The Year; Mass Effect. :-)


Hail Western RPGS!! (Mass Effect)

Btw, no one plays Forge and yes, the pic above makes fun of halo 3 graphics.

A Year In Review: 1 Bad Game

As 2007 comes to an end, I look back on the one of the worst game I've ever come across. That game was Vampire Rain which I had to reviewed for Xbox Evolved. If I can recollect, I couldn't played this game for more than a hour and the fact that I had to review it kept me compel to play it. While I was playing through single player, several thoughts pop into my mind

• I wonder if the developers knew this game sucked
• Can I get paid to do such a shitty job
• I can't wait to sell this on ebay
• This can be used as a excellent form of torture to terrorist
• (2 hours in) I am now more depress by playing this game
  

This game and it controls were retarded.. I quoted as saying "It’s like a 120 year old man trying to dodge a train but he already died from a heart attack.". Some other memorable quotes:

"Vampire Rain is a game that comes once in a life time that makes you appreciate the mediocre games available today."

"The only thing scary in Vampire Rain is how bad it is. I feel sorry for the people who actually had to make this horrible game."

This is why we have reviews, to lure you away from these shitty games. Hurray for Critics!!

Unhonorable Mention: Yaris, it was crap!! End of story.

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Next Article: Halo 3 is God? No @ 1pm EST Saturday

Death Note Review

I unexceptionally lurk upon an anime called Death Note. I saw it on toonami and it was quite good for English subbed. I actually ended up clapping on episode 2 because it took me by surprise how deep this anime was. (Enough gloating) Death Note is about a teenager named Light Yagami aka Kira who comes upon a Death Note. A Death Note is a notebook where if you write the name of someone, they will die. Light decides to use this notebook to kill all the criminals in the world. Light is accompanied by a Death God called Ryuk. Ryuk drops his death note on the human world on purpose because of boredom.

After a while, the police investigate the number of deaths and try to solve this mystery. They call on a person name "L" who can unravel any mysterious case. He is known to be the world's best detective and is summoned to solve this case.

All Kira needs to do is write L name on the Death Note but two problems occurs. He needs to write the "real name" of the person on the Death Note and need to see his face. There are other rules to the Death Note but these are the main two. So while L tries to capture Light, Light needs to get close to L to kill him. It’s a game of chess to see who wins first.

There are about 37 episodes and each keeps you on your feet. The animation and songs are well done so you’re never taken out of the story. The story mixes up with new characters, which are pawns in there game of chess. The only problem is that the story seems to repeat itself after the first ark. At the end, you'll probably feel disappointed because of the ultimate victor of this death game.

It's a great anime with tons of plot twists. Sometimes you can get confuse with the conversation but the suspense just kills you. If you're into detective investigation shows (CSI etc...) then this is right up your alley. It’s a definite must see if you're into that kind of stuff.

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Next Article: A Year In Review: 1 Bad Game @ 1PM EST Friday

Look-Back: Naruto Shippuden

The new season of Naruto Shippuden is out where everyone turns into a grown up. It has currently finished it first ark with Ataski and the Sand Village. At the end of the Ark (Episode 32) has some special surprises like a new character named Sai who is going to team up with Team Kakashi. Sakura has yet to tell Naruto about what Sasori told her of where to find Orchirumu. Lastly, Kakashi has to make a mysterious report to the Hokage on a number of things. Ultimately the whole Ark of Naruto Shippuden has been satisfy and leaves you in a cliffhanger.

The biggest problem I have with Naruto Shippuden is with Team Gai and Rock Lee. I was excepting Rock Lee to kick some ass like he did in the regular Naruto. Unfortunately, like everyone else on Team Gai, they only learned a few new tricks. It isn't as impressive like Sakura, who looks like a God. Naruto still has a few tricks up his sleeves but all we saw was his big Rensenga. Everyone else seems to have new tricks but nothing impressive.

Another problem with Naruto Shippuden is the animation & new songs. The animation used in this Ark is utter garbage like the main staff took a break and the interns took over. There were only three good episodes that were animated correctly and look great. The new songs used constantly aren't as good as the first Naruto. Seems cheesy and doesn't represent what you're a post to feel at that moment of time.

The story is still there but some major overhaul is needed in the character development of everyone else. I’ am wondering if they’re focusing all there attention on the Naruto saga in Naruto Shippuden instead of everyone else. What made Naruto great was the plot of other characters like Rock Lee, and other clans. It'll be a disappointment if they move away from that but there still a lot of problems unsolved with Naruto/Sakura story.

It should only get better with more twists and story development. I just hope they concentrate a bit more on other characters and better techniques. The beginning of the second Ark is coming out tomorrow so I hope it’s good.

Big Break P2

Well, I went to the interview and had about 9 people in the room with me. Felt a bit loss in not knowing where to go or stay. It was finally my turn once they call my name. The interview was really short compared to other interviews I did. Apparently it was the same with others (or I hope so). Everyone there looked about my age which was kind of frightening. We all looked like kids wearing suits and for some reason... I don't feel like a grown up. I'm 20 yet I still resemble a kid in mind and heart. (Really awkward)

I reflected on how I did, and overall I think I did pretty damn good. I was obviously nervous (hand was shaking) but I didn't fumble my words, stutter and did not take my time thinking about an answer to there question. I was just straight forward, direct, and tried my best to smile. (i'm not good at smiling unless its a joke).

So once the interview was over, the main recruiter who I interview with first told me that they’re making all there decisions today so they'll he'll let me know on Monday if I ll be hired or not. I just hope I did not screw up or leave a bad impression for some unknown reason. I think this is the most work I ever done for an interview before so hopefully it'll pay off. I really need this job so hopefully I can get considered to be hired.

I am kind of worried and I’ll except myself to be vomiting on Monday from nervousness (doubt it). Wish me luck

Update: No call today so after 1pm on Tuesday, I'm going to call to see whats up.

Can Commerce Bank Be My Big Break?

I've been looking for a job for a hell of a long time. I got a job a week ago but couldn't do full time because of school. So I finally got a call back from a Commerce Recruiter after 5-6 months of applying. Hey, I got a callback which all that matters. So I went to the interview last week and befuddle every stupid word that came out of my mouth. I thought I had a game plan, don't think about the interview or I’ll be nervous. That was the worst strategy I ever came up with. I thought coming out of that interview that I screwed it up even though he said that I'll get a callback on Saturday. Well Saturday passed, and guesses what...no call back. I said to myself, "He'll probably call me back on monday, I never except someone to call me on the weekend". So a good portion of monday passed by and no call. So I decided to take fate into my own hands after my previous experience at interviewing with FedEx.

I called and left a message stating that I'm concern whether or not you’re going to get back to me to be blunt. So a few hours passed by and at 3 30pm, a miracle happened... i got a call. He setup a second interview with a manager at a Commerce Open House at 9 30am. The location is a bit hard to get to but there isn’t a lot of Commerce Banks that are easy to get to by train. The plus is that its close by to my college and working at Commerce would look great on my resume.

I just need to do two things and that is to buy a suit and practice being in an interview. Everything else is standard with smiling etc... It’s a job on the hire interview so if I do well then I would get the job on the spot. I’ am praying that I can get this job because of personal issues in my life right now. So here is good luck to me!!

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I'm going to post my Zune Review at 3pm EST so its something to check out.

All Pro Football 2K8 Preview

Football is almost here so I thought I write an All Pro Football 2k8 Preview.

All Pro Football 2k8 Preview

Finally, after 3 years All Pro Football 2k8 has finally arrived, loop poling the EA monopoly license has over football. All Pro Football 2k8 first started out as ESPN Football 2k series back on the departed Dreamcast. It was the only football game that rival the madden series, and arguably by many gamers, surpass it in quality. By 2004, ESPN Football 2k5 equaled Madden 2005 in sales, and cutting into EA's money maker. So something had to be done, and EA took control of the football license. This essentially got rid of the competition, and innovation in the football genre. Now that the history lesson is over with, we can get into what All Pro Football 2k8 is going to be delivering this year...

Blue Dragon Preview

Hey guys, Here is a preview of what I wrote on Blue Dragon. You can click on the link to check out the full preview I wrote on Xbox Evolved.

Blue Dragon Preview

From the creators of famously known games of Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest comes Blue Dragon. An all star cast of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu comes together to work on one of two titles being release for the Xbox 360. This all star cast of game developers, are taking the Xbox 360 to new heights with the Japanese's role playing game genre. It's undoubted that these game designers are going to bring great success for the Xbox 360 in the RPG department that Microsoft desperately needs to make a comeback in Japan.

Sorry for the Time off

Been kind of busy with college and mainly a pain in the ass English Class that I started taking. My professor placed so many rules in how to write like a professional that it took all the enthusiasm out of writing....

Arrggh, like right now I'm having a mental block where it wasn't before and can't seem to think on the subject at hand without hesitating either. This is utter bull crap and there is nothing I can do about it. I'm going to try to forget about this matter until Wednesday when I have to go back to that god forsaken class.

What I have been doing since then...

- Caught interest in photography and searching through dpreview.com for which camera I should buy. I'm probably going to buy the Oly E-500 but I'm also considering the Canon 350 as well.

- Reading a book my step dad lend to me called "FileMaker Pro 8". It's basically about making record databases and how to use the program. I'm going to continue reading this book and see how far it takes me.

- I tried out for the baseball team but did not get an invited to the second tryout. It's not an disappointment because I knew coming in that I did not meet the requirements to play in the first place. I did pretty good but my arm was not strong enough to reach from third to first while I was trying out for 2nd base. The worst part is that I got a ton of mosquito bites just from being there which itches like hell.

Speaking about mosquitoes, there is one in my room that only comes out during 4-5am to feast on my blood. The problem is that every time I think I kill the bastard, it comes flying between my face and LCD screen. The bastard is taunting me and if I see it again then I will most certainly killed it with my hands. Even though it's a mosquito, it has weirdly earn my respect for being a bad ass. A thought just occurred to me that it is probably dieing from old age. I just got a mosquito bite on my foot which is unusual because it usually takes a bite on my leg. I'm looking at the bite and it is just a small red dot which could be a sign of weakness. I hope the little dude is alright...

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Will work on the two articles as promise from the previous article.

Movie Industry DownFall

Had you ever seen a commercial for a movie and said to yourself "Man, that this going to be a instant failure." I think I said it more times this year than ever which got me wondering, why do movie companies sign onto an agreement for lousy movies? Now hindsight is only 20/20 but you had to know for example "Hoot" was going to a instant failure. Who the hell was the publisher, i don't know but their retards.

Right now I'm looking for any movies that I remember seeing that went straight to DVD/PPV. One is "The World Fastest Indian" which is about some Native American who lived to go fast like Ricky Bobby. Apparently the movie sunk in the box office that no one bother to care to report that it sunk in the box office. It was probably to low in revenues to consider it an actually movie and more of a documentary. In this case, hindsight is 20/20 but can you blame the people for the undesirable success of movies today?

The movie industry is not as tightly regulated as the gaming industry to where it can stop crappy movies from getting the green light. This is why that this year there are so many crappy ass animated CGI movies that are out this year which killed any buzz for any other worth-seeing animated/CGI movies. I remember when movies like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles were novelties but now with all the crappy animated/CGI movies they are kind of losing there buzz. This reminds of the 1980's gaming downfall where the gaming industry had a influx of crappy games that almost killed the gaming industry. Not until Nintendo stepped into the picture that the gaming industry turned itself around with Nintendo green lighting/red lighting projects that were allowed to be on there console. This is where the movie industry is probably at today but less severe, because of the new media outlet we have today.

Of course there are bit torrents where you can download the movie but the bootlegs do not cut it. It is until the DVD comes out for a direct feed to the movie is where the bit torrents comes into play. The movie industry can blame whoever they want and give their intro before the movie starts about how bootlegging/downloading the movie(s) is bad. They can also say how your are stealing from the people who are working on the film but that is not our concern. They should blame the movie industry for putting people into this predicament for overcharging to pay for their crappy ass movies.

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Next Article will be Gaming is wasting your life, and Star Trek vs Star Trek: NG.. It's ON!

Can you pass the Third Grade?

I ran into this game a few days ago while I was on the mets forum. It's where you take the name of the state and put them in there corresponding place on the map. I think it took me 10-14 tries to get all the states correctly placed on the map because of the middle less-known states. I knew the east and west coast but the northern middle part of the country was the hardest to get. Right now I can do it in a blink of an eye and it really kept me entertain for quite a while. Hope you enjoy...

Try it out: Can you pass the Third Grade?

C++ Does Not = Me

Around 2005, I was interested in game programming so I went to a website called Gamedev.net. The community helped a lot and I decided to purchase two books for Christmas called "Beginning C++ Game Programming" and "C++ Primer 4th Edition". I decided to go with "Beginning C++ Game Programming" first because the book was easier to understand in my view (super noobie book). I remember staying up late at night reading/writing the code (on the pc) displayed on the book till I started to get a headache. I wasn't really sure if I was learning anything but I understood the whole idea of it. I was told that the main basis was to just learn the code so you can use it for other types of programming.

Now I have a habit of eagerly wanting to learn stuff but my work ethic is just not there. I'm lazy and I know it which is why this article has been delayed for so long. I don't know why but I just lose interest and hate feeling like this is more a job then having fun. Which is what I felt while learning C++ and eventually stop reading the book. If I take a look at the book now, I can still remember what each code represents and accomplishes. The problem is that I do not have the drive nor patience to go over it but having that mindset would make me a loser.

The game programming industry itself though pays very little which is probably the reason I decided not to go the route in the first place. Another thing is the math and the degree needed to get any type of game programming job which I find slightly retarded. It is freaking hard to get a computer science degree but yet you get little money for it in the game programming field. I remember my friend telling me I should just go for some type of job..i forgot.

I'm just not sure but I don't know whether C++ = for me but who knows. Right now my interest is for baseball but there is a 1 to 1600 chance I think that I will ever become a success. The reason I stood with baseball for so long after the injuries and extensive work out training is because it is fun to play while getting paid or realization of getting paid an enormousness amount of money which everyone really looks for. If you ask any average joe if they'll switch lives with say David Wright for a day, they'll probably would. I also remember thinking about journalism but by reading my blog, my English is horrible.

If anybody with current jobs have any experience in this matter please comment.

Thanks

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Next Article will be "Why do Movie Companies sign onto lousy Movies?". The idea is why do movie companies go a long with crappy movies..? Hard to explain but after seeing commercials of "Hoot" on Directv, you'll figure out the premise of this article.

Naruto Episode 200 Thoughts...

It was overall a good episode surprisingly but was a bit hard to follow. The Old Man was from a neighboring village who was at war with Kohana and planted bombs for his village which was soon destroyed afterwards. He then gone mad with age and decided to blow up Kohana because he was getting old so he wanted to do it before he died. It seems like the Old Man and Naruto are going to get into a fight as more of the plot unravels.

I found the whole episode to be pretty good considering the crap that been spewing since the fillers started. I still can't wait to see the fillers end and hopefully get back to the main plot but where probably going to have to wait till next month for that to happen.


Next 3 Episodes:

201. Multiple Traps, Countdown to Collapse

202. Today's Announcement! Top 5 Battles with Sweat and Tear (It's also including a special episode)

Starting next episode, broadcasting time for NARUTO will be changed to Thursday!!!

203. NARUTO Time Slot Changing Commemoration! It's as well as in Thursday too! Confrontation between Students and Teachers with Love and Hate, Genin and Jounin All Come Together in this Rampaging 90-minute Special!

This special contains 3 episodes!!!
90 minute special filler commemorating the move to Thursdays, NOT Kakashi Gaiden

New Episodes Source: Anime News Network
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Either at 1pm or 11pm EST, I'm going to post "C++ does not = Me".

MMORPG Golf, Now I've Seen Everything

I wanted to write about this a week ago when my friend John.T told me about that the "Free To Fly" website (blog) had a link to a MMORPG Golf game. At first I thought he was joking but when I actually check the site out, there it was. I looked around the site to find any information but nothing that really came to used except the videos.

I'm trying to think of what else their going to make into a MMORPG... maybe MMORPG Baseball? You live a life as a every day baseball player and you play against tournaments or seasons playing against 9 other players. I don't know but if there is a MMORPG Golf then I can imagine all sorts of MMORPG types of games.

I have not played it yet because I have no interest in golf but if you like to check it out then go to http://www.shot-online.com/

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Naruto Thoughts... article is going to posted around 1-2am tomorrow and a new artcle about C++ does not = Me tomorrow around 11pm est.

Bleach Episode 96 Thoughts...

The whole episode in general was pretty damn good with it wanting me to see the next episode. As the story goes on, it steadily climbs the rank of passing Naruto but everyone who watches Naruto is already a loyal fan.

The episode starts off with Ichigo and Rukia brother fighting with the head boss Bounto. It ended with a stalemate which was probably excepted and meeting the creator of the Bounto, Ran'Tao. They go deeper into the story of the Bounto and would not want to spoil it for anyone who have not saw the episode yet. Anyway it is a good episode and hope you all enjoy it

If you want to watch it then you can go to Dattebayo.

The new Naruto is coming out today at midnight so don't miss it.

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I don't have that much time to write a new article because of college but I'm trying to decide between "Gaming is wasting your life, C++ does not = Me, or MMO Golf, Now I've seen everything..." I'll try to have it done by 3pm est but I can't make any promises on this one.

JasonXE Podcast Episode 1

Click Play to start the audio (pick up the player volume) and remember....i'm not good at this. I'll probably get better with pratice but I was completely nervous while doing this. Another thing is it is ok to go to sleep while hearing this :-).

I mess up in editting once or twice so don't pay attention. Also there is a phone ringing noise at the end so just ignore it b/c it was my brother.

BAFTA Announces The Nominations For The British Academy Video Games Awards

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts today announced the nominations for The British Academy Video Games Awards in association with Nokia N-Gage and PC World. The nominated games for 2006 show the incredible variety and innovation the industry now offers. The awards ceremony will reward the individuals behind the very best in artistic, creative and technical innovation for video games, and will be held at the historic Roundhouse on 5th October, hosted by Vernon Kay.

Loco Roco, a PlayStation Portable game that features a world where jelly-like creatures sing, roll and bounce, received the joint-highest nominations with eight, alongside the latest offering from the Tom Clancy franchise - Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. The snowballing We Love Katamari amassed six nominations, whilst games offering new ways to interact and play also did well, with Guitar Hero receiving five nominations, Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training earning three and Singstar Rocks! garnering two.

New instalments of some of the video games industry’s biggest franchises still retained their potency – for example Tomb Raider: Legend which scooped five nominations including one for Lara Croft in the Character category. She was joined by Hitman’s Agent 47, Lego Star Wars’ Han Solo, Rogue Trooper’s Rogue and lastly, LocoRoco. Also re-workings of old themes proved popular, with LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy receiving four nominations.

Paul Jackson, chairman of the BAFTA Games committee commented, “This year’s decision for the Academy to elevate games to an equal status alongside film and television has been praised by the industry, government and media, and the stage is firmly set for The British Academy Video Games Awards to become the industry and consumers’ benchmark of excellence.”

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First Podcast at 1pm EST.

Mac Commericals Turned Stupid

I was watching the Mac commerical that came on during the Gaints vs Colts game. They showed the "PC Guy" cough Bill "windows" Gates cough, in a wheel chair with a broken bones on his hand and leg. I thought they were going to make a reference on slow downs or something but it wasn't. It was something so irrevalent that it was a waste of time to view and started to know that the Mac marketers ran out of things to say. The whole premise of the commerical was about the power cord... Aparently the "PC Guy" fell down and the power cord behind him came off. The "PC Guy" was explaining how is life was flashing before his eyes and the "Mac Guy" was explaining how his power cord was magentic so if something happens like that, it pops right out.

Now apparently the genuises who thought of this idea like to make crap up for the hell of it. I want to state my points on how stupid this commericial is but I can't because the whole idea of this commericial is beyond human logic. I kind of like the commericials at first but now it is just retarded. Can't they come up with any more points then "well, you see my does not do that?" Right now I'am waiting for Bill Gates to come out with a commericial just to shut up these freakin' idiots and end this discussion. I'll start:









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Big News: JasonXE Podcast will be up tomorrow for .mp3 format. Should be posted around 1pm EST time and hope you all enjoy.