I've been notified that we have only a few of these left! Get early access to the demo of Bayonetta now! Please note that this offer is for US residents only.

Every week Today On the Spot has a community spotlight that highlights the member spotlight and a couple of other interesting tidbits. This week's report shares the latest beta key offers, and Setho10 gets a mention for being the member spotlight. Check it out!

This week’s tip is about exposing your GameSpot user videos. One of the easiest ways to gain exposure can be set by choosing the public option during the process of uploading a new user video. The public option allows your video to surface on the user videos page , which is sorted by date. Also, if you flag your video with a related game it will also surface on the gamespace. The private option does not surface your video under these two locations, but it will display them on your videos page located in your profile.

If you would like to share more about the background of your recently uploaded user video, you should post the BB code in your blog. Click on Embed Icon and a window will open up with the BB code. Copy the BB code and paste the short text in your blog. Unfortunately, GameSpot does not allow the usage of video embeds in your blogs at this time. If you want to link to a user video outside GameSpot you are welcome to hyperlink the text and refer to the user video outside GameSpot.

The last tip is something everyone probably already knows: You can copy and paste the URL of your user video page and share this link on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or any other site you are a part of.

Calling all GameSpot Total Access subscribers!

We have set aside many Command & Conquer 4 beta keys just for you! Mark your calendars to drop by GameSpot on November 16 at 12:00 p.m. PT to claim your spot in the beta test!

While this may be a closed beta test offer only for GameSpot Total Access subscribers, there are plans to have an open beta offer for everyone else in early 2010.

This week’s tip is about how GameSpot handles review scores based on the game and the way the platform handles the game. I have asked Justin Calvert to answer a question that was sent to me.

Question:

I see games on the 360 and PS3 reviewed [and] you guys always seem to put down the PS3 version even though it has the same issues as the 360 version. Whenever I see the reviews for a game that is on both consoles there is always a .5 deference in score, yet reading the review they have the same issues. There isn't a little biased in there is there?

Answer:

Firstly, none of us on the reviews team have any bias toward any platform--we all own both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, and we all enjoy great games regardless of which platforms they appear on. For the most part, we test all versions and find that the PS3 and X360 versions are more or less identical, and so our review scores reflect this. Occasionally, though, after testing all versions, there's simply no escaping the fact that one is inferior. When I reviewed Baja: Edge of Control last year, for example, the PS3 version looked far worse AND had an unstable frame rate--that version scored a 6.5 while the X360 version scored a 7.5. On that occasion, and on any occasion that different scores are given to different versions of the same game, the reason for the discrepancy is detailed in the text of the review.

More recently, Kevin VanOrd reviewed Dragon Age: Origins, and, as you may have noticed, all three versions of the game got different scores. On the PC it was a 9.5, on the PS3 it was a 9.0, and on the X360 it was an 8.5. The PC version is a quite different and superior game, and although the console versions are very similar, there are noticeable differences that make the PS3 version better. Read paragraph four on page two of the review if you're interested in exactly what those differences are.

We're often accused of bias toward one platform or another, but since we're accused of loving Sony, Microsoft, AND Nintendo, I think that just proves that we're not really biased at all, doesn't it? It's true that, on occasion, we post X360 reviews ahead of other versions, but that's not because we want to, it's because we insist on reviewing from retail discs and because, for whatever reason, publishers are often able to send us X360 copies long before we get PS3 copies. That's not always the case (we have retail Assassin's Creed II on the PS3 but not the X360 right now), but more often than not it is.

Anytime you have a question about reviews, please feel free to either PM me or send me an e-mail at justin@gamespot.com--I can't guarantee that you'll get a response right away, but I do try to respond to every intelligent question that I'm sent.

Related link: GameSpot Rating System

Game fans enjoy hearing about other people's game recommendations. Some people ask questions in the forums while others heavily rely on critic scores. Then there are also people who check into how many people purchased the games, while others simply have no idea where to go to find game recommendations.

Below you will find five tips about how you can get the best game recommendations by using GameSpot as a resourceful tool.

Tip 1: The first stop should be GameSpot’s gamespace, because the related games page does a pretty good job of finding games that are very close to the same in-game experience.

1. Do a search for Age of Empires III (or your favorite game) and make sure you choose the appropriate platform.

2. The left navigation will display the Summary link already open for you. Click on the Related Games link.

3. The Related Games page allows you to see similar games, like Age of Empires, and you can also click on two other areas to change your results: Same Universe and Same Developer. These two pages include
- Same Universe link, which will take you to the related game series
- Same Developer link, which will take you to the game developer games related to Age of Empires III.

4. Also, if you have been adding games to your game collection, you won’t even have to do a search for each gamespace. Just drop by your game collection page in your profile and click each game to check the Related Games links.

Tip 2: The second stop would be the genre pages that are easily accessible on the gamespaces. Here’s how.

1. Do a search for Age of Empires III (or your favorite game) and make sure you choose the appropriate platform.

2. Below the game’s box art you will notice details related to the game, such as the publisher, developer, release date, and more. Click on the genre link. For an example, if you searched for Age of Empires, there will be a genre link called Historic Real-Time Strategy.

3. The page will display many related popular games for the game genre. Consider checking into the gamespaces for each of your favorite games. Don’t forget to read and view all the content for each page to determine if this is the best game for you.

Tip 3: Another place you might want to consider is the Most Popular section found on the front page of GameSpot. Also consider the GameSpot Rating System page, because not everything below 8.0 is a bad game. On a related note, we also have the Best Of feature and other features like the Holiday or Getting Started guides, which will share even more game recommendations. The front page sometimes hightlights these features, but you'll want to drop by the features page for the latest.

Tip 4: Read about the professional and not-so-professional critic buzz! Professional critics, like the GameSpot editors, are a wonderful resource for prereleased and released games. Near GameSpot’s official review score located on the gamespace for most games, you’ll notice another score based on what the consumers think about the game. You might want to consider the user review score along with our sister site, Metacritic, to get a broader look at what the world thinks about each game. Also, don’t forget to read GameSpot User Reviews located on each gamespace. Some user reviews have recommendations about purchasing or renting games.

Tip 5: The last tip involves mingling with others by posting in the General Games Discussion forum. This forum has a dedicated thread just for questions like these. Why not check to see what other GameSpot members have to say?

That is it for my list of five tips for game recommendations. You are welcome to share your game recommendation strategies in the comments!

Announcements

Mobile Games Channel We have another addition to the game channels to highlight mobile games content. You can now reach the mobile channel by clicking on the mobile or iphone tabs on every Gamespot.com webpage. You will also find gamespaces dedicated to mobile games [example] where GameSpot members can review mobile games, and a popular phone feature page worth checking out.

PC Giveaway
The GameSpot Production crew have been sharing details about how U.S. residents have the opportunity to win a brand new computer and monitor. All you have to do is create a blog or user video explaining why you should get the computer. Drop by the Producer's Note blog for the details.

Brutal Legend Trivia & Marathon
Last Friday wehad an hour game play marathon for Brutal Legend. Tim Schafer and Erik Robson from Double fine dropped by to talk about the game. Also, if you participated in the trivia session, we have announced the winners in the Producer's Note blog.

Game Heroes Countdown
The Game Heroes competition ends this Thursday. You all have two more days to make a difference between Mario and Freeman!

TMNT Smash Up Game Night
Game Nights happen every Tuesday starting at 4:30pm PT. To participate, make sure you have a Nintendo Wii, an internet connection, and drop by the game night chatroom to play. Also, to make sure there is staff participation, please vote for the time you plan to show. If we don't get enough votes by tomorrow morning all Wii players are encouraged to drop by the chatroom to play a game of theirr choice.

Mod of the Month
Each month the moderators set aside time to vote for each other in hopes of being the next top moderator. This week's moderator of the month went to cell_dweller for his efforts in helping other GameSpot members, and the moderators. Additionally, if you would have voted for another moderator, each month the moderators allow GameSpot members to select other moderators for fun.

Member Spotlight: dtujd2

This week's member spotlight goes to dtujd2 for his blog about why gaming matters. His blog talks about the reasons why gaming should matter to everyone. One of the interesting points was the portion about not forgetting the elderly. Games can stimulate the brain much more than television shows can because it requires the player to be interactive! Let's flex those brains, peeps! Here is an excerpt:

...I feel gaming could introduce something to many of our senior citizens that goes missing from their lives all too often in their golden years: The feeling of being young, of being alive. Through gaming, our elderly can experience thrilling adventures, engrossing stories, and deep strategy that will challenge their mind, body, and spirit, but in a safe and productive way.

Randomness Teh Awesome

Blog Bunker

- Whitewolf725 and wolves1989 recently posted their experiences about meeting eac other in person. Check out their blogs to join in on the romantic discussion.
- The_Druggie writes about a variety of rage quit games, Shame on him!
- Bowlingotter was happy about the new GameSpot iPhone channel, and shares more iPhone game impressions.
- Tee-3 , the Battlefield Heroes game night MVP, shares his experience about a former game night.

Staff Fingerprints

- Tom McShea would like to give a big shout out to Cripshay for noticing a minor typo in one of the reviews. These two words do look quite similar: every and ever. Thanks for alerting us of this mistake, Cripshay!

Misc. Drawer

- TheHotSpot emblem winners: rayjingstorm
- Halo 3 ODST Game Night MVP: WaterLord0
- Pakhair uploaded a hilarious video with a marching parade with 2 infants.
- Skipping this week's user review and user video mentions

Tip of the Week

This week's tip is about making sure your private messages do not consist of advertisements thanks to a question asked by leonard88.

We sometimes come across reports with users who are offended about a user contacting them through private messages. There are some occasions where the user did not know they were a part of a Union, and this can easily be avoided if the Union officers and leaders changed the way they contacted other Union members.

If you decide to use the telegram feature as a Union leader or officer, make sure you state that they are a part of your union or this private message is subject to be flagged by others for advertising, or simply harassing them. This often happens when there is a leadership change, or there are new union officers. The best way to get around this is to state the Union name in the telegram. .

Here is an example to consider.

Dear Zappers Union members,

We plan to have a game night dedicated to the best shooter game of all time. To join in stop by the Zappers union for more details!

Stating the union name and calling them a member will refresh a user's mind, or simply give a cranky user no way to report it as a valid abusive advertisement. Users who sign up for a Union should come to understand that they are signing up for any telegrams sent from these Unions.

Additionally, if you send someone a link outside GameSpot.com, be certain that they know them. If you send random users any websites outside GameSpot it might get flagged for advertising. The account sending the messages to many users are always subject to have the worst kind of penalties. Befriend people before sharing interesting things with them. .

Until next week!

Announcements

Game Night: Halo ODST happens this Tuesday starting at 4:30pm PT

Today on the Spot PC Giveaway Delayed

Member Spotlight: Brianfox1

Last week we mentioned that the member spotlight would be chosen based on the GameSpot Answers statistics. This week's member spotlight goes to Brianfox1 for having the highest GameSpot Answers rank of gold. Brianfox1 has been a registrant for over a year now, and judging by his game collection, he is a fan of the Nintendo game platforms.

User Videos

Homemade Resident Evil by Drumtasticnick. A short film dedicated to the game.
Scribblenauts Video Review by k_smoove. A funny video review about what stinks about the game.

User Reviews

Folklore (PS3) AzelKosMos
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements (X360) celtic1962
Duke Nuclear Winter (PC) ChristianKiss
Shining in the Darkness (Genesis) 3KindgomsRandy
Zombie Apocalypse (X360) dracula_16
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (DS) Azghouls
The Adventures of Cookie & Cream (PS2) ebbderelict
Castle Crashers (X360) zh666

Randomness Teh Awesome

Blog Bunker

What happened to Sonic the Hedgehog? Charization
Uncharted 2: Multiplayer Demo Impressions canana
Old School Gamer Chronicles 8 - Red Baron (1990) Talonfire
The Promise of Portable Gaming Safad0
Criteria for playing a game jeroentje001
What universe or "setting" for a game attracts you? bowlingotter
When luck surpasses strategy in a game ChristianKiss
Game Heroes: Kratos Out of the Picture PSFreak1

Staff Fingerprints

Professor Layton to the rescue by Laura Jenner (GSUK)

Misc. Drawer

- TheHotSpot emblem winners: Wednesdaylad43, Salami5000 and Stephenage
- Battlefield Heroes Game Night MVP: Tee-3

Tip of the Week

GameSpot and GameFAQs members have the opportunity to ask questions and answer them by going to any GameSpace on the site. If you have a question about a game, do a search for it and ask the question. Some answers are already available for popular games. For example, dropping by the Fallout 3 page and click on the answers page to find information about bosses, quests, puzzles, items, levels, plot, strategy, technical assistance and much more!

Announcements

- Now Playing is our new name for Advanced Screening, which is basically a pretty label for our live gameplay marathons. Today's episode will take you 1 hour into Halo ODST. Sadly, no emblem announced for this event. We'll have a chatroom button on the right side of the page about 20 minutes prior.

- Game Heroes Round 3 started a few hours ago. Get in your vote for your favorites. Also, for those of you who want to know the latest scoop about this feature, click on the home tab located on the feature for the details.

- GameSpot's Smackdown vs Raw 2010 Draft special now has a replay available for those of you who missed out on the live event. Also, we posted the trivia winners of the prize bundles in the Producer's Note.

- The latest Game Heroes emblem was announced. We do have a variety more up for our sleeves, but you should note that these are the two primary ones the majority will receive for participating. Also note that staff still have to pull up those of you who did not complete your brackets properly. I'll post an announcement once we had out those as well.

- League of Legends: Clash of Fates beta giveaway! We have 20,000 beta keys to give away to U.S. residents. Be sure to check the system specifications found on the right side of the page before requesting a key.

- Skipping Random teh Awesome, user videos and user reviews due to this week being extreme busy with broadcasts galore! I blame the Game Heroes Bub & Bob haters/fans, Smackdown vs Raw, and Halo ODST marathon.

Member Spotlight: Garrison_Ford

This week's member spotlight goes to Garrison_Ford for his woes about work blocking GameSpot. What would you do if you were blocked to check the site during lunch breaks? Be sure to give him some tips to get him through the day!

Tip of the Week

This week's tip has bee requested by demand since we brought back our weekly broadcast, On the Spot now known as Today on the Spot. We have read your emails, forum posts, comments and private messages galore! You have all been super excited about having the opportunity to win prizes three times a week. Some of the tips below may likely increase your chances of winning a trivia prize

1. Fast forwarding cheaters are not considered. Make sure to answer the entire show up until the trivia time.

2. Logging in and using the submit answer button fills in your contact information for you!

3. Make sure your contact information is up to date, including your email as we may send you a notice about your prize. Email bounces may cause you to be ineligible for a prize

4. If you are new registrant, fill in your contact information to enhance your chances of being considered.

5. Only one winner per prize and TOTS episode

6. Include your t-shirt size when you answer the trivia question. Be sure to mention the name of the prize you are trying for!

7. Prizes take 4-6 weeks to receive if you live in the United States. If you live outside U.S., the prizes take about 6-8 weeks.

8. The types of winners we select vary depending on the kind of show we have.

9. Submit your answers the day the show was published to enhance your chances of being selected!

10. We plan to start posting the winners list in the Producer's Note site blog.

Note that these 10 bullets only serves the condensed version of the tip of the week. Be sure to read the tip of the week article for a further explanation.

Also, if you have never watched a GameSpot Today on the Spot episode, you may participate in these trivia sessions by checking out the schedule located on the front page of GameSpot. Scroll to the right side where it says GameSpot originals.