QuickJump QuickPeek finally gets a make-over! After a full year of weekly updates, we're now turning over a new leaf and allowing this QJ.NET mainstay to branch out by introducing the Weekend Warriors. Sorry, the Weekend Whattssitts? Hmm, just think of it as the Planeteers summoning Captain Planet. ...Or something - some other equally bad analogy like that at least. Ha! Nonetheless, it's going to be quite interesting from here on out. Here's to yet another year of some crazy weekly updates! And with that, we open the floor for the Weekend Warriors!

Sun Tzu was once quoted as saying, "Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the Attack." It seems apt for this Aces of the Galaxy contest we recently held, where, as in the story of Aces of the Galaxy, only a lone fighter dared to attack the contest with a winning comment. Find out who won after the jump!

Numerical scores are like so last decade ago. So, breaking free from the supposed "one-size-fits-all" checklists of items to add up to a game's "score", we're going to be implementing a new five-star review system. See, we're trying to avoid having to quantify video games into arbitrary numbers. After all, many of us feel that a game isn't just the sum of all its parts (as in a checklist), but rather, the totality of the gaming experience itself! In the full article, we've come up with a handy FAQ to introduce this brand spanking new system to all of you QJ.NET readers. And yes, there're no half-stars about it! Rawr!

Today is October 5. That means that November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, is one month away.

While we don't celebrate this day in the US (it's not even a public holiday in the United Kingdom - it's only a yearly celebration), many of us know of this day thanks to the DC Comics / Vertigo graphic novel (comic book) series V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and its movie adaptation (with inimitable performances by Natalie Portman as Evey and Hugo Weaving as V).

Still, any "holiday" that gives people an excuse to light fireworks and go door-to-door begging for spare change sounds like something worth celebrating. So we at QJ.NET invite you to get into the spirit of things to remember, remember the 5th of November.

On the 5th of November we're going to post an article or two about video games, gadgets, technology, and general geekness - what moves us and affects us and touches us, and all the things about video gaming and technology that ought not be forgotten. Pretty much like the QuickJump QuickList articles in our Opinions & Analysis section at the front page and the other articles in the Opinions & Analysis sections of our many video game, science, and gadget blogs.

We invite you to plan ahead and consider what you want to remember on that day - because our articles obviously can't be the final word - that's what comments and the QJ.NET Forums are for. (Besides, now that we've turned off anonymous comments - and now that comments are smarter, funnier, and more meaningful - you have a good venue to share your reactions.)

We look forward to your thoughts. See you on the 5th of November.

Happy Tuesday, true believers! Some of you may have noticed a slight change here at QJ.NET today. While this will be welcome (and long overdue) news to some, there's a strong chance that a lot of you hate our guts more than usual. Yes, we've finally disbanded the use of Anonymous Commenting, at least for the time being.

I hear the deafening cry of "Oh noes!" but this should be looked on as a positive step for the 'ol Q 'n J. For quite a while now, the comment section of this site has spiraled downward into chaos, filled with vulgarity, racist remarks, spam, and general knuckleheadedness that was impossible to moderate properly. The worthwhile and valid gaming discussions just got lost in the mess.

It's our goal to provide not only a source of 24/7 gaming news, but be a source of intelligent conversation as well. You all can be a smart and opinionated bunch and we want to encourage that sort of  behavior, not stifle it. 

So what do you have to do to comment? Just sign up and register. Its free, it only takes a couple of seconds, and there's a few added features that come along with being registered as well. You can select what kind of news to display on our "Blog of Blogs" page, you can choose to get daily email newsletters from your favorite section, and you can review your history of comments that you've made.

But since registration is a bit more mandatory, we would love to hear your input on what other kinds of features and abilities you'd like to have for your QJ profile, just leave a comment below or send us an email using the Contact Us form. Or you can just tell us how we've ruined your life by taking away the anonymous comments, it's up to you.

Now put down the chainsaw and go register. Just remember to set your email client (especially Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, etc.) to allow messages from "qj.net" otherwise you may not get the registration confirmation email!

*Article originally posted Sep 11, 2007 at 01:42PM

A 1UP report on the Square Enix Part 2007 reveals several interesting details regarding the company's recent entry into the gaming scene: The Last Remnant. Yes, we've given you a detailed preview of the game already via some magazine scans we found on Jeux France, however, this 1UP report has something interesting. They have an account of the preview that was shown to the press at the party.

Let's start with something from Yoichi Wada, Square Enix President. According to him the game will be a Square Enix RPG for the world. Hopefully, that means that it will be designed for mass appeal (as some critics would comment that the Final Fantasy Franchise has to constantly appeal to its own fandom). The simultaneous U.S. and Japan release and the reported presence on both Xbox 360 AND PS3 should attest to this.

The 1UP report then goes on to describe the trailer which featured the Unreal game engine. The scene starts with a young man, and then soon moves into showing an unfolding skirmish (probably that battle in the released preview screenshots for the game).

After the trailer, a real-time demonstration of the game started. There are a few instances where the frame-rate was choppy, however it must be noted that the game is still in early development, and based from 1UP's account, is enough to turn heads, as it looks "accomplished" already. Anyhow, the demo revealed that the game has a real-time environment similar to Final Fantasy XII and that similarly all battles will take place between the character and the easily seen monsters onscreen - which means no random battles in this one.

As for combat itself, a sample battle revealed a life-bar to indicate the relative 'health' of the opposing armies (labeled 'allies' and 'enemies'). Success of attacks seems to be based on timing, as onscreen button prompts that fill require the player to press the appropriate buttons at the appropriate times. The demo then revealed a roc-type "boss" that appeared and heavily augmented the opposing forces' life-bar. After the appearance of the "boss" a new selection of menu choices appeared.

This reveals that while the game attempts to move into a more dynamic pace, the game is still rooted in Square-Enix's core turn-based values.

Based on the screens we've seen so far we believe it's safe to speculate that this game mixes elements from FFXII system with elements from the Musou genre.

It was noted that a lot of the architecture in the environments in the game feel very reminiscent of Rabanastre in FFXII. It has been clarified, however, that there is seemingly no relation between Last Remnant and regular FF settings or continuity.

The Last Remnant is to be made for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PS3. No release date has been set so far. We'll update you as more info is made available.

Ah, lists.... Just about every site which caters to a niche has it. That's doubly true for sites that deal with games. Love them or hate 'em, we all read lists, so we decided to have a regular one of our own.

Ours will be called the QuickJump QuickList and it'll appear in the Opinions and Analysis section of our blog every week starting tomorrow. It would cover anything and everything under the gaming sun ranging from light laundry lists to downright serious rankings.

More than a list that we thought up, we want as much reader participation as possible. Therefore, comments will be taken special note of. We want your input on the items on the lists that we put out and you guys can even suggest future topics for this section. If we gather enough substance on a suggested topic from you, our dear readers, it's likely that your ideas will appear on the list with due credit to you.

Towards the end of each edition of the column, we'll let you in on the topic of the next QuickList. That way, we can factor in your ideas for the next appearance. I'll join the comment discussion so we can talk about stuff you want to see.

Tomorrow's QuickList will give you the "Seven MGS4 Plot Twists We See Coming," but if you have any shots to fire now, we just might see eight, nine, maybe ten. See you all there!

Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to QJ.NET every day in search of the latest gaming news for your favorite consoles! No where else will you find a website more frequently updated with the latest PSP Updates, Xbox 360 screenshots, Nintendo DS news, MMORPG musings, breaking PS3 ponderings, and the latest word about the Wii. But let's face it - there's more to life than just video games!

Our goal here at QJ.NET is to provide you with up to the minute news and information on a variety of topics that might interest or entertain our readers - so here's your chance to get introduced to some of our newest blogs that you might not know about yet. So branch out with us and let us show you what you've been missing! Who knows, you might even learn something!

They're quirky, they're handy, they're revolutionary - and sometimes you just have no idea what they are. Everyone loves Gadgets, so everyone should love the new QJ.NET Gadget Blog!
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Aside from taking the world by storm, what has Steve and Co. been up to lately? Check out our Apple Blog to get the latest on the iPod, MacBook, and the latest love affair between Apple and Intel!

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Stop by our Mobile Blog to get the inside scoop on the latest phones, service plans, and accessories to make the most out of your mobile experience! The world just got a little smaller!
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Consoles can't have all the fun! True next-gen gaming is already here and it's on your PC! From real time strategy, to first person shooters, Games for Windows is where the future lies!

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The world of online gaming belongs to World of Warcraft - the indisputable leader of the MMORPG genre. Come see what over 7 million people would sell their firstborn child for!
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Not to be outdone by orcs and blood elves, there's another MMORPG in the works that could knock WoW off its throne. Set for a 2007 release, come find out why people are talking about Tabula Rasa and prepare for the invasion!

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We've saved the best for last - we love our Science Blog! Check out the latest space-faring news and get a glimpse of all the heavens have to offer. You can't branch out any further than the final frontier!
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We hope you will take a moment to explore all that QJ.NET has to offer, I'm almost positive you'll find something that'll keep you coming back - if so, remember to bookmark it, or you can always find the list of QJ.NET Blogs in the middle sidebar to the right. You can also take a look at our Blog of Blogs which contains every piece of news covered in all our blogs - there's guaranteed to be something new to read every time you visit! And we aren't stopping here - keep your eyes peeled for even more blogs that are in the works and on the way - not to mention our constant efforts to improve your experience here at QJ.NET!

Got a suggestion for a new blog? Be sure to let us know about it!

As the saying goes, you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. Well after the day we've had here at QJ Central, I hope everyone's hungry, because we've got breakfast for all ... as long as you don't mind your eggs scrambled.

So what's the dish? As many of you might've known already, QJ.NET keeps growing and coming into its own with each passing day. As we grow, so does our audience (hey, that's you!). For some time now, the site has been dragging its feet, and we practically have to get out and push it to your browsers sometimes. That's no fun for you, and we're tired of having to buy new shoes.

Today we saw the first (of two) changes to our server structure, including a new addition. But like a little boy on Christmas morning, that brand new bike doesn't put itself together, and Santa isn't always the greatest when it comes to reading the French instructions. The short of it is that things didn't go as planned, and we should've taken the proper precautions and made offerings to the server gods... may thine bandwidth bless thee and keep thee free from lag.

Everything seems to be in order now, and hopefully the change in loading speed has been noticed (if you can tell, let us know in the comments - we could use the affirmation right about now). We apologize for the huge, unanticipated outage today, but now that you're surfing the site a bit faster, hopefully you'll forgive us.

And there should be another dramatic boost to speed by the beginning of next week as we make another change to our setup. This will result in a few hours of downtime for DL.QJ.NET, but like Santa, the plan is for us to sneak in while most of you are asleep, so leave out some cookies. Both DL.QJ and the front pages will benefit from this shakeup, but the front pages should remain unaffected as far as downtime is concerned.

Thanks for sticking with us and being patient! Now who's up for some spicy Denver Omelettes?

"We don't know the meaning of life, but we're pretty sure that we were put here in this world to enjoy ourselves."

Are we right? So thank goodness for gaming, and have a great new year, everybody!

Thanks for spending 2006 with us. We wouldn't be here without you. We're thankful that you make us your "quick jump" into what's happening in the gaming world. In 2007, we'll do our best to be an even better one-stop-shop for your news needs.

That's our Number One New Year's Resolution.

Also remember that sometimes happiness is something you have to make yourself (that sounds biologically painful and improper, but it's true). So we're going to do our best to generate happiness for our readers this year. We've got some big plans for you, the QJ.NET community. For example, you know that you can now filter news on the "BoB" (the "Blog of Blogs" or QJ.NET main page) if you're a member, and becoming a member of the community is fast and easy. Some changes are taking place at the QJ.NET Forums. We'll continue introducing more improvements this year.

By the way, our other two New Year's Resolutions are easier to keep. We'll be more carefull with spelingg. We'll also edit out bad puns (that'll be tough because new year resolutions go in one year and out the other). Have a great 2007, dear readers!