(I'm not into BBcode [and I'm incredibly lazy], so photos will not be included in this blog) (Actually, scratch that. I'll be inserting red panda photos)


Hi there! My name is L3ED and you may have seen me around on this lovely site Destructoid. Although I've been on Dtoid for a bit, I didn't post my first blog until recently. Veteran community member Elsa suggested that I do an introduction, so, well, here you go.

I've been on this earth for 27 years and I am to some extent, a hipster. I have a beard, I wear plaid, and I do frequently use Instagram. Yeah, I am ashamed of that. Like, a lot. But that's who I am. So deal.

I am American and live in Maryland. Ah, Maryland. To be honest, the only reason I like Maryland is because Bethesda Softworks is located 5 minutes away from my living quarters. I enjoy dogs, running, and listening to alternative rock. My favorite band currently is Muse. You may have heard of them.



(Isn't that picture adorable?) Gaming has been in my life since the start. Well, it really started when my amazing brother gave me a Game Boy Color with one of the greatest games of all time, Pokemon Yellow. I was addicted to that game. I've sunk many hours into that game and I continue to today. Eventually I upgraded to a Nintendo 64, which housed three more of the greatest games ever, which were naturally Goldeneye, Star Fox 64, and Pokemon Snap. To this day, I do not understand why two of those games have been remade, but not Pokemon Snap.

I soon started playing our Nintendo Entertainment System, which helped my love for Nintendo grow. After that, I got an Xbox (original one, mind you), then a Xbox 360, and then a Wii. Those are all the home consoles I own. If you noticed that I've never owned a PlayStation, then you can guess that I really wish I had purchased one. But, I also really love portable gaming. In my life, I have owned a Game Boy Color, a Game Boy Advanced, a GBA SP, a DS, a DSiXL, and lastly, a 3DS. Yeah, I really love Nintendo's handhelds.

Some of my favorite games ever, besides the bits that I've mentioned, are Jet Set Radio Future, Call of Duty 4 (the one before CoD became what we know it as today), Battlefield: Bad Co. 2, LIMBO, all of the Super Smash Bro's, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and every Ace Attorney game ever.

And here's the part of my introduction that I've been dreading to write: my gaming confessions. Let's see... Oh! I've never played any Half-Life games. Ever. In fact, it'd be really cool if someone gifted me the original Half-Life on Steam (my username is L3ED, and I'm trying to hint at anyone being kind enough to do that). You don't have to. I'm not like that. But, seriously. I want that game. Secondly, I've never touched a JRPG (Pokemon doesn't count). Now, those may seem like they're not that big, but it feels like everyone's played those.



I forgot to mention that my PC, and pardon my French, is utter shit. Like, 1.8 GHz Pentium, 2 GBs of RAM, integrated GPU. If your eyes are bleeding, I apologize. I didn't mean for you to read that. And the best part? My job heavily relies on Photoshop CS5 (CS6 is almost here, hnnnng), which can take quite a lot of power sometimes. Yet somehow, I deal with it.

I really wouldn't change a thing with my life. Things have gone the way I've wanted and I am happy with who I am. I really love Destructoid and I have never met a community who is as amazing as the one here. I've laughed with you, argued with you, and agreed with you. Here's hoping that we're all gonna be friends. (Insert White Stripes song)

Oh, and a parting gift, for reading the whole story of my wonderful life.

(Please note that due to my excessive laziness, no photos will be included in this blog)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been out for several months now, and we've all gotten our fair share of play time. Serious players have logged in weeks into the epic RPG. When Skyrim initially released, critics praised it for its rich plot and content. But, after a while, Skyrim may have bored you and you probably left to play other games. With the newly announced Dawnguard DLC headed for Xbox 360's this Summer, we all have a fairly good reason to get back into the game. To prep Xbox owners for the awesomeness to come, Bethesda has added new Kinect Voice Commands to Skyrim. And, honestly, they're fantastic.

I have never used my Kinect the way I thought I would when it was first announced as Project Natal. I've played some lackluster tech demos and the occasional gem that dies off relatively fast. Yeah, I somewhat regret spending my money on that little sensor. But lately, I've gotten a kick out of using the Voice Commands in games like Mass Effect 3 and now, Skyrim.

Over 200 (!!) commands have been added for you to use in Skyrim. Whether it's shouting Fus Ro Dah at your TV like you've always wanted, or simply sorting your weapons by weight, you can pretty much do it all. There is also a nifty hotkey feature where you can assign items in your Favorites with names such as 'Fire' or 'Sword', which allows you to access it anytime you wish.

The commands make Skyrim a whole lot more easy to navigate. All item menus can be sorted by weight, value, or name. They also make combat a lot more accessible. Just by saying "Equip Sword", my character pulls out his Orcish Greatsword immediately. Commanding your allies is a breeze, and with a simple "Ally Wait", your friend will stop moving.

But, the coolest feature is easily the ability to use your Shouts. There are twenty Shouts in Skyrim, and equipping them can be a hassle. Chances are you don't like having to press the B button, sliding on over to Magic, scrolling to Shouts and equip/favorite them. Now, you can simply speak the Shout you wish to use. By default, the game recognizes the english name for each Shout. But, honestly, who wants to scream Whirlwind Sprint at their TV when they can just say Wuld Nah Kest? To use the dragonspeak version of the Shout, simply hold the RB button and speak. A little dragon indicator will replace the on-screen microphone to notify you that you are using dragonspeak. If you prefer the old-fashioned way of Shouting, just hold LB and press RB to use whatever Shout you have equipped.

To be honest, the only problem with the commands is that there is a slight input lag. When in the menus, this isn't much of a problem, but in combat, it can be frustrating. If you need to switch to your sword fast when being chased down, you'll have to say "Equip Sword" and wait about half of a second to equip it. In the time it takes to switch weapons, you might already be killed. I recommend mapping your favorite weapon to one of the D-Pad buttons just to be safe.

Input lag aside, the commands are flawless and they greatly improve the overall quality of Skyrim. They make it more enjoyable and I prefer using them over the traditional controls. If you own a Kinect, I advise you enable the commands. If you do not, well, you might want to pick one up, considering how many "core" games support it.

For the list of full Kinect Commands, click here.