As we all come to grips with the purchase of 1up by UGO, the dust settles from those who unfortunately were let go. And while the list of people I will miss is too long to mention here, it's those who are left who will continue the future of the site.

I just hate to give up on a site that I enjoyed so much, but without their suite of podcasts, I feel like giving up on 1up.com. First off EGM is no more, and that is sad, but the magazine had become a shell of it's former self. And with them we lose the rest with Greg Ford, Mielke and Shane. With Skip and Ryan O'Donnell gone, the podcast/1up Show is basically dead. The new up-and-comers that had taken over the review staff, already earning their fair share of critical criticism are gone as well, people like Ryan Scott and Nick Suttner. Garnett is still there with regards to news, even though editors like Philip Kollar and Anthony Gallegos are gone.

Who is left though? Besides Garnett who has seemingly held every job at 1up, it's the previews staff with Matt Leone, Alice Liang and Scooter, and the features team with retronauts Jeremy Parrish, Ray Barnholdt and Scott Sharkey. So what does 1up become then? It seems like a good amount of editorial talent remains, it's just focused in those areas. The loss of staff hurts, but it's not entirely dead. Gamevideos might as well be, but MyCheats isn't gone.

While the 1up podcasts that had come to define the site will likely never return, there is still some integrity left there. Maybe Ubisoft will let them review games again, but I would be skeptical about a new reviews team, as I had come to trust their staff in an age of exclusives and money hats. Despite the fact that 1up.com is changed forever, now that we have a clearer view, I'd like to be hopeful that the site isn't done just yet.