Like Jenn, there are times where I pick up a controller and instead of focusing on the further adventures of Commander Shepard and Master Chief, I'm thinking about how every second I spend sitting on this couch, I could be making babies so my parents don't pass away thinking I'll die alone shortly after them, having never accomplished anything beyond a very respectable score in 1941: Counter Attack.

I'm being dramatic, but at the same time I'm really, really not.

 I'm at that point in the game where every one in my party recognizes that we're on a mission of galactic importance, but it'd be really sweet if we could drop everything and run a personal errand across the universe, so this is as good a time as any to slow down and jot down some of my thoughts. If you're like me and you're in the middle of your first play through, don't worry, I'll keep it spoiler free. 

I have an assignment for you readers out there: a simple two-step questionaire for you to spring upon your friends. 

First, ask any video game fan who they think the strongest woman in the world is. Chances are they'll respond with Chun-Li, and why not? While Samus Aran may be considered the original "strong female lead" of video games, Chun-Li proved once and for all that women could kick just as much ass as the boys, still be sexy and at the end of the game she didn't even strip down to her underpants to prove it. With her iconic fashion sense and ferocious fighting style, Chun-Li has become a timeless icon for women in gaming. 

Now for the second question: would you still respect Chun-Li had she entered a girls-only Street Fighter tournament? Suddenly, the persona of Chun-Li doesn't sound all that fierce or, for lack of a better term, badass. This is what the organizers of the annual EVO Championship Series fighting game tournament (whom I love dearly) are asking the community to do and I for one can't stand the idea one bit. 

I've been creating and hosting live streams of Street Fighter gatherings for a little over a year now and not only have I learned a lot since I first began, but I'm actually still learning little tricks here and there that makes this hobby of mine as fresh as ever. With more and more outlets jumping into the fray of streaming live events, I've become something of a go-to person when it comes to figuring all this stuff out, so I thought today I'd share some of the knowledge that comes from constant streams a year later.

For everything technical regarding what sort of equipment or software you should be using, my good friend Niedel over at iPlayWinner (of which I'm a media consultant) wrote up a great guide that covers all of that. When it comes to hardware, really, just about setup you can come up with will probably net decent results and in software, nothing beats CamTwist, which is a Mac only live editing application. Without it, I have no idea how I'd be able to do a lot of the cooler aspects of my streams.

As for everything else, here's my all-purpose advice for running a live stream.

- Diatron5, Twitter

First of all, that's not true! Everyone knows that us NorCal players play Street Friendly IV!

Have you ever listened to me open my big mouth on a podcast or a stream and thought to yourself, hey, I bet that Jared kid isn't as good at Street Fighter as he likes to think he is. Who are you to doubt El Dandy -- I mean, me? Well, it's time to put your judgmental attitude and Street Fighter skills to the test because when you lose it won't just be me who will be laughing, but the world!

I'm actually thankful that something as extreme as Bayonetta came into fruition because the game itself is so undeniably provocative that its bringing a lot of interesting discussions on the matter to the table, especially those from Tiff and Leigh. And to be perfectly honest, I can't help but get myself into horribly awkward debates regarding gender politics with my girlfriend, who is soundly disgusted by the world of Bayonetta.

While Leigh Alexander argued on behalf of empowerment by pole dancing and Tiff the opposite, my opinion falls somewhere in the middle as, unlike a lot of games, the fiction and overall design of the game supports a character as ridiculous and yucky as Bayonetta.

Forcing myself to play Braid and the harder levels of Trials HD (though the latter was immensely satisfying) gave me a lot of time to think about achievements and realize that a lot of my feelings towards them haven't differed much from when they first arrived on the scene back in 2005. When Microsoft first revealed their progress tracking initiative, I remember thinking that they were the perfect way to get the most out of the games we buy and that I'd always strive to get all the achievements for all my games.

Then the Xbox 360 launched and Perfect Dark Zero asked that you get 1,000 kills every way that you could possibly imagine. The dream had died before it began.

That said, here are my favorites for 2009.

Jared: My character kissed Alistair tonight.

Shelby: Wow. How did you do that?

Jared: It was an option. Then, on the next quest, he gave her a rose and told her she was very special to him.

Shelby: Aww..

Jared: I think I'm going to break up with him.

Shelby: WHAT!?

Sorry Alistair, but I'm just not that into you and that's how love works. Am I right, ladies?