Obama campaign conducts damage control after debate, as jobs report looms

President Obama launched into damage-control mode Thursday, as he tried to smooth over his rocky debate performance from the night before while bracing for the next potential game-changer – the monthly unemployment report.

The Labor Department on Friday is set to release the September jobs numbers, which include an update to the unemployment rate. The rate has slowly edged down to 8.1 percent, but the reports all summer have reflected weak hiring month after month.

Obama, trying to back up his onstage claim Wednesday night that the economy is on the rebound, needs to show some positive stats on the board, and Friday’s report is the last of two monthly snapshots before the November election.

Mitt Romney, at their first debate in Denver, had hammered the president over the state of the economy and declared: “The status quo is not going to cut it."

Coming out of the debate, the Obama campaign said it would "make adjustments" going forward and tried to get back on the offensive.

At a Denver rally Thursday afternoon complete with teleprompters, Obama ripped into Romney as he tried to brush himself off and reassure supporters.

"When I got onto the stage I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. "But it couldn't have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn't know anything about that." 

The president ticked off a string of complaints about Romney's on-stage claims before adding: "The man on stage last night, he does not want to be held accountable to the real Mitt Romney's decisions." 

Obama's campaign complemented the rally with a conference call in which adviser David Axelrod said Romney was "completely untethered from the truth." 

But the Romney campaign quickly fired back, accusing Obama of doubling down on "false attacks." 

"In full damage-control mode, President Obama today offered no defense of his record and no vision for the future," spokesman Ryan Williams said. "Rather than a plan to fix our economy, President Obama simply offered more false attacks and renewed his call for job-killing tax hikes." 

The explanations from the Obama campaign about what went wrong came as observers from both sides of the political spectrum roundly judged Romney the winner. 

The Republican nominee was quick on his feet, polished and feisty as he repeatedly cut off the moderator and challenged his opponent on the facts. 

Axelrod suggested on the conference call that Obama wasn't doing enough fact-checking on Romney's statements. 

"Obviously moving forward, we're going to take a hard look at this and we're going to have to make some judgments as to where to draw the lines in these debates and how to use our time," he said, claiming Obama did not view the debate as a performance as Romney did. 

Romney was heading next to the battleground of Virginia on Thursday, while Obama headed to Wisconsin following his rally in Colorado. It's unclear whether Romney's performance will move the polls, but he was clearly looking for a race-shaking performance having slipped in recent weeks in several swing-state surveys. The race could be given a jolt again on Friday with the release of the Labor Department's monthly unemployment numbers. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that factory orders dropped in August by the most in three years. 

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing "trickle-down government," Obama accused Romney of wanting to "double down on the top-down policies" that led to the financial crisis. 

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney's first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president. 

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a consistently more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks. 

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position -- but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth. 

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not "where we've been" but "where we're going." 

"We've begun to fight our way back," Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains. 

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that "the status quo is not going to cut it." 

"We know that the path we're taking is not working. It's time for a new path," Romney said. 

He said Obama's push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery. 

"You raise taxes and you kill jobs," Romney said. "I don't want to kill jobs in this environment." 

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years -- of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who's looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan. 

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. 

To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class. 

"It's math, it's arithmetic," Obama said 

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he's pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes. 

"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class. 

"There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that -- no tax cut that adds to the deficit," Romney said. He added: "I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families." 

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 -- and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign's claims that he has not been specific. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Xbox Live Presidential Debate Stats Revealed

Microsoft has revealed that Mitt Romney won last night’s 2012 Presidential Debate according to Xbox Live users. According to statistics provided to IGN by an Xbox spokesperson, “Romney was indeed the winner of last night’s debate with the Xbox Live audience, despite what some of the raw, real-time numbers might have shown. We asked 10 questions during the debate to gauge who won exchanges or segments, and we found that ‘undecideds’ broke for Romney while Obama consistently lost support from his base.”

According to Microsoft, 88% of people who voted in polls during the debate were “likely voters” and 69% said that they will “definitely talk” to their social network about their position on the election. 11% of users who voted in the polls identified themselves as undecided voters, while 17% said they were leaning toward either Romney or Obama specifically. 9 out of 10 times, Romney exceeded his baseline support, and 8 out of 10 times, Obama fell below his baseline support.

Microsoft didn’t provide the specific number of users who watched the debate on Xbox Live, but said that “participation was strong and amazingly consistent throughout the entirety of the debate.” Approximately 10,000 users have responded to daily polls on the Xbox Live Election hub, and participation in polls during the debate “far exceeded this number.”

Microsoft announced its plans for a Presidential Election hub back in August and will stream the vice presidential debate on October 11th in addition to the next presidential debate -- focusing on foreign and domestic policy -- on October 16th. The final presidential debate will be streamed on October 22nd, in addition to a concert event featuring Neon Trees and DJ Skee before and after the debate.

Users who watch at least three of the four Xbox Live debates will receive Halo 4 Warrior Armor for their Xbox Live Avatar. More information on Microsoft’s Election Hub plans are available on Microsoft’s Election 2012 official site.

Enjoying watching streams on Xbox Live? Don’t forget that you can get access to the latest news, previews, reviews, live streams and more on IGN’s app on Xbox Live, and if you love presidential elections, be sure to follow IGN’s Video Game Presidential Election 2012.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

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Gore blames Denver altitude for Obama's debate performance

It was the altitude. Yeah, that's it. 

As liberal pundits cringed Wednesday night over President Obama's debate performance, Al Gore leapt to his defense with a curious explanation. 

If Obama seemed like he had his head in the clouds, the former VP reasoned, perhaps it was because he was having trouble adjusting to the Mile-High City. 

"I'm going to say something controversial here," Gore said on Current TV, the channel he helped found. "Obama arrived in Denver at 2 p.m. today, just a few hours before the debate started. Romney did his debate prep in Denver. When you go to 5,000 feet, and you only have a few hours to adjust, I don't know ..." 

Gore trailed off with a chuckle, but his fellow co-hosts chimed in with agreement. 

"Exactly," one of them said off-screen. 

Co-host Cenk Uygur noted how when he came from Los Angeles, "You know what I did? I drank two cups of coffee before coming out here." 

Another guest added: "It's really different. The first time I ever did stand up in Denver I had the same exact effect. I flew in that day and when your lungs aren't acclimated to that kind of air, yeah it makes you drawn. It makes you off. The president had an off-night." 

Other Obama supporters weren't quite so willing to give the president a pass. 

"I can't believe i'm saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter," comedian and Obama supporter Bill Maher tweeted.

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Romney energizes campaign with feisty debate performance

Mitt Romney energized his campaign for president Wednesday night, charging out of his first debate having, by most accounts from both sides of the political spectrum, dominated President Obama in a standoff for which he was evidently well-prepared. 

The Republican nominee was quick on his feet, polished and feisty as he repeatedly cut off the moderator and challenged his opponent on the facts. His central argument -- that Obama's economic policies have consigned the middle class to an eroding "status quo." 

Echoing the words of Vice President Biden earlier in the week, Romney said: "Under the president's policies, middle-income Americans have been buried." 

Liberal pundits and supporters of the president expressed disappointment coming out of the debate, while conservatives were ecstatic. 

Romney heads next to the battleground of Virginia on Thursday, while Obama heads to Wisconsin following a rally in the debate-state of Colorado. It's unclear whether Romney's performance will move the polls, but he was clearly looking for a race-shaking performance having slipped in recent weeks in several swing-state surveys. 

Obama, though, fought Wednesday night to cast Romney as bad for working Americans. He slammed Romney for wanting to turn Medicare into a "voucher" system, repeal the federal health care overhaul and allegedly push a tax cut for top earners. 

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing "trickle-down government," Obama accused Romney of wanting to "double down on the top-down policies" that led to the financial crisis. 

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was heavy on policy details and light on zingers. It was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney's first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president. 

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a consistently more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks. 

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position -- but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth. 

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not "where we've been" but "where we're going." 

"We've begun to fight our way back," Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains. 

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that "the status quo is not going to cut it." 

"We know that the path we're taking is not working. It's time for a new path," Romney said. 

He said Obama's push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery. 

"You raise taxes and you kill jobs," Romney said. "I don't want to kill jobs in this environment." 

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years -- of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who's looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan. 

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. 

To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class. 

"It's math, it's arithmetic," Obama said 

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he's pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes. 

"I don't have a $5 trillion tax cut," Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class. 

"There'll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that -- no tax cut that adds to the deficit," Romney said. He added: "I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families." 

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 -- and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign's claims that he has not been specific. 

The president, though, repeatedly hammered Romney at the debate for allegedly hiding the details of his plans -- from his proposals for implementing tax reform to his plans for replacing "ObamaCare." 

"At some point I think the American people have to ask themselves, is the reason that Gov. Romney is keeping all these plans to replace (the health care law) secret, because they're too good?" Obama said sarcastically. 

Obama adamantly defended the health care law, saying he's warmed to the term "ObamaCare." He denied that it was a "takeover" of health care and warned against repealing it as Romney wants to do. 

The debate in Denver fell against the backdrop of a sputtering economic recovery and rising U.S. debt. While Romney used these factors to argue Obama does not deserve a second term, the president again made the case that he's still cleaning up the mess from the prior administration and needs four more years to finish the job. 

Romney arguably had the most to gain out of Tuesday's performance. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate was a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is PSN-Bound

Konami has revealed it will resurrect Castlevania: Symphony of the Night via PlayStation Network.

The 2D side-scroller was originally released in 1997 and was the first game in the series to offer an open-world level design and RPG elements. The game places you in control of Alucard as he tries to hunt down his vampiric nemesis, Dracula, using both spells and swords.

The game will be available in Europe from October 10 for £10.99. We've reached out to Konami for details about an American release and will update the story when we know more.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Obama, Romney battle over economic policies in first presidential debate

Mitt Romney took President Obama to task Wednesday night for an economy that has sputtered while moving millions onto government assistance, using his first general election face-off to chip away at the narrative that Obama’s presidency is working for the middle class.

Echoing the words of Vice President Biden earlier in the week, Romney said: “Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried.”

Obama, though, sustained the drumbeat at their kick-off debate in Denver that his opponent is promising a return to failed policies that would boost the privileged and burden the working class. He slammed Romney for wanting to turn Medicare into a “voucher” system, repeal the federal health care overhaul and allegedly push a tax cut for top earners.

Each candidate strived throughout the 90-minute debate to appeal to the middle-class voters who likely will decide the election five weeks from now. While Romney accused Obama of pushing “trickle-down government,” Obama accused Romney of wanting to “double down on the top-down policies” that led to the financial crisis.

The debate, which focused exclusively on domestic matters, was heavy on policy details and light on zingers. It was one of three presidential debates set for October and marked Romney’s first opportunity to go toe to toe with the president.

The debate was tense at times, with the candidates standing just feet from each other and often cutting off the moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer. Romney appeared to take a slightly more aggressive tone on stage, though the overall tenor of the debate marked a step back from what has become a bitter and nasty campaign in the closing weeks.

Each candidate came armed with studies and stats to bolster his respective position – but the central goal was to broaden their appeal before a national audience hurting for jobs and make the case for why their plans would boost growth.

Obama argued that the issue to consider is not “where we’ve been” but “where we’re going.”

“We’ve begun to fight our way back,” Obama said. He accused Romney of wanting to roll back regulations and implement tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy and reverse those gains.

But Romney, citing the millions who have gone on food stamps and hit the unemployment lines in the last four years, argued that “the status quo is not going to cut it.”

“We know that the path we’re taking is not working. It’s time for a new path,” Romney said.

He said Obama’s push to raise taxes on top earners amounts to a tax on the very small businesses needed for a robust economic recovery.

“You raise taxes and you kill jobs,” Romney said. “I don’t want to kill jobs in this environment.”

On taxes, though, Romney sought to wipe away the caricature that the Obama campaign has been drawing these last two years – of Romney as an out-of-touch millionaire who’s looking to make the rich richer with his tax cut plan.

Obama again argued Wednesday night that the Republican nominee is pushing a $5 trillion tax cut plan that would skew toward the wealthy. To offset that, Obama claimed, Romney would have to either add to the deficit or raise the burden on the middle class.

“It’s math, it’s arithmetic,” Obama said

Romney, though, insisted the 20 percent across-the-board rate cut he’s pushing is not nearly as sweeping as the president describes.

“I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut,” Romney said. Further, he pledged to hold to his promise that it would be deficit-neutral and not hurt the middle class.

“There’ll be no tax cut that adds to the deficit. I want to underline that – no tax cut that adds to the deficit,” Romney said. He added: “I will not under any circumstance raise taxes on middle-income families.”

Romney addressed his tax plan after saying in an interview that one way to offset the rate cut would be to cap deductions at perhaps $17,000 – and have taxpayers choose what deductions they want to take. The details may have been meant to undercut the Obama campaign’s claims that he has not been specific.

The president, though, repeatedly hammered Romney at the debate for allegedly hiding the details of several plans – from his proposals for implementing tax reform to his plans for replacing “ObamaCare.”

“At some point I think the American people have to ask themselves, is the reason that Governor Romney is keeping all these plans to replace (the health care law) secret, because they’re too good?” Obama said sarcastically.

Obama adamantly defended the health care law, saying he’s warmed to the term “ObamaCare.” He denied that it was a “takeover” of health care and warned against repealing it as Romney wants to do. 

On taxes, Romney also knocked Obama for returning to a call for closing tax breaks for oil and gas companies as part of his deficit reduction plan. Romney said the $90 billion in aid to green energy companies amounts to “about 50 years’ worth of what oil and gas receives.” Still, Romney said, he’d be willing to put cutting the oil industry breaks “on the table” if overall rates go down.

Romney also had a quick retort when Obama suggested Romney wanted to cut education spending.

“Mr. President, you're entitled as a president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts. All right, I'm not going to cut education funding,” he said.

The debate in Denver fell against the backdrop of a sputtering economic recovery and rising U.S. debt. While Romney used these factors to argue Obama does not deserve a second term, the president again made the case that he’s still cleaning up the mess from the prior administration and needs four more years to finish the job.

The campaigns carefully managed expectations in the run-up to the debate.

Obama's advisers claimed Romney arrived with practice from the primary season under his belt. Romney's advisers noted Obama was the only one on stage with any general election debate experience. 

But Romney’s campaign cranked up its attacks in advance of the faceoff. Republicans seized on a comment by Biden in North Carolina Tuesday in which he said the middle class has been "buried" over the last four years. Romney and running mate Paul Ryan pointed to the admission as proof of what they've been arguing all along.

Romney arguably had the most to gain out of Tuesday’s performance. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate was a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

The two candidates debate next on Oct. 16 and for the last time on Oct. 22. The only vice presidential debate is set for Oct. 11.

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Obama, Romney jockey for edge ahead of first debate

After months of hammering each other's records from afar, President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet in Denver Wednesday night for their first face-to-face debate -- a 90-minute chance for either candidate to shake up the race with five weeks left on the clock. 

Each campaign has been carefully managing expectations for the showdown. Obama's advisers claim Romney arrives with practice from the primary season under his belt. Romney's advisers note Obama is the only one stage tonight with any general election debate experience. 

But Romney's campaign has gotten aggressive in the hours leading up to the face-off. Republicans seized on a comment by Vice President Biden in North Carolina Tuesday in which he said the middle class has been "buried" over the last four years. 

Romney and running mate Paul Ryan pointed to the admission as proof of what they've been arguing all along. The comment played into their central claim ahead of a debate on domestic policy that Obama's policies have hurt the middle class. 

"We agree," Ryan said in Iowa. "That means we need to stop digging by electing Mitt Romney the next president of the United States." 

The Obama campaign, though, called it a "desperate and out-of-context attack." 

The debate, one of three this month in addition to a vice presidential forum, is both high-risk and high-reward. A well-phrased retort from either candidate could redound to their benefit in the polls, while an awkward moment could have the opposite effect. 

Romney arguably has the most to gain. Though competitive with Obama in national polls, he's been slipping in key battlegrounds. The debate is a chance for him to close that gap, and potentially benefit simply from being on the same stage as the president. 

Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter tried to preempt several possible arguments by Romney with a lengthy memo Wednesday morning.   

"For the next four years, President Obama has laid out real and achievable goals, and a specific path to get there, restoring middle-class security and creating jobs and long-term economic growth," she wrote. "Mitt Romney comes to this debate in a different position. He doesn't have any specific plans to move us forward - only tired repeats that will take us back. ... So, Romney can use tonight's debate to fill in those details and finally, for the first time, explain his proposals or readjust his positions. Or he can spend 90 minutes doing what he does best: attacking the president, distorting his own record, and avoiding any and all details on his plans for this country." 

The debate is a rare moment when millions of Americans fix their attention on one political event. Fifty-two million people tuned in to the first debate four years ago, and 80 percent of the nation's adults reported watching at least a bit of the 2008 debates between Obama and Republican John McCain. 

Just 7 percent of likely voters have yet to pick a candidate, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll last month. 

Romney's campaign fell further behind in the wake of a secretly recorded video released last month showing him telling campaign donors that 47 percent of Americans pay no federal income tax and believe they are victims who are entitled to government assistance. As a candidate, he said, "my job is not to worry" about them. 

While Romney may draw attention to Biden's "buried" comment on Wednesday, it's likely Romney will face questions about the hidden-video remarks. 

Voting has already started and is picking up momentum. All but two of the battleground states, which do not reliably vote Democrat or Republican, have early voting, meaning more people are already locking in their votes every day. The most important of those states, Ohio, started early voting Tuesday. 

But Republicans with access to Romney's polling data said Tuesday that he has begun regaining some support among independent voters, enabling him to cut into the president's advantage. 

Wednesday's 9 p.m. EDT debate on domestic issues is sure to offer a blend of choreography and spontaneity. Both men have spent hours rehearsing with proxy opponents yet know to expect the unexpected. 

Half of the six, 15-minute debate segments have been allotted to topics related to the economy. The last three segments will focus on health care, the role of government and governing. 

Romney and Obama debate again Oct. 16 and Oct. 22. The lone debate for the vice presidential candidates is Oct. 11. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Supernatural: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on Season 8, Including Sam's New Outlook and Dean's Hurt Locker

With Supernatural: Season 8 kicking off this Wednesday night at 9pm, we recently caught up with stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki on the Vancouver set of the series, find out where Sam and Dean are headed this year.

Both Winchester brothers have been trapped in far off hell-mensions before, but in the Season 7 finale we saw Dean actually land down in an unfamiliar place to the show - Purgatory.  So how will this season be different, as far as the "separated brothers" storyline goes?  Well, for one thing, the year down in Purgatory has turned Dean into a "hardened warrior."  Because in Purgatory, it's all monsters.  And the hunter became the hunted.

Top 10 Supernatural Episodes

"We find that Dean has gotten out, and the time that he spent there [Purgatory] and what happened there has changed his outlook, and his perspective on things," Ackles revealed.  "These guys [the brothers] are always kind of at war, with the evils of the world, but he got a heavy, heavy dose of it down there, because he's surrounded by the things that he kills when he's topside. It was almost a concentrated version of what he's used to. He's come back a hardened warrior, and ready to use those sharpened skills in the real world. So he's a solider that just got back from war. It's going to take him a little while to adjust to the lack of threat, and the lack of combat."

Sam and Dean, from the Season 8 premiere.

"It's almost like The Hurt Locker, when Jeremy Renner's character comes back from war and he's sitting there looking at a cereal box aisle, and it's just so foreign to him," Ackles continued. "But what isn't foreign is being on the ground, fighting. I think Dean is feeling a sense of that. It's a year that he spent down in Purgatory, so he was down there for a whole year doing this. Fighting and battling non-stop, covered in blood, covered in mud, covered in dirt for twelve months."

Meanwhile, Sam, with no idea where Dean or Castiel went, and without Bobby or any contacts to the Hunter world, has been living a very different life.  "[Sam's] going to take off the hunter garb and just live a normal life, because I have nothing to tie me back," Padalecki remarked.  "There’s no Jo, there’s no Harvelle’s Roadhouse, there’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing holding Sam back from a normal life so he really commits to it and so when it all comes crashing back down, it’s like a brutal reminder yet again of who he kind of has been and is possibly meant to be."

"I think Sam in this season is different than Sam in other seasons where Dean was either in hell or where Sam was in hell," Padalecki added. "Usually when they’ve been split up, there’s been sort of the impetus of like, 'My brother’s in trouble, I’ve got to save him. I’ve got to help him. He’s going to help me and he’s going to save me.'" Part of the normal life that Sam pursues in Dean's absence is a relationship - his first meaningful one since Jessica back in the pilot episode - with a girl named Amelia. And even though the relationship is apparently over and done with by the time the Season 8 premiere takes place, Sam is still left hesitant to return to his old life with Dean. "Sam is kind of the adult in this reconciliation," Padalecki said. "He’s like, 'Look I found my own thing. I love you. You’re my brother and I’m so happy you’re back and I’m going to help you now but I want out. I want out. I love you. It’s great. I’m grateful that you’ve saved my life many times and vice versa. No hard feelings.'"

Padalecki then added, "And so Sam is kind of at a place where he wants to move onto something different, and I think Dean resents Sam more because Sam was living a good Christian life down in Kermit, Texas with a girl that he fell in love with and Dean was fighting for his life." Jensen Ackles also expanded on this notion, stating that the brothers have been worlds apart, in many ways. "It's going to take a little bit of time to warm up to the relationship that [Dean] has with Sam," Ackles said. "There's also what Sam did for the past year, which compacts the odd element that these two brothers have not only spent time apart — it's what they were doing. Dean was in this concentrated war zone, and Sam was literally just the opposite. So really, these two brothers have really been living two different lives this past year, and now they're having to come back together and pick up where they left up. It poses a bit of a problem."

More from the Season 8 premiere.

Added into the mix, causing more problems, is a new, mysterious character named Benny (played by Ty Olsson), who Dean bonds with down in Purgatory. "I'm really excited about that relationship, just on a personal level," Ackles smiled. "It's not only introducing a new character who I think is really cool, and I don't know if you guys have had a chance to talk to or see any of Ty Olsson's stuff, but he's a really fantastic actor. He and I clicked right off the bat, and the character is I think a really great kind of contemporary for Dean. It's a foxhole relationship in a sense. He's been at war with this guy. Benny really earned his stripes with Dean. He earned his trust, which is really difficult not only for Dean to understand, but even more difficult for Sam to understand when Dean comes back."

So with the Winchester brothers now more estranged than ever, what does that mean for the further adventures of Sam and Dean? "I think the way [Sam's] going to specifically react to Dean is just try to help him out in the task at hand and hopefully then do his own thing again," Padalecki stated. "He’s not going to leave him hanging and say 'Nope, I’m not having this. Have fun.' He’s going to say 'Okay, I get it. I do owe you this as you certainly have done for me a lot more than anybody else has. You’ve earned this and so I’ll help.' And we also both believe that we’re onto something that will end our hunting careers forever, so Sam’s like 'You know what? Perfect. Because I know what it’s like to not have an anchor into the hunting aspect of life - so I would love to actually not have a need for that hunting aspect of life and if this can solve that, then I’m in.'"

Supernatural's Season 8 kicks things off with "We Need to Talk About Kevin," on Wednesday, October 3rd, at 9pm.

Travel accommodations to Vancouver provided by Warner Bros.

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NFL reaches tentative agreement with referees to end lockout

NEW YORK –  So long, replacement refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back on the field starting Thursday night.

After two days of marathon negotiations -- and mounting frustration among coaches, players and fans -- the NFL and the referees' union announced at midnight Thursday that a tentative agreement had been reached to end a lockout that began in June.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was at the bargaining table Tuesday and Wednesday, said the regular officials would work the Browns-Ravens game at Baltimore.

The tentative eight-year deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. They plan to vote Friday and Saturday in Dallas.

"Welcome back REFS," Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller tweeted shortly after the news broke.

The replacements worked the first three weeks of games, triggering a wave of outrage that threatened to disrupt the rest of the season. After a missed call cost the Green Bay Packers a win on a chaotic final play at Seattle on Monday night, the two sides really got serious.

"We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games," referees' union president Scott Green said.

The agreement hinged on working out pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are part-time employees of the league. The tentative pact calls for their salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.

Under the proposed deal, the current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service. The defined benefit plan will then be frozen.

Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution arrangement. The annual league contribution made on behalf of each game official will begin with an average of more than $18,000 per official and increase to more than $23,000 per official in 2019.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option of hiring a number of officials on a full-time basis to work year round, including on the field. The NFL will have the option to retain additional officials for training and development purposes, and may assign those additional officials to work NFL games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the NFL.

"As you know, this has to be ratified and we know very little about it, but we're excited to be back. And ready," referee Ed Hochuli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. " And I think that's the most important message -- that we're ready."

Replacement refs aren't new to the NFL. They worked the first week of games in 2001 before a deal was reached. But those officials came from the highest level of college football; the current replacements do not. Their ability to call fast-moving NFL games drew mounting criticism through Week 3, climaxing last weekend, when ESPN analyst Jon Gruden called their work "tragic and comical."

Those comments came during "Monday Night Football," with Seattle beating Green Bay 14-12 on a desperation pass into the end zone on the final play. Packers safety M.D. Jennings had both hands on the ball in the end zone, and when he fell to the ground in a scrum, both Jennings and Seahawks receiver Golden Tate had their arms on the ball.

The closest official to the play, at the back of the end zone, signaled for the clock to stop, while another official at the sideline ran in and then signaled touchdown.

The NFL said in a statement Tuesday that the touchdown pass should not have been overturned -- but acknowledged Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch. The league also said there was no indisputable evidence to reverse the call made on the field.

That drew even louder howls of disbelief. Some coaches, including Miami's Joe Philbin and Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, tried to restore some calm by instructing players not to speak publicly on the issue.

Fines against two coaches for incidents involving the replacements were handed out Wednesday.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was docked $50,000 for trying to grab an official's arm Sunday to ask for an explanation of a call after his team lost at Baltimore. And Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was tagged for $25,000 for what the league called "abuse of officials" in the Redskins' loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Two other coaches, Denver's John Fox and assistant Jack Del Rio, were fined Monday for incidents involving the replacements the previous week.

"I accept the discipline and I apologize for the incident," Belichick said.

Players were in no mood for apologies from anyone.

"I'll probably get in trouble for this, but you have to have competent people," Carolina receiver Steve Smith said. "And if you're incompetent, get them out of there."

Added Rams quarterback Sam Bradford: "I just don't think it's fair to the fans, I don't think it's fair to us as players to go out there and have to deal with that week in and week out. I really hope that they're as close as they say they are."

They were. Finally.

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Seahawks stun Packers in controversial final play, putting replacement officials back in spotlight

The furor over the work of replacement officials reached a fevered pitch during Week 3 in the NFL, especially Monday night when Seattle beat Green Bay on a desperation pass that many thought was an interception.

Seahawks receiver Golden Tate was awarded a touchdown on the final play after a scrum on the ground in the end zone. Packers safety M.D. Jennings appeared to catch the ball against his body, with Tate getting his arm around the ball.

After a few seconds, one official indicated a stoppage of play, but another signaled touchdown for a conclusion former NFL coach Jon Gruden, working the game on TV, called "tragic" and "comical."

Tate clearly shoved cornerback Sam Shields to the ground on the play, but as Gruden noted, offensive pass interference almost never is called on desperation passes.

"Very hard to swallow," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I have never seen anything like that in my time in football."

One day after New England coach Bill Belichick was confused about a decisive field goal he thought was off-target and Detroit's Jim Schwartz couldn't understand a 27-yard penalty walk-off for unnecessary roughness, things had gotten even more chaotic.

"These games are a joke," Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman tweeted.

McCarthy was measured in his postgame remarks.

"Most unusual football game I have been a part of," he said. "I know it's been a wild weekend in the NFL and I guess we are part of it."

Packers guard T.J. Lang was even more emphatic, tweeting that the Packers were robbed "by the refs. Thanks NFL."

In Sunday night's Ravens-Patriots game, shoving matches followed even insignificant plays. One TV analyst called it the substitute-teacher syndrome: See how much you can get away with before the real thing returns.

"Nature says for us that we're going to go out there and push the limit regardless," Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway said. "If they're calling a game tight, if they're calling a game loose, it's going to be pushed to the limit. You are pushing it to the brink. If things are going to be called easier, and in some situations I feel like they've been less lenient, too, you've just got to play and see how (it's being called)."

If you can figure it out.

Broncos coach John Fox was fined $30,000 Monday and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $25,000 for verbal abuse of the officials during a Monday night game against Atlanta on Sept. 17.

More fines are likely for Belichick and Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and perhaps for others.

Fox and Del Rio were hit for their sideline histrionics, particularly when Fox was told he couldn't challenge a call of 12 men on the field -- he was correct that he could challenge, although replays showed the Broncos were guilty.

Before grabbing the arm of an official, Belichick wanted to know why Justin Tucker's field goal was called good in Baltimore's 31-30 victory Sunday night. He couldn't tell from his angle on the sideline, he said.

"So when the game was over, I went out and I was really looking for an explanation from the officials as to whether the play was under review," he said, "and I did try to get the official's attention as he was coming off the field to ask that, but I really wasn't able to do that."

Most confusing was the mark-off for a Lions penalty in overtime at Tennessee. Officials wound up penalizing Detroit from its 44-yard line rather than from the original line of scrimmage, the Titans 44.

Soon after, Rob Bironas kicked a go-ahead field goal.

Schwartz noted that the alternate official who helps the replacements with administrating penalties was on the Detroit sideline.

"We said, `You're enforcing it from the wrong spot.' He was adamant that they weren't doing so," Schwartz said. "At that point, we just needed to play."

They didn't play well enough to avoid losing 44-41, and Titans coach Mike Munchak wasn't apologizing for how his team won.

"I don't feel any guilt," Munchak said. "For us, really the obvious answer is there's nothing we can do about who's officiating games. It's the same for everybody, so go out and don't get caught up in all that."

The league and the officials' union met Sunday without reaching any agreement on ending the lockout that began in June. The players' union also called on the 32 team owners to end the lockout because it is compromising the integrity of the game.

While most of the coaches are being careful what they say about the replacements, the players and broadcasters are less inhibited.

"Unfortunately, I feel like that it's like changing an intersection from a stop sign to a red light," Browns kicker Phil Dawson said. "You have to have so many car wrecks before they deem that intersection to be dangerous enough -- and we're heading that way. Someone's going to lose a game, if it hasn't already happened, to get both sides to a pressure point to get a deal done. It's sad."

Certainly not holding back on the criticism are some of the NFL's broadcast partners. Analyst Cris Collinsworth was forthright in his evaluation of the officiating problems Sunday night, as were Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden during last Monday night's flag-fest in Atlanta.

"We don't want to talk about the officials, trust us," ESPN's Tirico said. "But it's affecting the game. When we meet with teams and coordinators, frustration boils out into limited on-the-record statements. Off the record, what guys are saying -- it's a nightmare. It is impacting the game.

"It hasn't burned a team to cost them a playoff spot yet. But you should go back and watch the film. There are so many little things that players are getting away with that is absolutely impacting the game to the detriment of the product."

Yet some players aren't completely down on the performances of the replacements.

Patriots receiver Deion Branch noted all the controversy about officiating throughout the league.

"But I think the bigger picture is that we've all got to understand that, hey, they're making those calls on both sides of the ball," Branch said. "Us as players, we need to remove ourselves from what the refs are doing and just go out and play our game."

Rams defensive end Chris Long offered, apparently with no sarcasm, that the game "hasn't changed at all with the replacement officials because officials don't care about defensive linemen, replacement or first-tier officials."

Then he admitted taking the regular officials for granted.

"The NFL could really use them back," Long said.

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Obama admits some ads go 'overboard'; Romney defends campaign in dueling interviews

In a set of dueling interviews aired Sunday night, President Obama conceded his "biggest disappointment" is that he hasn't significantly changed the tone in Washington since taking office -- and acknowledged sometimes his campaign ads go "overboard" and contain "mistakes."

Mitt Romney, meanwhile, touted his campaign's competitiveness as he emerged from a rocky week. "We've got a campaign which is tied with an incumbent president to the United States," Romney told CBS' "60 Minutes." 

The Republican presidential nominee said his campaign, despite heat from the media and grumbling from some conservatives, "doesn't need a turnaround." Romney expressed confidence he's "going to win this thing." 

The interviews aired as both candidates were launching a new wave of campaigning. Romney arrived in Colorado Sunday for the start of a weeklong tour through battleground states. Obama's campaign on Monday launched a new offensive with a TV ad blasting Romney for criticizing Americans who don't pay income taxes without having "come clean" about his own. 

At the same time, Obama told CBS that his ads are not always 100 percent accurate. 

"Do we see sometimes us going overboard in our campaign, are there mistakes that are made, areas where there is no doubt that somebody could dispute how we are presenting things? You know, that happens in politics," Obama said, arguing that the "vigorous debate" helps better define each candidate's vision. The exchange was not aired on television but was posted online. 

Amid the sustained toughness of the campaign trail tone, Obama conceded to "60 Minutes" that the tone in Washington remains more caustic than he'd like. 

"Change has happened and positive change for the American people," Obama said, adding: "I'm the first one to confess that the spirit that I brought to Washington, that I wanted to see instituted, where we weren't constantly in a political slugfest but were focused more on problem solving that, you know, I haven't fully accomplished that." 

Obama said he hasn't "even come close in some cases." 

"And, you know, if you ask me what's my biggest disappointment, is that we haven't changed the tone in Washington as much as I would have liked," the president said, adding that "as president I bear responsibility for everything, to some degree." 

Obama also defended his foreign policy record amid anti-American rage in the Muslim world, firing back at suggestions from Romney that the president has been weak with allies and enemies alike. 

In the interview Sunday night the president said, "If Gov. Romney is suggesting that we should start another war, he should say so." 

In the companion interview to Obama's appearance on CBS' "60 Minutes," Romney broadened his reproach to include Israel, criticizing Obama's failure to meet with the U.S. ally's head of state, Benjamin Netanyahu, during the annual U.N. gathering. Romney called it a mistake that "sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends." 

The White House has said scheduling precluded a meeting between the two leaders, who won't be in New York at the same time. With the final six weeks of a hard-fought election hanging over the U.N. summit, Obama has opted out of face-to-face meetings with any of his counterparts -- not just Netanyahu -- during his compressed U.N. visit. 

But Obama pushed back on the notion that he feels pressure from Netanyahu, dismissing as noise the Israeli leader's calls for the U.S. to lay out a "red line" that Iran's nuclear program must not cross to avoid American military intervention. 

"When it comes to our national security decisions, any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people," Obama said. "And I am going to block out any noise that's out there." 

In a wide-ranging interview conducted the day after U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed in an attack on Benghazi, Obama defended his foreign policy successes, noting he'd followed through on a commitment to end the war in Iraq and had nabbed Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden. 

He also waxed optimistic that winning a second term would give him a mandate to overcome obstructionism from congressional Republicans whose No. 1 goal, he said, has been to prevent his re-election. 

"My expectation is, my hope is that that's no longer their No. 1 priority," Obama said. "I'm hoping that after the smoke clears and the election season's over that that spirit of cooperation comes more to the fore." 

Romney, in an interview conducted last week, sought to deflect attention from his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, over their differences in Medicare policy: "I'm the guy running for president, not him." 

While reaffirming his commitment to lowering all income tax rates by 20 percent, Romney expressed no unease about his refusal to offer specifics, such as which loopholes and deductions he'd eliminate to pay for the cuts. 

"The devil's in the details. The angel is in the policy, which is creating more jobs," Romney said, adding that he doesn't want to see overall government revenue reduced. 

Romney, after releasing tax returns showing he paid an effective rate of 14.1 percent last year, also defended the rate -- saying the tax on investments is relatively low "to encourage economic growth." 

Interviewer Scott Pelley had asked Romney if the rate was "fair" to someone making $50,000 and paying a higher rate.  However, Romney's rate is not that out of sync with that of other Americans. A Tax Foundation report found at least 90 percent of Americans recently had a lower effective rate than the 13.9 percent rate Romney had in his earlier 2010 filing. 

The "60 Minutes" interviews came as Romney's campaign strives to turn the page after a secretly recorded video showed Romney writing off his prospects for winning over the almost half of Americans who he said pay no taxes, are dependent upon government and see themselves as victims. Ahead of an evening campaign stop at a Denver-area high school Sunday, Romney huddled with senior advisers in Los Angeles to rehearse for the three upcoming presidential debates, which his aides see as the best opportunity to get his campaign and its message back on track. 

Amid mounting pressure to spend less time raising money and more time explaining his plans to voters, Romney was refocusing his schedule on the most competitive states. After Colorado, Romney was to begin a three-day bus tour in Ohio on Monday followed by a stop in Virginia -- states that Obama won in 2008 but that Republicans claimed four years earlier. 

While national polls remain tight, polls in several of the most closely watched states, including Colorado, suggest Obama has opened narrow leads. Obama won Colorado by 9 points four years ago, but the state went to a Republican in the previous three presidential elections. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Louie: "Late Show Part 3" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

The conclusion of Louie’s journey towards potentially becoming a late night host ended in Late Show Part 3, and while it didn’t quite offer as many new turns as the last couple of episodes, it still was incredibly entertaining.

There was an obvious Rocky homage last week, with Louie running in the middle of the street, trying to get in shape, but here it became solidified that this entire storyline was Rocky – the original Rocky, that is. This was a story about Louie going the distance. He didn’t beat the champ. He didn’t become the champ. But he proved he could go toe-to-toe with him.

That would of course make David Lynch’s Jack the Mickey character, and indeed, Jack turned out to be the tough bastard who constantly harped on Louie, but ultimately was trying to help him and saw his potential.

Lynch’s appearance on these two episodes has been amazing. Again, we were in clear Lynchian/Twin Peaks territory here – close your eyes and listen to Lynch delivering the line, “Here’s the thing with that, champ – it’s short for champion” and you can just hear Gordon Cole saying something like that to Albert Rosenfeld. Lynch and Louie were a pairing I never would have thought of, but it completely worked and it would be great if somehow, they could bring him back at some point.

Louie’s practice interview with a cleaning lady was a wonderful disaster, as she broke down crying over the mother she lost when she was eight. All of Louie’s attempts to hone his skills were that great combination of awkward and funny, including an hysterically random array of curse words Louie let out at one point when practicing a monologue by himself.

After last week’s episode ended with the reveal that Chris Rock was also in the running for the Letterman job, it was odd to not have that brought up at all here or to at least get some mention of it. But that was balanced by having Jerry Seinfeld himself appear, as yet another celebrity willing to play a rather dark version of themselves – with Seinfeld attempting to trick Louie into believing a deal for Jerry to take the Letterman job was already signed. I’d already chuckled at Lynch’s parting words of advice -- “If someone asks you to keep a secret, their secret is a lie, you got that?” -- but it was even better when it turned out to be setting up Seinfeld’s scene.

Having Louie’s oh-so youthful manager Doug not speak at all the past couple of episodes got a great payoff here, as he got to exclaim, “If somebody asks you to keep a secret…!” and give Louie the eureka moment that would allow him to go out and nail his test show.

It’s interesting how negative a light this episode painted Letterman in at the end. Not only did we learn he signed a new 10-year deal to stay on the show, but we learned Louie had been banned from ever appearing on Letterman again. Hell, the episode ended with Louie yelling, “F**k you!” at the Letterman studio. (Though in a victorious way!) This show involves Louis C.K. using real life as a springboard sometimes while completely creating scenarios other times. Do he and Letterman have a beef? Are they good buddies and this will be laughed about between them? Either way, the scenario had a satisfying conclusion, with the unseen Letterman still making an impact.

In the end, this was a nice bit of validation for Louie, who had certainly wanted that job, but seemed to take heart in his friend telling him, “You took 20 million out of that a**hole’s pocket - that’s how good you are.”

Requisite awesome Jane line of the week: “You’re not skinnier. Daddy, you’re fat, Daddy.”

Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.

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How to Play Games, Win Friends and Influence People

It's September, which means the streets dance with the flutter of turning leaves, the sun dips quietly toward the night earlier and that guttural, paranoid fear of being back within the terrifying clutches of school has officially returned. Between the nightmare that is day to day academic judgment and the very feasible worry that you'll never live up to the lofty dreams and ambitions created by teachers, parental units and your own spiraling inertia as you careen towards the real world, where will you find the time to play video games?  Well luckily, you're young and the world isn't as tiny as you think it is. And growing up is tough! You have to do real things with your time, like go to IKEA and meet your significant other's parents every year when you screw things up with the last because they're like "why do you have a Super Mario action figure in your bedroom?" and you get really defensive and accidentally yell at them and they realizes they can do better. So many real world responsibilities!

But remember, you're not alone. In your school right now are a bunch of gamers just like you who can't wait to get home or head back to the dorms and play video games. And who can blame them? Back in high school and college, gaming was a great escape from what we thought was an all-consuming world of tests and lectures. So great that I gathered some of my friends here to reminisce about some of their favorite multiplayer gaming moments. These are the stories of friendship, of heroes working in unison or battling against each other for a greater cause: that video games are awesome and that school isn't. Here are the tales from IGN's vintage vaults. We hope you enjoy them, and if they're written terribly, maybe we should have paid more attention in school.

Ryan Clements, Features Editor - My sophomore year of college, I hungered for Devil May Cry 3 like a stumbling party-goer hungers for late-night burritos. Eager. Desperate. One of my best friends from down the hall, Hilario, wanted Gran Turismo 4 with the same level of anticipation. It had launched just a week or so earlier. We decided to make an event of our purchases. We carved out a huge chunk of time between classes and homework to play the games in my room. We would alternate between them in dizzying succession. We dubbed this great day in gaming history “Gran Devil Turismo May 4 Cry 3 Day.” After sitting patiently through a few laps in Gran Turismo 4, we switched to Dante and all his pizza-eating antics. We didn’t switch back for the next 24 hours. Hopefully Hilario forgives me.

Nic Vargus, IGN Tech Editor - After my high school friends had graduated and dispersed to colleges, jobs, and unemployment lines across the country, we pledged to meet up once a year over the only thing we had in common: sports. Just kidding, I mean video games, obviously. We called these rendezvous "H24," and every year we'd cart our original Xboxes, 30 bombs of Mountain Dew, and ethernet cables to my friend Mike's basement and play Halo 2 for 24 hours straight.

We did this every January 1st for years. I can't tell you how many absolutely epic games of Capture the Flag, Tower of Power, and Rumble Pit happened in those 24 hour segments, but I can tell you each year we rekindled our friendship over that game. While we don't still meet up and LAN each year, Xbox Live has made it so many of us have never lost contact.

Anthony Gallegos, PC Editor - It wasn’t uncommon for me and my friends to ditch class in high school so we could play Bushido Blade II. At the time we all had a mild obsession with Asian martial arts, so Bushido Blade scratched an itch most other fighting games didn’t with its one-hit kills. Of course fast food binges went hand-in-hand with these epic matches, and countless Taco Bell burritos fell alongside the bodies of our opponents. I still see the disc in my game binder now and again, but, just like a powerful doomsday weapon, I don’t pull it out lest I face the onslaught of burritos that comes with this awesome, often overlooked, fighter.

Ryan McCaffrey, Xbox Executive Editor - I roomed with my best friend for freshman year of college, and all we did when we didn’t live in the same tiny dorm room was play video games, so you can imagine how that first year of higher-education went. We had our respective high-end gaming PCs set up on opposite walls, so we sat back-to-back and did almost nothing but game…when we weren’t in class, of course (*cough*). Given that our freshman year was fall of 1998, a metric sh*t-ton of amazing games came out. We went one-on-one in Half-Life deathmatch (crossbow, how I love thee…) on a near-daily basis. We passed the controls back and forth playing Carmageddon II, laughing hysterically at each new pedestrian-exploding crash. It was an amazing time in my life…until the spring semester, when EverQuest released and took over my best friend’s soul. Still, if I had a time machine, I’d love to go back to that dorm room, just for a day. No responsibilities (uh, besides my studies, I mean…), just my best friend for life and round-the-clock video games.

Colin Campbell, Features Editor - Moosehead, the Lavers twins and me used to bunk off school to go down the launderette and smoke ciggies. I was running a nice little earner at the time, buying chocolate boxes from a clearing warehouse and selling them to other kids on the bus and to teachers outside the staff room. They were great ugly things with gaudy Victorian pictures of flowers. I guess it must have been around Mother's Day at the time, because I was marking up by 100%. Anyway, I had some spare cash so we played a bunch of Frogger and we smoked a lot of Benson & Hedges and we enjoyed it. In this way, I kept the Lavers twins from killing me, because they were naturally that way inclined, and Moosehead from killing himself, because only arcade games and fruit machines and maybe saveloy-and-chips kept him from the brink of despair. I suppose, on the downside, I avoided hearing about Chiang-Kai-Shek and plate tectonics for at least a decade, but, in retrospect, it was a good trade.

Mike Drucker, Lead Writer, IGN - When I was in high school, I really wanted to make video games, so I took a lot of computer programming classes. Luckily, those machines could run Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament so we learned absolutely nothing. None of us. Not a person. Thirty people and zero knowledge of programming. Oh, we could shoot each other in the face – we learned that just fine. And putting Bill Clinton and Simpsons characters in Quake 3? Yeah, we were on board. But when it came time to take the actual AP test for computer programming, we all opened our test books, stared at the questions, and then went outside to play kick ball. Because we knew nothing but how to slaughter each other on the virtual battlefield. And you know what? I never did learn programming. But our teacher was soon fired after that. I like to think it was because of that beautiful school year when he totally failed to do his job.

Brian Altano, Executive Editor of News & Features - During college I think I spent more time in Mario Kart 64's Block Fort than I did in the actual college parts of college. I've spent so much time in Block Fort that if Block Fort was a place on Foursquare I would be the Mayor of Block Fort if I ever used Foursquare. I spent so much time in Block Fort that if Block Fort had a phone number all of the numbers in Block Fort's phone number would be kind of worn out and yellowish on my phone from all the times I called up Block Fort like "YO, BLOCK FORT, LET'S HANG OUT!" I spent so much time in Block Fort that I can't even play multiplayer modes in other Mario Kart games because they're not as fun as playing in Block Fort.

Block Fort is like my one that got away. When I'm like 85 years old and I'm making the world's saddest whiskey face at a bar by myself and the young, lively bartender asks me what my one regret in life is, I'll say I wish I could have spent more time in Block Fort. Over the years the Block Fort multiplayer matches went from four players to three to two, to just me sitting alone in Block Fort remembering all of the good times, but that's the thing about Block Fort: it just totally encapsulates exactly what makes real life so great. Four equally colored, interconnected towers covered in banana peels and dead turtle shells populated by kart riding dinosaurs and stereotyped Italians under a ticking clock. Actually, that's nothing like real life, but Block Fort is still the most magical place in the world. Block Fort.

Casey Lynch, Editor-in-Chief -- Week nights during my college career were spent listening to Slayer and NOFX, playing Magic: The Gathering, and on the really good nights, assembling an army of friends and gear to play Doom deathmatch.  Saying “playing” Doom puts it mildly. Doom deathmatch  was my introduction to LAN parties, and by LAN parties, I mean kids stampeding into each other’s houses with a mess of cables, power strips, card tables and icy cold beverages, racking up frags and blowing each other to bits into the wee hours of the morning. This inevitably resulted in spirited but friendly yelling matches, and the occasional outrageous wager, but when we were hunched over in the flickering glow of our boxy CRT monitors, we were alive. I can’t tell you how many classes I missed the morning after Doom nights. Other than Halo LAN parties years later, no single gaming experience has come close to those early deathmatch days. I really miss it.

What games got you (or are still getting you) through school's most stressful days? Let us know in the comments below, and remember, no matter what you'll always be MY favorite commenter.

Brian Altano is IGN's Executive Editor of News & Features. Follow him on Twitter. He's really happy he doesn't have to go to school anymore.

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The Tower Chronicles: GeistHawk Vol. 1 Review

The concept of The Tower Chronicles is not exactly a new one. We have a mysterious loner who hunts down the things that go bump in the night, a doubtful FBI agent who needs his help solving a case and plenty of lines like, “I work alone” and "I can smell her fear." Without a doubt, The Tower Chronicles feels dated, like a story we've all heard before or a movie that never made the jump from VHS to DVD. The main character even looks like a mashup of the classic action heroes of the 80s and 90s, complete with turtle neck, Members Only jacket and slicked back hair. Fortunately, despite all that, it's still a fun read that's filled with some ridiculous action and some truly awesome looking monsters.

The story, created by Thomas Tull and Matt Wagner, revolves around John Tower, a man (at least we assume he is a man) who specializes in hunting down the kinds of things that the law can't. If, for instance, you are fairly certain that your family was murdered by a pack of werewolves, then you'd ring up John Tower and he'd make sure that said werewolves didn't come around anymore. Like I said, it's not exactly a new story, but Wagner's script manages to keep it interesting. In the book's 70 pages we get to see a man-made ghost, an owl demon thingy, and some really creepy vampires. It's cool stuff, as long as your idea of cool is seeing a vampire ripping the head off of a small child in extreme, gory detail (the kid is also a vampire, so I guess it's okay).

The dialogue, like the story itself, often feels stiff. None of the characters standout or doing anything particularly unexpected or interesting. You'll no doubt find yourself wishing you could get to the next monster and the next fight scene, because that's where this book excels. When the word balloons drop off the page and the plasma knife comes out, The Tower Chronicles gets good. Real good. It's just all those bits in between that'll have you wondering if this was originally a spec script for a Lorenzo Lomas movie from the early 90s.

Like the writing, the Simon Bisley's art is hit and miss. His detailed, exaggerated style looks amazing during the aforementioned fight scenes. The vampire melee towards the book's end is worth the cover price alone. It's sinister stuff, in all the best ways. The problems start when characters have to interact without a ghost or a monster attacking them. That's when things look awkward and lack a clear flow. It's a shame, because I'm sure there is more to Tower than his typical, brooding, tough-guy demeanor; it's just hard to care when he looks like such a bizarre dork. I just want to see more vampires and less FBI agents and mullet-topped bounty hunters.

The Tower Chronicles is scheduled to be a big story, covering several of these 70 page, over-sized books. Hopefully, as the story unfolds, the dated, stale feeling that haunts this book will be exorcised. This could be a great series, especially if we get more vampires ripping the heads off of people -- because that stuff is awesome.

Benjamin is a Ninjak enthusiast. He owns many variant covers and his office smells of honor. Follow Benjamin on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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Sheamus: Lawler's Heart Attack Was a "Real Fright"

This Sunday, the WWE holds its annual Night of Champions pay-per-view - a night where every single WWE title is on the line. CM Punk will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth will defend the WWE Tag Team Titles against Kane and Daniel Bryan and World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus will face down Alberto Del Rio once last time.

I had a chance to talk to Sheamus about his upcoming title match with Del Rio, their lengthy feud, his porcelain-white skin, and last Monday's frightening RAW from Montreal where Jerry Lawler suffered an on-air heart attack. Sheamus, among others, was one of the WWE Superstars who had to head out the ring and perform while EMTs were working to revive Lawler backstage.

IGN: This will be the third pay-per-view in a row where you've defended your title against Alberto Del Rio. That doesn't happen very often in modern wrestling. Can you talk a little about this feud?

Sheamus: [laughs] Is it the third pay-per-view already? Time flies, Matt. It really does when you're having fun. Yeah, it rarely happens, as you said. This feud actually started off back after WrestleMania when Del Rio, who had been out for quite a while, came back and started to interrupt me when I was the new World Heavyweight Champion. But it's been a really cool thing for me, and a good feud for me, because we learn a lot from each other in the ring and it keeps going back and forth. I even got to drive around in a Ferrari, which was a lot of fun. [laughs] It sure beat my Hyundai that I had back in Dublin. But this feud's been good for both of us, since both of us were sort of in the same boat when we came to WWE. We both found success rather quickly here. I became WWE Champion back in '09 and Del Rio won the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank and became WWE Champion himself so these matches have been about two guys who rose up the ranks very quickly. I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed the way the storyline's progressed. With each one of us constantly trying to get the better of the other, and out-do each other over the past couple weeks.

IGN: Now, for your match on Sunday at Night of Champions, the Brogue Kick has been banned. But you have more finishers than anyone else in the company. When will you have enough finishers, sir?

Sheamus: [laughs] I really don't know, man. I'm like a kid in a candy store. You can never have too many finishers. I think Undertaker has 17. The thing about the Brogue Kick though, and why it's caught on, is that it's something that I've really tried to establish over the past three years. It's a great finisher that can come out of nowhere. That's a rare thing in the WWE. John Cena obviously comes to mind too. He can literally pick up a crane and hit the AA. We've seen him use it on Big Show and the like. Randy Orton's RKO is like that too. It's been so successful because can come out of nowhere. And the Brogue Kick is kind of the same way. It can take down anyone, anywhere no matter their size. I've got other finishers, yeah, but that's really my main move. But I'll just have to figure out another way to beat Del Rio. The Cloverleaf's new and it's been very successful as of late so I might go for that one.

IGN: What did you think about the segment from a few weeks ago when Punk called the World Heavyweight Title the #2 belt in the company?

Sheamus: You know, it's funny that came up because we were all doing a THQ event back in Los Angeles during SummerSlam and it was a roundtable discussion group for the WWE 13 game and Jim Ross talked about the WWE Championship is and how important it is to the business. And how it was the one. And it just reminded me of how important the World Heavyweight Championship is to me. And how it's just as important in the company. I don't see how Punk can call the World Heavyweight Championship a secondary because in my opinion, from what I've seen, people like Flair, Undertaker, Edge, Triple H, John Cena and even Punk himself have held this championship. And this championship was the one attached to RAW if you just look back a couple of years ago. So I don't believe that. I also object to the fact that Punk calls himself the "Best in the World" even though he's never faced me. Until he's beaten me, I don't think he can call himself the best champion or the "Best in the World."

Sheamus talks the burdens of being so pale, and Jerry Lawler's heart attack on RAW, on page 2...

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Gunfire, then a missing ambassador -- officials describe chaotic scene at Benghazi post

The attack started with little warning. The U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi began taking fire at 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Within minutes, the attackers were in -- firing inside the building. 

It would be hours before U.S. personnel regained control. And hours before U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens' body was recovered. 

These details and others emerged late Wednesday, as U.S. officials sought to reconstruct what happened in those chaotic and violent hours in eastern Libya the night before. 

The attack on the U.S. Consulate left four dead, including Stevens, and three wounded. Questions have swirled over what instigated the attack, with a number of lawmakers and others speculating that it might have been a coordinated strike timed for the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Speculation is also widespread over Stevens' exact cause of death. 

Senior administration officials, in a briefing late Wednesday, could not answer those two questions. But they sought to explain how the attackers mounted such a deadly assault on the compound, and in doing so acknowledged that U.S. personnel effectively lost track of Stevens after the initial attack. 

Though details could change and State Department employees are still piecing together what happened, officials described the chain of events on Tuesday night as follows: 

At 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET, in Washington), the compound "began taking fire from unidentified Libyan extremists." That compound consists of a main building, as well as several "ancillary" buildings and an annex. 

Just fifteen minutes later, the attackers busted their way inside the compound and began firing into the main building, setting it on fire. At the time, there were three people inside -- Stevens, department official Sean Smith and a regional security officer. After the attackers gained entry, those three became separated in the heavy smoke and fire. 

The security officer made it outside, only to return in search of Smith and Stevens. They found Smith. He was already dead. However, they could not find Stevens, and had to leave the building because of the heavy smoke and "small-arms fire," officials said. 

At about 10:45 p.m. local time, U.S. security personnel tried to regain the main building but could not and returned to the annex. Thirty-five minutes later, they tried again with the help of Libyan forces. This time, they held it down, for long enough to evacuate everyone to the annex. 

However, at midnight, the annex too came under fire. The attack lasted for two hours, during which time two more Americans were killed. 

At around 2 a.m. local time, Libyan security forces assisted the Americans in "regaining control of the situation." 

In piecing together these details, U.S. officials are still trying to figure out what exactly happened to Stevens. 

"At some point in all of this, and frankly we do not know when, we believe that Ambassador Stevens got out of the building and was taken to a hospital in Benghazi," a senior administration official said. "We do not have any information what his condition was at that time." 

U.S. personnel did not see his body again until it was returned to the Benghazi airport around dawn. The official said the administration cannot say what the cause of death was -- reports have ranged from smoke inhalation to an attack on his car -- until an autopsy. 

As for the rest of the U.S. Consulate staff, they were all evacuated back to Tripoli over the course of a couple cargo flights from Benghazi on Wednesday. The flights included the three wounded personnel and the remains of the four Americans. The staff is now in the process of being flown to Germany, where those who are wounded will be treated and others will be on "standby" while the security situation is assessed. 

One official said the embassy in Tripoli, while still operating, has been reduced to "emergency staffing levels." All diplomatic posts around the world have been ordered to review their security situation and make improvements where necessary.

Fox News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report. 

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Fisherman survives over a day adrift in a plastic bin in waters by Alaska

SITKA, Alaska –  A fisherman who spent a night adrift in a 4-by-4 foot plastic fish bin after his boat sank off Alaska says he gave himself pep talks and sang "Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" to keep his spirits up.

His fellow crewmember managed to get into a survival suit and washed ashore on a beach after his own night afloat.

A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted Ryan Harris, 19, of Sitka, from his plastic "lifeboat" on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the boat sank on Friday, the Daily Sitka Sentinel (http://is.gd/bgoPcT) reported Monday.

Two hours before Harris' rescue, crewmate Stonie "Mac" Huffman of Sitka was rescued from a beach about 25 miles northwest of Sitka.

Harris told the newspaper he's happy both he and his buddy survived after their 28-foot aluminum boat got hit by big waves and overturned.

They were dumped into the water before they could send a mayday. The search for them started after friends reported them overdue Friday night.

"It's truly a miracle they survived," said Sitka Mountain Rescue Director Don Kluting, who helped in the search.

"I never thought I was going to die, but I was worried about Mac," Harris told the newspaper Monday. "I'm glad to be here."

The two men were fishing for coho salmon about two miles off Cape Edgecumbe when the hydraulics failed on their boat. They fixed that problem, but decided to head back to port.

Then they encountered waves, one of which tipped the boat onto its side.

Two survival suits were on board, but neither man was wearing one when the boat went down. After the boat capsized, the two men climbed onto the upturned hull.

"We had no radio, no cell phones," Harris said.

Huffman later found a survival suit that floated from the wreckage.

The two managed to grab some empty fish totes that had washed loose. Huffman stabilized one while Harris climbed inside. The men weren't able to get Huffman into a bin but he took a plastic bin lid for flotation. Eight-foot waves soon separated the men.

The Coast Guard said that Huffman told them the lid drifted away during the two hours that he struggled to get into the survival suit.

At one point, Harris said, his bin dumped him and he struck his head, but he was able to get in and keep it balanced for the remainder of the 26 hours until his rescue.

The toughest part was not knowing the fate of his friend, Harris said.

"I gave myself a pep talk," he said. He kept repeating for four hours: "I'm Ryan Hunter Harris and I'm not going to die here."

During his sleepless night, he sang songs to keep up his spirits.

The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter early Saturday and three others later that day. Alaska State Troopers and Sitka Mountain Rescue sent four boats out searching, Kluting said.

The troopers found Huffman, an experienced fisherman in his mid-40s, who had reached the beach at Point Amelia about an hour before troopers spotted him waving on the shore.

Harris suffered blistered hands from clutching the bin and a cut above his eye from where his "lifeboat" struck him, but he declared Monday that he was "almost 100 percent."

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