Busy Gamer News

Microsoft quietly patched the Xbox 360 dashboard, this time not to add new features but fix existing ones. There are improvements to high definition output for VGA monitors, better plug and play for wired headsets when used with wireless controllers, and a more accurate "recently played" games list...

Nintendo is upping the ante for downloadable games, pushing down four more classic Virtual Console titles for the Wii this week:

• Donkey Kong Jr. (NES) - $5
• Columns (Genesis) - $8
• Ristar (Genesis) - $8
• Victory Run (Turbografx) - $6

Meanwhile, there's word that Microsoft will introduce another $15 game this Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade: the long-awaited RoboBlitz...

If you want a shot at the Halo 3 beta next spring, you just need to fill out a form. Early reports suggested an open beta to all comers, but recently released details indicate only a fraction of those who register will get a golden ticket inviting them to play. Hey, what the heck: It's a short sign-up form (assuming you can even get through to the site!) - at halo3.com...

Sony finally added some retro titles to its PS3 online store, but you'll need a PSP to play. The original PlayStation titles are $6 each and don't support multiplayer since they haven't been updated to work with the PSP's Wi-Fi networking. Once downloaded to your PS3, the games can be transferred via USB to a PSP equipped with a memory card - you'll need 150MB or more free space, depending on the game. Licensing is somewhat less restrictive than you'd expect: You can transfer each game you buy to five PSPs before it cuts you off.

The titles are:

• Cool Boarders
• Crash Bandicoot
• Hot Shots Golf 2
• Syphon Filter
• Tekken 2

On a related note, has anyone else noticed that it's easier to get a PS3 than a Wii right now? It seems many retailers are sitting on Wiis for their Sunday ads but putting out PS3s as soon as they arrive. If you're vigilant, you can find one. Personally, I've found two stores with them in stock so far, but can't find a Wii to save my life - even after waiting in some interminable lines...

Who says PC users get all of the great games? Ambrosia Software, one of the earliest providers of casual game shareware, just released Sketchfighter 4000 Alpha for Mac OS X Tiger. This arcade shooter looks like something scribbled on a high-school notebook during a boring history lecture. There's even two-player cooperative and competitive modes, both locally or over the Internet. And if you're a true sketch artist, you can create your own levels with the included level editor. The game is only $19 and there's a free trial...

If you're one the few PlayStation 3 owners, Sony has some updates and downloadable games for you. First, the version 1.3 firmware update adds USB support for PS2 controllers, Bluetooth remote control support, a hard-drive backup utility (hey, Microsoft, did you get that?) and fixes a pair of high-definition problems (1080i users who don't have 720p were getting dropped to 480p, and movie playback resolutions can now be selected with HDMI). There is also a downloadable demo of Genji: Days of the Blade and some new games, this time playable directly on the PS3:

• Lemmings ($3)
• Go! Sudoku ($3 per puzzle pack)

The Sudoku game comes with a few sample puzzles, and then there are Easy (516 puzzles), Mild (376), Difficult (198) and Fiendish (98) packs for purchase...

Many Wii gamers trying to get online via Wi-Fi have been thwarted by some 5-digit errors (51330, 52130). What's funny is that often the Wii system updates will download fine, but try connecting a minute later to accept the User Agreements for Wii Shop and you'll be denied. Here are some tactics that may help you solve the problem:

• Make sure your router is on the list of supported hardware
• Update your router to the latest firmware
• Reboot your router
• Switch your router to broadcast on channel 1 or 11
• Adjust your router settings to allow both 802.11g and 802.11b, if supported
• Avoid using microwave ovens, cordless phones and other 2.4GHz devices while connecting
• Move your router closer to your Wii or use a repeater to extend its range
• Change the MTU setting to 1400
• Manually configure your router with your Wii's MAC address
• Assign a manual IP address, DNS servers, etc.
• Spend $35-45 on a Wi-Fi USB Connector for your Windows XP PC (sorry, no Mac version yet)
• Wait for the Wii LAN Adapter (due in January)

For what it's worth, switching my D-Link router to Channel 11 and then rebooting it worked like a charm. Good news: Once you get online, there are four new games waiting in the Virtual Console section:

• Alien Crush (Turbografx) - $6
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis) - $8
• Gunstar Heroes (Genesis) - $8
• Ice Hockey (NES) - $5

Good news for Firefly fans. No, Fox and Universal haven't come to their senses and ordered sequels to the TV show or movie. But Fox did license Firefly to Multiverse - makers of a massively multiplayer online gaming engine - to create a virtual world for the growing browncoat fanbase to play in. There are no details about the game world or features or whether series creators Joss Whedon or Tim Minear will be involved, just that it's expected to come online in 2008...

Tonight we attended the third annual Child's Play Charity Auction Dinner. We've been attending each year (2004, 2005), but this was the most personal and breathtaking event yet.

First off, we never leave without doing some good - which means winning some cool auction items! This year even the silent auction went through the roof, with many items topping $500. We settled for an autographed Forza Motorsport 2 faceplate for the 360 and a collectible Sly Cooper 3 figurine. Total cost: $140 (plus the $250 for dinner). We would have bid much more if I weren't still unemployed.

Inside at the big live auction, things got out of hand fast. I didn't get exact numbers, but the cheapest item went for about $700: the chance to name a character in a future White Wolf game. Jacqui really wanted this one, but let it go when the price started to escalate; little did we know it would be the evening's steal. A mystery box containing an Xbox 360 and tons of games and swag sold for $3,000 - plus another bidder put up $450 if they'd open it up on stage for all to see. A Wii signed by Nintendo Prez Reggie "Regginator" Fils-Amie (plus a DS and various games) sold for more than $2,000. Meanwhile, an unsigned PS3 donated by an anonymous line camper topped out around $1,000.

Another highlight of the evening was when the Red vs. Blue creators went up against a deep-pocketed bidder for the chance to voice a line or two in the upcoming Halo 3 game. Hey, we should have bid for them: Wouldn't it be cool if Grif, Tex and Donut got to say "hey" to Master Chief in the real game?! (Extra $$$ if they sneak in a Puma reference!) The good news is that they finally won the prize for $9,000.

The auction closed with a $10,000 bid for an appearance in a Penny Arcade strip, a prize that went for twice as much last year. But Mike and Jerry had one last trick up their sleeves. They asked people how much they would bid for air - nada - just the charity itself. The number of hands went down as the numbers climbed: $10,000. $20,000. Two hands made it to $40,000. Finally, one hand remained at the end as the audience gasped. PopCap Games took the prize for most selfless bid of the evening: $50,000. Thanks to that donation, we guestimate the charity added more than $100K to its already record-breaking year (raising some $600K before the auction even started).

Now for the personal part. A few weeks ago, our nearly 4-year-old son Xander took a spill and split open his chin - to the bone. We rushed him the Seattle Children's Hospital ER where they promptly took him back and patched him up. Despite the medications and painkillers, Xander was still in quite a bit of pain when he received a couple deep stitches and about five outside ones.

We were shocked to find they only had one children's book suitable for his age, a torn up Thomas the Tank Engine adventure (I wasn't about to read him The Da Vinci Code!). I must have repeated that same book to him five times in order to distract him from the procedure. At the end, they presented him with a small stuffed baby chick, one of his most prized possessions that was no doubt funded by last year's Child's Play campaign. "I got this for being brave," he announced just the other day.

This is why we support Child's Play. Each small contribution makes such a big difference to little people in pain, many with chronic illnesses that are a hundred times worse than what Xander suffered.

Although this year we're also going to load up the car with children's books and donate them directly to the ER.

-=Gamewatcher

After several months, Microsoft finally released another backward compatibility update for Xbox 360, bringing the total number of original Xbox titles to nearly 300 (just slightly more than the number of titles the PS3 reportedly chokes on). The new additions are:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Conker: Live and Reloaded
• Dead Or Alive Ultimate
• Destroy All Humans!
• Dynasty Warriors 4
• Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
• Family Guy
• Far Cry: Instincts
• I-Ninja
• The Incredibles
• Indigo Prophecy
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
• MotoGP
• MX Unleashed
• Open Season
• Pariah
• Psychonauts
• Rainbow Six: Lockdown
• Rapala Pro Fishing
• Scarface
• Shark Tale
• Shenmue II
• Soul Calibur 2
• Splinter Cell: Double Agent
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
• Ultimate Spider-Man
• Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
• Whacked!
• Winback 2: Project Poseidon
• Xiaolin Showdown

Support for Burnout 3: Takedown also got an update, though it's not clear what's improved. Finally, some worthy titles are being filled in, but where are Jet Set Radio Future, Beyond Good & Evil, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Syberia, SSX Tricky and Midnight Club 3...

If you managed to get your hands on a Wii at launch or shortly thereafter, you may be endangering your family, pets, big-screen TV or any expensive vases that may be near your console gaming activities. Due to the frenetic manner in which the Wii-mote can be wielded, the flimsy wrist strap that's provided might snap, causing all manner of damage. In fact, this has happened in a few cases already (primarily damaging TVs), so Nintendo is recalling the straps, offering a heavier duty version that shouldn't give way even if you get out of hand with your Wii-mote. Systems sold since December 11 and Wii-motes sold after December 18 should have the bigger, more secure strap, but you can check online to see which one you have and order a free replacement if needed...

Longtime readers may recall how my Xbox 360 died. Just a couple days after launch last November.

Overall, Microsoft handled it well. They sent me a prepaid mailer and turned around a replacement console in a matter of days. It should have been a flawless exchange.

Only someone wasn't minding the details when they created Xbox Live Marketplace. They crafted a system where the customer only half licenses any content he or she pays for. The other half is licensed to their console. If you lose your Xbox 360 through no fault of your own, your purchases are orphaned. And now that there are downloadable content modules that affect your game save file - such as Knights of the Nine for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - this has even deeper consequences.

Here's how it works. You buy an arcade game, theme or downloadable game content item using Microsoft points. That content is registered to your Gamertag, so you can re-download and access it remotely from any Xbox 360 that's connected to Xbox Live over the Internet. Nifty, right? But it's also registered to your "home" console - the one you bought it on - for offline use by anyone who plays on that console.

Which is all well and good, but what happens if:

You buy something on a friend's Xbox 360 with your gamertag?
Answer: They own the content on their console and can play it anytime they like, but you can only play it when you're online at home.

You have more than one Xbox 360 in your home?
Answer: Anyone can play it on the console you purchased it with, but you alone can play it on the other one, and only when you're online.

Your console dies and you get a replacement?
Answer: You can only play your content - and any games whose save files depend on that content's presence - online!

Think about it: If your Internet service goes down unexpectedly (say, due to a winter storm that takes out half the utilities in the Seattle area!)… or you have to cancel it to pay for Ramen noodles… or you visit a bandwidth-impaired family member... you simply can't play your downloaded arcade games. Or Oblivion (or any other game add-on that modifies your save game) if you've paid for downloadable content and then saved your game.

Here's what happened to me. My very first day with the 360, I bought Bejeweled 2, Geometry Wars and the Penny Arcade theme and gamer pictures on my living room console. A few days later, the console died and was replaced. When I got the new one, I had all of my content stored on the hard drive (which I had thoughtfully held back when I sent the defective machine in for repair), but I could only see my chosen theme when I logged in to Xbox Live. I also couldn't play those games unless I was logged in.

So I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX. I told the tech that I couldn't access my purchases unless I was online. "Oh, that's because it's registered to your console. You're probably trying to play it on another Xbox 360."

"Yeah," I said. "The one you sent me to replace the launch system that died. Didn't you transfer ownership of my purchased content to the new console before sending me a new one?"

"Let me give you to a supervisor," the tech said.

Half and hour, a hang up and three transfers later, we had worked out a solution. A technical support supervisor credited my account for the Xbox Live points needed to repurchase the content. There's only one problem with this approach: You can't buy the same content again since you already own it! When I went to repurchase those items on my new console, Xbox Live blocked me. "You already own this content, do you want to download it again?" it said. Only re-downloading the files didn't give me back my "first console ownership."

So I had to call back and get Xbox support to transfer the newly credited points to my wife's account so she could buy the items for me on my 360. Only then could I get the games, theme and pictures to load without being connected to Xbox Live.

It's a year later now, and I expected that Microsoft would have dealt with this. I was shocked recently when I saw people on several game forums complaining about the problem, particularly related to Oblivion.

Microsoft, if you're listening, here are a couple of consumer-friendly solutions that shouldn't hurt too much to implement on your end and might even save you on costly tech support:

Transfer content ownership when you replace a console. C'mon, this is basic customer service. How hard is it to create an internal tool that looks up any content that's been registered to a specific console sent in for repair and then perform a one-time transfer to the replacement console's ID before shipping it off to the customer? Even if this step added a day to the replacement time, it would be worth it to most customers. This process should be created and become a standard operating procedure.

Let us grant ownership of our purchases to our 360 console and then revoke it if we need to transfer it to another console. Apple does this with iTunes: You can license your music to play on five PCs of your choosing, and then revoke any of those licenses and transfer them to different PCs anytime you want. I know, I know: You want to protect yourself from piracy and maximize your revenue streams. So limit the number of active consoles to only one or two at a time. (I vote for two because we have two 360s in my house. But I can understand if you only made it one… You want to soak us for two copies of each game!) You could even further restrict that the credit card used on the console has to match. Seriously, how many people are going to give their credit card to a buddy so they can let him play Geometry Wars for free?! (True, having a credit card restriction would leave people who buy their points and subscription cards at retail out in the cold, but if it makes one bean counter at Microsoft sleep easier at night, well, it will have been worth it...)

The good news is that only some kinds of Marketplace content are problematic. Multiplayer maps, cheat codes and add-ons that don't affect your game saves shouldn't brick your single-player game if you're not able to get your console on the Internet now and again, though they could cause issues at LAN parties. Movie rentals probably only matter if your console fails during the rental period. But themes, gamer pictures, arcade games, and any game add-on that's not free and modifies the game world (and thus your save game) could be a problem. To test out a new download, you could try creating a new save game (don't overwrite anything!) and then load it on a friend's 360 with the network connection turned off. If you can load the save, the add-on shouldn't lock you out if you ever have to replace your console.

I've given Microsoft a year to resolve this issue. Frankly, they should have planned for it at launch, but they were understandably overwhelmed by other matters - like making and distributing enough consoles to meet demand. But by now someone nestled in the corporate spire has no doubt written a memo or urgent e-mail about how the customer's interest is completely been lost here. And so far it's been ignored.

Consoles die, some well before their time. Our purchases shouldn't be irrevocably locked to them. Maybe in 10 years when broadband Internet is like running water and dial tone, this won't be an issue. But for now, it's at least a great inconvenience and in some instances a travesty.

Me, I'm not buying any Oblivion downloadable content until this problem is corrected. And I'll weigh any other game downloadable content purchases against whether they're likely to disrupt my saves should the thinkable happen - my 360 goes paws up again.

I suggest you do the same.

-=Gamewatcher

Wii fans (those of you with consoles in hand, at least) will be thrilled to know that the promised Weather Forecast Channel is downloadable now (a day early!), and a trial version of the Opera Web browser will bring the Internet Channel online this Friday. The final version of the browser is due in late March, and will remain free until June 30. After that, it'll cost $5 to download. The Virtual Console shop has also been restocked with four new additions:

• Military Madness (Turbografx) - $6
• Space Harrier II (Genesis) - $8
• Tennis (NES) - $5

Santa, this is your cue to boot up that holiday Wii one more time to preload all of these goodies (and try them out, you know, just to make sure everything works) before Christmas morning. You might even have to do it more than once...

Microsoft keeps pumping out the Xbox Live Marketplace content. Here are some recent highlights:

• The Ho Ho Ho Pack for Saints Row (free for Gold members through Dec. 25; then free for everyone)
• A Red vs. Blue holiday video (free) and theme ($1.88)
• Trailers for Halo 3 (Gold Members only for a week), Mass Effect and Medal of Honor Airborne (free)
• Need for Speed: Carbon Supreme Car Bundle (free)
• Novadrome ($10)
• Assault Heroes game ($10), theme ($1.88) and picture pack ($1)
• Madden NFL 2007 classic stadiums for Pittsburgh Steelers and NY Giants ($3.75 each)
• Blitz: The League theme ($1.88) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Cabela's African Safari new downloadable animal ($1.88) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Rapala Pro Tournament Fishing bonus level ($1.88), themes ($1.88 each) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Another Viva Piñata accessory pack ($1.13)
• More standard definition movie rentals (including Joe's Apartment, Strange Brew and Barbarella) and TV shows, plus 4 episodes of the original Star Trek series in HD (various prices)

Hey, at least there are a few holiday freebies including one (gasp!) from EA...

Sony has a flurry of updates for PlayStation 3 owners:

• Resistance: Fall of Man has been patched to improve multiplayer, including better balancing, map availability and the addition of time limits for all game types
• MediEvil for the original PlayStation can be downloaded via PS3 for play on your PSP ($6)

OK, well, it's more like a few flakes than a flurry - but it's something...

Microsoft announced this week that it's extending all North American customers' Xbox 360 warranties to a full year (previously 90 days). In fact, if you've already paid to have a 360 repaired within the first year, you can get your money back! Also, Bethesda Softworks is giving away the Mehrunes' Razor add-on for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for free, now through December 31 on Xbox Live Marketplace (normally $3.13). Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this is one of those add-ons that affects your saved game - which might be a problem if your Xbox 360 ever fails and needs to be replaced (under warranty or not!) and you're in a situation where you can't play online. Be sure to hold onto a save file from before you installed the add-on, just in case. UPDATE: If you do load an affected Oblivion save on a foreign console without an Internet connection, the game warns you that some objects may not be available - but the saved game does load. It's not clear how this affects future saves, or what happens if you were partway through an add-on quest...

Nintendo continues to pile on the Virtual Console titles for Wii:

• R-Type (Turbografx) - $8
• Street Fighter II: The World Warriors (SNES) - $8
• Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - $8
• Super Mario Bros (NES) - $5
• Toejam & Earl (Genesis) - $8

Sony came through with a holiday surprise of its own for the proud, the few. the PlayStation 3 owners: a demo of its next big racing sim, Gran Turismo HD Concept. Since the "HD" downloadable content approach has been scrapped, fans speculate that it's actually a first look at the technology that will power Gran Turismo 5. Whatever it is, it includes a Ferrari and cars from Infiniti, Lotus, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Suzuki. There are even leaderboards and downloadable replays. And it's only available for a limited time...

This holiday, I landed a Nintendo Wii with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Rayman: Raving Rabbids and Elebits. I also received Brain Boost: Gamma Wave for the DS and the Halo 3 faceplate for my Xbox 360. GrrlGotGame's stocking was stuffed with Lumines II for the PSP, and Xander's grandparents sent him a dance pad that doesn't hook up to the TV but gently introduces him to the concept of DDR:

A few quick impressions:

• Rayman is addictive. The minigames are varied and uneven, but the rhythm game is fun and easy to pick up by even the rhythmically challenged (ergo, me) and the plunger shooting game never gets old
• Elebits reminds me of Katamari Damacy in that it has timed missions and you interact with household items; it's fun but not earth-shatteringly so
• Zelda so far is quite compelling and the only Wii game that plays widescreen with my component cables - but the graphic resolution is as substandard as folks have been reporting
• Brain Boost is pretty limited and repetitive; I'd be sure you have Brain Age and Brain Academy before resorting to this series
• The bonus Halo theme that comes with the Halo 3 faceplate isn't all that, but the faceplate is nice particularly if your 360 is set on its side
• I haven't played Lumines II yet, but it's been glued to GrrlGotGame's PSP so I have to assume it's pretty great

So, how did the holidays treat you? Any surprises? What's the best game you've played this season? Me, I'm lost in Oblivion but taking time out to explore the Wii...

Too busy to devote 12+ hours a day to your gaming habit? Here's a review that's sensitive to your needs: Short and focused on just the things that a busy gamer like you really needs to know.


Busy Gamer Review-
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Reviewed On: Xbox 360. Version for PC includes a free construction set for creating your own levels and enhancements, and support for third-party downloadable mods. A version for PlayStation 3 is in development and promises enhanced content over the Xbox 360 (although this content may be available for purchase as downloadable content from Xbox Live Marketplace). There's also a version in development for the PSP, The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion, which will offer significantly different gameplay.

In a Nutshell: Explore a vast world in this incredibly deep single-player adventure game. The main quests require 20+ hours to beat, but the game can easily be played for more than 200 hours if you take on countless side quests and downloadable add-on missions (see related Rant about how purchased downloadable content that affects your game saves may be problematic on the 360).

Thanks to occasional online patching via Xbox Live (you do have broadband, right?), Oblivion is much more stable than its Xbox predecessor, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, which crashed at the drop of a hat unless you took great pains to manage in-world items. This game looks even better and does away with many of its forebear's limitations. For instance, joining one guild does not block you from joining any of the others. Join 'em all, if you enjoy side quests, Xbox 360 achievements and/or access to helpful rewards and free stuff!

The game is incredibly well-written for a video game with great storytelling mostly through in-depth discussions with non-player characters and in-game "books" that you can actually read, engaging quests and mini-games and thousands of paths to explore - figuratively and literally. You can be a fighter, an archer, a magic-wielding mage, a sneak thief, an assassin or any mix of these player types that you choose to pursue. Just creating a character (selecting your race, stats and various major and minor attributes) can take the better part of an hour as you work through the opening tutorial storyline.

Learning Curve: Moderate. The Xbox 360 controls feel like most first-person shooters, so getting around is pretty easy if you're at all skilled at Halo. Plumbing the hidden depths of the game, however, could take a lifetime - or at least the better part of a year even for a somewhat aggressive player.

The Save Game: You can save anywhere at anytime. You will need approximately 1MB per save, so you'd best have a hard drive or your memory card will fill up fast. Since the game has so many choices, and there's always the risk of a crash, you may want to keep old saves for awhile until you're certain that you made the right decisions - or at least the odd case where something gets horribly mucked up, ruining a quest or trapping you in a narrow alleyway. Fortunately, the game autosaves whenever you sleep or enter a location, so you're typically covered should your character - fashioned through days and days of careful leveling up - unexpectedly expire.

Family Factor: Older teens can handle the somewhat bloody medieval-style battles you'll engage in against humanoids and sometimes chilling monsters and beasties. Young kids should be kept far away pretty much all of the time; even simply traveling around town talking to civil servants or taking a rest in a rented bed can lead to sudden, unexpected battles. And walking or riding across the countryside spawns attacks from random creatures, many of which will take some work to escape or dispatch. If you want to play it safe, enjoy Oblivion only when the little ones are tucked away safely in their beds.

Buy, Rent or Skip? Your first instinct as a busy gamer - best expressed by Monty Python when faced with a killer rabbit - should be to "run away, run away!!!!" This game can and easily will consume every waking moment you can spare, and quite a few that you rightfully should not. Its depth rivals many massively multiplayer online worlds, and the urge to just play for "five more minutes" can easily take you into the wee hours of the morning, leaving you useless the next day at work or around the house. Oblivion, it might be argued, is quite well named since it can easily sap your real world stats! That said, if your personal willpower is sufficiently leveled and you feel you can take advantage of Oblivion's "save anywhere" capability, this game is immensely fun and rewarding. It's a must-buy if you can afford the personal cost - measured in hours sucked away and your ability to take on the day following a long-night's questing - that's required to play.

On a Personal Note: I took so long to review this game because: a) I had a life when it came out, so I used what little willpower I could muster to stay far away from it for long stretches, and b) I wanted to wait until I'd logged 40 or more hours before writing it up. I was also put off by my early attempts at thievery, which failed due to low sneak stats. It just seemed unreasonable that I would be caught by a street guard in the basement of an alchemy shop in the dead of night after successfully picking two locks without detection. However, since leveling up my thief skills, I can now pick most locks and steal from shops with impunity, sometimes right under the shopkeeper's nose!

Right now, I'm a Level 13 Khajiit (anthropomorphic cat) fighter/mage/thief/assassin who favors the blade, acrobatics, light armor, blocking, restoration magic, sneaking, athletics, alchemy (for poisons and stats-restoring potions), speechcraft (to sweet talk shopkeeps into offering their best prices) and mysticism (for detecting life when breaking into homes and shops or scouting a dungeon or cavern). My entry into the Dark Brotherhood came late, but it's a twist I wish I had chosen earlier due to its many benefits - enchanted armor and trinkets in particular. I waited until an odd little side quest gave me a reason to murder a character for both a hefty payout and a more satisfying story outcome.

Despite improved stability over Morrowind, I have encountered a few game lock ups personally. One happened the very first day I played upon activating a strange rune stone that I found near a quest city; that bug has reportedly been fixed. Another came just the other day when exiting a shop I had visited several times before without incident. Fortunately, my autosave was intact, so I lost no real progress and the game continued (albeit a bit sluggishly for a bit) after rebooting.

This is one of the few games for which I would recommend buying the official strategy guide. It's a convenient reference for creating a new character, and when you inevitably get lost on a mission or forget which Mage's Guild sells Destruction spells - which you WILL need in case you ever encounter a conventional weapon-dodging Will o' Wisp in, say, a tomb in the bowels of an abandoned fort (grrr!!). Another great resource is the free Unofficial Elder Scrolls Oblivion Wiki (though my last few visits have caused Internet Explorer 6 to crash; hopefully this is temporary issue).

Overall, Oblivion is the deepest, most fulfilling game I've ever played. I just wish there were more hours in the day.

Microsoft only had a few meager additions to Xbox Live Marketplace for the 360 this week:

• New Rally-X ($5), the latest entry in Xbox Live Arcade
• A free The Godfather holiday theme from EA that has no holiday elements, arrived the day after Christmas, wasn't even free for the first 24 hours (it cost $1.88 until Wednesday), and can only be downloaded by Gold members for the first week
• Picture packs for Galaga and Pac-Man ($2.38 each)

There are also some new Test Drive Unlimited cars ($4.38) that slipped in late last week, including a free 1971 Dodge Challenger RT - but you still need to earn enough dollars in the game to get them once you've downloaded them...

PopCap is known as the king of casual games, and their latest release shows why. It takes one of their popular icons - a bookish worm - and merges it with an unlikely genre, the turn-based RPG. Bookworm Adventures stars Lex of classic Bookworm fame, but this time out he's on a spelling spree where each word formed becomes an attack on a mythological beast or foe. You'll even collect power-ups and potions to help you on your quest, and there are mini-games to break up the action. You can download a free trial that includes at least an hour of gameplay, but you'll probably buy it before it runs out - even with the hefty (for casual games) $30 pricetag. NOTE: For a limited time, you can buy it from iWin for $15 if you use the coupon code "PeaceOnEarth" by Jan. 7 - but you'll want to get the trial from iWin.com if you plan to go this route...