Busy Gamer News

Nintendo continues its Monday tradition with two new Virtual Console titles for the Wii:

• Baseball (NES) - $5
• Urban Champion (NES) - $5

This brings the total count to 35 downloadable games, not bad for the first six weeks...

One of my top 10 criticisms of the Xbox 360 dashboard last year was that you couldn't preview themes before buying. Your only recourse was to wait until some Web jockey at Xbox.com got around to posting the images, usually two weeks to a month after the theme was released. No more. DashboardThemes.com (not run by Microsoft!) has a comprehensive catalog of the Xbox Live Marketplace theme previews, shown as they would (more or less) on your Xbox 360. While far from complete, the site is a vast improvement over Microsoft's meager offering.

In related news, I'm working on a follow-up to that Xbox 360 dashboard review, as well as a similar treatise on the Wii's interface. What are your thoughts - has Microsoft improved the Xbox 360 dashboard enough, or is there still a ways to go? Can third parties fill the void? How do you think Wii compares?

If you missed the December sign-up to be in the Halo 3 multiplayer beta this spring, don't despair. There are two more ways you can score a coveted invite. First, you can play three or more hours of Halo 2 on Xbox Live starting at midnight Eastern time on Feb. 1. Then be among the first 13,333 to register at halo3.com. If that fails, you can buy a specially marked box of Crackdown for the Xbox 360 when it releases Feb. 20 - the disc itself is a key to download the beta. Whichever path you choose, you will need to be at least 17, have a 360 with a hard drive (and probably at least a few megs to spare!) and subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. Oh, and if you did register back in December and don't get a golden ticket in your e-mail by Jan. 31, you'd best make alternative arrangements...

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-
WTF

Reviewed On: PSP

In a Nutshell: If your full-time work isn't tedious enough, you can pick up some odd jobs from the folks at Work Time Fun, a demonic temporary placement agency. At any moment there are four job positions (aka mini-games) available, and you can unlock more by feeding your ridiculous pittance they call a paycheck into coin-operated vending machines that suck up $1 per capsule all the way up to $50. More often than not, you'll collect junk that's simply catalogued and filed away, but every so often you'll unlock a new job or gadget to play with. Alas, these "jobs" tend to be very short and not much fun. You can put caps onto thousands of pens, or try to shag baseballs for as long as you can without a miss. Chop wood (but not the fuzzy stuffed animals that bleed when struck!) or find just the right target to hit with a "happy bullet." There are also "tools" that are quasi-useful: a flashlight mode where you choose the color you want your PSP screen to illuminate the world, a sexy Ramen noodle timer and even a set of customizable eyeballs to pay attention to you when no else will. Finally, you're continually harangued by "friends" via e-mails that provide tips and inane chatter but occasionally penalize or reward you.

Learning Curve: Each of the 35 single-player and five multiplayer games has its own rules, but most are reasonably easy to pick up - though some can take far too long to master.

The Save Game: Like all PSP games, you can hit the power switch at any time to put your game into sleep mode. As long as your battery holds out, so will your progress. But the game saves your status (or lack thereof) as you go, and most mini-games don't last more than a few minutes - so at least you won't lose any of that hard-earned money from the pen cap factory.

Family Factor: The game designers tried to make this somewhat family friendly, but the sniper rifle (even though it shoots "happy bullets") and stuffed animals that bleed might be a little much for the smaller kids peering over your shoulder while you work. Fortunately, you can usually pick a less violent and tediously boring task until they lose interest, which shouldn't take long.

Buy, Rent or Skip? Skip it, unless you really enjoy zoning out to mindless repetition. And even then, this game is actually a bit too muddled and uneven to earn you any real Zen. OK, so the Ramen timer is actually pretty funny, but hardly 30 bucks funny. If you must see for yourself, rent it first (say, from Gamefly.com) just to be sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. Even then, it's not worth more than maybe $10 - so see if you can find a deal on it used.

On a Personal Note: I rented this game on a whim while I was unemployed, thinking it might be an interesting diversion while I job searched. Boy was I wrong! Even my worst job as a teenager wasn't as bad as this. I do sometimes enjoy vegging out with games that have a certain repetitive quality - I recall a job eons ago where I killed time with Windows solitaire while waiting hours each week for my publisher to sign off on completed projects. But playing this game really felt like a chore. Seriously, if you're looking for odd jobs, I can hook you up. Don't get suckered into putting caps on virtual pens for hours on end just to earn enough scratch for one lousy $50 trinket. WTF indeed!

Sony has been slow to build its online storefront to match Xbox Live Marketplace and the Wii Shop, but it's finally added its first downloadable PlayStation 3 game for sale. GripShift is a high-definition (well, 720p) update to the popular PSP stunt driver with more than 125 new and remixed levels, 25 tracks and a bigger soundtrack. The game - hailed as one of the better ones on the PS3 so far - will set you back only $10...

Microsoft sure knows how to dominate a trade show. With Bill Gates' CES keynote and related announcements, most other console news has been lost for at least the next day or so. Here's a round-up:

• Xbox 360 will support Microsoft TV IPTV Edition by the end of the year, permitting video-on-demand and Tivo-style background recording of television shows while playing online games, or voice chatting with friends while watching a show together
• Uno is the first Live Anywhere game, permitting Xbox 360 and PC players to interact. However, gamers with Halo 2 on Vista will NOT be able to play against their Xbox counterparts
• Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved will be released for the PC, though it's not known when, how much it will cost, or whether it's part of the Live Anywhere strategy
• Gears of War got its first multiplayer update today, fixing bugs, balancing gameplay and improving cheat detection. Two new maps will be offered for free download on Wednesday
• Ms. Pacman will be released this Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade for $5
• Guitar Hero 2 is expected to hit Xbox 360 in March

In the interesting trivia category, there have been more than 10 million Xbox 360s sold and the HD-DVD add-on drive has topped 150,000 units, making it the top-selling HD-DVD player. Of course, PS3 sales give Sony more than a million Blu-Ray players...

Reports from game store managers suggest the recent shortfall of Wii-motes had little to do with manufacturing and more to do with the Feb. 12 release of Wii Play. This spiritual sequel to Wii Sports includes a Wii-mote pack-in, so Nintendo apparently has been hoarding the controllers to meet pre-order demand. The good news is that another round of consoles and accessories (including Wii-motes) are slated to hit retailers late this week. However, if you can wait a month, you can get Wii Play (which includes billiards, table tennis, laser hockey, duck hunt, tanks, fishing and more) for only $10 more than the price of the controller alone. Either way, if you still want an extra nunchuck, you might as well nab one wherever you find it.

In other Wii news, this week's Virtual Console releases include two classic shooters and a multiplayer dungeon crawler:

• Dungeon Explorer (TurboGrafx) - $6
• Gradius (NES) - $5
• Soldier Blade (TurboGrafx) - $6

There's a new Xbox 360 dashboard update this week, though no new features - just stuff that should have been there all along like stability and performance. You will need to download it before you can get to the two new free Gears of Wars multiplayer maps and tie-in theme on Xbox Live Marketplace. Incidentally, the "free" Gears content is sponsored by The Discovery Channel, which is giving away 2 million Microsoft points this Saturday and Sunday at readyaimfuture.com...

UPDATE: There's now a free Call of Duty 3 map called Champs set in a French farm town.

Bungie has been steadily leaking details about Halo 3 lately. First there was the video showing how Brutes have been reimagined to play a more active role in the next single-player storyline (and how that's not necessarily a bad thing). Now they've let slip a picture of the next big vehicle, the Mongoose. Hardly a Warthog/Puma replacement, this is more like a getaway van for the Capture the Flag set. It rolls over on a dime and smashes easily but is speedy for those quick recons and ready escape plans. Wonder what Bungie has planned for Valentine's Day...

Fans of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion should grab the February 2007 issue of Official Xbox Magazine. The game disc includes two of the smaller add-ons: The Wizard's Tower and Thieves Den. OK, so that's only about $3.75 worth of downloadable content, but also a convenient backup in case your 360 ever fails. There's also an extensive video preview of the Alice in Wonderland-inspired Shivering Isles expansion pack, which promises another 50+ hours of gameplay, new alchemy ingredients and even a few elements drawn from Morrowind. If you were hoping the locked content on the disc included some Oblivion gamer pictures, a theme or maybe even that cheesy horse armor... well, forget it. There's just Zegapain Not, a space mech game demo entirely in Japanese, and 17 screenshots from Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2...

A mother of three in California died trying to win a Wii for her brood on a radio station promotion called "Hold Your Wee for a Wii." The idea was to drink a lot of water and see how long you could hold it. The 28-year-old died of water intoxication, a condition more commonly associated with frat hazings. It's easy to dismiss this as another Darwin award, but this mom clearly bought into the mania of the Wii launch - as we all did. (I, for one, spent 12 hours in various lines before succumbing to eBay.) Factor in the fact that she missed the holiday season and Nintendo consoles are still criminally scarce. Also, even though KDND 107.9 radio station employees warned participants not to risk their health, they still fed them an excessive amount of water (no doubt to speed up the outcome) and apparently didn't have a doctor on hand to monitor participants. And, it seems, they missed the episode of ER where a remarkably similar college prank led to tragedy.

There was some bright Wii news this week. For those who have them, there are three new Virtual Console titles:

• Moto Roader (TurboGrafx) - $6
• R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES) - $8
• Xevious (NES) - $5

This week's Xbox Live Arcade entry is Heavy Weapon from PopCap. In coming weeks, you can expect HD-enhanced versions of:

• Minigolf Adventures
• Paperboy
• Root Beer Tapper
• Worms

In the aftermath of the "Hold your Wee for a Wii" contest that ended in death, 10 employees - including the entire morning show crew - were fired, the Sacramento radio station's Web site confirmed. Last week, a mother of three died from water intoxication after trying unsuccessfully to consume enough water and hold it to win a still scarce Wii console for her kids. (She came in second.) Early reports neglected to mention that a nurse called into the KDND 107.7 Morning Rave show during the contest to warn about the risks of excessive water consumption and was told that employees knew about this but weren't concerned since the contestants had signed releases. Not only that, but they withheld this information from the participants, who might have made different choices if they had heard the live radio feed. Apparently the DJs even joked on air about how they maybe should have done more research and seemed convinced that someone would vomit before reaching a dangerous state. It's not clear whether police will investigate the death (they initially seemed satisfied that participants were not coerced), but you can bet there will be a civil case - hence the firings...

Gears of War fans who link up at LAN parties are reporting that the recent patch issued via Xbox Live may cause system link connectivity to fail, even if all systems are upgraded and have the same set of maps. Epic is still investigating reports of this problem (so far, they can't repro it, so there's a chance that it's just player error - thinking the patch was downloaded when only the map pack is installed). For now, if you encounter this issue, there is a workaround: Simply visit the System blade, go into Memory, select the hard drive, then press Y, followed by X, X, Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X, X. This will zap all of your downloaded game updates, not just the one for Gears of War - but should not affect game saves or other downloads. (Still, take this step at your own risk!) You will not be able to play Gears of War (or any other patched game) over Xbox Live or play the new downloadable multiplayer maps until you accept those patches again, but at least your 360 shindig won't be spent fruitlessly checking and rechecking Ethernet cables. Oh, and if you do have this problem, you might report information about your LAN setup to the official Gears forum..

About a month after launch, I delivered a well-read and oft-debated rant about the Xbox 360 user interface, which - to me, at least - seemed a bit rough and unfinished despite the innovative and graphically compelling new dashboard. My exact words were that "the Xbox 360 doesn't quite rock - yet."

Well, it's been a year and Microsoft has released several dashboard updates. Has the 360 been substantially improved? How many of the criticisms have been addressed? Do some of them even matter now?

Keep in mind that these are my pet peeves, and yours may differ. Also, my original statement that the 360 had delivered "amazing experiences" still stands - if nothing, my appreciation for the console has grown with the arrival of games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Test Drive Unlimited and Gears of War. Even lesser trifles such as Tomb Raider: Legend and Gun were much more enjoyable thanks to the achievement system, which makes the Xbox 360 my platform of choice for most multi-platform games.

But let's take a look at how the console has evolved a little more than a year after launch. Here are the 10 things I flagged for improvement in December 2005, with a status report:

1. A Purgatory zone. My initial thinking was that griefers will always exist, so why not make the punishment fit the crime? If you get enough black marks playing online, you'd be dropped into a pit with other annoying assholes and you'd have serve your sentence, get a firsthand taste of what you've been giving and maybe even earn time off for good behavior by playing well with friends who are not themselves incarcerated.
   
   Maybe it's me (since I can't seem to convince very many friends or relatives to join Xbox Live), but it doesn't seem like griefing has been as big a problem this generation. Sure, the day after a game comes out, people figure out how to exploit it. But a few weeks later (after more recreational gamers like me are done honing our skills in single-player and we're ready to go online!), the company has patched the game and removed cheaters' ammunition.
   
   The February 2007 Official Xbox Magazine (aka OXM) has a feature article on how Microsoft polices the Live space, permanently closing down accounts where they observe infractions or when there's a critical mass of complaints. First offense is often a 24-hour communications ban (no talk or camera) or lockout, but keep going and it will stick. Sounds expensive, and I do have to wonder if a Purgatory zone might keep costs down in this area. But ultimately, hey, the end result is the same: cheaters, bigots and annoying jerks won't stick around for long, and you can always avoid (though not block!) any individuals who diminish your online gaming experience.
   
   I still think a Purgatory zone might be an interesting social experiment - it might actually become a status symbol for some, though it also could be seen as condoning bad behavior. Anyway, it's clearly not necessary to the success of Xbox Live.
   
   
2. Xbox Live profiles that can be stored in multiple places. This one still causes me grief. Basically, you have to manually reclaim your gamertag every time you switch consoles or shell out for a $40 memory card to make your profile conveniently portable. So there's a viable - and, for Microsoft, profitable! - workaround.
   
   But I really think the technology exists to make remote sign-in easier. Look at your Instant Messaging clients. You sign in at work, and it signs you out at home. When you return home, you can sign in again. Sure, you'd need to build in a certain amount of security so you don't accidentally leave your console identity (and any Microsoft points in your account) open over at a friend's house. But this should be the console generation where portability isn't a concern. If Microsoft can offer 1GB Hotmail accounts, they should be able to find a way for us to store our Xbox 360 settings online, too. It shouldn't cost us $40.
   
   
3. A better shopping experience. As I predicted, the original Xbox Live Marketplace wasn't designed to scale. So they've replaced it! And Active Downloads, which were quite obviously cut from the original release, have been perfected so you can now queue up to six files and let them download in the background. Bravo!
   
   Overall, the store is somewhat easier to browse, though nowhere near ideal. Items that are marked as New aren't new since your last visit, they're just all of the past two weeks' releases. But it's still an improvement. Also, finding what you're looking for can require a bit too much guesswork, and favorite areas and games can't be pinned to the first screen.
   
   The other big problem with shopping still isn't fixed: theme and gamer pic previews. Frankly, I can see this feature being shot down again and again by a savvy product manager since themes represent a small fraction of Marketplace revenue, yet an in-engine preview feature is a fair amount of work. However, I would expect that a year later, the folks who work at Xbox.com would be in lockstep with the Marketplace team and would sim-post the theme and gamer pictures to the Web site on the same day they are released. Heck, maybe even a day or two early - what's the harm?! Instead, we have to depend on dashboardthemes.com, a third-party site, for the best and sometimes more timely previews of themes.
   
   
4. Purchased content is licensed for all of your 360s. This is going to become a big deal in the next 1-2 years, and you can say you heard it here first! For some reason, no one wants to talk about it. In fact, OXM recently published some incorrect information about how Marketplace purchases work. The fact is that your purchases are licensed to both your gamertag and your console. If your console fails, you must be logged into Xbox Live for your gamertag to access your purchased content on a new or replacement 360.
   
   Now, we hear, Microsoft is rumored to be working on a new version of the 360 offering HDMI output and a much bigger hard drive. If this is true, forget waiting for the inevitable red ring of death. You might actually find that you want to upgrade your console in the next year!
   
   Unless Microsoft fixes this issue, upgrading or otherwise replacing your 360 orphans all of your purchases so that you must be logged into Xbox Live to use them. This can affect Arcade games, themes, gamer pictures, TV shows and even retail titles with downloadable content that affects your save game.
   
   Not a big deal?! What happens if you lose your Internet service for a week? Go to a LAN party where you need a purchased multiplayer map, but there's no broadband? Want to play Oblivion with an expansion quest at your parents' house? None of the above will work on a secondary console.
   
   Bottom line: Microsoft needs to fix this time bomb.
   
   
5. Better overall usability. Clearly, still a mixed bag. Microsoft really should get an Information Architect on this project. I mean, should Active Downloads be accessed from Personal Settings, or your gamercard? How are they a "personal setting" - because you're a person and you're downloading files? (Actually, you've delegated your console to download the files, so you're simply checking up on what your 360 is doing - a Status section would be a better place for this!) Now Account Management, that's pretty clearly a Personal Setting - so naturally you'll find it under your gamercard. And how is Shutdown a personal setting? It's an on/off decision point and should be on the main menu.
   
   This is just a rough pass, but I would move Online Status to be a convenient toggle on the Guide menu, and provide an option to always autologin but be marked as offline. The only way to do this now is to set a password to block autologin to Live but allow your preferred gamertag to appear, then press the Guide button, go to Personal Settings, select Online Status and chose Appear Offline. Then you can login with your password. Ouch!
   
   We could also use a better preview system for themes - not just before you buy them (as discussed above) but when you're applying them. You shouldn't have to click out of the theme browser to see what it looks like, then select your way back to the browser (four clicks!) if you don't like it or want to customize it further. But more on that in a minute.
   
   
6. An easier-to-use Music Player. Overall, the player is great. Some minor tweaks have improved usability from the Guide menu and your music continues playing in most cases even as you launch and play games and return to the dashboard (but not when you shutdown and restart). You can even remotely access compatible music files on your PC assuming it has Windows XP SP2 and Windows Media Player 11 (which incorporates the previously standalone Windows Media Connect software). It doesn't have to be a Media Center PC anymore.
   
   However, adding music to playlists is still a pain. You need to first open an existing playlist, find the songs you want to add, then add them to the existing playlist and finally save over the old playlist, typing the exact same name without the help of autocomplete or an option to simply save over the currently selected list. It's both counterintuitive and a nuisance when all you want to do is add a few newly imported songs to some of your existing playlists. A great solution: After ripping songs from a new album, offer checkboxes for all existing playlists with the option to add all of the new tracks. And when you remove a song from a playlist, prompt to save the changed playlist over the existing list or to a newly named list.
   
   
7. Create and share our own Themes. To date, theme distribution has been entirely controlled by Microsoft via Marketplace, console kiosk or certified game disc. The closest thing that you, the gamer, can do is import a single JPEG to replace the backgrounds on all blades of your dashboard.
   
   Why can't we simply import and assign images for all four blades and the Guide menu to create our own themes? And then share them via memory card or ship them to our friends via Xbox Live? Or even mix and match our favorite images from themes we've downloaded or purchased to make our own truly customized (though not shareable) themes? If the goal is to make the gamer truly connect with his or her console, then there's so much we can do with just a little more freedom.
   
   Look at how customization in Forza Motorsport drove viral interest in the game thanks to an easy to use but powerful car decoration system. The same type of thing could work for the 360 - truly the most customizable of the consoles to date, but it could easily be so much more.
   
   
8. Achievement icons usable as Gamer Pictures. Frankly, we just don't have enough gamer pictures, and those that we do have generally aren't all that good. We want to remember and brag about our favorite achievements, and this would be a great way to do it.
   
   On the usability side, the picture picker takes far to long to load with virtually no caching. We should also be able to create a page of favorites so we don't have to load the whole list to select one that we already know we like. This is another place where the dashboard just wasn't designed to scale well.
   
   Thankfully, anything we can photograph with the Xbox Live Camera (within reason and community standards) can be made into a gamer picture that only our friends can see. But offering us the tools to make and/or import our own high-quality images would be better and could engage the interest of new designers who could deliver some awesome and worthwhile gamer pictures for sale on Marketplace.
   
   
9. Even better Gamer Card browsing. This is just a missed opportunity. Some games make it easy to browse your friends' accomplishments as well as those players who have the best standing on a track or level. Seeing who pwned the puzzle you just completed in Jewel Quest (and just how much you missed the mark!) never gets old.
   
   But it seems like there should be a way to surf gamercards the way you can browse the Internet Movie Database and Amazon.com product listings. There should be a social browser for finding people you know and others who have similar gaming habits and preferences. Make it an opt-in setting, so you don't put yourself into the shark tank unless you want to. Mail is blocked from non-friends by default, so it's not like you'll get spammed. If not this generation (where there are already 5 million+ on Live), this will become imperative in the next one.
   
   
10. Original Xbox save support. There's good news and bad here. The good news is that a third-party has stepped up to create a gizmo - the Datel XSATA ($50) - that will let you transfer some of your original Xbox saves to the 360. The bad news is that it's a real pain-in-the-ass to use and will deter all but the most determined. Also, it doesn't transfer any saves that are locked (i.e., can't be copied from the original Xbox dashboard) such as Forza Motorsport and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, unless you've modded. So far Microsoft has completely ignored this issue, so there's little hope we'll be able to backup our hard-won progress from the first-generation of Xbox.
    
    On the "plus" side, Microsoft backward compatibility has lagged significantly behind the promise that "most games" would be playable on the Xbox 360. So you don't need to worry about rescuing games, like Morrowind, that you'll probably never be able to play on the next-gen console anyway.
    
    I still believe this is a huge oversight. Both the Wii and PlayStation 3 have ways to access or rescue save games from their past generation consoles. But it's not in Microsoft's best business interest to offer you a way to extend your existing library of games. So if you want this, you'll just have to bite the bullet and get an XSATA.

Overall, Microsoft should get a B+ for effort, and the fact that the Xbox 360 dashboard is miles above the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 interfaces (more on those in coming weeks!). In fact, it's a little surprising that neither competitor learned from Microsoft's mistakes this generation. There were certainly some opportunities to leapfrog ahead.

Instead, if Microsoft keeps the dashboard upgrades coming (packed with cool new features such as IPTV, which should be making Sony sweat very hard right about now) and continues to listen to its fan base (send your own feedback!), it might find a healthy niche this generation and, perhaps, will exert a big influence on future consoles to follow.

-=Gamewatcher

All three next-gen consoles have notable downloads. The Wii's new Virtual Console release is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) for $8. Sony is taking a page from Microsoft's abandoned playbook, selling a $3 multiplayer add-on for its recently released arcade shooter, Blast Factor. Speaking of which, Microsoft revealed it's making up for the segmentation of Lumines Live!, which had several features split off as downloadable extras due to a 50MB limit set on Xbox Live Arcade games. (Ironically, the word is that this limit has just been lifted since the need to accommodate memory card users seems superfluous in a world where downloadable HD movies and TV shows make even a 20GB hard drive shudder.) Anyway, this week's release will be a free Lumines skin and two add-on packs: the full Versus CPU and Puzzle Mode packs priced at $1.25 each if bought in the first month (after that, they jump to $3.75 a pop). Other recent 360 downloads include:

• Demos for Crackdown and Battlestations: Midway (free, but available to Gold members only)
• A Gears of War auto-update that does NOT address the recently reported system link issue; it's just a minor compatibility fix for overseas users
• The Call of Duty 3 Valor Map Pack ($10), which was pulled on account of it not actually working - expect a reissue any day now
• A high-definition episode of the Viva Pinata children's cartoon (free)
• Trailers for Battlestations: Midway and F.E.A.R. Accolades (free)
• Several Sonic The Hedgehog themes ($1.50 each) and picture packs ($1.25 each)

If you were holding off on the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion pack because you were worried no one would be playing it yet, you can put that fear to rest. There have been a record 2.4 million copies sold in the first 24 hours, half of those in North America. Then again, do busy gamers dare set foot in the new continent of Outland, home of two new playable races, flying mounts, the profession of jewelcrafting and increased level caps? No, seriously... Is anyone even at work today?

Sony released its PlayStation 3 v1.5 firmware update, and many gamers report it actually boosts backward compatibility for PS2 games by all but eliminating jaggies and visual artifacts that aren't there when playing the same titles on an actual PS2. However, there's no reference to these improvements in the official release notes, which list only these new features:

• Your user icon can be selected from a personal photo
• Auto sign-in with a saved password
• Improved wireless security options
• A toggle to turn off a menu sound
• An option to delete backup data
• The ability to input Korean text

It's odd that such a significant change as PS2 backward compatibility wasn't listed. For those of you with PS3s, what do you say - is it better? Are any of the games on the glitch list working now? If true, the news might move some of those PS3s languishing on store shelves...

If you're looking for cool free stuff, you better act fast. There's a free episode of the Skyland TV series on Xbox Live Marketplace, but only through Monday, Jan. 29. Also, as predicted, the Lumines Live! Heavenly Star music video skin is free until Feb. 21 - and only for Gold members. If PC games are more your thing, bookmark game.giveawayoftheday.com. As the name suggests, they give away a free casual game download every day but you must install it before the countdown clock runs out or pay full price (typically $10-20). Many of the games are arcade or puzzle game clones, but - hey - they're completely free if you remember to grab the file and run the installer right away. And if you miss a day, there are convenient thumbs up and thumbs down ratings from those who did play it to help you decide if it's worth whipping out your credit card...

Nintendo launched the News Channel for the Wii - simply check your messages to get the free update. The channel only contains one feed source, Associate Press news, but you can browse both by category (national, international, entertainment, business, technology, sports, etc) or by location using the globe interface. So far, the news feed seems to run the gamut of big stories, odd and interesting local items and even competitor news such as the upcoming PlayStation 3 launch in Europe. In fact, there's a story on the Wii's darkest hour to date, the Hold Your Wee for a Wii radio promotion death (no surprise, the family is suing the station). News is zippy to browse and there's a slideshow that takes you around the world if you like. Want to expand your Wii's capabilities even further? Download a free third-party PC add-on called Orb that streams videos, music, pictures and even TV programs (if you have a tuner card) to the Opera Web browser on your Wii, the PS3 Web browser or any other compatible Internet-enabled device including PDAs and cell phones. It may take some tweaking to get it working with your favorite formats, but it's pretty cool and worth the effort. Best of all, it's entirely free and seemingly devoid of spyware. Get it from orb.com...

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 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Reviewed On: Wii. Also available for GameCube.

In a Nutshell: Link is back, and he's badder than ever. Forget the kiddified cel-shading of The Wind Waker. This is an epic battle between the forces of light and dark, with giant boar-riding baddies who resemble Orcs and look like they could snap you in half like a twig. The game is full of interesting twists, often sending you on a quest only to quickly divert you to another more pressing matter. Dungeons are deep, dark and diabolical enough to warrant the extra expense for the official licensed guide, though frequent trips to Gamefaqs will offer mostly the same benefit without the maps and pretty pictures. There are vast amounts of gameplay - simply exploding an oddly placed boulder can open up a cave that takes half an hour or more to explore. The real game doesn't even start until after about 20 hours, when most of Hyrule will finally be open and you'll have access to the majority of your gizmos required to access obscure areas. Speaking of which, many of Link's classic toys (hookshot, boomerang, bombs) are back, though utilized in cool, new ways. And there's a new gadget called the spinner that unlocks a unique method of exploration and one of the most satisfying boss battles ever.

Learning Curve: Moderate. The game's controls are very easy to pick up, though they'll take some time to master. In fact, any fears you have about the Wii's motion-sensing remote and nunchuk will be quickly mollified by playing this game for a few hours. New items and advanced moves are unlocked very gradually over time, giving you plenty of practice before a new one comes along. Even so, a few of the later boss battles and puzzles may leave you scratching your head. The good news is that there are plenty of side quests and areas to explore, so you can take some time off from the main storyline until that moment of epiphany arrives.

The Save Game: You can save almost anywhere, with a few caveats. Saving stores your status, but not your exact location - so you'll appear at a predesignated spot in the town or province you're visiting. If you save while in a dungeon, you'll start back at the first room no matter how deeply you've explored it... unless you find a strange little bird called the Ooccoo. This will let you teleport out, saving your location in the dungeon. Just don't walk in the front door when returning, or he will meet you there and you'll lose your place!

Family Factor: Much of the time, you will want to keep the wee ones far from your Wii. Some of the cut scenes (which may be triggered without warning) are intense and show small children in peril. Beasties dot the landscape and attack almost constantly. You might be able to fish or roam a few small areas while your toddler watches, but most of the time you'll want to keep all but the older kids away.

Buy, Rent or Skip? If you can't resist donning the green suit of Link once more, definitely buy this game. There's so much to do, you'll need more than a rental period to play through the story and activities - including fishing, bug collecting, mini-games and a 50-room cavern filled with increasingly difficult opponents. But much like Oblivion, I have to caution that you will sacrifice your free time and sleep for days or even weeks as you try to find one more golden bug or just get to that creature who lets you save your spot in a dungeon before powering down. Also, the final level and ending are somewhat unsatisfying, and there's no provision to continue exploring after you beat the last boss - except to load your prior save. But the majority of the game is addictive and wholly enjoyable. If it weren't 40-60 hours long, it would be easy to recommend. But a game this good and deep and time-consuming can suck away your life, so it's wise to go in with your eyes open. If you can schedule a week's vacation to play through it, enjoy! Otherwise, meet your new best friends: the power nap and the triple-shot espresso.

On a Personal Note: Playing this game nearly every night and much later than I should have (or would have if I were currently employed), I developed a severe ache in my upper bicep and shoulder that waxed and waned depending on how many hours I logged. Ice packs and heat wraps helped, but I can't help but wonder if the Wii-mote will ultimately strengthen the affected muscles over time or if it's more prone to repetitive stress injury than my other game systems. Time will tell, but I hope it's the former since I really enjoyed this game on the Wii and sincerely hope there will be more experiences like it down the road.

Nintendo is piling on the Virtual Console downloads for Wii this week, including its second N64 game: Mario Kart 64 for $10. This is quite a deal, since the classic cartridges can run you 2-3 times that on eBay - and you won't have to worry about the battery that sustains your saved games dying. Other new downloads include:

• Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) - $8
• Bonanza Bros. (Genesis) - $8
• Comix Zone (Genesis) - $8

Microsoft missed another Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday, but delivered a demo for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. In lieu of a game release, there was an official announcement of upcoming Arcade games due to start arriving in February:

• 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
• Alien Hominid HD
• Band of Bugs
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Catan
• Eets: Chowdown
• Luxor 2
• Paperboy
• Root Beer Tapper
• Worms

There are no actual dates associated with any of the titles, and Microsoft still warns that some Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays may be "opportunities to share the experience with friends and family." Translation: There will still be many weeks without new games...