Busy Gamer News

For those of you who responded that the Wii's biggest flaw (after availability) is its lack of games, Nintendo revealed the drought will soon be over. These first-party titles have been confirmed for Japan in 2007, with most (if not all) arriving at U.S. shores by holiday:

• Battalion Wars II
• Disaster: Day of Crisis
• Donkey Kong Bongo Blast
• Forever Blue
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympics
• Mario Party 8
• Mario Strikers Charged
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
• Project H.A.M.M.E.R.
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Wii Health Pack
• Wii Music

If you're still trying to get your hands on a Wii, consoles are beginning to appear in weekly retailer ads and on store shelves. It appears Nintendo blew out its sales goal for the past financial year early and may have delayed further hardware shipments so they'd count toward the new one. At any rate, they've vowed to meet demand this year - and not by 2009, as one cynical analyst projected...

By now, the novelty of my new Alienware m5790 laptop has worn off a little, and I've learned my way around. Vista is growing on me like a fungus, and there's a lot to like there - but it also stupefies me at times.

For example, Vista is supposed to be great at trapping errors and problems and reporting them to Microsoft so they can identify and fix obscure problems. But a recent driver conflict did not get trapped, though it froze my machine repeatedly. (I believe my HP printer and ATI graphics card drivers just didn't get along; more on that below.) And now Windows Explorer and Word are crashing very frequently and not reporting the news to the mothership. And the Event Viewer is still as hard to read as always.

And the bad news doesn't end there.

Hasta la Vista
Outlook lost my carefully arranged shortcuts more than once. For awhile, I had to rebuild them every day. Now, for some reason, they seem to have been successfully saved.

Internet Explorer can't keep track of my tabs. How hard is to to always reopen my pages, instead of prompting each time I quit the browser?

The system also refuses to remember that my second monitor is on the left. Every time I reboot or reconnect the monitor, I have to remind it. Even more vexing, the laptop often won't wake from sleep or hibernation.

I can't backup files to a network hard drive. I can write small, individual files to it, but for some reason really big files (such as my Xbox 360 hard drive image) and scheduled backups won't copy. And it's NTFS, so it should work.

And for some reason Outlook wants to save all of my personal POP mail to my business Exchange server account unless I create a complex series of filters; the opposite should be true (just deliver to my local personal folders unless the mail comes from Exchange!) And sometimes messages sent via my personal POP mail accounts are archived in the Exchange server's Saved Items folder, which isn't really appropriate. And for some reason, my Slashdot summary mails are inexplicably cut short.

It's not all bad
Enough of the annoyances. Let's talk about what's great.

OneNote - This Office Pro bonus application is like Notepad on steroids. Not only can you jot down notes and save pictures, it can recognize text in pictures and save and scan audio recordings. It's been great to record meetings while typing my notes, just in case I need to refer back to what was actually said. OneNote really helps me bring order to chaos when managing my various consulting projects. I just don't understand why it can't transcribe audio, if it can search it for word matches.

Outlook - Despite my gripes, Outlook does a great job of managing my nine e-mail accounts, including Hotmail and Gmail. It's not perfect by any stretch, but so far it's the best software I've found for the job.

Free Software! - I managed to get Kapersky Anti-Virus and QuickBooks Simple Start 2007 essentially for free by watching the newspaper ads for rebate offers. Fry's offered the anti-virus software (which seems to be the best choice today) and Staples had the business software deal. You end up paying only the sales tax after the mail-in rebate. Nice.

Games! - Games are smooth so far. I've enjoyed demos of the high-def exclusives from MSN Games. The neat thing is that most of them work with an Xbox 360 controller, but it's unnecessary except for Geometry Wars and maybe Luxor 2. So far I don't see any "must buys."

I tried the Half-Life 2 demo, and it ran smoothly. Very smoothly. I suspect I'll have to break down and buy this. For some reason, my Steam account vanished - poof! - around the time of the driver crashes. It wasn't hijacked, there just was no longer any record of it. Fortunately, I was able to recreate it with the same name, and my downloads were all still intact. Whew!

All in all, the laptop is a bit bigger and heavier than is wholly practical. And the case is slick to the touch - I had expected it to be a bit more ruggedized, something you could easily haul around without risking it might slip from your hands. But it's worth the extra bulk and weight when I get my work done in record time while watching Tivo via Slingbox and then have time left to play some high-end games that run smooth as silk.

If I can just work out this latest crashing binge….

-=Gamewatcher

By the way: If you're interested in my battle between ATI and HP, as best I can tell the new Vista drivers for my HP C4150 printer don't get along with ATI Radeon drivers.

Shortly after installing the HP drivers, my laptop screen started showing static and then freezing up. This usually occurred upon waking from sleep. One time it looked like my screen was melting away as it slowly turned all white. I quickly uninstalled the beta DeskScenes software for Vista Ultimate (a beta extra that displays animated video backgrounds - cool as hell, but not worth the risk that they might destabilize things). I also upgraded my ATI drivers, but I'm wary of reinstalling the HP software. I will wait a few months; in the meantime I can print via shared connection on my XP machine and simply do without the scanner.

I'm still troubleshooting the frequent Windows Explorer and Word crashes. I tried rolling back the system to a restore point from well before the problems started, and it didn't fix anything. I'm concerned that Microsoft isn't aware of this problem since the system doesn't submit any data to the solution center when these crashes happen - sometimes every few minutes. (Yeah, I know the dialog box says it's "checking for a solution," but there's no record of an actual error submission to Microsoft.) These crashes happen when I open my Documents folder (which contains thousands of files) or edit a Word document's properties tab or even just open certain Word documents.

If I don't do any of these things, I can run for days and days without any problems. In other words, Vista is great when it's not crashing. Let's hope these stability problems get ironed out sooner than later.

Microsoft released Gears of War Map Pack #2 with four new multiplayer maps for $10. You may recall that Epic wanted to offer these for free, but Microsoft pressured them to charge. If you can hold out until Sept. 3, you can still get them for free - otherwise, charge up your Microsoft Points account! Other new Xbox 360 downloads include:

• Another double shot of Xbox Live Arcade: Catan ($10) and Centipede/Millipede ($5), plus a Catan theme ($1.88)
• Improved demo of Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia to fix matchmaking issues (free)
• Madden NFL 08 Cover Announcement Theme (free, available for a limited time)
• Heavy Weapon theme ($1.88) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Red vs. Blue Wacky 1 picture pack ($1)
• Another Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars video

If you already went looking for the Catan trial version, it was pulled shortly after launch due to bugs - but it's been re-released. The current crop of Arcade games aren't enough to keep you busy? Here's what to expect in coming weeks and months:

• Carcassonne
• Discs of Tron
• Every Extend Extra Extreme
• Mad Tracks
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
• RocketBowl
• Sensible Soccer
• Tron (mini-game collection)

Oh, and if you're impatiently waiting for Castle Crashers, you'll have to wait a bit longer - until 2008. Ouch...

This week's PlayStation Store update includes two new PS3 downloadable games: Gauntlet II ($5) and Super Rub a Dub ($7). You can also now download several original PlayStation games for play on the PS3: 2Xtreme, Crash Bandicoot, Destruction Derby, Jet Moto, Jumping Flash, MediEvil, Rally Cross, Syphon Filter, Tekken 2 and WipeOut. These games are free if you already downloaded them for the PSP, otherwise they're $6 a pop...

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-
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

Reviewed On: Nintendo DS. Also available for PSP. Announced for Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360 and expected eventually for PC.

In a Nutshell: This is not your mother's gem-matching game. You create a warrior, wizard, knight or druid and then level up your skills by winning battles enacted on a shared field of brightly colored gems, stars, skulls and coins. If you've ever played Bejeweled, it's a lot like that - only there's an opponent who is trying to mess up your game and outmatch you with the same gems. So there's a strategy component as you try to anticipate cascades and your enemy's next move. You also collect different types of mana (red, green, blue and yellow) to power spells and abilities that can level the playing field - or, in the hands of your opponent, you. You'll save up gold pieces to purchase better armor and weapons, capture enemies to learn their tricks, collect special runes to craft your own wares and build a citadel to rule over any cities you conquer. The story is a bit weak overall, but the quests are fun and the game is an instant diversion for dozens or even hundreds of hours of play - both in the main mode and impromptu battles against the computer or even a real person if you can find anyone else who actually has the game, which is available in disturbingly small quantities at retail.

Learning Curve: If you've ever played a Match-3 puzzle game, you'll feel at home in no time. The in-game tutorial walks you through all of the major game elements in the first hour or so. The main battle mode doesn't change much (though new spells and gear can breathe fresh life into it as you progress), but there are various side quests with different rules such as matching puzzles to capture enemies and mounts, a fun and often frustrating Match-3 variant used to learn new spells and other matching mini-games such as forging. Plumbing the game's depths and getting sidetracked for awhile is part of Puzzle Quest's charm, though it does steepen the learning curve slightly. Fortunately, there's an Instant Action option so you can skip all of the hoopla and just match gems against any opponent you like.

The Save Game: Puzzle Quest saves your progress after each battle and most significant interactions. This is important on the DS version, which does crash a bit - but you rarely lose much, if any, progress. (Reports suggest the PSP game may crash on occasion, too, sometimes during a battle - but I can't vouch for this.) Both portables have standby modes, so you can snap the DS shut or hit the PSP switch to sustain your game for as long as your battery has life. Keep it charged, and you should be fine.

Family Factor: While the game's RPG elements are inherently violent (you are battling monsters, after all), it's not like the gems drip blood. There's no real visual or auditory cue for the implied violence that's going on, apart from the appearance of skull gems and the minor explosions as they are consumed and do damage to you and your foe's Life Points. This is a game that small toddlers can safely observe as long as they aren't afraid of skulls or static pictures of ogres, orcs, trolls, minotaurs and other monsters.

Buy, Rent or Skip? If you're a fan of casual games and RPGs, this is a Match-3 made in heaven - buy it now! If you're new to either of these genres, give it a rental and see if you can put it down. Alas, this game is so hard to find, renting it from Gamefly will take some waiting and if you find it at retail, you should probably just pick it up. Don't worry: If for some reason you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't have too much difficulty unloading it.

The bigger decision is which version to buy. The DS and PSP versions are both buggy, though it may be easier to tolerate the DS' occasional freezes over the PSP's accidental omission of team bonuses and clunky control scheme. If you're the patient sort and don't care about portability, wait for the Xbox 360 or PC versions, which should boast online multiplayer and the best graphics and sound, plus they'll be patchable in case of any more insufferable bugs.

On a Personal Note: I downloaded the PC demo and was hooked from the start. I then set out to find a copy on the street. After badgering nearly a dozen stores almost daily for a week (and finally missing a copy that landed at an EB by just five minutes!), I finally gave up and ordered this game online. Those few local stores that did get the game only received a few copies per shipment, and many employees didn't seem to care or seemed powerless to request the game or additional copies in greater quantities.

What's most vexing is how buggy the games are. If they had been released on a patchable platform FIRST, such as the PC or Xbox Live Arcade, the developer could have worked out many of these bugs there before releasing it on the portables. It seems likely that Nintendo and Sony sought a period of exclusivity, though oddly not from each other. And then they both fumbled their opportunity by releasing buggy games in insufficient quantities. Yeah, I know, it's like the old joke about nursing home food: "The food here is horrible. And such small portions!"

Despite the potential roadblocks to enjoying this game, I find it a quite compelling to play during brief periods of downtime and even while watching shows and movies that don't require my full attention (e.g. reality TV, news, comedy). Though I'll probably consider buying it again for the PC or Xbox 360, I have to give the DS version the edge for being portable, fast-paced (due to stylus control instead of a thumbstick) and for giving you the stated benefits of having characters join your party. The PSP version looks and sounds prettier, but I'd rather have the gameplay, thanks.

Puzzle Quest is not a perfect game. Apart from all of the documented bugs, it would be nice if you could turn off hints and puzzle-blocking text that appears when you match 4 or 5 gems. Battles do get easier as you advance, though part of the appeal of puzzle games is repetition and relatively easy success. It's a great game to relieve stress and zone out for awhile. And there are unexpected twists to savor. One of the greatest joys I found was after mastering the Stun spell and using it successfully to keep my opponents from having too many opportunities to attack, I met a Fire Elemental who regularly blocked it and took my moves away from me. I had to devise a new strategy on the fly, avoiding any spells requiring red mana that he could block and swipe my turn.

I'm 30 or so hours into the main quest, and I've barely scratched the surface. And even if I do win, I'll probably trade my knight for a druid and start again from the beginning. This is a game I can see myself still playing years from now. Highly recommended, if you can find it.

This week's Wii Virtual Console update features three games you've probably never heard of:

• Final Fight (SNES) - $8
• Mighty Bomb Jack (NES) - $5
• Ordyne (TurboGrafx) - $6

Better news is that Nintendo is now posting previews, with videos lagging a bit behind game releases. Still no playable demos, but at least you can see what gameplay looks like before dropping $5-10 on a game...

If you pre-order the limited "Cybertron Edition" of Transformers: The Game for Xbox 360 from EB Games or Gamestop, the extra $10 gets you:

• An unlock code for two bonus levels
• A bonus disc with the usual "making of" videos
• A prequel comic book
• Limited edition packaging

If you want to surf the Web on your Nintendo DS this summer, be sure you get the right version the Nintendo DS Web Browser for your device. If you have the newer DS Lite, you can pick up the Opera-based Web browser cartridge at retail when it ships in June. But if you have the original bulky Nintendo DS, you'll need to get it from Nintendo's store and possibly other online retailers. The idea, it seems, is to reduce confusion at the cash register...

As promised, Microsoft updated the Xbox 360 dashboard with a number of new and improved features. If you missed the earlier announcement, the update includes:

• Windows Live Messenger integration, so you can text your IM buddies from your 360 (assuming the e-mail you linked to Xbox Live matches your Messenger e-mail, at least for now)
• New Marketplace blade
• Faster Marketplace downloads, plus any queued downloads will continue in low-power mode when you turn off your console (after turning on this Shutdown setting)
• Achievement alerts now show names and point values
• Xbox Live Arcade has a Friends Playing Now section, new boast functionality and an Auto Download option for all trial and free games (not just new ones)
• MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264 and Windows Media protected video support
• Game name appears in console tray
• Marketplace video playback while the file is still downloading (video that I tried was 95% complete before this worked for me!), plus aspect ratios choices (Auto, Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native), chapters and bookmarks
• Enhanced family settings that permit separate selections for video and voice chat
• Suggested deletions to help clear hard drive space if a download exceeds capacity

In other news, there are a few new Marketplace downloads:

• Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Throwback Pack with 7 remastered Ghost Recon multiplayer maps ($10)
• Double Dragon ($5)
• Another Red vs. Blue picture pack ($1)

UPDATE: Look for the Forza Motorsport 2 demo tomorrow, sometime after 2 a.m. Eastern. Alas, there's no multi-player - but there will be one track and 24 cars to try out, with the racing wheel if you have one...

Now there's one more reason to turn your Wii on every day: the Google RSS Feed Reader, optimized for the Wii Opera Web browser. Simply visit reader.google.com on your Wii (or www.google.com/reader/wii on your PC, if you just want to see what it looks like) and you'll be ready to read this blog and many others on your console. The Wii-mote is even supported to make navigation snappy:

• up/down: scroll up/down
• right/left: next/previous item
• 1 button: show subscriptions
• 2 button: show links

When showing subscriptions:

• up/down: previous/next subscription
• right: select current subscription
• left: close
• -/+: collapse/expand folder

Now, if only those Virtual Console video previews from Nintendo would play on the Wii. Hey, maybe the Big N should just make a deal with Google to host 'em on YouTube - problem solved...

There are two new downloadable games available for the PS3 from the PlayStation Store:

• Calling All Cars ($10), the oft-delayed cops ‘n' robbers game from the maker of God of War that received some buzz due to designer David Jaffe's mercurial blog posts
• Rampart ($5), an arcade strategy game

There's also a preview video for Warhawk, an upcoming air combat title due from the store this summer...

Just when you thought you were done with Crackdown and ready to use the disc for next week's Halo 3 beta, Microsoft throws a curveball: a patch, a free content pack and some for-pay content that might actually be worth the price.

The free, mandatory patch improves the game:

• Option to reset gangs after wiping out all bosses
• Orbs can be heard from a greater distance when they're down to the last few
• Stunt rings are easier to spot
• New ground strike attack for agents with 4-star strength
• Improved target lock prioritization of enemies
• Firing over low walls is more effective
• Fire hydrants can be smashed
• Lefty flip removed from vehicle controls (shouldn't this just be a separate option?)
• Mines and charges are persistent even if you leave the area
• Improvements to permit all vehicles to use ramp trucks
• Camera works better when driving/performing stunts
• Players can't lock onto other players, but they can shoot them with precision shots using normal targeting

The Free-For-All Pack adds:

• "Keys to the City" sandbox mode that grants access to an array of cheats - including skill enhancements, summoned ramp trucks and agency vehicles, infinite ammo (sans achievements and leaderboards, naturally)
• Vehicle impounding, so you can save vehicles at the Agency Garage just like you save the weapons you find - and there's even a new achievement for collecting them all
• Co-op trophies
• Psychotic Mission Trials - keeps a record of your time trial scores at the psychotic skill level and adds a new achievement for getting a perfect 21

Finally, the Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack ($10) adds:

• New agency vehicles: buggy, racecar and armored tank
• New weapons: MSK Lobber (mini-rockets), EX1 Proximity Charge, HRX Harpoon Gun, MZ360 Mini-Gun and the VS1 Cloaking Device
• New game types (see video below): Max-Agility Rooftop Races, Stockpile (timed orb collection), Checkpoint Chase and Rocket Tag (a pistol vs. rocket launcher match)
• Street racing tournaments
• Additional achievements for street racing, the Stockpile mini-game, harpoon gun mastery and a triple car flip
• Bonus pack features can be shared during co-op sessions with players who haven't purchased the content (and some achievements can even be earned this way)

What's funny is how Microsoft bullied Epic into releasing its bonus Gears of War maps for money, then a few weeks later offers this perfect blend of free and premium content. More games should do this.

Oh, and if you're not too busy, there's a new Blacksite: Area 51 demo, too...

PopCap is offering Bejeweled - one of the original Match-3 puzzle games - for free as a Mother's Day gift (PC version only). All you need is the code FREE4MOMS at checkout. The site is pretty overwhelmed right now, so you may need to wait a day or two for it to cool off. Fortunately, the promotion is good through May 23, and in cyberspace no one can tell if you're really a mom - though you might as well share it with yours since it's free. Just remember, this game is a gateway drug to the harder stuff like Bejeweled 2, Jewel Quest and Puzzle Quest...

The new Crackdown update has eaten some players' hard-earned saved games, thanks to a bug in co-op mode that occurs when the host enables the new sandbox mode or resets gangs. The developers are working on a fix, but for now: Be careful out there. There is a workaround that is supposed to prevent it from ever happening. If you do lose your stats, reports suggest you MIGHT get them back if you turn off your 360 without saving the new game over the old one. Better yet, you might want to just hold off on any co-op games until the next title update...

The Wii Virtual Console now sports some classic ninja action:

• Ninja Gaiden (NES) - $5
• Ninja Spirit (TurboGrafx) - $6
• Pac-Man (NES) - $5

If you have a PS3 and a broadband connection, the PlayStation Store has a deal for you: A discount on the "game" flOw, which lets you evolve a pulsating organism in a psychedelic manner that some find soothing, others boring. If this sounds like your cup of primordial stew, the game is $5 until May 23. After that, it's back to $8...

Apart from the Halo 3 Beta (more on that next post), Microsoft is dumping the home-grown freebie Aegis Wing on Xbox Live Arcade (as if anyone will notice!) and another system update, this one to improve HD-DVD playback, title compatibility and features. Other new downloads include:

• A Red vs. Blue welcome to Halo 3 (free)
• Soltrio Solitaire ($10)
• Demos for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Viva Piñata (free)
• Test Drive Unlimited Collection #4 ($4.38) and or just the Saturn Curve (free)
• Bullet Witch bonus stage, cheats and costume ($0.25 each)
• Heroes (the TV series) picture pack ($1) and theme ($1.88)
• Yet another Red vs. Blue picture pack ($1)

First of all, if you're expecting to get into the Halo 3 Beta via Crackdown, you'll have to wait until 5 a.m. PDT. [UPDATE: The download was delayed until 7-10 p.m PDT and beta period extended to June 10.] Apparently, the only players downloading the beta at midnight won a random drawing (and those who earned it playing Halo 2 got invites over the weekend).

Here's what to expect:

• 911MB download
• Three maps: Highground (large, like Zanzibar), Valhalla (2 bases, like Blood Gulch) and Snowbound (tight, slayer map)
• New weapons: Spartan Laser, Machinegun Turret, Missilepod, Brute Spiker gun, Brute Spike Grenade and a reconfigured Assault Rifle
• New vehicle: the fast but weaponless Mongoose ATV
• New gear: the Bubble Shield (deflects fire but can be walked through), Grav Lift (aka the infamous "Man Cannon"), Trip Mine and Power Drain
• A new party system lets you stick with the same group across multiple game sessions
• Rating Points and ranks to help with matchmaking
• Limited support for saving and viewing films (aka playback of your online battles)
• Graphics aren't anti-aliased yet, so expect jaggies - particularly on HD sets
• Gold account is required to play, though you can download it with Silver
• Two-player split-screen enabled (though no local only or system link - you MUST play online)
• You won't be able to select custom games and, based on early feedback from the "friends and family" beta, they're currently favoring Capture the Flag over Team Slayer (though this might shift over the course of the beta)
• Beta runs until 11:59 p.m. PDT on June 10
• Full game releases on September 25, so get those vacation requests in early

For more details and pretty pictures, see the official Bungie Beta Guides and FAQs...

It's 9:28 a.m. on the day of the official Halo 3 Beta launch, and there's still no love for Crackdown owners. Everyone else who won or earned their way into the beta are happily fragging their fellow gamers, but we're sitting at our consoles refreshing the download screen every minute or so. The latest rumors range from "they're rolling it out in phases" to "it could be a day or more before it's fixed."

What a mess. This could and should have been avoided. Bungie has a crack community team, active message boards and the resources of Microsoft's Xbox Live team at their disposal. So why are people flaming them and threatening class action lawsuits and self-inflicted violence ("I'll give it one more hour.... Then I'm going to hang myself").

It's not like they didn't know people would be interested in this. They sold millions of copies of Crackdown on the promise of entry into the Halo 3 Beta. Now Crackdown is a good game to be sure, but the majority did buy it or hang onto it for Halo 3. And many people scheduled holidays or ditched school for this event.

One can only assume Bungie tested everything internally weeks or at least days ago to make sure the beta download process on Crackdown worked. So, what went wrong? Even if there are technical issues that couldn't have been anticipated, there are some things that should have been handled better:

1. Synchronize your watches. There is a lot of misinformation floating around about the start time of the beta. Xbox.com and Bungie.net and various other quasi-official sites list start times in different time zones. Someone should have coordinated this information to list the official time zone (whatever that might be - GMT, PDT, whatever), plus the adjusted time(s) for the locale being messaged. This information was posted weeks ago, so there's been plenty of opportunity to hunt for mixed or confusing messages and get them fixed. Now people are cluttering the forums with findings of "new start times" that are actually time-shifted messages for different countries.
   
   
2. What’s the start time, Kenneth? Apart from the out-of-phase messaging (pretty common for Redmond-ites), there never was any advance warning about how the beta would roll out. Posting an official schedule in advance and informing the various news outlets might have quashed this. (Gaming news sites and even gamer TV shows like a recent Halo 3-preview heavy Attack of the Show on G4 have been reporting the midnight start as gospel.) Just list when the Friends and Family beta starts, then the people who won entry, then the random drawing winners, then the Crackdown players. Give approximate times and a disclaimer that they are all subject to change.
   
   
3. Status, please. At midnight (PDT), many Crackdown players logged in expecting to start downloading the code before they went to bed. They went on the Web to find rumors that the Crackdown launch had actually been scheduled for 5 a.m. Then, a few hours later, they woke up expecting to start the download before work or school. Denied. At least by then, there was an official message stating that Bungie was aware of the problem and fixing it - well, on the Web anyway. Then silence for several more hours.
   
   A better solution would have been to configure the Download Halo 3 Beta button's message to display updated information. The game appears to poll an online server before displaying this button, so it should be possible to edit the related status bar text - if not on the fly, certainly over the course of the several hour delay. It would have been an obvious place to build a communication mechanism, but no one thought this through in advance.
   
   Another place to communicate status is Bungie.net and Major Nelson's blog (the latter actually went down from all of the traffic from status-starved fans!). But all of these crucial community folks were at a Halo 3 event in New York (or traveling back from it), thus unable to stay plugged in and communicating to the fan base during this crucial window. Someone should have been left behind to post status updates (at least hourly), even if there was no helpful news. Just the message "no news yet, everyone is pulling their hair out here trying to get things going, please hang in there" would have made a big difference.

So, what can Bungie do now?

• First, start communicating status. Immediately. And every step of the way from now on.
• Extend the beta by a day or so. It's not like June 6 is a particularly meaningful cut-off date. And surprise us with something cool that we weren't expecting. We love presents!
• And promise to never, ever leave the community you've so careful cultivated hanging for so long during a highly anticipated event. In the planning phase, really think through all decisions from the customer's perspective: "How would I feel if I was sitting in front of my console on Beta launch day expecting a big night out and you never showed - with not even a text message explaining what happened?"

Yeah, that's right: Treat us like a needy girlfriend. And don't worry, we will most likely forgive you and put out our hard-earned cash for the Legendary treatment this September. Just don't let it happen again.

-=Gamewatcher

p.s. - While you're waiting, you might as well check out the Halo 3 video from Red vs. Blue. The opening is pretty prophetic considering how things have played out. Makes you wonder if anyone from the community team watched it...

After what was no doubt a very long day for Bungie Studios and the Xbox Live team, a title update has been released to enable the Halo 3 Beta download from within Crackdown. The fix has been deployed but can take up to 4 hours to reach some consoles, so your only recourse is to periodically quit to the dashboard and relaunch the game. As a make-good for the delay, Bungie has extended the beta by four days - until June 10th at 11:59 PM PDT. Oh, and if you encounter a display bug (no text) when launching the beta, simply restart your Xbox 360, re-launch the beta and then immediately hold down the D-Pad Up and A buttons until the Bungie logo appears...

If you're looking for Sony to match Microsoft's output for its online store, this won't be the week it happens. There are only two new items: Rampage World Tour ($5) and a Joust video (free). Maybe you'll have better luck next week...

Due to a severe eye infection that has consumed my optics since Thursday, I'm unable to type or watch anything for more than a few minutes. (Made the mistake of going to see Shrek 3 yesterday and it felt like needles in my eyes everytime I tried to catch a glimpse. Sounded good though.) Anyway, this week's news is coming but will be a bit delayed. Hopefully worth the wait. Oh, and I still haven't gotten to play the Halo 3 Beta. I'm coming, fear my wrath-- uh, you guys all been practicin' pretty hard this past week. Huh. Maybe I'll just back out the way I came...

The Wii Virtual Console may soon be home to some original games, putting it on par with Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store. But this week's offering is just more classic console fare - not necessarily a bad thing when Donkey Kong's involved:

• Blazing Lazers (TurboGrafx) - $6
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES) - $8
• Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - $8

There's a lot of misinformation out there about the whole Matrix on HD-DVD and Xbox 360 thing, but here's what we've confirmed: If you cheap out and buy The Complete Matrix Trilogy HD-DVD set (which includes the three movies, but lacks the two bonus discs of The Ultimate Matrix Collection), you can get the most desirable of these extras - The Animatrix - for free. You just need an Xbox 360 with about 1.2GB available on the hard drive. Specially marked Matrix Trilogy boxes include a token good for free download of the full Animatrix movie (alas, only in standard definition). Also on Xbox Live Marketplace: Fans on the fence can download a bunch of HD previews, including the awesome lobby sequence from the first movie (a snippet, to be exact). If you're looking for The Animatrix in Marketplace, it's under TV Shows (huh?) - and there's a free SD episode. There are also some Matrix themes and gamer pics for sale at the usual price points...

Apart from all of The Matrix HD-DVD tie-in crap, Xbox Live Marketplace now has:

• Another Arcade two-fer: Rush'n Attack and Xevious ($5 each)
• Colin McRae: DIRT demo (free)
• Another Alien Hominid HD PDA pack ($1.88) and picture packs ($1.25 each)
• Tom Clancy's Endwar theme ($1.88)
• Soltrio Solitaire themes ($1.88 each)
• Videos for MotoGP 2007 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (free)
• More Red vs. Blue pictures ($1)
• Ocean's 13 theme and picture pack (free)

The next non-'80s Guitar Hero game (Guitar Hero 3?) will feature new wireless guitars, boss battles, online multiplayer, a Wii version (in addition to PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360) and the following playable songs:

• Barracuda (Heart)
• Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
• Cult of Personality (Living Colour)
• Knights of Cydonia (Muse)
• The Metal (Tenacious D)
• My Name is Jonas (Weezer)
• Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)
• Rock And Roll All Nite (Kiss)
• Sabotage (Beastie Boys)
• School's Out (Alice Cooper)
• Slow Ride (Fog Hat)

The PlayStation 3 is getting a hefty update with the v1.8 firmware update:

• Upscaling of backward compatible original PlayStation and PS2 games plus DVDs to 1080p
• Remote Play to permit a PSP to connect to your PS3 from "anywhere in the world" that you can find broadband Internet
• Access to images, music and video from DLNA3-enabled gizmos
• Photo printing to selected Epson printers

The PlayStation Store also offers the classic game Joust for $5...

If you enjoyed the last chapter in the Tomb Raider series, Tomb Raider: Anniversary - the forthcoming sequel for PC, PS2 and PSP that's built on an enhanced version of the Legend gaming engine - is now available to try as a PC demo (257MB)...

Hoping to move a few more accessories with the Forza Motorsport 2 launch next week, Microsoft cut the price of its Wireless Racing Wheel to $130. If you find it still listed at $150, look around for the new price - which seems to have already hit most online retailers...

After a week's delay due to illness, I finally got into the Halo 3 Beta. Some impressions and helpful tips:

• It's been stated elsewhere, but it's worth repeating: Halo 3 is not much different from Halo 2 in terms of basic gameplay and the graphics aren't antialiased yet
• Start with unranked games while you get to know the maps and quirks of the new system; that way there's no pressure
• If you want to get points and improve your rank beyond green recruit, you will need to play ranked games
• You can play Slayer if you don't like team games. Slayer with Rockets (if you're lucky enough to get it) is awesome - just be prepared to reload every two shots
• If you're tired of Slayer on High Ground for the fifth time in a row (since there are no custom games, just whatever the servers in Redmond kick out at random), feel free to veto - and ask your lobbymates to do the same
• Use LB to cycle through your grenades, dual wield when stepping over a duplicate eligible weapon, or tap to reload the left weapon when dual wielding Use RB to pick up weapons, enter vehicles, activate buttons or tap to reload your right-handed weapon
• The X button activates new items such as the Trip Mine, Bubble Shield, Grav Lift and Power Drain
• Hit the D-Pad to talk while in a match - most people don't know this, which explains why there isn't much trash talking in the beta
• Don't forget you can grab the turret minigun (press B) to take it with you - for as long as the ammo holds out
• The Spartan Laser gives off a tellrale red glow to those being targeted while it charges, so you might want to aim near your target and switch your aim once it's fully charged for a lethal surprise attack
• Watch our for enemies camping near the good weapons; they may even lay one down in the open and then pick you off when you head for the bait
• Don't forget to melee (B button) in close quarters - your enemy won't

Unless you're a true old schooler, this week's Wii Virtual Console releases are the console equivalent of the classic cafeteria "mystery" meat:

• ActRaiser (SNES) - $8
• Kid Chameleon (Genesis) - $8
• J.J. & JEFF (TurboGrafx) - $6

Not to say they're not worthy - but without downloadable demos or video previews (which lag several days or even weeks behind), how are you to know...

If you're an '80s music fanatic, the PS2-only Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s will be packed with some of your favorite new wave, hair band and not-quite classic rock:

• 18 And Life (Skid Row)
• Balls To The Wall (Accept)
• Bathroom Wall (Faster Pussycat)
• Heat Of The Moment (Asia)
• Holy Diver (Dio)
• I Ran (Flock Of Seagulls)
• I Wanna Rock (Twisted Sister)
• I Want Candy (Bow Wow Wow)
• Lonely Is The Night (Billy Squier)
• Metal Health (Quiet Riot)
• Nothing But A Good Time (Poison)
• Only A Lad (Oingo Boingo)
• Play With Me (Extreme)
• Round And Round (Ratt)
• Shakin' (Eddie Money)
• Synchronicity II (The Police)
• The Warrior (Scandal)

This isn't the complete track listing, but it should give you enough of a taste to decide if you'll want to pick it up. More than likely, these songs will eventually be released as overpriced track packs for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II....

This week's Xbox Live Arcade game is worth noting for a few reasons, both good and bad. For those lucky enough to play in the original Xbox Live beta, Mad Tracks is reminiscient of Re-Volt, the shell of a game used to demonstrate and test the first-generation console online networking system. Multiplayer gameplay was addictive thanks to a great lobby system and toy racing mechanics that allowed for manic gameplay and low stakes ("It's only a toy car game!"). Microsoft pulled the game, supposedly due to licensing issues but - no doubt - in part due to concern that a budget title might overtake its core racing franchise.

Mad Tracks is not Re-Volt, but it does capture much of its energy - and in some ways it's more elaborate and polished. Tracks are wild and twisty with big jumps, steep ramps, over-sized onstacles, opponent-seeking power-ups and even a loop-de-loop. Your car loses power as its wind-up energy runs down, so there's a little strategy involved in taking the big hills and jumps effectively. The game boasts 15 game types with custom tracks for each, though only six are true races. The others are goofy but fun mini-games including billiards, mini-golf, darts, foos ball and arena-style battles. Online play is good and even includes rank-based matchups, but lacks a decent lobby system to quickly jump into another race with the same group.

The game packs a lot of content for $10, and will be enhanced in coming weeks with two more content downloads - each adding 15 more game types - for $4.38 apiece. So it's stealthily a near $20 title when all of the pieces are added, and would be totally worth it if only the online play were a little smoother. A mixed bag, to be sure, but one worth a look if you like goofy, low stakes, pick-up-and-play racing games.

Other new Xbox Live Marketplace content includes:

• A free Worms space landscape and sound pack, plus hell and jungle landscapes ($1.88 each), and themes ($1.88 each) and picture packs ($1.25 and $2.50)
• Mad Tracks theme ($1.88) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Videos for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fable 2, Medal of Honor Airborne, Tom Clancy's Endwar and Two Worlds (free)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End demo (free)
• Toyota F1 theme and picture pack (free)
• Yet another Red vs. Blue picture pack ($1)

If you have an ATI Radeon video card in your PC or laptop, you can download Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast for free on Steam - for a limited time. Simply visit the Steam offer page and click the link to either create a Steam account or link an existing account. The Steam client will then validate your hardware and start the downloads. Once you've installed these games on your ATI Radeon machine, they'll run on any PC that uses your Steam account. You can also get a nice discount on Half-Life 2 and the Episode One expansion: $10 off each, or save $25 when purchased together. Clearly, Valve is betting that downloading these sample games will boost sales...

The PlayStation Portable has been updated to v3.5 in Japan and will likely get a U.S. release any minute now. The firmware patch adds remote access to PlayStation 3 content from virtually any Internet connection (not just at home) and an RSS Channel Guide to organize your feeds. There's also a free downloadable expansion for Killzone: Liberation that adds a new chapter plus Infrastructure Mode (aka player vs. player duels) on the PSP. Finally if you have a PS3, the PlayStation Store is offering Championship Sprint, a classic '80s arcade racer updated with multiplayer for $5...

Starting today, the GameTap PC game subscription service is free! No, not all 893 games - but a selection of 30 or so titles that rotate every few days. The good news is that you don't have to supply a credit card to get free access, just your birthdate and an e-mail address. You will get constant prodding to update to GameTap Gold for full, unrestricted access. And you'll have to endure ads and the buggy new beta site.

The first batch of free games (which get swapped out Monday, June 4) includes:

• Bust-A-Move
• Joust
• King of Fighters '94
• Metal Slug
• Myst Online: Uru Live
• Rampage
• Robotron 2084
• Root Beer Tapper
• Scrapland
• Tomb Raider: Legend

You'd think they'd give away the first Sam & Max episode, just to get everyone hooked. Maybe in a few weeks when they have a decent installed base of free players...