Busy Gamer News

This week's Wii Virtual Console update is pretty much filler - that is, games you probably never played or even heard of unless you're very old school:

• Eternal Champions (Genesis, budget fighter) - $8
• The Dynastic Hero (TurboGrafx, action RPG set in an insect world) - $8
• ZANAC (NES, vertical-scrolling shooter) - $5

It's worth noting that The Dynastic Hero is a clone of Wonder Boy in Monster World (detailed comparison), which is already on the Wii Virtual Console - so don't get tricked into buying essentially the same game twice unless you're an avid collector...

If you're a fan of the online play for Resident Evil Outbreak or Monster Hunter on the PS2, you'd better get in enough gaming memories to last a lifetime before Dec. 31, 2007. That's when the company providing online servers for these games will shut them down for good. Apparently, Capcom outsourced this service and the company is not letting go of the technology required to host these games, but won't commit to run them any longer either...

The Xbox 360 dashboard update hit (details), and it seems to deliver what it promised. Apart from a still somewhat muddled though improved Marketplace experience, the console feels much more responsive - even my hundreds of gamer pics load pretty fast now! You will need to suffer a few delays while it reindexes downloaded videos, but when it's done the newest ones will be listed first and most will be organized into folders and categories (though, for the record, that Battlestar Galactica recap episode is not a game video!). You'll also see pitches for Xbox Originals, $15 classic Xbox games that can be downloaded if you have the hard drive space and trust Microsoft DRM not to screw you over should your console fail. The launch lineup includes Crash Bandicoot, Crimson Skies, Fable, Fuzion Frenzy, Halo, Indigo Prophecy and Psychonauts. Best of all, there is a free theme and picture pack for each game - even if you don't buy it.

In other news, there's a free BioShock expansion that adds a few new plasmids (Sonic Boom, EVE Saver, Vending Expert and Machine Buster), the option to play without Vita Chambers, a new 100 point Brass Balls achievement if you beat the game without dying on Hard and a greatly improved widescreen mode (make sure Horizontal FOV is off after installing the update)...

A new service called FigurePrints promises to sculpt World of Warcraft miniatures based on your custom in-game characters. Cool right? The reality check that it's probably too late to get one made for the holidays since they are, in part, handcrafted. The figures are made of a sealed "plaster-like powder" and cost about $115 with shipping. All you can do now is register to order one when availability opens up again. According to the site, they re-open the store on Dec. 11 so there just might be a chance for a holiday miracle if you get in line now...

The new EVE Online Trinity Expansion may kill your Windows XP computer if you use auto-update. Instead, you should perform a full reinstall and then verify that your boot.ini file is intact before rebooting. If you've lost this critical file or need more details, an official forum post will walk you through the problem and its workarounds. Needless to say, the EVE developers are scrambling to fix this bug...

Sony updated Folklore today to support DualShock (even though the PS3 controllers aren't yet available in the U.S.) and some new add-ons you can buy and download. This week's PlayStation Store update includes:

• Folklore Add-on Packs 1 and 2 ($4 each, or $6 as a bundle), each with four side quests, a folk and a costume
• High Velocity Bowling ($10), which - word of warning! - uses Sixaxis controls but doesn't offer a demo
• Wild Arms ($6) PSone game for the the PS3 and PSP
• Rock Band Black Sabbath Pack 1 ($5.50, or $2 per track) with cover versions of "N.I.B.," "Sweet Leaf" and "War Pigs"
• MotorStorm Falfer Domino Rally Car ($1)
• PAIN Santa and sexy assistant Cookie ($1 each)
• Demo: TimeShift multiplayer
• Game Videos: Grant Theft Auto IV, Battlefield: Bad Company, Metal Gear Solid 4, Ratchet and Clank Future, TimeShift, Turok and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• Themes: Ratchet and Clank Future and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• Movie Trailer: The Legend of Zorro

If you don't have a PS3 but want to buy and download games for your PSP, you can try the PlayStation Store Web site. It's packed with free PSP demos, videos and wallpaper plus items not in the PS3 store such as the new Beats ($5), which turns your MP3 music into a game...

This week is another light one for Xbox Live Marketplace. Apart from the previously reported free BioShock and dashboard updates and those permanently discounted Xbox Live Arcade Hits (which took the place of the weekly Arcade release), here's what's new:

• Forza Motorsport 2 Road America Track Pack ($1.25) and December Car Pack ($5, or get the Renault Clio 197 free)
• Rock Band Black Sabbath Pack 1 ($5.50, or $2 per track) with cover versions of "N.I.B.," "Sweet Leaf" and "War Pigs"
• DDR Universe 2 Song Mega Pack ($10, or $1.25 per song)
• Demo: Culdcept Saga
• Game Videos: Grant Theft Auto IV and Switchball
• Pictures: Assassin's Creed ($1 each), Santa's Friends ($1.25) and Mrs. Claus & Friends ($1.25)

It's worth noting that Microsoft has implemented business rules making all free content exclusively for Gold members its first week of release. Now Silver members actually see a symbol showing that they can't have it yet...

The big news this week for Wii Virtual Console is that now you can gift downloadable games to members of your Friends list. And there are actually some new titles worth giving:

• Ghosts'n Goblins (NES) - $5
• Pokémon Snap (N64) - $10
• Baseball Stars 2 (Neo-Geo) - $9

There's also an optional update to the Photo Channel, which you should probably decline if you like playing MP3s. The update limits you to AAC music support, but in a weird twist Nintendo has published a FAQ that details how easy it is to downgrade (as long as you don't buy a new console now with it preinstalled). It's both strange and oddly refreshing, since game hardware makers typically commit to a change like this and then block any user attempts to resist it...

Ten bucks will land you the Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack with three new maps for multiplayer action and Forge fun. Standoff is a valley designed for mid-sized battles. Rat’s Nest features twisty passages for indoor vehicular mayhem. And Foundry is a huge warehouse made for customization; turn it into whatever you want. Pay now, or wait for them to become free in the spring...

Rock Band, my nemesis, we will meet again!

As long-time readers know, GrrlGotGame and I look forward to the Penny Arcade guys' Child's Play Charity Auction all year long. Each year (2004, 2005, 2006), it attracts more high rollers and we end up winning fewer gamer goodies. But we always make it up with donations to our favorite Children's Hospitals via the Child's Play online toy drive.

This year, the event moved to the Seattle Convention Center, where PAX was held. It was a beautiful location with a view of the city and a brilliant dining space. I arrived with a goal: walk away with a copy of Rock Band for the 360, my nemesis this holiday season as I've continually struck out in my efforts to secure a copy despite near constant vigilance. I finally saw one up close in the silent auction and, despite my vow, I watched in horror as it was bid up well beyond my price threshold to at least $550. (Another copy in the live auction, which included a trip to Boston to visit Harmonix, went for $2600 - just over its listed value).

The Heroes signed comics and script that got away

GrrlGotGame had her heart set on a Heroes comic and script collection that included a Vote Petrelli pin, but quickly rose nearly as high.

I love Peggle!

Despite many bids on many items (which did help drive up the evening's total, at least!), our sole win was the Peggle Gift Basket from PopCap, which included an iPod, the Orange Box for PC (with Peggle Extreme!) and a credit to buy Peggle from the iTunes Store when it's released there soon. I had my heart set on this since I couldn't justify buying The Orange Box twice (Santa is bringing the Xbox 360 version) but I really wanted Peggle Extreme, and it's only available online. (I did chat up a PopCap employee, trying to convince him that Peggle Extreme was a natural fit for Xbox Live Arcade.) In the end, I paid much more than the $50 required to get the 10-level game spin-off along with a bunch of other goodies including a nifty PopCap card holder. Since my goal for 2008 is to steer my consulting business back into game community work, this seemed too cool not to win. With some vigilance to ensure no one outbid me in the end, I took it for $340.

PA's Jerry and Mike conducting the live auction

Which is just as well, since the live auction quickly went insane. The least expensive item was a framed print of the Penny Arcade card battle game that sold for $600. A big military duffle full of Halo goodies shot to $5100, a mystery box full of stuff too weird or inappropriate for kids in a hospital went for $5000 to a PopCapper, who then refused to open it on stage until someone bid $1300 to force the issue. A surprise Valve bundle that included a lifetime Steam subscription, a tour and the chance to answer Gabe Newell's e-mails cost someone $2500. The annual appearance in a Penny Arcade strip jumped to $13,000, and then a bid for the "respect of the room" (a straight donation for no prize) ended with a $15,000 pledge. All in all, the event raised more than $225,000.

We had a great time, but would suggest that next year they offer more duplicate and low-value items in the silent auction so that everyone who attends gets a fair chance to contribute amd take home a memento of the evening. Also, get Tim Kring to sign more scripts - next time, they are ours!

-=Gamewatcher

This week's PlayStation Store update is a little anemic:

• Burnout Paradise demo
• Rock Band Punk Pack 1 ($5.50, or $2 per track) with "I Fought the Law" by The Clash, "Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones and a cover of "Ever Fallen in Love" by The Buzzcocks
• High Velocity Bowling characters Amber and Mike ($1 each)
• Need For Speed ProStreet unlockables AKA cheat codes you pay for ($3-10)
• Game Videos: Burnout Paradise, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank Future and Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
• Movie Trailers: Cloverfield and Untraceable

What's more interesting is what was NOT released this week. Harmonix created a PS3 patch for Rock Band to permit compatibility with Activision's Guitar Hero III axe, but Activision asked Sony to hold it - and they did, citing "intellectual property" concerns. What's the problem?! If the code to support the controller had made the game disc, Activision wouldn't have been able to stop them. But they can block a patch to Harmonix' own game code? If they want to support rocking out with a DDR dancepad, they should be allowed to! Activision claims they tried to work out an agreement with Harmonix to support each other's hardware, but the speculation is that they wanted money to do so. Ridiculous.

Apart from the Halo 3 maps released Tuesday, here's what's new on Xbox Live Marketplace (another light week):

• Arcade: Arkadian Warriors and Gripshift ($10 each)
• Rock Band Punk Pack 1 ($5.50, or $2 per track) with "I Fought the Law" by The Clash, "Rockaway Beach" by The Ramones and a cover of "Ever Fallen in Love" by The Buzzcocks
• Exit Additional Stage Pack 2 (free)
• Demos: Burnout Paradise and Frontlines: Fuel of War

Nintendo, realizing that it's losing sales to competing consoles due to high demand and low availability (not to mention hordes of Internet scalpers who snatch the few available systems), is offering a way for you to get a Wii for the holidays. Well, not really. But they do want to sell you a raincheck that you can put under your holiday shrub of choice. In an exclusive arrangement, Gamestop will sell you a Wii voucher that you can redeem for a game system in January. Or you can try your luck at other major retailers this weekend for the real thing (better get up early and dress warm!). If you are looking to score, word is that Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, Sears, Target, Toys R Us and Wal-Mart have all been stockpiling for a weekend blowout.

A few comments: 1) We wouldn't be in this mess if retailers - especially Gamestop! - permitted reservations for consoles and other hot products after they launched (and not just for preorders - take that, eBay poachers!), and 2) what are you going to tell your kids, that the elves are behind on production but Santa gave the spoiled bully down the street an actual Wii while your polite, honest and considerate spawn settles for a lousy IOU? Nice try, but it's not going to dissuade many caring but busy and tired parents (read: can't afford to stand in lines all night, every night, until they succeed) from hitting up eBay in a panic - uh, right about now...

UPDATE (December 17): Predictably, Wiis on eBay saw a huge spike this weekend as a large percentage of the last pre-holiday barrage of consoles went to scalpers instead of shoppers. Perhaps the flood of systems will bring down the average price a bit, but it shows that the retail process is still hugely flawed. It's doubtful scalpers will get as much from vouchers, so this may be a step in the right direction - but until retailers offer post-launch reservations (and they won't until we and the game industry demand it - they don't want the added hassle), we're going to have to continue bidding for our gifts.

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-
Assassin's Creed

Reviewed On: Xbox 360. Also available for PlayStation 3 and eventually PC. There's a cell phone game too, but it's not even remotely similar.

In a Nutshell: Run around the medieval Holy Land killing people. That's basically it, though there are several interesting (though surreal) story dimensions. You will spend a lot of the game in a vast sandbox, wandering around and picking fights and missions as you see fit. At first glance, it may appear to be the offspring from a bizarre mating of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell games - though the stealth elements are not as dominant, and that's a good thing. It is somewhat repetitive, though that's not always a bad thing and in this case makes the game a good choice for mindless stress relief after a particularly rough day at work.

Learning Curve: Pretty easy to pick up, though it may take some time to master advanced moves such as pickpocketing and double-strike kills. The game introduces new skills gradually and provides a practice arena for mastering new fighting maneuvers. You also get unlimited redos, and messing up a mission and then getting yourself to the restart point is sometimes more fun than completing it right the first time! Even novice gamers will get far and probably even complete the main story without too much frustration.

The Save Game: The game autosaves pretty frequently. No real progress will be lost by quitting anywhere, but there are a few gotchas to beware:

1. Always quit to the Animus screen (you'll know what this means after you play for about 15 minutes). Otherwise, you'll risk corrupting your save file if you accidentally shut the console off during an unexpected autosave.
2. You won't start exactly where you left off, so you generally need to travel a bit to pick up your game - so quitting and coming back does have a small penalty.
3. If you want to collect Xbox 360 achievements, be sure to trigger a save after any significant activities such as street fights, leaps of faith, beggar tosses, etc. The quickest way to do this is simply collect a flag in the city you're in, so you might find and save some just for this purpose.

Note to Ubisoft: What's wrong with triggering an auto-save every time you exit the game? Overall, this game is easy to get in and out of, but it's not as slick as a save anywhere solution.

Family Factor: As you'd expect, keep this game away from small children. The fighting is violent and intense. You also can't really explore the city with small children present since, even though collecting flags and climbing tall towers is pretty harmless, make one wrong move and you'll have a bloody battle on your hands. You could run and hide, but what kind of message does that send?

Buy, Rent or Skip? Most decent gamers can beat this game in a 5-day rental if they can commit at least 4-5 hours a night (20-25 hours total). If you're a completist who wants to investigate every nook and cranny of the game's expansive kingdom plus nine large city segments, find all of the hidden flags and unlock 1000 achievement points, just buy it.

On a Personal Note: I bought this game on a whim, half expecting to be underwhelmed (due to several lukewarm launch reviews) and I actually enjoyed parts of it more than BioShock. (It's my favorite busy gamer title of 2007!)The story is solid and the ending, though a bit short and unfulfilling, isn't as horrible as it's been made out to be. (MINOR SPOILER: I did expect a battle royale to break out in a different era with me in control, and - well, sigh - that didn't happen. Perhaps in the sequel.) Still, I love exploring the game's world and never get tired of dashing and leaping across rooftops, climbing tall buildings and spiking guards from behind or knocking them into the crowds below courtesy of a throwing knife to the abdomen. Battles, though somewhat repetitive, do ramp up in difficulty as you progress, and they're a great way to relieve tension after a stressful day.

I also love a good sandbox game, and that's exactly what this is. Not nearly as rich and varied as a Grand Theft Auto but not as frustrating and stingy on save points as a Dead Rising. Even after you beat the game, you can continue exploring for flags and bad guys to pick fights with.

It's worth noting that GrrlGotGame lost about six hours of progress to a corrupted save file, so do be careful to quit from the active game before turning off your console.

Sony has a pair of new firmware updates. Taken together, PlayStation 3 v2.10 and PlayStation Portable v3.80 permit remote play of any original PlayStation games if the PS1 game disc is in PS3 drive (and no, this doesn't work with PS2 games). Other new and enhanced features include:

• PSP Internet Radio with the choice of ShoutCast and IceCast, plus some new visualizations and other tweaks
• PS3 support for DivX (files cannot exceed 2GB; copy-protected, Xvid and older formats won't work) and Blu-Ray 1.1 enhanced interactivity for future movie discs that support it
• A voice changer for PS3 chat

If you're reading this Wednesday night around 9 p.m. Pacific Time, I just found Rock Band for the Xbox 360 in stock at Amazon. It probably won't last, so click now if you're similarly inclined. There's also a limited time offer to get the Stranglehold Collector's Edition for PS3 complete with Hard Boiled on Blu-Ray for $40 (normally $70). I payed more than twice that a few years ago to get the crappy non-anamorphic Criterion DVD on eBay. I do have to pay through the nose for shipping (there goes the savings on Stranglehold), but it looks like Christmas is saved...

Apart from still being available from Amazon, Rock Band has some noteworthy news. First, the official Web site community relaunched with band profiles, leaderboards, user blogs, and more. The other interesting tidbit is that Activison unabashedly admitted that the reason it's blocking Guitar Hero III controller cross-compatibility with Rock Band is that they expect Harmonix to write them a check. The exact quote from a soon-to-be-banished PR flack is: "We believe we should be compensated for the use of our technology." This makes no sense since Harmonix is only seeking to apply a patch to its own code (that it created with its own resources!) to permit Rock Band to work with the GH III controller. Activision isn't being asked to provide any assistance - just shut up and rake in the money as more people buy their game for the extra wireless controller. Instead, they are punishing fans who chose to buy both games. Petty and stupid...

If you're looking for Rock Band, it looks like Amazon.com finally sold out its pre-holiday allotment. Did anyone else pick it up while it was available? Ironically, the day after I ordered mine, the nearby Game Crazy that I had been visiting daily for three weeks received two copies. Isn't it always the way...

Sony is in the holiday spirit this week, offering several freebies alongside their pricey downloadable games and add-ons:

• Folklore Holiday Add-On Pack (free) with costumes for Ellen and Keats, a new festive Folk and a Keats quest
• MotorStorm Holiday Skin (free) for the Castro Varadero Big Rig
• High Stakes: Poker Edition Add-On Packs 1 and 2 (both free) - adds 5 Card Draw, 7 Card Stud, Omaha, Pineapple and Crazy Pineapple games
• Guitar Hero III "We Three Kings" (free)
• Rock Band songs ($2 per track) "Buddy Holly" by Weezer, "My Iron Lung" by Radionhead and a cover of Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders
• Warhawk Omega Dawn Booster Pack ($8; video available) with new battlefield with five map layouts and a combat dropship
• Toy Home ($10; demo available)
• Snakeball ($10; demo available)
• PlayStation Eye Games: Mesmerize ($2) and Trials of Topoq ($5)
• Warhawk from PS1 ($6) for PSP and PS3
• Demo: BlackSite: Area 51
• Games Videos: Devil May Cry 4, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Turok, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and various Sony ads and marketing crap
• Themes: High Stakes: Poker Edition, PAIN (Santa and Cookie) and Warhawk
• Movie Trailers: Strange Wilderness and Shakira Oral Fixation Tour

If you're an Unreal Tournament III player, be sure to download DM-Shrine, the first user-created map for the PS3. Alas, the built-in PS3 Web browser won't do the trick, so you'll need a MemoryStick or USB drive to transfer it from your PC. Also, be sure to update your Folding@Home client so you can play music files while saving the world one protein at a time and even schedule your console to shut down so your power bill doesn't exceed your charitable giving budget...

If you missed this week's Wii Virtual Console update (as I did), here's what's new:

• Alien Storm (Genesis) - $8
• Cybernator (SNES) - $8
• Monster Lair (TurboGrafx) - $8

It looks like Sony is making Microsoft look positively stingy this week. The only major freebies on Xbox Live Marketplace are the same Guitar Hero III track released on the PlayStation Store, plus an aircraft for Ace Combat 6:

• Arcade: Tempest ($5) and Sensible World of Soccer ($10)
• Various Ace Combat 6 aircraft ($2.50 to $5 each, with one free) - oddly, the Christmas themed plane isn't the giveaway, it's the Scarface Squadron
• Guitar Hero III songs "We Three Kings" (free), plus "Antisocial" by Trust, "So Payaso" by Extremoduro and "Ernten Was Wir Säen" by Die Fantastischen Vier ($2.50 each)
• Test Drive Unlimited Premium Pack Volume 6 ($4.38) - contains the Audi A4 Touring Car, Cadillac Sixteen, Dino 246 GTS, Lamborghini Diablo GT, Nissan 350Z Roadster 2004, Pontiac Solstice and Triumph Dayton 995i but no freebies this time
• Beautiful Katamari missions ($3.75) and unlock codes ($2.50, but don't encourage them by buying these)
• Stuntman: Ignition Vehicle Pack ($5)
• Rock Band songs ($2 per track) "Buddy Holly" by Weezer, "My Iron Lung" by Radionhead and a cover of Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders
• Demo: Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements and Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
• Game Videos: Burnout Paradise and Undertow
• Themes: Beautiful Katamari ($1.88)
• Pictures: Undertow ($1)

PC gamers get all of the goodies this season. The folks at Infinity Ward are giving away a new version of the Call of Duty 4 map Crash, and Crytek is offering up the Tournament Map Pack for Crysis. And if you want to beat the rush on post-holiday savings (or last minute gifts, now that Steam supports them), Valve has launched its first-ever sale on everything in the Steam store - including The Orange Box complete with Peggle Extreme for $38 and Psychonauts for just $10 - but only through Jan. 1...

Santa was good to us. We asked for a lot of games, and boy did he deliver.

First off, there was Rock Band. The 40-pound box took some doing to unpack, assemble and get running (you need an included powered USB hub just to get all of the wired controllers connected!). But it was worth it! The drums are remarkable and feel rather realistic once you get the hang of them. We spent Christmas Eve at the Experience Music Project getting a handle on the real thing, and these are reasonably good knockoffs. I quickly learned to keep my right stick on the main drum, my foot on the kick pedal and the left stick (crossed over the right one) tapping between the cymbals and fill.

Even more surprising was how natural the guitar felt. After playing the original Guitar Hero on the PS2 and Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360, I was a little burned out on feeling like an inferior strummer. But I immediately felt at home with Rock Band and even started using hammer ons and offs - a technique I never felt comfortable doing with the prior games. We haven't tried vocals or coop play yet. My only gripe is the usual one with these games: The music controllers can interfere with other titles if you don't unplug them.

Which brings me to The Orange Box (my Xbox 360 seems to think I should play it with drum pads!). I only found time for about half an hour of Portal, but so far it's amazing - sort of a hybrid of casual game and first-person shooter. I also intend to play through all of Half-Life 2, which I skipped since I prefer my shooters on the console rather than with a keyboard and mouse.

Xander (now nearly 5) tapped some drums, but mostly grooved on his big ask from Santa: Bee Movie Game. As kids games go, it's not bad - not as intensely difficult as Ratatouille (360 version) and it has a free-roaming section at the start that Xan tooled around in for about an hour before he realized the story wasn't advancing. The twitch sections (where you tap buttons and directions a la Shenmue II) are a little too advanced for him since he hasn't memorized the controller buttons yet. But with a little help he should be able to find plenty to do.

We did play some Super Mario Galaxy, which is good so far but hasn't knocked my socks off yet. Xander was interested in playing the co-op mode where he can point things out to me, but mostly used his mouth rather that the Wii-mote - which he hasn't quite gotten the hang of yet. We've kept him away from the Wii since he gets a little crazy at times and we don't want him throwing the controller into the TV or at a person or cat.

I also got Ratchet and Clank Future, but haven't cracked it yet. Our major use for the PS3 this holiday was as a Blu-Ray player. We enjoyed the Pixar Short Collection, Cars and the workprint version of Blade Runner (which we were lucky enough to see in an arthouse several years back). So far, the Blu-Ray experience has been great. Everything we played today was flawless, unlike several past experiences with our Toshiba HD-DVD player.

Speaking of screw ups, you may recall my Black Friday foray to secure a Leapster. We let Xander get into it on Christmas Eve as part of our tradition of opening something early. Five minutes later, the thing locked up and then failed to ever restart. He took it quite well, but was clearly disappointed. Good thing I didn't buy it online; we'll be exchanging it in the morning.

Completing our gamer's Christmas: a Halo 3 Master Chief T-shirt and Grunt faceplate, Silent Hill Origins for PSP, the Assasin's Creed artbook and game guide and Stranglehold with Hard Boiled for PS3.

So, what did you get for the holidays?

-=Gamewatcher

Sega revealed that it's shutting down servers for Phantasy Star Online on the original Xbox in Japan at the end of January. While there's been no announcement regarding the U.S. version yet, it's a sign that the end may not be too far off. So if you're a fan who's held out on last generation's hardware, get your fill now before you're forced to upgrade to the Xbox 360 sequel...

This week was another light one for Xbox Live Marketplace, but Microsoft still provided a better haul than Sony (who had nothing):

• Arcade: SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
• Rock Band songs "Song With a Mission" by The Sounds, "Move Along" and "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects and "The Kill" and "Attack" by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1 each)
• Demo: Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom
• Videos:BioShock audio diary locations videos ($0.63 or $3.75 for all six)
• Theme: PvP

This week's Wii Virtual Console update includes:

• Blades of Steel (NES) - $5
• Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES) - $8
• Rolling Thunder 2 (Genesis) - $8

This week's Wii Virtual Console update adds a classic puzzle game, plus an aging RPG and a sidescroller:

• Bubble Bobble (NES) - $5
• Light Crusader (Genesis) - $8
• Top Hunter (Neo-Geo) - $9

GrrlGotGame and I are totally hooked on Rock Band, particularly the Band World Tour where we can play cooperatively (she's on vocals, and I play either lead or bass guitar).

As I hit the wall (since I'm not all that good a shredder, but feel that this shouldn't be an impediment to having fun with the game), I've been collecting tips that I'm passing along in the hopes that it will make the game a little easier for you to enjoy, too.

Alas, the Prima guide for this one is mostly useless: It's more concerned with what kind of rock pose you might adopt than how you hold your fingers on the guitar frets, though it appears to be an adequate reference for the songs that came with the game and whether they have good drum parts or big rock endings.

Here's what I've collected so far by talking to more accomplished friends, reading forums and blogs, and from firsthand experience:

General tips:

• Make sure you calibrate if you have an HDTV or just find you that can't hit anything and don't think it's because you suck. There are some presets (which worked fine for me) or you can go manual for more precise tuning.
• If you're planning to play the Band World Tour, have at least one player go through a solo tour to unlock a wide range of songs. Otherwise, your mystery sets will be limited to the same few songs until you progress enough to open up more.
• Any songs you buy online go immediately into rotation, so by all means indulge if you see something you like. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer is great fun to play and a nice complement to "Say It Ain't So" (which is already in the game). They make a good pairing when you pick your own set.

Guitar tips:

• PS3 owners, beware. The guitar from the Guitar Hero III won't work here, thanks to Activision's short-sightedness and greed. But if you have an Xbox 360, you can pick up Guitar Hero II or III to get a second axe for playing simultaneous lead and bass guitar in co-op modes.
• Learning that you can (and should!) continue to hold down the lower notes when playing the higher notes (except for chords) makes Easy mode a snap to pick up and master with just three fingers on the frets. In fact, with a little practice you'll probably find it impossible to fail most songs in Rock Band - which, on the whole, is easier and thus more fun for amateurs than Guitar Hero.I find it very relaxing to play on Easy, so use it when you just want to unwind.
• When playing Band World Tour (co-op), you will be limited to about 50,000 fans if anyone plays on Easy. If you are stuck and can't handle the Medium songs with lead guitar, try bass. These tend to be simpler (though not always!). Even if you still miss some notes, it may be enough to get the fans needed to earn a jet and unlock another continent for play. Some later venues have a skill level cap (Medium or better), but there's still quite a lot you can do on Easy as a Band while you practice on Medium in your solo career.
• It's been suggested to me that you can play the higher skill levels with three fingers (instead of four) by shifting your hand up and down in three note increments. The secret seems to be remembering how you have your hand positioned - are you on green/red/yellow, red/yellow/blue or (if you go beyong medium) yellow/blue/orange. If you're comfortable playing with your pinky, you can use the same approach but shift your hand only once to play the five notes instead of twice. Experiment to see what works for you. I'm still struggling with this, but seem to have an easier time (on the whole) with the four-finger method.
• If you want an easier time triggering overdrive, be sure the guitar strap is looped over your shoulder - not hanging straight from your neck like a necklace. Otherwise, you're going to have to work to shift it up and probably miss a note, which is a waste of overdrive.
• Don't bother with the whammy bar except for glowing notes, where you'll get collect more energy by using it. Otherwise, it might trip you up for no real benefit - unless you really love how it sounds or you get bored.

Vocalist tips (from GrrlGotGame):

• Don't stretch for notes you can't hit. The key is modulation. You can sing in a lower or higher key than your real-world counterpart as long as you modulate your voice to hit the on-screen guide. You don't even have to get the words right!
• You'll need to improvise in the empty flowery sections to unleash overdrive (and possibly save a bandmate who's fallen!) but you can hum or simply say "yeah!" or "how's everyone doing tonight?" If it doesn't work, speak up - you may need to shout. But you don't have to sing like a diva, unless you want to.
• Some songs have a percussion section, so get your mike ready. If you're left-handed, be sure to select lefty flip for microphone. You'd think that it shouldn't matter which palm you slap the microphone against, but GrrlGotGame reports she was turning her hand into hamburger trying to play the cowbell on "Don't Fear the Reaper" until she changed this setting.

Drum tips:

• Pro tip: The kick drum is more comfortable to play if you keep your foot flat with the pedal depressed until you see a note coming. Then simply lift your foot and push it back down to hit it. That way your foot isn't straining above the pedal most of the time as you wait for a note to play. I've tried it and it seems to work quite well.
• If you have to ignore some notes to get through a song, favor the red (snare) and kick drum (pedal). These are the crucial ones to keep the beat and, if you're playing co-op, their absence is more likely to throw off your bandmates than if you miss a cymbal.
• If you don't want to trigger overdrive, do not hit the oddly shaped green note at the end of a fill section. It's sometimes better to wait until you have it fully charged to unleash it, or - if you're playing co-op - preserve it in case you need to resurrect a bandmate who is faltering.
• Playing the Rock Band drums on Expert is apparently about the same as playing them in real life. So if you can do it, start a band already! For reasons that should be obvious if you ever hear me play, I won't be taking this path myself. But I will keep rocking out in the game since it is seriously fun!

That's all I have for now. Please feel free to contribute your own tips in comments, and check back in case I have more to add later...