Busy Gamer News

Finally, something for PlayStation 3 owners to do while watching the Download and Progress Bar Channel (aka PlayStation Home)!

Sony announced PLAYSTATION3RY, a long overdue messaging feature tucked into the just released firmware update that lets you exchange notes with PSN friends or leave virtual "post its" for family members while waiting for new PlayStation Home features to load. Previously, the only options were live voice chat or texting people in the same room with you while downloading areas in the background.

Presumably, this is Sony's answer to the Xbox 360's recently launched Facebook and Twitter social media apps.

Perhaps, there is more to come? Suspiciously, messages cannot exceed 140 characters...

Related News:

• Sega took the wraps off of its First Porpoise Shooter, Ecco 2: Water Wars
• IGN posted the Halo movie series trailer and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker meets Assassin's Creed
• Bungie shared an unexpected twist in Halo: Reach multiplayer
• BioWare announced the final Star Wars: The Old Republic character class, Sarlacc Enforcer
• Webhallen.com presented PlayStation Scent
• 1Up offered the plausible (and longer overdue!) Pokemon Kart for Wii
• Joystiq broke the news of Civilization V's Extreme Diplomacy feature
• Gamezebo unleashed the new casual games portal Big White Bunny Games slogan, "A New Game Every Hour!"
• The Escapist revealed PopCap's Celebrity Bejeweled
• Razer debuted its Venom intravenous energy drink for those extended gaming sessions
• Platinum Games demo'd a 2D platformer version of Bayonetta
• FilePlanet delivered the long overdue Duke Nukem Forever demo (anyone download this?)
• An enterprising animator converted Team Fortress 2 into a movie thriller, Law Abiding Engineer
• Remedy Games' delivered a trailer for Alan Wake Wars 
• Screen Play went there with an obvious use for PlayStation Move, Hustler's Ultimate Conquest
• Farmville on Facebook let players toilet paper each other's barns
• Blizzard Store launched the Battle.net Neural Interface (be careful, once you put it on you can never break the link!)
• ThinkGeek showed how your iPad can be converted into a home arcade machine, the Dharma Initiative clock can be put to practical use and a teddy bear can spy on your kids and tweet what they're hiding (we want these, by the way - maybe, like last year's Tauntain sleeping bag, the first two can become reality?!)
• Destructoid suggested that Sony was going to offer Netscape as an Other OS for PS3
• UbiSoft Japan merged Splinter Cell Convinction with Raving Rabbids
• Pocker Gamer proposed that Flight Control HD for iPad will be used to train real air traffic controllers
• Play Switch suggested the completely implausible Nintendo games for iPad

• NBA Unrivaled ($15)
• Heavy Rain: Chronicle One – The Taxidermist ($5)
• Army of Two: The 40th Day Chapters of Deceit ($10)
• LittleBigPlanet April Fools Fragrances Costume (free)
• Dante’s Inferno Godlike Pack ($3)
• Dragon Age: Origins Feastday Combo Pack ($3, or $2 each) with pranks and gifts
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 3 (free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce HD Quest Pack 3 (free)
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Ryo from Shenmue with Forklift ($5)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: TNN Motorsports Hardcore 4×4 ($6)
• Guitar Hero 5 Lynyrd Skynyrd Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Freebird, "Simple Man" and "Gimme Three Steps"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Bold as Love album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($20 or $2 each) with "Up From the Skies," "Spanish Castle Magic," "Wait Until Tomorrow," "Ain't No Telling," "Little Wing," "If 6 Was 9," "You Got Me Floatin',""Castles Made of Sand," "She's So Fine," "One Rainy Wish," "Little Miss Lover," "Bold As Love" and "Valleys of Neptune" - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: None
• Game Videos: God of War III, Kane & Lynch 2, Mafia II, MLB '10: The Show, MLB 2K10, Patchwork Heroes and Pulse magazine featuring Heavy Rain, MAG and Section 8 plus The Tester Episode 7
• Themes: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (free), Patchwork Heroes (free), Warhawk Dynamic ($3), Beez Pleeeeze ($1), Geisha Hook-Ups ($2), Jungle Girl Hook-Ups ($2) and WWII Pinups Premium ($2)
• Wallpaper: Patchwork Heroes
• PSP: BlazBlue Calamity Trigger ($25), BUZZ!: Master Quiz ($16) and Dead or Alive Paradise ($30) plus Eye of Judgment: Legends Card Expansion Pack 1 ($20) and LittleBigPlanet PSP Island Costume (free) and Island Theme  Pack ($3)
• PSP Game Videos: Patchwork Heroes, Pulse magazine and The Tester Episode 7
• PSP Themes: Patchwork Heroes (free), Abstract ($1.50 each), The AK ($1.50 each), Beez Pleeeeze ($1 each), Geisha Hook-Ups ($2), Jungle Girl Hook-Ups ($2) and WWII Pinups Premium ($1.50 each)
• PSP Wallpaper: Patchwork Heroes
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): MAG, Uncharted 2, anime and Irem

• Arcade: Mega Man 10 ($10) and Qix++ Expansion Pack 1 and 2 ($3 each)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package ($15) with
• Dante’s Inferno Godlike Pack ($3)
• Dragon Age: Origins Feastday Combo Pack ($3, or $2 each) with pranks and gifts
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 3 (free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Pack 4 (free)
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Ryo from Shenmue with Forklift ($5)
• Blood Bowl Dark Elves team ($4)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 VIP Access ($15) adds unspecified maps and content you may have received as a code if you bought this as a new game
• FIFA '10 Ultimate Team ($5; free trial available)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 03/2010 Downloadable Updates (free)
• Guitar Hero 5 Lynyrd Skynyrd Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Freebird, "Simple Man" and "Gimme Three Steps"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Bold as Love album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience ($20 or $2 each) with "Up From the Skies," "Spanish Castle Magic," "Wait Until Tomorrow," "Ain't No Telling," "Little Wing," "If 6 Was 9," "You Got Me Floatin',""Castles Made of Sand," "She's So Fine," "One Rainy Wish," "Little Miss Lover," "Bold As Love" and "Valleys of Neptune" - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "Burn" by Big Square, "Gasoline" by The Bouncing Souls, "Young Bloods" by The Bronx, "Love Is The Only Thing" by Andy Kirk, "Sound of the Redeemed" by Jonathan Lee, "When I Get Home You're So Dead" by Mayday Parade, "Step Up (I'm On It)" by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster, "Burning Rome" by Minnesota Sex Junkies, "Eveready" by Modern Skirts, "Perfect World" by Moving Picture Show, "Scream Ceremony" by Order of the Crimson Wizard, "Synthesized" by Symbion Project, "Never Let You Go '09" by Third Eye Blind and "Unstoppable" by White Line Allstars
• Lips tracks Norah Jones Song Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) "Don't Know Why," "Come Away With Me," and "Sunrise"
• Games on Demand: Hitman: Blood Money ($30), Karoke Revolution: American Idol Encore 2 ($30) and UFC 2009 Undisputed ($30)
• Demos: All Xbox Live Arcade, Indie games and Rock Band Network tracks
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Aliens Go Boom, Avalon Legend, Avatar Hunter, Balate: The Last Kingdom, Blackjack Strategy King, Concentrix, Dangerous Conflicts 3D, Lewjmele -レウメーレ-, Mechanoid Army, MechFish, Pew Pew Pod, Qoccer, The Shadows in the Underworld, Tech Shooter, TrickShot, Wayne the Brain and Zulu Hour
• Game Videos: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Just Cause 2, Red Dead Redemption, Splinter Cell Conviction and Prima Just Cause 2 strategy guide ($1 each)
• Themes: Blood Bowl ($2), Mega Man 10 Premium ($3), Nokia Nuron, Story of Us and T-Mobile
• Pictures: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package (free; one enters you in sweepstakes), Mega Man 10 ($1 each), Dr. Pepper, History (free; download to vote for favorite innovations), Story of Us, Nokia Nuron (free; some enter you in sweepstakes) and T-Mobile (free; one enters you in sweepstakes)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): None

This week's giveaway is Jericho, a supernatural first-person shooter with a twist.

No, it wasn't created by M. Night Shyamalan but rather Clive Barker. That's right, it's a videogame written by the creator of Hellraiser!

Instead of facing down Pinhead, you're in charge of a seven-member squad where you can "jump into" different characters throughout the story, summon a fire demon, dual wield and otherwise rock the party as you travel through time and space to visit ancient Sumeria, the Roman Empire, The Crusades, World War II and the present day Middle East.

Seriously, why haven't you checked out this game before now? No worries, here's a chance to win it for free!

To enter (and show how much you love free stuff!):

This week, we have the most compelling iPad game launch titles (including a few freebies you may want to nab even if you don't have one), iPhone word games including IsoWords, Words with Friends and AlphaBattle, a brief audio tour of the best April Fool's Day jokes including the Halo movie and Halo: Reach multiplayer movies that will (alas) never be ("finish the fight!"), the good and bad of upgrading to a 250GB Xbox 360 hard drive, news of the PlayStation 3 firmware update that does away with Linux, Batman: Arkham Asylum's lousy save system, Red Faction: Guerilla impressions and Hasbro Family Game Night.

Get all of that - plus game release news, DLC and giveaways - in 16 1/2 minutes!

Our goal is to provide a short (typically 10-15 minutes) summary of news and helpful commentary every Sunday so that you'll have a great jumping off point for your busy gamer week. Here's what we pack into each episode:

• The week's game releases
• A quick look back at the previous week's releases, news and downloadable content highlights
• What we're playing/mini-reviews
• Giveaways
• Comment of the week

As promised in the Busy Gamer Podcast, here is the complete list of games due for release this week for PC/Mac, portables and consoles (plus some recent releases that slipped out when we weren't looking):

• DS: Game & Watch: Helmet (DSiWare), Game & Watch: Manhole (DSiWare), Game & Watch: Vermin (DSiWare), Montessori Music and Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop (DSiWare)
• iPhone/iPad: 7 Wonders for iPad, Asphalt 5 HD, Aurora Feint 3, Azkend HD, Call of Duty World at War Zombies for iPad, CastleCraft for iPad, Civilization Revolution for iPad, Cogs HD, Command and Conquer Red Alert for iPad, Dungeon Hunter HD, Field Runners for iPad, Fishing Kings, Flight Control HD, Geometry Wars Touch, Harbor Master HD, Intellivision, IsoCards, Labyrinth 2 HD, Let's Golf HD, Modern Combat: Sandstorm HD, Minigore HD, Mirror's Edge, muBlip, Need For Speed Shift for iPad, New York Times Crossword Puzzle, NFL 2010 HD, NOVA HD, Ocean Blue, Plants vs Zombies HD, Pocket Legends, Qbism, Real Racing HD, Real Soccer 2010 HD, Sam & Max Episode 1, Scrabble, Sims 3 World Adventures, Small World for iPad, Smiles HD, Tap Tap Radiation, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Touchgrind HD, Uno HD, Vampire Origins, Warpgate HD, We Rule for iPad, Worms HD, X-Plane and Zen Bound 2
• Mac: None
• PC: Borderlands Double Game Add-On Pack with The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot and Margrave Manor 2: The Lost Ship
• PS3: None
• PS2: None
• PSP: None
• Wii: Fishie Fishie (WiiWare), Ironclad (Virtual Console) and Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 2 (WiiWare)
• Xbox 360: Borderlands Double Game Add-On Pack with The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot

So, what will you be picking up - or is this week a pass? Any games we missed? Anything slip (as these inevitably do)? Please let us know...

Here are this week's downloads, demos and videos for the Wii and Nintendo DS:

• WiiWare: Fishie Fishie ($5) and Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 2 ($5)
• Virtual Console: Ironclad for NeoGeo
• DSiWare: Game & Watch: Helmet ($2), Game & Watch: Manhole ($2), Game & Watch: Vermin ($2) and Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop ($5)
• Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each; due Tuesday, April 6) "Feel Good Drag" by Anberlin, "Live Life Loud" by Hawk Nelson, "Monster" by Skillet, "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick, "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot and "Fire It Up" by Thousand Foot Krutch - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• DS Demos (via Wii's Nintendo "Marketing" Channel): All repeats including Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking Roasted Red Potatoes and Pots de Creme, Avatar, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects, Deca Sports DS Cheerleading and Ping Pong, The Princess and the Frog, Rooms DS and Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing
• Game Videos: Animal Crossing: City Folk, Infinite Space, Metroid: Other M, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Trauma Team and WarioWare D.I.Y.

OK, if you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, you need to correct this now. It's on Netflix Instant Queue available for play via your console or PC, or just nab it from Amazon.com for $11 or so.

Once you have seen it, watch this 8-bit style videogame adaptation that will probably never be a playable game - but would be totally awesome:

Enjoy...

Reviewed On: iPhone. Also plays on iPod Touch and iPad.

In a Nutshell: Solitaire with a militaristic touch. There are three card games included: Pyramid, Siege Mode and the creatively named Mini Game. The Siege and Pyramid games both focus on removing cards, or "enemies," from a pre-set board. The Mini Game is a tapping game that asks players to hit falling grenades before they blow up. (It bored me to tears.)

But back to the good games. In both Pyramid and Siege, players start with a stack of cards, one card facing up. You may remove any adjacent card from the board, regardless of suit. If you miss a move, the enemy "attacks," depleting your health. The enemy also attacks periodically, just for the helluva it. It is war, after all.

Learning Curve: Even with directions, it still took me some time to figure out Solitaire Siege. After a bit of trial and error (a lot of error!), I figured out both the moves and the strategy. As an experienced Pyramid player, it was easy to pick up - but I'm still bewildered by how, exactly, it's deciding if I win or lose a level. A little more work in the support area would be beneficial.

The Save Game: This threw me for a loop. The game saves your progress when you exit (or when it crashes, which has happened to me a lot). It never says that it's saving, however - nor is there a save option. Also, it just saves the level you've reached, not your game in progress. This is particularly frustrating because the game does crash - and it's usually when I'm doing particularly well. When you boot the game, it will ask if you want to proceed with your game in progress or start fresh. There doesn't seem to be an option C, leave and play something else. (Or is that the square button on the bottom of my iPhone?) So once you're in a game, you're in it.

Family Factor: Mild. Certain power-ups will create very small explosions that consist mostly of dust. The sounds, including gunshots and screaming, are comical, but could also be disturbing to small kids.

Buy or Skip? It's a fun little game, but the tendency to crash every so often should be factored in to your decision. Then again, Gamewatcher may not have updated this app for me. Regardless, I found it engaging enough to move to my second screen, and have been playing it nightly for a couple weeks now. It's only $1, and there's a free Lite version so you can try before you buy.

On a Personal This has been on my iPhone forever, in the very last screen with other stuff that I never looked at. A few weeks ago, I decide to go allll thhheee wwaaayyy dooowwnnn to the last screen and just play with EVERYTHING long enough to decide if it stays or goes. Out of 12 apps, this was the sole survivor.

The Pyramid cards, or "enemies," are presented in rows resembling the traditional Pyramid solitaire game. Your goal is to eliminate as enemies as possible, working your way up the board. I've won sieges with a few cards on the board, and lost with fewer cards - I still haven't figured out what the magic number is, or if it's based on hit points. And yes, I did RTFM. I have since abandoned it for Siege Mode, which is quite engaging and - dare I say it - fun.

Siege boards vary from level to level, but are basically different riffs on the horizontal solitaire layout. It's the same basic remove cards game, but with militaristic touches. Barrier cards ranging from a forest to a solid cement wall randomly block your progress, but can be blown up with specialty cards such as grenades and fire. Those are also randomly placed in the deck. The barriers add a level of strategy to the game, as some targets are more vulnerable than others (Hint: Don't use your grenade on ANYTHING but the wall. Trust me.)

The game uses sound effects, including guns and explosions, to enhance the war theme. Attacking a face card will result in an appropriate screech - the Queen's death rattle is particularly disturbing. The little victory song at the end of the level is, however, kinda groovy. Plus you get stats and rankings (military stars) and level up after each successful siege. Once you get your groove, you can keep leveling up for a good long time.

More Busy Gamer Reviews:

• BioShock 2
• The Maw
• Assassin's Creed II: Battle of Forli DLC
• Borderlands [BGN Game of the Year 2009]
• Lego Rock Band
• Assassin's Creed II
• Zuma's Revenge
• Halo 3: ODST
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Fallout 3
• Scribblenauts
• The Beatles: Rock Band
• Guide to kids and adult games

Apple just announced the future of iPhone. Here's what to expect from iPhone v4.0 operating system due out this summer:

• Multitasking (3GS only) - Active apps can be seen and accessed by tapping the Home button to bring up a popup window at the bottom of the screen. Local push notifications can be generated by apps to let you know, say, when a background upload completes. Multitasking is limited to streaming audio, voice over IP, GPS location services, task completion, notifications and fast app switching.
• Game Center - Multiplayer with social networking, leaderboards and achievements - basically, Xbox Live for iPhone. Bye bye Open Feint and Plus+.
• Folders - No longer will apps that exceed the iPhone 11-page limit need to be pushed out to invisible screens you can only access in iTunes. With this comes news that the app limit will be bumped to 2160.
• iBooks - Ebook reader from the iPad will cross over complete with page sync and bookmarks.
• Wallpaper - Decorate your home screen.
• 5x Digital Zoom - No longer requires a third-party app like Camera Zoom.
• Mail improvements - Threaded discussions, faster account switching and support for multiple Exchange accounts.
• Gift apps - Sounds like you'll be able to buy apps for friends with iPhones more directly instead of just buying codes (as iTunes now supports) or generic gift cards. (Couldn't find much detail on this one.)

The iPad already has a couple of these features, like iBooks and wallpaper, but the balance won't release until fall...

• Topatoi Bundle ($14) with possibly some bonus levels (sorry, the marketing description was vague)
• LittleBigPlanet Incredibles Costumes ($2-6)
• Just Cause 2 Chevalier Ice Breaker (free)
• Hustle Kings Crazy Tables: Basement Crazy (free)
• Mega Man 10 Bass Character ($2) and Special Stage 1 ($1)
• Flower soundtrack ($3)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: XS Airboat Racing ($6)
• Guitar Hero 5 Fall Out Boy Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Thnks fr th Mmrs," "This Ain't A Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each) "Feel Good Drag" by Anberlin, "Live Life Loud" by Hawk Nelson, "Monster" by Skillet, "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick, "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot and "Fire It Up" by Thousand Foot Krutch - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: 2010 FIFA World Cup
• Game Videos: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Army of Two: The 40th Day, Blacklight: Tango Down, Brink, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Iron Man 2: Enemy Factions, Just Cause 2, Might & Magic Clash of Heroes, ModNation Racers, Yakuza 3 and The Tester Finale
• Themes: Heavy Rain Dynamic ($3), The Lord of the Rings Dynamic ($3), Lindsay Kaye Premium ($2), Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure ($1.50) and Up ($1.50)
• PSP: Freekscape: Escape From Hell ($5) and King of Pool ($10) plus BUZZ! Quiz World U.S. Sports Quiz Pack ($4)
• PSP Game Videos: ModNation Racers and The Tester Finale
• PSP Themes: LittleBigPlanet PSP (free), Lord of the Rings ($1.50) and Lindsay Kaye ($1.50 each) 

There's no new Xbox Live Arcade game this week (first skipped week in awhile!). What, they're still not ready to release Doom II?! Anyway, here's what did land on Xbox Live Marketplace this week:

• Mass Effect 2 Kasumi: Stolen Memory ($7) with mission, squad member, weapon, research and achievement
• Just Cause 2 Chevalier Ice Breaker (free) ice cream van vehicle
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Metal Sonic and Death Egg Zone ($7) character and track
• Mega Man 10 Bass Character ($2) and Special Stage 1 ($1)
• Guitar Hero 5 Fall Out Boy Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Thnks fr th Mmrs," "This Ain't A Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each) "Feel Good Drag" by Anberlin, "Live Life Loud" by Hawk Nelson, "Monster" by Skillet, "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick, "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot and "Fire It Up" by Thousand Foot Krutch - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "All My Friends are Crazy" by 500 Miles to Memphis, "Forever In Your Hands" by All That Remains, "Where the Light Was Born (Thule Ultima A Sole Nomen Habens)" by Bornholm, "All Eyes on Me" by The Carsitters, "Sending Signals" by Evergreen Terrace, "Home" by Fear Without Reason, "Where We're Goin" by The Japanese Frog, "Midnight Daydreams" by No Crossing, "1348" by Umphrey's McGee and "Rearview Mirror" by Zack Wilson
• Lips The Four Tops Song Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" and tracks ($2 each) "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, "Drive" by The Cars, "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran and "Pop Muzik" by M
• Games on Demand: Fable II ($20), Kung Fu Panda ($30) and Sonic Unleashed ($20)
• Demos: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Blur multiplayer and Supreme Commander 2 plus all Xbox Live Arcade, Indie games and Rock Band Network tracks
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Baby Maker Extreme, Blazin' Balls, A Game For Alexander, House of Spice, Let's Learn Japanese: Beginner, Newton Vs The Horde, Old Space, Old Spice: Fresh Card Game, Old Spice Racers, Playing With Humans, Project Delta, Relativity, Tripple, Truth or Treason, Tunescape, Xstronauta and Zombie Square
• Game Videos: Alan Wake, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 VIP Map Pack 2, Blacklight: Tango Down, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Mapathy, Mass Effect 2 Kasumi, Prison Break and Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition
• Themes: Alan Wake, Iron Man 2, 7 Eleven and Old Spice (all free)
• Pictures: Alan Wake, Iron Man 2 and Old Spice (all free; some are for voting and/or sweepstakes registration)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

To celebrate the 6-month anniversary of the Busy Gamer Podcast launched 26 weeks ago back in October, we've got a very special prize: a sealed copy of Mass Effect for Xbox 360 (Platimum Hits edition, which includes a bonus episode and other content!) and the first two Mass Effect Redemption comics.

This one's a little different than past giveaways. You may earn up to FOUR chances to win!

1. Enter a comment here, as usual. That's all you really NEED to do.
2. Tweet the following on Twitter: "I'm entered to win Mass Effect pack & celebrate 6 mos of Busy Gamer Podcasts! #bgnme RT + enter: http://bit.ly/de00w8"
3. Rate and review our Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes
4. Rate and review the brand new Best of Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes. (Just approved!) This is a new feed we've launched with 54 short audio segments comprising our best reviews and audio tours ranging from 22 seconds (Trials HD) to 5:50 (our 2009 Game of the Year, Borderlands).

If you do 2, 3 and/or 4, you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins.

BONUS: If we break 20 new reviews total on iTunes (between the two podcasts), we'll add a surprise Mass Effect item to the prize pack.

You DO have to enter a comment here and follow the other rules to be eligible. Here's where you enter:

This week, we celebrate our 6-month anniversary of this podcast with an EPIC show that includes an Audiophile segment on the J Pop soundtrack for Jet Set Radio Future, details on iPhone 4.0 features, the Dr. Horrible 8-bit adventure "game" tribute, GrrlGotGame's audio review of Solitaire Siege and our impressions of Bee Spelled, Boogie Bunnies and Geometry Wars 2. And a very brief history of the site and podcast.

Get all of that - plus game release news, DLC and giveaways - in precisely 18 minutes!

Our goal is to provide a short (typically 10-15 minutes) summary of news and helpful commentary every Sunday so that you'll have a great jumping off point for your busy gamer week. Here's what we pack into each episode:

• The week's game releases
• A quick look back at the previous week's releases, news and downloadable content highlights
• What we're playing/mini-reviews
• Giveaways
• Comment of the week

As promised in the Busy Gamer Podcast, here is the complete list of games due for release this week for PC/Mac, portables and consoles (plus some recent releases that slipped out when we weren't looking):

• DS: 7 Card Games (DSiWare), AiRace (DSiWare), AlphaBounce (DSiWare), Dawn of Heroes, Easy Piano DS, Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A. (DSiWare) and Sea Park Tycoon
• iPhone/iPad: Babylonian Twins, Captain Ludwig, Espgaluda II, Hockey Nations 2010, iBASIC (featuring Hamurabi and other classic ASCII adventures), Monster Trucks Nitro 2, Multiball Pinball, Sketch Nation Shooter, Solomon's Keep, Star Wars: Cantina, Stickbound, Warpgate and Warpgate HD
• Mac: Brothers in Arms: Double Time
• PC: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, Mystery P.I.: Lost in LA, Pure Hidden and Ship Simulator Extremes
• PS3: Final Fight: Double Impact and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
• PS2: None
• PSP: Blood Bowl
• Wii: Attack of The Movies 3D, Family Gameshow, Flip's Twisted World, Military Madness: Nectaris (WiiWare) and Zaxxon (Virtual Console)
• Xbox 360: Final Fight: Double Impact (Arcade) and Splinter Cell Conviction

So, what will you be picking up - or is this week a pass? Any games we missed? Anything slip (as these inevitably do)? Please let us know...

Here are this week's downloads, demos and videos for the Wii and Nintendo DS:

• WiiWare: Military Madness: Nectaris ($10)
• Virtual Console: Zaxxon for Arcade ($8)
• DSiWare: 7 Card Games ($5), AiRace ($8), AlphaBounce ($5) and Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A. ($5)
• Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each; due Tuesday, April 13) "All Star" by Smash Mouth, "Empty Walls" and "Sky is Over" by Serj Tankian and "Blood on My Hands," "Born to Quit" and "The Taste of Ink" by The Used - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• DS Demos (via Wii's Nintendo "Marketing" Channel): All repeats including Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking Roasted Red Potatoes and Pots de Creme, Avatar, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects, Deca Sports DS Cheerleading and Ping Pong, The Princess and the Frog, Rooms DS and Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing
• Game Videos: 7 Card Games, AiRace, AlphaBounce, Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A., Military Madness: Nectaris, Monster Hunter Tri, Rage of the Gladiator, WarioWare D.I.Y. and DSiWare round-up

Harmonix has revealed the full 47-track list of songs for Green Day: Rock Band, which includes three full albums (well, almost) and some additional hits. We say "almost" because they've already released six songs from 21st Century Breakdown as downloadable content for the other Rock Band games, and these songs are NOT included on disc. If you didn't buy them already, you can buy the "Plus" version of the game for $10 more to receive a code that gets you the six extra songs - which would run you $11 if you bought them now. (The Plus version doesn't appear to be on Wii.)

Here's what is included in the main game, due June 8, broken out by album:

• Dookie (1994): "Burnout," "Having a Blast," "Chump," "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise," "Pulling Teeth," "Basket Case," "She," "Sassafrass Roots." "When I Come Around," "Coming Clean," "Emenius Sleepus," "In the End" and "F.O.D."
• Insomniac (1995): "Brain Stew" / "Jaded" and "Geek Stink Breath"
• Nimrod (1997): "Hitchin' a Ride," "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and "Nice Guys Finish Last"
• Warning (2000): "Minority" and "Warning"
• American Idiot (2004): "American Idiot," "Jesus of Suburbia," "Holiday," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Are We the Waiting?" "St. Jimmy," "Give Me Novacaine," "She's a Rebel," "Extraordinary Girl," "Letterbomb," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," "Homecoming" and "Whatsername"
• 21st Century Breakdown (2009): "Song of the Century," "21st Century Breakdown," "Before the Lobotomy," "Last Night on Earth," "Peacemaker," "Murder City," "¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)," "Restless Heart Syndrome," "Horseshoes and Handgrenades," "The Static Age," "American Eulogy" and "See the Light"

If you want to export all of the Green Day: Rock Band songs into your other Rock Band games, you'll be able to buy an export code for $10 or - if you purchase the game for PS3 or Xbox 360 from Gamestop (not Wii) or the Plus version from Amazon (and possibly others) - you can get the code as a preorder incentive. Not surprisingly, you won't be able to play any non-Green Day songs in the game...

If you're a God of War fan, you may want to grab this now. No one seems to know why Sony has quietly released 300 megs of musical score spanning all three God of War games for free download - but there it is (the link works at least as of this writing):

Download the God of War soundtracks (300MB)

There are 71 tracks in all totaling 161 minutes of music by Gerard Marino, Mike Reagan, Cris Velasco, Ron Fish, Jeff Rona, Winifred Phillips and Winnie Waldron...

And then there was one. After eight occasionally entertaining but usually bewildering episodes, Sony has crowned The Next PlayStation Tester™.

For those of you who haven't been playing along at home, Sony concocted a reality show competition/circus to lure 11 people into competing for what is arguably the worst job in videogame development: Quality Assurance Tester. In real life, testers deal with unrealistic expectations and schedules for sub-standard pay. Five minutes into the series, it was clear that most if not all of the contestants don't know this.

No, our game-loving, PS3-playing competitors just want to break into the industry, and what better way to do that than by winning a reality competition? And what a reality show it was – several, actually. It was like a producer pulled elements from every successful reality show and applied a PS3 skin.

Meet the inspirations:

• The Real World: Pull together a cast heavy on personality, which is code for "likely to despise each other." Include at least one hot chick, one fat slob, and someone who is "different, but that's OK." Don't forget two or three ringers who can actually win this thing. Add in a few guys no one will remember in the second half of the season, and you're good to go.
• Nearly every reality show ever made: Force them to live in a "luxurious" apartment. Your contestants will either be unemployed or have quit their jobs to do the show, so expectations will be low. Hire a maid service to clean up after everyone BUT the slob and give them enough PS3s that everyone can play at the same time. Also, stock the fridge with alcohol. If you're lucky, your slob will score you some comic gold ("Hello, Beerios!"). Interview contestants about key game moments and each other. And Beerios.
• Survivor: Hire a challenge coordinator to build bizarre, physical challenges to torture the contestants. Don't worry, your crack Australian medical team will be on hand in case of emergency, no matter what continent you are on at the time. Challenge coordinators, this is also a competition for you. You must find a way to take your over-the-top challenges and tie them to something a tester needs. Blindfolds and bondage gear should come into play whenever possible. Remember, your target audience is pubescent males who play videogames.
• American Idol: Gather a completely random group of people to watch the challenges and give feedback to the contestants, including one legitimate member of the industry. Your panel is responsible for critiquing contestants and making them cry whenever possible. When the contestants are veering toward suicide (career or otherwise), the loser will be asked to pack up his/her PS3 and go. Oh wait, you lost! No PS3 for you! Just cram all your stuff in a garbage bag and get the hell out of our luxurious apartment, loser.
• Project Runway: Give them a mentor who will advise them throughout the journey, offering encouragement and advice to help them take their work to the next level. When they depart, he will hug the contestant and sincerely state, "We're going to miss you," followed by gentle directions to clean up your workspace. Oh wait, this show has nothing to do with skill or knowledge – so no need for the whole mentor/guidance thing. My bad. They did send Hal Sparks to the luxury apartment that one time, though... so we'll pretend they did.
• The Apprentice (regular edition): Invite delusional people to apply for a job they aren't remotely qualified for by making it sound glamorous and cool. Praise them for beating out "thousands" of applicants for this opportunity. When ratings start to lag, create a "Celebrity" edition featuring people from Parade's "Where Are They Now" feature and the occasional Victoria's Secret model. Celebrities will not want to test; they can make more money charging for autographs. Instead, offer them airtime and a refurbished PS4 for their favorite charity.
• When all else fails, be relevant. After many weeks of bizarre LARP, football and rape-y defense challenges, have your contestants do something related to your industry (e.g., play a game on camera). This is also your chance to recoup costs by charging the game developer a ton of cash to co-brand almost the entire episode. We at Busy Gamer News have not yet received our co-branding payment, and thus will not be naming the game. That's our reality, kids.

The producers had a chance to pull the curtain back and give viewers insight into what happens during a critical part of development. Instead, they put together a reality show that reminded me more of The Joe Schmo Show ("What is going on?!") than an actual competition. Hm, that's not bad. Maybe if there was one real contestent and a bunch of actors pretending they wanted the QA job, that would make sense - and be a lot more fun!

When your serious marketing experiment plays out like a parody of itself, something is wrong. What's worse, the winner seemed genuinely thrilled to have won, even though he has no idea what he's supposed to do. That's too bad, because there are many extremely talented testers who have spent the past month watching their jobs be reduced to a spot-the-difference card game.

A game tester friend of mine once told me his job isn't about trying to make things work. It's about trying to break them. In that case, maybe the The Tester did a great job after all. This show wasn't just broken. It was shattered.

• Grand Theft Auto IV The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony ($20 each)
• Final Fight: Double Impact ($10)
• Sam & Max - The Devil's Playhouse Episode 1: The Penal Zone ($35 for 5 episodes)
• Dante's Inferno Devil Pack ($3)
• Pain Fluffer character ($1)
• Magic Orbz Jungle Pack ($3)
• Zen Pinball Excalibur Table ($2.50)
• Hustle Kings: Crazy Tables Hex Crazy (free)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 4 (free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Quest Pack 4 (free)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: XS Junior League Dodgeball ($6)
• Guitar Hero 5 tracks ($2 each) "Gives You Hell" by All-American Rejects, "There's No Other Way" by Blur and "Addicted" by Saving Abel
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 The Used Pack 1 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Blood On My Hands," "Born To Quit" and "The Taste Of Ink" plus tracks ($2 each) "All Star" by Smash Mouth, "Empty Walls" and "Sky Is Over" by Serj Tankian - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: Sam & Max - The Devil's Playhouse Episode 1 and Skate 3
• Game Videos: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, Anarchy: Rush Hour, Army Of Two: The 40th Day, Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake, ModNation Racers, Need For Speed: Shift Exotic Racing Series, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe, Pulse and The Tester winner interview
• Themes: Megaman 10 Dynamic 2 ($3), South Park Anime ($2) and Sushi ($2)
• Wallpaper: Patchwork Heroes
• PSP: Mimana Iyar Chronicle ($35), Monopoly ($5), Sheep Defense ($2), Sweet Reversi ($2) and Sweet Reversi ($2), plus BUZZ! Quiz World National Geographic Kids Quiz ($4), LittleBigPlanet PSP Temples Costumes (free) and Temples Theme Pack ($3)
• PSP Game Videos: PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe, Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake, ModNation Racers, Pulse and The Tester winner interview
• PSP Themes: Patchwork Heroes (free) and South Park ($2)
• PSP Wallpaper: Patchwork Heroes
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): Monkey Island and Ghost Pirate Ship personal space plus a SOCOM: Confrontation Golden AK-47 unlockable in-game by beating a weapon assembly mini-game in Home

• Arcade: Final Fight: Double Impact ($10) plus Buku Sudoku Puzzle Pack 14 ($2)
• Forza Motorsport 3 Road & Track Car Pack ($5) with 10 cars, or get just the 2010 Mini Coupé Concept (free)
• Dante's Inferno Devil Pack ($3)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 4 (free)
• Guitar Hero 5 tracks ($2 each) "Gives You Hell" by All-American Rejects, "There's No Other Way" by Blur and "Addicted" by Saving Abel
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 The Used Pack 1 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Blood On My Hands," "Born To Quit" and "The Taste Of Ink" plus tracks ($2 each) "All Star" by Smash Mouth, "Empty Walls" and "Sky Is Over" by Serj Tankian - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "One Step Behind" by A Hero Next Door, "Numb" by Aittala, "Drag Me Away" by Aminal, "Let The Games Begin" by Anarbor, "I Am Legion" by bibleblack, "Wings of Infinity" by C&O, "Bow Down" by Chrome Coma, "The Price" by Dappled Cities, "Chalk Lines" by Division Day, "You Stay. I Go. No Following." by Look Mexico, "Motorcide" by Man Parts, "Last Mistake" by RED9, "Eden Was a Garden" by Roman Candle and "Rude Awakening" by Squeezebox
• Lips tracks ($2 each) "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles, "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, "I Found Someone" by Cher, "Whip It" by Devo, "Super Freak" by Rick James, "The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats, "Mad World" by Tears For Fears, "Breakaway" by Tracey Ullman
• Games on Demand: Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja ($30) and Tomb Raider: Legend ($30)
• Demos: Skate 3 plus all Xbox Live Arcade, Indie games and Rock Band Network tracks
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): 3D Infinity, Avatar QuizCall, Massage Me, Olu, Pinky vs Blocks, Pixel Mix and Super Avatar
• Game Videos: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Blur, Crysis 2, Gears of War 3 and Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition plus Splinter Cell Conviction strategy guides ($1 each)
• Themes: Splinter Cell Conviction ($3), Kin (free) and Realm of the Undead Premium ($3)
• Pictures: Crysis 2 ($1 each) plus 30 Days of Undead and Samsung (free; both enter you in sweepstakes)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Forza Motorsport 3 and Splinter Cell Conviction

This week, we have something for the old-school PlayStation 2 crowd and PS3ers with older systems that support backward compatibility.

There's Primal complete with game guide, donated by Ballardgirl 1. This action/adventure game is big on story with its Joss Whedon-esque heroine and story that has you explore demon realms to restore order to the world. This action/adventure game is best known for its rock soundtrack by 16Volt, "hot chick" protagonist Jen and gargoyle sidekick. Sorry, there's no poster in the game guide - but it's filled with glossy art and will tell you how to beat the game, if you get stuck.

If racing is more your speed or you prefer an E-rated game for its family friendly appeal, play for ChoroQ. This is a race-car RPG based on the popular Japanese toy cars.

Unless you state otherwise in your comment, we'll assume you're playing for Primal and will award ChoroQ to the first runner up.

You may earn up to FOUR chances to win!

1. Enter a comment here, as usual. That's all you really NEED to do.
2. Tweet the following on Twitter: "Win an old-school PS2 game at Busy Gamer News, home of the Busy Gamer Podcast! #bgnfsf RT + enter: http://bit.ly/cfSugr"
3. Review (or re-review) our Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes
4. Review (or re-review) the brand new Best of Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes. This is a new feed we've launched with short audio segments comprising our reviews and audio tours.

If you do 2, 3 and/or 4, you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins.

You DO have to enter a comment here and follow the other rules to be eligible. Here's where you enter:

This week, GrrlGotGame takes on Sony's The Tester reality series, we give a little listen to the God of War music you might have nabbed for free if you watch our site or Twitter, examine the Green Day: Rock Band track details and preorder deals, and play a little Fallout 3 and We Rule.

Get all of that - plus game release news, DLC and giveaways - in about 12 minutes!

Our goal is to provide a short (typically 10-15 minutes) summary of news and helpful commentary every Sunday so that you'll have a great jumping off point for your busy gamer week. Here's what we pack into each episode:

• The week's game releases
• A quick look back at the previous week's releases, news and downloadable content highlights
• What we're playing/mini-reviews
• Giveaways
• Comment of the week

As promised in the Busy Gamer Podcast, here is the complete list of games due for release this week for PC/Mac, portables and consoles (plus some recent releases that slipped out when we weren't looking):

• DS: Beat City, Dementium II, Game & Watch: Donkey Kong Jr. (DSiWare), Game & Watch: Flagman (DSiWare), Game & Watch: Ball (DSiWare), myPostcards (DSiWare), Surviving High School (DSiWare), Thinksmart and Thinksmart: Advanced
• iPhone/iPad: Giant Moto, Mikado Defenders, N.Y. Zombies, Orion Racer, Ozone, Revenge of the Summon Monsters, Vertigo Rogue and Wings Earth for iPad: Flight Simulator
• Mac: Star Wars: Jedi Knight Gold Pack and Star Wars Mac Pack with Knights of the Old Republic and Empire at War (unconfirmed)
• PC: 3D Hunting 2010, East India Company Collection, Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans, Keys of the Kingdom and Left Behind: Tribulation Forces
• PS3: None
• PS2: None
• PSP: None
• Wii: All Star Karate, Bang Attack (WiiWare), Mega Man 4 (Virtual Console), Monster Hunter Tri, Speed and Thinksmart: Family
• Xbox 360: Afterburner Climax (Arcade), Puzzle Chronicles (Arcade) and Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper

So, what will you be picking up - or is this week a pass? Any games we missed? Anything slip (as these inevitably do)? Please let us know...

Here are this week's downloads, demos and videos for the Wii and Nintendo DS:

• WiiWare: Bang Attack ($5)
• Virtual Console: Mega Man 4 for NES ($5)
• DSiWare: Game & Watch: Donkey Kong Jr. ($2), Game & Watch: Flagman ($2), Game & Watch: Ball ($2), myPostcards ($2) and Surviving High School ($8)
• Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each; due Tuesday, April 20) "The Broken," "Guns of Summer" and "Here We Are Juggernaut" by Coheed and Cambria, "Peek-a-Boo" by Siouxsie & The Banshees, "Sun Hits the Sky" by Supergrass and "American Music" by The Violent Femmes - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• DS Demos (via Wii's Nintendo "Marketing" Channel): Picross 3D plus repeats Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking Roasted Red Potatoes and Pots de Creme, Avatar, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects, Deca Sports DS Cheerleading and Ping Pong, The Princess and the Frog, Rooms DS and Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing
• Game Videos: Bang Attack, Monster Hunter Tri, myPostcards, Picross 3D, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Rage of the Gladiator, SpongeBob's Boating Bash, Trauma Team and WarioWare D.I.Y.

I recently realized that I had several years worth of games that I had not entered into Club Nintendo, so I collected all of the "Join the club" and "Subscribe to Nintendo Power and get a free gift" inserts from the various first-party Nintendo DS and Wii games we've accumulated and went to work.

Along the way, I noticed a few things that may be helpful if you're new to Club Nintendo.

First, let's call it what it is. Club Nintendo is a rewards program. It's also a marketing program. You register at club.nintendo.com and then enter codes from the inserts you get with selected games to accumulate points. You have to take a survey for each one, so if you let these pile up (as I did) it can become quite a chore. Fortunately, there are rewards that entice you to complete these.

For instance, there's a "Club Nintendo exclusive" Wii game called Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! that only costs 80 points (basically, what you'd get from three DS games or two Wii games). It's not a very deep game (yeah, I nabbed it). You basically grab barbecue'd items off the grill using a set of extender tongs and if you drop one or let it burn, it's game over. Not bad for the "price" - but you may want to bank your points for real-world items such as posters, cards, DS and Wii accessories or the DS Game & Watch Collections (basically, simplified games from old LCD watches on a DS cartridge - which are also beginning to appear for purchase as DSiWare).

Here's where things get a little weird. Nintendo has a bonus reward program for those who register 300 or 600 points in a given calendar year (ending June 30). If you hit 600 points for the year, you attain Platinum status and are eligible for some unspecified but no doubt nifty cool reward. In what can only be dubbed a short-sighted marketing trick, points above what's required for Platinum status do NOT roll over to the next year - so your best bet is to STOP ENTERING CODES when you hit 600. This delays Nintendo getting your precious marketing data for some game purchases, but it ensures you can maximize your rewards. Just set a reminder for July 1 and continue entering then...

Long-time readers know that I have a serious love/hate relationship with Apple and iTunes in particular. GrrlGotGame and I used to be officers in an Apple/Mac users group more than a decade ago but have since defected to Windows. But the iPod and, more recently, iPhone enticed us back to the Apple side - at least for our music collection and now mobile apps.

Over the years, I have documented some painful iTunes mishaps. So I was prepared for the worst when it came time to move my iTunes installation from an old Windows XP PC that's about to become Pikachu Fan's schoolwork and occasional gaming computer to a newer Windows 7 machine. Thanks to some careful planning, I got it done in one day with almost no complications.

Part of this is thanks to my past pain caused by moving my main library to an external drive. Alas, I cannot advise you on how best to do this. Supposedly this can be accomplished by letting iTunes manage your library and telling it where you want it to be stored. I had really bad luck with this back in 2007 and spent a month or so restoring all of my disconnected music files so I could preserve the meta-data (ratings etc.). However, that paid off in making the migration to a new computer easier.

I have to credit this article from ilounge.com (scroll down to the "Moving your Content to a New Computer" section). They advised me to copy the main iTunes folder, which included all of my apps and older-gen iPod games as well as key library files. I made sure that both computers were running the same latest version of iTunes and completely backed up and sync'd both of our iPhones beforehand on the old machine - just in case something went horribly wrong. I then copied all of those files to the same place on the new computer.

And it worked! Well, almost. My iTunes preferences were NOT included - and apparently you shouldn't try to replace these since they are machine specific. So before you sync any devices, be sure to compare all of your iTunes preferences and make sure they match. VERY IMPORTANT: Your external hard drive with all of your music and video library files needs to be set to the same drive letter. Spot check your music and look for any little exclamation points that indicate a missing file. Confirm your videos (e.g., TV shows and movies) and podcasts are playable. Then hold your breath and sync.

I still have one small movie file to recover (ironically, it's that one about what would happen if Microsoft had designed the iPod packaging!) but otherwise the migration went off without a hitch. This is the first year in many that I have not complained about iTunes ruining my life. Hm, perhaps an iPad wouldn't be such a bad idea...

If you listened to this week's Busy Gamer Podcast, this won't be a surprise. We have TWO sets of PAX 2009 t-shirt codes for your Xbox 360 avatars. That's right, from last year's Penny Arcade Expo. (We teased another cool giveaway in the podcast, so you can be prepared for what's next!)

There are two male and two female shirts, so DO say which one you are playing for!

Rather than give the prize to the first person who enters, we'll do a random drawing from everyone who posts in the next 12 1/2 hours - by 9:45 a.m. PDT Thursday. Remember that comments are held in a queue - so if you don't see yours right away, don't panic.

This giveaway is a bonus for those busy gamers who are vigilant and lucky. The usual rules apply except that the entry period is shorter. There's no longer a restriction on entering consecutive giveaways.

Follow me on Twitter if you want a head's up before we post Instant Wins.

To enter:

Mirroring the release of Halo 3 (with its infamous cat-sized Spartan helmet packaging), Halo: Reach will be released three ways this fall:

• Standard ($60) - just the game
• Limited Edition ($80) - ONI black box packaging, Elite armor set for multiplayer, and "artifact bag" containing a journal and other documents that "unravel long held secrets from the Halo universe"
• Legendary Edition ($150) - Everything in the Limited Edition plus a statue, UNSC packaging, and a multiplayer Spartan armor effect

If you're on the fence, dig out or pick up a copy of Halo 3: ODST - the multiplayer beta starts May 3...

OK, here's an even bigger prize (also not a surprise to those avid Busy Gamer Podcast listeners!). Get a BUNCH of Forza Motorsport 3 cars and tracks:

• Motorsport Legends Car Pack - 10 cars
• Sidewinder Proving Grounds Track Pack - 18 tracks
• Benchmark High Speed Ring Track Pack - 12 tracks

Rather than give the prize to the first person who enters, we'll do a random drawing from everyone who posts in the next 6 or so hours - by 5 p.m. PDT Thursday. Remember that comments are held in a queue - so if you don't see yours right away, don't panic.

This giveaway is a bonus for those busy gamers who are vigilant and lucky. The usual rules apply except that the entry period is shorter. There's no longer a restriction on entering consecutive giveaways.

Follow me on Twitter if you want a head's up before we post Instant Wins.

To enter:

• After Burner Climax ($10)
• Hyperballoid HD ($5)
• Puzzle Chronicles ($10)
• Secret Of Monkey Island Special Edition ($10)
• Buzz! Quiz World The '00 Quiz ($6)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Siege Expansion Pack ($6) with co-op siege mode and two multiplayer maps
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing DLC 2 Metal Sonic & Death Egg Zone Track ($8)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: XS Moto ($6)
• Guitar Hero 5 Phoenix Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Everything Is Everything," "Lisztomania" and "1901" by Phoenix
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Coheed & Cambria Pack 01 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "The Broken," "Guns of Summer" and "Here We Are Juggernaut" plus tracks ($1-2 each) "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton, "Drunken Lullabies (Live)" by Flogging Molly, "Australia" by The Shins, "Peek-a-Boo" by Siouxsie & The Banshees, "Even Rats" by The Slip, "Sun Hits the Sky" by Supergrass, "For the Love of God (Live)" by Steve Vai and "American Music" by The Violent Femmes - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: Lost Planet 2 Multiplayer
• Game Videos: 3D Dot Game Heroes, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Lost Planet 2, MLB 10: The Show, ModNation Racers, Red Dead Redemption and Tecmo Bowl Throwback
• Themes: ModNation Racers (free), American Flags ($2), NBA Premium ($2 each), Tentakill ($1.50) and Underwater Disco ($1.50)
• PSP: Charge! Tank Squad! ($2), Homerun Hitters ($2), Hysteria Project ($2), Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess! ($5), Shogi ($2) and Uno ($8) plus The Eye of Judgment Legends Card Expansion Pack Volume 2 ($2)
• PSP Game Videos: 3D Dot Game Heroes, MLB 10: The Show and ModNation Racers
• PSP Themes: American Flags ($2 each) and NBA Premium ($1.50 each)
• PSP Wallpaper: DJ Max Fever and Strikers 1945 Plus
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): BioShock 2 and Final Fantasy XIII

• Arcade: After Burner Climax ($10) and Puzzle Chronicles ($10)
• Left 4 Dead 2 The Passing ($7) with single-player, multiplayer and co-op involving the original Left 4 Dead survivors
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 4 (free)
• Guitar Hero 5 Phoenix Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Everything Is Everything," "Lisztomania" and "1901" by Phoenix
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Coheed & Cambria Pack 01 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "The Broken," "Guns of Summer" and "Here We Are Juggernaut" plus tracks ($2 each) "Peek-a-Boo" by Siouxsie & The Banshees, "Even Rats" by The Slip, "Sun Hits the Sky" by Supergrass and "American Music" by The Violent Femmes - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "We Are The Nightmare" by Arsis, "NDE" by Blow Up Hollywood, "HTML Rulez D00d" by The Devil Wears Prada, "In Memory" by Excruciating Thoughts, "Blink" by Father Octopus, "Frontier Factory" by Freen in Green, "One Step Behind" by A Hero Next Door, "Death Comes (The Wedding Night)" by Inkubus Sukkubus, "Close Your Eyes" by Jonathan Lee, "Elisheva, I Love You" by Junius, "Goodnight Technologist" by The Main Drag, "Take Control" by The New Regime, "Indigo Friends" by Reverend Horton Heat, "Bringing Love to the Party" by Steele & Britton, "Caught" by Steele & Holden, "Henchmen Ride" by Testament  and "Jumper '09" by Third Eye Blind  
• Lips tracks ($2 each) "Obsession" by Animotion, "Mickey" by Toni Basil, "Rapture" by Blondie, "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman, "Centerfold" by J. Geils Band, "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang, "I Melt With You" by Modern English and "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell
• Games on Demand: Halo 3 ($30) which Bungie confirmed loads slower than the retail disc version
• Demos: All Xbox Live Arcade, Indie games and Rock Band Network tracks
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Abduction Action!, Avatars, Ghosts 'n Zombies, Block Killer, Breath of Death VII, Exelinya Burst, Invader, Laserbreaker, Quad Force, Tokyo 2029 A.D., The Tower: A Bomb's Climb and Yass
• Game Videos: Crackdown 2, Halo: Reach, Red Dead Redemption, Skate 3 and Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition
• Themes: After Burner Climax ($3) and Samsung (free)
• Pictures: After Burner Climax ($2), Full Throttle Gaming (free; enters you in sweepstakes) and Samsung (free)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Gears of War 3 and Saints Row 2

To celebrate, nay, honor the end of Lost we have the first two seasons of the show (arguably the best!) on DVD (playable on your Mac, PC, PS3 or Xbox 360!). You can win one or, if you name comes up twice thanks to the magic of bonus entries (see below), maybe even both seasons!

Each collection is a 7-disc set with all episodes plus bonus features. Already have a copy? Make this your loaner copy, or play for a friend who doesn't have it yet. If you don't express a preference in your comment, we'll assume you'd be happy with either season and award Season 1 to the first person drawn.

You may earn up to FOUR chances to win!

1. Enter a comment here, as usual. That's all you really NEED to do.
2. Tweet the following on Twitter: "Win Lost Season 1 or 2 at Busy Gamer News, home of the Busy Gamer Podcast! #bgnfsf RT + enter: http://bit.ly/9wWc73"
3. Review (or re-review) our Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes
4. Review (or re-review) the brand new Best of Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes. This is a new feed we've launched with short audio segments comprising our reviews and audio tours.

If you do 2, 3 and/or 4, you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins.

You DO have to enter a comment here and follow the other rules to be eligible. Here's where you enter:

This week, Pikachu Fan gives his review of WarioWare D.I.Y., we hear from Will Powers aka Sony's The Tester, and we examine Club Nintendo, the Halo: Reach limited editions, Chromixa and Social City for iPhone, Glow Artisan for DSi and move iTunes to a new computer with relative ease.

Get all of that - plus game release news, DLC and giveaways - in under 13 minutes!

Our goal is to provide a short (typically 10-15 minutes) summary of news and helpful commentary every Sunday so that you'll have a great jumping off point for your busy gamer week. Here's what we pack into each episode:

• The week's game releases
• A quick look back at the previous week's releases, news and downloadable content highlights
• What we're playing/mini-reviews
• Giveaways
• Comment of the week

As promised in the Busy Gamer Podcast, here is the complete list of games due for release this week for PC/Mac, portables and consoles (plus some recent releases that slipped out when we weren't looking):

• DS: Casual Mania, DodoGo! (DSiWare), Don't Feed The Animals (DSiWare), Ferrari GT: Evolution (DSiWare), Puffins: Let's Roll (DSiWare), Scrabble Slam! (DSiWare) and System Flaw Recruit (DSiWare)
• iPhone/iPad: 1112 Episode 2, Avatar for iPad, Blokus, Castle Bash, Chaos Rings, Fast & Furious Adrenaline, Football Manager Handheld 2010, Fruit Ninja, Hungry Shark, Icarus-X, Iron Man 2, MiniSquadron Special Edition, Motocross Challenge, Nano Fighter for iPad, PapiJump for iPad, The Pinball HD, Sonic 2, Super Jetpack Dragon IV: Village Burntopia and TipTop: The Last March
• Mac: None
• PC: Jumpgate Evolution, Play! Volume 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction
• PS3: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dead to Rights: Retribution, Nier and Super Street Fighter IV
• PS2: None
• PSP: Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley and PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe
• Wii: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 5 Arcade Gems (WiiWare), Brain Drain (WiiWare) and The King of Fighters '95 (Virtual Console)
• Xbox 360: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dead to Rights: Retribution, Nier, Record of Agarest War Limited Edition, Super Street Fighter IV, Tecmo Bowl Throwback (Arcade) plus a Game Room update that adds Megamania, Night Stalker, Pitfall!, Rack 'Em Up, RealSports Basketball, RealSports Volleball and Super Breakout 

So, what will you be picking up - or is this week a pass? Any games we missed? Anything slip (as these inevitably do)? Please let us know...

Here are this week's downloads, demos and videos for the Wii and Nintendo DS:

• WiiWare: 5 Arcade Gems ($7) and Brain Drain ($5)
• Virtual Console: The King of Fighters '95 for NeoGeo ($9)
• DSiWare: DodoGo! ($8), Don't Feed The Animals ($5), Ferrari GT: Evolution ($8), Puffins: Let's Roll ($5), Scrabble Slam! ($5) and System Flaw Recruit ($5)
• Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each; due Tuesday, April 27) "Thunderbirds Are Go!" by Busted, "Again" by Flyleaf and "Tomorrow" by Silverchair - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band, though it appears none of these qualify.
• DS Demos (via Wii's Nintendo "Marketing" Channel): All repeats including Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking Roasted Red Potatoes and Pots de Creme, Avatar, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects, Deca Sports DS Cheerleading and Ping Pong, Picross 3D, The Princess and the Frog, Rooms DS and Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing
• Game Videos: 2010 FIFA World Cup, 5 Arcade Gems, DodoGo!, Don't Feed The Animals, Monster Hunter Tri, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Rage of the Gladiator and WarioWare D.I.Y.

Reviewed On: Xbox 360. Also available for PlayStation 3 and PC.

In a Nutshell: This is a combination third-person brawler and action-adventure game. The brawler mechanics tend to dominate, particularly at the beginning, but it eventually transcends them to deliver a rich interactive story with deep exploration. Most battles are settled with your fists, but there are options to play the game "your way" - by choosing stealth tactics to sneak up on an adversary to perform a silent takedown or using a well-placed batarang, grappler or explosive to surprise an enemy head on. Or just button mash, up to a point. (More on that in a minute.)

The game is initially frustrating as areas abound that you can see but not access. But as the story unfolds, so do your options to enter new areas and hiding spots. What truly salvages this game is "detective mode," which provides a special visor view that turns the world blue and makes it easy to spot bad guys (who appear as blue or red skeletons depending on whether they are packing "heat"), hiding places, secrets, etc. You'll use this mode to hunt specific clues to advance the story, but without it players like me would be lost much of the time.

Learning Curve: The basic brawler mechanics are easy to pick up, but hard to master. The basic moves serve you well for most of the game - but if you don't learn advanced moves and counter strategies, the end game will be intensely difficult. Fortunately, this doesn't interfere with your enjoyment of 90% of Arkham Asylum but it could lead to frustration as you're stuck with an almost complete experience that has little hope of a satisfying finish. Switch to the videogame equivalent of a cold shower (a little Bejeweled 2, perhaps?) and then jump back in and get the job done.

The Save Game: The save system isn't very busy gamer friendly. The game does perform background saves at checkpoints along the way, but it can be hard to tell when you've triggered one. There is no Save and Quit option; when you quit, you're warned of the potential for lost progress. And lose progress you probably will, at least some of the time. Be prepared to repeat some sections if you don't have large blocks of uninterrupted time at your disposal.

Family Factor: This game is rated T for teen. The beat-'em up aspect is pretty benign, but Batman does get knifed, shocked and shot up by armed goons, and there are some nightmare sequences that make this game not suited for younger eyes (at least if you don't want to risk giving them the night terrors, signing you up for those middle-of-the-night soothing sessions!). Pre-teens can probably handle it, especially if they've already been exposed to the darker of the Dark Knight comics.

Buy, Rent or Skip? This game is a solid rental unless you're a completist who needs to collect every Riddler pick-up and best all of the bonus challenge modes you start unlocking late in the main story. If you find it for less $20 or less, you'll get your money's worth.

On a Personal Note: I went into this game with a lot of Batman baggage. Having suffered through so many bad Batman games over the years, I stopped paying attention to them. When I started hearing good buzz about Arkham Asylum, I decided to give it a try and downloaded the demo. The interactive title sequence (somewhat reminiscent of Half-Life) where you walk Batman around while bits of story unfold was interesting. But, alas, the brawler mechanics just didn't grab me and I ended up putting it into the "no thanks" pile.

But the praise for Arkham Asylum continued, so I tossed it into my Gamefly queue. I decided to play on Easy so I could focus on the story and not worry about having to repeat a bunch of boring beat-'em-up sessions. About half an hour in, I started to get why people love this game.

Arkham Asylum itself is a huge sprawling campus on an island with lots of areas to root out and secrets to find. I played with detective mode turned on for most of the story.

Zipping around armed enemies from one stone gargoyle to the next never seems to get old. Lose the enemies, and then sneak up and trap them with an upside-down stealth takedown or glide into them, finish them with a knock-out punch and then zip to safety before the remaining henchmen spot you.

Most of the boss battles are Zelda-like concoctions - once you find the weak spot or pattern, you'll just do what's required, rinse and repeat until the enemy falls. The game is generous with the hints if you get stuck. A few nightmare sequences play with your expectations and change the gameplay in a significant way; these are fun little side trips that extend the game and help it transcend its brawler roots.

The final battle is another story all together. If you haven't studied your moves and learned how to take down henchmen armed with knives and shock sticks, you are in for a world of hurt. I had to re-learn how to fight, with emphasis on maneuvers that stun or perform unblockable takedowns, to finally complete the game - which was, on the whole, enjoyable and ultimately worth the effort.

More Busy Gamer Reviews:

• Solitaire Siege
• BioShock 2
• The Maw
• Assassin’s Creed II: Battle of Forli DLC
• Borderlands [BGN Game of the Year 2009]
• Lego Rock Band
• Assassin's Creed II
• Zuma's Revenge
• Halo 3: ODST
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Fallout 3
• Scribblenauts
• The Beatles: Rock Band
• Guide to kids and adult games

With the recent news that Ubisoft is discontinuing game manuals, you might wonder if they're even still relevant. I mean, can't you learn everything you need to know from in-game controller references and tutorials?

As one of the few people who enjoys a good game manual, I'm saddened by this loss but can revel in the past glory days of game manuals thanks to replacementdocs.com. This site is a repository for all of the game manuals it can find, from the Atari 2600 (even if I can't download Pitfall for Game Room this week, I can revisit the Pitfall manual) to more modern fare (like Luigi's Mansion for GameCube, which I just started playing but couldn't figure out how to save my %*#&$% game!).

Have a game manual that's not there? Read the contributor tips and upload it! Just be sure to check out the "banned" list first. Right now, Bethesda Softworks is refusing to allow any documentation for its game to be shared (including the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3), and there are a few others that are not permitted. Hopefully they will come to their senses and realize we just want to revel in their games anywhere, any time and on any device that can display PDFs...

Here's what's new at the PlayStation Store. Remember, next week these updates move to Tuesdays:

• Record of Agarest War ($45) - make sure you have 9GB of free space, or expect to pay $60 at retail
• Record Of Agarest War Add-On Dungeons and Item Packs (free)
• Kick-Ass ($15)
• Blue Toad Murder Files Episode 4-6 ($15 for all 3 or $7.50 each)
• MAG Fast Attack Gear Pack (free)
• Shatter Soundtrack ($6)
• Just Cause 2 Black Market Aerial Pack ($2)
• Super Street Fighter IV Super Challengers Costume Pack 1 ($4) with alternate costumes for Hakan, Makoto, Guy, Dudley and Dee Jay
• Megaman 10 Endless Attack ($3) and Special Stage 2 and 3 ($1 each)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: Star Wars Dark Forces ($6)
• Guitar Hero 5 Black Sabbath Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "After Forever," "Into The Void" and "Sweet Leaf"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 tracks ($1-2 each) "Stick Stickly" by Attack! Attack!, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" by Bang Camaro, "Thunderbirds Are Go!" by Busted, "Burn It Down" by Five Finger Death Punch, "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords, "Again" by Flyleaf, "Lady in a Blue Dress" by Senses Fail and "Tomorrow" by Silverchair - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: Wakeboarding HD
• Game Videos: 3D Dot Game Heroes, ModNation Racers, Skate 3, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Topatoi Bundle and Uncharted 2 Siege Expansion
• Themes: Megaman 10 Dynamic ($3), Shatter Dynamic ($3), White Knight Chronicles International Edition Dynamic ($3), NBA Premium ($2 each), Black Oil Crud ($2), Dragunov ($2), Frisco Sunset ($2) and Winter Wonderland ($2)
• Wallpaper: Tecmo Bowl Throwback
• PSP: 2010 FIFA World Cup ($40), Car Jack Streets ($5), Music Quiz ($2), Normaltanks ($5), Pile Up! Bakery ($2), Pinball Duel ($2) and Reef Aquarium ($5)
• PSP Game Videos: ModNation Racers
• PSP Themes: NBA Premium ($1.50 each), Bare Elements ($1.50 each), Black Oil Crud ($1.50 each) and Sushi ($1.50 each)
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): Assassin’s Creed II personal space

• Arcade: Tecmo Bowl Throwback ($10) plus Megaman 10 Endless Attack ($3) and Special Stage 2 and 3 ($1 each)
• Dante's Inferno Trials of St. Lucia ($10) with playable character St. Lucia and combat trials
• Just Cause 2 Black Market Aerial Pack ($2)
• Super Street Fighter IV Super Challengers Costume Pack 1 ($4) with alternate costumes for Hakan, Makoto, Guy, Dudley and Dee Jay
• DJ Hero Domination Pack ($8) with "Wolfgang's 5th Symphony" by Wolfgang Gartner vs "Red Mist VIP" by Danny Byrd and "Sandstorm" by Darude vs "Higher State of Consciousness" by Josh Wink
• Guitar Hero 5 Black Sabbath Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "After Forever," "Into The Void" and "Sweet Leaf"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 tracks ($1-2 each) "Stick Stickly" by Attack! Attack!, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" by Bang Camaro, "Thunderbirds Are Go!" by Busted, "Burn It Down" by Five Finger Death Punch, "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords, "Again" by Flyleaf, "Lady in a Blue Dress" by Senses Fail and "Tomorrow" by Silverchair - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "Undone" by All That Remains, "Plans & Reveries" by Black Gold, "Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over" by The Devil Wears Prada, "Dead to the World" by The Fire Violets, "Beautiful" by Andy Kirk, "Delaware Are You? I Don't Know Alaska." by Safari So Good, "American Dream" by Silverstein, "Exploited & Exposed" by Symbion Project and "Homeward Bound" by Tumbledown 
• Lips tracks ($2 each) "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Strangelove" by Depeche Mode, "Rio" by Duran Duran, "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves, "Roxanne" by The Police, "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling, "She Works Hard For The Money" by Donna Summer and "Road To Nowhere" by Talking Heads
• Games on Demand: Far Cry 2 ($30), Kane and Lynch: Dead Men ($30) and Shrek the Third ($30)
• Demos: Split Second plus all Xbox Live Arcade, Indie Games and Rock Band Network tracks
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Ace Gals Tennis, Avatar Onslaught, Bible Trivia, Bingo Party, Bizzy Bee, Change of Color, Easy Racing, Inferno Ball, NLL Lacrosse 2010 and Truth or Dare?
• Game Videos: Alan Wake live action prequel episodes, Blacklight: Tango Down, Blood Bowl, Dead Rising 2, Dead Space 2, Halo: Reach, Red Dead Redemption and Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition
• Themes: Alan Wake ($3), Mega Man 10 Premium and Super Street Fighter IV Premium ($3)
• Pictures: Mega Man 10 ($1 each), Super Street Fighter IV ($1) and Drawn Together ($2)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Dante's Inferno

OK, so we're a niche site in search of a hard-to-find audience (busy gamers who are too busy to find our site!).

That doesn't mean we don't have something to say, or something to give away. In honor of the Halo: Reach beta - alas, we have no beta codes. Sorry, folks. And we already gave away our extra copy of Halo 3: ODST, so at least community member Andrew King can join us in the open beta starting Monday.

But we can offer a piece of the heritage that led us to this historic point in Halo history: the last Bungie Halo game. We have the full Halo 2 game with retail multiplayer map pack. Sure, you can no longer play them on Xbox Live but they still work fine offline and for a LAN party! And if you're a Halo fan, you surely should have the original Halo guide laying on your coffee table.

There will be two winners (unless you'r lucky enough to win both!). We'll assume you want Halo 2 with the map pack unless you say otherwise in your comment. And next week's Busy Gamer Podcast will celebrate Halo, so be sure to tune in if you're a fan!

You may earn up to FOUR chances to win!

1. Enter a comment here, as usual. That's all you really NEED to do.
2. Tweet the following on Twitter: "Win Halo 2 with bonus maps disc or Halo guide at Busy Gamer News, home of the Busy Gamer Podcast! #bgnfsf RT + enter: http://bit.ly/bNnBmD"
3. Review (or re-review) our Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes
4. Review (or re-review) the brand new Best of Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes. This is a new feed we've launched with short audio segments comprising our reviews, audio tours and other timeless bits.

If you do 2, 3 and/or 4, you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins. If I can't easily tell who you are on Twitter and/or iTunes, the bonus entry won't count.

You DO have to enter a comment here and follow the other rules to be eligible. Here's where you enter: