The grand prize winner will take the big bag of swag containing:

• Halo Reach poster
• Assorted buttons (7)
• Green Lantern plastic ring
• Dark Horse Comics Celebrates 20 Years of Manga lithograph
• Dark Horse clings (3)
• Mass Effect Redemption comic poster
• American Vampire poster
• Star Wars Invasion poster
• Dark Horse Celebrates Star Wars poster
• Dark Horse One Shot Wonders poster
• Rat City Rollergirls sticker
• Ben 10 Alien Force #42 comic
• Demo: The Waking Life of Angels #1 comic
• The Authority: The Lost Year comic
• Daytripper #1 comic
• DC Superfriends #20 comic
• WildCats #19 comic
• Looney Tunes #179 comic
• Bob the Angry Flower one sheet
• DC Direct Collectibles catalog

The runner up also gets a Halo Reach poster, a set of buttons and a Green Lantern ring.

For more details, click the left picture above for a gallery of images and the right picture for a close-up of the poster.

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

• Arcade: Perfect Dark ($10)
• Dragon Age: Origins Awakening ($40)
• Army of Two: The 40th Day Chapters of Deceit ($10) with two co-op campaign maps
• Need for Speed: Shift Exotic Racing Series ($10)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 2 (free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Pack 3 (free)
• Dante's Inferno Relics Triple Pack ($3) with relics that boost your stats
• Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing all characters and tracks unlock ($5)
• DJ Hero Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack ($8) with "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z featuring Amil & Ja Rule vs "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, "Shake That" by Eminem featuring Nate Dogg vs. "Show Me What You Got" by Jay-Z and "Without Me" by Eminem vs "Encore" by Jay-Z
• Guitar Hero 5 Flogging Molly Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Requiem For A Dying Song," "The Seven Deadly Sins" and "(No More) Paddy's Lament"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Lady Gaga Pack 1 ($7 or $2 each) with "Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Monster" and "Poker Face" plus tracks ($2 each) "It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down, "Control" by Mute Math, "Oh Yeah" and "Rock & Roll Queen" by The Subways and the South Park version of "Poker Face" performed by Eric Cartman - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play) "I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?" by A Day To Remember, "Days Without" by All That Remains, "What A Trip" by Analogue Revolution featuring First Be, "I Know What I Am" by Band of Skulls, "Dirty King" by The Cliks, "50,000 Unstoppable Watts" and "The Mob Goes Wild" by Clutch, "Collapsing" by Demon Hunter, "Bodies" by Drowning Pool, "Under Water I Drown" by Edge, "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords, "Dirty South Rock" by Hyro da Hero, "My Favorite New Disaster" by Megaphone, "Midnight Ride" and "One Bad Man" by Midnight Riders, "One Step Further" by MxPx, "Nothing There" by Oliver Pride, "You're a Wolf" by Sea Wolf, "Remedy" by Seether, "Rise" by Solarcade, "Dance With Me" by Stewart, "Being Here" by The Stills, "Elements" by Texas in July, "Semi-Charmed Life '09" by Third Eye Blind, "We Are Not Anonymous" by Unearth, "Dragonfly (Symbion Project Remix)" by Universal Hall Pass, "Moonshine Hollar" by Zack Wilson, "Battle Royale" by The Word Alive and "Still Alive" by World Minus One 
• Lips tracks ($2 each) "Breathless" by The Corrs, "Happy Hour" by The Housemartins and "Sexy Love" by Ne-Yo plus the free "Lips: Number One Hits Song Medley"
• Games on Demand: Baja: Edge of Control ($20)
• Demos: Splinter Cell: Conviction plus all Xbox Live Arcade and Indie games
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Avatar Street Basketball, Catch Me If You Can, Classic FreeCell, ColorBox, Dark Seal, Dysnomia, Euphorium, Masters of Belial, Medal of Honor, Shake!, The Spirit Box and War of Words
• Game Videos: Army of Two: The 40th Day, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Brink, Crackdown 2, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Medal of Honor, Metro 2033, Might & Magic Clash of Heroes, MLB 2K10, Need for Speed: Shift and Splinter Cell: Conviction
• Themes: Kick-Ass and Porsche (both free)
• Pictures: Hot Tub Time Machine, Kia, Kick-Ass and Porsche (all free; some enter you in sweepstakes)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Alan Wake and Perfect Dark

• Groovin’ Blocks ($10)
• Dragon Age: Origins Awakening ($40)
• Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse pre-order ($30) - save $5 by paying a month before you can download the first episode
• Aliens Vs. Predator Multiplayer Swarm Map Pack ($7) with four maps
• Heavy Rain soundtrack ($10)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Ultimate Warriors Pack 2 (free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Quest Pack 2 (free)
• Need for Speed: Shift Exotic Racing Series ($10)
• PS1 for PS3/PSP: Jigsaw Madness and One ($6 each)
• Guitar Hero 5 Flogging Molly Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Requiem For A Dying Song," "The Seven Deadly Sins" and "(No More) Paddy's Lament"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 Lady Gaga Pack 1 ($7 or $2 each) with "Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Monster" and "Poker Face" plus tracks ($2 each) "It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down, "Control" by Mute Math, "Oh Yeah" and "Rock & Roll Queen" by The Subways, "The Who Super Bowl S-mashup" by The Who and the South Park version of "Poker Face" performed by Eric Cartman - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: Brain Challenge
• Game Videos: Army of Two: The 40th Day, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Heavy Rain, MLB '10: The Show, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, SOCOM 4 and The Tester Episode 5
• Themes: Heavy Rain Dynamic ($3), World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars ($1) and Acid Trip ($1.50)
• PSP: BreakQuest ($4), Luxor Bundle ($10), Patchwork Heroes ($10), The Red Star ($15), plus add-ons LittleBigPlanet PSP Metropolis Costumes (free), Metropolis Theme Pack ($3) and Buzz! Quiz World Rock Idols Quiz Pack ($4)
• PSP Game Videos: Heavy Rain, SOCOM 4, The Tester Episode 5
• PSP Themes: Abstracted ($1 each), Acid Trip ($1.50) and Underwater Disco ($1.50)
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): Infamous, Resistance: Fall of Man and Twisted Metal plus the Tropical Apartment

Offering a public beta for any game can be risky business. While developers legitimately need to see if their servers can handle the punishment handed down by the online gaming masses, it also opens companies up to having still-in-development games discussed in blogs. Like this one.

In this case, Blur developer Activision need not worry... about me, anyway. I love this game, and have forsaken my second pass through BioShock 2 in favor of logging some serious thumb-numbing hours online.

The game is basically Project Gotham Racing with a Mario Kart twist: weapons and power ups. You won't see any flying turtle shells hurtling toward you, however. Instead, lighting storms rain down, mines are planted, and when all else fails, you can just ram your opponent's car hard. This being a beta, what's online now may not be the same when the game comes out.

That said, here's how you can shake, rattle and roll your fellow drivers... at least today (we still have three bonus beta codes, by the way - let us know if you want one!):

• Shock: Drops EMP fields in front of the race leader. Keep in mind that you're not just setting up the leader - anyone close behind the leader will also be endangered. If you're in second or third place, that might include you. Best to use these when you're so far behind you just need to slow down the leaders of the pack.
• Mine: Drops a mine in front or behind you. I've found behind to be safer, having driven straight into my own mine several times. A well-timed, well-aimed mine can hit a competitor.
• Barge: Issues a sort of super-air blast that damages anyone close by. Best when passing someone, or to combat aggressive drivers trying to run you into the wall or off the course.
• Bolt: The closest thing to a batmobile gun in the game; you get three shots, which can be used in rapid succession or over a period of time. Can also be used to shoot competitors behind you, a nifty trick when someone is preparing their own assault!
• Shunt: A homing missile that can do major, major damage when it connects (think red shell, Mario Kart fans!). The targeted car gets a heads up in the form of a blinking red bumper-light. Astute drivers have plenty of time to activate a shield or just get out of the way.
• Nitro: A brief but super-powered burst of nitro that can send you flying past competitors... or into them. Or, if you're not careful, careening off the course. This is a good one to hang on to until the finish line is in sight. I've won close races by simply hoarding Nitro and then cutting loose to pass the leaders in the last few seconds of the event.
• Shield: Creates a freaky, vibrating egg around your car, complete with vaguely sci-fi sound effects.
• Repair: Even the best driver will eventually get hit by a competitor or the highly-destructible environment. Activating repair immediately fixes everything wrong with your car.

Beta testers have (to date) been able to play four types of games online:

• Skirmish Racing: 2-10 players participate in "intense racing."
• Powered Up Racing: 4-20 players participate in "extreme racing." (I haven't noticed any difference between this and skirmish, except there tends to be more players in this one.)
• Motor Mash: Drive around and destroy your fellow drivers for points. A personal favorite!
• Super Car Racing: Racing with "High-speed, Class A cars," which are about as obedient as my cats. I did this once. Once.

I had to unlock most of these by leveling up. The beta capped my level at 10, meaning the level 10 competitors in your race may be just christened newbs or a 12-year-old who has raced every free moment of the day since the beta was released. It's made for some lopsided races that will presumably be fixed with a much-higher level cap once the game is released. In addition, there are four events/game options that can be seen but not played in the beta. These events do NOT have descriptions, just names. That will not stop me from speculating, however:

• World Tour: Presumably, this is a single-player campaign.
• One-on-One: Please, please, please let this be local multiplayer!
• Hardcore Racing: I got nothing... but I suspect I won't be playing this one.
• Community Events: The Blur Web site has a Community section marked “Coming Soon.” Presumably, these two are connected.

The answer to these and other questions will be answered when Blur is released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year...

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

In a Nutshell: At its most basic level, BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter set in a dystopian steampunk aquarium under the sea. The game builds and improves on the original in some ways, introducing duel-wielding (plasmids such as telekinesis in one hand, weapons in the other) and some new goodies courtesy of your status as a prototype Big Daddy.

The world itself is essentially the same, but with new locations to visit and ponder. You're still faced with the occasional moral choice that will impact the remainder of your game, and finding/playing tape recorders remains the main way that the backstory unfolds. You can also be assured that your favorite (and most loathed) enemies are all here, with some notable additions in the form of a fat-but-still-bad-ass splicer and the much-touted Big Sister, who does NOT play well with others. She's mean even if you play nice!

The game also introduces a sort of escort mission that, thankfully, doesn't involve walking for hours protecting someone who's important/wounded/profoundly stupid - which is why the words "escort mission" no doubt made your stomach churn a few seconds ago. In this case, Mr. Bubbles, you shoulder the burden - which makes it an easy thing to do, most of the time.

There's no denying the scenery is still gorgeous - and if you skipped the first one (shame on you!), you're likely to have the same sense of awe it inspired. The downside: The story also feels somewhat familiar, even though it deals with a completely different set of Ayn Rand-esque wackos.

On the plus side, BioShock 2 introduces multiplayer - and does it right. It takes favorite online gaming staples and improves them. For instance, a "Capture the Little Sister," which takes old-school CTF and adds a screaming, bitchy twist: "Just WAIT until my DADDY gets his HANDS ON YOU!" Frag fests are easy to find online as well, although your weapon/plasmid choices are severely limited until you level up. Alas, what happened to split-screen?! I'd love to take on Gamewatcher in the multiplayer games, but not enough to drop another $60 on a second copy.

Learning Curve: First-person shooter vets will have no problems picking up the game controls. The in-game tutorials do an excellent job of explaining the basics, and plasmids are introduced gradually enough that even newbies will be able to catch on. BioShock fans will enjoy some of the new plasmids and game dynamics with expanded environments available for destruction. The hacking scheme has been changed to a simple but eventually challenging stop-the-needle game that is a welcome change from the game-interrupting build-a-pipeline project of the original.

The Save Game: You can save anywhere, which I recommend doing early and often. You'll have unlimited save slots (well, at least until you run out of hard drive or memory card space), so use them! In addition, you'll find Vita Chamber checkpoints throughout the game. If you die, you respawn at the nearest one with the world in the same shape as you left it. Enemies retain damage done, although Splicers do have the ability to heal themselves at any health stations that you failed to hack or destroy.

Family Factor: This game is strictly for grown-ups. As with the original, even adults may have nightmares. It's nothing you can't handle - probably.

Buy, Rent or Skip? The game is worth playing - the question is whether or not it deserves a slot in your collection. The single-player story is relatively short and can be beat in about 15-20 hours, depending on your level of expertise and OCD. Explorers and completists chasing the game's three different endings will take longer (and can justify the purchase), but those who want to beat it and street it can tear through the game in a rental period.

If you're a multiplayer fan, it's a buy. Multiplayer is a blast, and goes far beyond the typical dump-me-in-a-game-with-a-weapon approach to online deathmatching. It's worth noting that there BioShock 2 downloadable content coming out, which will enhance both online and single-player - though it remains to be seen whether this will improve the "buy" factor. If anything, it may be a reason to wait for the inevitable Game of the Year edition.

On a Personal Note: I was absolutely floored by BioShock, and therefore approached the sequel cautiously. I think that may have enhanced the experience for me since lowered expectations are easier to meet. This game did touch me in ways that the first one did not. To explain how would be to give away core surprises and the few story points that were enjoying. However, suffice it to say I will be building a Little Sister costume for PAX West this summer.

Sadly, overall the story itself does not live up to original. While I applaud the attempt to make an entirely new, standalone adventure, it still somehow feels like a poorly executed rehash. The final battle is repetitive, and the so-called "good" ending left me wondering how bad it was going to turn out for me when I play again for the dark side. For the record, there are three endings this time: good, not so evil, and just plain satanic. Oddly, there is little difference between the "bad endings" given what you must do to get one versus the other.

If you do pick up BioShock 2 and need a little help getting through it, here are some tips:

• Desperate for health but don't have cash? Bash (melee) a health machine to quickly access a full health pack - but you won't be able to pay to get better. This trick doesn't work with the ammo machines. Hacking the health machine and hitting the blue zone will also generate a health pack, and it will make the machine zap wounded enemies who try to use it. You can still bash it later for an extra pack, if you need it.
• Do a final sweep before entering any mode of transportation (i.e., leaving the level). This is a prime time to beat the hell out of far-flung health dispensers (check your map) to stock up on health packs, re-check corpses for loot you couldn't pick up previously and leisurely look for any major stuff you missed (tape recordings and tonics).
• Focus on upgrading one weapon at a time. The rewards are exponential. There's some debate on which ones are best, but I found the shotgun and rocket launcher the most helpful in the long run.
• Each Little Sister can visit two "angels" max, so be sure you get both gathers in before "taking her home." You have a limited number of Little Sister per level, which means missing a gather equals a permanently lost Adam opportunity.
• Achievement hounds should show mercy whenever the opportunity presents itself. As far as I can tell, there is no reward for being wicked this go round.
• Before returning your last little darling home, stock up on health and ammo - even if it means hacking or destroying those health machines. Also, try to save some cash. When you do take her home, look for the nearest (unbusted) health machine. Run like hell to it as soon as you can. Bonus points if there's a friendly camera around. Trust me.
• Use caution when picking up stray tonics in the wild. Press the standard action button and it will replace something in your active inventory. Take the time to consider what it does versus what you have, and then decide if it's going into rotation or storage. Can't figure out how to get to a tonic you can see? Use the map to find areas that you haven't visited, even if it's far away from the tonic.
• This game is made for people who like to mess with the environment. See oil? Use fire. Near water? Electricity. Something that goes boom? Shoot it or send it flying.

And finally: Explore, explore, explore. Take time to press every button, search every nook and, again, check your map for areas you missed. Because, despite its flaws, this is just one cool game.

Related:

• First Impressions and Tips: BioShock 2
• Busy Gamer Review: BioShock
• BioShock audio tour in Busy Gamer Podcast 19

More Busy Gamer Reviews:

• 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

But all that just went out the window. It's no longer a matter of "if" but "where" to buy this game when it launchs May 25 for PS3 and PSP.

In a word: Pre-order goodies in the form of Sony iconic character racer avatars. Here's what you'll get, depending on where you plunk down your dinero:

• Amazon.com: Ratchet and Clank from Ratchet and Clank
• Best Buy: Nathan Drake from Uncharted
• Gamestop: Kratos from God of War

Plus, all pre-orders get "mystery mods" which are random accessories for your car and racer. OK, we're sold (probably the Ratchet and Clank set because Pikachu Fan won't know who those others are - and we want to keep it that way!)...

• WiiWare: Rage of the Gladiator ($10) fighting game and Triple Shot Sports ($5) featuring archery, pistol and rifle target shooting
• Virtual Console: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for TurboGrafx16 ($9)
• DSiWare: 101 MiniGolf World ($5), Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs – Fight For Survival ($8), Car Jack Streets ($8) and Zoo Frenzy ($5)
• Rock Band 2 tracks ($2 each; due Tuesday, March 16) "It's Not My Time" by 3 Doors Down, "Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Monster" and "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga plus "Poker Face (Cartman version)" by South Park, "Control" by Mute Math and "Oh Yeah" and "Rock & Roll Queen" by The Subways - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• DS Demos (via Wii's Nintendo "Marketing" Channel): Rooms DS plus repeats including Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, Avatar, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects, Deca Sports DS Cheerleading and Ping Pong, The Princess and the Frog, Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing and Women's Murder Club: Games of Passion
• Game Videos: 101 MiniGolf World, Alice in Wonderland, Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs – Fight For Survival, Calling, Car Jack Streets, Cave Story, Monster Hunter Tri, Rage of the Gladiator, WarioWare D.I.Y. and Zoo Frenzy

• DS: 101 MiniGolf World (DSiWare), Bakugan: Battle Trainer, Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs – Fight For Survival (DSiWare), Car Jack Streets (DSiWare), Infinite Space, Let's Draw!, Sonny With a Chance, Spectral Force Genesis, T.A.C. Heroes: Big Red One and Zoo Frenzy (DSiWare)
• iPhone: Eliminate: Co-op, The Graveyard, The Hero, How to Train Your Dragon, Kerplinkus, Pool Pro Online 3, Puzzle Quest: Chapter 3 (in-app add-on; requires Puzzle Quest: Chapters 1 & 2) and Street Fighter 4
• Mac: None
• PC: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, Dragon Age: Origins Awakening, Metro 2033, Mount & Blade: Warband, Prison Break: The Conspiracy and Wings of Prey: WWII Air Combat
• PS3: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening, God of War III and Resonance of Fate
• PS2: None
• PSP: None
• Wii: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Virtual Console), Family Gameshow, Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, GTI Club: Supermini Festa!, Hall of Fame Ultimate Hoops Challenge, Rage of the Gladiator (WiiWare), Smart Series: Jaja’s Adventure, Sushi Go Round and Triple Shot Sports (WiiWare)
• Xbox 360: Dragon Age: Origins Awakening, Metro 2033, Perfect Dark HD (Arcade), Prison Break: The Conspiracy, Resonance of Fate and Supreme Commander 2 

We also have three more Blur beta codes to award; details in the podcast.

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

The choice is yours, but you can only win one.

Don't care for either? Surely you could throw a rock and hit someone who does, so play on their behalf! If you win, they'll be in your debt. Yeah, that rocks too.

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

• Arcade: Scrap Metal ($15) plus FunTown Mahjong Zen Garden Theme ($2)
• BioShock 2 Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack ($5) adds a new rank cap of 50, 20 trials, 2 playable characters and 5 masks
• Resident Evil 5 Untold Stories Bundle ($12.50) with Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape
• Forza Motorsport 3 Jalopnik Car Pack ($5; one sample car is free)
• Guitar Hero 5 OK Go Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with ($5.49) "Here It Goes Again," "Do What You Want" and "Get Over It"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 The White Stripes Pack 2 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Fell in Love With a Girl," "Seven Nation Army" and "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You’re Told)" and the Roadrunner Records Pack 1 ($8.50 or $2 each) with "Clouds Over California" by DevilDriver, "Constant Motion" by Dream Theater, "My Curse" by Killswitch Engage, "Aesthetics of Hate" by Machine Head  and "Sleepwalker" by Megadeth - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Rock Band Network tracks (Rock Band 2 required to download and play): "Bleeder"by Alchemilla, "Stick Stickly" by Attack Attack!, "Cali Girl" by Ballyhoo!, "Push Push (Lady Lightning" by Bang Camaro, "Mordecai" by Between the Buried and Me, "Push Me" by The Carsitters, "Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton, "Moonboy" by Dirty Love Band, "Day to Day" by Eulogies, "Demon Woman" and "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)" by Flight of the Conchords, "Car Windows" by The Main Drag, "Do You Feel Like Breaking Up?" by Mark Mallman, "Destructive Device" by Mindflow, "Second Best Friend" by The Nebraska Sailing Authority, "Descend Into the Eternal Pits of Possession" by The Project Hate MCMXCIX, "Africa" by Quartered, "Shiny Dark Bar" by James William Roy, "So Says I" by The Shins, "Makeup/Breakup" by Super Gravity, "Roll Over" by Uniform Motion, "Life Unworthy of Life" by Warpath and "Approach the Podium" by Winds of Plague
• Lips Commodores Song Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Brick House," "Easy" and "Three Times A Lady"
• Games on Demand: Condemned ($20)
• Demos: Xbox Live Arcade and Indie games
• Indie Games (usually $1-10 each): Ask Angela, Bush Hunt, Cocktails: Shake It Up!, Colony Defense, Convextrix, Drooop!!, Experiment 13, GoonyCru Day One, Jewelry Master Twinkle Light, MagicalCube, Ninja Chop!!, Puzzle Drop: Mountain Set, Space Nuggets, Spot The Difference, Toad Man's Bizarre Quest, Word Duelist and Zombie Armageddon
• Game Videos: Alpha Protocol, Bakugan, End of Eternity, Metro 2033 and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
• Themes: Encleverment Experiment ($3), Super Street Fighter IV Premium ($3) Discount Tires (free), Discovery Life (free) and South Park ($3)
• Pictures: Mass Effect 2 ($1), Super Street Fighter IV ($1), Discount Tires (free, enters you in sweepstakes), Discovery Life (free), Recession Proof Gaming (free, enters you in sweepstakes) and South Park ($2)
• Avatar Items (usually priced $1-5 each): Toy Soldiers

• Mega Man 10 ($10)
• Feeding Frenzy 2 Shipwreck Showdown ($10)
• MAG uniforms (free)
• BioShock 2 Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack ($5) adds a new rank cap of 50, 20 trials, 2 playable characters and 5 masks
• Resident Evil 5 Untold Stories Bundle ($12.50) with Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape
• Dragon Age: Origins Return To Ostagar ($5)
• Grid Prestige Pack ($10) with 10 cars and the Mount Panorama Circuit
• Guitar Hero 5 OK Go Track Pack ($5.50 or $2 each) with ($5.49) "Here It Goes Again," "Do What You Want" and "Get Over It"
• Rock Band/Rock Band 2 The White Stripes Pack 2 ($5.50 or $2 each) with "Fell in Love With a Girl," "Seven Nation Army" and "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You’re Told)" and the Roadrunner Records Pack 1 ($8.50 or $2 each) with "Clouds Over California" by DevilDriver, "Constant Motion" by Dream Theater, "My Curse" by Killswitch Engage, "Aesthetics of Hate" by Machine Head  and "Sleepwalker" by Megadeth - Note: "Family friendly" tracks also work with Lego Rock Band.
• Demos: Feeding Frenzy 2, Mega Man 10 and MLB '10: The Show
• Game Videos: The Eye of Judgment: Legends, Feeding Frenzy 2, FIFA Soccer '10, Gran Turismo 5, ModNation Racers, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes , Super Street Fighter IV and Yakuza 3 plus The Tester Episode 4 and Qore Episode 22 ($3) featuring Final Fantasy XIII, Dead to Rights: Retribution and Lost Planet 2
• Themes:  Darksiders (free), Feeding Frenzy 2 (free), MLB '10: The Show (free) and Atomic Blast ($1.50)
• Wallpaper:  Grandia, Section 8 and Topatoi
• PSP: The Eye of Judgment: Legends ($30), Rock Band Unplugged Lite ($5 for five songs, more available as DLC)and Rocket Racing ($5)
• PSP Game Videos: The Eye of Judgment: Legends,Gran Turismo 5 and The Tester Episode 4
• PSP Themes: MLB '10: The Show (free) and Atomic Blast ($1.50)
• PlayStation Home Items (usually priced $0.50-7.50 each): Final Fantasy XIII, more Indiana Jones and the Luxury Race Box personal space

The PlayStation Move ("they want to move it, move it"!) will launch this fall. The motion-sensing peripheral works in conjunction with another PlayStation peripheral, the PlayStation Eye Camera, which is already on shelves and possibly in your home. The Move, which resembles – well, let’s say a very special microphone - is likely to usher in a new wave of sports, mini-games and family-friendly fare not unfamiliar to Wii owners.

You will also be able to use another device (that we won’t call a nunchuk) to play more traditional games. In other words, when you want to shoot something, like in SOCOM 4. Both the Move and the not-a-nunchuck (they call it a Subcontroller) include rumble functionality and use a Bluetooth connection to your PS3. One small advantage over the Wii: The two Move wands are not wired to each other.

Sony plans to offer three packages at launch:

• Move and PlayStation Eye Camera bundle, priced at $100
• Standalone Move (for those who already have the required PlayStation Eye Camera) - price not known
• PS3/Move bundle with PS3 console, Move and PlayStation Eye - price not known

Sony has announced there will be about 20 titles available for the Move this year. They did not say what will be available for launch, however. The Move titles in development are:

• Motion Fighter
• Move Party
• The Shoot
• Slider
• Sports Champions
• TV Superstars

In addition, some previously released PS3 games are expected to offer Move support including EyePet, LittleBigPlanet and SOCOM 4. Also, some 36 developers have indicated they will support Move including Activision, Capcom, Disney, EA, Konami, Ubisoft and Warner Bros...

But there are some that persist and get daily or at least weekly use. Here are the apps that have lingered and seem worthy of a place on most people's iPhones (prices may fluctuate):

	Twittelator Pro. I've gone through many Twitter clients. Twinkle was one of the first to introduce a method to see what people nearby were twittering, but its lack of updates and ineffective blocking mechanism allowed it to be overrun by narcissistic, attention-seeking teens whose 20 tweets per hour quickly blotted out any chance at community interaction (at least in Seattle). Echofon has a nice, free client but it's been limiting. I tried Twittelator at actor Nathon Fillion's suggestion (he has solid geek advisors, it seems) and promptly broke my vow to never pay for a Twitter client. It rocks. It features flexible retweets, drafts, image previews, the ability to quickly view most types of content without switching apps, multiple account support and a substantial buffer for those busy Twitter days. This is my most used app ever. Price: $5
	Ping! Twitter is great, but there are times when I quickly need to message GrrlGotGame. We've blocked SMS because we don't need the expense and she was getting SMS spam that we were being charged for. Thankfully, there's an alternative that's both faster and cheaper. Ping! uses the iPhone notification API to quickly send messages to other users that you add to your contact list. No one else can Ping! you. We paid for the full version because we wanted to support the developer, but if you don't care about sharing pictures the free version works just fine. Price: Free ad-supported version, or $1 for ad-free and $2 total to add picture support
	Amazon.com. I have saved so much money using this app (also spent so much money with it)!. Whenever I'm shopping for a game, book, movie or music at a retail shop, I whip out my phone and see if Amazon can beat it. It helps that we use Amazon Prime, which means most purchases arrive in two days (sometimes overnight!) at no added charge, just the annual subscription fee. Last weekend I was eyeing the new Penny Arcade 11 1/2 Anniversary book at Barnes & Noble. I whipped out my phone and received it Monday for about $8-10 less. Price: Free, but who knows how much you'll spend using it!
	FX Photo Studio. If you tweet photos or post them to Facebook, this app lets you rotate, crop, lighten and more without leaving your iPhone. There are lots of features I don't use, and it's no Photoshop, but it's quick and easy to use when I need it. I find myself cleaning up photos at least weekly, and sometimes more often. Price: $1.
	Facebook. I still use Facebook daily and really appreciate the notifications I now get when someone sends me a message or replies to my status update. But I am a little annoyed that they recently stopped supporting my Zynga games. Until a few weeks ago, I could collect Café World and Farmville bonuses from my iPhone, but now it has stopped working. Anyway, this is still a good app - but it could be better. Worth having if you're active on Facebook, and the price is right. Price: Free
	Word Search Puzzle. I actually reviewed this app back more than a year ago, and I'm still playing it. The reason? They've added daily challenges. You can access a new small, medium and large puzzle challenge each day. You're timed from the moment you start, and quitting doesn't pause it. So you need to clear 1-2 minutes for the small ones and up to 15 minutes for the large ones. The first time I got first place in the world, you could hear me whoop in the next neighborhood I bet (too bad it didn't last, I ended up around 50th place by the end of the day). Lots of fun if you like word searches. The only negative is that there aren't any multi-screen puzzles. Price: $1
	Jigsawed. This is a recent acquisition, but thanks to the endlerss supply of images available on Flicker and from my own photo albums, it has endless replay value. The only negatives are that the really small puzzles are too hard to play without a zoom and it could benefit from having a drawer to stash the pieces you aren't working with. Maybe we'll get those in a future update, but as long as you stick with medium-sized puzzles you'll do fine. Price: $2

	SpringFling. I mentioned this on the podcast a little while back and it's stuck. The reason? Short gaming sessions, perfect for a little downtime. You use your finger to simulate compressing the spring and making him hop to platforms that are higher up. Some levels scroll, making you have to move quickly. You lose springiness, so every jump counts. Unless you’re awesomesauce, a gaming session only lasts a couple minutes and you can, uh, quit any time. Yeah, good luck with that. Price: $1
	iBlast Moki. A great little time waster. This one reminds me of a lot of one of my favorite games, Eets. Only instead of feeding your character mood-altering treats, you solve puzzles with timed explosions. It's fun with physics! You even create, share and download levels if the main game isn't enough for you. Like they said in Robocop: "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Price: $1, Lite version available

	Arachnadoodle. Peggle would have made my list if it weren't for this little gem. It's sort of like Peggle only with a spider who shoots webs, bounces off walls, connects pegs and traps bugs. It's a little hard to explain, but loads of fun. I've beaten it and keep going back for more. I have no idea - in real life, I'm a bit of an arachnophobe. I just wish they'd make more levels for this. I would buy them, day one, no questions asked. And there are very few apps that I buy expansions for. Price: $1
	Tweet Defense. This game hasn't had time to prove itself, but I can already tell I'll be playing it for months and possibly years to come. So we're calling it an "instant classic." Normally I don't care much for the tower defense genre. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of this, and then I realized: It's like solitaire - but with zombies! (Not literally, it just gives me the same "zone out and play for hours" feeling I get from a solid solitaire title.) You generally have a little time to plan your defense between rounds, and up to 20 zombies can slip past before you lose (I presume, since this hasn't actually happened to me yet). The "tweet" part comes in only to provide bonuses based on how active you are on Twitter - maybe that's why I haven’t lost yet! Thanks, tweeps! Once again, PopCap loses out to a smaller indie game. I probably would have picked Plants vs. Zombies for this slot, which is excellent and certainly worth your attention, but Tweet Defense better suits my need for a little mindless fun. Save anywhere and come back any time to blast, burn and zap zombies. Awesome! Price: $1 launch price

Related articles:

• Bejeweled Blitz
• Rock Band for iPhone
• Skee-Ball, Ramp Champ, Spider, Buckingham Palace, Harbor Master, Dungeon Scroll and Dr. Awesome+
• Wolfenstein RPG
• Which Version? - Peggle
• Flight Control, Treasures of Montezuma, Wolfenstein 3D, iDracula and more
• Payback, Silent Hill, Downhill Bowling, Pocket God and SlotZ
• Jetset, WordSearch and Textropolis
• Poker Quest, Tap Tap Revenge, Solebon, Frotz, Tangram and iBowl - plus other general apps

He features our March 7 show with The Maw review (one of our best!) and includes the whole thing since it's so short (normally he just excerpts podcasts).

He also says some very nice things about Busy Gamer News. For instance, "You will fall in love with the site." Wow, thanks Nick!

You can listen to This Week in Podcast right on his site, or download it from iTunes by searching on "this week in podcast nick" (we're Episode 43) - and while you're there, you might as well give him a rating, right? We're going to see what other little known but excellent podcasts we've been missing...