Is Final Fantasy XIV the fastest turnaround ever on a so-called "exclusive?" I recall Assassin's Creed being very quick as well. We'll see how Conviction fares, but I suspect that the prospect of making more money with the same product might come into play.

One of the biggest announcements, at least to my mind, didn't take place during a conference - Microsoft announced that it would be offering full game downloads for their system.  I was sort of expecting Sony and Microsoft both announce something on this level, and Sony did in a way - the PSP Go! is a device that almost entirely removes Gamestop from the equation.  Without a UMD slot, the only thing Gamestop gets to sell is the device itself - a contraption which is nothing less than a stake in their own heart.  I'm sure they'll love that.

Our favorite parts of the Sony conference were the Assassin's Creed 2 live demo and the presentation of Uncharted 2, so the recently activated code for the closed beta of Uncharted was more than welcome. 

When they stepped forward with something called a Wii Vitality Sensor, we exploded with rage. Shortly thereafter, the sky cracked and we were reborn in a radiant pillar of divine bliss. The announcement of a new Metroid would have brought me joy merely because I love Metroid, because there is a place in me that Metroid is fitted to. That it would answer the nameless yearning of my heart and posit a serious take on the setting - with Team Ninja at the helm - was entirely too much to bear.

With the Lord of the Rings "brand" reverting back to Warner Brothers, they're taking it for a spin themselves before loaning it out to anybody. The result, as you might already have heard, is Aragorn's Quest: a cooperative action adventure romp for the Wii, manufactured with "kids and their families" squarely in mind. The strip talks specifically about the art style you'll see in some of the screens, a delivery one might describe as being almost incandescent in its enthusiasm, but in general we think this is unexpected and kind of interesting.

Do you play WOW? If so you might appreicate our new shirt.

I have had a bunch of requests for a version of the first panel without text. Here you go:

I'm the kind of Zune fan that doesn't sound much like a Zune fan, the molotov toting aggressor motivated by deep conviction that things can be better than they are.  For the most part reviled, either for having the hubris to challenge Apple dominion or for trying to shoehorn their way into yet another market, Microsoft's device acquits itself well when taken on its own terms.

This is happening with greater and greater frequency: my inability to perceive the game I have read about in reviews.

One of the less talked about powers in Infamous - for obvious reasons - is the ability to deliver a healing jolt, which reinforces your role as an agent of divine justice. Except we're playing the game as bad, bad men. So, if we resurrect you, we have done you no favor.

***Super Update***

We only get a chance to play actual golf together once or twice a year, and even then I don't "play golf" so much as I ransack the snack cart and offer piquant observations. Every time we do end up on an actual course, any time we spend in transit (that is to say, most of the time) is spent embroidering an imaginary RPG entitled Golgolfa: The Ninth Portal. Golf has a substantial number of RPG hooks, and there are a couple games that take their cues from the massively multiplayer context, but Golgolfa has more to do with how a party of characters would manage a course with their complimentary skills and classes.

Hothead ported Braid to the Macintosh, which I thought was very nice of them.  The demo is up on Greenhouse, as is the full version, which I suppose follows naturally.

Lodged in the crags of my unfinished youth is the memory of loading games from an Audio Cassette.

It's my responsibility to remind you all that PAX will be Sept. 4th -6th this year. I also need to tell you that those dates will be here before you know it. So if you want to attend PAX this year you should hit the site and pre-register.

It was Tony Hawk: Ride that pushed him over the edge and into some twisted breed of activism. I keep my instruments here at the office, where additional humans are in ready supply, and the rhythm game experience may approach its theoretical zenith.