While combing Amazon for evidence of WHENEVER THE FUCK I AM GOING TO GET MY BANJO KAZOOIE DOWNLOAD CODE, I stumbled across this sexy number.Yep, you read that right, a brand-new game for 40 bones, for either PS3 or 360. In these days of games costing upwards of 60 dollars, and even more for the limited editions, I found this price to be particularly arousing. Who knows whether the price will stay at 40 clams until the release (which has been quietly drawing closer), but surely it was enough to make me preorder on the spot. Well-played Amazon, well-played indeed.

I'm sure you've seen it by now, but Infinite Undiscovery is half-off on the Amazon Gold Box deal today. Despite the mediocre reviews, I am always a sucker for deals, so I am probably going to pick this one up myself.

It is safe to say that a large portion of our enjoyment of video games exists completely independent of all else; games have universally awesome traits that we can appreciate without any outside influence. I get personal satisfaction of out completing games; hell, out of just playing them.

Another large portion of our enjoyment of video games, however, is fueled by competition. Most of the time when I beat a game, I am compelled by forces unseen to brag about my accomplishments, or to at least tell someone about my seemingly amazing exploits. If I spend 100+ hours on a Disgaea file, you bet your ass that someone is going to at least hear about it, if not see it. If no one cared to talk about their gaming experiences, then Dtoid would be bereft of all its godly content. If no one cared to read about them, then you wouldn't be here now.

The next generation of gaming has taken this into account and have integrated online networks into their new consoles. We no longer have to wait until we see our friends in person to assault them with our ornate tales of game-dom. We have gamertags that track achievements across all games on the console in addition to comprehensive online services that help one search for and connect with gamers all across the world. We have constantly updated leaderboards that prove as an impetus for pushing the envelope in almost every aspect of every game. We can accrue titles for our library without ever leaving home through brand-specific stores and we can talk or send messages to anyone.

I say "We," but do not really mean it.

Whenever I am visiting a friend with either a PS3 or 360, I am enthralled with how much interaction there is between gamers across the respective networks. My jealousy knows no bounds. XBL is the more streamlined of the two, but they are both sufficient at what they do - once the console is turned on you are instantly connected with everyone else on the network.

Whenever I turn on my Wii, something happening more and more infrequently as of late, I am not connected instantly to a network of my peers, rather quite the opposite; I am just sitting in my room alone playing Nintendo. Sure, I can download a WiiWare title (yea, right) or read the news, but am I instantly connected to ALL of my big N brethren? Of course not. If I sit in a waiting room for long enough I might be able to play in a Brawl against some randoms, but God knows I wont be able to speak with them or communicate with them in any way. The online play features of the Wii suck so dismally when compared with either competitor, it actually hurts.

Much of my recent apathy towards gaming originates as online-envy towards both PSN and XBL; how can the Wii afford to be such an isolating gaming experience while its competitors simply keep improving their connectivity and interactivity between players?

Back when I purchased my Wii, it was pretty much guided (at least in part) by the assumption that ONE DAY I would be able to practice my Jedi arts and master my Jedi weapon. Time has ticked by however, and the badass Wii lightsaber game that everyone knows will eventually come out still doesn't exist. As any Star Wars nerd will tell you, a big LucasArts announcement was strangely absent from E3 yet again.



Of course, the MotionPlus is going to help astronomically. MediaAiLive posted this video a few days ago, and it causes a vague stirring in my pants area. What do you think? Is the lightsaber game finally coming? Or is it going to take another few years? Are you willing to spend EVEN MORE money on Wii peripherals?

Then you are going to have to buy the most recent installment of the Command and Conquer 3 series: Kane's Wrath. The process seems pretty straightforward - buy the game, look for an insert, follow the directions, and WHAM you are in the beta queue. Depending on your location and position in the queue, the download will be made available to you at some point after it goes live in priority order.
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Check it out for yourself: "Within every purchase that contains the Red Alert 3 Beta Key Sticker is a key that guarantees you access to the Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Beta program if you register before September 15, 2008." Every single copy of the game in North America will have a beta key insert, and if you are unsure of your country's participation, make sure to inspect the packaging for an obvious RA3 callout. If it is on the packaging, then it will have the insert.

I haven't played any C&C since Generals, but I am itching to get my hands on this game. So far, the only way to gain access to the beta queue is by purchasing another fully-priced game; I have waited this long, I can wait until it is released.

Jube808 recently posted a video on YouTube showing a PSP with a functional touchscreen, much like an iPhone.



I own both a PSP and a DS, and I appreciate each system for what it does better than the other. When I want a plethora of fun and original games that I can play for short periods of time, I use my DS. The DS touchscreen functionality is near-perfect. When I go someplace and want to bring a bit of music, a bit of video, and a whole lot of homebrew along with me, I take my PSP. I like to think of it as a miniature Playstation, because I mostly just use it to run my old PS games like Vagrant Story and Castlevania:SOTN; I only actually own two UMDs, as opposed to around ten DS carts.

Would the PSP benefit from touchscreen technology? Sometimes my iPhone just pisses me off to the extent that I wish it actually had buttons like a PSP. There is something to be said for being positive that the depression of you finger will result in the actions you intended. On the other hand, I could definitely see them taking full advantage of the technology with a touch-functional XMB, or something like that. What do you think?