G-pinions

So, apparently Call of Duty 2 has a teensy weensy glitch where it erases your save file somewhere during the British Campaign, as a result of making new profiles, or something. No one seems to know for sure. Point is, I have apparently fallen victim to said glitch, and the last week of very hard progress I've attained is for shit. Gone, like so many evil Germans. I can't say that I'm not fairly furious about it either. Also, I thought I was just missing something in the online setup by not being able to meetup or stay with your friends game to game. Turns out I wasn't - it's just an awful, archaic online setup (which sucks, because the online play is otherwise godly). For being such a phenomenal experience in so many regards, this game need a patch like I needs a philly cheese steak (BADLY).

So the Revolution apparently holds another secret. Guesses?

I'm completely enamored with this system. The hardware, the functionality, the Live integration - it's all gravy. The actual gaming experiences are almost secondary to everything else, which sounds bizarre but I think would be agreed upon by most 360 owners. Case in point, I have probably played as much Geometry Wars as any of my full games. I'll end up just chatting with a friend, shooting shit in my $5 download until the sun comes up. The Live Marketplace and Arcade are both brilliant, in fact. Downloadable demos of games I couldn't justify $60 for, trailers of movies I actually want to see, and most importantly, demos of every Arcade game. Almost all of which are completely captivating, and will eventually convince me to spend $5/$10 on them in Marketplace points to be able to play the full versions, multiplayer where applicable, and unlock achievements (more on that in a second). On top of GW, I've already unlocked Gauntlet and Smash TV, both perfect ports and both freshly fantastic for online co-op.

The whole setup sounded like a gimmicky moneymaker when they first started talking about it - and it is - but it's so great because everyone wins. I get the best purely arcade experiences I've had in a decade, relatively inexpensively, Microsoft gets to make some of their hardware losses back, and independent developers get to share their efforts with the world without the hassles of traditional distribution (and hopefully get a small piece of the pie and be able to make more games). With rumors like Tetsuya Mizuguchi making XBL Arcade Games, this could truly have an impact on how and what games we play.

Everything works so well together too. Voice chat is completely seamless, and never stops when you change discs, hop into different games, or walk to the bathroom to expel urine (for that matter). After a notification of a friend coming online or sending you an invite, a simple press of the guide button within ten seconds or so brings you straight to the appropriate set of options to join or respond. Leave bad feedback for someone, and you'll never be matched up with them again. Leave good feedback, you'll see them more often. Hit the guide button and then 'Y' to hop back to the dashboard in the middle of any game, not having to pop out the disc or anything. I could go all day. When you flip the system vertically the lit quandrant of light reorients to match your wireless controller. You can check your controller's battery level from the menu. Oh, and achievements...let me just start another paragraph here...

Achievements! The most fantastic-in-disguise gaming feature in quite some time. Every time you accomplish something special in a game (or something very specific and difficult, like staying alive in GW for sixty seconds without firing), be it Arcade or the full $60 shebang, you unlock an achievement, which adds to your Gamerscore. Said score represents an E-Penis of sorts, and makes you feel good about yourself every time you add a little to it. Some you'll unlock just by being naturally skilled (like myself) and not even noticing, and some inane ones you'll strive for over and over just for a paltry fifteen points (like myself). You may say you don't give two craps what other people think of you online, but trust me it's addicting regardless of your ego. At the least, it's a nice log of what games you've beaten and what kind of gamer you are.

And I'm the kind of gamer who ends columns right in the middle to go play a round or seventeen of GW. I'll talk about the games tomorrow I believe (hint: they're all pretty fantastic).