What a fiasco. Granted, in the big scheme of things, it's just a game console.

But it's a game console that people have spent hundreds of dollars to buy, and invested hundreds more in games and peripherals.

Microsoft is acting extremely dishonorably, and is doing untold damage to its brand with this kind of shoddy treatment of its customers.

UPDATE: I see from the comments that I have not been clear on what I'm complaining about. Yes, Microsoft is fixing the broken consoles. But the problem is that Microsoft is apparently taking WEEKS to do so. To those readers and commenters who feel I'm being unfair to Microsoft, ask yourself this: If your console had broken down for the second (or third, or fourth, or worse) time, and each repair took weeks to complete, and you kept receiving malfunctioning units back from Microsoft, would you feel that Microsoft had done a good job taking care of you, the customer? Or would you feel that they were doing the absolute minimum to avoid a class action lawsuit?

Posted by: James | December 16, 2007 1:05 PM

I don't know what corner of the universe you have been reporting in, but Microsoft has extended the manufacturer's warranty to three years, is replacing units extremely quickly and has fixed the underlying problem in the latest shipping units.

What gives you the right to make up things and report them as "news" instead of reporting the actual facts?

Hands down, one of my favorite games of the year is 'Puzzle Quest' on Xbox Live. I've spent hours and hours with this puzzler... one weekend, I wasted an entire Saturday playing. I never do that, but it's that good.

I'm totally late to the 'PQ' scene. I'd read a gajillion blog posts praising the title, but the RPG mentions kept me from trying it. I'm not a big RPG fan.

Thank goodness, I got over my stubborn self and gave the game a try. You know the rest: here's my first explanation of 'PQ' and reaction to the game.

A couple of weeks ago I received the press release announcing the Nintendo Wii version of the game; and I politely begged the publicist at D3 to send a review copy. She did, and I played all weekend.

I won't go deeply into the rules of the game. I've explained those to death on here. To simply sum it up: it's a turn based RPG with the battles taking place on an easy-to-understand, but very deep, puzzle board. Like most RPG's, there are spells, power-ups and tons of evil baddies to defeat. It's an RPG for RPG haters (like me).

What I want to do, now, is point out the main features (and my opinions) of the Wii version of 'Puzzle Quest,' in bullet-list form:

• First, the most important part: the gameplay. It plays essentially the same as the Xbox Live, PSP and DS versions of the game. That is to say, it's fantastic... my favortite puzzle game in years.

• The mechanics of the gameplay on the Wii? Not so fantastic. You can use the Wii-mote alone or you can add the Nun-chuck for quicker navigation. Either way, you have to point the Wii-mote at the screen to control the puzzle board. This method requires too much precision and lends itself to making stupid mistakes. After about a half-hour, my arms were aching and I was holding the controller with two hands. I would have preferred to just turn the Wii-mote sideways and play the game like a traditional puzzler or VC title. The Nun-chuck addition makes navigating faster, but overly complicated.

Oh, one good thing, the vibration in the controller when you connect skulls or cast a spell is awesome. It almost jars your sleepy hand awake.

• I didn't expect the Wii 'Puzzle Quest' graphics to look as good as the Xbox Live version, but I never expected them to look as rough as they do. Everything has a jaggy old-school look to it, making it seem like this game belongs on the Super NES (Maybe this should have been a VC title for download?) rather than the Wii.

Compared to other versions, the main playing board is squeezed into the middle of the screen and the counters and spells are widened on the side. I'm not sure why. If this is your only version of the game, you'd never bring this into question, but the difference was very pronounced for me.

• The sound effects are great... I love the clinking of the falling gems; but there's a problem with the music. The music on the Xbox Live version is one of my favorite game scores, ever. It has a cinematic feel that wouldn't seem out of place in a big blockbuster movie. The Wii version has the same great music, it just seems to jarringly silence itself without fading out. There's no gentle transition from tune to tune, just music slamming into a wall of silence. It's kind of sloppy.

So, even though I was a little frustrated by a few aspects of this iteration of 'Puzzle Quest,' I still couldn't stop playing. The gameplay is still crazy addictive and is the true draw for this title.

If you have access to other consoles, I'm not sure the Wii version would be your best choice; but if you only have a Wii, there is no better puzzle game. Just work on your arm strength before playing.

Posted by: Melcolm | December 12, 2007 3:07 PM

... it's an empty box.

Really, I got an empty box that contains a packing slip stating: "Rock Band Guitar, Quantity: 1."

'Rock Band' is now on the top of my "Most Hated Games of 2007" list.

Yes, I said "hate." My nieces would be so ashamed of me.

Oh, and the drum pedal gave me plantar fasciitis. Seriously.

VICTOR COMMENT: Dude, I, well, I don't know, that blows. And speaking of the drums, I'm beginning to suspect that the drums might be the least used peripheral of all time. Seriously, they're impossible to play, a pain in the... foot, and all you can hear while playing is the thwap sound of the sticks hitting the plastic case.

Posted by: Melcolm | December 12, 2007 3:12 PM

The new "Heroic Map Pack" is available for 'Halo 3.'

From Major Nelson:

The Heroic map pack contains three new maps, each presenting a totally different play style. Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something quite new to the Halo multiplayer experience – an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

AND for all you 'Rock Band' members, check out the new "Punk Pack" with these songs:

• "I Fought the Law" by the The Clash
• "Rockaway Beach" by the Ramones
• A cover of "Ever Fallen in Love" by Buzzcocks
(Available for PS3 and 360)