I don't think you can use both outputs at the same time, note the switches. But would clean up the wire routing a bit.

Where do you guys usually get new release games? I haven't bought a game since GOW, and never really jumped on anything at release before. But probably want to get Madden next week, plus a lot of games this fall.

I've never really been to CAG before, but just looked there and they have coupon codes for GameQuest Direct, making Madden $53 shipped...? Is GameQuest Direct a reputable outfit? Any other deals on this?

I wish I could get a list of all the xbox games on the BC list that were rated 7.5 or higher

SO much sh!t I've never even heard about or tried

get mercenaries

FPS game?


I'd probably pass unless it had a STRONG online element to it

I think it is Third Person.

Unreal Championship 2, FPS, ranked (87%)

mercenaries is 3rd person. You operate vehicles and its a pretty deep game.

I haven't played the Stranglehold demo yet, it's still downloading, but I've been reading different stuff online on various video game and 360 communities, and I've heard all of the above mentioned just from gamers having played the demo.

One phrase I meant to list in the above post, and one I've seen a lot as well, is the ol' "decent, not worth full price, would buy it for $20 or $30" and then we have the much used standby, "rental only".

Yesterdays update bricked my system. I turned it on, updated and boom, 3 red rings. Coffin will be here in 5-7 days. And I just got MVC2 in the mail

Mercenaries is a third person game as already said, and it is not a typical shooter at all. It is an open sandbox game with tons of different minigames/quests, 4 factions to join, and a fairly big world to explore. Think of it as GTA, only instead of being a gangsta you are a mercenary in North Korea. Mercenaries is pretty lengthy too. If you complete all 4 factions, it will take 20-30 hours.

wow, that sounds infinitely better than what I was expecting. ill check it out tomorrow, thanks

Mercenaries 2 is coming out either late this year or early next year too. It will be set in Venezuela. I can't wait for it.

If you like Mercenaries, you might want to check out Destroy All Humans too. It is made by the same developer and is also an open sandbox game. DAH is not nearly as good as Mercenaries, but it is still a decent game. DAH has you playing as an alien, and you get to to roam around 1950s America.

The thing I really enjoyed about DAH the most is the humor. The basic storyline is that the alien that crashed in Roswell is your brother and you have to rescue him. It is a very funny game. Being set in the 1950s, there are a lot of communist jokes. People will call you a "little green commy bastard" and such. There are also many spoofs on cheesy 50s sci-fi. Cheesy looking robots from that era are common enemies. Oh yeah, and one of your weapons is an anal-probe gun.

DAH2 just came out recently, but I haven't had a chance to play it yet. It is set in the 1960s and of course hippie culture is a big part of it.

I've always wanted to play Destroy All Humans


is the second one on the list as well?

A DAH sequel comes to next-gen this fall/winter. Not surprisingly, it'll be set in the 70s. Mercenaries is a great game. What makes it deep is there's almost an RPG element to it -- there are different factions, help out the US and you'll piss off the Koreans, do missions for the Russian Mob and they'll help you but the Chinese will target you. It's a fun game and probably the best of the many GTA clones (at least partially because it's so different in execution). Calling in airstrikes NEVER gets old.

The Stranglehold demo is amazing I have played through 3 times already, now this is a demo. I can't wait!!!

No

The only thing I didn't like about the "favor" system is that there is no way to permanently piss off a faction. You can blow up an entire compound and that faction will of course be pissed and came after you, but all you have to do is go back to the faction leader, pay a fine, apologize, and everything is hunky dory again.

I played the Stranglehold demo as well. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Actually kind of fun. Its a bit too frentic and sorta repetitive but they nailed the Woo gunfights pretty well I thought. Nice cameo by Woo as the bartender at the end of the demo.

Oh yeah, this game is violent as fuck.

HDMI on premiums, but not on cores, according to one Microsoft rep.

News keeps getting better and better for me. Glad I waited until now to buy. I'll buy in a few weeks probably, and hopefully it's clear by then how to make sure you are getting one of these newer ones. It might be tricky to tell online and I'm likely ordering one of my systems from Amazon. Fingers crossed.

I'd be willing to bet you won't see any of the HDMI ones for a little while, as stores try to clear existing inventory.

Really?
I'll have to remember to download it tomorrow - not enough time tonight.

I am also enjoying the Stranglehold demo. I played it twice and only stopped because I had other things I needed to do. I can see myself easily playing this one more then I played the Crackdown demo and I couldn't pull myself away from that one.

Apparently an "HDMI" logo is right on the box if it has it, so that solves the issue for in-store purchases, but not online.

I figure it's only a matter of days before we find out of the 65nm chips or quieter drives are on these units. Someone will break it open and report on it, even if MS does not.

According to Kotaku, Top Spin 2 is coming bundled starting on Sunday with the premiums.

That's a killer weekend to pick one up here in MA: Price drop, bundle and tax-free weekend.