Nice.  Now I just need to play the first one that I just bought from CaptCaveman a couple weeks ago.

Well it looks like you can still go through the single player game co-op.  That's all I wanted really.

Not on your LAN.

But when you really think about it... Who the fuck cares? LAN was great when we didn't have broadband. It's also awesome if you're willing to lug your stupid computer around all over the place. But HG:L runs on closed servers and we have free online multiplayer that's every bit as robust as Diablo II. So why even bother with LAN?

That's some nice PR work there, boys.  They all say, "doh."  Seriously, he has a decent point about LANs and their waning appeal.  But you'd think the PR guy would have a little more tact than swearing as a public respresentative of a company (and awkward usage at that).  Also, my computer is not stupid.  I am OUTRAGED!

However, this whole pricing scheme just seems rather ridiculous.  They want me to pay $10 a month for BattleNet?  My interest in this game has tanked.

Everytime there's an update to WMP11 or the 360 the console stops seeing my PC.  The PC sees the 360 just fine.  I have to go through the entire troubleshooting process each f'in time.  I mean I'm even using two MS products to do the share and they can't communicate well.  And, yes, my ports are wide open on my router.   

Installed fine for me... the media blade now shows folders from your PC shares, which is nice... no more 100+ item lists.  Haven't had a chance to try the updated codec support... I will sometime this evening.

Wait...really?!  BAM!  That is excellent news.  Now I just need to fix my connection which seems to break everytime a WMP11 or dashboard update occurs.

I think these map packs are overpriced.  If they were coming in at 400 points I'd be all over them.  800 is a pass on both GoW and these.

So strippers and anyone who goes to the establishments are responsible for sexual assault now?  Yay for the Puritans!  What a terrible law.  Next up they pass one tol be sure that all naughty bits are covered up on art.  If it weren't for the weather and no state income tax I would've been out of this Bible belt nightmare of a state a long time ago.

From the GH forums (stolen from QT3 and cross-posted on OO):

So, the latest shipments to hit stores are in new, better boxes with a printed two-piece box with a top lid that lifts off rather than the first shipment one with a plain white box that slid out of the printed cover.

Also, I definitely noticed a big difference in the buttons. The first wave guitars I have have buttons that feel stiff with less play that click loudly. I had to return a couple of these because of the buttons sticking. They still tend to get caught or stick if I press them near the edges. A guitar from the new boxes I tried has buttons that don't stick no matter from what position/angle I hit them from and are more '"spongy" with more play and much quieter.

So, pretty frustrating that a lot of customers are stuck with crappy first-run guitars, especially those who bought them directly from RedOctane whose customer service is abominable/nonexistent and refuse to admit they have issues.

No way I'm ordering direct again.

Anyone else have thoughts on the second-run guitars?

I'd still hit it like an a-bomb.

Pass.  These beat 'em ups are mostly nostalgia tinted for me, ATB.  I bought Streets of Rage on the Wii VC and was bored within minutes.  Same goes for TMNT on XBLA.  The games were fun at the time but the mechanics just don't hold up for me these days.

That 70's Show: Season 6

Woot.  I love this show.   

Wow, good luck happydog.

My job is very stable.  However, I'm starting to become more and more frustrated with the environment and am quickly becoming bored with it.  I have been at this job for over 11 years now, though.

[Catan]

Mostly Catan and Psychonauts.  Although I did get a bit of Worms in as well.

C&C3

Awesome!  XBLA is really kicking @ss lately both with games released and announced.

If mine wasn't a gift I would have sold it a couple weeks after I got it.  Part of the problem is that most of my gaming is solo gaming and the other is that the wii-mote controls are so gimmicky and inconsistently implemented that I never feel safe getting a game for the system.  And of course there just aren't many games on the horizon that interest me. 

I will keep it around for those rare new games and for fun when visiting family and friends, but that's about it. 

Agreed on all points.  Both Wii Golf and TW have left me disappionted with the controls.  But I don't have kids so the family element is nil for me.  Hmm, maybe I should sell mine...

After a hellatious while trying to connect games together, we finally got one going (after I lost by 1 pt to moderate AI).

Eddie X, Kathode and I against Elizabeth- the hardest core mutha of an AI- she hated everyone...especially Kathode.

aaannnnnd.....I was able to sneak in for the victory!

I've read a couple reports of many of the problems coming from 4-player games.  I might try deleting and redownloading it as well.  I was getting kicked off of Live last night by this game, too.  I was then stuck in some sort of limbo where it though I was still in the game.  I had to log out of Live and back in to correct it.  Hrm.  Too bad, I was really looking forward to an evening of playing Catan with you guys.  Oh well, Psychonauts was fun too.

Hmm, that would be odd as those two bullet points seems to be standard to most XBLA releases.

I'm up for some Catan tonight as well.  I'll be on around 6 CST.  Also Worms, RB6 and Gears.

Otherwise I'll be playing more Psychonauts.

I'm surprised at how quickly the fervor died down over the GH2 DLC pricing. Did everyone just roll over and purchase the songs?

I thought it was just that people decided not to buy the songs and forgot about them.

That is exactly what I did.

Ditto.

Welcome back!  I think you'll find the same great experience here as you had on GG in the glory days.  Ron and the mods do a top notch job.

Highly recommend OO myself, a lot of GGers are still there, but most of them have moved on.

Agreed.  I frequent GT, OO and QT3 for their unique and great communities.

Not really surprising after the whole corrupted characters problem.  The official resolution was to manually back up your save game folders until the long awaited first patch.

Thinking of selling my human horn

A man of action!

I really haven't touched mine besides a couple times friends have been over.  Wario Ware was amusing but not compelling and the look of the new Zelda game sort of turned me off after the slickness of Wind Waker. 

Also, the 360 and its slew of titles has kept me glued to it.  Additionally a couple of PC titles came out and I'm just too overwhelmed to play average games.  The Spiderman does have me intrigued though.  Sure wish I could download a demo and try it out first ala Live...

But I'm going to go ahead and hold on to it.  I've already made the investment and I just feel like the games will really start hitting around this time next year.  In the meantime I have a great party system where my friends can beat up on their significant others.  A little frightening how much they get in to it sometimes. 

Let's just get this out of the way before it dominiates every in-game conversation.

Anyone got wood for sheep?

No, but I got wood for two sheep!

Just for ewe!

Had a great MP tonight with Dreamshadow, Jancelot and my amigo Quasimodal.

thumbs up totally for this game.

Agreed 100%.  I played a match later with Harkonis and some people from QT3.  Both games were a blast.

The game shares the same relaxed intensity of Uno.  But the trade and robber elements really bring in diplomatic elements to the strategic ones on the board.  It made me remember all over again why it was a big hit at board game night.

In a new and surprising twist I've really been digging alt/rock-country and classic country.  It's actually inspired me to set up my recording gear and start writing songs again:

Cross Canadian Ragweed
Drive-By Truckers
Reckless Kelly
Slobberbone
Steve Earle
The Old 97's
Uncle Tupelo
Willie Nelson

Wow. Good batch of names, there. If you like those singers and bands, you may also want to check out Buddy Miller, Kevin Welch and Robert Earl Keen. They're maybe a little bit more "country" than "alt", but along the same lines.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I've heard of Robert Earl Keen as he's a local favorite.  I'll have to check these guys out on iTunes.  I do tend to favor the more rock focused bands, but I'm not adverse to some quality country, either.  I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakum.  And Hank Sr. just goes without saying.

I didn't see a demo option. Maybe I overlooked it?

Edit: We discovered a technical issue with the trial version of the game and had to remove it from the service. The full version of Catan is still available. The team is working onto fix the issue in the trial version and have it back up as soon as possible, but I don't currently have an ETA. Thanks for your patience.

Hmm, I think I'm getting sick and should go home early.  I can't wait to play this one.

It's Wednesday!   Anyone have Catan yet?

In a new and surprising twist I've really been digging alt/rock-country and classic country.  It's actually inspired me to set up my recording gear and start writing songs again:

Cross Canadian Ragweed
Drive-By Truckers
Reckless Kelly
Slobberbone
Steve Earle
The Old 97's
Uncle Tupelo
Willie Nelson

Also picked up new releases from:
Air
Kings of Leon
Modest Mouse
Wilco (well, it's out in a couple weeks anyway, but I'm looking forward to it)

Yes, I bought mine shortly after you IIRC.  Well the OmniMount is solidly built and blends in nicely with the TV.  The back legs have little pads at the bottom that can slip a little, but they provide adhesive tape to keep them in place as well. 

I can't quite comment on the weight as my center speaker is 5lbs and 5" deep.  It looks like you're speaker is about 10" deep so depending on the load it might be putting more weight on those back legs.  I know that Best Buy and/or Circuit City stocks them.  If it didn't work out it would at least be easy to return it.

Fletch: Jane Doe Edition

Here's a pic

What kind of TV stand is that, how tall is it and where did you get it?  I bought the official one for our TV but it makes the set sit about 5-6" too low.  Annoying as it was expensive.

Jag - I'm not sure how much of a lip you have on the front edge of your TV, but the OmniMount didn't interfere with my Wii bar at all.  It sits even with the top of your TV as it has two small metal pegs that come down to latch on to the front lip.

[Spoiler]

800 points is just for the base game with support for ore, grain and wool resources. The lumber and brick add-ons cost 200 points each.

Spoiler for Hiden:

BAM

I played the demo on my PC and really enjoyed it.  I had contemplated picking it up, but now I'll just wait for the XBLA version with achievements.   

Panasonic S52

I did some research on this topic about 3 months ago.  This player had very good reviews both professionally and on AVS.  It took a little bit of tweaking but it's been great.

Centipede/Millipede is a bundle for 400 points.

Doopri - All Arcade games have a free Trial mode.  I imagine it will be turn-limited.

Pyperkub - Arcade titles are released on Wednesdays.  You should be able to pick it up at the stroke of Midnight on IIRC.

Update:  Catan.

I'll probably get Catan.  I've played it on and off over the last few years and kinda like it.  Is there going to be AI players at all?  If there are it will be interesting to see how they handle trading.

Yup, I read that they did some pretty good work on the AI.  There are various AI personalities you can play against, with more profiles supposedly available for download.

It's from Big Huge Games, aka Brian Reynolds.  He posted some on QT3 a few weeks ago and it really gave me a lot of hope for the AI.

In!  Thurs and Friday are usually bad for me.