Since other media outlets have had to fulfill their apparent obligation this holiday season like every holiday season to recommend what to buy and why, I thought I would join in on the fun, with the big difference with my guide being that I actually own and use all of the systems in question, so I'm not just talking out of a hypothetical butt like some others do. Allegedly. Now here's a bad cell phone photo of my three consoles as evidence (you're welcome in advance for the bikini snow angel):

Since I've had a chance to actually play some games on platforms like the PC, Xbox 360, Wii, iPhone, and PS3 lately, I thought I would share some quick thoughts. After reading, why don't you share some of your own thoughts on those games or some of what you're playing?

I just received an email from Xgaming about their new Xbox 360 adapter. Apparently, there's some kind of legal issues with Microsoft, so you'll actually need two adapters to make this work (including a PS2 adapter). At any rate, at least it's something for folks with X-Arcades who have been dying to connect them to their 360s! It's about $40 for both and $25 if you already have the PS2 adapter.

I was one of a handful of videogame journalists invited to a 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K8 conference call that ended a few minutes ago with producer Ben Brinkman and others. Despite some static (the person who didn't mute did eventually jump off the call, but then the static came back) and technical issues with the conference call (not on my end), I was able to record the full presentation on my Windows Mobile cell phone. UPDATE: Or at least I thought - the phone recorded the whole thing but only as silence, so that's not a good future option obviously. I'll have to use an alternative recording method in the future. I would have uploaded the entire conference call exclusively for the benefit of Armchair Arcade members if it had worked. Even if you're not a fan of baseball or videogame baseball, it would have still been interesting to hear some of the behind-the-scenes stuff (if the recording is made available to me, I'll upload it and make it available).

LAST UPDATE: 20pGaming.com has made the audio available, here: http://2opgaming.com/2008/02/22/mlb2k8-conference-call-full-audio/

As a long time videogame baseball fan, I'm on record in regards to modern interpretations as being a fan of Sony's "MLB The Show" series (PS2, PSP, PS3) since the demise of 3DO's "High Heat Baseball" series after the 2004 edition (my favorite being the Xbox version). I actually liked EA's first version of "MVP Baseball" (Xbox, PS2, etc.), but it never really evolved properly to my liking from there. 2K Sport's "Major League Baseball 2K" series has had some interesting elements, but they never quite came together in my opinion to form a cohesive and fun videogame baseball experience (and its audio-visual presentation was comparatively lacking). Based on the data already released and this conference call, it looks like 2K Sports' "Major League Baseball 2K8" is on a very, very promising track to being a top game, finally, if not THE top game. I should be receiving a review copy of the game very soon (Xbox 360 version was my first choice for the achievements, though it's available for several other platforms including Wii and PS3) and I'll see first hand how it ultimately plays, which is really 95% of what matters.

We were invited to submit three to five questions ahead of time. It seems a lot of questions were focused on technical aspects, though mine, as I always attempt, were more focused on other areas that don't typically get asked...

PRESS RELEASE:

2K Sports Reveals Renowned Lineup of Current and Legendary Stars for Top Spin 3

Tennis greats get back in the game, marking a first for next-generation consoles
New York, NY – February 20, 2008 – 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is pleased to announce the all-star player lineup for Top Spin 3, the industry’s most realistic and action-packed tennis video game experience. The star-studded lineup features today’s sensations, including Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, as well as Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Monica Seles, three of the sport’s legendary players. Top Spin 3 marks the first time these iconic pros have appeared in a next-generation video game.

2K Games is proud to announce that Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™, the latest entry in the award-winning Sid Meier’s Civilization® franchise, will be in stores beginning June 3, 2008. Developed internally at 2K’s world-renowned and award-winning Firaxis development studio, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Nintendo DS™.

To celebrate this release date announcement, new screenshots are now available to Armchair Arcade members, below:

I was wondering how current Xbox 360 owners feel about Toshiba's surrender to Blu-Ray in the next-gen DVD standards war. I see that the price of the HD DVD player for the 360 has been slashed, and will not doubt soon be appearing in bargain bins. Do you think this will give the decisive edge to the PS3 in the high-end gamer market?

Well, my Halo 3 Legendary Edition came today from Amazon.com, which I pre-ordered all the way back in May. What awaited me when I got home from work was one honking huge box...

LifeLine (Konami, 2004, PS2): Image from GameFlyWell, I must say, it's been very enjoyable gaming for me the past few days, despite having limited time to really get into anything at any length. I'm still chomping at the bit to sit down and play MLB '07 The Show from Sony for the PS2, which I've only had time to dabble in so far, and I only just took a few hours this morning to actually do my family's taxes, as well as there being the ever-present 800-pound gorilla ("the book") in my life and needing to finish organizing my videogame and computer collection (adding to many other things).

So, while these are not in-depth overviews, I wanted to quickly and specifically talk about LifeLine (2004, Konami, PS2), the infamous adventure game driven mostly by voice commands, and Jetpac Refuelled (2007, Rare, Xbox 360), the latest ~$5 release for Xbox Live Arcade based on a classic game.