GAMEFLY CONFIRMS RETURN OF CARDBOARD MAILER INSERTS

Just a quick follow up to last Thursday's story. Gamefly has confirmed to us that "for the time being" they will once again be including protective cardboard mailer inserts with all rentals.

"For the time being, we have decided to implement the cardboard covers in our mailers once again. Should things change in the future, we will notify our customers." – Gamefly support

While they gave no reason for the change, I'd have to assume that it's due to an unacceptable increase in the number of discs being damaged in transit since they stopped using the mailers back in June of 2007. That's just a guess though – absolutely nothing official behind that.

• Gamefly Resumes Using cardboard Mailer Inserts? – nylatenite.com 

GAMEFLY RESUMES USING CARDBOARD MAILER INSERTS?

Last June, I reported that Gamefly had decided (in what was most likely a cost cutting move) to cease using protective cardboard inserts in their mailers. While I wasn't particularly fond of that decision, I will admit that I never received a damaged game from the company when the insert wasn't present.

Apparently, something with that plan didn't quite work out as they envisioned. Over the last week, I've noticed that the company has begun including that protective insert with rentals once more. I can only assume that they found that the increase in the number of damaged discs received when the insert wasn't present outweighed any savings they were seeing from the lighter weight of the packaging.

I've shot an e-mail off to Gamefly seeing if I can get some more information on the insert's return, specifically whether or not this is a permanent change. I'll be sure to report back once I've received an answer. 

• Gamefly Confirms Missing Cardboard Inserts – nylatenite.com
• Gamefly stops using protective cardboard mailers? – nylatenite.com

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE EYE OF JUDGMENT’S PROBLEMS

I'd like to take a moment to talk about the situation surrounding Sony's The Eye of Judgment and the use of photocopied cards in online play. A lot has been said on the internet about how the "pirating" of cards could well kill any chance for future expansion sets for Eye.

I'm going to take a bit of a counter-point stance here. I'm not saying the photocopying of cards is acceptable – it's not. Part of the balance of a game like The Eye of Judgment is that not every card is available to every player. You can make the argument that the game then winds up catering to the "rich kid", but I'd bet that even that rich kid doesn't have every single card.

You see, while the problem of card copying is certainly real and a concern, what I want to talk about is how much of this entire issue is due to a lack of thought and follow through on the part of Sony and it's partners. While there would always be a percentage of users who would try to find a way to beat the system, the problem certainly wouldn't be as prevalent if not for the following points.

1. Security: 
1. For all the times Sony went on record as saying the card coding was secure and there would be no way to "copy" cards, the fact that on the very first day of release, a photocopy of a low-resolution scan of a card proved to work just as well as an original shows that, like so many other games in the current generation, no one really tested anything. Seriously, how much testing went into the security of this game when scans, photocopies and even hand-drawn copies of cards are working just as well as the originals. What did you think was going to happen when you price your cards at a premium and then make bootlegging this easy? This leads us into my second point…
2. Greed: 
1. In many ways, Sony, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are now reaping the "rewards" of their greed. To begin with, the cards are priced at $3.99 for a booster pack of 8 cards or $14.99 for a pre-built "Starter-Deck" of 30 cards. That's well over the cost of other collectible card games, and when combined with the next fact, is actually quite a bit appalling. You see, if my data is correct, of the 110 cards available in the initial EoJ set, 50 cards are Rare, Ultra-Rare or Phantom cards. Fifty… 45 percent. This ranks right up there with the worst examples of greed we're seeing in the downloadable content arena. For those of you unfamiliar with the way the packaging for the cards works, that means that in every $3.99 booster pack of cards, you're going to get ONE of those 50 cards. Normally, that's an acceptable thing – except when there are only 60 cards that don't fall into that category. Hell, remove the 30 uncommon cards in the set from the equation and we're left with only 30 "common" cards. If you're a little lost at this point, here's what I'm trying to say – there are more "rare/ultra-rare/phantom" cards in the set than there are "common" cards. That's just ridiculous.
3. Supply Issues:
1. As if that wasn't enough, Sony and friends can claim that bootlegging is killing card sales all they want – however, those of us trying to legitimately buy the cards know another truth… the cards just aren't available. Whether there was some problem with printing or the demand for the game was just far more than anyone expected, you would have to look for a long time to find a steady supply of cards. If you look at online retailers, they have messages like "expected in stock in 1 or 2 months" listed for any of the card packs. eBay is almost barren of any card sales beyond individual commons and uncommons. Shortages like this can push even the most honest player into being tempted by those copied cards because they can't play the game they bought online competitively without a variety of cards. Then only people in good shape right now are those that grabbed cards on day one in anticipation of a shortage or fear that should the game bomb, no more would be forthcoming. (For the record, I've managed to grab all 5 starter decks as well as 5 booster packs, with all but the Wood Swarm booster being bought on the day the game came out. Beyond that one additional starter, I haven't seen packs available anywhere since launch. I've got more booster packs on order, but even online sellers are stating that WoTC is far behind in their shipments.) Here's a fact – if you want to sell cards, you have to have cards to sell.

So there you have it. Whether any of these issues can be solved before irreparable harm befalls The Eye of Judgment's card sales is really anyone's guess right now – probably because there would have to be cards freely available on the market to see if anyone is buying them.

Bottom line? People can claim bootlegging is the biggest danger to the game all they want, but in my opinion, it's the ineptitude and greed being shown on the part of the parties behind Eye that are the biggest problems.

• The Eye of Judgment – Official website 

XBOX 360 CLEARANCE ITEMS AT WALMART

About an hour ago, I went out in search of a store that would have the Wood Swarm theme deck for The Eye of Judgment in stock, and happened to stop in my local Walmart on the long shot that they would have it. While I didn't find the theme deck, what I did find were a few accessories for the Xbox 360 on clearance.

While I can't say for certain that the same will be in effect at every Walmart, this store had the following items on clearance;

• Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote (Microsoft branded) – $10.00
• Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows – $10.00
• Xbox 360 512mb Memory Unit – $40.00

While many gamers won't care about the remote or memory card, the Wireless Gaming Receiver is a nifty little item that will allow you to use your wireless Xbox 360 accessories on your PC.

Bottom line? If you're in the vicinity of a Walmart anytime soon, you may want to stop in and check out the gaming section to see if there are any deals available. 

DIGITALLIFE ‘07 HANDS-ON: THE EYE OF JUDGMENT

After much procrastinating, I’ve finally gotten around to posting my hands-on experience with Sony’s The Eye of Judgment, a hybrid collectible card game developed with the assistance of Wizards of the Coast, for the PlayStation 3.

Since the article is pretty long and somewhat image heavy, I’ve set up the full article on another page so that those of you who have no interest in the game don’t have to deal with seeing the whole story every time you visit the site.

Just a taste of what you’ll find in the full article – you know you want to read it!

• DigitalLife ’07 Hands-On: The Eye of Judgment – nylatenite.com
• The Eye of Judgment – Official website
• The Eye of Judgment Tutorial Trailer – GameTrailers.com

DIGITALLIFE ‘07 – HANDS-ON: GEARS OF WAR (PC)

Those of you who’ve been coming to the site for awhile have probably guessed that one of the games I was hoping would make an appearance at DigitalLife ’07 was the Windows version of Gears of War. While many of the titles I was hoping to get a chance to play were no-shows, I’m glad to report that Gears was indeed playable on the show floor.

Perhaps the best place to start is with this statement… it’s Gears of War. The section of the game I had the chance to play through took me from Marcus & Dom’s escape from Jacinto Penitentiary, through the meeting with Colonel Hoffman and into the battles in the ruins. Through that part of the game, the Windows port offered the exact same gameplay experience as the Xbox 360 original.

So what is going to make this version of Gears worth purchasing? Well, naturally if you don’t have an Xbox 360, this will be your first chance to play Epic’s masterpiece – and Gears remains an experience that should not be missed. In addition, the PC version will contain five new campaign chapters not found on the 360 (and, according to Epic Games VP Mark Rein, due to changes made to Unreal Engine 3 since the 360 version of Gears was released, these chapters will never be coming to the 360)

Beyond those five chapters, there is one other truly stunning difference between the two versions… the graphics. Simply put, if you thought the Xbox 360 version of Gears was a thing of beauty, you haven’t seen anything yet. The game looked absolutely amazing running on the kiosks in the Microsoft Games booth. Everyone I spoke with playing or watching the game could not get over just how good Gears looked. While I’m sure reaching that level of graphics at home is going to take a monster of a system, if you’ve got it, you’re going to see details that truly make the game a visual treat.

Control wise, the game was set up to be played with keyboard and mouse, and after a bit of trial and error, I was able to easily perform the same maneuvers I could pull off using the Xbox 360 control pad. The only place I noticed any kind of issue was when attempting to take cover from a standing position (as opposed to getting under cover using roadie-run). To be honest, I’m pretty sure that problem was more tied to my unfamiliarity with the keyboard controls. Beyond that one complaint, the default scheme worked quite well – though I will admit that should I decide to pick this one up, I’ll probably find myself using an Xbox 360 controller for familiarity’s sake.

So, what else is there to say? The game seemed extremely stable on the demo PC provided and there were no signs of slowdown or glitches evident. All signs seem to point towards Gears of War being a standout title.

In summing things up, my advice to those who have a system that can handle the game – and haven’t had a chance to play through Gears on the 360 – is to immediately add this one to your “must have” list. As I said earlier, Gears of War truly is an experience you should not miss. However, If you’ve already played the game to death on the 360, you’ll need to judge whether or not the five new chapters will justify the $49.99 price tag the game will carry.

The Windows PC version of Gears of War is scheduled to release on November 6th, 2007.

• Gears of War – Official website

HALO 3: INSIDE THE LEGENDARY EDITION

Things have finally calmed down enough around here for me to get around to posting some images and my impressions of the Legendary Edition of Halo 3. Since this post is going to be somewhat image heavy, I’ve set up the full article on another page so that those of you who don’t want to be bothered with more Halo 3 news than absolutely necessary don’t have to deal with a ton of images slowing down your surfing. Fair enough?

A teaser of a few of the images in the full article

• Halo 3: Inside the Legendary Edition – NYLatenite.com

LAZY DAY TRAILERS: HEAVENLY SWORD DEMO FOOTAGE

To celebrate yesterday’s release of the Heavenly Sword demo, I broke out my digital camera and recorded video of the demo from start to finish. Now, before you watch it, I feel the need to tell you that my digital camera, for want of a better term, sucks. I do apologize for the graininess of the four videos below, but it was this or nothing – and I figured those of you following the game who haven’t bought a PlayStation 3 yet would really like to see what the rest of us are playing.

So, without further delay or introduction, check out the below four videos which will take you through the complete, short-but-oh-so-good, demo of Heavenly Sword.

You can also check out the full sized version of these videos at the YouTube links below. Enjoy.

• Heavenly Sword – Official site
• Heavenly Sword Demo – Part One (1 of 4) – YouTube
• Heavenly Sword Demo – Part Two (2 of 4) – YouTube
• Heavenly Sword Demo – Part Three (3 of 4) – YouTube
• Heavenly Sword Demo – Part Four (4 of 4) – YouTube

MICROSOFT E3 2007 PRESS CONFERENCE LIVEBLOG

Well, it’s still a few hours away, so as you can imagine, there’s not much to report right now. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether Microsoft will have some surprise up it’s sleeve for tonight’s address. Will the Xbox 360 see a price cut? Will Peter Moore unveil a tattoo of Metal Gear Solid 4? Will anyone actual read this while I’m liveblogging it? All those questions and more should be answered tonight.

In case you’re wondering about the whole “E3Outsider.com” deal… Back when the site went to it’s daily gaming news format last year, I took out the address as a joke of sorts – you see, the old official E3 website was located at http://www.e3insider.com and since I sure as hell wasn’t going to be invited, I thought it would be a great idea to cover the show from an outsiders perspective – hence the name. While that specialized coverage of E3 never really surfaced, it’s still something that’s on the drawing board here at nylatenite.com, and I figured I should at least get some usage out of my domain registration fee.

That said, we’re now in the holding pattern for the start of our show. Here’s to hoping the comment system actually works.

11:21pm – We’re just a few minutes away from the start – according to G4, there’s a rumor that MS will have a special guest during the presentation…

11:34pm – And here we go – a live band from Illinois is playing the Halo theme music

11:38pm – The band has been going on so long, I think Moore must have gotten lost on his way to the conference.

11:39pm – Peter Moore has taken the stage.

11:40pm -According to Moore, every demo shown tonight will be from a game released this year.

11:40pm – The folks from Harmonix have taken the stage with Moore and it looks like they’re going to demo Rock Band with Moore.

11:41pm – Wow, out of tune singing and missed notes – it’s just like Karaoke night at most bars.

11:41pm – Please, make it stop. This isn’t the kind of game that you can really get a feel for by watching others play, and this “exhibition” is just painful. I envy the deaf.

11:43pm – Thankfully, G4 has cut to a commercial. I guess the press conference has been designed with commercials in mind this year since G4 is exclusively carrying the video feed.

11:44pm – Since I’m watching a commercial for it, I’ve got to ask – does anybody use PeoplePC online?

11:45pm – Some bald guy is trying to sell me his hints on becoming a millionaire. I’m thinking if he knew, he sure wouldn’t be hawking a crappy money-making scheme on G4 – am I right?

11:47pm – A trailer for Mass Effect is now showing – and guess what – we missed it during the commercial break. Moore has announced Mass Effect will be available this November.

11:48pm – This year, people will spend more money on games than music according to Moore.

11:49pm – 2/3 of all third party games are on the Xbox 360. Moore also showed some install figures that didn’t look quite right.

11:50pm – Moore is continuing to push the Xbox 360’s catalog of games as compared to the competition.

11:52pm – Madden, Halo & Grand Theft Auto sold 75 million units in 2004 when they released near each other. Moore drives home the point that you can only play all 3 on the 360.

11:53pm – Video montage of games – PGR4, Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Half Life 2: The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Stranglehold, GH3, Beautiful Katamari, Lost Odyssey, NBA Live ’08, Mass Effect, Fatal Inertia, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Tiger Woods PGA 08, Ace Combat6, NHL 08, Assassin’s Creed, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, The Simpsons Game, Splinter Cell: Conviction, NASCAR ’08, Eternal Sonata, BioShock, Madden NFL’08, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Crash of the Titans (Crash Bandicoot Game), Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix, Bee Movie, Rock Band & Naruto: Rise of a Ninja.

11:55pm – Microsoft’s Marketing Man Jeff Bell takes the stage and announces Scene it! will be coming to the 360 exclusively.

12:00am – Bell is now talking about Xbox Live and Electronic Arts. I noticed they didn’t mention APF2K8 earlier…

12:00am – Bell just confirmed that EA’s sports games (NCAA Football & Madden) will run at 60fps on the 360 while only running at 30fps on PS3.

12:01am – Reggie Bush is brought out to play Madden NFL’08.

12:02am – Bush vs. Bell at Madden. Wow, compared to last year’s conference, there’s a whole lot of fluff going on.

12:02am – Reggie Bush runs one all the way on a hand off.

12:03am – Back to Bell talking about Live. They predicted last year that they would have 6 million members by now – according to Bell, the number is actually 7 million. No word on if they mean Gold members only or both gold and silver. They now predict 10 million by next year.

12:04am – More than 100 games on Xbox Live Arcade by end of the year. Montage of Xbox Live Arcade games coming soon – Bomberman Live, Sonic The Hedgehog, War World, Sensible World Soccer, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Geono, Wing Commander : Arena, Feeding Frenzy 2, Track & Field, Spyglass Board Games, Golden Axe, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter 2: Turbo HD, Word Puzzles, Marathon: Durundal, Poker Smash, Switchball, Tetris Splash, Puzzle Quest & Boku Soduku.

12:08am – Sonic The Hedgehog and Golden Axe will be available today as Xbox Live Arcade games.

12:10am – Xbox Live Marketplace has generated $125 million in sales via downloadable content.

12:11am – Microsoft has signed a deal with Disney where many of their movies will be available immediately on Xbox Live in HD. (Disney, Touchstone, etc)

12:12am – Xbox 360 Elite will go on sale in Europe on 8/24.

12:13am – Shane Kim (Microsoft Game Studios) takes the stage.

12:14am – Kim is talking about Microsoft Game Studios high level of quality. He predicts Forza 2 will break 1 million units by the end of the month.

12:15am – 2 guys from Bizarre Creations have come out to show off PGR4 – and this time, the game includes motorcycles!

12:16am – PGR4 wil feature over 120 cars in addition to the bikes.

12:16am – I hate G4. I really do. They keep cutting away to commercials whenever things get good. They suck.

12:17am – I’ve switched to the smaller feed over at Xbox.com – at least they don’t cut away when the going gets good.

12:18am – PGR4 video ends. Bell is the only one clapping. PGR 4 will be out in September.

12:19am – He’s talking about upcoming games – Fable 2, Halo Wars, Too Human and a new Halo branded game from Peter Jackson (since they aren’t showing them, they won’t be out this year)

12:20am – Here comes footage of Lost Odyssey.

12:21am – Lost Odyssey trailer plays, G4 is still showing commercials. This proves my, “G4 sucks” theory.

12:22am – Trailer ends. no one claps – I guess this is a no clapping area. Upcoming RPG’s – Lost Odyssey, Mass Effect & Blue Dragon.

12:22am – Now on to PC games – Viva Pinata is coming to PC. Kim also confirms Gears of War will be coming to Windows.

12:22am – CliffyB takes the stage – uses Windows Live to connect to a friend.

12:23am – CliffyB has just said Gears PC will have 5 new single player chapters!!!!

12:23am – Gears has a new multiplayer mode (deathmatch?) and new multiplayer maps.

12:24am – Remember the Brumak from the early Gears trailers? (The big creature with the rocket launcher attached to it) – Well, it’s in one of the chapters in the PC version of Gears. I so hope this content comes to the 360 as well…

12:25am – The level they’re fighting the Brumak in looks a little empty – almost like they’re fighting it in a school yard. Maybe they should rename it “The Gooch”

12:26am – Well, at least CliffyB stated that Gears will be available on XP and Vista. None of that Vista only crap.

12:27am – Moore retakes the stage.

12:28am – Sega, Eidos and THQ have signed on for Games for Windows Live.

12:28am – Moore has stated that Epic will be making Games for Windows Live support part of Unreal Engine 3

12:29am – …and naturally, G4 cuts away to a commercial. Back to the internet feed.

12:30am – Games for Windows montage – Gears of War, Universe at War, Blacksite: Area 51, Crysis, BioShock, World in Conflict, Age of Conan, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Lost Planet, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals, Juiced 2 & Viva Pinata.

12:32am – Call of Duty 4 trailer is shown. (One we’ve all alreay seen) – oh look, G4 is still in a commercial break.

12:33am – Some folks from Infinity Ward are coming to the stage to show off Call of Duty 4. New gameplay footage!

12:35am – I think they also showed Earth Defense force in that last montage as JG from Gamer’s Lounge just mentioned it in an IM to me. See what you miss when you watch the G4 feed and switch back and forth?

12:36am – The sniper mission being shown in CoD4 seems to be pretty cool, but it doesn’t seem very free-form. One of those “you have to do this, then that, then that other thing” kind of feeling.

12:39am – Then again, I’d assume that’s what being a sniper is really all about.

12:39am – Damn, no one in this place ever claps.

12:40am – Multilplayer Xbox 360 beta for CoD4 coming. Check www.charlieoscardelta.com for more details!

12:41am – Splinter Cell: Conviction mentioned shortly as an Xbox 360 exclusive.

12:41am – Grand Theft Auto IV trailer plays. According to Moore, both GTA4 trailers were made with the Xbox 360 version.

12:42am – Yeah, it’s official. No one in the audience knows how to clap.

12:43am – Moore confirms two exclusive episodes for GTA4 will be on the 360 by Spring ’08.

12:44am – Ace Combat 6 and Eternal Sonata will be 360 exclusives.

12:45am – Moore is about to show a game that WILL NOT be available on the 360 this year – he figures he can break his promise for this one…. it’s Resident Evil 5.

12:46am – Hey, it got applause!

12:46am – Jade Raymond & company come out to show off Assassin’s Creed.

12:47am – Okay, the jump from a very high building into a cart of hay that they just showed looks like crap. Beyond that, it’s looking very good – especially the crowd interactions.

12:50am – Combat looks good, but the multiple enemy fights seem to fall into the “only one or two guys will attack you at a time” trap.

12:52am – Jade Raymond. I’d hit it. I’d hit it like the fist of an angry god.

12:54am – Halo 3 time…

12:54am – Halo 3 video shown. No new game footage, just an “arm ’em up” scene with the USNC marines.

12:56am – New model Xbox 360 – Halo 3 Special Edition console (no specific details) and accessories.

12:57am – Moore seems to be wrapping this up. He’s talking about the strength of the 360 lineup again.

12:58am – Are we going to see a new tattoo?

12:58am – Looks like there won’t be a bombshell announcement – but they are showing a new Halo 3 trailer – with gameplay footage!

12:59am – Of course, on G4 – Adam Sessler interrupts it AND they cut away in the middle to a commercial. Yes, you heard me, they cut away to a commercial DURING the Halo 3 trailer…

1:00am – And that, as they say, is that.

1:10am – Fixed some typos.

THE ART OF FORZA MOTORSPORT 2: CUSTOM CARS

I’ve been playing quite a bit of Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360 lately, and while the game itself certainly is a load of fun (despite the lack of an in-car cockpit mode – and no, I won’t stop harping on that), the thing that I’ve been the most fascinated by is the incredible custom artwork some players have already come up with. I can’t begin to imagine the patience making some of these designs must require, as I gave up on my first custom paint job attempt after about 30 minutes and only a few shapes.

Perhaps the greatest feature of the game is the fact that the individuals who have spent the time to create these great designs can then put them up for sale via the Forza Motorsport 2 Auction House. Say what you want about the time spent coming up with some of these designs, but I can guarantee that the people who made them are swimming in credits right now and can easily afford to purchase just about any other custom painted car they may see. Doesn’t seem as much of a waste of time now, does it?

As for the rest of us – you know, the ones who couldn’t make a decent design to save our lives, we can spend our time racing for credits so we can also drive around in a car that amazes our friends. Since no article about the custom paint jobs available online would be complete without some examples, I’ve posted some pictures of the best cars I’ve managed to come out of the auction house with.

Click on the below pictures for larger sized images.

I guess the ultimate compliment I can give some of the designs I’ve seen is that I can barely believe they were made using the in-game vinyl decal system. To all those custom car painters out there, I salute you – keep up the great work!

• Forza Motorsport 2 – Official website
• Forza Motorsport 2 Auction House (View Only) – ForzaMotorsport.net

GAMEFLY CONFIRMS MISSING CARDBOARD INSERTS

Catching up on an item from last week’s news, I heard back from Gamefly regarding the recent lack of protective cardboard inserts in their mailers. According to the company they are testing the idea of removing the cardboard inserts when shipping out game rentals.

"Thank you for contacting GameFly. We are in the process of testing the shipment of items without cardboard. We request that you simply return the item as you received it. If we can be of further assistance, please let us know." – Gamefly Customer Service

My guess is this is part of a cost cutting move on Gamefly’s part as many of these rental services report that their biggest expenses are shipping charges. With a little bit of luck, the price increase in our next article means that they’ve decided that not using the inserts just isn’t the way to go.

• Gamefly stops using protective cardboard mailers? – nylatenite.com

FIRST IMPRESSIONS : PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

Normally I wait until the following week to talk about an Xbox Live Arcade, but this week I’ve decided to break with tradition as there are a few things I feel need to be said about Pac-Man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360.

First and foremost, let me say that I love what they’ve done with the gameplay – specifically the “Championship” game mode. If you like Pac-Man, I can just about guarantee you’re going to find something to like in this game. It’s got all the charm of the original Pac-Man with enough twists and enhancements to make it feel “new”. This is one of those rare Live Arcade games that I feel is actually worth the 800 point ($10) price tag. Simply put, unlike so many other recent attempts by Namco to cash in on the Pac-Man name, this one actually does the original justice.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some problems here though. As can be expected, the Xbox 360 controller’s d-pad once again proves that it’s ill suited to being used as a 4-way arcade controller. While Namco seems to have managed to improved it’s response somewhat, when the game is moving hyper-fast and you need to make sharp turns, it’s going to let you down.

While that’s the same thing we’ve come to expect from any of the Pac-Man titles on Xbox Live Arcade, the second problem I’ve encountered is one that I really didn’t expect to find. Every single game mode in Pac-Man Championship Edition uses a 5 or 10 minute timer to control the pace of the action. Unfortunately, when you’re not playing in a competition, what this often does is cut you off just as you were beginning to really get into the groove of the game. Let me tell you, nothing is more annoying than when an arcade game cuts you off while you still have 5 lives left. At the very least, Namco should have included a version of the Championship Mode that wasn’t dependent on a timer. It’s an omission that takes a bit of fun away from what is otherwise a must-buy title.

In closing, I can only hope that at some point we’ll see some kind of (hopefully free) downloadable content that will add this missing mode and make this otherwise excellent game feel complete. Bottom line? I’d call this one a “Buy” for most Pac-Man fans and a “Try first” for everyone else.

• Pac-Man Championship Edition – Xbox.com

GAMEFLY STOPS USING PROTECTIVE CARDBOARD MAILERS?

I think everyone who follows this site regularly knows I’m generally a pretty big fan of the service Gamefly provides, but I really have to wonder what the hell is going on over at their headquarters following their latest move.

About a week back, I received my rental of Dead Rising for the Xbox 360 in the mail and noticed that the usual hard cardboard protective sleeve the games are sent in was missing. At the time, I figured it was just a mistake and that there hadn’t been a change in Gamefly shipping procedures…

Moving right along, this afternoon, Forza 2 arrived in the mail and once again there was no protective cardboard sleeve… what the game did have was a noticeable scratch across the surface of the disc. While I haven’t had a chance to see if the game is affected in any way by the scratch, it’s certainly something that really shouldn’t be happening.

As a long time member of Gamefly, and as someone who regularly buys games from them, I can only see this as hurting their business model in the long run. Why would I want to buy games from them that I know are probably not going to be in anything close to ideal condition? More importantly, given their somewhat slow shipping times, I sure as hell won’t be willing to put up with delays from them when they have to replace games that are scratched and unplayable while I’m paying their monthly fees.

You know, if the added shipping cost of using cardboard sleeves is killing them, then raise the damn monthly rate by $1 a month or the like, but don’t take your core service and diminish it. Better yet, here’s an idea – stop running those annoying commercials during every single commercial break on some channels. Guess what? If I’m watching the show, odds are I saw the first one – save your money for keeping me as a member once I join.

I’ll be shooting an e-mail over to their customer support team once I determine whether or not the game is damaged, and I’ll be sure to report back on any reply I get. For now though, you may want to keep this in mind if you plan on using their services.