Comparing feature sets between PSN and XBL has always been a point of contention between fans of either system or even of both systems. So the rumor about 2.40 was very exciting. That excitement and hype was further heightened by Sony confirming that the rumors were true. Now that everyone has a chance to experience in-game XMB, is it all that we hoped? I cannot acurrately answer for ‘we’ but for myself the answer is, no. This is not a MS fanboy rant or rationalization. I do favor the 360 because of it’s community features which the PSN is slowly getting. I do like the in-game XMB, but the real issue is that because I had not been able to easily communicate with people on my PSN list, I don’t really feel the need to now. I just like knowing that I can.

The trohpies sounded great too but only one game has them and obviously it’s not a part of the PS3 spec to include trophy support for games. I really like Resistance FOM, but it will have no trophy support. That seems odd as it’s a game published my Sony. Perhaps Insomniac is so busy working on Resistance 2 that this was a lower priority. Who knows? 2.41 is here, it works but I went without it for so long I fear that I may not really use it.

Basically someone tweaked a Punch-out Rom to enable Bongo support for the Wii. I have four bongos (seriously) so why not put one of them to work. My copy of Twilight Princess should be here this week so perhaps I will be able to try it out for myself. In case you don’t know what Twilight Princess has to do with Homebrew read this article. The full article about the Punch-out can be read at this link.

Today is Bungie Day. Whatever that means. Bungie offered up a “free” map to people who have purchased the Legendary map pack.  The map is Cold Storage which is a remake/update of the Halo map Chill Out.

I have yet to actually buy the full version of the game. Only because I have a working Dreamcast and I own Soul Calibur. Having spent some time with the XBLA trial verison, I will be forking over 800 MS for it. No online play but it’s fun. Bottom Line:Good Buy. I may be giving Namco more of my money in a couple weeks when Soul Calibur IV comes out.

News about this title has been around for a time almost as long as it’s name. I found it strange that it kept getting pushed back(unreleased) when more SFIV information became available. It’s similar to the release of Soul Calibur IV and the XBL release of the original Soul Calibur. How much interest will there be in a flashy remake of a classic game with the impending release of a real sequel? Honestly, alot. I played the beta and I really enjoyed it. The beta is limited to Ryu and Ken but who cares, the matches were lag free. Which is a claim that the previous SF on XBL cannot make. The new sprites(if I can call them that) look great and I finally justified the 800 MS points I spent on Wolf of the Battlefield Commando 3. Capcom has another remake/redo that I am looking forward to as well.

Largribb

I messed around with the Spore Creature Creator trial today. I have been ignoring this game since I first heard about it. Now I find myself very intruiged and actually anticating it’s release. The video above of course shows only my quick and dirty attempt to create a creature but there are worlds(pun intended) of depth with this game. There is something very appealing about spending a couple minutes on a creature and seeing them animate and move in full 3D. If you have not done so, go to Spore.com and get the trial, it’s free and offers quite a bit fun. The demo (misnomer) is $10 and offers the full creature creation toolset. I will most likely stick to the trial but anything is possible.

Being a big fan of Hulk Ultimate Destruction(HUD) I was very excited to hear that the developer of The Incredible Hulk(TIH) was going to be make TIH a spiritual successor to HUD. However good intentions are no match for the movie game curse. The game was obviously rushed and is lacking many of the elements that made HUD so great. I am a big fan of the Hulk character, controlling a ridiculously powerful avatar in a fully destructible environment is a lot of fun. That being said I like this game. But the glitches, like jumping in water and being moved around at random coupled with the game’s freezing issue makes it quite difficult to recommend. Renting or borrowing is the best bet.

I picked up The Incredible Hulk. I have not played it yet. Something is keeping me from opening it. Being a huge fan of Hulk Ultimate Destruction I get the feeling that this may disappoint me.  The Gamestop exclusive, Red Hulk, is real and is not merely a code. Different discs and covers were pressed for this content.