TIN MAN
How come so many limited-edition games are coming out all of a sudden? All the big games this season offer a limited edition. I remember when these versions were actually limited somewhat; now it seems that every other game has a “limited edition” with a fancy tin case or bonus disc included.
 — Kyle M.

We say: If you don’t want to point to DVDs, where a new “deluxe special limited collector’s edition” seems to arrive for the same movie every three years, you can blame it on Halo. The Halo 2 aluminum set featured an extra disc of behind-the-scenes footage, and fans ate it up. To follow Perfect Dark Zero’s sleek black metal casing at launch, now we’ve got limited editions of Gears of War, Viva Piñata, Rainbow Six Vegas…and of course, there will be no less than three different versions of Halo 3 next year. Why? Well, these things sell pretty well, but more than that, fans who have been looking forward to these games for a long time appreciate getting something special to reward their patience. We have to admit, given the option between a vanilla version and a fancy-schmancy shiny edition, we’re a sucker for the deluxe one.


OFF THE GRID
OXM, I have the need…the need for multiplayer. Sadly, my needs cannot be fulfilled. I live in a small backwater town in the middle of South Carolina. This would be okay if the cable was extended long enough for me to get high-speed internet for Xbox Live. With upcoming games like Shadowrun and Crackdown that are dependent on Live for most of the fun, it’s hard for me to go on without it. Not only am I without the joy of Marketplace, but I can’t enjoy any multiplayer at all. To make matters worse, I live too far out in the country to get any of my friends over, who also are without Xbox Live. Once every few weeks (sometimes months), we all get together at one of our respective houses and play Halo 2. It’s a good change from the single-player blues, but it does get annoying being killed by my same friend over and over again.
    My main reason for typing this woe-filled, tear-jerking letter is for advice. I’ve contacted the person in charge of extending the cable to try to convince him to bring it to my area, but he hasn’t returned my call. I’m wondering how to get some hot human-on-human action around here. Gears of War is waiting, and she won’t wait much longer.
— Hemlepp

We say: We feel your pain, Hemlepp, and you’re far from alone. It’s hard for some folks to believe, but broadband isn’t everywhere yet — in fact, a May 2006 report from Pew Internet said that only about 42 percent of American adults had high-speed internet access at home; if we’re lucky, that figure may have hit 50 percent by now. Worse yet, rural areas are always the last in line: our friend Gordon Mah Ung at sister pub Maximum PC points out that it’s not very profitable to lay fiber-optic cable in remote areas simply because they contain fewer people who would pay to use the service. It’s great that Xbox 360 is ready for broadband, but clearly, the world has some catching up to do.
    Three options that might help you: One, check with your local phone company to see if DSL is available in your area. Cable might be your only option, but telephone-based DSL is actually more readily available nationwide (and many Live subscribers happily use it to snipe each other’s heads off). Two, satellite internet service is sometimes an option, although traditionally it hasn’t been too good for gamers due to its slow speed. Third, Gordon tells us that WiMax — which is basically a wireless network big enough to cover an entire city — is supposed to address exactly this problem and bring high-speed access to far-off lands such as South Carolina. However, that’s not likely to come to your area even within the next year. Check out www.dslreports.com/search and see what options (if any) exist for your zip code — and hopefully we’ll see you soon on Xbox Live.


ABSOLUTELY NOT
I just finished reading your Gears of War review, and I have to ask...really? I mean, don’t get me wrong, Gears is one of the best games I’ve ever played, and arguably the system’s first must-have killer app…but a 10?
    Two things keep this game from achieving perfection. One, the friendly A.I. is so-so at best. How many times do I have to revive dumb-ass Dom, anyway? Here’s a tip, Dom: Stop running into that Troika fire! The bigger problem, however, lies online. I agree that the multiplayer modes and maps are great (if a little lean), but no clan option? If I want to play a ranked match with a friend, the game becomes a tedious chore — searching for his gamertag, then sitting for eternity in his room waiting for other players. Fun! Also, in the same issue, you call Doom’s online lobby “fatally flawed” for not allowing you to change the map from within the room. Gears has that same problem!
    These complaints keep this stellar game from being a perfect 10. It’s a 9.5 absolutely, but let’s save that 10 for what it means: absolute perfection.
— Ben Scurria

We say: Who said a 10 means absolute perfection? Not us — check out the first page of each issue’s Xbox Now section, where all the reviews appear, and you’ll see an explanation of our ratings. A 10 is classic; an 11 is perfect, and an 11 will never be awarded. That’s not a joke, and it’s not a cover-our-ass move. We don’t feel any game will ever be truly flawless, and it’s unrealistic to expect one to be. However, we do feel that a game can be so good, so enjoyable when you get sucked into it, that it deserves the highest score we can give it — and that’s where Gears wound up, even with a few flaws (we noted the sketchy plot, for instance). Its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, and they really don’t detract from the compelling experience.
    So, yeah, Ben, you’re right: Gears of War isn’t perfect. It’s just a 10.

GIMME THE KEYS
I’ve noticed that I can plug my keyboard into my Xbox 360 and use it to screw around on the Xbox Dashboard. I tried to use my keyboard and mouse to play Call of Duty 2, but to no avail. I want to know if there’s a setting that will let me play first-person shooters with my keyboard and mouse. If there is, then every time I beat my big brother, I won’t have to hear his lame “Well, if I were playing you with a keyboard instead of a controller…” excuse. Thanks a lot.
— Mitch Eames

We say: You can use a keyboard for more than screwing around with the Dashboard. You can also use it to send text messages to friends, enter claim codes for pre-paid Xbox Live Gold subscriptions and Marketplace downloads, or simple tasks such as renaming your residents in Viva Piñata.
    But for actual gaming, you won’t find that any games have been programmed with that in mind. Just as PC games come standard with a keyboard and mouse, Xbox 360 games are designed, from the ground up, to use the system’s controllers, so there’s no actual reason to use a keyboard for 360 gaming. However, since you can use your 360 controllers with a Windows PC, your brother has little excuse. Next time he gives you any static at all, tell him to just break the keyboard habit and get with the new standard!


GRAPHICAL GRIPES
Let’s see if you have the guts to answer this question: Why do we need the Xbox 360 when it’s absolutely clear that the original Xbox is completely capable of producing next-gen graphics?
    Case in point: The Chronicles of Riddick. This game clearly has next-gen graphics and it’s the best-looking game on the Xbox (not Splinter Cell, as you’ve claimed). Indeed, Riddick looks better than many — if not all — Xbox 360 games as well. Why don’t you give this game the props that it deserves, and why am I the only one asking this question? Do I smell a conspiracy going on? Could it be that Microsoft is just trying to make more money by selling a new system when we don’t really need one?
—Kelley

We say: Remove the tinfoil hat, Kelley — there’s no conspiracy, so we’re not really sure what you smell. And why the focus on visuals alone? For us, there’s much more to gaming than graphics. Xbox 360 brought with it a ton of other innovations — Xbox Live Marketplace, the first wireless-controller pack-in — that had nothing to do with the visuals. So while we’re certainly happy to use our original Xboxes in 720p mode on our fancy modern HD screens with games that support it, we’re just as pleased with our copies of games like Gears of War that prove that, in the right hands, the 360 can absolutely smoke the original Xbox when it comes to graphics.
    And as for giving Riddick love, when haven’t we? OXM has been shouting about this game’s total awesomeness ever since it was released, awarding it a weighty and earnest 9.5 in our August 2004 issue. But even the game’s developer, Starbreeze, is working on The Darkness for Xbox 360. Regardless of whether you’re personally ready to shift to Xbox 360, progress in current game development — graphical and otherwise — isn’t going to stop.

WE FEAR CHANGE
The Xbox 360 is a console of innovation: innovation of games, innovation of online play, and innovation of laziness. The system lets you not only turn it on and off using the wireless controllers, but also remotely open and close the disc tray. My colleagues and I were recently wondering how to make the Xbox 360 an even lazier device, and we decided that if the system had a disc changer, we might never leave the couch. For the sake of less labor, how much would it cost to have a disc changer installed in an Xbox 360?
— Brian Garthoff

We say: We’re impressed with your dedication to sloth, Brian: that’ll look great on your résumé. Hacking the 360 to install a changer sounds like it would result in a lot of expensive R&D and countless new ways to void your warranty. Still, to find out for sure, we went straight to Xbox modding expert Ben Heckendorn, creator of the Xbox 360 laptop we featured in the Holiday 2006 issue.
    Ben’s response: “Is he SERIOUS? I mean, I’ve had (and done) some strange mods for people over the years, but that’s just…yes, really lazy. It’s probably possible if you’ve got a DVD changer system — one of those rotating-platter five-disc deals would probably be best — and replaced its optical drive with the Xbox’s DVD drive. Then you’d have to rig the disc changer to ‘signal’ the Xbox DVD hardware that a disc-swap rotation is akin to a disc-eject-and-retract function, so it would re-scan the disc. But there’s no way in hell it’d fit in the original case, or is something the average modder should attempt.”
    If Ben thinks you’re lazy and crazy, that’s good enough for us. We’d suggest merely putting a little something on the line when you and your couch-bound buddies play: Loser has to get up to swap the game.


THE MOLE TRUTH
Let me begin by saying that I have a photographic memory, which explains my letter. Well, actually...I was cleaning out the magazine rack in my bathroom and your December 2004 issue kind of fell open to an interesting page. In that issue you had an “Xbox 2 Rumor Mole Special.” Right there, on page 14, a Locust Drone from Gears of War stares out at me!
    How could the Mole have talked about so many cool rumors, but kept Gears out of the article? Just the Drone…no caption, no explanation. Very devious, keeping that kind of gold to yourself. I’m watching you, Mole.
— Bryan Walker

The Mole says: You can’t watch what you cannot see, Bryan. I’m part ninja, part subterranean rodent; I move silently, stealthily, and entirely off the record. As for the Gears tease, the Way of the Rumor states that sometimes, you must show what you cannot say. (Also, how about a little credit for calling out PDZ, Call of Duty 2, PGR3, and Quake 4 as Xbox 360 launch titles?)