I have downloaded 14 XBox Live Arcade games and demos to my 360. It has been enjoyable to play through the different gaes in order to get a feel for what is out there and the still untapped potential for independent development.

The good news is the 360 is on, btu my wife is playing the Arcade games. She was impressed that she could play the demos instead of buying the games outright. I'm just excited she wanted to play.

The lengths we go to for points. Like leaving the 360 on for eight hours to unlock a certain G.R.A.W. achievement.

UPDATE: After more than 9 hours of offline multiplayer, it seems the game doesn't think I am as dedicated as I need to be in order to unlock the Committed achievement. Perhaps some other time.

Cryptobadger and I posted our podcast for public consumption. Unfortunately, the demand was so high the hosting server has denied service to potential listeners.

With the hosting down from the selected audience, I doubt it could adequately handle any traffic generated from this forum. Hopefully when Podcast 3 goes up next week we can workout traffic issues. No RSS available though.

While my wife is gone to attend her sister's wedding I have been playing two things which have been especially noteworthy.  

Last night I downloaded the demo for Lost Planet. When I first saw the announcement trailer I didn't find it compelling at all. When Greg played it on a recent episode of On the Spot, it seemed a bit more interesting. When I played it last night I thought it was outstanding.

A lot of details in the game are just mind blowing. The snow kicks away when you trudge through arctic drifts. you have to dig stuff out of the snow. You can't run around in sub-zero temperatures forever. People who live in Minnesota or Siberia discovered these truths long ago. Nevertheless, to have an authentic snow recreation in a game is truly impressive. I am certainly looking forward to checking the game out when it is published.

The other game I have been revisiting has been Lego Star Wars. I figured if I want to get the second one on the 360 I need to play through the first one again so I can have a saved game on my 360 hard drive just in case any achievements are dependent upon a previous play. I didn't think it possible but the game seems more charming the second time through than I remembered from the first time.

Now I just need to return my borrowed copy of Tomb Raider: Legend.

Yeah, it's another points commentary.

After seeing Tom and Cliff go head-to-head in Button Mashing I decided to take a plunge and cash in that Microsoft Points card I bought with my router yesterday.

I have spent the better part of my sick day resting, jumping off cliffs in Tomb Raider (darn time trial), and blowing past everyone in my friends list in an effort to take Tom down. Y'hear me Magrino? . . . I think you hear me knocking, and I think I'm going to pass 1,000,000. If I don't that's okay. I'll just try and rent Madden 06 again and up my g***rscore.

What is it with points? Not just Microsoft Points (no, the other Microsoft Points), but these quantifiable measures of accomplishments surrounding games. 'Badger and I addressed that in Podcast 1. The second 'cast is in post-production. I don't want to get all existential or anything since Geometry Wars is playing its lilting theme right now. Nevertheless, the thought of how much value is placed on gaming accomplishments keeps me awake at nights. It is a self-loathing sort of thing.

Why, when I could be doing something more profound and ultimately more lucrative, am I focused on accumulating accomplishments that will be meaningless when electricity is a thing of the past?It don't make no sense.

The Repo Man is always intense.

I finally got the Internet set up and running through our router. The 360 is online and the points are up to date. Perhaps now we will see a more regular updating of the points in between work and school.

Current points level: 4,167 (or -1,833)

If it wasn't for the scratched up Madden disk I might have gotten more PDZ and points.

I just finished the Tomb Raider Legends. It felt a lot like Prince of Persia. I enjoyed most of the platforming. The story was decent. The ledges looked as though they had been pulled from the walls of the Prince of Persia palace.

The stalagtite jumping? Straight outta PoP.

Some of the sword animations looked very similar.

The acrobatics and jumping felt more natural for Lara for some reason.

The guns? Yeah, not out of PoP.

While I am not looking to do a review, I just noticed a lot of similarities. I am not surprised by the similarities considering not only how great Sands of Time was, but also how successful the franchise has been over the last few years.

The inclusion of the quick game mechanics was a nice touch. It gave the cinematics a great gameplay element that would otherwise have been a passive bridge between interaction segments.

At the end of the day, I am glad the copy of Madden I had rented was scratched. It gave me a chance to check out Lara again when I would otherwise pass her by.

Today is the day our apartment goes online.

Look for an XBL update later. Mmmm, more points. That is if I can get the scratched-up copy of Madden I rented to work. Currently I have amassed an hour of disk-read errors.

Today I removed my PSP from my laptop case.

I suppose it is a symbolic gesture that th portable has been relegated to a stationary location. Aside from a handful of titles, the software offerings of the PSP platform are not sufficient to keep the device on the go with me.

While I recently purchased a DS Lite, that device will probably stay where it is. Fire Emblem is a great chaser for my other game playing. While I am still trying to accumulate Achievements on my 360, good gameplay is a necessity.

Perhaps I will pick up LocoRoco when it debuts in the US. What is more likely is that I will simply not get another game for my PSP. It is an unfortunate reality, but I know how I operate.

It was a day of celebration for GameSpot.

Today the 100th episode of On the Spot aired, The HotSpot celebrated its first birthday, and Rich and Jeff finally got their late-night, comedy show schtick locked down.

Thank you for the memories and the quality insights into all the fun games in the world marketplace.

Let them eat cake!