I think you make some good points. It is very difficult to retain the excitement you have for a game when the coverage for it is, well, comprehensive, before and after release. I think that at some point, you have to break away from the hype machine (if that is even possible) and develop a manner to make your own mind up about a particular game in order to be excited every time you start it up. When you think about how much information is directing you to purchase--or not to purchase--a particular title, you wonder how much of your thinking is actually your own thinking.

I bought Halo 3 when it first came out, and I enjoyed playing it, although I had a feeling that it was going to be supplanted by other games 2 months later; but not because it was a game with limited replay value, but instead because there were so many other quality titles to hit the market. I have played it a number of times after completing it, and while I have an assortment of other games to hold my interest, I don't feel like it is "dead" or that it has run its course. There are far too many posts--and for that matter, articles by "professional reviewers"--all over the Internet that herald the deaths of games long before they have actually died, and they are the same people who declare how life-changing these titles will be months before they are released. I also feel that the amount of game hype in the media is a reflection of how many high-profile titles released in such a short period of time. It is hard NOT to feel that Halo 3 has fallen off because of it. But I am also fairly confident that Halo 3 will stay mainstream long after this holiday season is over, considering how long Halo 2 remained enjoyable to Xbox owners.

I enjoy the coverage and information delivered by GS and similar sites, but I draw a line when I feel that the "hype" overwhelms actual news. When I start seeing G4-style reports on games instead of actual, in-depth reporting, I turn my attention to something else immediately.

I'm connected to XBL, and the download occured immediately after starting the game for the first time. Thought it might be the USB hub that they ship with it, so I plugged the guitar directly into the console, and still no improvement.

Sig is true, but I live in the US, so I can't help you with EA's return policy to Canada--sorry. You can check out the "official support site" for Rock Band and see if they address that concern about shipping.

I *should* be getting a new guitar shipped to me in the next couple of days, so I will check back and see if the replacement is any better.

So I went out and dropped $170 on Rock Band because I liked the GH series and I wanted something that my wife and friends could play with.

I open up the box and there's a pink leaflet that says "In the unlikely event that you encounter a problem with Rock Band or any of the compnents included, please visit http://..." I should have seen that as a warning and boxed eveyrthing up again.

But I played for maybe 2-3 hours, and the downstrum on the guitar pretty much bricks. Double-strumming, not registering, whatever. It's broken. And no, I'm not some heavy-handed putz who smashes every note with impunity. "In Bloom" on medium difficulty is NOT even close to most of the medium sets on GH 1 or 2.

I go to the website and fill out the customer service form for replacement, and thankfully EA is doing the legwork with a 2-day shipping (supposedly) for my guitar, and they even offer an "express" method of replacement.

My question is, they have this sleek customer replacement website up, with an "express" method of shipping available, but they script their leaflet to say, "In the unlikely event that..." Really? Unlikely? Seems to me that they knew something would be wrong with their peripherals. What a bunch of crap. Thanks, EA, for shipping a wear and tear product that doesn't take wear and tear. I could see the drums needing to be swapped out after some abuse, but the STRUM BAR?:x

The "unlikely events" of RB peripherals seem more and more likely now that I've gone through and read threads on Joystiq, etc. If you pay that much money for something like this, it'd better last a hell of a lot longer than 3 hours.

sephiroth ftw because hes cool and his signature move Meteorsavagestinger

I STILL HAVE'nt beaten ruby weapon. its the hardest. then ozma bcus he gets u with bad breath. the easiest boss is omega(ff10) unless u try to beat him in the arena. eztarg8

FFVII: Ruby and Emerald Weapon
FFVIII: Omega Weapon
FFIX: Ozma
FFX: Nemesis