I purchased Rock Band the day it came out. Drum kit didn't work right out of the box. Against my better judgment, I followed the included instructions on replacing defective peripherals which ment contact EA and request a replacement. Did this all the same day. For faster service, use a credit card they say. They UPS a replacement and you send back the defective equipment. Sounds good in theory.

It's almost been a month now and I'm still waiting. So much for faster service using a credit card. That is so they can charge you for the new equipment if you don't sent the defective piece back. They give you a month to complete the transaction before your card is charged. Now here's the kicker...

I just got an email from EA saying that if I don't send back the drum kit, they will charge my card. Problem is, I have yet to receive the replacement drum kit. The UPS tracking number they sent shows the the drum kit hasn't even been sent yet!! Below is the email they sent.

"Dear Howard,

We trust you have received your new PLAYSTATION 3 Drum Pads by now and are enjoying the Rock Band experience! However, it has been 23 days and we have not yet received the faulty PLAYSTATION 3 Drum Pads you're returning to us.

To avoid a charge to your debit or credit account, please return your faulty PLAYSTATION 3 Drum Pads immediately upon receipt of your replacement. A charge will be posted 28 days after your request for a replacement if we do not receive your faulty PLAYSTATION 3 Drum Pads.

Rock on, Howard!

Electronic Arts"

I can't tell you how angry I am! Not only have I not received the replacement, they are going to charge me for another drum kit! How F'ed up is that?!

Chances are the demand for the game is so high, they can't spare any peripherals to be used for defect replacement. They want to keep retail product available for the Christmas season.

Just started playing the guitar in Rock Band.

Do you use three fingers and move up and down the buttons or do you use all four fingers. My pinky gives out after a while so I'm wondering if I'm doing this right. Maybe it's me but my hand locks up after a while. Doesn't seem to be the game you can play for hours on end.

I have no idea how you would work all five buttons. I can barely handle four, one for each finger.

Is there a better way of doing this? How are you playing these games?

Both games look awesome, and I plan on playing them both but for now, I can only pick up one or the other.

If you had to make a choice as to which one to play first, what would be your choice?

Yeah, Half Price Books also sells games, video and audio. Their focus is books but they have a bunch of the other stuff too.

Like the "Godfather" game, they will get in new product that wasn't sold it's first time around. Most of the time, these games are $7 or less. I check the stores about once a month to see what new stuff they have.

Half Price books is a good place to find some cheep games. They have a ton of them, unused and shrink wrapped.

I've been playing it and even though it's very similar to GTA, it works well for the era of the Mafia. It runs well on midrange PCs.