I'll be playing through it if for nothing else than to get my money's worth. :)

In no particular order:

Gears of War: It had that wow effect. Everything just "worked." There are those games out there that have great ideas and a great story, but something goes wrong like the gameplay, audio, voice acting, graphics, etc. Gears of War didn't necessarily create groundbreaking video game history. What it did was use the best elements of decades of video gaming and reproduced it almost perfectly in one game. It also took state-of-the-art graphics and created an eye-popping environment that was more than memorable.

Oblivion: The word for this game is "immersive." The creators took a huge world and allowed you to do just about anything you wanted. The landscapes and terrain were breathtaking. The story was great. Like Gears, just about everything worked excellently. I clocked many hours playing this game. It is the oldest game in my library that I have not returned. Even after 300 hours, I have not done everything that I have wanted to do.

Call of Duty 4: The word for this game is "multiplayer." Although the single player was great, the multiplayer is where it's at. I gather some of my best friends together to open up a can on almost a daily basis. I've clocked over 120 hours on this game, which is not very much compared to some, I know. The aspect of this game that I enjoy the most is the way you can almost feel when your bullets strike your opponent. It's an almost tactile sensation that I have not experienced in other games. The audio is also awesome. With a surround sound system, you can sense when someone is sneaking up on you. Overall, this game is quite an achievement.

Rock Band: I have not yet gotten tired of playing the disk and downloadable songs. There's nothing better than cranking up the surround sound, pulling out the mic stand and playing guitar at the same time to some of my favorite songs from back in the day. I'm excited for Rock Band 2 to come out in September.

Grand Theft Auto IV: This game is just plain fun. There is so much to do in this game. I'm still working on the main storyline. I have not even tried multiplayer yet. There is nothing better than standing at the top of a large building with a sniper and picking off drivers on the bridge to see if they crash and flip their cars. The story is great. The world is huge. Considering the size and sheer volume of in-game activities, the graphics are still awesome. It seems that the creators didn't skimp on any aspect of this game. Oh, yeah...and hookers!!

Although Nintendo has there Miis and PS3 is getting (eventually) Home, I still feel as though MS's move in this new direction is progress. It's movement forward. Each console answers the "improvements" of the others in their own way. PS3 answered our achievements and gamercard with their own achievement system. Does that mean their tropies are exactly like our achievements? No. It's their answer to a popular concept on our system.

The 360's new avatars are definitely not just like the Miis. In terms of the maturity "feel" to the 360's avatars (from what I've seen) the Miis seem geared more towards a general audience whereas the various concepts announced for the 360 seem capable of addressing general audiences and hardcore gamers alike. The possibilities with the 360's customizable avatar seem to allow for a more mature choice in appearance.

Judging the avatars at this point seems a bit preliminary IMO.

I don't quite understand what all the complaining is about regarding the avatars and casual games. What's wrong with the avatars? Is it because Nintendo uses them as well? Does Nintendo have a monopoly on avatars? No, they don't. Besides, what do avatars do to your gaming experience? Nothing. Why do you all care so much?

Also, there has been much complaining about the more casual games coming out. Why the complaints? If you don't like them...guess what...you don't have to buy them. It's not like MS is going to stop production of Gears 2 and replace that game with Bejeweled 3. We're still getting all the awesome games that we have been getting.

Note to complaining gamers: calm down. Relax. We'll still get to chainsaw the horde in Gears and cap the prostitutes in GTA. :)