Apparently there's a new Tribes game in the wings, but the days where news like that would have gotten a free pass around here are over. The only thing Vivendi's thrall race Sierra could do to get me back in the fold now would be to license Tribes out to a third party I actually trusted. It is my secret hope that the release of any new Tribes title will stir up that ancient enmity between ourselves and the vile TribalWar, as I look back with fondness on our original conflict. When you say smart things that engage the mind and then your opponent says ridiculous, idiotic things that make people dumber just for hearing them, well, everything is right with the world.

After that rush of November games it's hard to know where to invest one's time, but I've found that this is a decision that often makes itself, according to some invisible design. I have many games that I feel instinctively are excellent, like Rygar and Age of Mythology, but excellence alone is not sufficient when quality is so commonplace, as it was a few weeks ago. Here are the games getting played around here right now, by me at least.

Battlefield 1942 is something I need not elaborate on too long. I have paid it the highest praises on many occasions and so it does not warrant further noise on my part. However! The 1.2 patch is, to me, like getting an altogether new game, or perhaps the game that it should have been to begin with. I scarcely care at this point.

I don't remember under whose power this game got back into circulation, but I'm glad of it: America's Army is better than I remembered. I don't quite recall why we stopped, maybe something else came out that we thought would have more longevity, but that apparently didn't pan out. Our two favorite maps from the beta are back in - Farm and Weapons Cache - so that's good, and there's equipment I never expected to be in there like Binoculars that are pretty handy. They make things far away look close, and I think that's a great idea.

Hegemonia is a game I've played a lot of, but I've recently started over to give it a go in the co-op campaign. I've been waiting for my man Pork to get a copy, and now that phase is out of the way we can get to the serious business of blowing things up in outer space. The campaign isn't any different, functionally, we simply have two minds and mice to commit our acts of desperate violence with. Much like the original Myth's co-op mode, the resources available to one or two people are the same - it's mainly a matter of delegation. As it stands, I tend to handle the economy and research, and he destroys civilizations. It's pretty handy, because micromanaging battles and macromanaging a star empire that spans multiple galaxies goes a lot smoother when the responsibility is broken up. We spent about forty-five minutes creating a set of naming conventions for each class of ship, and the final result is nearly two pages. Why even be a geek if you're not going to overdo it a little bit, you know?

Also: I have never felt such joy. Though I may be the only person on Earth who saw Dynasty Tactics as a work of matchless power, Koei has seen fit to make a sequel just for me!

(CW)TB out.

INNERVISION

I talked a couple times last week about home theatre and more specifically my love affair with Monster Cable. I got lots of mail from people with questions about home theatre stuff. I think as more and more games come out with support for things like Dolby digital sound and progressive scan more and more gamers will be beefing up their systems. I don't have time to answer all the questions myself and quite honestly I don't think I'm even qualified to answer many of them. Have no fear though because I know someone who is. After my love letter to Monster Cable I got an email from a guy who actually works there. I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore when I find out that PA fans are everywhere. I have no doubt that many of you have infiltrated the highest levels of our own government and are even now merely waiting for my signal to bring the whole thing crashing down. So anyway, I have been talking to Josh for a few weeks now and we have had a lot of really good conversations about gaming and home theater stuff. The man is a well of information when it comes to that sort of thing and he even gave me some tips on how I could hook up the components I already have in a way that would get me a bit more bang for my buck. I asked him if he would be interested in answering some of the technical questions I was getting and I'll be goddmaned if he didn't jump at the opportunity. So it is with great pleasure that I give you the Hook up. In this first installment we learn about component video and switch boxes. Feel free to send your questions about televisions, speakers, receivers, wiring or whatever to Storm Shadow ( any man who picks cobra's deadly ninja assassin as his handle is okay in my book) and he will answer them as he has the time. If he answers your question on the web site he will also send you a Monster Cable game cable for the system of your choice. Now that's pretty nice of him I'd say.

Those of you who remember the days of Pitfall and River Raid with fondness would do well to check out Activision Anthology for the PS2. The guys at Contraband Entertainment have created a time capsule that leaves the 80's child inside me feeling all warm and fuzzy. Get yourself some Garbage Pail Kids stickers, some Tang and play some fucking Atari games.

-Gabe out