I posted a rant almost a year ago in which I compared Tiger Woods 2004 to Links 2004. Seeing as Tiger Woods 2005 contains no significant improvements over its predecessor the same rant is applicable here. Even though it’s now a year old, Links 2004 is still a much better golf game than Tiger Woods 2005. Feel free to go back and read my old rant if you’d like to know why.

Tiger Woods 2005 continues to obscure the actual game it's based on, delivering an enjoyable (if light) round of mini-golf. The multiplayer is still a head-to-head, two player affair, which doesn't make sense and further distances the game from its origin. Of course, it's an EA Sports game so all the bells and whistles are there and production values are very high. Contrast that with Links, whose level of polish is pretty middling and whose only memorable feature is an excellent round of golf, online or off. Only one of them takes the game seriously. I wish those weren't our choices.

I am going to try and give Battlefront one more shot today. Maybe playing it with some of my friends will help.

My mailbox was full of requests for a wallpaper sized version of Meow Skywalker so here you go.

I just wanted to agree with Tycho here. I picked up the PC version and it just doesn’t feel very good to me. I’m going to grab a copy of the Xbox version today and give that a shot. Maybe it’s a better console game. As many of you know, I have zero patience for games that do not immediately engage me. If I’m not having fun within the first five minutes I consider it a waste of money and time. Tycho is the one to go to if you’re looking for reasoned analysis and informed opinions. I’m the guy you want for snap judgments and petty complaints. If this were any other game I’d probably be done with it after my experience yesterday. The problem is that I desperately want to like Battlefront. I’m going to spend another day with it, and play a couple different versions before I make up my mind.

Because I think Star Wars is a "neat" series wrapped around a single truly excellent movie, I am not the man you want to come to for the rock-ribbed enthusiast's perspective. Indeed, I'm more likely to suggest a comic like today's. I did pick up the new THX-1138 boxed set, which I like a lot, but I like any movie that implies that things could always get worse.

I just wanted to let you all know that the “Baby vs. Rhino” shirt is now available at our online store. We even have a baby doll version for you girls or you guys who are really fucked up. In case you are wondering what the hell this is all about, check out this comic.

I've got two new articles from Stormy over in the Hook Up section, and I can't decide which one I like better because I love them both so much.

And now, the conclusion of Undisclosed Propensities. For the longest time, Continuity was something I associated with bad flavors and poor manners. It most certainly did not come over and hang out. Hopefully you were not inconvenienced a very great deal by our antics, which have been arrested in the very moment before a holiday software deluge that won't subside for another three months. Clearly, our services are required.

I’m getting lots of mail from people about my Fable post. I’d say it is split right down the middle between people who agree the game is a waste of time and people who really enjoy it. Someone mentioned in an email to me that Fable is the sort of game you either love or hate and I think that’s true.

I was worried that when Fable came out I’d get sucked in and I wouldn’t have time to play Burnout 3 and Phantom Brave. So I’m actually kind of glad that Fable was a huge disappointment.

You'd heard what I have, what everybody has - the first release candidate of Half-Life 2 has been sent to Vivendi Universal. At this point, they'll test the shit out of it and determine if it's ready for retail release. From what I've seen, any other company would have released it already. They're perfectionists is all. Locals have been playtesting it for months.

The penultimate entry.

Enter... the Obsidian Spur.

I don’t think that Penny Arcade is a webcomic. I’m honestly not sure it’s ever been one. For me PA is a diary, and so I hope you’ll all forgive me if I spend this morning recounting a particularly incredible day I had recently.

The saga continues.