mum's the word (a.k.a. There's No Place Like it)

Hmm, nondisclosure agreements being what they are, here at ruxpinplay I can only note that some PS3 players have received invites to the second-wave beta test for Playstation Home. Beyond that, I can say no more. Mum's the word, baby. I certainly cannot confirm (nor deny) whether I in fact have been playing around with it, decorating my apartment and summer home spaces with more potted plants than one would think possible, nor could I comment on what I think of the game zone with its retro-esque arcade games and bowling, nor can I postulate on whether or not I'd actually use the thing to chat (shudder) with players (ugh, interaction is overrated, no? especially when discourse consists of "sup?" and "hello." repeated ad nauseum. But you didn't hear it here.)

what I CAN confirm is that, halfway across the continent from our own PS3 at the moment, I are seriously jonesing for some more Wipeout HD action. Dear god. The beauty of this game is just amazing. You owe to yourself to fork over the (entirely reasonable) twenty smackeroos to download this gem immediately. Yes, one can grumble about the tracks all being HD-updated versions of ones from previous Wipeout releases. But this iteration takes it to a new level of awesomeness. Online implementation is near-perfect and where PS3 ought have been out of the gate. This one is a winner.

And at risk of repeating myself, Burnout Paradise (now available as a download from the PS3 store) is chock full of hours and hours of fun. I don't even mind that, in order to take advantage of its new Trophies support, I have to restart the game over from a fresh game save. Hell, being one of the first to do so, I even set some records on city streets! Of course, someone has already come along and mopped the floor with me, but no matter: I was, albeit briefly, PS3 famous baby. And motorcyle and day/night environments being added to this game make it even more wonderful. Just wonderful. Go buy it immediately.

here comes iPhone

Next up, iPhone's 2.1 update. Don't even get me started on how my iPhones have been doing since that crashtastic debacle 2.0 arrived on the scene. I love how they blame the user with this weak ass "some users who had a large number of apps have had some problems" line of BS. Look, buddy, you built a phone with X number of slots to put apps in, and then opened a store with 3000 applications for sale. Did it ever occur to you folks might, like, you know, run out and fill their nine screens up with 16 apps a page? Especially when most of the apps on the Store are free? Hmm. I hope someone got a good spanking at Cupertino headquarters.

What was my primary business phone was rendered in-frigging-operable for nearly two months and Apple takes this long to get it fixed? Shame on you, Apple! The worst part was you'd then have to go through an eight or NINE hour restore process, and then think everything was groovy, and lo and behold, 20 minutes or 20 hours later, an app would crash, or suddenly your iTunes library would disappear from the device, or some other horror, and you knew you were in a death spiral again, facing another fruitless eight or NINE hour restore process.

If this thing crashes even once after the update, I may just go Newton on somebody's behind. It has not been a good two months, folks.

If, however, Steve & Co. have actually got their act together and set this ship back on course, well, then I'll be all hummingbirds and butterflies, sunshine beams and rainbow dreams. And I'll have all manner of iPhone game reviews to shower upon le blog. You have been warned.

has Trebek been briefed on this fiasco?

I actually looked forward to the new PSN downloadable title Jeopardy! The PS3 has been woefully neglected by the casual play, quiz-show and board-game type games that appeal to those of us who will never, ever, get more than 15 minutes in to any first person shooter story mode before being humiliated in defeat time & again (I'm talking to you, Resistance). I've been jonesing for Monopoly, The Game of Life, Trivial Pursuit, you name it. So when J! hit the PSN for a sweet-spot $15, I didn't hesitate. Pity. Sure, the package is slickly put together, and though it lacks Alex Trebek, the game is a real beauty on the big screen.

I was kind of curious how they'd handle inputting your questions...support for the PS3 wireless keyboard? As if. But. Can you believe they have you pick the answers (er, questions, rather. This is Jeopardy after all.) from a freaking LIST? WTF? They have got to be kidding. From a frigging list? So it turns every question (er, answer) into a race to hit your X button, so you may have the luxury of perusing a list of five answers. Ugh. Anyone with half a brain will be able to spot the correct answer from the losers without breaking a sweat. Jeopardy, reduced to a button masher. Sigh o sigh.

Other bits in miniature: the new sorta-sequel, PSN downloadable Ratchet & Clank looks to me like a side quest they didn't have time to complete before shoving the last game out the door. Not that that's a problem...that game still remains one of the most beautiful, jaw-dropping gorgeous titles in the whole PS3 library. This one is on par, but you can't help feel it's something they ought have included in the original release. Still, cheap! Let's hope more PSN goodies like this rain down upon us.

I'm kind of surprised to find that games I just knew I'd happily be shelling out $60 for (hello, Soul Caliber IV and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift) have become less likelies. And those are games I've been eagerly awaiting. Sixty dollars is just so high a price point. I remember the days of PS2 when I might gamble on a game if it was $30-40. Fat chance of that at sixty. So many Blu-Ray games have paled in fun & replay value when held up to the recent exhilirating, creative crop of PSN downloadables. If I can fork over a $20 (or considerably less!) instead of three times that much, AND have three times as much fun, well, that's a trend I can get behind. That said, sure, I'm getting the new Motorstorm. I mean, who am I kidding? The demo is so hot. But only one level for the 700 MB demo? Weak. And of course, Little Big Planet is practically required for any serious PS3 owner. Beyond those, though? I'm keeping my remaining dough for PSN goodies. It's been a bumper crop this season.

And yes, PSN downloadables Pixeljunk Eden and The Last Guy are really, really, really that wonderful. You should go buy them immediately. Good luck on the National Mall level though! Those damned bugs are wicked hard to get past with your thousand survivors.

Hell, I've even finally started playing Loco Roco Cocoreccho which I've had for ages. There's a lot of good stuff on that PSN, boys. Poke around.

p.s. Added reason to heart PSN: unlike my dwindling PS3 library (eBay, take these duds away!), once you buy a PSN game, you're stuck with it. Grow cozy in your walled garden, Sony purrs. Sleeeeep.