So, it is almost that time of year again. The couple months before Christmas are always big for retail in general and our industry is no exception. This November looks to be one of the most packed months for gaming releases I can remember. With the rest of the new consoles coming out, the next-gen will finally become the current generation. When gaming officially becomes a religion, probably in 2011 I think, gaming X-mas will definitely be in the week before Thanksgiving. October can not end fast enough for me.

There have been a few things to keep gamers occupied in the last month. The game that has been getting me by on these cold lonely October days is Doom on the Live Arcade. Yes, the irony of playing Doom on my 360 is not lost on me. But if you look around online, I am far from the only one dipping into the old school goodness.

Recently Tristan wrote a review for Doom and managed to upset the most dangerous of all demographics: Vin Diesel fans. Oddly, all of the people who actually wrote in were female. Hum.

Dear Tristan,

I have read your article about DOOM with great interest. You are right, it\'s a truly classical game and there are not many people who don\'t know it. And as you can see, even women enjoy it thoroughly. You are also right in saying that the movie was painfully lame. I was among the first to watch it when it was released here in Germany, and to say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. However, it was not Vin Diesel playing the lead but Dwayne \'The Rock\' Johnson. I can\'t help it, but happening to be a Vin Diesel fan, I just couldn\'t get past this slip.

Take care and have a nice weekend, Tristan! I really like that name btw... :-)

Best regards,
Janine

Fellow Vin Diesel fan and reader, Tracy was just as quick to write in with similar sentiments. Although she made no mention of liking or disliking Tristan\'s name. But, it is a pretty cool name, so I assume she just forgot to add that part.

Don\'t feel bad, Tristan, I don\'t really know the difference between Vin Diesel and The Rock either. So, to make amends, I asked Senior Staff Writer and host of the number one Diesel/Rock fan page on the internet, Jeremy Kauffman, for better clarification on the differences between the two distinguished thespians:

Once again, Matt is showing his naivete for the finer things in le cinema. Both are fine actors. Yes, Mr. Johnson, I do smell what you are cooking. And Vin, like Olivier to Hamlet, is the only xXx for me. But, other than their penchant for catch phrases and video game adaptaions, they are truly very different people. For instance:

The Rock\'s face was digitally placed on a CGI monster in The Mummy Returns. Vin Diesel will probably be even less lifelike as Hannibal The Conqueror.

Vin Diesel voiced the title characters in the animated films The Iron Giant and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. The Rock is a living cartoon, as proven in the upcoming Johnny Bravo.

The Rock played a gay cowboy in Be Cool. Vin Diesel plays a straight man in real life.

I hope that helps.

--Jeremy

Well, I may not be a huge fan but I was recently dragged to the theater to see the Gridiron Gang and it was by far Vin Diesel\'s best performance yet!


Shawn wrote a review for the newest 360 accessory, the Xbox Live Vision Camera. One of our readers wrote in with a couple of additions he would like to, well add...

love the article but u left out a lil bit

the vision camera also is used to put players in the game. Called digimask. the first game released was world series of poker. it allows u to take 2 pics of ur face and generates a head for ur character. it works much better than i thought even in low light.

Rainbow six : vegas will also use this feature

also as u play wsop inline it shows ur camera when u bet. the rest of the time it shows ur character with ur digimask head. its great. Didn\'t see u mention this as this is a full retail game and not an arcade game like texas holdem

thanks

Michael

Shawn replied:

Thanks for the added input, Michael. Those features of the Vision camera are cool, and deserve to be noted. We\'ll make sure to include your input in the next edition of our Mailbag.

Shawn

Well, I couldn\'t make a liar out of him. He is our Editor in Chief. And I do get an extra 5 dollars for every letter I include that starts off professing love for one of his articles. Keep sending them in, only 49 more by November 19th and he\'ll have to buy my Wii. (Tax not included.)

Jack Thompson often has a couple of letters sitting in the mailbag. He must diligently Google his own name or something because anytime he is even mentioned on the site he sends us a note. Oh, crap. Your reading this right now aren\'t you.

Regarding Jack Thompson Seeks New Limelight Over Oblivion

Why do you assume I\'m \"seeking the limelight over Oblivion?\" Did it ever occur to you smug, self-righteous gamers that maybe another human being acts on principle, and the limelight is the responsibility of others. I think you project your own shortcomings onto others.

Uhm, no. If we were projecting our own shortcomings the article would have read: Jack Thompson Never Satisfied A Woman.

That\'s it for this mailbag. Keep the letters rolling in. It makes us feel less alone.

Matt \"wish my name was Tristan\" James