It's true: Operation: Xbox Customer Support Cares is in full effect. I happened to catch the friendlier (or creepier) side of our favorite support group at the tail end of a mostly scripted conversation about removing payment options on Xbox Live. We read through the usual lines: He gets my information, I explain my problem, John says "OK. The process will take about 30 days," I record the reference number, and then I say "Thanks. Goodby--"

"Oh Ed, just one more thing."
"What's up, 'J'?"
"This has nothing to do with your account or anything. I just want to ask you: Are you Filipino?"
"I am Filipino. You are too, I assume."
"Hehe, yes I am. Eddie BowTEEStuh. So ... You're in California, huh?"
"Correct, again. Where are you?"
"Umm ... excuse me?"
"Where do you live?"
[Slight pause] "Umm ... hmm that's confidential information, sir."

Well, that's not really fair, is it? I didn't see how this one-way conversation could ever blossom into a friendship, so I repeated my goodbye and ended the call. If you're out there, John: Break down that wall. Break it down.

If you're looking for something fun to do over the holidays, I highly recommend playing Rock Band with friends or family (in person). I hosted such a party with friends about a week ago, and we had an absolute blast. Check out the pictures!

Planning on hosting your own Rock Band party? Here are some things you might want to keep in mind:

1.) Microphone Lag: Some TV sets, especially older Samsung DLP models (like mine), may add additional lag to the player vocals. In my case, I found out after the party that turning off the Dolby Digital 5.1 setting in the game significantly reduces the microphone delay, but doesn't completely eliminate it. Find more lag-reduction tips here.

2.) Down Strummer Bug: Apparently, I have the dreaded "down strummer bug" on my Strat guitar but haven't noticed it. If it's bothering you, you might look into getting a replacement from EA.

3.) Neighbors: If you share the same walls with your neighbors, you might want to give them a heads-up that you and your friends will be rocking about through the night, and leave your number in case things get too wild. Hell, invite them over. My party lasted until 2:30 a.m. and I received no complaints at all.

4.) Nylon-Tipped Drumsticks, Mic Stand, Wireless Guitars: A few nice-to-haves.

5.) Say it Ain't So: Good "sing along" song for everyone to get involved.

6.) Singing is Addictive and Contagious: Don't be surprised if someone calls you up the next day asking to come over to sing "that Nine-Inch Nails song."

I'm looking forward to introducing my big family to Rock Band during our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. They won't know most of the songs, but I'm sure they'll still have some fun. If they aren't diggin' it, I have Scene-It too. If they're not diggin' Scene-It, then, well, I guess we'll fall back to the default pastime: Karaoke. [sigh]

I have a strong feeling that a higher power wants me to play games on the PS3. Last week, my 360 stopped reading 360 games. And now, I realize that I've forgotten my Wii (and Super Mario Galaxy) back at my parents' home in San Diego. Wonderful. Hopefully, a quick session of Heavenly Sword will appease the Sony gods.

They won't be happy tomorrow, though. That's when I get my new Halo 3 special edition Xbox 360 console, which I, in moment of weakness, ordered online last Wednesday. The unopened Rock Band bundle in the center of my living room was a depressing sight. Besides, I was looking for an excuse to buy the Halo 3 edition console, anyway--it will look good with my nerdy Master Chief helmet. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with my old console. Once it's repaired/replaced (MS: Send me the damn box, already!), I thought I'd give the console to my problem-prone cousin as a random-act-of-kindness thing. OR, I can make it a community 360, which cousins can borrow and bring to family parties and such. OR, maybe I'll just keep the 360 as a back-up unit, in case the Halofied unit decides to break down. Suggestions are welcome.

Since I didn't have many gaming options this past Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to finally concentrate on the Wii and the delightful Super Mario Galaxy. In the last five days, I managed to snag 71 stars and beat the game--not too shabs considering most of my sessions occured late, late at night when my 1-year-old nephew was sleeping, or between episodes of peppy children's programming. I love games that can be played in both long stretches or quick 10 to 15 minute sessions.

I think my parents are still amazed that I'm still playing video games after all these years. Before he went to sleep Saturday night, my dad (a smog technician / mechanic for the last 28 years) unfolded a newspaper, sat next to me, and asked me a few familiar questions while I slouched on the couch lazily waving the Wii remote and nunchuk at the TV screen:

Dad: How do you know what to do?

Me: Well, sometimes you get clues, or people tell you what to do if you talk to them. Other times, you just explore and figure out what you need to do.

Dad: Ohhh, OK [I can tell he was feining interest.]. Is this what you do at work?

Me: Ha. Sometimes. Wait--What do you mean?

Dad: Do you make these games?

Me: Nope. I'm a manager. I manage people who work on a Web site and manage the content and tools they work with. It's a different kind of content now, actually. I hardly have anything to do with video games anymore. That was GameSpot.

Dad: Ohhh, right. GameStop. You're Google now?

Me: Yahoo ... Oh, and by the way, I also majored in English, not "Computers."

Dad: Ahh. Manager. That's good! [A headline catches his eye.]

Me: This was a nice talk, Dad. Let's have it again this Christmas ;-)

Good News:

* I got an Overkill in Halo 3 for the first time (4 kills in 4 seconds!).

* I'm SO close to finishing Bioshock.

* I like Assassin's Creed so far. I played it for a bit on Saturday.

* I bought the Xbox Live Chatpad which lets me easily respond to messages and rename saved Halo 3 clips.

* Rock Band and Mass Effect come out on Tuesday, and I have Rock Band preordered!

Bad News:

* The DVD drive laser on my Xbox 360 just died today. Um ... Carcassonne, anyone?

Sometimes, buying a game on launch day without a preorder isn't terrible. Take Tuesday night for example. After finding out that my local Toys R Us wouldn't have any copies of Super Mario Galaxy until Wednesday, I managed to snag one of the last two copies from Best Buy before the store closed, PLUS a $25 Best Buy gift card to match the Toys R Us promo. Good deal!

It was a MUCH different story last week on Tuesday when I walked into my local Gamestop just to see if extra copies of Call of Duty 4 were available for purchase. "Did you PREORDER?" the clerk says. When I shake my head, she snickers "Hehe, then not for YOU" and she gives me the ol' preorder lecture capped with a desperate invitation for me to browse through their hefty Preorder Bible. I'm sure you've either experienced or heard all about that stuff, though, so I won't rant about it too much.

Instead, I guess I'll share some random game-related thoughts I've had in the last few months. I'd like to get into a habit of posting such thoughts in a more timely and frequent manner. I know some folks didn't appreciate my last blog post in July, which talked about what happened at E3 ... in 2006.

1.) GameSpot Staff Emblem - Gone! - I knew it would happen eventually, given that I haven't been working for GameSpot since August. Darn, I guess this means I can't embed videos anymore. Let's test that out:

Yeah, that didn't work at all. Ah well, those were good times, man.

2.) Players' Ball - I lost the staff emblem, but I gained a Players' Ball emblem for attending GameSpot Players' Ball back in October. If I were still working for GameSpot, I would have probably played a hand in setting up the show, providing visual security, and tearing down the stations (like at After Hours and G.A.M.E.). But this time, I was able to just relax, chew some long-lasting gum, play Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3, eat some free food, chat it up with friends / former coworkers, and bother Ricardo. It was great.

3.) Reign Over Me - Reign Over Me has a few scenes where Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle are playing what's obviously Shadow of the Colossus on the PlayStation 2, but they kept referring to the game as "Shadows of the Colossus" with an extra "s" and using cheap third-party Xbox controllers to play their pluralized game. Does anyone else get annoyed by these things? How am I supposed to believe that Sandler's character plays video games when the movie can't even get these details right? I'm having enough trouble buying Sandler in a dramatic role.

4.) Take one Xbox 360 and Call Me in the Morning - In the past couple of months, my teenage cousin broke up with his girlfriend, heard about a friend getting shot at a party, and received a speeding ticket. Bummer. My prescription for him: Play video games. I let him borrow my Xbox 360 and a few games to help him take his mind off of things and keep him out of trouble. You know, I think it totally worked. However, I'm a little worried that he chose to play Crackdown over Halo 3 or Bioshock.

5.) Thanksrocking - I want to introduce my family to Rock Band this Thanksgiving, but I really don't want to lug the 360 and all the necessary game equipment on the plane ride to SoCal. So I'm taking the Wii, hoping that Wii Sports or Umbrella Chronicles are compelling enough to break up sets of bad karaoke midi tracks and off-key vocals. Meh, who am I kidding.

6.) Games Update - It's a great time to be a gamer. I've purchased one game each week in the past three weeks (Orange Box, Call of Duty IV, Super Mario Galaxy), so I've got my hands full. I'm planning on renting Assassin's Creed and Heavenly Sword this week. Almost finished with Bioshock. Rock Band and Mass Effect should take up most of my time next week and through the winter. Hopefully, I can still squeeze in some Halo 3 matches here and there.