For those who have read or seen Alex's review of Burnout Paradise, it should come as no surprise that the game is a whole lot of fun and packed with excitement. Uno used to be my chill out and chat game, but Burnout has brought a new world to cooperative communication among people located worlds apart.

For the last few weeks--after On the Spot or any other program we can use as an excuse--a bunch of us from the community jump from the chat into an online lobby and complete some challenges in all of their paradisiacal glory (oh, the heresy). When played with strangers, the game is fun. When played with a room of online friends, it is a blast! If you have moved on to some other game since playing Burnout, you may want to spend some quality time with friends and collectively crown your own Sir-Crashes-a-Lot. With the news that Burnout Paradise will be coming to a computer near you, I would imagine even people who don't favor consoles will discover what all of the critical acclaim is about.

While I haven't completed all 350 challenges, I am still looking forward to the DLC that is coming. Hopefully that additional content will give the powers-that-be the excuse we need to get another game night going for Burnout.

Did you see the primer on the new On the Spot page? It debuts tomorr-

Oh, I guess it is now today.

If you haven't seen the designs, go here. You'll thank me later.

I don't really remember half of these cartoon openings, but the ones I do remember were awesome!

If you watch them all closely you'll notice a theme among many of them: hologram technology.

If you want 30 more minutes, click here. Was I the only one who thought She-Ra was disturbingly gaunt?

You'll find out next week in a very special GameSpot video.

I've been getting back into that OCD completionist zone again. Last night on the way home from the office I drove the final stake through Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. I figured with The World Ends With You finally out of my greedy paws, I needed to wrap up my DS game that has long been neglected. While I had gathered just about every weapon, item, power, and unlockable in the game, I hadn't actually finished the game with the good ending. Now I have.

Yesterday also marked some unexpected progress in Two Worlds and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2. Thankfully, Ubisoft fixed the Private First Class achievement for those of us who--due to great progress in the first game--started Vegas 2 in the Sergeant ranks. You may have seen my whiny tirade during a webisode of On the Spot, but Ubi has my sincere thanks as I am 10 points closer to the full 1000. Actually Dave, Eduardo, Dale, and others have my thanks for getting together and taking care of some pesky 6-person multiplayer requirements.

Despite the progress, my completion percentage is a pitiful 85.98. Ugh! To think I was at 87% only a couple months ago. Well, that is the way it works. Not all of the games I enjoy playing have easy achievements. Of course, this is making me want to go back and close out NBA Live 08. *Shudder*

I just found out that since I was one of the first 200 people to get all 12 achievements in Rocky & Bullwinkle, I wil be receiving a free DVD!

Check out this rad PM I got yesterday:

Congratulations on being one of the first 200 to unlock all 12 of the Rocky & Bullwinkle achievements! As a result, you have won "The Best of Rocky & Bullwinkle - Volume 1" DVD! Please respond with your mailing address to receive your prize!