OK, so it's not in English - that doesn't make it any harder to understand though. In a solution harkening back to the old eject and blow method of quick fixes this guy has found a temporary fix for the 3 Red Lights OF DEATH.

Watch and be amazed.

In an age where graphical power and "next-gen gameplay" garner the most hype, more and more companies are attempting to return to their roots as often as they innovate - and gamers love it. It seems like an illogical response. With more titles attempting to reach the highest level of graphical realism, and more consoles aiming at providing the highest level of hardware potential, why are we embracing old titles so quickly and enthusiastically?

Between Micrsoft's XBox Live Marketplace and the upcoming Nintendo Virtual Console gamers will be given the chance to play many of the titles they "grew up" on on hardware that was nearly unimaginable 20- 30 years ago. The general consensus among gamers is "bring it on." There's no doubt that companies holding the classic game licenses are equally excited.

Games like Pac-Man and Pitfall had been relegated to cheap (usually poor) modern interpretations that obviously left gamers cold. A two legged Pac-Man, or a childlike Frogger, seemed to betray gamer's memories in a fashion that rivaled re-envisioned Star Wars flicks.

Give a gamer who is dissappointed with the new Frogger a MAME stick and an old ROM and they're at peace.

Give that same gamer a controller shaped like a guitar and 20 something classic rock tracks and they're equally satiated. You can ditto that response to the newest version of Zelda or Halo ... but why?

Today, Reuters has an interesting story that looks into the retro gaming hits and their current return to popularity. As the article hints, it seems that the "hour to learn lifetime to master" meme is what's driving these old classics.

Sometimes you want to sit down with a game like Space Invaders or Joust and just burn away an hour. Games like New Super Mario Brothers and even Geometry Wars are perfect examples of classic gameplay mechanics equalling contemporary success.

These older titles do something that games really have gotten away from, they let us veg. They're often more engaging than TV (especially when you have 400 channels and nothing to watch) and they appeal to our natural instinct to just play around.

You don't need a four-hundred page companion guide to get the most out of Pac-Man but you do for Oblivion.

I guess that raises another question - what games being published today will we be playing in 30 years? I doubt it will be the games requiring 40+ hours of investment. But I could be wrong.

Is it possible that games like LocoRoco, with its pure simplicity, will stand the test of time while games like Oblivion, with its reliance on "next-gen graphics" and epic storytelling, will fade away?

I've been working hard to track down good software for the GP2X ever since picking it up a few weeks ago. While there is a large library of emulators and ROMs, I meet few of the requirements that make using ROMs "legal." I'm working to collect more information on the legality of ROM usage and such but for the time being I want to limit myself to free and open source software and games.

Beat2X for the GP2X is one of the first fully functional games I've come across that is both well polished and extremely playable. (that's not to say there aren't more this is just the first I found.) If you're familiar with Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero you'll probably recognize the concept pretty quickly.

The game itself is concentrated around music. As the music plays you're shown keys that need to be pressed at certain times coinciding with the rhythm of the song playing. The closer you are to the correct beat in the song, the more points you get. It's an extremely simple yet addictive form of gameplay that has proven its enjoyablity across multiple genres.

On the GP2X the style works great. You'll basically be using the button pad, and in some cases the shoulder buttons, to play along with the music. At this time there are several music packs which you can download as well as instructions on how to create your own.

Each of the mission packs I've played is sufficiently challenging. You'll be happy to find that the more you play each the better you get. Learning the music behind the level is key to getting through it but sometimes you'll find that even a familiar level can become challenging when you miss a beat.

As for expandability, I've got all the current packs downloaded and have been working through many of them. Each has sufficient re-playability and some of the songs are good enough to get you playing a level just to hear the song. If you enjoy games like DDR you'll get a kick out of this for sure. For folks who aren't familiar with the series, or just want to check out a free game, it's definitely a great grab for the GP2X.

There's an interesting post over on Joystiq that highlights a growing need in the gaming community. It's a simple question, what's the difference between a critque and a review?

If you've ever done serious study of English Literature you probably can answer that question. Slowly, the distinction is even creeping into "literacy" classes that are becoming more and more standard in schools.

Where does it apply to gaming though? The simple truth is this, right now the gaming industry has one type of media to which it panders - reviewers. For the most part, it's hard to find true critiques of video games, instead we see simple ratings of a games appeal. Instead of critiquing a game we see a measure of its consumability.

For some time now I've had a longing to do a true critique of a game, I was glad to see Joystiq's article pointing to someone who has actually undertaken such a journey.

I may start doing somthing similar soon.

I own the PlayGear Street and PlayGear Pocket and they're AWESOME. They're strong, they travel well, and the PlayGear Street even holds a few games. I picked both up right before a trip to Florida and was very happy with them on the plane, in the hotel, and at the conference I attended.

At the top of my DS Lite wishlist is a DS version of either of the PlayGear hard shells. GoNintendo recently found what looks like a temporary solution.

While the "Hard Protector Case" as Lik-Sang is calling it, isn't ideal I think it has some potential. It's currently not available in the US but if you're willing to use an importer, like Lik-Sang, you can grab the case in Navy Blue, Light Blue, and even standard White.