This week editor Stephen Totilo was out on vacation, but we still brought you the latest in the world of gaming:

* Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s product management director for Xbox 360 and XBL, admitted to Patrick Klepek that the negative reaction to the XBL delisting policies was their fault, and they’re “not happy with the ability to find content” on Xbox Live. Greenberg also gave details about their first-party XBLA studio.

* Speaking at the 2008 Games for Change festival, Microsoft’s XNA general manager Chris Satchell said the development platform can help game designers change the world.

* Satchell later told me that Xbox Live users are ready for games about social change and that XNA won’t run into the same interface issues as XBLA.

* Also at Games for Change, Naughty Dog lead designer Richard Lemarchand said games could be as great as Charles Dickens novels.

* As the final keynote speaker at Games for Change, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor spoke about how she thinks young people can learn about politics from games.

* Kojima Productions announced that reviewers can talk about the length of cut-scenes and the hard drive installation times for “Metal Gear Solid 4″ after Totilo broke the news that they couldn’t last week. He had also learned earlier in the week that not all reviewers were restricted (You can watch him talk about the situation on G4’s “X-Play.”)

* Totilo also talked with reviewers about not second-guessing their reviews, even despite death threats and other controversies.

* With the innovation of “Wii Fit,” Totilo thinks that 1983 is coming.

* The Wii version of “Alone in the Dark” doesn’t have the open world that the other versions have, but adds motion controls. Will that be enough to satisfy Wii-exclusive owners jonesing for survival horror?

* The week in “120 Seconds“: See the first two minutes of “Ninja Gaiden II,” “Lego Indiana Jones,” “Death Jr.: Root of Evil,” “Dr. Mario RX” and NES classic “Super Dodge Ball.”

* Before he took off, Totilo got his hands on “Spore’”s creature creator and revealed that “Dead Space” developers are testing the game on standard TVs as well and that “Far Cry 2“’s easy mode can be played with one hand.

* After learning that “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” is easier than “Guitar Hero III,” Klepek wondered is “Rock Band” too hard?

* A producer of “Lego Indiana Jones” revealed that the “Temple of Doom” was the toughest to make, and that another “Lego Indy” game could be possible.

* Klepek got his hands on XBLA release “Roogoo” and discovered that the developers found another way to make dropping colored blocks fun.

* To get ready for “Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff,” Klepek played every other existing version of “Tecmo Bowl.”

* Metallica confirms that “Guitar Hero: Metallica” is real on their official website.

* Klepek reminisces about “Deus Ex,” available on GameTap this week.

* The vice president of MTV News asks: Where are all the surfing games?

* MTV intern Sam Cadet said he thinks that co-op modes can convert genre snobs (and he has proof).

* Black Eyed Peas member Taboo talks about playing Vega in the upcoming “Street Fighter” film “Legend of Chun-Li.”

* After we revealed “Fatal Inertia EX,” Klepek gives his take on it after getting his hands on the game.

* On a financial call, Take-Two Interactive said they were “possibly” interested in developing music games, but nothing is planned at the moment.

* Without any new levels, are you already bored with “Boom Blox”? Klepek is.

* In his weekly column about gaming in San Francisco, Klepek tells us about the interesting drinks he had at a “GRID” party.