Plus: ‘Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam,’ ‘Infernal,’ ‘FreeStyle Street Basketball.’

Once a week I’ve provided a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the office and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the day, throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Turok the dinosaur hunter and the dog from “Duck Hunt.”

The Stock Report:

Number of games at MTV HQ: 305
Last three games to arrive: “Mario Party 8 ” (Wii), “Touch the Dead” (DS). “FreeStyle Street Basketball” (PC)
Last system to arrive: Xbox 360 Elite
Last gaming-related item to arrive: “Alter Ego: Avatars and Their Creators,” photojournalist Robbie Cooper’s coffee-table book showcasing photos of players of massively multiplayer games and their avatars (see “Role-Playing Gamers Let Photographer Behind Their Online Mask”)
Last swag to arrive: A bag of sky-blue cotton candy to help promote “Mario Party 8″

Notes on the games we received this week (and last — because we skipped a week):

“Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam” (PS2 - *SISW)
» This game, like “Rayman Raving Rabbids” from the last Stock Report (see “Multiplayer Stock Report: Lunatic Rabbits And ‘Spider-Man 3′ “), was originally a Wii launch title. At the time, its developers described it as a project tailor-made for the Wii: a downhill skateboarding title that used the motion-sensitive Wii controller for steering and tricking and — with a shake — speeding up (see “For ‘Downhill’ Wii Game, Tony Hawk Put Life On Line So You Don’t Have To”).
» The game joins EA’s “Medal of Honor: Vanguard” and Rockstar’s upcoming “Manhunt 2″ as titles that are appearing on the PS2 and the Wii but not the Xbox 360 and PS3. That marriage of two relatively cheap and similarly powered consoles has the potential to bring new life to Sony’s old machine and added support to Nintendo’s new one.

“Shrek the Third” (Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 - *SISW)
» These games are based on “Shrek the Third.”

“Infernal” (PC - *SISW)
» The box for this M-rated game features a man holding a pistol. His arm is on fire. If that means his arm has special powers, then this game could be grouped with last year’s “God Hand” and the upcoming “Devil May Cry 4″ and “Dark Sector,” which also feature power-limbs.
» The back of the box explains that “Infernal” gamers will play as Ryan Lennox, a renegade angel who is up against “Etherlight, Heaven’s own secret agency.”
» Players are invited to “unleash Hell on Earth!” Among the enticements of the “Infernal” experience are realistic physics, diabolical powers and “balls-out gunplay.”

“Mario Party 8” (Nintendo Wii)
» The eighth “Mario Party” in a little more than eight years, this game was covered earlier this week in Multiplayer (see “Multiplayer: Late To The ‘Mario Party’ “).

“Touch the Dead” (Nintendo DS)
» The “touch” part of the title refers to the way players shoot zombies in this M-rated game: by tapping them with the DS stylus as they creep forward on the system’s touch-screen.
» Will there be a game with better box art this year? That’s uncertain. The cover of this game features an encroaching member of the undead. This zombie has a hole in his head just big enough that a bird can be seen though it, flying through the sky beyond.
» Will there be a game with better box copy this year? In an allusion to Nintendo’s popular “Brain Training” DS games, the “Touch the Dead” box reads: “Some games want to train your brain. We just want to eat it.”

“FreeStyle Street Basketball” (PC)
» This is a three-on-three online basketball game imported from Asia and graphically redone for an American audience.
» The game costs $20 to buy at the store but is free to play online. What publisher Sierra Online is also importing from Asia, though, is a popular practice there to let players buy upgrades for their characters. Some basketball skill improvements and wardrobe changes can be earned through continued and successful play. Other improvements and accessories will cost real money. This model of free basic play and paid enhancements is successful overseas. The American publisher Acclaim is building an entire business around games of this type.

*SISW = still in shrink-wrap (we’ll get to them later!)

Once a week I provide a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the office and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the day, throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Dante and Captain Olimar.

The Stock Report:

Number of games at MTV HQ: 293

Last three games to arrive: “Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific” (PC); “Pocket Pool” (PSP); “Sam & Max: Season One” (PC)

Last system to arrive: Xbox 360 Elite

Last gaming-related item to arrive: Photojournalist Robbie Cooper’s coffee-table book “Alter Ego: Avatars and Their Creators.” It showcases photos of massively multiplayer gamers and their avatars. (Cooper’s work was profiled here.)

Last swag to arrive: Same as two weeks ago — a 10.5-ounce bag of Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallows (”a fat-free food”) and a plastic marshmallow-shooting toy gun, a pair of promotional items sent to hype the upcoming Xbox 360 game “Monster Madness.” This box of swag did not include the game.

Notes on the games we received this week:

“Ancient Wars: Sparta” (PC - *SISW)

» It’s rare for a game that I’ve never heard of to arrive in the office. This is one of them. Published by Eidos, it’s an M-rated real-time strategy computer game that lets players fight battles as the Spartans, Persians or Egyptians circa 500-450 B.C.

» Among the six bullet points on the back of the box: “Use powerful heroes with different roles and abilities.”

“Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific” (PC)

» The box advertises this Ubisoft title as part of “the best-selling submarine game series ever.”

» The half-inch-deep game case is stuffed with “Silent Hunter” documents — including a 100-page manual, a foldout guide to how 73 different keyboard keys trigger different sub commands, a reference poster of the 48 ships a sub hunter might encounter in the game, a map of the Pacific circa 1941-45 — and a $5 coupon for the DVD set for season one of the TV show “SeaQuest DSV.”

» This undoubtedly serious simulator of World War II submarine conflict entices players to “hunt, hide and kill across the icy waters of the Pacific.”

» Like “Ancient Wars: Sparta,” this game was not promoted to us here at MTV News prior to its release. Do Multiplayer readers not want submarine simulators?

“Pocket Pool” (PSP - *SISW)

» Eidos may not have promoted “Ancient Wars” to MTV, but the company did showcase “Pocket Pool” during a recent multi-game press meeting in New York. The M-rated game rewards pool players with photos and videos of scantily clad women.

» Among the game’s back-of-box features: “Hustle pros like Margot in dive bars, honky-tonks, mansions and even yachts.” Even yachts.

“Sam & Max: Season One” (PC)

» Telltale Games’ “Sam & Max” episodic-adventure series about a dog and rabbit-like pair of private investigators has just completed its first season — six episodes of a few hours’ length each. This disc compilation is for press only.

» Episodes are downloadable from Telltale’s site (TelltaleGames.com) but premiere first on Turner’s GameTap service. The season finale premiered on GameTap in late April and remains exclusive to that service until next week.

» A little over a year ago, developers from several game studios told MTV News that they were determined to produce and popularize episodic TV-season-style gaming (see “Love Video Games But Miss TV? This Could Be The Answer … “). Since then, only one studio referenced in the piece, Telltale Games, has been able to follow through with multiple episodes. Episode one of “Sam & Max” premiered in October.

» The first season centered around Sam and Max’s attempts to unravel diabolical plots that kept leaving people — former child stars, for example — hypnotized. The games are played for laughs, aiming not just to break ground by being episodic but also by being some of the few games that are genuinely comedic. You can visit Bosco’s “inconvenience mart” to see for yourself.

*SISW = still in shrink-wrap (we’ll get to them later!)

Once a week I’ve provided a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the office and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the day, throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Q*bert and the guy from “Strider.”

The Stock Report:

Number of games at MTV HQ: 290 (a drop from last week; we gave some games away)

Last three games to arrive: “Pokémon Pearl” (Nintendo DS); “Halo 2″ (PC); “Cube” (PSP)

Last system to arrive: Xbox 360 Elite

Last swag to arrive: Same as last time — a 10.5-ounce bag of Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallows (”a fat free food”) and a plastic marshmallow-shooting toy gun, a somewhat ill-timed pair of promotional items sent to hype the upcoming Xbox 360 game “Monster Madness.” This box of swag did not include the game.

Notes on the system we received this week:

Xbox 360 Elite

» The big addition to the library here is an Xbox 360 Elite, the $479 upgraded version of Microsoft’s one-and-a-half-year-old console. The Elite launches in stores this Sunday. (For details on what’s different about it see “Xbox 360 Is Back In Black With Roomier Elite Console”).

» The shipping box we got containing the Elite also included a letter of greeting to the press and a loose copy of the Xbox 360 Migration kit. The kit includes a program disc, a couple of sheets of instructions and a wire for the migration. What’s it for? It enables a one-time-only transfer of data — game saves, Xbox Live Arcade games, videos, music, but not movie rentals — from one of the old 20GB Xbox 360 hard drives to the Elite’s new 120GB one. The document makes clear that the data will be erased from the outgoing drive and that a second transfer won’t be allowed. Who would care about this? People who already own an Xbox 360 with a hard drive who want to know if they’ll be able to jockey saved data back and forth between hard drives. They won’t be able to, and Microsoft claims not to want them to, because …

» The Xbox 360 consumer documentation that comes with the Migration Kit says, “Please be aware that the Xbox 360 Elite is intended for new console owners. Users who desire expanded storage for their existing Xbox 360 are advised to purchase the 120 GB hard-drive accessory [sold as a standalone product] rather than Xbox 360 Elite.” In other words, Microsoft is actually telling owners of the original white Xbox 360 to not buy a second, black machine.

» The Elite is not supposed to play games any differently than the cheaper, original models of the 360. We’ll keep an eye — and an ear — on that.

Notes on the game we received this week:

“Cube” (PSP - *SISW)

» “Cube” is a puzzle game from publisher D3 of America. Like “Halo 2″ before it, it saved the MTV News office from being bereft of new games this week.

» The game box promises “Pure Puzzle-Fueled Pandemonium.” D3 demoed the game to MTV News several weeks ago during a press event in midtown New York. The publisher’s bombastic “Earth Defense Force” and the surprisingly intriguing “Bejeweled”-meets-”Final-Fantasy” game “Puzzle Quest” stole that show.

» “Cube” asks the player to strategically roll a cube across three-dimensional grids, using power-ups to clear obstacles and avoid or conquer enemies.

» While the setup of “Cube” is simple, the question — once it’s out of shrink-wrap — will be whether it works well in three dimensions. Even though 3-D is the norm for many other styles of games — from platformers like the console “Mario” games to fighting and adventure titles — 2-D is still the dominant mode of puzzle games. “Tetris” and modern successors such as “Lumines” and “Meteos” get the buzz, and flat puzzle games such as “Bejeweled” and “Sudoku” are the genre’s top sellers. Puzzle games in 3-D have yet to have their breakout hit, despite some well-received work such as the mid-’90s “Tetrisphere” and the run of “Super Monkey Ball” games. “Cube” and the forthcoming Sega PSP game “Crush,” which challenges players to morph a puzzle field back and forth from 2-D to 3-D, are the latest attempts at a 3-D puzzle breakthrough.

*SISW = still in shrink-wrap (we’ll get to them later!)

A slow period in the industry yields only one new offering.

Once a week I’ve provided a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the MTV News offices in New York and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the day, throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Pikachu and Bayou Billy.

The Stock Report:

Number of games at MTV HQ: 302
Last three games to arrive: “Pokémon Diamond” (Nintendo DS); “Pokémon Pearl” (Nintendo DS); “Halo 2″ (PC)
Last system to arrive: PS3
Last swag to arrive: A 10.5-ounce bag of Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallows (”a fat free food”) and a plastic marshmallow-shooting toy gun, a somewhat ill-timed pair of promotional items sent early this week to hype the upcoming Xbox 360 game “Monster Madness.” This box of swag did not include the game.

Notes on the game we received this week:

“Halo 2” (PC)
» It happened sooner than expected. It is just week three of the new, expanded Multiplayer Stock Report, and only one new game sits in the mailbox of the MTV News offices. There’s a drought going on.
» The season of big games is nearly over. Like pre-spring daffodils, the annual August arrival of “Madden” teases the beginning of big-game season. Septembers bring the first full crop of titles, followed by three months of major games for the holidays, then some slightly late big games that slip to January. A fallow patch plagues most Februarys followed by a commonly ripe March that sees big games released to help cap off many of the big companies’ fiscal years (Nintendo and Sony for example). Then things slow down from April to July — hence the lack of new games in the office this week.
» But isn’t “Halo 2″ a 2004 game? On the Xbox it was. But it also goes in this week’s Stock Report because only now is Microsoft releasing the game for computers that run the company’s new Windows Vista operating system. This version’s official release date is May 8.
» No small detail: The game comes with a map editor, a likely floodgate-opener for fan-made maps.
» Like many games sent to MTV News, “Halo 2″ was packaged with a reviewer’s guide. Some companies (hi, EA!) send a stack of stapled pages clearly marked for personal use only. Others don’t attach that label. These review guides sometimes include walk-throughs of a game’s opening levels, occasionally of the whole thing. They include tips, hints and bullet points that would just fit perfectly if pasted in a video game review. They also include notes, like a list of known bugs likely to be stamped out by the time the game ships. The new “Halo 2″ guide doesn’t include a walk-through. It does include five “Keys to Enjoying ‘Halo 2′ for Windows Vista. Among them is an explanation of how a single-player campaign works: “Generally speaking, an easier level will have less artificial intelligence (AI) and more difficult levels will have more AI.” Yes, readers, we still live in a world where people being sent “Halo 2″ for review might need to be told such things. Another key recommends that reviewers play a few online games over Xbox Live and do so without fear of embarrassment: “Don’t be shy to speak up and ask for help or advice. Most people are more than happy to provide advice on game types and objectives.”
» In case you’ve ever wondered why game reviews on multiple Web sites often include the same screen shots, it could have to do with statements like this, from the reviewer’s guide: “Please DO NOT capture in-game screen shots. We will send screens to accompany your review.”
» “Halo 2″ may be big news in early May, but expect that month’s bigger Master Chief madness to involve “Halo 3,” which will start a three-week public beta test on May 16. The game’s full Xbox 360 release will come later this year.

Plus: ‘Enchanted Arms,’ ‘Blazing Angels.’

Once a week, I’ve provided a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the MTV News offices in New York and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Mario and Cloud.

The Stock Report:

»  Number of games at MTV News HQ: 301
»  Last three games to arrive: “Enchanted Arms” (PS3), “Pokémon Diamond” (Nintendo DS), “Pokémon Pearl” (Nintendo DS)
»  Last system to arrive: PS3
»  Last swag to arrive: Three “Pokémon” discs/ drink coasters spotlighting characters Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig; two Nintendo DS styluses topped with “Pokémon” figurines, all packed with the “Pokémon” games; and a DS wireless headset in a smelly orange cardboard briefcase to get us excited about … “Pokémon,” of course.

Notes on games received this week:

“Blazing Angels” (Wii; *SISW - see below)
»  World War II flight game originally released on Xbox 360 in March
»  Second flight game on Wii, following Konami and Hudson’s “Wing Island,” one of the worst-reviewed games on the system
»  Experience of using the Wii remote to fly a plane first demoed to MTV News in December 2005, when system was still known as the Revolution (see “First Look: Nintendo Revolution Controller Feels Smooth As Puppet Strings”)
»  Flight genre formerly a Nintendo mainstay when “Pilotwings” series launched with both Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. Flight-centric developer Factor 5, which formerly developed Nintendo’s “Star Wars Rogue Leader” games, now working on summer dragon-flight game “Lair” for PS3
»  Ubisoft an early Wii supporter and first company — Nintendo included — to reveal a game for the system to the public. That game, “Red Steel,” was a sales success but launched reviewer criticism of Ubisoft promoting quantity of Wii titles over quality. Well-received Ubisoft Wii title “Rayman Raving Rabbids” is counter-argument

“Sims 2 Celebration Stuff” (PC)
»  Expansion pack to “Sims 2″
»  Offers wedding gowns, glowing candles, barbecue sets, birthday cakes, balloons, kids’ formal wear, bells, flowers and other items to gussy up “Sims 2″ parties
»  Seemingly innocent box of “Stuff” rated T for crude humor, sexual themes and violence

“Enchanted Arms” (PS3; *SISW)
»  Fantasy role-playing game from Ubisoft
»  Released in August 2006 for Xbox 360. That version’s MetaCritic score: 69 of 100
»  Box copy follows RPG tradition and attempts to entice with big numbers: “Over 125 controllable creatures.” “Over 50 hours of gameplay.” (But could “Pac-Man” have claimed “one controllable creature” and “over 50 hours of gameplay”?)
»  Includes “simulated gambling,” appeal and reward of which is unknown, despite its inclusion in many games

“Pokémon Diamond” (Nintendo DS; *SISW)
»  Half of latest paired release of money-printing “Pokémon” games
»  Back of box lists compatibility with six other “Pokémon” games; incompatibility with “Pokémon” games from three other Nintendo systems (Game Boy, N64, GameCube)
»  Predominant box color is blue; “Pokémon” character on cover — Dialga — looks like skinny, spiky brontosaurus … this one’s for boys?

“Pokémon Pearl” (Nintendo DS)
»  Half of latest paired release of money-printing “Pokémon” games
»  Back of box lists compatibility with six other “Pokémon” games; incompatibility with “Pokémon” games from three other Nintendo systems (Game Boy, N64, GameCube)
»  Predominant box color is pink; “Pokémon” character on cover — Palkia — looks like a winged T-Rex … this one’s for girls?
»  ”Pearl” chosen as Multiplayer test version of the game … impressions coming Monday

*SISW = still in shrink-wrap (we’ll get to them later!)

Plus: ‘Super Paper Mario,’ ‘Tetris Evolution,’ ‘Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits,’ ‘Command & Conquer 3.’

Once a week I’ve provided a Stock Report to give you a sense of which games are streaming into the MTV News offices in New York and how companies are trying to grab our attention. The games arrive at my desk throughout the week, hand-delivered by our men in the mailroom. What I receive and am tallying below are the final store-ready copies of games. If I got it, your local gaming store probably got it this week, too. I just don’t think the game stores get the swag. That’s fair. I don’t get the giant cardboard stand-ups of Lara Croft and Master Chief.

The Stock Report:
Number of games at MTV News HQ: 297
Last three games to arrive: “Medal of Honor Vanguard” (Wii and PS2), “Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits” (DS), “UEFA Champions League 2006-2007: Official Video Game” (PSP and Xbox 360)
Last system to arrive: PS3
Last swag to arrive: white cardboard 3-D glasses for “Super Paper Mario,” even though the game can’t be played while they’re worn (that’s what “Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves” on PS2 was for)

Notes on games received this week:

“Super Paper Mario” (Wii)
· inspired Wednesday’s Multiplayer (see “Multiplayer: The Best Eye Candy Nintendo Has To Offer”)

“Pogo Island” (DS; x 2; *SISW - see below)
· our first double-mailing in 2007
· a collection of shorter games
· demoed by EA in February at the MTV News offices in New York
· first EA DS title not stripped down from an EA console series

“Tetris Evolution” (Xbox 360; *SISW)
· carries seal labeling it an “Authentic Tetris Game”

“Medal of Honor Vanguard” (Wii and PS2; *SISW)
· first game released simultaneously for Sony’s blockbuster old system and Nintendo’s hot new one, a pairing publishers appear eager to exploit
· next such PS2/Wii combo “Manhunt 2″ coming in summer
· “MoHV” slogan is “You don’t play. You volunteer.”

“Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits” (DS; *SISW)
· game’s 15 “classics” include “Contra,” “Track and Field” and “Horror Maze” (?)
· box states “no quarters necessary”

“UEFA Champions League 2006-2007: Official Video Game” (PSP and Xbox 360; *SISW)
· soccer game, a Multiplayer knowledge blind spot

“Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars” (PC; *SISW)
· partial inspiration for MP entry last week (see “Multiplayer: Can Gaming Become A Spectator’s Sport?”)
· box indicates MTV News’ copy is limited edition, number 66,274 of 100,000

*SISW = still in shrink-wrap (we’ll get to them later!)

Our gaming expert decides to come to his own conclusions.

Apparently I was playing the wrong “Splinter Cell” over the last couple of weeks. I learned this after listening to the 1UP Yours podcast on Friday (1UP.com). The hosts explained that the odd-numbered “Splinter Cell” games are the best. They said the evens are inferior.

But last week I finished the fourth game of the series, “Splinter Cell: Double Agent,” and I had fun. What did I do wrong?

I hadn’t played much of the “Splinter Cell” series since it was introduced in 2002. I played a few missions of the first game, less of the second and none of the third, which I think reviewers said was the best one. Then I got the fourth, “Double Agent,” from Ubisoft in the fall and decided I needed to get with it. Sooner or later, I would conquer a “Splinter Cell.”

Now, it’s a life lesson that you learn when you’re about 10, but it bears repeating anyway: The things “everybody else” says aren’t always going to mirror how you feel. (A friend of mine just told me Thursday that she’s trying to play the much-acclaimed “Shadow of the Colossus” and is finding it difficult and tedious. Well, there you go.) So bow to peer pressure, I did not. I didn’t dismiss the fourth “Splinter Cell.” I played through it.

“Splinter Cell” games are stealth games. They star Sam Fisher as a spy for the U.S. government. What I remembered from the first is that I’m not much of a ninja. I frequently tripped alarms in that one, and the unforgiving game would force me to restart missions ad nauseam. Ubisoft’s designers have eased up. They now let you save at any time, allowing you to compulsively preserve every safely snuck step. They also have proven great at going big. Missions are now Hollywood-blockbuster set pieces. You emerge from under ice floes to take hold of an oil tanker. You raid a Shanghai skyscraper at the stroke of Chinese New Year, rappelling down the side as fireworks blast the night sky. You assist a prison break.

One of the reasons judging a game is such a subjective process is because any game packed with enough variables can give one player a significantly more or less interesting experience than another. I don’t know how any “Double Agent” naysayers played, but I got myself into one situation that was so interesting that I’ll be speaking highly of it for a long time coming. It happened when I had my character kill a man.

The game has a morality system, one that isn’t much more complex than the Dark Side/ Light Side dichotomy of the “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” games. In this game, you don’t get certain Jedi powers depending on how you behave, but you do gain or lose credibility with two opposing factions. The U.S. government wants you to carry out your missions one way; the terrorist group called the John Brown Army that you infiltrate as a double agent wants you to do things their way. The JBA doesn’t care if you kill a civilian. The government does. The government wants you to find the frequency of the bomb the JBA assigns you to plant — so it can be turned off. The JBA wants to know why you’re snooping around for that kind of info. If either side gets too ticked with you, then you fail the mission. For most of the game, this system had no impact on how I played. I never strayed too far from my directed paths and did just fine.

In one of the game’s late missions, you’re put in the middle of an urban war zone. There are quite a few civilians to save and numerous other things to do that might aggravate the JBA. As I played through that mission I did some of those things, paying little mind to how that gradually eroded the JBA’s trust in my actions. Near the mission’s end, I had a high level of trust with Uncle Sam and about 50 percent trust with the terrorists. Those proportions had served me well earlier. At the end of this mission, however, I had to take a sniper rifle, squint into the scope and watch a man from the CIA raise a fuss. In my ear I heard two conflicting whispers: “Kill him” and “Don’t kill him.”

I decided I wouldn’t kill the CIA man. I’d been playing on the good side for most of the game and didn’t think this CIA guy deserved to go. I didn’t shoot — and got yelled at for it. My JBA trust meter emptied. My mission failed. What I realized is that I had done just enough nice things at that point that the one thing I couldn’t afford to do was the one really big good thing: save the CIA guy. To proceed in the game, I would have to kill him. I felt wretched about this. I tried to make something of my character. Circumstances forced him to be someone else. I wanted him to be a class act. He had to be the killer of an innocent man (well, as innocent as the average video game CIA character is, anyway).

Maybe I did play the wrong “Splinter Cell.” Perhaps I could have played better and would have enjoyed one of the odd-number games more. This fourth one did all right by me, even if I finished it feeling bad — just not for the reasons for which I’d been warned.

The Stock Report:

» Number of games at MTV HQ: 288

» Last three games to arrive: “TMNT” (PS2, Xbox 360, Wii), “Virtua Tennis 3″ (PSP), “Made Man” (PS2)

» Last system to arrive: PS3

» Last swag to arrive: No new swag for the second straight week!