Silence, as they say, is golden. It's a rule that holds more true in video games than in most media. Quiet isn't necessarily a good thing during the heat of play – you want to hear your enemies approach, some killer tunes, Yoshi's squeal as he devours some witless sentient mushroom. A game is best served by silence in its protagonist, the lead character and, very often, the hero you get to control when you pick up the controller.

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The Nintendo World Store played host to the launch of "The Bigs 2" on the Wii, and invited a couple New York Mets to take on the fans in some over-the-top arcade baseball zaniness. Mike Pelfrey (Pitcher, 6-3, 4.26 ERA) and Alex Cora (Second Base/Shortstop, BA .259, 11 RBIs) were in attendance, and while Cora admitted to having an Atari (model unknown) growing up, Pelfrey is much more of a day-to-day gamer:

"I've always had time for baseball and I've always had time for video games. A whole bunch of guys [on the team] play 'Call of Duty: World at War.' We mess around on that and have fun. We play a mode called 'Zombies.'

"[Ryan] Church is pretty good. John Maine plays. Bobby Parnell, Shawn Green, Brian Schneider plays."

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It's just Modern Warfare 2, not Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Why the name change? We spoke to the devs to get the scoop.

So there you have it. Kinda weird that Infinity Ward would be the ones to lose the name, considering it was their baby to begin with, but that's business, right?

10:24am PST - Lights dimming, the show's about to start. Get pumped, or don't, it's really your choice.

10:25 - First trailer opening the show: Rock Band Beatles. Cartoon-style Fab 4 crusing around the world, reliving their moments from their career. Hard Days Night, Paperback Writer, Here Comes the Sun, I Am the Walrus. Getting trippier as it goes along. Just like the Beatles themselves!

10:28 - Alex and Van walk on the stage to talk about the game, joined by a band of a guitarist, a bassist, a drummer and 3 singers. Gameplay pretty similar to Rock Band 2, obvious visual differences.

Confirmed Song List: Saw Her Standing There, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, I Feel Fine, Day Tripper, Tax Man, I Am The Walrus, Back in the USSR, Octopus's Garden, Here Comes the Sun, Get Back (play on rooftop!), Tax Man, Paperback Writer, Hard Days Night. All You Need is Love exclusive to Xbox Live.
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E3 is just next week, and it's going to be pretty much chaos. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but I'm also sorta mentally preparing myself for a week of not eating or sleeping (but drinking more than I probably should). Anyway, since there's just so much going on next week I wanted to narrow down the 5 titles which I'm most pumped about…if only to make sure I don't miss 'em. In no particular order:

Brutal Legend
I've seen it twice so far, and every time I do I want to see even more of it. Tim Schafer's ode to metal is hilarious, looks great and features Zelda-esque exploration that could be pumped right into my veins to bring pure, unadulterated joy. So yeah, seeing more of this would be nice.

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Activision has announced its E3 line-up and it’s, well, a lot. Here’s what they’ll be showing next week:

"Modern Warfare 2"
"DJ Hero"
"Guitar Hero 5"
"Tony Hawk: Ride"
"Blur"
"Singularity"
"Prototype"
"Wolfenstein"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
"Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2"

Variety seems to be the name of the game when it comes to the line-up, as it’s pretty much all over the place. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with "Wolfenstein, "Transformers" and "Marvel", but apart from a trailer, Modern Warfare 2 remains shrouded in mystery. There’s also the insane skateboard controller of Tony Hawk: Ride, which I’m definitely eager to get my hands on. And then there’s DJ Hero, which I’m hoping won’t overwhelm my limited ability to multi-task.

More important, how the heck am I going to get through all of these games in the 2 hours I have allotted to meet with Activision? This is unfortunately the blessing and the curse of E3: Lots of awesome games and no time to play them.