With Games for Windows Live, Microsoft’s initiative designed to bring Xbox 360 and Vista gamers together in a resounding chorus of cumbyeya, now a reality, the big question in players’ minds is “Now what?” An aging shooter and an unimpressive Counterstrike clone do not a platform make.

To answer gamers’ collective call for help, Sega has announced that the forthcoming Universe at War: Earth Assault for the PC and Xbox 360 will support Games for Windows Live, making it the first third-party title to be announced so far that will allow both PC and Xbox 360 players to play together in harmony.

The game is scheduled to ship for the PC in North America and Europe this winter, and for the Xbox 360 in the first quarter of 2008.

Wait, what?

So, Sega and Microsoft are banking on Xbox 360 owners wanting to play against PC players who have had three months or more to train, become good, and potentially bored of playing the game by the time they even get to boot it up? I’m sorry, as much as I don’t care for Shadowrun, it got one thing right. The only way this service, which is still in its infancy, makes sense and can be expected to garner any sort of widespread use, is through simultaneous launches.

Game players are a fickle bunch. I know. I’m one of them. And even with features such as a “persistent-style ‘Conquer the World’ mode” where players compete across platforms to take over the Earth, with this sort of release gap I just don’t see the PC gaming community caring one way or the other by the time the Xbox 360 version ships. They will have had their fill, and moved on to the next flavor of the month.

For those of us who grew up the the golden age of computer gaming, when the term graphics meant little more than a text parser blinking patiently for input on a darkened screen, Infocom’s seminal Zork and its siblings hold a special place in our hearts. That’s why Matt Barton’s terrific Gamasutra feature on “The History Of Zork” is such a great read. The article, like Jeffrey Fleming’s equally compelling look at Spacewar, is part of a larger series offering a historical look back at the Digital Game Canon titles.

As Barton explains, “Zork. For some, the name conjures up little more than a dim notion of the “primitive” era of home computing, back when graphics technology was so lacking that desperate gamers were willing to buy games even if they consisted entirely of text… For others, though, the name Zork still makes their Elven swords glow blue. To them, saying that Zork is obsolete makes no more sense than saying J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ring trilogy is obsolete. Why do people still read Tolkien or any other novelists when there are so many movies and channels available on TV? If graphics and animation are so essential, then why haven’t comics and pop-up books long overtaken “plain text” novels on the New York Times best seller list?”

The article also includes lots of tasty quotes from those involved with the series, as we as the interactive fiction genre it helped spearhead, including this delicious bit from writer Nick Montfort of Twisty Little Passages fame, who notes, “Zork introduced an actual villain, the thief, who opposed the player character during the initial exploration of the dungeon, who could be exploited to solve a puzzle, and who had to be confronted and defeated. This was a real character with the functions of a character as seen in literature, not the mere anthropomorphic obstacle that was seen in Adventure.”

For those of you who are old gaming geezers like myself, or those who are simply interested in the history of gaming, I encourage you to head over to Gamasutra for a read. Just be sure to keep your lantern lit, else you’re likely to be eaten by a Grue.

The PlayStation 2’s library is rife with under appreciated titles, or worse yet those that go largely unknown. One of these is 2001’s The Adventures of Cookie & Cream, a slightly off-color adventure game starring a pair of mischievous bunnies on their way home from the annual moon festival. What made the game so interesting was its emphasis on cooperation, as players worked together to complete levels as they avoided traps and solved puzzles.

Now Agetec is at it again with Cookie & Cream, a newly shipped title for the Nintendo DS. According to Agetec, the game builds upon the charm of the original by takeing advantage of the handheld’s touch screen, resulting in a game “that’s more fun than the original,”at least according to Agetec’s production and marketing VP Mark Johnson.

Playable either alone as one person controls both characters, or as a cooperative game where one person maneuvers Cookie on the top screen while the other is in charge of Cream on the touch screen, Cookie & Cream sounds like a refreshing addition to the DS library. The game also offers nine different minigames, as well as a four player battle minigame.

Let’s hope it does not slip below the radar like its predecessor.

With Harmonix’s encore performance with the popular [i]Guitar Hero[/i] franchise nearly upon us, Activision has been slowly leaking out a few songs each day or so that will make an appearance on the upcoming rhythm action game.

While it’s probably hard to appreciate on your end, it’s been painful not to just tell you all what songs will be on the game, as we’ve been playing the title for a few weeks now. However, given that the lions’ share of the songs have been released, we figured we’d break down the game’s set lists based on what has been officially announced so far.

We’ve also linked to a few videos of us playing a few of these songs as well, so be nice.

[u][b]Opening Licks[/b][/u]

1. I Want Candy (now removed)
2. Holy Diver (as made famous by Dio)
3. We Got the Beat (as made famous by the Go Gos)
4. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3014.MOV]No One Like You[/url] (as made famous by The Scorpions)
5. Bang Your Head (Metal Health) (as made famous by Quiet Riot)

[u][b]Amp-Warmers[/b][/u]

1. Ain’t Nothin But A Good Time (as made famous by Poison)
2. I Wanna Rock (by Twisted Sister)
3. Turning Japanese (as made famous by The Vapors)
4. Los Angeles (as made famous by X)
5. Hold On Loosely (as made famous by .38 Special)

[u][b]String Snappers[/b][/u]

1. Lonely is the Night (as made famous by Billy Squier)
2. Synchronicity II (as made famous by The Police)
3. Heat of the Moment (as made famous by Asia)
4. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3029.MOV]Shakin'[/url] (as made famous by Eddie Money)
5. Bathroom Wall (as made famous by Faster Pussycat)

[u][b]Return of the Shred[/b][/u]

1. Round and Round (as made famous by Ratt)
2. Electric Eye (by Judas Priest)
3. Wraithchild (as made famous by Iron Maiden)
4. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3013.MOV]I Ran[/url] (by Flock of Seagulls)
5. What I Like About You (as made famous by The Romantics)

[u][b]Relentless Riffs[/b][/u]

1. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3015.MOV]Radar Love[/url] (as made famous by White Lion)
2. Play With Me (as made famous by Extreme)
3. The Warrior (by Scandal)
4. Balls to the Wall (by Accept)
5. Caught in a Mosh (as made famous by Anthrax)

[u][b]Furious Fretwork[/b][/u]

1. Seventeen (as made famous by Winger)
2. Police Truck (as made famous by Dead Kennedys)
3. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3031.MOV]18 and Life[/url] (as made famous by Skid Row)
4. Only a Lad (as made famous by Oingo Boingo)
5. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3042.MOV]Ballroom Blitz[/url] (as made famous by Krokus)

[u][b]Unlockable[/b][/u]

1. [url=http://snackbar-games.com/images/news/2007/06/100_3045.MOV]Because, it’s Midnite[/url] (by Limozeen)

[edit: Added additional videos, songs]