For the record, I am annoyed less by Halo fans who blow off Crackdown as just an easy way to the Halo beta than I am by those obnoxious kids who wear their polo shirts with the collars turned up, and big foam-mesh trucker hats resting carefully on top of their white-boy afros.

Though I do think the Halo 3 beta pack-in will end up working out for Crackdown’s benefit. I personally really enjoy the game, and I suspected I would from the early previews. However it may not be everyone’s type of game, at least not at first. As I recently read one of the developers say, it’s not a game that looks terribly impressive standing still, in a screenshot. You can’t grasp what the game is all about from five-minutes of play. You really need time with it to see what it is they did with the game.

So even though many may buy it just for the Halo 3 beta, I think many of those many will find they enjoy the game itself. And that’s always good for the developers.

I’ve mentioned it previously, but I’ll be down in Orlando, Florida next week for Megacon (Friday and Saturday only). I’ll have some paperback Volume 3 and Analog & D+Pad Issue 1 with me. Zack Finfrock, my penciller on the comic book, will be there with me as well. Additionally, Brian Clevinger will be there, and if you’ve read his site at any time in the last few months, you’ve probably seen him blathering about his upcoming comic book, Atomic Robo. I’ve seen the first issue, and it’s a real gem. As a special treat, we’ll be selling a very cool, limited edition poster of Atomic Robo, Analog and D+Pad battling it out. Pencilled by Zack, inked by Brian’s guy Scott Wegener, and colored by me. The poster will be available only at Megacon, and at Digital Overload, where we’ll all be present to sign it for you.

Speaking of Digital Overload, I have some announcements. First of all, I’m pleased to announce our newest sponsor, FSP. FSP manufactures high-end power-supplies for PCs and they’ve given us over $1500 worth of PSUs to give away at the event.

Additionally, Ideazon, the makers of Zboard, will actually be at the event, running mini-games and tournaments of their own all weekend, such as paper-airplane contests and more.

Added to our list of prizes to give away at Digital Overload is a World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Collector’s Edition, complete with strategy guide, strategy guide binder, 60-day time card, and the original WoW, as a package.

I’ll have some more information next week, including a preliminary schedule of tournaments and events at the LAN, so you can plan ahead. Finally, February 21st will be the last day to register for Digital Overload. We don’t accept registrations at the door, so February 21st is your last chance to attend.

I downloaded the Def Jam: Icon demo from XBL yesterday. The game looked really cool, and I was hopeful. It didn’t quite live up to expectations, I’m sad to say. While the graphics are amazing, the controls are a bit loose and sloppy. The moves seem repetitive. And the line-up isn’t all that stellar. Aside from Rusell Simmons and Big Boi, and maybe Redman, there are no artists in the game I like. Where’s our Nasty Nas, our Roots? Or better yet, where’s our Common, De La Soul, and Tribe Called Quest? Not on Def Jam, I know, but still that’s a game I would play.

On the flip side, I enjoy the concept of smashing someone like “Lil’ John’s” face in. But it’s hard to really judge the game from one stage, on a crappy time limit, and only two fighters. But I wasn’t overly impressed.

I did like how messed up the fighters and the stage got as the fight wore on though. And did I mentioned how great the graphics were?