The last ten years has seen a big improvement in the intelligence of game controlled enemies. 10 years ago it was common for our AI foes to walk blindly into our line of fire, not notice us until we were 2 feet away, or just stand around and do nothing as we attacked their friends. These days no one would put up with that. We're used to enemies that react intelligently to our attacks and games are much better for that.

But now game developers have an even bigger challenge. Give us allies who are just as good as we are.

More and more, the games I play are forcing computer controller allies on me. With such a heavy emphasis on co-op play in the last few years, campaign modes are mainly designed for two or more players. So if you want to go it alone, the game is going to have to give you an AI companion, like it or not.

For me, most of the time it's "not". At their very best, the most you can hope from an AI ally is that they do nothing. Was anyone who played through the single player campaign in Halo 3 ever glad the Arbiter was with them? I mostly forgot he existed, except for the odd times he reminded me by getting left behind and magically teleporting in front of me, breaking any sense of immersion. At their worst, ally AI make the game harder or more frustrating. It's more difficult getting the incompetent boobs you're saddled with in the Lego games to follow you than it is defeating any of the game's enemies. They just end up making a kid's game more frustrating than it needs to be.

And this sad trend is making its way into the RTS genre. It was recently announced that Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 will feature co-op for its entire campaign mode. I will read the reviews of this game very carefully for any mention of the single player ally AI. Whether or not it's a help or a hindrance will be a major factor in my decision to buy this game.

Some of the few good examples of ally AI can be found in squad based FPS games. I was generally pleased with my squad mates in Rainbow Six Vegas 2. If I asked them to clear a room our take out a certain enemy I was usually rewarded with my requested action being done. The down side to this is that you have to tell your AI companions to do *everything*. This may be fine for a Rainbow Six game, but it would never work in a more fast paced FPS series like Halo or Gears of War. You do have very basic commands for your allies in Mass Effect, but they're all but useless in most firefights, so I ended up ignoring the squad commands and just let my allies do their own thing. This, far too often, resulted in my squad mates shooting at a wall until the fight was over.

Will future games see improvements in the AI for your allies? I sure hope so. I started playing games so that I could avoid people. I'd hate to have to meet more people so that I could once again enjoy my games.

There were some protests when it was announced that Braid would be sold for $15. I was surprised then, when I went to buy Castle Crashers and found that it too was selling for 15 bucks. Do gamers only have one "this isn't the way things have been done!" outcry in them? Are we then supposed to just accept it when other games do the same thing that we were upset about because it's become "normal"?

We've gotten some truly fantastic deals out of XBLA over the years, so it's hard for me to feel too upset. Still, I think it's sad that the days of $10 being the high point for XBLA games is coming to an end. Braid and Castle Crashers are both great games, but I don't see how they could cost more to make than other games selling for less. Somebody paying $15 for a better than average tortata is still paying too much for his lunch, no matter how good it is.

PC gamers know how to take a stand. Microsoft wanted to charge them to play Games for Windows titles online, but few took the bait. After awhile, Microsoft waived the white flag. They're now letting PC users play online for free. I'm still paying $60 a year for the priviledge. PC gamers are also paying $10 less to play the exact same games as us console saps. Maybe since we're not buying $4,000 systems every few years, we're more willing to part with a few extra dollars.

Despite the above rant I own both Braid and Castle Crashers. I have no willpower!

Ah well... here's the XBLA games that have taken my hard earned cash recently.

Braid - What can I say that hasn't been said already? A great game that I'd recommend to just about anyone. There's nothing else out there quite like it.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed - I never played the original, so I don't have the benefit of nostalgia to draw from. Thankfully, this is a great game on its own merits. It hits that NES sweet spot of being challenging without being frustrating, and there are plenty of hidden items to keep you coming back to levels after you finish them. The 2 player co-op doesn't really fit the game, though. This one is best played solo.

Castle Crashers - A great old school beat 'em up filled with the Behemoth's trademark humor. I'm usually complaining about co-op ruining games, but this type of game is much more fun when played in a group. If you ever see me online send me an invite!

Samurai Shodown II - I have fond memories of this 90s arcade fighter and was pleased to discover it still holds up today. It's a little disheartening that so soon after its release it's already sometimes hard to find matches online. I hope this game has some staying power.

Did I miss any great XBLA games that have come out recently?

Remember diaries? Little books with blank pages that you could fill up with your daily thoughts? If you were a guy, it would be a rough, beat up, leather bound book you'd call a "journal". If you were a girl, it would be well kept and have a lock on it.

It would be locked, of course, because it would be where you'd write down all your hopes and dreams. It'd contain all those secret thoughts that you'd never, ever want anyone but your closest friends to see.

Recently I've come across several blogs that contain some variation of "there's so many things I want to talk about, but it wouldn't be a good idea to post about them here, since this is so public". These people seem to need an outlet for their feelings that the internet just can't provide.

With the explosion of blogs in the last decade, it's become common for people to write down their thoughts not only knowing that people will read them, but hoping to get as many views and comments from people as possible. Blogs are censored. They have to be. There are just some things that people aren't comfortable with sharing to the world. It seems like writing just for yourself has become a lost art.

Or has it? Do you know anyone who has a diary?