There was a comment last night that I don't use any Neo Geo games as console games of the evening...there's a simple reason for that, really - I don't own one! And for that matter, I never knew anyone that did. I have played a few games in the arcade, but beyond the most popular fighting titles, I'm pretty sad when it comes to this stuff. The Neo Geo Pocket is a whole other thing, of course.

• PS2.IGN has a new preview of Final Fantasy XI tonight, which among other things, confirms that the game is a real massively multiplayer RPG, not a pseudo MMORPG like Phantasy Star Online. And while you're there, check out their review of Final Fantasy X (9.5) which is now open to the public.
• The final part of Cube.IGN's interview with the Gekko development team at IBM is online this evening.
• Also at Cube.IGN tonight is a whole lot of media from Animal Forest +, including a look at the game's version of Punch Out!.
• Speaking of Punch Out, Xbox.IGN has a preview of Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing, the game that marks the man's return to consoles.
• Over at Pocket.IGN, they have posted their impressions of Super Mario Advance 2, better known as Super Mario World.
• Nintendo has announced plans to use the Game Boy Advance as a "digital broadcasting remote control." No, I don't get it either. Chances are that this won't make it over here.
• According to one report, the number of online console gamers will be directly proportional to the number of households with a broadband connection. I can dig that.
• More chest beating tonight, this time from Sony...
• And finally, GameSpot has posted their review of Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, the extra long title of Silent Hill 2 for the Xbox.

Console Game of the Evening: Samurai Shodown for the Neo Geo. Had the system not been ridiculously expensive this game would have been a system-seller for me (it still would be, if the damn thing wasn't so much on eBay).