Blog Topic of the Week

From week to week, there's always something of note that's worth talking about. Sure, IGN's editors write plenty of news stories and editorials -- but we'd love to hear your viewpoint as well. We'll be posting a topic of discussion every week for you to write about on your IGN Blog. You don't have a blog? Just click here and register for a free IGN account. It's easy as pie!

Then read through the rest of these instructions and you could be the lucky owner of Crackdown for the Xbox 360.

Congratulations to last weeks winner, Phishlive -- keep an eye out for a private message so we can get your information for your copy of either Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence or Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

Last week, it was reported that when it launches in February, Crackdown will be available with access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. This method of gaining access will make it fairly easy (for a limited time, at any rate) for Halo fans to get their fix of FPS action before the final build launches later this year. Though there are other ways to get access to the Halo 3 beta, which consist of contests and drawings, this will definitely be the easier way to get into this preliminary public build. The biggest concern is whether this is nothing more than a ploy to move copies of Crackdown or a slick bonus to a fun title. As far as we can tell, Crackdown is shaping up to be a solid title for the 360, but is Microsoft including access to the FPS to make sure extra copies sell? When thinking about this, it's tough to forget about the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo that was packaged in with Zone of the Enders; ZOE was an average game, but its sales certainly benefited from having that MGS 2 demo included with it.

What are your two cents on this matter? Do you think it's good business, or is it a cheap way to get $60 from Halo fans? Do you think this is a compliment to Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds, or would you consider this a slap in the face to all of the hard work that went into this game? What do you think about Crackdown anyways? With Halo in tow, will you be buying a copy, or will you let it pass you by? Will you be logging in some serious time with Crackdown, or will you just buy it solely to play Halo 3? Were you already planning on picking up a copy, or was it Halo that enticed you into the purchase? We'd love to hear what you're thinking!

How do you post? Just hit this link or the Blog This! button on any Crackdown page on IGN.com to set the correct blog topic and leave the general blog category field blank, then start writing.

When you're done, head to the Crackdown blogs index and see how you're doing.

If you're not competing (or you're a gentleblogger), browse through the posts from your fellow gamers, flagging your favorites with a thumbs-up rating. You can of course also solicit your fellow gamers and friends to give you the thumbs up.

At the end of the week, the person commenting on the topic with the highest thumbs-up rating will receive a copy of Crackdown for the Xbox 360, courtesy of your friends here at IGN.com. What are you waiting for? Get started!

We'll announce the winner in next week's Blog Topic of the Week update.

©2007-01-11, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved