Neumann, you might recall, promised three weeks ago to "play BLs with you and give you loot" if you preordered Borderlands and showed him proof. I and somewhere north of 200 people took him up on the offer. Thursday, Neumann found me - just a level 7 hunter out trying to retrieve some guy's missing fake leg in Skag Gully - and proceeded to deliver on his commitment to all Borderlands day-one buyers, myself included.

"Here you go, dude," said Neumann, who plays as a Level 50 Hunter - the maximum. And suddenly the Pandoran's Guns & Ammo fantasy came to life at my feet. The DVL Pearl Sniper (Level 28); an LB U Blast Wrath sniper rifle (level 25). Plus a Ranger class mod that I can't use until I hit level 22. Right now I'm wondering whether to sell or hoard them. They do carry a serious price tag.

"Nah, don't worry," Neumann said when I shamefacedly asked if there was anything I could offer in return. "I have so much stuff. I've got like $1.5 million in cash already. It costs me $220,000 at the New U station when I respawn."

As of 3 p.m. U.S. Central time (the timezone for Gearbox's Plano, Texas headquarters) on Thursday, Neumann estimated he'd logged 72 hours in Borderlands. That would be more hours than have passed since Borderlands' release on Tuesday. Of course he'd been playing it pre-release, but still, it's a lot of time spent on a game - especially since this week, like mine, is Neumann's vacation.

"Thanks for your patience guys. I need to stand up and do something for like 20 minutes so my ass doesn't cave into my body," he tweeted about 16 hours into Borderlands' official first day.

"I'm like Santa Claus, man," he told me.

"A Truxican wrestler Santa Claus," I added, referencing Borderlands' title sequence, and the bus driver's description of Mordecai's look. "What the fuck is a Truxican wrestler anyway?"

"Oh, that," Neumann said. "Originally, the script had ‘Mexican wrestler,' but Randy [Pitchford, the Gearbox CEO] was like, ‘This game takes place not on Earth, so why would he say, ‘Mexican'? Come up with something else.' That's what we got."

Neumann and I set off on a very routine mission for him, barbecuing some Skags, the Pandoran dawgs with the venus-flytrap heads. "I've been through Skag Gully so much," Neumann said.

Neumann went to work on a couple beasts, not noticing the spitter Skag nipping at him from behind. I opened up with my incendiary submachine gun and proudly awaited a compliment.

"Ah, The Clipper!" Neumann said, naming the gun I picked up from Nine Toes, the game's first boss battle. "Everyone remembers their first unique weapon!"

And as we shot the breeze about Borderlands, the early reviews (Gearbox is fired up), and DLC (no specific details, on the record anyway, but stay tuned) somehow I managed to complete two quests and level up twice.

"Oh, that's a nice rifle," Neumann said as I opened a weapons cache and found the GGN40 Sniper, one of the few new weapons I could use at my level. It's kind of gun that, in the reverent words of Insidious Tuna, "will light shit the fuck on fire."

"Oh, you- you don't want it?" I asked, deferring to the ranking player as usual. But of course Neumann didn't want it. Not when he has a weapon that regenerates ammo, plus a goddamn falcon than can take down seven foes at once.

He hasn't completely outclassed everyone in his user-friendly trips through the wastes so far. Neumann came across a day one user who had logged some serious time in Borderlands, to the point that the loot was almost moot.

"Somehow I ended up with this guy who was, like, a Level 30 Brick with like a level 3 lightning punch," Neumann said. "We were on a serious loot run and he'd go in to use it and there would be a cloud of electricity and shit flying everywhere - I was laughing so hard ..."

Despite the time he's spent in game - and, of course, preceding it as the Gearbox team worked on Borderlands over the past two years - Neumann has not seen it all. Borderlands boasts some three million different weapons, and while many are slight modifications, in color, appearance and/or attributes, of a basic configuration, some have completely eye-popping properties.

"God, so many weapons - there was one, a name weapon, I had no idea it was in this game," Neumann said, "but it shoots out these mini-mushroom clouds, like a nuclear weapon." Neumann said there are about a dozen unique weapons named in the game that are named for Gearbox developers.

Just be careful what you do with them.

"One guy, he'd gotten one of the legendary weapons, which are like orange in your storage deck," Neumann said, "and he said, ‘OK, I'm gonna drop it,' and the way he was standing, he tossed it off a cliff. I was like, ‘You did not just do that. There's no getting that back.' "

Toward the end of our run, having thoroughly wiped out the Skag packs that had torn me asunder on my own, Mikey and I chatted at the entrance to Skag Gully. "Hold on," he said, turning to a vending machine, "Let me see what's in here. There's probably a lot of stuff you can't afford." And he went to work, buying up a TRG-30XC Impenetrable Tough Guy Shield and tossing it at my feet.

Although Neumann's gambit seems - to me anyway - completely spontaneous, its effect is quite devious. By dropping superweapons you can't use until you hit high levels, Neumann's out there creating a tremendous incentive for you to play Borderlands more. And there's also the 10 Gamerscore "And They'll Tell Two Friends" achievement, which you earn for playing with a Gearbox dev on Xbox 360. (The achievement is also viral; anyone who earns it will give it to you if you drop into a multiplayer session with them).

"I went through about half my list," Neumann said. "And I was thinking, ‘Where are these other guys?' Then I realized, ‘They're probably all in Europe, which doesn't come out until tomorrow. And they're six, seven hours ahead ..."

But hey, Santa Claus works a 24-hour day too, doesn't he?

Here's the announcement:

If you're an Xbox LIVE Gold Member (if not, upgrade now! ), and you want a chance to play the new Crash Course add-on for Left 4 Dead, send a friend request to the following Gamertag and be online half an hour before (5:30 P.M. Central Time) the Game with Fame session starts on Wednesday, September 23, at 6:00 P.M. CT.

• Paramore GWF

I hate parsing semantics as much as the next guy, but if this said, "a chance to play Crash Course with Paramore" I'd view it as more certain that the add-on was arriving Sept. 23 or earlier, because the pitch would be assuming you already had Crash Course. The way I read it, who knows, this might be giving a free preview to a lucky few. But I've never really heard of GWF doing that kind of thing before, so who knows, really.

In the end, Sept. 23 is seven days away from the end of the month, so if it's not this date, there aren't many others left.

Oh, Paramore is a band from Franklin, Tenn. They've been nominated for Grammys. I'm sure they appreciate being second banana to DLC, but hey, them's the brokes.

Game With Fame - Play Paramore in Left 4 Dead [Xbox Live via Destructoid]

Perhaps the thumb will be to Miss Fox's advantage in Saturday's Game with Fame session, during which she'll be challenging Autobots and Decepticons alike if multiplayer matches of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the release of the Character and Map Pack Plus downloadable content than adding "Megan Fox 2009" to your Xbox friends list, logging in around 3PM Pacific on Saturday, August 29th, and weeping quietly as everyone but you gets to play with her.

For more information, head over to the Xbox Game with Fame page, or simply turn off safe search and browse Google images.

The newly released Xbox Live Arcade title is getting not one but two special play sessions this month, starting with a Game with Fame session on June 20th, which allows players to go up against some of Magic's top pro players, along with the game's creator himself, Richard Garfield. Garfield will be joined by Magic Pro Tour Hall of Famers Mike Turian and John Finkel, along with pro tour players Gerry Thompson, Gerry Parke, and Brian Kibler. Daunting opponents indeed, but considering the game's deck structure you might just having a fighting chance.

If you're looking for a little less of a challenge, employees from Wizards of the Coast, VMC, Stainless Games, and Microsoft will be taking on all comers during the Game with Developers session a week later on the 27th.

Details for both sessions should be appearing soon at the official Game with Fame and Game with Developers websites. Being terrified of live competition myself, I will be busy playing single player, where it's safe.

Fans of movie comedy guy Jack Black and acting and music guy Kyle Gass can try to prolong the magic by singing, strumming and thwacking along with the Tenacious Twosome on Xbox LIVE this Thursday. JB & KG will be appearing on LIVE to promote their new DVD The Complete Masterworks 2.

Xbox LIVE Gold members can have a chance at playing with the band by sending a friend request to JBTenacious or KGTenacious and hanging out on LIVE for half an hour before the Game with Fame session starts on Thursday, November 20, 8:30 P.M. ET.

Play with Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D [Xbox.com]

Anyhow, Midnight Club: Los Angeles racers can take their game up against the Rockstar San Diego team that designed it, from 4 pm to 7 pm EST (2 to 5 pm Crecente time) on Sunday. After that, Rockstar brings L.A.-based rapper MURS to the club, and you can race against him from 7 to 9 pm EST.

If you're interested, the gamertags for everyone are on the jump. And you can also read more about MURS and the racing developers if you like.

Rockstar San Diego Gamertags:
RockstarNYTest1
RockstarNYTest2
RkstrNYQALEAD1
RkstrNYQALEAD2
RkstrSDDesign1
RkstrSDDesign2
RkstrSDDesign3
RkstrSDDesign4
RkstrSDTest1
RkstrSDCode1
RkstrSDArt01
RkstrSDAudio1
rockstarnyc01
rockstarnyc02
rockstarnyc03

Murs' Gamertag: Rob Feature

If you're interested, the gamertags for everyone are on the jump. And you can also read more about MURS and the racing developers if you like.

Rockstar San Diego Gamertags:
RockstarNYTest1
RockstarNYTest2
RkstrNYQALEAD1
RkstrNYQALEAD2
RkstrSDDesign1
RkstrSDDesign2
RkstrSDDesign3
RkstrSDDesign4
RkstrSDTest1
RkstrSDCode1
RkstrSDArt01
RkstrSDAudio1
rockstarnyc01
rockstarnyc02
rockstarnyc03

Murs' Gamertag: Rob Feature

[Photos by Amy Graves/Getty Images/WireImage]

Crap, there it is. Pete Wentz is the one in front nearing a nip slip, so it's not him. Fall Out Boy fans will surely know who these kids are by name, but will get intimate first hand knowledge of their skill with a Spartan Laser this Friday. Just look for FallOutBoyAndy and FallOutBoyJoe, then make with the fragging.

Play Halo 3 with Fall Out Boy [Xbox.com]

Wolfmother Game with Fame Session Announced [Talk Xbox]

I can't think of a single cartoon that I would care to play video games with, but I can think of a single cartoon force that would be loads of fun.

The voices from Aqua Teen Hunger Force's Master Shake, Meatwad, Err, Carl and Ignignokt will be mixing things up in Uno on Xbox Live on April 24. WTF? What happened to Frylock. What a tool, leaving to him to not show up.

The toons will be playing some Uno from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eastern time next week. Send a friend request to ATHFGWF for a chance to pwn them. If you make the list take notes and let us know how they did. Brian Crecente

Aquateen

Burger King's namesake, The King, is taking to Xbox Live tomorrow for a little Pocketbike Racer Invitational as part of the Game with Fame series.

The King will be joined by New York Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma. How exactly are we going to be sure that we're playing with The King and not just anybody who happened to be walking by the office when the Game with Fame session starts? I mean, the guy doesn't talk and there's no video.

Maybe next month they can land the San Diego Chicken. Brian Crecente

Punk Band Rise Against will be on Xbox Live via the Vision Camera this Friday playing against gamers in a little World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions for the Xbox 360.

Too bad they aren't just using the Arcade Texas Hold Em, I suspect they would have had a larger audience. If you're up for a little punk poker look out for gamertag GWRiseAgainst from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST.

Any money on whether the band gets flashed during their little Live sessions? Brian Crecente

Punk Band Uses New Xbox Live Vision Camera to Challenge Gamers in World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions as Part of the Latest Xbox Live 'Game with Fame' Session

The melodic hardcore band, Rise Against, is calling on all gamers to challenge them in their upcoming Xbox Live 'Game with Fame' session. The group, which includes Tim McIlrath (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Chasse (vocals, guitar), Joe Principe (bass, backing vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums), continues their North American tour for their latest album, The Sufferer & The Witness, which peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

Fans who are interested in gaming with Rise Against guitarist Chris Chasse should keep an eye out for the Xbox Live gamertag 'GWFRiseAgainst' from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PST on Friday, October 6 and to have the chance to challenge them in World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions for Xbox 360 .

Rise Against's 2006 single "Ready to Fall" continues to climb the Billboard charts. The track has hit as high as #13 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and #18 on the US Modern Rock chart. The hardcore punk band has released four albums since their first self-produced demo in 2000. Rise Against recently toured in Europe, and Japan and currently performing in the U.S, Canada and Australia.

The Xbox Live Game with Fame program gives Xbox Live subscribers the unique opportunity to meet, chat and play against some of today's hottest stars. Past Game with Fame celebrity players include 30 Seconds to Mars, The Strokes, Hoobastank, Staind, Incubus and Simple Plan. For further information on other Xbox Live events, be sure to visit the "Game with Fame" Web site at http://www.xbox.com/gamewithfame.

Hit up the link at the bottom for more details on how to enter to win a trip to Chicago to catch The Fray at the House of Blues. The winner also get an Xbox 360 console.

The Fray's latest single, Over My Head, hit the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their current album, How to Save a Life, is currently the number 29 album in the country.

Game with the Fray [The Fray]

Microsoft and Epic Records recently penned a deal for the online service to host an Artist of the Month program on Live.

Each month a new up and coming artist will be highlighted with free high-def music video downloads. The program will also include monthly sweepstakes with winners getting to play online against musicians.

Natasha Bedingfield, the British singer-songwriter whose Unwritten is a top ten song, will be the first artist. Her video for Unwritten can be downloaded starting today on Live. The winner of this month's sweepstakes get to game against Bedingfield in April.

The Knicks Channing Frye is going to be the special guest on this week's Game with Fame. Frye, the eighth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, will be Live on Dec. 22 from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. playing NBA Live 06 on the old school Xbox. He's going to be using gamertag ChanFryeGWF. Like a lot of up and coming Bballers, Channing is an avid video gamer and even runs his own website.

Xbox 360 launch week is going to have a pretty interesting secret gamer showing up on Xbox Live. The one and only J Allard will be flexing his gaming mojo during the Game with Fame segment as HiroProtagonist. Now s your chance to trash talk the man behind the Xbox and get your pride handed to you.

A Very Special Episode of Game with Fame [Major Nelson]