The MuseXL is packed to the uh, thorax, with software. For the spare change you find in your couch (not my couch, your couch) you get the ubiquitous 30-day only PowerDVD, a headset and microphone with Game Commander 2 so you can sound just like all the other 12-year-olds playing CStrike, some kewl Hercules stickers, Yamaha's S-YXG50 midi synthesizer, and several other creative programs for mixing DJ style, midi sequencing, recording/digitizing, and Music Match Jukebox. The MMJ is probably the most important of these as this is the one that'll let you rip to MP3's.

Olympic Games
I must say Tom Hanks succeeded in his campaign to raise the US public consciousness about WWII. Meaning, I've been playing RtCW almost exclusively since it came out! I haven't tried MOHAA yet. I'm currently trying to master de_destruction but, it's beyond me. There are just too many noobs at the moment. Not to mention, can ya'll not coagulate in the tunnels? If you're playing Axis (the hardest to win), rush in the last 20 secs if you can. I've seen far too many games lost that way. I digress. I've also been using the MuseXL during this phase of testing. All sounds are punchy, in-your-face, and very well war-like. While I think that Creative's EnvironmentalFX is a good start to modeling indoor/outdoor environs, I think the state-of-the-art is still a long way off yet. The Muse is no different, there is still no sense of realism (thus, true submersion) during gameplay. The closest I've come to realism is saying, "I'm a Lieutenant," when I want to get to the courtyard first to launch an air-strike beacon. Speaking of which, does anybody know how to launch the howitzer support fire? Uh, excuse me, I digress...

Sound Quality - A Sacrifice of Milk and Honey
Now this is the meat and potatoes of a sound card! For starters, it's loud as hell. Did I mention loud? When I first played some music, the sonic pressure was so great that I actually felt a part of my brain go squirting out of my nose. You think I'm kidding? Consequently I have button tunered volume down button. Everything I threw at the MuseXL was met with enthusiastic reward, from old T-Rex's 'Bang A-Gong' to the Akira SE DVD (Great! I get it now, too!). It manages to surpass the Audigy in a few areas, but doesn't quite achieve Santa Cruz levels of audio ecstasy. It's not sweet, and it's not smooth but not terribly so. But it does deliver a good time and kicks you in the pants for good measure.