1P Start

The wait is finally over and Rock Band fans will rest assured knowing that Rock Band 2’s track list is mighty strong. Here’s the list, followed by my thoughts:

# “Let There Be Rock” by AC/DC
# “Girl’s Gone Grey” by AFI
# “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette
# “Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains
# “Ramblin’ Man” by Allman Brothers
# “Almost Easy” by Avenged Sevenfold
# “Shooting Star” by Bad Company
# “So Whatcha Want” by Beastie Boys
# “E-Pro” by Beck
# “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill
# “White Wedding Pt. I” by Billy Idol
# “One Way or Another” by Blondie
# “Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan
# “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
# “Hello There” by Cheap Trick
# “Uncontrollable Urge” by Devo
# “Feel the Pain” by Dinosaur Jr.
# “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed
# “Panic Attack” by Dream Theater
# “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran
# “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello
# “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac
# “Everlong” by Foo Fighters
# “Shackler’s Revenge” by Guns N’ Roses
# “PDA” by Interpol
# “Mountain Song” by Jane’s Addiction
# “Aqualung” by Jethro Tull
# “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
# “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett
# “Anyway You Want It” by Journey
# “Painkiller” by Judas Priest
# “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas
# “Pretend We’re Dead” by L7
# “Our Truth” by Lacuna Coil
# “One Step Closer” by Linkin Park
# “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit
# “De-Luxe” by Lush
# “Colony of Birchmen” by Mastodon
# “Peace Sells” by Megadeth
# “Battery” by Metallica
# “Where’d You Go” by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
# “Float On” by Modest Mouse
# “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead
# “Drain You” by Nirvana
# “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum
# “Nine in the Afternoon” by Panic at the Disco
# “That’s What You Get” by Paramore
# “Alive” by Pearl Jam
# “Lump” by Presidents of the USA
# “Testify” by Rage Against the Machine
# “Round & Round” by Ratt
# “Give it Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
# “Give it All” by Rise Against
# “The Trees” by Rush
# “Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups
# “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins
# “I Was Wrong” by Social Distortion
# “Teenage Riot” by Sonic Youth
# “Spoonman” by Soundgarden
# “Cool for Cats” by Squeeze
# “Bodhitsattva” by Steely Dan
# “Rock’n Me” by Steve Miller Band
# “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
# “Chop Suey” by System of a Down
# “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads
# “Master Exploder” by Tenacious D
# “Souls of Black” by Testament
# “New Kid in School” by The Donnas
# “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go’s
# “Alabama Getaway” by The Grateful Dead
# “American Woman” by The Guess Who
# “Kids in America” by The Muffs
# “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” by The Offspring
# “Alex Chilton” by The Replacements
# “Pinball Wizard” by The Who
# “Visions” by Abnormality
# “Get Clean” by Anarchy Club
# “Night Lies” by Bang Camaro
# “Shoulder to the Plow” by Breaking Wheel
# “Neighborhood” by The Libyans
# “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” by The Main Drag
# “Conventional Lover” by Speck
# “Supreme Girl” by The Sterns
# “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” by That Handsome Devil

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I loved the original Wolfenstein. Forget Doom, Wolfenstein was the first game that really got me into first person shooters. The good times didn’t end their either, Return to Castle Wolfenstein was a pretty fun trip and as one of the first XBox Live enabled games for the original Xbox I have a ton of fun memories associated with it. Now the latest issue of Game Informer has the announcement that a new Wolfenstein game is in the works. Awesome.

This new Wolfenstein’s details appear to be very similar to previous releases, except that maybe this time the hero gets to use some supernatural powers along with the usual array of standard guns. For a few more details head on over to Gaming Today.

The Japanese frighten me sometimes. Yeah, I did that they have strange sexual tastes, like the fact that they blur out genitalia, but have invented some incredibly explicit acts over the years. Sometimes there’s a line that’s crossed that turns something from “sexy” to “incredibly disgusting”. A recent homage to Nintento’s Wii Fit on cover of what looks like a softcore porn DVD called Geki Fit fits the later description quite nicely:

In case you’re slow, let me highlight the good and the bad here:

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An elite team of Grandmas are busy knitting drum silences for Rock Band 2

More details emerged on the new Rock Band 2 drums. While they are essentially the same drums as the first game’s, the new drums are reputed to have quieter drumpads that are velocity sensitive, a reinforced metal pedal (thank god), and clips for add on cymbals that could be purchased separately. It’s a bummer that the cymbals aren’t included with this set, but at least Guitar Hero World Tour doesn’t trump the Rock Band 2 drum set entirely.

But wait, that’s not all! Rock Band 2 will have another set of drums that’s called the Ion kit. The Ion kit will have three cymbals, adjustable pads, a metal frame, and the ability to use the kit as a fully functioning electronic drum kit, i.e. it’s not for just Rock Band.

If you crave more info on these drum kits, you can find all the deets in the latest issue of Games Informer or you can just go to this message board where some dude scanned the entire article and posted it. Isn’t that illegal or something?

While playing GTA IV (I’m so close to the end I can taste it), I thought that it was a shame that I wouldn’t get any “trophies” (aka Achievements on the PS3) for my hard work. I wondered what kind of trophies I was missing as I was doing all kinds off crazy stuff in the game. Then I was comforted by the thought that when Sony rolled out the trophies in update v2.40, I’d probably get all the trophies I had earned retroactively.

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Everyone knew it was coming, but Harmonix has officially announced the arrival of Rock Band 2… in September! The name of the sequel appears to be Rock Band: Opening Act. I’m really hoping they change the name, since an opening act isn’t the pinnacle of rock success. Anyway, In a talk with IGN, Harmonix Lead Designer Dan Teasdale divulged a few details about the sequel, but what’s interesting are some of the questions he didn’t really answer.

You can read the whole article for yourself, but here’s a quick run down of all the most important facts:

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The Playstation Portable has been something of a failure for Sony so far. In every single territory around the world, it has been roundly beaten by the cheaper and more innovative Nintendo DS, although Japan continues to be Sony’s strongest supporter. But the lack of success in managing to get a sizeable foothold in the hand-held market means there is a question mark hanging over the little console’s future.

According to Zeno Colaço, a VP for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, talking to Pocket Gamer recently, the console is still subject to the 10 year hardware strategy that Sony seems intent on sticking with. But while that has proved a viable strategy for the PS2, which continues to sell in huge numbers for such an outdated piece of hardware, I just can’t see the PSP having that much life left it in.

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Normally this is something I’d cover on the toy blog ToyBender.com, but since that site is perpetually down, you get the full on toy coverage here, so if this is too “inside the toy world” for you, then I’m sorry. Anyway, McFarlane Toys recently announced that they are making a series of action figures from the Guitar Hero games. Included in their initial line up are characters from the Guitar Hero games Johnny Napalm, Lars Ümlaut, Axel Steel, and God of Rock.

From what I can see on the internets, the response has been pretty underwhelming. Does anyone really want these figures? Unless you’re really into Guitar Hero then I’m guessing no. The broadest appeal figure in this line up is God of Rock, because he’s um… God holding a guitar, but even then I’d have to guess that there might be a limited audience for this.

What is really annoying for toy fans is that McFarlane Toys (the guy behind Spawn and lots of sports themed action figures) announced that they were canceling their original lines to focus soley on licensed products just a few weeks ago. It’s a crime that instead of getting kick ass sculptures of dragons and what not, McFarlane is now producing this kind of garbage. Okay, garbage may be a bit harsh, but I can think of a lot of other toys that would be cooler than Guitar Hero toys. Reallly the game is about the music, not the stupid avatars.

Word on the street is that over on the IMDB message boards David Hayter, a.k.a. the voice of the American Solid Snake in every single version of Metal Gear Solid, posted a note that fans should start a petition to let him write a screenplay for a Metal Gear Solid movie.

You may laugh and think that this is some ranting by a loser voice actor with nothing better to do because he’s only riding on the success of one game franchise, but this is not so my friends! David Hayter has real credentials when it comes to writing movies… kick ass movies. You see Mr. Hayter has writing credits for two of the best comic book movies of all time, both X-Men and (the much superior) X-Men 2. He’s even wrote the script for the upcoming Watchmen film, which I’m told by my future self is ball explodingly awesome. Sure he did write the Scorpian King, but everyone has to have one lame project to keep them humble.

Hayter is the perfect choice for writing the Metal Gear Solid movie because he’s both intimately involved with the franchise (read: he’s invested in it’s continued success) and his primary and best screen writing work is adaptations of awesome things. If that doesn’t convince you that David Hayter should write the Metal Gear solid movie, then how about this? He speaks fluent Japanese. Ninjas speak fluent Japanese. You put the two together.

If you’ve been dying to put on your Spider-Man pajamas again and spend hours playing your Marvel superheroes Ultimate Alliance style, then you might be pleased to learn some details about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. The biggest detail so far is that the story is supposed to take place during Marvel’s Civil War. For you non-comic book geeks, that’s when all the Marvel superdudes decided that it was a good idea to beat the crap out of each other for awhile and give the baddies some time to rest up for their next round of beatings.

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Metal Gear Solid 4 is now upon us, and it has been widely greeted as the best game ever to appear on any machine ever, which I think means it’s quite good. However, it is also relatively short, with many lucky PS3 owners having already finished it after clocking in 20 hours or so gameplay. While the more hardcore amongst you may be starting it all over again, many will now box up Hideo Kojima’s latest masterpiece and start looking to the future instead.

Luckily for those people, Metal Gear Solid 5 has already been mooted, although not officially announced by Kojima. Even though this fourth instalment is the last chapter in the Solid Snake story, it’s not the end of the franchise, or even the end of Big Boss.

In an interview with 1UP, MGS4 assistant producer Ryan Payton revealed some tidbits about the future of the franchise, and the possibility that the next game could well take the form of a prequel.

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When Wii Fit was released in the states last month, not only did it sell out within days, it also prompted a new wave of fitness freakery and another way of people to attempt to lose weight. While some will doubt the ability of what is essentially a video game, to help you lose weight, one blogger’s experience with the game is nothing but positive.

Kris Abel, a blogger writing for CTV, details his experience with the game in the six weeks since he bought it, and reviews the software at the same time.

The most interesting and intriguing part of his post is where he tells of his Wii Mii’s response to him reaching his weight-loss goal of 16 pounds in six months in just six weeks.

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Nintendo has always been the games company that puts fun above all else, sometimes at the expense of innovation, graphics, and moving the game industry forward. In that sense, you could say that Nintendo is the casual gamer to the hardcore gamer folk at Sony and Microsoft.

This generation has seen the casual gamer tag being applied to the Nintendo consoles more than ever, because both the Wii and DS have a much wider range of appeal than their competitors the PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360. But despite being inherently and unashamedly casual in their intent, I thought Nintendo would at least respect the more hardcore amongst us. But it seems not after comments from Nintendo of Europe managing director of marketing Laurent Fischer prove.

In an article about Wiiware, the downloadable games store for the Wii which features hundreds of small but highly playable games, NextGen.biz revealed that Fischer referred to the storage space problems on the Wii by saying how “geeks and otaku” were the only people who would want the issue addressed.

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For a limited time PS2 owners can get their hands on Rock Band for the low, low price of around a hundred bucks. If you’re a PS2 owner and you’ve been sitting on the fence for this one, you might want to act now.

Or do you want to wait? The good points about this sale is that the controllers are wireless and they are compatible with the PS3. The bad points? Well there’s no DLC and from one Rock Band owner to another, you’re going to get sick of the songs that come with the game real quick. The other negative going against the PS2 version is that it lacks the World Tour mode. Oh yeah and online play is missing. Okay forget what I said earlier, maybe you shouldn’t act now. Only buy the PS2 version if you don’t have any other options. Otherwise just buy a PS3 or 360 you cheap bastards.

Porn star Justine Joli was recently hired to review games for the site Das Gamer in a shameless attempt to get many hits from horny fan boys. Joli has previously appeared in such fine magazines as Penthouse, Hustler among web appearances and videos. If she’s qualified to review games is anyone’s guess, but I’d wager to say that she’s not really a “gamer girl”. I’m guessing she’s only playing games because she’s paid to. Either way, I bet she’s more talented on screen than Morgan Webb can ever dream to be. You can check out the intro on Das Gamer’s site. I’d hold off if you’re work though. It’s pretty tame, but you better be safe than sorry, especially if you’re a teacher or a priest.

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