News

Rock Band 2 Wants Your Back To School Money

Harmonix announced today that Rock Band 2, the inevitable sequel to the obscenely successful music game, will be coming to the Xbox 360 in September. A PS3 version is rumored to be coming later in the year, while a Wii release is anyone’s guess (the poor bastards just got the first Rock Band last week).

IGN interviewed lead designer Dan Teasdale to get some more info on the release, but he wouldn’t reveal too many details other than everything will be bigger, better and smarter than the original. Expect improved instruments (like a wireless guitar for the 360), more detailed character customization, and new modes, including an easier way to play guitar and sing at the same time. And of course, all the downloadable content from RB1 will be compatible with the new version. Hit the jump for some screenshots and a look at the new guitar.
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Tags: Harmonix, MTV Games, Rock Band 2 | No Comments »

Review

Games Without Boxes: New Downloads On PSN, WiiWare, and Xbox Live Arcade

By Scott Stein

Fatal Inertia EX
PlayStation Store (Koei)
Cost: $29.99
Japanese company Koei , normally known for its obsessive military history series Dynasty Warriors, has hit up the PSN with an updated version of their 2007 360 hover-racing game. No samurai here; in fact, it’s a combat-racing genre piece solidly lodged somewhere between Wipeout and Star Wars Episode 1 podracing. The vehicles control a little stiffly, though the semi-open-environment arenas afford kinetic cliff-hugging and water-skimming opportunities (until getting pulled back when you miss flying through a checkpoint, thus ending the buzz). Online matches and a fair number of single-player challenges and car upgrades are good reasons to try a download, and the graphics are better-than-average for a non-disc game—but there are only six worlds to race on, and the cost feels like it should really be ten dollars cheaper. Until Wipeout HD, this is the only game on the futuristic-racing block, and it’s not a bad one at that.
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Tags: Fatal Inertia EX, Games Without Boxes, Gyrostarr, Ticket To Ride | No Comments »

Interviews

An Interview With Alex Seropian, The Man Behind The Chimp

Hail to the Chimp, the world’s first and only politically-themed, animal-based party brawler has hit shelves. The game allows players to choose between 11 animal candidates vying to become president. While the strong reviews have already begun to flow in, the very fact that the game has made it to market deserves a fair amount of respect. Not that the game’s creator, Alex Seropian or his company Wideload had to overcome massive odds or raise themselves up by the bootstraps. Seropian already did that nearly 20 years ago when he founded Bungie in a Chicago garage. Back then Bungie put out games like Gnop!, Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete, and then along came Halo, the game that literally created the Xbox market.

After shipping Halo, Seropian walked away from Bungie/Microsoft halfway through the development of the sequel. “When I came back to Chicago I wasn’t doing anything except starting a family, for about six months,” says Seropian. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to get back into this business because my passion is doing new original stuff and being independent.” But in 2003 Seropian founded Wideload, releasing Stubbs the Zombie two years later. Hail to the Chimp, the second title from Wideload, is the latest product of Seropian’s drive to create the games he wants to make while the industry moves onto the next sequel. Check out what Seropian had to say about the future of independent games, lucking out on the current election and his concept for the most expensive game of all time. Hit the jump for the full interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alex Seropian, Gamecock, Hail to the Chimp, Wideload | No Comments »

News

New This Week: Games Worth The Cash, Or At Least A Rental

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2
On sale: June 29
The first Guitar Hero game fully tied to one band is now on shelves. Take the stage alongside Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and…those other two, I mean three guys. Rather than just sticking with, “We’ve moved over 150 million albums” Tyler had this to say about getting picked to headline Guitar Hero: “Any band that can go from ‘Don’t Want to Miss A Thing’ to the ass-kicking ‘Sweet Emotion’ to the cheekiness of ‘Love in an Elevator,’ to the classic ballad ‘Dream On’ shows why Activision chose us to headline this game based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog. Not only is songwriting a bitch, but then it goes and has puppies.” Bravo Steven. The new game features more than 25 original Aerosmith tracks. You can also add to your peripheral collection with the Aerosmith-branded wireless guitar. www.activision.com
Buy it now.
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Tags: Dungeon Runners, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Trauma Center 2 | No Comments »

Game Trailer

Wait, Saints Row 2 Has A…Storyline?

As information has slowly trickled out about Saints Row 2, everything from death by defibrillator to Gary Busey as a pitchman, nothing has even indicated there will be a story line. So far the game has looked entertaining enough not to really need a few movies’ worth of dialogue. But, judging by the trailer of cut scenes after the jump, gamers will get their share of dark, sarcastic semi-drama as well as a healthy dose of facial tattoos, stripper poles and samurai swords. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Saints Row 2, THQ | 1 Comment »

Hardware

Music Game Cold War Update: McFarlane Rolls Out Guitar Hero Toys

Activision has delivered it’s latest crotch shot to the Rock Band franchise in the form of four action figures based on Guitar Hero characters. Johnny Napalm, Axel Steel, God of Rock and Lars Ümlaut will storm shelves (priced between $10-$15) this November in conjunction with the release of Guitar Hero World Tour. Sadly, these things already look better than Shocker’s line of Metalocalypse figures. Dethklok, the gauntlet has been thrown. If you haven’t figured it out by now, this entire post has been leading to an excuse to post a video of Dr. Rockzo. Hit the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Activision, Guitar Hero World Tour, it's not a doll it's an action figure, Metalocalypse | 3 Comments »

News

You Won’t Get A Pair Of Licensed Tights In DC Universe Online

DC Universe Online for the PC and PS3 will hit shelves sometime in 2009. But players will not get a chance to assume the role of Batman, Green Lantern or even the lowly Aquaman. Which really kind of seems like bullshit. The game is going to be a cross between an action title and an MMO. Why not have multiple Superman’s flying around? You will get to design your own superhero, pick out some abilities from a buffet of powers and choose between good and evil. DC characters will appear in the game but only as NPCs. If it’s a dealbreaker, or you already left City of Heroes behind, stick with Worlds Collide.

[Eurogamer via Kotaku]

Tags: Comic books, DC Universe Online | No Comments »

Preview

Hands On With PixelJunk Eden

Sony is working on some pretty Zen shit. At least that’s the feeling I left with from a hands on demo of Q-Games upcoming PSN title PixelJunk Eden. When I say “Zen shit” I mean that in the most positive way possible. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: PixelJunk Eden, PSN, Sony, zen shit | No Comments »