Are you still playing DJ Hero? No? Well a third music downloadable pack is about to both Xbox Live and PSN, so maybe you’ll dust off your plastic turntable. The pack will feature three mashups of six different songs by both Jay-Z and Eminem, which are:
“Shake That” by Eminem mixed with “Show Me What You Got” by Jay-Z
“Without Me” by Eminem mixed with “Encore” by Jay-Z
“Can I Get A…” by Jay-Z mixed with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem
If you care to buy them, the price for all three mashups will be 640 Microsoft Points or $7.99 on PSN. They will be available on March 25th.
Even though Harmonix is well underway developing Green Day: Rock Band, the studio has just announced that they are also hard at work creating Rock Band 3, which should be released THIS holiday season. The news was just revealed on the official Facebook fan-page for Rock Band.
According to the simple status update on the social networking site, we should expect something new and fresh:
“Harmonix is developing Rock Band 3 for worldwide release this holiday season! The game, which will be published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts, will innovate and revolutionise the music genre once again, just as Harmonix did with the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and The Beatles: Rock Band. Stay tuned for more details!”
I really hope Harmonix has something exciting up their sleeve because if they don’t, I think many gamers will be hesitant on buying the next installment of the famed music series. The music genre as a whole is really starting to take it’s course because the market was flooded with rhythm games. Sadly, I wouldn’t even blame Harmonix for the amount of titles in stores that require gamers to press colored buttons on plastic instruments. A lot of it has to do with Activision and milking their Guitar Hero franchise.
Since the first Rock Band was released in 2007, we have seen a total of three games on the home consoles with the name. However, in the same span Activision has shipped a total of NINE games under the “Hero” name.
Hopefully Activision hasn’t ruined the fun for both EA Harmonix, but again it really is up to them on bringing something new to the table. And then in a year, their competitor can steal the idea.
Even before DJ Hero was shipped into stores last year, we heard rumblings about how Activision already had confidence in the game and had given FreeStyleGames the greenlight to develop a sequel. Of course, some people had their doubts of a second version because when the game was released, it didn’t necessarily sell the way the publisher thought it would have. Today, we have some more encouraging news that suggests that Activision is still planning on releasing a DJ Hero 2.
The tidbit comes from DJ David Guetta, a 42-year-old DJ whose music has been available for download for the original title. The DJ told Kelowna that he will be helping Activision to develop what he calls “the number two version.”
“I think it’s amazing, this game, and I’m going to work on the No. 2 version,”
Guetta went on and talked about how the intensity of the music game really gives the player the feeling of being a real DJ; however, he even finds the most difficult setting so hard, he can’t beat it.
“I think it’s amazing, this game, and I’m going to work on the No. 2 version,” Guetta says. “It’s a really crazy game. After 10 minutes, you get the rush that a DJ gets after 10 years of practicing. I have fun with it, but you know what? I can’t go to the maximum level. It’s too difficult for me. It’s crazy.”
I actually really enjoyed DJ Hero, it’s not nearly as innovative as Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but it did one thing great — which was the music. Countless times I felt my body moving to the beat of the original mash-ups, and have wished many times of a release actual soundtrack. However, the game did have flaws. These negatives mostly stemmed from the lack of multiplayer options, which really hurt the title.
Music games of late, really focus on playing with other people in the room. Sadly, with the lack of modes, DJ Hero wasn’t the game of choice during some of my recent get-togethers. Hopefully if DJ Daivd Guetta is correct and a sequel is on the way — multiplayer will be the area FreeStyleGames tries to innovate.
Shigeru Miyamoto chatted with ONM and hinted that we could see some kind of sequel to their not-such-a-hit rhythm title Wii Music, even though many didn’t consider it a success, or live up to the expectations Nintendo wanted for the game.
“I think it sold lower than our expectations but on the other hand it was a really unique game, I have to say,” Miyamoto told the magazine. “And also, even today, we are receiving several different offers from people in the field of music education, so as far as Wii Music is concerned, I think it still has great potential. And in the future there might be some developments. We may want to think about the possibility of making some improvements, based upon the original Wii Music.”
So does this mean Mr. Miyamoto and Nintendo had already greenlit a new Wii Music? Well, kind of, but he can’t speak about it. “Unfortunately we don’t have any news we can talk about at the moment,” said the legendary game designer. “But like Wii Fit Plus, it’s not really a sequel to the original Wii Fit – but we have added some features to improve the overall experience. It’s a kind of an enhanced version of the original Wii Fit…”
When Wii Music was first revealed to the world at E3 2008, it might have been and still could be, the worst surprise/announcement the company has ever revealed during the famous expo. I remember sitting in the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles along with other members of the press, trying to figure out why Nintendo thought this was going to be a blockbuster title. When we finally got to play the game, I use the word game loosely because a “game” needs rules and this title didn’t, I thought it was actually more horrible than I could have imagined. Instead of playing an awesome Journey song like in Rock Band 2, which I played minutes before Wii Music, I was mimicking playing a flute with the Wiimote, and ‘jamming’ to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
Surprise! Activision plans on releasing another Call of Duty, which will once again be developed by the other studio who works on the series, Treyarch. The news came directly from the company during a Q&A earnings call. Sadly, the publisher didn’t reveal any details about the upcoming first-person shooter, but back in May, rumors have been floating around that the sixth installment will be told around the Vietnam War era. But until there is a official unveiling, it’s nothing more than speculation as of now.
Activision also confirmed a new Guitar Hero is set to come out next year, which should be the 255th installment of the popular franchise. Of course, no word if a new instrument will be included this time around, but it’s a safe bet that your current plastic guitar will still work with the newest sequel.
The company also mentioned that a brand new Spider-Man videogame will be in stores in 2010, as well as a brand new Shrek title. While I think the Shrek title will be based off the forth movie, I doubt Spider-Man will be. According to IMDB and various other sites, “Spider-Man 4″ is scheduled to hit theaters in 2011.
Surprise! Activision plans on releasing another Call of Duty in 2010, which will once again be developed by the other studio who works on the series, Treyarch. The news came directly from the company during a Q&A earnings call. Sadly, the publisher didn’t reveal any details about the upcoming first-person shooter, but back in May, rumors have been floating around that the seventh installment will be told around the Vietnam War era. But until there is an official unveiling, it’s nothing more than speculation as of now.
Activision also confirmed a new Guitar Hero is set to come out next year, which should be the 255th installment of the popular franchise. Of course, no word if a new instrument will be included this time around, but it’s a safe bet that your current plastic guitar will still work with the newest sequel.
The company also mentioned that a brand new Spider-Man videogame will be in stores in 2010, as well as a brand new Shrek title. While I think the Shrek title will be based off the forth movie, I doubt Spider-Man will be. According to IMDB and various other sites, the “Spider-Man 4″ film is scheduled to hit theaters in 2011, which in turns mean we should see another Spider-Man game in 2011.
MsFrizzyHair on youtube, also known as Danielle in the real world, realized that she could play her flute into the microphone, while she plays Rock Band. She randomly discovered that playing an instrument actually works as a vocal in the game. This happens because the game looks for only pitch and tone, and not the actual lyrics of the song. She embarrassingly admits this is something she does when she doesn’t feel like practicing. We say rock on Danielle and keep on making some more videos. These clips will undoubtedly make you more famous than playing a flute inside a subway station.
The song of choice is ”Afterlife” by Avenged Sevenfold, and she scored a 98% while playing on expert.
MsFrizzyHair on youtube, also known as Danielle in the real world, realized that she could play her flute into the microphone, while she plays Rock Band. She randomly discovered that playing an instrument actually works as a vocal in the game. This happens because the game looks for only pitch and tone, and not the actual lyrics of the song. She embarrassingly admits this is something she does when she doesn’t feel like practicing. We say rock on Danielle and keep on making some more videos. These clips will undoubtedly make you more famous than playing a flute inside a subway station.
The song of choice is “Afterlife” by Avenged Sevenfold, and she scored a 98% while playing on expert.
During last night’s episode of South Park, Stan was upset about the Japanese killings all the whales around the globe. Trying to figure out what he could do, he went over Cartman’s house where he saw the boys playing Rock Band and jamming to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” Watch the video up top of them doing just that, and listen to Cartman sing considerably better than Ms. Gaga. Well…at least I think so.
Warning: This version of the song will most definitely be stuck in your head for days.
What is sure to be a slew of these, Harmonix has released the first downloadable content for The Beatles: Rock Band. Beginning today for Xbox Live (Thursday for PSN owners), gamers who own the rhythm game which is based off the legendary band, can purchase the rest of the tracks from the great album Abbey Road. If you remember correctly, “Come Together,” “Something,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” “The End,” and one of my favorites “Here Comes The Sun,” is already included with the original package.
You can individually buy some of the songs for only $2 which include; “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” “Oh! Darling” and “Because.” Or you can purchase the “Complete the Album Pack” for $17 which contains the songs mentioned before, the full Abbey Road B-side medley, which is 16 minutes long that features: “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” “The End” and “Her Majesty.”
Wii owners can also get on in the action. Sadly though, they can only buy individual songs or in a two pack.
By: Nick Collins on October 12th, 2009 pm31 12:56 pm
It seems as if LEGO Rock Band will be available in time for the Jolly old Fat Guy to bring the kiddie’s this holiday season. Harmonix has released the track list for LEGO Rock Band, and it is (as expected) pretty solid! (except for the fact they brought in the Rascal Flatts version of “Life is a Highway” instead of the superior Tom Cochrane version from)
From the list of 40+ tracks, Harmonixalso is saying that 90%+ of the tracks will be exportable. (only 90%+ due to the fact that some licensing details are still being worked out at this time)
What are your thoughts on this track list? (See list after the jump)
After the break is the current track listing for consoles, as well as what tracks should be on the Nintendo DS version. (more…)
It’s no secret that older musicians are not to thrilled with the idea of the whole music genre in videogames. They somehow believe that these plastic instruments will deter kids from actually playing with the real ones. While I totally disagree with this theory and actually think it encourages the kids to give an actual guitar a try; this is a real concern in the music community.
Nick Mason, who is the drummer for the legendary band Pink Floyd, is also agreeing with the countless musicians who are not a fan of this particular genre. Though, he’s willing to set aside his beliefs for a moment, why? For the all almighty mighty-dollar, of course. “I think we’d consider it,” Mason said, when ask if there is a possibility of a Pink Floyd rhythm game. “Everyone’s looking at new ways of selling the music because the business of selling records has almost disappeared.”
It’s great to know Mason is willing to set aside his own principle to make a little extra cash. Remember, we are currently in a global recession and the last thing I would want to see is Pink Floyd checking out the dollar menu at McDonald’s.
If we ever do see the day when Rock Band: Pink Floyd is launched, I really hope the song I embedded above is included. It’s also the perfect theme for this post.
Microsoft is selling for charity an official Beatles: Rock Band painted Xbox 360 console on ebay. Proceeds go to “Doctors Without Boards,” which is a organization that was started by doctors and journalist alike to help people whose lives are threatened by violence, neglect and/or catastrophe.The charity chosen was actually hand picked by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.
Up top is the full picture of the customized system, but after the jump check out some of the close-ups. The level of detail is outstanding and is obviously inspired by the awesome trailer which was first shown at E3.
So you want it? Well…expect to pay a pretty penny. The the system has already received 44 bids and currently stands at $760.00 (as I write this) and still has has a little over nine days to go, before the auction is finalized.
Again, make sure you check out the rest of the pictures.
The Beatles: Rock Band is only a few days away from being sold in stores, but we have a video you can view that shows off the menus of the game, if you care about stuff like that. SchnackAttack69 on youtube, somehow got his hands on an early copy of the anticipated rhythm game, and decided to upload a video of what you’ll see in the game, while you don’t play.
A couple of things are definitely worth mentioning in the settings. For instance, you can choose how fast you want the notes to move, as they flow towards you on your TV set. You can also take these same notes and make them completely disappear so you can enjoy watching the virtual Beatles, as you play an instrument with no onscreen distractions. Of course you would need to first remember each note in order to watch the group preform, or at least turn on the mode where you can’t fail out of a song. Another option which is selectable in the menus, is having the crowd noise be at “enthusiastic levels.” Meaning you’ll hear hundreds of screaming teenage girls loving every moment as you press some plastic buttons, unlike your actual life.
Okay, let me first start off by saying Radiohead is absolutely my favorite band today. I’ve had the privilege to see them preform a few shows and own everything they’ve released, plus more. I don’t think there is another rock group today that influences artists like the UK-based band. Really for me, only one other group comes close and that would be the legendary Beatles.
With all that said, I laughed at the clip up top. While there are millions of Radiohead fans out there, there are plenty of haters. To be honest, I can understand their point of view, but I don’t agree them. The video up top kinda pokes fun at what many of the non-RH fans out there complain about. While I love the lead singer’s voice, Thom York, many people think it sounds like whining. So break.com, decided to parody what kind of party would Radiohead fans put on, if a Radiohead: Rock Band was actually released.
EA uses The Beatles in their advertisements to sell The Beatles: Rock Band and Activision goes with a bunch of Playboy Playmates to sell Guitar Hero 5. As much as I love looking at the girls, the commercial is really uninspiring because its exactly the same “Risky Business” idea as the last 57 GH ads that have been airing over the course of the year. Maybe it’s just a metaphor for the actual game because many feel the franchise has also been underwhelming as well. It also could be the similar because Brett Ratner has been helming these ads. Or maybe it’s a combination of both…
I guess it is also worth noting that the Playmates do not take off their shirt to reveal their bra & panties. Last year, when Activision aired their first TV spots for Guitar Hero: World Tour, Heidi Klum was the star and she ripped off her clothes and revealed her undergarments — of course their was another ad which had her clothing on the whole time, but we all know that one sucked. When the bra & panties promo was first released to the Internet, some media members, most notably Bill O’Reilly, were on a uproar with the images of Heidi almost naked. I believe O’Reilly was just a bit jealous because he doesn’t look nearly as good in his bra.
If you haven’t seen the new The Beatles: Rock Band commercial that has been airing on television lately, I’ve embedded up top for you to view. When EA, along with Harmonix and MTV, first showed off the marvelous animation E3 trailer — I felt the marketing was actually going to be pretty good. That’s a tad different then how I felt in the past with the publisher. If you haven’t read my site in the before, I’ve been quite harsh with EA and their advertising schemes, but that’s another story for another time.
Now with this new commercial, EA is doing everything right. I feel the two biggest hurdles EA has to overcome, is selling the game to customers who don’t normally play videogames but love the legendary band. And the other is convincing this younger generation who don’t go out of their way to listen to The Beatles.
The video up top does a fantastic job marketing the game towards this older generation or Beatles fans. Seriously, when I saw the commercial I actually got chills. I love how they decided to use the song “Come Together,” which has all types of people walking with Lennon & company. It’s just a great metaphor and I feel could help sell the game. So far, EA hasn’t dropped the ball with this one.
