Stan W.
E-Mail: stan@altgn.com
Yahoo IM: maskofskin
AIM: shrevestan
Jabber:
Web Page: http://www.altgn.com
Registered Since: 2007-09-24 09:52:40
Profile: Stan resides in Shreveport, LA and spends his time writing about vidja games and vidja game accessories.
Posts by maskofskin:
- Revised Fan Caps. Any expert players stuck playing with friends on Easy will appreciate this. Bands will now be able to progress further on lower difficulties and can play on Hard to unlock the “One Million Fans” achievement.
- More diverse songs in Band World Tour. Thank God! If “Creep” showed up one more time…
- Improved phoneme recognition. There is nothing is worse than nailing “When You Were Young” only to have your streak broken because the game felt you didn’t say “Ow” good enough. This should help alleviate that. Mic latency has also been improved on the PS3.
- Faster loading of downloadable content. The game will now cache DLC information so it only has to do it once.
- Xbox 360 Band Logos are now visible through Xbox LIVE. Prepare to see a TON of dick logos. Now they need to give us the ability to share artwork.
- Rainbow Six Vegas 2
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Rainbow Six Vegas 2
- Hot Shots Golf 2: Out of Bounds
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore Bundle
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot
- Cards, Eye of Judgement Biolith Rebellion 2 Theme Deck
- Cards, Eye of Judgement Biolith Rebellion 2 Booster
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Worms: A Space Oddity
- George of the Jungle
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- WWII Aces
- Spelunker (NES, 500 Wii Points)
- Super R-Type (Super NES, 800 Wii Points)
- Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends
- Singstar 90’s
- World Championship Cards
- DT Racer Refueled
- Sega Superstars Tennis
- Diary Girl
- Fantasy Aquarium
- Lost in Blue 3
- Go Pets: Vacation Island
- Championship Pony
- Lost Empire: Immortals
- Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
- “Blinded By Fear” by At the Gates (master)
- “Thrasher” by Evile (master)
- “D.O.A.” by The Haunted (master)
- “Shockwave” by Black Tide (Master)
- “Crushcrushcrush” by Paramore (Master)
- “Beethoven’s Cunt” by Serj Tankian (Master)
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- Brain Challenge (800 MS Points)
- Bliss Island (400 MS Points)
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- Super Smash Bros Brawl
- House of the Dead 2 and 3 Returns
- George of the Jungle
- DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure (Super Famicon, 900 Wii points)
- Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu (Genesis, 900 Wii points)
- Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- WWE Smackdown vs Raw Superstar
- Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz
- Buzz Jr. Robo Jam
- El Tigre
- George of the Jungle
- Sprint Cars 2: Showdown at Eldora
- World Heroes Anthology
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- World Championship Cards
- Wild Arms XF
- Flatout: Head On
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
- Nanostray 2
- Insecticide
- George of the Jungle
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
- Seven Kingdoms Conquest
- Imperium Romanum
- Lost Empire: Immortal
- Army of Two
- Major League Baseball 2K8
- Bully Scholarship Edition
- Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (800 MS Points)
- MLB 08: The Show
- Army of Two
- Major League Baseball 2K8
- Major League Baseball 2K8
- Bully Scholarship Edition
- Ninja Reflex
- Super Turrican (SNES, 800 Wii Points)
- Silent Hill: Origins
- Major League Baseball 2K8
- MLB 08: The Show
- WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Superstar Series
- God of War: Chains of Olympus
- Major League Baseball 2K8
- Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship
- MLB 08: The Show
- Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
- Ninja Reflex
- Eco Creatures: Save the Forest
- Imagine: Figure Skater
- Petz Bunnyz
- Homie Rollerz
- Spitfire Heroes: Tales Royal Air Force
- Chicken Hunter
- Anno 1701
- Lets Ride Friends Forever
- Best of Tests DS
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
- Company of Heroes Gold
- Imperium Romanum
- Build-a-lot
- Artic Stud Poker Run
- Stranger
- “China Cat Sunflower”
- “Casey Jones”
- “Sugar Magnolia”
- “Truckin”
- “Franklin’s Tower”
- “I Need A Miracle”
- Frontlines: Fuel of War
- Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
- LOST: Via Domus
- Triggerheart Exelica (800 MS Points)
- Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
- Lost Planet Extreme Condition
- LOST: Via Domus
- Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed
- Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
- Sega Bass Fishing
- Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk
- Cocoto Magic Circus
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64, 1,000 Wii Points)
- Psychosis (TurboGrafx16, 600 Wii Points)
- Heavenly Guardian
- World Championship Cards
- Patapon
- Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship
- Puzzle Guzzle
- Naruto Ninja Destiny
- Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force
- Disney Friends
- Brain Assist
- Bubble Bobble Double Shot
- Petz Wild Animals Tigerz
- Bratz: Super Babyz
- Fantasy Aquarium
- Frontlines: Fuel of War
- LOST: Via Domus
- Farm Vet
- The Sims 2 Free Time
- Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
- Richochet Infinity
- Rhem 3: The Secret Library
- Powerboat GT
- Online Band World Tour
- Better profile to instrument management
- Bass Career mode (with new Achievements)
- Ability to create a custom band for solo play instead of having random avatars fill in
- Ability to exclude songs from Random Selections
- Support for the upcoming Stage and Light Kit
- Screenshot feature
Rock Band Update Brings In-Game Music Store, No Online BWT
March 20th, 2008UPDATE: The update has gone live for the PS3 and users are reporting a few glitches such as the store showing the Grateful Dead pack as previously purchased, but unavailable for download, as well as some hangups when switching between setlists in the Band World Tour Mode. Stay tuned for more updates as they come available.
Harmonix has finally announced details on the “in-game music store patch” for Rock Band that was mentioned several weeks ago. Hitting “this week,” the title update will add the music store option to the main menu, allowing players to browse and purchase songs without going to the Marketplace or PlayStation Store, view album art and difficulty details, and preview audio clips from each song. Other features, include:
While this update is pretty awesome, it’s missing a feature that nearly everyone is clamoring for, the Online Band World Tour. Concrete information on if the feature will ever see the light of day is nonexistent. The IGN review stated the Online BWT was “coming soon” five months ago while Joystiq was told “this is the “only patch planned” at this time, so players looking to streamline their multiplayer registration experience or do Band World Tour online are gonna have to sit tight.”
The official Harmonix statement says “we’re very aware that there are features that the community has requested that aren’t addressed in this software update. I want to make it very clear that we’re listening to all of your requests, and actively want to get these features onto the Rock Band platform in the future – but when we do add them, we also want them to be 100% perfect, and not rushed just to make it into any specific software update.” So now the question is whether “Rock Band platform” means the current game, or inevitable sequel. You can see screens of the Music Store below.
So let us know what you think of this update, and what features you’d like to see in Rock Band.
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What Are Ya Buyin’? - Back to Vegas Edition
March 17th, 2008
The big game this week is Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Electric Boogaloo for the 360 and PS3. Following up on the holiday ‘06 original, the sequel sports some new features, most notably a COD4 type experience system, but has cut the co-op from 4 to 2 for the Campaign. The PS3 is having a big week with Condemned 2: Bloodshot (originally slated for last week) hitting along with Hot Shots Golf, and some Booster Packs for our Eye of Judgment fans out there. You know who you are. If you have a backwards compatible PS3, you might want to check out the Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection for the PS2.
There isn’t much to get excited for on the download side this week. The Virtual Console is getting Super R-Type and Spelunker, which I’ve been told does not involve ass in any way. Over on XBLA, there are no new games coming out, but Assault Heroes and Doom are going on sale for 400 MS Points, half off the release price. Assault Heroes is actually a decent co-op, dual-stick shooter if you haven’t bought it yet.
And finally, after some stiff competition from Championship Pony and Go Pets: Vacation Island, the Shovelware Shit of the Week goes to Diary Girl. HiO’s game of the year lets you customize and dress your grrl and keep up with your busy schedule of homework and calls to Brad. You can see the rest of the releases below.
Xbox 360:
PS3:
Nintendo Wii:
Wii Virtual Console:
PS2:
PSP:
Nintendo DS:
PC Games:
[GamerDeals via Joystiq]
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Rock Band Weekly Download - Earache Thrash Pack (Updated)
March 14th, 2008Update: I downloaded and played through the songs this morning on guitar and vocal band quickplay before work. I was 20 minutes late, but you have this update. First off, all vocals are judged as talky parts meaning you can growl, talk, sing or whatever. As a band, the easiest song, “DOA,” is in Blistering and it gets harder from there.
“Blinded By Fear” - I knew this song the best so played it first. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and the guitar seemed kind of dumbed down, especially compared to the other two. The intro is changed some from the album. The “noise” section is shortened and the clean spoken part is much louder.
“DOA” - Has some fun guitar riffs and a lot of alt strumming fast sections.
“Thrasher” - One of the fastest, if not the fastest song in Rock Band. Think Miserlou speed. The solo is brutal.
With this and “Shockwave” Harmonix has definitely bumped the guitar difficulty which should please GH veterans. I haven’t tried drums yet. Playing by myself, these songs are OK, but I’m seriously considering deleting this pack when I have parties.
It’s Friday, and that means new DLC announcements from the Official Rock Band Forums! Unfortunately, I don’t think this one isn’t going to be very popular with the masses. Slightly changed from the rumored March list we have the “Earache Thrash Pack” featuring:
All tracks are $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) or $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points) for the pack. Personally, I think these should have been a buck, given the niche nature of the genre but I’ll give them a try since I enjoy the metal. You can preview the songs below.
At the Gates - “Blinded By Fear”
Evile - “Thrasher”
The Haunted - “DOA”
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GH3 Gets Free Dropkick Murphy’s Pack
March 13th, 2008Just in time for St. Paddies Day, Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock is getting some free DLC from the Irish pub rock band, The Dropkick Murphy’s. The pack is available now and includes “Famous for Nothing”, “Flannigan’s Ball”, and “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya.” So get some green beer, lucky clovers and get to rocking!
With last weeks release of the 500 point Modern Metal Pack, featuring “Hole in the Earth” by Deftones, “Almost Easy” by Avenged Sevenfold and “The Arsonist” by Thrice, it looks like Activision and Neversoft aren’t going to let Rock Band win the DLC crown without a fight. You can check out the videos from both packs below.
Famous for Nothing
Flannigan’s Ball
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
“Hole in the Earth” by Deftones
“Almost Easy” by Avenged Sevenfold
“The Arsonist” by Thrice
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Review: Army of Two (Xbox 360)
March 12th, 2008
With big guns, cooperative gameplay, modern warfare, and pretty graphics, Army of Two seemed like a no-brainer. EA promised a lot, but even after some delays for polishing, Army of Two doesn’t quite deliver.
Army of Two centers on a pair of Army Rangers turned Private Military Contractors (PMCs) after a tour in Somalia. After 9-11, the pair is sent to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban on a top secret mission (of course) and discover something isn’t quite right with their new employer. Eventually a rather predictable conspiracy story unfolds and takes the pair to Iraq, a hijacked aircraft carrier, China and finally a hurricane-ravaged Miami. The story is nothing special and doesn’t take itself too seriously, but I like that they didn’t shy away from real locations and events, even if the events in the game are over the top.
Gameplay
The core mechanic of Army of Two is to use cover and an Aggro system to shoot your way through various set pieces. When one person fires his weapon, it draws attention away from the other character, allowing him to maneuver on the enemy. Killing enough baddies in full Aggro puts you into Overkill mode, granting temporary double damage for the Aggressor and stealth mode for the other player. The Aggro system takes a little while to get used to, but can actually add a good deal of strategy. The enemy AI is actually pretty smart, making you use the Aggro on higher difficulties. They’ll flank and maneuver on you, take cover, and even displace when wounded so taking them out is pretty satisfying.
Another highly touted feature of Army of Two is the teamwork aspect of the game, but it just wasn’t fleshed out at all. During the game, you will do a variety of tandem moves such as back-to-back, step-jumping, and co-op snipe but the player rarely gets to decide when or how to use them. Back-to-back modes happen automatically, step-jumps are only used to break up levels, and co-op sniping opportunities are blatantly obvious. The only coop moves gamers can really control are the riot shield sections, where one person hold a shield while another shoots, and dragging and healing a wounded partner. Coop online played well with little lag and playing with the AI partner wasn’t as bad as I expected, although I wouldn’t trust it with my digital life on the hardest difficulty.
The level design in Army of Two is decent but kept giving me the nagging feeling the game was pieced together from salvaged parts of an earlier build. All too often you go through really pointless sections, like step- jumping or opening a door into a room just to open another door and trigger a cut-scene or loading screen. Speaking of loading screens, you will see them a lot in this game, even to access menu items. The Aircraft carrier level, which previews showed as an escape from rising water as it sank, was completely neutered. Now you simply scurry along the deck as boxes slide toward you. Other times you ride a hovercraft for all of 30 seconds, indicating there used to be a vehicle section before that. Even the end boss fight is relegated to a cutscene with not so much as a quicktime event.
One thing the game does get right is the weapon customization system. For each objective you accomplish, you earn money that can be spent to upgrade weapon accuracy, damage, stability and appearance. The weapons you buy and upgrade carry over to all single player and coop games you play and carrying around a chrome and gold-plated chaingun is campy and fun. You can also purchase additional facemasks, but the selection is limited to ten. It would have been nice to have a basic editor to make custom masks.
Graphics
The graphics in Army of Two are above average, with typically shiny next-gen graphics. The character models are nice, detailed and animate well. The levels are varied and have some good water effects and lighting effects. There are a few ragdoll glitches, texture pop-ins, clipping and jaggies, but nothing that detracts from the game. I also experienced some occasional slowdown but nothing major. For the most part the art design is good but cheesy at times. Does the chick reading the mission briefs really need a full back tribal tattoo?
Sound
The voice acting is typically pretty good in the game. The main characters interact believably and comically at times. Enemies with bad English accents will taunt you and an entire arsenal of F-bombs will be dropped. The explosions and gunfire are loud and satisfying and the background music drives the action without being overpowering.
Achievements
The Achievements in Army of Two are actually pretty good. There’s a decent mix of performance, completion, scavenger hunt, and multiplayer Achievements. My only gripe is the hardest difficulty is locked at first, forcing you to play through the game at least twice and up to four times if you want to Achievement for getting a million dollars. Kill counts and money earned accumulate over all playthroughs so an Achievement tracker for weapon kills would have been nice. Multiplayer achievements are gained through ranked matches, but fortunately for achievement whores (at the expense of competitive play) you can invite friends as partners and opponents, making boosting effortless.Most Achievements are attainable on the easiest difficulty.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is two vs. two against opponents and computer controller AI to accomplish objectives spread across a map for money. You can use the money to upgrade weapons or buy shorter respawn times and matches generally last 10 - 20 minutes. You can invite friends to ranked matches so that’s a plus. There’s nothing really wrong with multiplayer, but I doubt this game will have much of a community after two weeks.
The TLDR Summary
Army of Two is a fun, albeit short and flawed game that takes a few cues from Gears of War. The core Aggro mechanic works but the remainder of the promised teamwork elements didn’t quite pan out. Levels feel pieced together with a lot of pointless sections but are varied enough to remain fresh. Even pared down, the game that shipped is still an enjoyable ride worthy of a rental. I will definitely be keeping my eyes on the inevitable sequel.
Overall
3.5 Pimped AKs out of 5
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Rock Band Weekly Download - For the Kids!
March 10th, 2008After a bit of a delay due to mysterious circumstances the Rock Band DLC for March 11th has been announced, and surprisingly enough, they’re songs we haven’t heard about before. From hmxsean, we have:
All songs are $.99 (80 Microsoft Points) and you can preview them below. I was really hoping the delay was due to the upcoming in-game DLC patch, but maybe certification took longer than expected and these were the consolation prizes. At least they’re cheap, and “Shockwave” looks like it could be fun, even though the band members look 14. After last week’s Grateful Dead pack, these kids today with their hair and music have something to look forward to.
Update: The Official Rock Band Blog sheds some light on why these tracks were chosen.
“Last week we hit you with stack of classic Grateful Dead; this week we jump back up to the present: Three tracks to satisfy your hunger for current rock with a current buzz band, a famous band member going solo, and a crew of young metal whippersnappers. It’s our package in honor of the South by Southwest festival in Austin TX, where all three bands, along with about three-quarters of the music industry, can be found this week.”
Well there you go.
Black Tide - “Shockwave”
Paramore - “Crushcrushcrush”
Serj Tankian - “Beethoven’s Cunt”
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What Are Ya Buyin’? - Super Smash Brothers Bloodshot Edition
March 10th, 2008
Topping the list this week is the Nintendo fan’s wet dream, Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii. If you are getting this game, than you already know exactly what’s in store, so I won’t waste your time here. However, you may want to read up on some disc problems some gamers are having before spending the dough. The hobo smashing Condemned 2: Bloodshot is also hitting, pun intended, stores this week for the 360 and PS3. The PS2 has quite a few games coming out this week, including a port of the PSP Ratchet and Clank Size Matters and some more entries in the Buzz! series.
For download games, it’s all about the puzzle games this week. We have a pair of brain teasers on XBLA, Brain Challenge and Bliss Island, for 800 and 400 MS points respectively, and no I’ve never heard of them either. Over on the Consola de la Virtual, there is DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure and PuyoPuyo2: Tsuu for 900 Wii Points each. Sure.
The rest of the releases are pretty bland. Even the Shovelware Shit of the Week was a tough choice due to the lack Zs in any of the titles. But a winner must be crowned, so this week, I present you George of the Jungle and the Search for the Secret for the Wii, PS2 and DS. From the looks of it, it’s a kid’s game using the license but not the look of any of the previous George of the Jungle properties, and there is some sort of secret that must be searched for. Way to title a game there, Crave Entertainment. You can see the rest of the releases below.
Xbox 360:
Xbox Live Arcade:
PS3:
Nintendo Wii:
Wii Virtual Console:
PS2:
PSP:
Nintendo DS:
PC Games:
[Gamerdeals.net via Joystiq]
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What Are Ya Buyin’? - Army of Two Bullies Edition
March 3rd, 2008We’ve got a pretty interesting batch of games this week. Topping the list is the oft-delayed co-op shooter Army of Two for the PS3 and 360. Hopefully the extra time given this game paid off. Baseball fans are getting Major League Baseball 2K8 for the 360, Ps3, and Wii, while the impressive looking MLB08: The Show is only coming out for PS3. If you missed it the first time, Bully Scholarship Edition hits the Wii and 360.
On the downloadable side, Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, a top-down, cel-shaded coop shooter is releasing for XBLA and Super Turrican on the Virtual Console.
And now for the AltGN Shovelware Shit of the Week Award. This week’s winner is Homie Rollerz, the ethnically diverse cart racer based on the vending machine toys. Competition was stiff with the trifecta of Imagine: Figure Skater, Petz Bunnyz, and yet another horse game, Let’s Ride Friends Forever, but Rollerz came out on top, erm, bottom.
You can see the full list of releases below.
Xbox 360:
Xbox Live Arcade:
PS3:
Nintendo Wii:
Wii Virtual Console:
PS2:
PSP:
Nintendo DS:
PC Games:
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Rock Band Weekly Download - Grateful Dead Pack
February 29th, 2008The fine folks at Harmonix have revealed the DLC for next week and it’s a big one, the long-awaited Grateful Dead pack. While we knew about these songs before, what we didn’t know was how they would be bundled. You can purchase each track individually for 160 MS Points ($2) or all six tracks for 800 Points ($10) for a savings of 2 bucks. The pricing falls in line with the 3-pack pricing, but enough with the money talk, let’s get to the music. The all-master pack includes:
Personally I’m not a fan of the Dead, and judging from the initial reaction to the announcement, it seems like most gamers aren’t either. They could have at least given us “Touch of Grey,” a song a few more people have heard. I do like the idea of 6-pack DLC, however. One beer + one new song = Win. Here’s hoping for “Still Alive” next week.
You can preview most of the songs below.
China Cat Sunflower
Casey Jones
Sugar Magnolia
Truckin
Franklin’s Tower
I Need A Miracle
Video Not Available At This Time
[source]
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No Doubt Pack Released for GH3
February 28th, 2008For those of you that haven’t tossed Guitar Hero 3 aside in favor of Rock Band, there is some new content available. For 500 MS Points ($6.25) you can get a three pack of No Doubt tracks including “Don’t Speak”, “Excuse Me Mr.”, and “Sunday Morning.” Frankly, with two more Guitar Hero games coming this year, and cheaper, more robust content available for Rock Band, I just can’t get excited over DLC for GH3. Will any of you be buying this? You can see videos below or download a preview trailer on Xbox Live.
Don’t Speak
Excuse Me Mr.
Sunday Morning
[Thanks FlatTopFoley]
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What Are Ya Buyin’? - Colon Crazy Edition
February 25th, 2008
After last week’s dismal releases, this batch of new games has some interesting titles, despite the blatent overuse of colons and subtitles. The highest profile title this week is the rhythm-strategy game Patapon for the PSP. The game’s been getting a lot of positive buzz lately but may not be for everyone so check the demo on PSN . Up next is television series tie-in, Lost: Via Domus for the 360, PS3 and PC. Season 4 of “Lost” has been a blast so far, which should definitely drive up interest in this game. Also releasing on the 360, PS3 and PC are Frontlines: Fuel of War and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, two middling FPSs. The download games this week don’t really stand out either. There’s Triggerheart Exelica, a top down shooter on XBLA and Kirby 64 and Psychosis on the Virtual Console.
The remainder of the releases are the standard licensed and shovelware crap we’ve come to expect every week, which brings us to a new segment - The Shovelware Shit of the Week Award. The SSotWA celebrates triumphs of mediocrity and the ability to get money to make a game out of nothing. The first winner of the AltGN SSotWA goes to the DS title, Bratz: Super Babyz. Even ignoring the disturbingly pedoriffic idea of slutty Bratz in thing diapers, this game manages to use a crappy movie license based on a crappy toy line, and add in a subtitle and obnoxious use of the letter Z. Bravo!
AltGN Shovelware Shit of the Week!
Xbox360
Xbox Live Arcade
PS3
Wii
Wii Virtual Console
PS2
PSP
Nintendo DS
PC
[source]
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Foo Fighters Suing Marvel Comics
February 22nd, 2008I’ve always considered Foo Fighters to be a pretty down to earth band. I don’t know any of them, or follow their music too closely, but they’ve always seemed like a swell bunch of guys. But apparently if you cross them, they will mess you up, legal style!
The Foo Fighters have filed suit against Marvel Comics and others, for allegedly using “Best of You” and “Free Me” without permission for the trailer of Wolverine and the X-Men, an animated series based on the comic books. The suit seeks unspecified damages from Marvel, the cartoon’s producers and animation company.
It’s times like these you learn to love again. You could have seen the offending trailer below, but it’s already been pulled from YouTube. You didn’t really miss much. It did indeed include the Foo Fighters songs but was fan-made quality at best.
[From www.aversion.com, Thanks hanzolo!]
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Rock Band Weekly DLC - Nine Inch Nails Edition
February 22nd, 2008Because I know you can’t get enough of that hawt Rock Band news, we have next week’s DLC offering courtesy of HMXJohnlok on the Official Rock Band Forums. Originally slated for the week of March 18, we’re getting the Nine Inch Nails Pack including:
Nine Inch Nails – “March of the Pigs” (master)
Nine Inch Nails – “The Collector” (master)
Nine Inch Nails – “The Perfect Drug” (master)
These songs will be available as a pack for $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points), or $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) for the individual tracks. Be on the lookout for Rock Band DLC announcements on Friday from now on. These aren’t exactly the NIN songs I would have chosen, but it’s nice to see Harmonix mix the release schedule up a bit to keep the element of surprise with these announcements. You can see the videos below.
[Thanks MadClassic]
March of the Pigs
The Collector
The Perfect Drug
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Rock Band Getting In-Game DLC Store, “Still Alive”
February 22nd, 2008In the latest 1Up Yours GDC Podcast, the guys mention that Harmonix will be showing off an in-game DLC store next week. No further details were mentioned and the conversation focused more on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, but it’s good to know that this much-requested feature is coming. My theory/wish list is that this will be part of a mega-patch that will also include:
Getting away from rumors and speculation, “Still Alive,” the ending theme from Portal, has been confirmed as DLC in a blog posted by hmxsean. The title was mentioned in the list from the hacked DLC files, but until now, it wasn’t known whether the song was from Portal or another artist. With the March DLC schedule revealed in the last OXM, I would expect to be singing along with GLaDOS pretty soon.
Below is a sneak peek sung by the song’s author Jonathan Coulton at the Valve Party.
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HD DVD Officially Dead
February 19th, 2008After months of speculation, it’s finally over. Toshiba has announced it is pulling the plug on HD DVD by the end of March following a string of setbacks starting with Warner Brother’s announcement of BluRay exclusivity and most recently with Netflix and Wal-Mart dropping support for the format. Of course Toshiba maintains its belief that HD DVD is the superior forma, but determined it was best for the industry, and high-def adoption in general, that they pull out. Toshiba pledged to continue support for existing players and to continue development in both DVD and high-definition technologies. You can see the full statement below.
No word was given on what this means for dual format players in development from Samsung and LG. There’s still a market for HD DVD supporters with large libraries that need a BluRay player now. I’m sad to see HD DVD go, but a one format future will be better in the long run, although I will miss all the BOGO sales as each format fought for my affection.
[via Engadget]
“TOKYO–Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has undertaken a thorough review of its overall strategy for HD DVD and has decided it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD DVD players and recorders. This decision has been made following recent major changes in the market. Toshiba will continue, however, to provide full product support and after-sales service for all owners of Toshiba HD DVD products.
HD DVD was developed to offer consumers access at an affordable price to high-quality, high definition content and prepare them for the digital convergence of tomorrow where the fusion of consumer electronics and IT will continue to progress.
“We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called ‘next-generation format war’ and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. “While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, for the consumer, the real mass market opportunity for high definition content remains untapped and Toshiba is both able and determined to use our talent, technology and intellectual property to make digital convergence a reality.”
Toshiba will continue to lead innovation, in a wide range of technologies that will drive mass market access to high definition content. These include high capacity NAND flash memory, small form factor hard disk drives, next generation CPUs, visual processing, and wireless and encryption technologies. The company expects to make forthcoming announcements around strategic progress in these convergence technologies.
Toshiba will begin to reduce shipments of HD DVD players and recorders to retail channels, aiming for cessation of these businesses by the end of March 2008. Toshiba also plans to end volume production of HD DVD disk drives for such applications as PCs and games in the same timeframe, yet will continue to make efforts to meet customer requirements. The company will continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives within the overall PC business relative to future market demand.
This decision will not impact on Toshiba’s commitment to standard DVD, and the company will continue to market conventional DVD players and recorders. Toshiba intends to continue to contribute to the development of the DVD industry, as a member of the DVD Forum, an international organization with some 200 member companies, committed to the discussion and defining of optimum optical disc formats for the consumer and the related industries.
Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD.”
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