New dashboard and more from Microsoft!

Well, Lets hope this works out, but where will I use my themes?

Rock Band 2

...Over at Gameproarcade.com As if the mere thought of another Rock Band so soon wasn't shock enough for you. How about the ability to have all the DLC added to your game as well as music from the original disc. This will push the set list for the game to an all time high, especially since Rock Band 2 will already have over 100 songs from an Unrivaled Blend of Classic, Developing and New Artists. This is big news for Harmonix and will definitely keep people happy since a lot of content was put on DLC for the first game. Also DLC will keep on flowing onto the market since they will be ported over to the next installment anyway, so don't expect them to slow down for one second on the albums and packs released on a weekly basis. Rock band 2 will also have an Upgraded World Tour, Battle of the Bands, Set Challenges and Drum Trainer which you should have know would have been added but the biggest addition is the ability to Compete Against Other Bands Online. This of course is a great inclusion to the franchise since last time around you could only play with others online, not compete head to head. I for one am truly excited to get a group of friends together to take on another set of people and rock their faces off. The Harmonix press release breaks down all the new features and modes for Rock Band 2. · Local and global online modes to connect the entire Rock Band community · World Tour mode, now online, simplifies the best of gameplay from the original Rock Band by fusing Solo Tour and Band World Tour modes and cranks it up a notch with an all new collection of opportunity gigs, challenges, cities, venues and hirable staff · Tour Challenges that offer rockers a chance to play through mini-campaigns focused on the best songs by instrument, decade, genre, artist, album and more · Battle of the Bands mode challenges players to go head to head against other bands in constantly refreshed contests* created by Harmonix (*internet connection required) · Quickplay makes it easier than ever to get in and jam without hassle while allowing for new prefab characters or customized characters that can play on any instrument plus lets you make your own set lists and organize your song lists in a variety of categories (genre, era, etc.) · Customizable Set Lists keep the music rolling and your band rocking in Quickplay mode · Drum Trainer mode gives players the fundamentals of different beats and fills, translating gameplay into real drumming skills · Character Creator completes your look with all new choices in clothing, accessories, tattoos, hairstyles, instruments and more to keep your unique rock avatar playing the full rock part · Backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date · Disc Export Feature gives owners of the original Rock Band the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay--the first time ever in videogame history! Of course, what is a music based game without the song's? Well Rock band 2 is to have over 80 songs on disc plus an additional 20 bonus tracks which will be made available for free download this fall. That brings the set list to over 100 songs which is plenty to keep you occupied over the holiday season. And with all of the tracks being master tracks, as well as having huge names like Pearl Jam, Metallica, Allman Brothers, Motorhead, Devo, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth, Paramore and Modest Mouse, as well as some exclusive artist such as AC/DC with "Let There Be Rock", Bob Dylan with "Tangled Up In Blue" and Guns N' Roses giving an exclusive track from their upcoming album Chinese Democracy with "Shackler's Revenge". Harmonix is sure to give its competition a run for its money. With music also come the instruments to play it with. Rock Band 2 will feature the officially licensed Rock Band 2 instruments and expand them with third party options. Also, Harmonix and MTV Games have become the first companies to officially support third party instruments and accessories in a music videogame. So you get new and improved officially licensed products from Harmonix including a Fender Stratocaster Controller which takes on a new authentic look plus adds a reinforced strum bar, quieter buttons, wireless functionality and a built in calibration tool that automatically sets your AV setup to an ideal setting for maximum rock. A new drum set that goes wireless, while also featuring quieter, velocity sensitive drum pads and a metal reinforced pedal. And finally a microphone that showcases authentic styling and weight. Harmonix also introduced the third party lineup of instruments as well. Featuring the Fender Telecaster Controller which features soft buttons with lower action to help you shred faster than ever. A Fender Bass Controller, the first bass guitar controller ever, takes the shape of the Fender P-Bass with extended length, tuning pegs and a split strum bar to replicate finger-bass style picking. A Full-sized Squire Stratocaster Guitar Controller multiplies the authentic guitar experience by featuring a controller built into an actual Squire Stratocaster body. Also a Cymbal Expansion Pack is a straightforward but amazing upgrade to the Rock Band 2 drum set featuring add-on cymbals. Also Rock Band 2 takes instrument authenticity to a whole new level with a high-end peripheral from ION, with the ION Drum Rocker, a real electronic drum kit that functions as a game controller, brings the Rock Band fantasy to life featuring a simple substitution that takes the drum kit from a controller to a real instrument. Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year. Rock Band 2 will be available for the PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems and Wii later this year. So get ready to rock again and get your friends prepped to take the fight for rockstardum over the net.

The Duke is back...

...over at gameproarcade.com Yes, it is actually going to happen. Duke Nukem is coming back and he is going to hit the market hard. Apogee Software is brining back about 30+ of its classic titles as well as some new unannounced titles. Apogee of course has had success in other episodic releases with the releases of Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein 3-D, Raptor, and Rise of the Triad, just to name a few. Among one of the classic franchises, Duke Nukem is going to be brought back to life in 3 different missions known as the Duke Nukem Trilogy. Under a license agreement with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC the missions consist of three episodes: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds. I for one am excited, considering I am a fan of the Duke Nukem series and I think this will bring back the franchise. An since Apogee is making handheld versions of the games, the series can have some new twist if it is ported to something like the DS or the PSP. They have stated that the games will be made available on both systems, as far as what the game is about we will have to sit back and wait. and hope for the best. With Apogee's track record I dont think we will have another Duke Nukem Forever on our hands. So expect more news and coverage as soon as it can be made available.

sorry for the lack of content

It has been hectic with me getting more hours at work and taking some time off to spend with the girlfriend. I went to see Dethklok about a week ago and it was amazing, definitely check them out and watch the show on [adult swim]. I have started working for gamePRO arcade and gamercenteronline has used a review or two of mine. So thing are getting crazy and with E3 right around the corner I have a lot of work coming up and expect a pre E3 podcast and a post and during E3 podcast.

Hail to the Chimp XB360 Review

What do a monkey and clams have in common? They are what you have to collect in order to get the electoral votes in the new political comedy Hail to the Chimp. This quirky multiplayer game is one of those hit or miss titles that not many people will know about. It is essentially a collection of mini games where you collect clams in order to do something with them. That's about it for game play. You do this for the rest of the game but each level has something special you need to do. In any of the game modes, you can of course fight your opponents to knock the clams they're carrying from their hands. This is done by slapping or jumping onto them or using a power-up. Unfortunately, the fighting system feels cheap thanks to the fact that the computer will take charge and gang up on you so more than one opponent can cripple you in a game. While using these moves you of course slow down your opponents and also can slap out clams. But clams show you in increments of 5, but wont show how many you have total or how many you lose when you yourself get hit. This of course can also make the game too easy with the AI getting stuck in corners or just simply killing themselves over and over again by running of the sides. So of course playing with friends is what they are trying to do but it doesn't always work that way.

The fun part is watching the odd antics of all the political banter that is shown between each segment. it goes through a number of candidates and all have their very own style of what they bring to the party. Who knew that a hippo would totally support that we all go threw life commando style. But you don't get to pick the character you want to be, you have to play as the character in the infomercial and try to get them elected. While there is no big payoff for this game it is kind of funny to watch at some points but overall just has too many failing points to recommend it.

Overall - D

Unreal Tournament III XB360 Review

Well, its finally here. The next installment on the Unreal franchise has hit the 360 and let me say its not one to miss. This first person shooter offers up enough to tear you away from the Call of Duty run you have been on for so long. Of course it is the same old song and dance with the usual modes, weapons and art style. What is new to the party is the maps and the odd attempt to change up some of the previous games modes to make them fresh and new to the user. Controls might not be as good as using a keyboard and mouse, but the 360 does a nice job at trying to keep the speed of the unreal games while still giving a lot of support to keep your eyes focused for frags. So yes the game runs fast and furious but not enough to make the game hard to play. The rest of the controls feel very good, with swapping weapons being just a breeze. Visually the game looks good, while not having the best visuals out there it does have a decent frame rate with no real slowdowns at all. Same can be said about the sound quality, with the only annoyance being that they AI likes to spout out one liners that are just terrible.

Fans of course will be use to the modes and game play elements of the franchise. Newcomers wont have a problem as well getting in on this. It has a lot to offer especially in the online department, however, the single player is kind of a failure in my opinion. The very odd try at a story mode, spanning four chapters with numerous missions in between. Modes consist of capture the node and capture the flag as actual events in a war style story that is just in poor taste. I know what they are doing in a sense, getting you ready to take your onslaught online. But it would of been best to just scrap a story and just make some tutorial levels. The saving grace in single player is the addition of online co-op which makes playing through the story mode more enjoyable since you actually have someone to help you out on some of the more difficult missions. Vehicles are back and in full force as well. Vehicles made their first appearance in Unreal Tournament 2004 and the roster has only grown. Of course the controls are nothing to drop your jaw at though. Meaning that you point your targeting reticule to an area, push forward on the left stick and your vehicle will try to make its way there, and hopefully not explode. It's when doing battle in small areas that this can be a bit touchy due to the lack of movement. You also for some reason cant move the canon on the Goliath while moving which is kind of dumb, but nothing to be too concerned with. The AI throughout is very good as well, being very ruthless and cunning to keep you pushing and pushing until you finally over come them. They will flank and use all the tricks in the book to overcome you and take you down.

Online is of course where the game shines. The amount of modes and weapons is sure to keep you clutching your controller to get one more frag in before the round ends. the maps as well are a reason to keep playing. With the 360 version coming packed with all three of the maps released thus far on PS3 and PC as download able content as well as five exclusive levels. Of course they are all built for the specific mode you are playing but all have a very good feeling to them. The game runs very smooth and of course having XBL on your side your sure to get an easy connection with tons of players. Online is the major chunk of this game and it does everything right.

So this of course is a great online experience and is user to keep you away from the modernized combat zone for awhile, having you yell out MULTI KILL!! Every time you see it flash up on your screen. So go out and pick this one up and I'm sure you will enjoy. Hopefully we will be seeing some type of user created downloads to XBL for use to have another frag fest in.

Overall - A