This Time in Games: Pre-E3 Rock Band Orga...nizing

Do you know what a bombshell looks like, aside from the obligatory Jessica Rabbit picture?

It looks like this:

What you're seeing here is the plastic prototype keyboard-slash-keytar-hybrid that'll work with yes, Rock Band 3.

And I couldn't be any more excited.

Aside from that, there are the obvious gameplay enhancements of vocal harmonies, pause counters, drop-in drop-out, and more. Top that up with even better graphics, animations and lighting effects and you've got yourself a day-one purchase.

Notably, there is also a DS version coming out. Puzzles me that a PSP version is not present this time around. Hopefully, the DS version will bring some Amplitude style gameplay, which I really, really loved when I got my hands on it.

Unexpectedly so, Harmonix has also included support for real true-blue instruments that can be connected to your computer as a MIDI instrument. No really, you can get your real electric guitar/keyboard/drums and connect it to Rock Band. It's all made possible by the little adapter below:

How, one will wonder, will a real instrument translate to the game? To answer your question, there's a new Pro mode for all the hardcore fans out there.

It'll be a note-for-note representation of the real song, so basically, there will be a lot of actual keys on the screen that you can really play from in real life. Not only does this make Rock Band 3 a fun game, it can also be a bonafide learning tool.

Harmonix is also offering its own six-stringed guitars ($150) and drum cymbals ($39) for those who don't own a real guitar but are interested in PRO mode. They will all be compatible with your computer as MIDI devices if you want to start composing your own songs.

A lot of things are a given on the 360 and PS3 side of the coin, but the Wii side, well, there are still a lot of unclear details. I won't get into them though.

There will also be smaller touches, like Facebook/Twitter connectivity, song filters and setlist creation tools, that make the game a lot more usable and quick to set up.

But I'm not all about Rock Band 3, there's been some buzz about a Mortal Kombat Rebirth movie pitch that's been distributed around the interwebs, and quite frankly, the results are positively shocking!

It's rumored to have been a pitch for Warner Bros., and I can't believe how much potential this kind of has. Still, I can't say much more since video game adaptations have a history of being really bad. Maybe this video will live a great life as a viral short, but as a full-blown movie, it might just suck ass.

More serious are the former guys of the dissolved studio Midway (now dubbed NetherRealm Studios) who are working on a real Mortal Kombat game that looks really fun for once.

It marks a return to its 2D roots, but with polygonal characters (you know, like Street Fighter IV). What's different though, is the fact that the game will also feature tag battles much like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 famously did. In addition, the good ol' fatalities return, along with "environmental fatalities", and perhaps even "brutalities". All in all, it's likely to feature much gore and brutal action.

Ed Boon, one of the original creators of MK, is once again working on it with a team in Chicago.

This Time In Games: It's a-me...

From perfect scores on reviews to unique gaming concepts, "This Time In Games" recaps the recent happenings and the hottest titles of the gaming industry.

This time in games:

Rockstar releases Red Dead Redemption.
And it seems to be the best Western game ever.

It follows the tradition of open-world games, but this one is, of course, set in a town with cowboys and epic gunbattles. For now it's for the 360 and PS3 only but I suspect that it will be available for the PC in some time.

A lot of review outlets think that Red Dead Redemption does redeem itself from its less raved predecessor.

Wii gets an epic week, too.
From Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Trauma Team, a lot of Wii owners have reason to burn their pockets, because a lot of really good games are starting to come out, and I suspect that it won't stop.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has been proclaimed as "not just Super Mario Galaxy 1.5, but a game that rivals even its genre-breaking progenitors". In short, it's longer, larger and more streamlined than the first Galaxy, which is largely a good thing.

Also getting good reception is Bit.Trip.Runner, the first platformer of the rhythm game series. This WiiWare title has Commander Video jumping from point A to point B to a rocking soundtrack and retro visuals.

Lastly, there's Trauma Team which is a large departure for the surgical series of games. Instead of just a surgeon, you gain control of 6 different people, ranging from an orthopedic surgeon, surgeon, forensic investigator, diagnostician, first aid volunteer, and a doctor of endoscopy, all of which feature several distinct gameplay styles.

The anime style visuals and sound effects keep things interesting, and so far it's been getting raves as well.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

A game that complements the movie adaptation, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a bit of a throwback to the last generation of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time games. It doesn't really follow the movie's storyline and instead bridges the gap between the happenings in the first Sands of Time and the somewhat controversially "emo" Warrior Within.

Within its package contains the original 2D Prince of Persia game, as well as zero Jake Gyllenhaal, which is probably a good thing, for the sake of uniformity.

Sonic 4 for iPhone and iPod touch, confirmed!
The "reboot" SEGA is releasing for Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare and PSN is also going to the App Store. It has yet to be known whether the controls will be as bad as the emulated versions of Sonic that are on there, but the game is looking pretty good.

Could this be Sonic's first great game since... forever?

This video.
Trauma Center, the original DS game, was released ages ago but this parody was too insane not to notice, as it pretty much takes the over-the-top scenarios of the game's story and runs away with it.

Games I Want: September Edition

NOTE: I've decided to start a new monthly blog post called "Games I Want" (as if there weren't enough of these), so technically, the games I will list monthly must excite me. Otherwise, even if the omission is glaring or not, I will not include them here. To note, I only have a Wii, a DS and a PC for gaming so there will definitely be some glaring omissions. You'll note that Final Fantasy: Dissidia will not be in the list below, but in my humble opinion, it still has enough multi-platform games to keep your interest.

This was originally intended for my other blog in Gamespot, but I found it to be something I wanted to share to everyone else instead. For now, I've copy and pasted the entire post verbatim. Enjoy.


I just noticed that I have a lot to be excited about in September, not only because my birthday strikes on the first, but also because of a lot of major game releases. Yes, people, fall season is almost here... consider the summer drought over.

So I'm gonna make a little recap of the exciting properties overseeing release throughout the month (that I'm excited about), so it will definitely be a bit more Nintendo-oriented since I only own a Wii and a decent gaming PC.

The major releases I'm looking forward to are:

Muramasa: The Demon Blade
This Wii game has a particularly stylish traditional look that reminds you of other games like Viewtiful Joe and Odin Sphere, and that's because the game's developer is the same as that of the latter. VanillaWare looks like it's gonna do a really good job with this Wii-exclusive button-mashing title, and I'm gonna be first in line to get this.


Guitar Hero 5
Granted, I prefer Rock Band 2 tons more, but any numerical Guitar Hero release is most likely major. I'm not likely to go buy this in an instant 'cause I'm gonna wait till people say "It's compatible with Rock Band 2 Wii instruments". I know, I should've bought the GH ones since they're more durable and stuff (ironically, there were quite a lot of issues last year which led me to buy Rock Band 2 in the first place) but hey, it's been 2 incompatible GH games since then, and I demand that Activision give this one some Rock Band instrumental love since Rock Band 2 already supports every GH instrument compatible with the Wii. If that happens, I might buy it... the drop-in drop-out system is actually quite compelling for me... the setlist is kind of okay too.


The Beatles: Rock Band
Speaking of rhythm games, I'm surprised at myself for being excited for this Beatles game. I never grew up with their music, I've only heard snippets, but somehow I feel compelled to buy it. When news of this came out, I would coincidentally hear their music all over the place, and I would in turn develop a strong appreciation for them, which must be the reason why. For fans, the Beatles and all the unreleased exclusive content coming along with the game are enough to justify what seems to be a really steep price for the special edition. Of course, I'm shelling out for the disc only so I can save money. 1 set of instruments is enough.


Wet
While it's only overseeing release in the Xbox and the PS3, I have no doubt that it will eventually come out in the PC since this is Bethesda we're talking about. Gameplay and art direction both look insanely great, but I feel that waiting for the reviews of the console editions is a bit more of a rational thing to do for now. I still have doubt if Rubi can manage to hold a gamer's attention for more than 30 minutes because quite frankly one can have the tendency to get sick of automatic Matrix-esque slow-mo shootouts.


Need for Speed: Shift
After a few underwhelming additions, EA is putting its famous Need for Speed franchise into the pit for a bit of a tuning. The product of this tuning? This game. It looks so pretty, damn it! It's been so long since I've last played a serious racing game too. Judging from what I've seen, it's gonna be pretty cool.


Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC Edition)
The Dark Knight has never really found a serious video game to call home, but Arkham Asylum may be it. I've only heard tremendously good feedback for the game so far, so I can safely say that I'm excited for it as well.


Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Loved the first one, second one looks awesome as hell, and... Stan Lee's in there. I didn't know why I said that. Anyway, while I'm not really much of a comic book fan (I have yet to read one. Ever.), I still love a lot of these characters, and believe me, there's quite a lot. I know it's just some beat-em-up but there's a lot of customization, a lot of RPG elements, and there will be quite possibly a pretty good story behind it. I mean, people are making a big deal about this "Civil War" thing. So yeah, a lot to expect, a lot to be excited about, and the best part is, you just know that they'll be able to deliver. Aah, if only it had a PC version.


Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
I love the Mario and Luigi RPG series, and it seems that it has yet to lose any of its charm. I don't think anything else new has been added though, but we may soon see when the game comes out. Come on, it's a full-fledged Mario RPG. Nothing will probably go wrong... except for the fact that maybe Bowser should've just eaten the whole Mushroom Kingdom in the first place instead of, you know, the same shtick he does over and over again. I mean, how do Mario, Luigi and Peach shrink anyway? Bowser's not that big (except for that last part).


Scribblenauts
When I first saw the God vs. the Kraken video on YouTube, I just said to myself, "I'm so gonna buy this," and for good reason: you put any noun you can think of in your head and it will possibly appear. Granted this is a rated E game so there's none of that stuff, but when you think about it, there's possibly nothing else like it. You're forced to use more creative ways to solve puzzles, and truly I like how they think.


PC versions of Red Faction: Guerilla and Resident Evil 5
I've put the two together for the reason that I don't know whether I'll buy them or not. I know for a fact that Red Faction does look like an awesome game, but I don't think it's compelling enough for me to buy yet. RE5 I might get when I actually get to finish RE4!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
I am a fan of the KH series, I'm not ashamed to admit (but I'm not particularly a fanboy since I've become a bit lost on the lore), so I am very much looking forward to the DS installment of the franchise. While Chain of Memories on the original GBA was decent, this one doesn't look like it will feature that bullcrap card battle system (and thus, for me, will be very, very good). While the card battle system did offer a bit more strategy, I prefer the excessive real-time button mashing-ness of the series, it just feels "un-Kingdom Hearts" without it. I don't particularly care much about the story since it's become a tad convoluted for the sake of making more games for more money, but I don't know, it just looks too good to pass up. And hey, The World Ends With You was a perfectly awesome Square handheld RPG, so why not give it a chance?


Dead Space Extraction
I have yet to play some real Dead Space, but I've heard that it was an unexpectedly good time. Now that it's a name that's bankable, EA has gotten the same developing team to make a Wii-exclusive prequel. This would've sounded awesome if only they just let the player control the character! That's right, Extraction is apparently another on-rails shooter ala the Resident Evil Wii games. I'm not saying that on-rails on the Wii isn't fun-- far from that-- but it's getting a bit... tiresome, don't you think? I'd regret saying this but the graphics also make the atmosphere a bit less scary... but at least there's a flamethrower which is awesome! It's hard to say that I'm particularly optimistic about this title, but I'm giving it a chance and expecting it to offer at least a quarter of the greatness the full-fledged game was said to have. And come on, it has more strategy than the House of the Dead because of the dismemberment thing! Think about it!


I've saved the best for last, and that is...

Deca Sports 2
The holy grail of Wii sports games, Deca Sports is a franchise any gamer should ever miss... and yep, I'm saying it's underrated. Now that there's a sequel, I'm sure to join the frigging bandwagon 'cause it's so totally awesome!


NAH, just kidding. Just total BS, that game. If I wanted to play a compilation of sports games, I'd go back to Wii Sports Resort. It is fantastic (except for cycling, canooeing...)!