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Official Guitar Hero World Tour announcement

Posted by: John at 5/22/2008 7:39 AM - Comments (2)
More On: Guitar Hero World Tour Activision
I know Cyril was wondering if the game was really going to be called Guitar Hero World Tour since we didn't get any official word and yesterday's video only said Guitar Hero but here it is from the horse's mouth. So what are the folks doing to separate themselves from Rock Band? For starters, the drums have been redesigned and there's a new guitar. Something that sounds really cool is the ability to record, edit, and share your music with the Music Studio. Get eight folks together and you can battle it out with the Battle of the Bands mode. The game's also gone to all master recordings so no more covers which is good and bad. I do like some of the covers but I'm certainly not complaining that they are going all master recordings this time. They are also touting the largest on-disc set list and since they have the Eagles, I think they sold me on the game. Neversoft's doing the development for the 360 and PS3 while the Wii version is being handled by Vicarious Visions and Budcat's working on the PS2 version.


ACTIVISION UNVEILS GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR – THE DEFINITIVE ROCK & ROLL MUSIC VIDEOGAMING EXPERIENCE

New State of the Art Wireless Instruments

Innovative Music Studio Lets Players Compose, Record, Edit and Share Music

Biggest Selection of On-Disc Music with All Master Tracks

Robust New Eight-Player “Battle of the Bands” Mode

First Game Ever in the Guitar Hero® Franchise to Allow In-Game Downloadable Content on Wii

Santa Monica, CA – May 22, 2008 – When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of axe shredders, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Activision, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour. The latest installment from the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour will transform music gaming by marrying Guitar Hero’s® exhilarating guitar gameplay, with a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with revolutionary new online and offline gameplay modes. The game will feature a slick newly redesigned guitar, a genuine electronic drum kit and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock and roll anthems, along with online Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands.”

Delivering the largest on-disc set list in a music-rhythm game to-date, Guitar Hero World Tour is comprised entirely of master recordings from some of the greatest classic and modern rock bands of all-time including Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles, Sublime and many more. Additionally, the game will offer significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles. Budding rock stars will also be given creative license to fully customize everything from their characters’ appearance and instruments to their band’s logo and album covers.

In addition to a newly designed more responsive guitar controller and microphone, Guitar Hero World Tour will deliver the most realistic drum experience ever in a video game with an authentic electronic drum kit. Featuring three drum pads, two raised cymbals and a bass kick pedal, the drum controller combines larger and quieter, velocity-sensitive drum heads with soft rubber construction to deliver authentic bounce back and is easy to set up, move, break down and store.

“Guitar Hero has set the standard for music-based gaming and with Guitar Hero World Tour and the game’s groundbreaking Music Studio, we are once again delivering unprecedented innovation that has the potential to revolutionize consumer generated music, much in the same way that video sharing hubs have driven user generated video,” said Dusty Welch, Head of Publishing for RedOctane. “With the introduction of our advanced high-quality new wireless instruments, in-depth customization options and advanced online functionality, the game enables music fans and gamers globally to share in the most social and expressive music experience ever.”

Guitar Hero World Tour delivers more ways to play than ever before. Virtual musicians can live out their rock and roll fantasies by playing either a single instrument, or any combination of instruments, in addition to the full band experience. In addition to all of the online gameplay modes from Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero World Tour introduces Battle of the Bands mode which allows eight players to join online and challenge each other band-to-band to determine who is the best of the best. In the Band modes, up to four players can jam together, online or off, as they progress through the game, and in single-player Career Mode, players can jam on any of the instruments in branching venue progression enabling them to rock out in the order of their choice.

The game’s innovative new Music Studio lets players express their musical creativity by giving them access to a full compliment of tools to create digital music from scratch, utilizing all of the instruments, and then play their compositions in the game. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes™ where other gamers can download their unique compositions and play them.

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.

Happy Independance Day from GamingNexus

by: Chuck - posted: 7/4/2008 12:02 PM - Comments (0)
It's the Fourth of July here in the US, the holiday where we celebrate our independence from our (now) good friend the British.  Expect posting to be light today as most of the staff will be celebrating the holiday by grilling meat, drinking beverages, and setting off fireworks. 

Mercenaries 2: Solving problems with explosives

by: Chuck - posted: 7/4/2008 11:53 AM - Comments (0)
Here's the new developer diary from Pandemic that shows the different ways you'll be able to solve problems in Mercenaries 2.  There's  a tactical approach, a covert approach, and my personal favorite ...blowing stuff up.

Rumor: Microsoft to unveil non-Master Chief Halo game at E3

by: Chuck - posted: 7/4/2008 11:46 AM - Comments (0)
Sarcastic Gamer (via CVG) has a contact that has revealed that Microsoft will be unveiling a new Halo game at E3 this year.  Take this with a Scorpion sized grain of salt but it does make a bit of sense in that it would give Microsoft their tent pole game for next year's holiday season and it fits their pattern of altering Gears of Wars games with Halo games.  I guess we'll find out in a little under two weeks when Microsoft kicks off their press conference.

First looks at DC Universe Online

by: John - posted: 7/4/2008 7:03 AM - Comments (0)
I admit I'm pretty skeptical about this MMO seeing as the Marvel one didn't get off the ground. I'm guessing everyone will be some new superhero for the universe rather than being able to play as an established DC hero or villain. Either way, I hope it does well as you get some early looks at the concept art for DC Universe Online below.

What we're playing this weekend

by: Chuck - posted: 7/4/2008 1:01 AM - Comments (0)
Elliot Bonnie
Looks like I will celebrating July 4th weekend with the epic Metal Gear Solid 4. Love it or hate it... you have to respect Hideo Kojima's vision and execution.

Sean Colleli
The review titles are catching up to me.  I finally installed Kung Fu Panda for PC, which is a fun little action game for kids, although it doesn't play well on a keyboard and even on my impressive rig it runs a little slow.  I finally got the good achievements for the Medic and Pyro in Team Fortress 2, so I'll be putting the backburner and blutsauger through their paces this weekend. I'm also reviewing Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid DS.  Space Invaders is great, a fun, addictive and substantial update of the arcade classic, while Arkanoid is, well...Arkanoid.  Not much you can do to modernize that game.

Charles Husemann
This weekend will likely be spent recuperating from my annual Fourth of July party but I'm going to try and wrap up Battlefield:Bad Company and Civilization Revolutions this weekend.  Of course Team Fortress 2 will be on the docket as the race for Pyro achievements finally seems to be leveling off.  I might also spend some time ironing out the E3 schedule as I'm compressing three days of meetings into two days.

Randy Kalista
Strolling the Barnes & Noble, I spotted a strikingly familiar logo on a pocket-sized book in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section:  The spiky-maned wolf symbol from CD Projekt's RPG stunner, The Witcher.  Titled The Last Wish, it introduces Geralt de Rivia, the witcher in question, and is more of an episodic detective novel -- of all things -- with monster mashing and winks toward folk stories like Grimm's fairy tales.  It's even better than you think.  I've reinstalled The Witcher along with the v1.3 patch ... and I'll polish off the Polish novel during the copious load screens.  And if this rumor is to be believed (I personally could not find corroborating evidence), then The Witcher is hunting down PS3 programmers.

Dan Keener
If the rain holds off, I will be attending the annual 4th of July "Chuckfest" and Fireworks show (Parking is Free!) featuring Rock Band and an actual use for the Nintendo Wii.  I also will continue my quest up in Alaska's Bearing Sea to fill my tanks with my crab quota before the season ends next week.  Like John, I may have to pull out some classic Diablo II and get back into one of the greatest games of all time...

Cyril Lachel
This weekend I plan on finalizing all of my E3 plans.  Yes, I know I should have done this weeks (if not months) ago, but there's that rush of adrenaline that you get when you wait until the very last second.  Actually, that's a lie, but it's a lot less embarrassing than the truth.  When I'm not stressing over hotels, flights, conferences, interviews, and the like, I will be playing games for fun (as opposed to playing for review).  I'm still completely addicted to Space Invaders Extreme, there's just something about that game that keeps me coming back for more.  I also intend to go through both Maximo: Ghosts to Glory and Maximo vs. Army of Zin, both for a Ghosts 'N Goblins article I'm working on.  And if I still have time, I think I might try and beat The Bourne Conspiracy on the hardest difficulty.  Let's hope I can get to all that."

Matt Mirkovich
I am taking a gaming vow of silence until Chrono Trigger is released on the DS in the US... Okay they announced it. Uh... more Persona, Summon Night Twin Age on the DS. Surprisingly Arkanoid and Space Invaders Extreme are a lot of fun. It's mostly old gen stuff for me this week since there is nothing for me to be excited about except Soul Calibur 4.

Nathan Murray
I've started back at school taking summer classes so my weekend will consist of Biology labs and the Shadow Run RPG. I'm paitently waiting for my copy of DBZ Burst Limit and right now I'm also very interested in Soul Caliber 4.

John Yan
It just seems I can't get away from nabbing intelligence, setting people on fire, and mowing down people with my trusty Sasha. With the recent announcement of Diablo III I'm half tempted to load up the second one and hunt down the big red demon again. I also found my original Fallout CD so I might traverse the wastelands to save my vault.

Sign up for the Wrath of the Lich King

by: John - posted: 7/3/2008 5:29 PM - Comments (0)
For you World of Warcraft players out there, you can now sign up to beta test the next expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King. Signing up does not guarantee a spot in the test though and it's all random as to whether you get in or not.

Chrono Trigger comes to DS

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 7/3/2008 3:47 PM - Comments (3)
Did you just hear the collective fanboy squee?  Square Enix has announced that they are porting Chrono Trigger to the DS.  Chrono Trigger is one of the Super Nintendo's most beloved classics, and is arguably considered to be Square's finest RPG.  Fans have been clamoring for a portable version for years, and they'll finally get one this holiday, with a new touch screen interface and a brand new dungeon.  Expect an official press release shortly, but until then, you can check Kotaku's coverage.

2K hires Digital Extremes for BioShock PS3 makeover

by: Dan - posted: 7/3/2008 1:41 PM - Comments (1)
2K Games announced today that they have contracted with Digital Extremes (Unreal, Dark Sector) to assist in the development of the Playstation 3 version of BioShock. The company will join in-house developers 2K Marin, 2K Boston and 2K Australia with the conversion and addition of new features and content. Digital Extremes role will be to optimize BioShock for the PS3, based on the knowledge from working on Dark Sector. That looks like an awful lot of development manpower and effort for a conversion and upgrade project.  Makes you wonder if they are getting behind in meeting the scheduled October release...

EDIT [Dan] - Fixed typo of console [READ MORE]

Guitar Hero: On Tour sets sets Sales Record

by: Dan - posted: 7/3/2008 1:32 PM - Comments (0)
Activision announced today that Guitar Hero: On Tour and its unique peripheral has established a new North American sales record by a "factor of eight." In the first seven days the game was on the market, over 300,000 copies were sold. So to break it down, the previous best selling Activision title on the DS only moved around 40K copies in its first week. Maybe Activision needs to get more involved with the DS... [READ MORE]

Four new Midnight Club screens

by: Dan - posted: 7/3/2008 12:02 PM - Comments (0)
In addition to pushing back the release by a month, Rockstar has put out four brand new screens from Midnight Club: Los Angeles to whet our appetites until October.  Check them all out after the jump:
[READ MORE]

Rockstar pushes back release of Midnight Club: Los Angeles

by: Dan - posted: 7/3/2008 9:11 AM - Comments (1)
Rockstar announced today that the release of Midnight Club: Los Angeles has been pushed back about a month from September 9th to October 7th. In addition, the PSP take on the game (Midnight Club: LA Remix) will also be releasing on the same day. Delays are common and usually inevitable in the game publishing industry, so moving it back one week isn't such a big deal. I'm sure our crack reporting team that will be covering E3 will be able to ask the question and find out if there is anything sinister behind the delay. [READ MORE]

Resistance 2 gets ARG, 2 new screenshots

by: Chuck - posted: 7/3/2008 8:17 AM - Comments (0)
I'm not a fan of print mags but the August issue of GamePro is tempting because it's got a ton of new info on Resistance:Fall of Man 2.  Of course there's always the new ARG they are running for the game but my plate is a bit full right now.
[READ MORE]

NVIDIA says laptop chips has problems, lowering forecast

by: John - posted: 7/3/2008 6:15 AM - Comments (0)
Got a laptop with a NVIDIA chip? You might be taking it in for a repair as the company has announced that there seems to be a problem with some older chips that shipped in "significant quantities". An update to turn the fan on sooner has been issued to help reduce the heat that causes the problem. Still, NVIDIA is taking a $150-$200 million charge in the second quarter to cover repair costs. Unfortunatly, they didn't say which products were having problems so we don't know currently which laptop GPUs are affected. With the economy the way it is and some delayed products, NVIDIA is also lowering their second quarter revenue forecast. Not a good day to be NVIDIA.

The World Cyber Games are now in Sync

by: Nathan - posted: 7/3/2008 4:12 AM - Comments (0)
No the World Cyber Games are not forming their own boy band. They are partnering with Samsung making the Samsung SyncMaster Monitor the official viewing platform for the WCG Grand Finale in Cologne Germany. What does this mean exactly? This means that competitors will be blasting away at each other in 8000:1 contrast ratio (at least) and not only that but the staff at the event and press will be able to use high end monitors and webcams to um play freecell in between matches. Of course the most exciting thing about this announcement (particularly if you happen to be press) is that the "Welcome Pack Promotion" given away to players and VIPs (read journalists and partners) will have Samsung goodies in them. I hope the can manage to squeeze a monitor or two in those swag bags. [READ MORE]

Firmware 2.40 pulled, problems pop up

by: John - posted: 7/2/2008 10:31 PM - Comments (1)
Well it looks like the firmware update for the PlayStation 3 that adds Tropies, in-game XMB and other features has been pulled so you can't update to it now. A host of problems have come up on the forums. I haven't had any problems yet but I've only been playing MLB 08 The Show (Hey I'm in AAA now!) and the in-game XMB has worked fine and I haven't had any lockups. Let's hope Sony fixes this one mighty quick. Now i'm scared to even turn the machine on.

EDIT [Dan] - Sony has confirmed the update was pulled and claims it has received a limited number of calls on the issue.

TrackMania breaks its own maniacal track record

by: Randy - posted: 7/2/2008 10:30 PM - Comments (1)
Okay, this is one of the first Guinness Book video game records that's actually impressed me:  TrackMania Nations Forever (free to download, free to play, from either File Front, Worthplaying, GamersHell, or Steam), has a record-breaking video showing 250 (!) players racing on the same track at the same time.  It's pretty nuts.  But I guess that's what you can do when you have a game that's signed up more than 1.5 million players in less than three months.  That's an average of 20,000 people signing up every day.

[READ MORE]

News Roundup: American Civil MindHabits

by: Randy - posted: 7/2/2008 9:59 PM - Comments (0)
Demos, Patches
 Videos
 Screenshots
 Articles
 Thanks to Defunct Games, Cryptic Studios, AtomicGamer, and Digit-Life for today's news roundup.

Insert your dialogue into Izuna's speech bubbles

by: Randy - posted: 7/2/2008 9:38 PM - Comments (0)
Atlus has been hosting some hit-and-miss comics for Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns.  But as I sit here all critical -- though I understand, "comedy is hard" -- Atlus is now inviting everyone in on the comic strip fun.  Choosing between four templates, you'll insert your fun/morose/quirky/melodramatic captions into the dialogue, hit Submit, and prepare to have your work posted and graded.  As Atlus entices, "Don't miss this ideal chance to work with Izuna's (speech) bubbles."
[READ MORE]

New Pure footage unveiled

by: Chuck - posted: 7/2/2008 9:33 PM - Comments (1)
I have to admit that I'm a bit captivated by Pure, Disney's new off-road racing game simply because the graphics look incredible. The game looks amazing but I am starting to wonder if the game is all looks and no gameplay.  Well this new trailer shows off the trick system in the game so that does assuage some of my fears a bit.  Hopefully I'll get some hands on time with the game later this month at E3.
BTW, -2 cool points for using Wolf Mother's "Woman" in the trailer.

More Sin City societies in This Is Vegas

by: Randy - posted: 7/2/2008 9:11 PM - Comments (0)
Taking a hedonistic trip somewhere between Rainbow Six Vegas and Grand Theft Auto is Midway's This Is Vegas.  Too bad the name sounds like an ad campaign in and of itself.  A sinful set of three new screenshots show the Abercrombie-dressed bad boy swigging swill poolside, strolling under the Fremont Street Experience, and dealing in an Azteca nightclub with a great guy-to-girl ratio.  Compared the the typical washed-out palette of today's video games, it looks like This Is Vegas will take full advantage of the entire color spectrum.  I'm not sure a sandbox has ever shined so bright.
[READ MORE]

New City Life Edition 2008 trailer shows off gameplay modes, killer soundtrack

by: Chuck - posted: 7/2/2008 9:05 PM - Comments (0)
Here's the new trailer for Paradox's City Life Edition 2008 which illustrates the decisions you'll have to make in the game like building bridges, redeveloping run down areas, and rocking out to a killer soundtrack.  Looks like a nice time killer for those who need a Sim City fix.

EA Mythic will declare WAR on Russia in early 2009

by: Randy - posted: 7/2/2008 9:02 PM - Comments (0)
Joining North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, Russia will also be getting their tundra-frozen hands on Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.  They'll be joining the world WAR a bit late, however, as their linguistically localized servers won't be dug out from under the layer of permafrost until early 2009, while the previously mentioned nations will have theirs by this year's school season. [READ MORE]

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

by: Chuck - posted: 7/2/2008 8:53 PM - Comments (0)
The folks at GameTrailers TV have managed to secure another exclusive as they will have the first look at Midway's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on the show this weekend.  Not only will they have the first look at the game but they will be unveiling two new villains from the game.  Once again you'll want to set your DVR's as the show isn't on until 1AM EST.  [READ MORE]

NZXT introduces the Sentry LX fan controller

by: Dan - posted: 7/2/2008 10:03 AM - Comments (0)
If you have a high-end gaming rig with multiple fans to maximize airflow, then NZXT may have an accessory for you. Today, they announced the Sentry LX fan controller, which has the ability to monitor and control up to five separate fans. The device fits into any dual bay 5.25 drive space and displays details on a LCD readout display. Other features include five temperature probes, auto/manual modes and alarms. The Sentry LX will debut in July at a cost of $59.99.  Feel free to check out all the images...
[READ MORE]

Think of the Children - 07/02/08

by: Dan - posted: 7/2/2008 9:25 AM - Comments (0)
It was such a light week from the ESRB that we are going with a news post instead of a full-fledged article. A grand total of 10 titles were rated, including TNA iMPACT! Wrestling for the 360 and PS3 and Galaga LEGIONS (XBLA?) for the 360. Otherwise, we saw just a handful of titles on the PC, DS and Wii. Check them out:

Title Publisher Rating Platforms
Galaga LEGIONS NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. Everyone 360
Hawaiian Explorer: Lost Island Game Mill Entertainment Everyone PC
TNA iMPACT! Wrestling Midway Home Entertainment Inc. Teen 360, PS3
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Vivendi Games Teen PS2, Wii
Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People: Homestar Ruiner Telltale Games Teen PC, Wii
Slingo Quest Hawaii MumboJumbo Everyone PC
Heavy Armor Brigade UFO Interactive Games Everyone 10+ Nintendo DS
Master of the Monster Lair Atlus USA, inc. Everyone 10+ Nintendo DS
Exit DS Square Enix, Inc Everyone Nintendo DS
Star Parodier Hudson Entertainment Inc Everyone Wii