Tag Archives: Video games

DJ Hero 2 adds a second turnable and mic to the mix

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DJ Hero is getting significantly upgraded in its second installment.  DJ Hero 2 will feature over 70 never before heard mixes with artists ranging from Dr. Dre, The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Metallica, and Rihanna.  Only three mixes have been revealed: Lady Gaga “Just Dance” Mixed With Deadmau5 “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff”, Pussycat Dolls “Don’t Cha” Mixed With Pitbull “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”, and MSTRKRFT “Bounce” Beat Juggle.  Deadmau5 will also be featured as an in-game playable character.  This game will include something the original did not–a story mode.  In Empire Mode,  “players start out as an up-and-coming DJ on the road to becoming the head of a major entertainment empire, all of which is founded solely on their success as a DJ.”  There will also be a couple new multiplayer modes.  DJ Battles will “pit DJ against DJ in mixes produced specifically for battle gameplay.”  This mode differs from the multiplayer experience in the first game.  Previously both players played the same notes and battled for the high score.  This new mode has players take turns with the notes, making it feel more like a genuine head-to-head DJ battle.  Gameplay is separated into checkpoints, and the objective is to collect the most checkpoints.

With the original DJ Hero, players were given the option to connect their own mic into the deck’s USB port to freestyle vocals over mixes.  DJ Hero 2 integrates the mic as a standard intrument in gameplay.  If you choose to play along with/as a vocalist, on-screen lyrics will appear at the top of the screen and you’ll be scored on pitch and accuracy.

DJ Hero 2 will arrive this fall on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii.  The “Party Bundle” includes the game, two turntables, and a microphone (if you opt for this bundle, you can select a white deck).  The “Turntable Bundle” includes the game and one turntable.  They will go for $149.99 & $99.99, respectively.  Also the game will sell standalone at $59.99.  Pre-order here.  More details will spill next week at E3, so stay tuned.  For now, check out the awesome trailer above!

[Via Engadget; IGN; Activision]

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock gets detailed

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This week Activision spilled the beans on details surrounding the next iteration of its coveted Guitar Hero franchise.  Number 6 is called Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and it will pack  90 “guitar-shredding tracks” and come bundled with a brand new guitar.  The story is dubbed Quest Mode and it will be narrated by Gene Simmons of KISS.  In this story-driven mode, “players will embark on a larger-than-life, epic rock journey from the stage of CBGBs, the infamous punk-rock club in New York City, to the molten lava fields of rock treachery as eight Guitar Hero characters transform into rock warriors that must join together to use their unique, game-changing powers to help the Demi-God of Rock take down “The Beast” and save rock n’ roll.”  A new mode called Quickplay+ will introduce 13 challenges for every track in the game (and for all downloadable content tracks released since Guitar Hero World Tour).  In it, “gamers will complete challenges such as Band Streak, High Score and Power Challenge, which allows players to choose any two warrior powers they have unlocked to try and earn ridiculously high scores, to rank up and unlock more rewards and content than ever before.”  A partial tracklist has been revealed and is sitting after the break.  Avenged Sevenfold, Black Sabbath, Children of Bodom, DragonForce, Foreigner, KISS, Megadeth, and ZZ Top made the cut.  Oh and there’s this: Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Muse’s “Uprising” are featured as well!

The guitar features a bold new design.  Since all of the internal circuitry is now located in the neck of the guitar, players can remove the interchangable “wings” and replace them with other custom designs if they so choose.  Noticably absent is the touch-enabled slider bar.  Now located at the bottom of the neck is a battery compartment (or where you’ll store the Wiimote if you’re a Wii user).  Also, the star power button has been slightly raised so reaching it with your palm is an easier task for you non-tilters.  Two guitars will be made available for WoR, the standard controller (above, left) and the GameStop exclusive “axe” controller (above, right).  Look after the break for a closer look at ’em.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will release for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii this September.  Pre-order your flavor here.  With E3 looming around the corner, more details surrounding gameplay, release date, and pricing will surely be announced soon.

[Via Joystiq, here & here; Activision] Continue reading Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock gets detailed →

Video game console-inspired office spaces

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In an image series called If I Were President photographer Joseph Ford dreams of a world where city landscapes are defined by the distinctive curves of video game consoles.  And if I were president, my lair would be exactly what you see above–the NES House.  Check out a couple other designs in the gallery below.

[Via Gizmodo; Fubiz]

Best Google doodle yet: it’s Pac-Man!

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Last weekend the Internet was treated with a fun little game called Pac-Man.  The guys and gals at Google HQ thought it’d be fun to turn the Google logo into a full-fledged game of Pac-Man to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary.  This was the real deal–the game included all 256 levels, the ghosts, the fruits, the wakka wakka sound, and the kill screen in the final level.  There was even an “insert coin” button in the place of “I’m Feeling Lucky” that when pressed once started the game, and when pressed a second time introduced Ms. Pac-man and allowed for a 2-player mode (played with the WASD keys).  And check out what the playable doodle did to productivity in America on the Friday it was introduced (according to RescueTime Blog): the average user spent 36 more seconds on Google.com; the game consumed 4,819,352 hours of time; $120,483,800 in lost productivity.  “For that same cost, you could hire all 19,835 Google employees, from [founders] Larry and Sergey down to their janitors, and get 6 weeks of their time.”  Now that’s impressive (and scary).

And with all that said I bring good news!  Although the Pac-Man Google doodle was taken down after the weekend, the game has not been wiped from Google’s server.  Head over to google.com/pacman to play whenever you want!  But try to get your work done first, hm?  Aw, who am I kidding?  Get your wakka wakka action on right now!

[Via CNET; RescueTimeBlog]

Rock Band 3 teases keytar peripheral

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Those of you who downloaded the Green Day: Rock Band demo from Xbox Live Marketplace (which includes the two tracks “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” & “Welcome to Paradise”) were treated to a teaser banner when exiting the demo for Rock Band 3.  Along with the usual suspects (guitar, drums, bass, and mic) sits an entirely new instrument, a keytar!  At first glance gamers interpreted the new icon to represent the addition of a keyboard peripheral for the new Rock Band game, but ArsTechnica claims their “now-famous Mole” has reliable information that the new instrument is in fact a keytar.  For those of you who are not familar with the instrument, a keytar essentially combines a guitar and keyboard into one, and it’s very ’80s.  Look after the break for a sexy image of said instrument.

Along with this tease comes more news surrounding the upcoming music game.  While the first two iterations of Rock Band were sold with instruments created by developer Harmonix, all peripherals for Rock Band 3 will be created and distributed by third-party game accessory company Mad Catz.  Mad Catz will promote a myriad of bundles including guitars, drums, and mics.  Information regarding the keytar will likely be detailed next month at E3.

And there’s one more morsel of news that comes from this same source.  Rock Band 3 will feature a new “pro mode” “that will require proper technique, and may lead to actual skills on guitars and bass.”  Again, expect more details about the game to be exposed at E3 in mid-June.

[Via Joystiq; ArsTechnica] Continue reading Rock Band 3 teases keytar peripheral →

Halo: Reach gets September release, Bungie thanks players with video

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Mark your calenders, people.  Halo: Reach will release September 14, 2010.  And if you’re an ultimate Halo fan and expecting to get your game on day one, be sure to preorder as soon as possible.  Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop: “Pre-orders for ‘Halo: Reach’ have been off the charts, with fans snapping up the limited and legendary editions since they were introduced just a month ago.  Overall, it’s a real testament to the passion of the ‘Halo’ fan base.”

The Halo: Reach beta invitational was a huge success for developer Bungie and Microsoft.  Over 2.7 million gamers participated in the beta, playing over 13 million games for over 16 million hours.  In a fun way to thank Halo fans for taking part in the beta, Bungie compiled a bunch of in-game footage captured by players.  The video, embedded above, contains some awesome sticks and impressive kills..so check it out.

[Via IGN; Joystiq]

Steam for Mac is available for download today

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Hey Mac users!  Now you can finally play a bunch of solid games on your computer!  Steam, a games distribution service that’s been widely available on Windows PCs for years, is now available for Mac OS X.  Steam is run by Valve, the company behind popular games like Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Left 4 Dead 2.  In layman’s terms, Steam is a centralized place where computer gamers can browse, preview, and download a number of titles.  It’s also got a bunch of social features like chat, and friends lists.  And get this–for a limited time (until May 24) Steam is offereing a FREE download of one of Valve’s most popular and best rated games, Portal.  It’s a highly addicting, first-person puzzle game, so get on that before it’s too late.  Besides Valve games, Steam for Mac (which looks almost identical to its Windows counterpart) already houses a bunch of third party games like Civilization IV, Bejeweled 2, World of Goo, and City of Heroes: Architect Edition.  Click here for the DMG download of Steam for Mac.

[Via Joystiq]

Nintendo DS handhelds surpass Game Boy sales

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In their latest quarterly earnings report, Nintendo happily announced that their DS line of handhelds (DS, DS Lite, DSi, DSi XL) has officially sold more units than the their Gameboy predecessors.  The DS family has sold around 129 million units, briskly passing the 118 million Game Boy handhelds sold.  Although this makes the DS line the best selling handheld gaming device in history, the Sony PlayStation 2 still wears the crown when it comes to all video game devices with 140 million units sold.  Anyhow, way to go Ninty!  Nintendo 3Ds, come out, come out wherever you are.

[Via Nintendo; Engadget]

Nintendo Wii gets a new coat of paint, beefier baseline package

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Nine months after being released in Japan, a black-coated version of the Nintendo Wii console is coming to America.  Come May 9 consumers will have the option to purchase a white or black Wii console.  Both models will remain at $199.99.  But get this–the baseline package now includes a copy of Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus accessory.  These new additions bundle with the standard fare that includes the Wii console, one Wiimote, and Wii Sports.  Now you can finally match your black Wiimotes and nunchucks with a console of the same shade.

[Via Joystiq]

Aisha Tyler walks us through the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta

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Halo fans, check out this tutorial of sorts.  Actress Aisha Tyler breaks down game types, the new maps and environments, weapons, and more.  It’s an informative and helpful video; the only downside is the crazy amount of awkward  mentions of the phrase “kick your ass.”  Aren’t those oversized prop weapons she handles kick-ass, erm, awesome!?  To access the Halo: Reach beta you need a copy of Halo: ODST.  Happy fragging.