The Beatles Rock Band

I honestly never thought the day would come when we could look forward to playing a Beatles song in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. The rights to the songs are wrapped up tighter than a Gordian Knot and not even iTunes has Beatles songs available for download. However, on September 9th that day will finally be here.

The game will have 45 tracks on the disc when it ships. While that’s slightly more than half of what Rock Band 2 shipped with, this game promises to be a much more immersive experience. The buzz word that’s being tossed around is “experiential.”

Only 10 songs have been announced so far: I Saw Her Standing There, I Want To Hold Your Hand,I Feel Fine,Taxman,Day Tripper, Back In The USSR,I Am The Walrus,Octopus‘s Garden,Here Comes The Sun,and Get Back.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfLs06DLuLw&w=560&h=340]

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Akuma Revealed for SFIV Arcade

For all you Street Fighter die-hards out there wondering where your favorite character has disappeared to in Street Fighter IV have no fear! Capcom has just announced a new secret character in their arcade build of the game and it’s none other than Akuma.

There’s no word on if Akuma is already in the Japanese arcade hardware or if he will be region-specific to North America. Also left unstated was whether or not Akuma would be in the console versions of the game and whether he would be a playable character.

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Activision Announces Civil War: Secret Missions

Guest Post

A new chapter in in the interactive history of the Civil War has been announced by Activision Publishing. The press release describes Civil War: Secret Missions as “a completely new episode in The History Channel’s Civil War franchise, the game will allow players to assume the role of Union and Confederate soldiers fighting behind enemy lines in legendary battles.”

The first game was generally received as lackluster when released due to non-dynamic environments and clipping issues as well as a lack of any coherent narrative or campaign mode. Another point of contention that should have been addressed was the bumbling enemy AI. But the new game promises to add a deeper tactical element to the franchise.

There is a rich history to the Civil War, especially in terms of covert military tactics,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “American warfare in the 1860’s was brutal yet surprisingly sophisticated, so it was essential for us to capture this duality.

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Eidos and Warner Bros. Announce Batman: Arkham Asylum

You knew it was coming and now it is upon us. Eidos has just announced a new Batman game in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The new game is titled Batman: Arkham Asylum which promises to be “a dark, action packed videogame adventure.”

The setup of the game is Batman is delivering The Joker to Arkham Asylum where a trap is set for him by the myriad denizens of Gotham’s madhouse. The press release says Arkham Asylum will deliver an “immersive combat gaming experience” with an original script by Paul Dini. Continue reading “Eidos and Warner Bros. Announce Batman: Arkham Asylum”

Capcom Reveals Three Mega Man 9 Bosses

I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve been eagerly awaiting the new Mega Man 9 soon to be available on all three current-gen systems. And today Capcom has released information on three of the new bosses to be featured in the game.

From their press release:

Magma Man:
Magma Man serves as the safety control robot at a large geothermal power plant. He is able to work in incredibly hot environments and loves to visit hot spas.

Weapon: Magma Bazooka
Magma Bazooka shoots a cluster of fireballs that spread out after launching. It can also be charged by holding down the shot button. Continue reading “Capcom Reveals Three Mega Man 9 Bosses”

Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

One of the most successful Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time has finally got a true sequel and, not surprisingly, it’s just as awesome as the original. Of course I’m talking about Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. Not content with the two game modes available in the first game, GW:RE2 ups the ante with six very addictive new game types.

In addition to the new game types, Bizarre Creations have also tweaked the gameplay in subtle but significant ways. After an enemy is destroyed there will be small “geoms” floating about in the debris. Pick these up to increase your multiplier and start racking up the points. Also be on the look out for new enemies with new attack patterns to learn. Finally, there are no gun upgrades in the single player mode. You’re always going to have the same gun you start out with.

When you first download the game only one of the modes is open to you, but the other five modes are easily opened up by after playing for a few games. The first mode is Deadline. You have unlimited lives and a limited number of bombs to rack up the highest score possible in three minutes. Continue reading “Review: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2”

One-of-a-Kind Halo Sculptures in Silver

Guest Post

How much of a Halo fanatic are you? Do you own all the games. Did you just have to buy the Legendary Edition of Halo 3? Did you just need the scale model helmet?

If this sounds like you then you might want to check out the new Halo sculptures from Weta. If you were at the San Diego ComicCon this past month you’ve probably already seen the one-of-a-kind silver-plated Halo sculptures but now you’ve actually got a chance to own these one-of-a-kind items.

The only way you’re going to get your hands on these beautiful figures is by winning them in an auction on Ebay. The current bid for the Master Chief and Arbiter sculpture is currently at $898 and the reserve has yet to be met. So yeah, these aren’t for just anybody. In case you’re wondering the Master Chief and Grunts is currently bidding at over $1,600. Continue reading “One-of-a-Kind Halo Sculptures in Silver”

Caught My Eye: Perfect Dark: Initial Vector

Guest Post

This review will be a little different from what you normally see from me. I am pretty much a comic book man on Amish Otaku, but I recently read a novel that I felt compelled to talk about. The novel is Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and is written by comic book writer and novelist Greg Rucka. What I found interesting and noteworthy of Perfect Dark: Initial Vector was that it is a novel based on a video game and written by a pretty popular comic book writer. That mash up alone makes it a prime candidate here, despite being a format which we hardly cover.

As most of you may know, Perfect Dark was a video game by Rare that came out on the Nintendo 64 some years ago. It was the follow up to the widely popular Goldeneye on the same system. More recently, Rare joined forces with Microsoft and released a prequel game on the X-Box 360 title Perfect Dark: Zero. The basic premise is that the lead character is somewhat of a spy/general ass kicker for an agency called the Carrington Institute where their primary targets are super powerful corporations. It is set a few years into the future, where of course they have flying cars amongst other cool gadgets we are still waiting for. Continue reading “Caught My Eye: Perfect Dark: Initial Vector”

Assassin’s Creed

We’ve been seeing previews for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed for about a year now, and the finished product lives up to nearly every expectation that’s been set .

The first thing that surprises you about this game is its setting. Contrary to what the trailers would have you believe, the actual setting for this game is in the near-future. All of the Crusade-era stuff is actually a virtual-reality representation of Desmond Miles’ genetic memory. So while Mr. Miles is a simple bartender, his ancestor was Atair Ibn La-Ahad – a member of the ancient order of assassins. He’s been captured by a secretive organization, Abstergo Industries, that’s probing his ancestral past for a hidden memory. The catch is this crucial memory can’t be accessed unless he relives the memories that preceded it. Continue reading “Assassin’s Creed”

Guitar Hero III: Ten Things They Forgot

10 things they forgot to put in Guitar Hero III

1. Pedal accessory
Everyone was excited when they picked up their Guitar Hero II games for the 360 because it had an expansion port on it. The game even came with a diagram that labeled it as the “pedal expansion port.” If it’s not in GH II or in GH III, when are we going to see this? Rock Band lets you change the guitar effects right on your axe, so where’s our pedal?

2. Cheaper DLC
If you look back to the interview I did with Bryan Lam from Red Octane, you’ll see I delved pretty deeply into the price per song of the various guitar/rhythm games on the market. Downloadable songs cost you twice as much: over $2 per song! I guess Red Octane and Neversoft are making serious money at that price point and a lot of people are buying the songs because I don’t see a change in this any time soon. Continue reading “Guitar Hero III: Ten Things They Forgot”