Posted by Merlin on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 (01:03:02) (377 reads)

According to IGN, the final track listing has been revealed for the upcoming PS2/Xbox 360 video game "Guitar Hero II", due on November 7. Totaling 40 tunes in all, spread over eight difficulty levels, the new game seems to have an even wider range of rock-oriented music than the first time out. From GUNS N' ROSES to the POLICE to DICK DALE, "Guitar Hero II" runs the gamut of rock.

"Guitar Hero II" track listing (sorted by difficulty level):

1. Opening Licks

MÖTLEY CRÜE - Shout at the Devil
DANZIG - Mother
CHEAP TRICK - Surrender
WOLFMOTHER - Woman
SPINAL TAP - Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight

2. Amp-Warmers

KISS - Strutter
NIRVANA - Heart-Shaped Box
POLICE - Message in a Bottle
VAN HALEN - You Really Got Me
KANSAS - Carry on Wayward Son

3. String-Snappers

FOO FIGHTERS - Monkey Wrench
ALICE IN CHAINS - Them Bones
IGGY POP AND THE STOOGES - Search and Destroy
PRETENDERS - Tattooed Love Boys
BLACK SABBATH - War Pigs

4. Thrash and Burn

WARRANT - Cherry Pie
BUTTHOLE SURFERS - Who Was in My Room Last Night
MATHEW SWEET - Girlfriend
ROLLING STONES - Can't You Hear Me Knockin'
GUNS N' ROSES - Sweet Child O' Mine

5. Return of the Shred

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Killing in the Name Of
PRIMUS - John the Fisherman
SWORD - Freya
THIN LIZZY - Bad Reputation
AEROSMTIH - Last Child

6. Relentless Riffs

HEART - Crazy on You
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - Tripping on a Hole in a Paper Heart
STRAY CATS - Rock This Town
ALLMAN BROTHERS - Jessica
JANE'S ADDICTION - Stop

7. Furious Fretwork

ANTHRAX - Madhouse
LIVING END - Carry Me Home
LAMB OF GOD - Laid to Rest
REVEREND HORTON HEAT - Psychobilly Freakout
RUSH - YYZ

8. Face-Melters

AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Beast and the Harlot
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - Institutionalized
DICK DALE - Misirlou
MEGADETH - Hangar 18
LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Free Bird

Posted by Merlin on Thursday, February 24, 2005 (16:44:27) (186 reads)

You wake up in the dead of night screaming "Are they changing the hit detection!?" Maybe in the middle of conversations you speculate "I wonder if I will be able to blow away terrorists from the turret of my strikeboat?" SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs is closer than you think and e-SEALs will be your place to get the latest information about new features, improvements, advancements, and missions in this highly anticipated release. Our friends over at SCEA and Zipper Interactive have given us a sneak peak inside SOCOM 3 and we are going to be sharing any news and information they send our way. So I am going to stop my incessant rambling and just get into the news:

SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs will be released in Fall 2005! (ESRB Rating is still pending.)
Three new, HEAVILY researched Areas of Operation: With every release, the SOCOM development team spends a ton of time getting the details absolutely perfect to re-create the mission environments for the game. For SOCOM 3, SEALs and Terrorists will be battling it out in Morocco, Poland, and Bangladesh.
Larger Maps: Some of maps included in SOCOM 3 will be up to 5 times as large as previous installments. More places to run, more places to hide, more places to die!
More Weapons: You can now customize your weapons! With 30 weapons and 21 attachments, you can create over 1000 different weapon combinations and snipe with a different gun every day!
Drivable Land Vehicles and Watercraft: By popular demand, the SOCOM development team has added usable vehicles to SOCOM 3. Now we haven't yet been told how extensive the use of vehicles will be or if they will be available on every map, but we do know some of the vehicles available will include turret-equipped pickups, SEAL-team Humvees, and the SOC-R Assault Boat. Talk about riding in style!
Greater Environmental Interactivity: Ok that's just a bunch of fancy words meaning that you can do more with what you see. For example, you can now pilot strikeboats along waterways for waterborne assaults. Your characters will also now be able to use water (and swimming!) for cover and to perform more in depth stealth operations. So make sure to bring your swim trunks and some sunscreen...your team might be spending a lot of time in the water!
Improved Voice Recognition: Use your team to their full potential with improved voice commands that allow for a greater selection of tactical options.

Posted by Merlin on Sunday, January 23, 2005 (19:21:01) (83 reads)

A Japanese woman was arrested for wiping her boyfriend's save game data…
The jilted girlfriend, said to be in her thirties, logged onto her ex-lover's Lineage account with his username and password. Once there she deleted his game data including all the items, weapons and clothes he had collected.

Although the boyfriend did not suffer financially he reported the misuse of his account to the police. Police then reported the woman of Toyama Prefecture, to the Fukushima District Public Prosecutors Office accusing her of violating a law banning illegal access to someone else's online accounts.

The woman has admitted the crime. "I did it as revenge for breaking up with me," she told police.

The couple actually met through playing the game, love blossomed in the online RPG and the lovers soon met up. However the relationship did not last long and thoughts turned to revenge.

Imagine having your save games held ransom by a jilted lover. A treasured memory card held over a fire, "you better not break up with me or the Final Fantasy VII save gets it." Scary. Very scary.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun

Posted by bubba on Saturday, January 22, 2005 (14:29:40) (159 reads)

PS2: Review
by Four-Eyed Dragon

Mercenaries is for those thugs in the Grand Theft Auto world who feel that crime in the big city is just too tame. Think of it as expanding your worldly horizons in concert with a lot more explosive combat.

Military Contractor

Mercenaries doesn't shy away from the fact that it copies the widely popular GTA formula--an expansive, free-roaming world coupled with nonlinear gameplay and the act of stealing vehicles to aid in completing missions. But there's one major characteristic of this action game that makes it different from the rest: This is a military operation. And much like today's military, a show of force through a judicious use of firepower only spells out a merriment of mass destruction.

Working under a private military contractor, you're sent to a near future Korea where Allied Forces, South Korea, China, and the Russian Mafia are jockeying for power. Your objective is simple: Capture (dead or alive) 52 of the most-wanted North Koreans using any method necessary, and team up with any of the four factions to get a lead on the wanted bounties.

Showing Your Colors

The dynamics of your relationship with each faction is where Mercenaries excels. Partner with a particular group, and others won't like you very much. For instance, if you aid the Allies, China will consider you an enemy. And if you join up with the Russian mob, you're everyone's enemy. Your romps with each faction vary from stealing cargo trucks to rescuing informants, and with each mission success, you gain intelligence on where to capture the most-wanted North Koreans. Through completing each mission, you also gain extra goodies, such as the ability to buy a variety of transportation vehicles, cargo drops (weapons and equipment), and all types of air support. This in turn provides tons of ways to complete future objectives in any style that you see fit.

Mercenaries' visual and audio presentations round out the game's entertainment value. Although there's a lot of draw-in and its size isn't even in the same league as GTA: San Andreas, the level design is still pleasantly befitting. Areas are distinct and populated with the different factions, and the environments offer a lot to explore on foot, in wheels, and in the air. The battle-ridden Korea is also very unrelenting as even skirmishes between groups take place as you drive by; you can opt to help with the fight or just move on. The great sound effects from the booming explosions and roaring jet engines from above greatly add to the war-torn ambiance, too.

Soldier of Fortune

Sure, Mercenaries features a lot of familiar elements that you've seen in other games, but the action has certainly been repackaged in a creative way to bring gamers a unique gameplay experience. Don't hesitate to hire Mercenaries for some government-sanctioned fun--just don't ask which government.

# GRAPHICS: 4.0
# SOUND: 4.0
# CONTROL: 4.0
# FUN FACTOR: 4.0

Screenshot 1 | Screenshot 2 | Screenshot 3 | Screenshot 4 | Screenshot 5 | Screenshot 6

Posted by Merlin on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 (23:00:00) (182 reads)

The boys of summer are back and looking better than ever.
By Hilary Goldstein

January 18, 2005 - EA is in a difficult position. Last year's MVP 2004 ranked among the very best baseball game's ever made thanks to innovative controls, great graphics, and an awesome franchise mode. With a solid foundation to work on, what more could EA do other than iron out some bugs from last year's game? It turns out that while the gameplay changes are subtle, there's still plenty more EA has to offer gamers. With rumors that this may be the last MVP Baseball game for the foreseeable future, at least EA's going out with a bang.

Own It
The big addition for the new season is Ownership Mode, which provides gamers with full control over an entire organization. Ownership Mode operates much like last year's Dynasty Mode, with team chemistry and player happiness playing a major role in the quality of play on the field. On top managing your major league club and all three minor league satellites (as Single-A has been added for 2005), you must also worry about earning cash to keep your team's finances solvent.

When you first kick up Ownership Mode, you'll need to create your own ballpark. In your first year, this ballpark is as basic as can be. In fact, at the outset my AAA park looks better than the empty New Israel Park I built for the Oakland A's. There are some limited options in terms of the field's design, including the type of grass and seat wall coloring. Assuming you have some money to spend from your budget (even the A's have a little), you can purchase various concession stands and stadium amenities. In time your stadium can grow into a true powerhouse, but it's not going to be an easy task.

If you've played Madden's Ownership Mode, then you should have a good idea of what to expect. You can spend cash on giveaways to attract fans and, with some good ballplay, earn endorsements and a better TV contract. The more you make, the bigger your budget for improving your team.

Play It
After fooling around with Ownership Mode for a while, I had the chance to play two games with the A's. The roster cut-off date came just a few days ago, so all trades and signings through last week are golden for release, but anything coming later is going to miss the cut. This means the Big Unit is on the Yanks, Beltran is on the Mets, and Mulder and Hudson are not on the A's. Does anyone else feel ill?

Through two games, I've noticed a number of small improvements over last year. Perhaps the most important fix is to the pitching meter, which was too forgiving last season. Now the green zone for a perfect pitch is considerably smaller and the meter moves a bit faster. While it's still not too tough to get into a groove and paint the corners, it's more difficult to maintain perfection. EA also smoothed out the animations so that there doesn't appear to be any hitches on double plays. There are also a greater number of infield animations, including underhanded tosses, first-baseman picks, and tagging animations. Things looked sweet last year and are just a tad sweeter for 2005.

There are also a few new features added this year. The EA Hitter's Eye is the one most-touted and probably the one to receive the coldest reception from fan's. When it was originally described as a special way a hitter sees the ball coming out of a pitcher's hand, I imagined some sort of camera zoom to show the rotation. Instead, the ball flashes a specific color the moment before it's hurled. Purple means it's a splitter, red is for curves and sliders, and white is for fastballs. The flash of color is momentary and easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, but those who know how to spot the blip are at an extreme advantage. Don't worry, this feature can be turned off if you want.

Hitter's gain a second advantage this season with the ability to move in the batter's box. Before any pitch, you can move the batter in or out to adjust to a pitcher's style. This moves your hot and cold zones as well. If you take a hitter who rakes pitches on the outside and scoot off the plate, that hot zone gets moved closer to the center of the plate. It's a little tough to tell what sort of impact this might have on a game, but with a few more games under my belt I should have a better understanding of the full impact (if any).

Overall the gameplay hasn't changed much at all from last year. However, the ball physics have definitely seen an upgrade. Hits that normally were triples last year thanks to large ballparks and slow fielders are now doubles and sometimes just singles. Fielders also make better decisions for backing up a play and there's a more intense game of cat-and-mouse between the baserunner and the man trying to keep him from straying too far.

MVP Baseball 2005 may not surprise anyone with its gameplay this year, but since last year's game was so good, drastic changes were unnecessary. The true test is playing through a few dozen games. Hopefully MVP maintain its excellence over the long haul, because with solid gameplay and the promising Ownership Mode, this could be a brilliant swan song for EA baseball.

Posted by Merlin on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 (05:50:52) (170 reads)

Rednecks finally have reason to cheer. By Hilary Goldstein January 18, 2005 - Video games were founded on tennis (well, ping pong at least). Whenever a tennis game comes through the office, it brings memories of great games long gone (Virtua Tennis, Topspin). There is always the hope that a new tennis game can rekindle those old emotions. So when Global Star brought Outlaw Tennis by, I was full of high hopes. Another piece in developer Hypnotix's over-the-top sports series, Outlaw Tennis offers a blend of smart gameplay and arcade smashmouth. Outlaw Tennis brings back some favorites from past Outlaw games along with some brand new outrageous characters. Once again Steve Carell provides play-by-play harassment. The same brand of humor is back, with Carell ripping on characters and plays relentlessly. If you loved it before, you'll likely love it some more. And if you didn't, well, you have the option to turn off the commentary. Gameplay is reminiscent of Topspin with each face button used for a different type of hit (flat shot, slice, top spin, and lob). The Right Trigger is turbo, the Left adds extra spin on the ball. When your turbo meter is full you can nail a perfect serve or slam a hot slice in the corner. From watching a game, it seems like the mechanics very much mimic tennis games of the past with the added Outlaw antics.

Posted by Merlin on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 (17:49:05) (150 reads)

NPD data on the best-sellers of last year, plus industry growth.
By David Adams

January 18, 2005 - According to data reported today by industry analyst The NPD Group, the video game industry saw $9.9 billion in combined hardware and software sales in 2004, down less than one percent from $10 billion in 2003. Though dollar sales were down, the number of units sold was up four percent over 2003.

Some of the biggest action came from handheld gaming, where software sales broke the $1 billion mark for the first time. Video game software sales overall reached $6.2 billion, compared to $5.8 billion in 2003.

The hardware shortage over the holiday season (anyone else scrambling to find a newly-designed PS2?) led to 27 percent dollar volume decline in console hardware sales. Portable hardware dollar volume picked up the slack, however, showing a 10 percent increase from 2003.

As a final treat, NPD also revealed the top-selling console titles for 2004, based on units sold. Without further ado:

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
2. Halo 2 (Xbox)
3. Madden NFL 2005(PS2)
4. ESPN NFL 2K5 (PS2)
5. Need For Speed: Underground 2 (PS2)
6. Pokemon Fire Red (GBA)
7. NBA Live 2005 (PS2)
8. Spider-Man 2 (PS2)
9. Halo (Xbox)
10. ESPN NFL 2K5 (Xbox)

Posted by Merlin on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 (05:35:58) (172 reads)

Early contender for comeback player of the year. By Hilary Goldstein January 11, 2005 - Last year, Visual Concepts released ESPN Major League Baseball and the results were somewhat like my beloved A's 2004 season -- close, but not quite what was expected. Frankly, ESPN MLB was a disappointment compared to the standard set by previous iterations. In an effort to strengthen the series, Visual Concepts gave Kush Games the opportunity to showcase its talents with ESPN MLB 2K5. After spending an hour with VC's new diamond dandy, I can safely say this will be better than last year. There are so many new touches, both in presentation and in gameplay, that this hands-on experience is being broken up into two parts. Since gameplay is what really matters, that will be the focus tonight. Tomorrow you can expect a look at the presentation, custom soundtrack options, franchise mode and anything else not covered below. Pitching Last year EA's MVP2004 raised the bar for baseball pitching with a meter smart meter system. There was no way Kush could rely on the old point and pray method of pitching. The solution? Offer several options, including one that looks a hell of a lot like EA's. The default method, though, is the one you'll want to go with as Kush's K-Zone Pitching is a pretty good alternative to what's already out there. After moving a cursor around the batter's box to select your pitch location (you can bluff the location with the Right Trigger), press the button of the pitch you want to chuck towards the plate. You can tap the button for a standard pitch or hold down for a power pitch. Power pitches eat up a lot more stamina from your pitcher and make it tougher to throw with accuracy. Once the pitch is selected, two perpendicular, transparent meters appear, intersecting at the pitch location. The bottom meter moves and you need to stop the marker in as close to the center of the pitch location as possible. The second meter then does the same. Hit your spot exactly for perfection, but miss too much and you'll hang your pitch.

Posted by Merlin on Saturday, January 08, 2005 (08:11:28) (261 reads)

The soundtrack of the drive of your life.
By Ed Lewis

January 7, 2005 - The import version of Gran Turismo 4 has a lot of cool features such as hundreds of cars, dozens of courses, but here is a little info about the tracks. Not tracks as in roads to drive on, but tunes to listen to. Here is the soundtrack of music that was not composed for the game. This is a mix that strongly represents the electronica genre, some modern rock, and a few classics from the archives. With a strong American lean to the list overall it's likely that this is what will be seen in America as well.

# Till the Break - A. Skillz
# Slip and Slide - A. Skillz
# Start the Car - Apollo 440
# Hold the Brakes - Apollo 440
# Runaround - Arlo
# You Must Follow - Stratus
# Let's Roll - Bootsy Collins
# D-Greasy Rides - Bootsy Collins
# Don't Mean a Thing - Borialis
# Machine Gun - Commodores
# Apology For Non Symmetry - Chronic Future
# Real Dream - DeepSky
# Nitro - Dieselboy + Chaos
# Car Crash - Dirty Americans
# Getaway - Earth, Wind & Fire
# (Call Me) Suer Bad Parts 1, 2 & 3 - James Brown
# Hot Rod Honeymoon - Jeff Beck
# Roll Over DJ - Jet
# Nothingwrong - Jimmy Eat World
# Summer Song - Joe Satriani
# Free Wheel Burning - Judas Priest
# Short Burning Fuse - Less Than Jake
# Gameplan - Mr. Natural
# Not Listening - Papa Roach
# Funny Little Feeling - Rock N Roll Soldiers
# So Long Baby Goodbye - The Blasters
# I Don't Want to Know - The Donnas
# Ready to Rock - The X-Ecutioners
# I Don't Care - The Roots
# Born Too Slow (DeepSky's Green Absinthe Dub Mix) - The Crystal Method
# Panama - Van Halen
# It Don't Mean Nothing - Will I Am
# Drop On You - Will I Am
# Rockstar - Wylde Bunch
# Oh Yeah - Yello
# Live in a Box - Spiderbait
# Psychosis Safari - 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster
# Hell Above Water - Curve
# Drain the Blood - The Distillers
# Go With the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
# Reason is Treason - Kasabian
# Wow - Snow Patrol
# A Million Miles Away - Ulrich Schnauss
# In the Limelight - Whitey
# Bigtime - The Soundtack Of Our Lives
# I Only Want You - Eagles of Death Metal
# Amped - Freq Nasty
# Pray - Syntax
# Emerge - Fischerspooner
# Up Tight - The Hives
# Trash Technology - Warren Suicide
# Healer - Bushwacka
# Stalemate - Hundred Reasons
# Forget - different Gear
# 777 - Aquasky Vs. Masterblaster
# Fresh - Freq Nasty
# Mother One Track Mind - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
# Don't Think the Way they Do - Span
# Animalised - X-RAY SUN

Posted by Merlin on Friday, January 07, 2005 (00:22:51) (152 reads)

How Madden and ESPN see this weekend's games.
January 06, 2005 - All season, we've put Madden NFL 2005 and ESPN NFL 2K5 through the test of predicting games, and while the results were a little better than .500 for each title, neither could match the picks made by Lomas Brown or myself, two people who actually watch the games. Even with updated rosters and injuries, the simulations were still far from perfect.

But we decided to give the games another chance. It's playoff time, and that means the Parity Bowl is about to begin.

And since we can't figure Mike Martz out, we decided to see if the video games could.

Here is what Madden and ESPN think is going to happen this weekend…

Madden NFL 2005

Vikings at Packers

In one of the stranger coincidences since simulations began, the Madden score of the playoff game between the Vikings and Packers actually matched the scores of the two regular season contests between the teams, 34-31. Only thing is, this time, Madden has the Vikings coming out on top. It was a game dominated by Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss (who never leaves early during a video game), as they combined for three touchdowns through the air to move on to the second round.

Rams at Seahawks

Both of these teams seem better in video games than in real life, as both lineups appear stacked with great statistics. It's only when the real-life players come through the tunnels on game day that they start having problems. On the virtual gridiron, the game was dominated by Shaun "I only needed one more yard!" Alexander, as he rumbled for a game-high 158 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Hasselbeck also came back to life, even if this isn't real life, by throwing for two scores, completing one to the legend himself, Jerry Rice. In the end, Cyber-Martz was left scratching his head (I sure would like to know what's in there) as the Rams went down 28-17. If only you could import the Martz and Kyle Turley characters into Def Jam and let them duke it out.

Jets at Chargers

LaDainian Tomlinson is one of the deadliest backs in all of Madden, so it's no surprise that the Chargers dominated the Jets 23-10. The new L.T. (all the moves with none of the crack) led San Diego down the field for two touchdowns, outplaying cyber-Curtis Martin, who was shut down by the San Diego D and limited to just 34 total yards. And since pass interference is never called in this year's Madden, it has fast become Quentin Jammer's favorite game as he can push and shove Santana Moss all over the field and never see a yellow flag.

Broncos at Colts





Will the real Jake Plummer please stand up. Three touchdowns or three interceptions? Which is it going to be? If Jake "The Snake" goes for three scores and limits the mistakes, we might have a game. If he throws three picks, we might have a drubbing the likes Bronco fans haven't seen since John Elway met Joe Montana and the 49ers in the Super Bowl. The way Madden sees it, Snake gets bit by the interception bug, throwing two to the wrong team, getting sacked three times by Dwight Freeney, and watching Peyton get his obsessive compulsive quarterbacking on as he runs up the score 32-14.

ESPN NFL 2K5

Vikings at Packers





The Vikings are outside of the dome and that means one thing, doom. Brett Favre takes advantage of Corey Chavous' injury by lighting the Vikings up over the middle of the field. Javon Walker had a huge game, grabbing 11 balls for 198 yards and the Packers look like serious Super Bowl contenders (if you believe a video game, that is). The Vikings, on the other hand, couldn't keep pace with the Pack, only putting together one serious drive in losing 27-13

Rams at Seahawks

Is Marc Bulger really better than Kurt Warner in his prime? In my opinion, no. In ESPN NFL 2K5's opinion (at least judging by this one game), it's a resounding yes. Bulger threw for 420 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams tear the Seahawks apart 35-14. T-Holt and Bruuuuuuce (they're not booing) each catch a pair as Mike Martz in the game does what I fear he's going to do in real life, and forgets all about the run in order to play long ball. It works in the video game, but that's no way to win a playoff game in real life. If the Rams hope to win this one, we'll need to see a steady dose of Steven Jackson, and no, I'm not talking about the guy who pimp slapped a fan in Auburn Hills. That's Stephen with a PH, this is Steven with a V…as in victory.

Jets at Chargers

It's Cool Brees vs. The Chad, and Cool Brees takes it thanks to a little help from his friends. LaDainian Tomlinson takes charge of the ground game, rushing for 128 yards, while also catching a screen and turning it into a 68-yard touchdown. Santana Moss tries to keep pace, scoring a pair of touchdowns himself, but in the end, it's simply not enough as the scary Chargers move on to the next round with a 17-14 victory. The Bolts could be the sleeper team in the AFC.

Broncos at Colts

Peyton Manning is just as hard to stop on the cyber field as he is in real life, as not even Champ Bailey, one of the best video game athletes of our generation can stop him (hey, he can't guard everyone on the field). Champ does manage to pick off a pass and take it back to the house, but that's about all the Broncos can muster, getting beat deep by Reggie Wayne for a couple long bombs and eventually losing 35-10. The real Broncos better hope they can run the ball down the Colts throats and keep that Manning offense off the field. It's the only way they can keep from repeating the embarrassment of last season…well, that, and actually touch players who are down instead of letting them bounce up and run for a touchdown. It's amazing how fundamentals come back to haunt you at the most inopportune times. Just ask Mark Bradley.

How accurate will the playoff simulations be? Tune into the four Wild Card games this weekend and find out. There are sure to be a few upsets along the way as the only thing that's predictable in the NFL anymore is its unpredictability.

Check back next week for a full recap of the action along with another round of video game predictions.
-- Jon Robinson