Guitar Hero 3 details revealed, finally online play and wireless guitars

SUNNYVALE, CA – May 23, 2007 – After warming their amps in the basement garage to rocking sold out shows at Stonehenge, fans of Activision, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) wildly popular Guitar Hero™ franchise will now be able to shred like never before with the next iteration of the game that will be available this fall. The new game will be released on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Wii™ video game system from Nintendo.

Turning it up to 11, Guitar Hero fans will channel their inner rock god using Gibson Guitar’s Les Paul and Kramer models as the industry standard. In addition, players will experience an incredible number of newly added features and explosive content including a new multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a bevy of exclusive unlockable content and authentic rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes will also allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status.

While continuing to retain all the key features from their prior legendary performances, fresh downloadable content will be offered on multiple platforms, and players can now shred to a killer set list from many of the gnarliest rock songs ever recorded. Delivering more master tracks than ever before, strategic partnerships have been secured with all the major and independent music record labels and publishers to allow unrivaled access to their deep history of music catalogs, along with supplying artists’ original recordings for even greater authenticity.

The initial list of face-melting awesomeness includes:

• Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
• Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
• Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
• The Metal (by Tenacious D)
• My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
• Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
• Rock And Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
• School’s Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
• Slow Ride (as made famous by Fog Hat)
• Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
• Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)

For the first time ever, Guitar Hero fans will also be able to thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform. The exclusive Gibson guitars will include innovative features such as removable faceplates that will allow fans to later personalize their guitars and make it their own, and a new button color design that will be integrated for an even greater authentic feel and rock experience. Gibson Guitar’s Les Paul model will be the battle axe of choice, and an industry standard for all rock gods on the Xbox 360™, PLAYSTATION®3 system, and Wii™. After much anticipation, PlayStation®2 system fans will also be receiving a new exclusive shape as well, the classic Kramer guitar, also a Gibson brand, popularized by hard rockers and known for its body design, pickups, electronics, and construction for furious finger fretting.

“The development team at Neversoft has been exceptional, and we’ve been able to incorporate a host of fresh new online and multi-player game play modes, along with exciting content into this version of Guitar Hero that our fans have been asking for. Also, many of the top bands and songs we’ve tried to get in the past are now on board, and we’ve definitely got some giant aces in the hole to say the least,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. “In addition, offering a new line of Gibson wireless guitars for each platform is going to truly add to the authentic rock star experience like no other.”

The next iteration of Guitar Hero, published by RedOctane® and developed by Neversoft, is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more information about Guitar Hero, please visit the dedicated community site www.guitarherogame.com. ;

All of this should have been in Guitar Hero 2 for the 360 but I guess I’m not one to complain(ok I am). Also all this talk of a new “line” of guitars means that there will be more ways for us to waste our money on another studio that has been bought by EA. They will more then likely pull a Madden on us and leave out 80% of the key features because it is “truly next-gen”.

Halo 3 Beta is a giant turd

After reading on bungie.net, which I figured was pretty damn official that the Halo 3 Beta would be released at 12AM on May 16th I let the countdown begin. I good friend came over, a bottle of Jim Beam, and a 2 liter of Coke. Waiting until midnight was hard enough then we found out that it wasn’t coming out until 5, no problem. I pass out and wake up at 8 only to see that my brother in law has passed out on the coach. He later informs me that he stayed up until 5 and the download still wasn’t available.

I did some searching on bungie.net and found that there only answer was “be patient we are trying”. Trying isn’t good enough for the 360’s first killer app and a studio whos ONE job is to make Halo. When you hype up Halo 3, make gamers buy a great although rushed game in Crackdown and then 3 hours and 41 minutes later we can’t even download the damned beta. Thanks Bungie, thanks a lot.

new multiplayer maps for Gears of War, unfortunately cost money

Almost a year after it’s release Gears of War is trotting out 4 new maps for Xbox Live Multiplayer. I’ll be checking this out tonight so send me a friend request and destroy me at some Gears of War. The new maps are

Bullet Marsh: In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden: This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process: Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway: Timgad’s Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

These will cost 800 Gamerpoints but will be available on September 3rd for free. Good move Microsoft.

Our biggest apologies

Between finals, being sick, work scheduling mishaps, and more responsibility we just haven’t had to much time to update this lovely blog. We are not dead however and have some rad things in line for the future.

1. More top 10 lists. I can’t get enough of these.

2. We have a new website that we hope to launch very soon. This blog will become world-8.com. We hope to encorporate new features such as user reviews, message boards(an official one), a better release schedule, and more.

For now however we will continue to update like we did before, with news and information that we care about.

Thanks for continuing to visit this site, we are excited about the future.

New Heavenly Sword Fact Sheet

Emotionally charged, stunningly beautiful, and delivering unprecedented dramatic character performance, Heavenly Sword™ showcases the power of PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. A dramatic tale of revenge sees Nariko, a fiery red-haired heroine, embark on a quest for vengeance against an invading King and his army. The story builds around the ancient Heavenly Sword, which once belonged to a powerful deity. It can never be wielded by a mortal without it slowly but inevitably draining their life-force.

When the invading King (played by Andy Serkis) destroys the warrior clan that guards the Heavenly Sword, the clan leader’s daughter, Nariko, takes up the sword in a desperate fight for survival. Nariko must now pay the ultimate price as she embarks on one last mission of vengeance against the King and his army before her life is finally and irreparably overtaken by the omnipotent Heavenly Sword…

Andy Serkis, the world’s leading CG actor, famous for his roles as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” and Kong in “King Kong,” was heavily involved in the creative process. As well as starring in Heavenly Sword as the villain, King Botan, Andy was a major contributor to the character development, writing, casting, directing and performance capture for the PS3 title.

Heavenly Sword features a deep, diverse combat experience made possible only on PS3.

KEY FEATURES

• The Heavenly Sword – The Heavenly Sword itself can transform into three distinct weapons, each with its own accompanying fighting stance used by Nariko to vary combat styles.
• The Combat Engine – The combat engine can scale up from sophisticated one-on-one encounters to one-on-many, where enemies employ intelligent squad-based dynamics, right up to combat against battalions pushing real-time gameplay and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to unprecedented new levels.
• Physics-Based Combat – The physics-based combat allows players to sweep debris against opponents, kick tables to halt an oncoming surge of fighters, smash the enemy into the scenery, or throw bodies into other enemies using “aftertouch” controls.
• Wide range of Objects & Weaponry – Heavenly Sword provides a wide range of objects & weaponry including rapid fire crossbows and massively damaging bazookas.
• Creative in-game Cinematography – Coupled with real-time story evolvement and amazing set-pieces, Heavenly Sword feels like a blockbuster action movie that takes combat gameplay to new heights.
• PLAYSTATION®3 – Greater processing power on the PS3 enables more immersive visuals and sound effects in Heavenly Sword, heightening the character performance and combat within the stunningly beautiful environments.

Yeah that’s right, use your heavenly sword BAZOOKA! this is supposed to be a game set in ancient times, but they are giving you a bazooka, giant enemy crabs anyone?

Jam Sessions is coming this summer!

From an Ubisoft Press release.

Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that Jam Sessions™ – a groundbreaking music title exclusively for the Nintendo DS™ system in which players actually strum a guitar via the Touch Screen to make music – will launch in EMEA territories this summer.

“Jam Sessions is an amazing title with limitless potential to entertain and engage a wide audience of people who love music, guitar and singing,” said John Parks, EMEA Marketing Director. “Basically, it’s a guitar in your pocket but that’s just the beginning. It’s a chance for people who have never thought of themselves as ‘musically inclined’ to jump right in and play through entire songs, compose their own music and sing along with friends.”

Players will rock out, or smoothly strum, on the lower screen of the Nintendo DS system, producing an authentic sound digitally remastered from an actual acoustic guitar. The simple interface will guide players into the various easy-to-play modes which include: Performance Mode, allowing users to sing and play along both yesterday and today’s hottest artists; Free-Play Mode, where people can play anything they chose; and Tutorial Mode where novice musicians will learn to play guitar without paying for lessons.

One of the most compelling features is the ability to record what you play and play it back, therefore making Jam Sessions virtual notepad for players to write, play and save their original music anytime, anywhere. The portability of the DS system makes Jam Sessions a complete concert-on-the-go entertainment system, perfect for parties and other social gatherings – simply hook up some external speakers via the headphone jack and you’re a rock star!

I really like the idea of Jam Session, but I do realize that I will look like a fucking tard playing this thing. Despite that I will probably be purchasing it the first day it comes out.

we now have a message board

It’s not the greatest because well I have a kid, Nate is in school, and we don’t need a reason beyond that to use free products and services. There we be a quick link to the forum on the top right of the blog so there is no excuse not to visit it and at least post once or twice. In the future when the visitors of UUDD(we need a new name!) have grown to record breaking numbers we will have the means for a great forum. For now we have to make lemonade out of lemons.

Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles fact sheet

“Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles is a brand new game in the Resident Evil® franchise, with familiar locales from the entire series. This action/shooter hybrid reveals the back story behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation by exploring locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3 as well as new never-before-seen locations, such as Umbrella’s stronghold. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles combines first-person, light-gun style combat with interactive pathways, multiple weapons and new enemies to create an entirely new Resident Evil experience that could only be delivered on the Wii.

• Using the Wii RemoteTM as a gun, players can experience breathtaking combat against a horde of zombies and various creatures in dynamic first-person perspective.

* 480p and 16:9 Widescreen support
* Certain weapons can destroy environments and items. Shoot objects and watch them splinter, explode and disintegrate.
* Interactive paths – choose various routes and pathways through the game, allowing for multiple levels of replayability
* Multiple weapons, including pistols, submachine guns, rocket launchers, the trusty knife, grenades and many more.
* Classic locations from previous Resident Evil games in full 3D, including the mansion from the original and RE 0, and elements of Raccoon City from RE2 and 3.
* Umbrella’s stronghold, a new location, holds many secrets to events throughout the RE series
* Returning characters from many RE games, including Billy Coen, Rebecca Chambers, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira.”

After Resident Evil 4 I have no doubts that this game is going to be dominating systems across the world. Shooting zombies with the Wii Remote…it gets no better then that.

Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo coming to Xbox Live Arcade

“One of the most addictive games of all time has just gotten better! Super Puzzle Fighter™ II Turbo HD Remix downloads Capcom’s incredibly popular puzzle game into the new generation. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix comes to Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PLAYSTATION®Network and PC in its greatest incarnation to date, featuring enhanced 1080p HD graphics, several new game modes, improved game balance, and online play.

* Three different gameplay options:
o X-Mode: play in classic Puzzle Fighter style
o Y-Mode: gems automatically break when three or more gems of the same color line up in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally
o Z-Mode: players move a 2×2 cursor around the screen rotating the positions of the highlighted gems; more gems are added from below, moving all the current gems toward the top
* Game balance options for X-Mode
o Original X-Mode or a newly rebalanced mode that makes every character a compelling choice
* Counter Gem Edit – allows players to create their own drop pattern
* Multiple online gameplay options:
o Ranked Match – using the TrueSkill system players are matched 1-on-1 based on their ranking points
o Player Match – non-ranked, casual Quarter Match setup allows players to view ongoing matches and stand by to become the next challenger
* Worldwide rankings and leaderboard
* Two graphics options – players can switch between the exact pixels of the original game or an all new 1080p HD version which includes revamped graphics for gems, effects and interface”

As the only game to ever come close to putting a dent in my Tetris Attack addiction I am ecstatic for this release.

Super Paper Mario – Very Funny

Well I found my favorite part of Super Paper Mario. Call up the ESRB, they need to change the rating due to user generated content!