Put Your Hands Up Here Comes My DJ!
In an industry that has been said to be over saturated with peripherals for rhythm games do we really need a plastic turntable? People that don’t enjoy the gentle musings of Children of Bodom and Metallica would have to say: Yes!
Activision and FreeStyleGame’s DJ Hero is a game that still has you making coloured circles disappear much like previous Guitar Hero games but adds in the new functionality of scratching and cross-fader manipulation. Does DJ Hero have the replay value and fun factor to have it stand beside Guitar Hero though? In the words of Flava Flav, “CHECK THIS OUT!”
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In yet another case of The Music vs. Acitivision, No Doubt are filing a lawsuit against the makers of Band Hero.
The suit contends the game “transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act,” and the use of the band members’ avatars far exceeded anything agreed upon in the contract, according to the Los Angeles Times. One aspect of the game allows players to manipulate their characters into singing songs by other artists, for example having lead singer Gwen Stefani sing “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones.
“While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones, the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes,” the complaint reads.
The complaint also claims Activision withheld information on the Character Manipulation Feature, and allegedly told the band after they had requested to the have the function disabled that it would be too expensive to do so.
Activision Blizzard created an organization for charity called Call of Duty Endowment to help veterans combat unemployment. Endowment will direct resources to organizations helping soldiers transition to civilian careers.
The organization is created with a goal to raise and donate millions of dollars and help raise awareness of veterans unemployment. A portion of Modern Warfare 2 sales will go directly to CODE and since the game has already been a runaway hit it is safe to assume they are on their way to making a difference.
Dying to play Dj Hero? Well aren’t we all. The good news is that a demo has been brought forth to the curious and excited. Gamestop now has demo to the highly anticipated Dj Hero. Starting on October 11th in a select few stores the demo will be present. Gamers and music enthusiasts that take it for a spin on the Xbox 360 can enter to win prizes. One of them winning a VIP trip to meet Eminem and watching him perform. As well as many other prizes.
The prizes you could win: Read more…
Move aside, guitar, there’s a new Hero taking over the video game world: the turntable.
Video game creator Activision has released the much-anticipated massive set list for the DJ Hero video game, which comes out on Oct. 27, according to CHARTattack.
The game features 93 exclusive mixes by some of the industry’s top DJs, including Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, and the late DJ AM. On the game these DJs slice up songs by artists such as Daft Punk, The Killers, Jay-Z, Public Enemies, and the Beastie Boys.
DJ Hero aims to expand on the technology used in video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The game will use a turntable controller to help immerse players into DJ culture. It will give aspiring DJs the chance to learn DJ techniques including sampling, crossfading, and scratching.
PARTY ON!
In early 2006 Harmonix split ways with the Guitar Hero series and went off with MTV to create Rock Band leaving Activision to contract Neversoft to re-build the game that Harmonix arguably perfected. This move marked the day that split the plastic instrument community right down the middle.
While some people saw no problem with the direction that Guitar Hero went in there is a hardcore contingency of people that would like nothing more than to see Guitar Hero vanish into obscurity and let Harmonix’s Rock Band franchise rule supreme. It has been said that ever since Rock Band was released Guitar Hero has been scrambling to avoid doing just that by “ripping off” Rock Band any chance they get. Well if that’s the case then on September 1st, 2009 they finally caught up. Read more…
Ah, Twitter, where would we be without you.
In the first of today’s Twitter-leaked news stories, Courtney Love spilled the virtual beans last week about her outrage over the new Kurt Cobain Guitar Hero avatar.
“FOR THE RECORD, I DID NOT APPROVE KURTS AVATAR FOR GUYITARHERO5. i think Kurt would despise this game alone let alone this avatar,” she wrote.
Then came the more telling post: “We are going to sue the shit out of Activision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.”
Activision has since responded in a less-mouthy fashion.
“Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero® 5,” according to Pitchfork.
I still remember the summer when Guitar Hero 2 came out. It was a summer not unlike this one. The sun was hot and the air was clear, but I did not go outside. I stayed in and worked my way through career mode on medium, then hard, and then expert. Would you believe, I started impressing girls with my button-shredding abilities?
Video game fans, take my advice. Stay in this season and hone your fake guitar skills with Activision’s Guitar Hero: Smash Hits. Some may scoff at this newest entry, a compilation of the greatest hits from previous guitar hero releases, but the core gameplay remains tight and challenging as ever. The tracks have been taken from Guitar Heroes 1, 2 and 3, with entries from Rock the 80′s and Aerosmith. All of the tracks are now playable by the whole band – guitar, bass, vocals and drums – just as in Guitar Hero World Tour. The selection features lots of reliable favourites, but like the rest of the series there’s a heavy weighting on classic rock and metal. Read more…
Wolfenstein, the first, first person shooter I ever played has come back with an all new story, new powers, and yes, zombie Nazis. But do powers, a unique story and zombies really make a game great? I figured since I have history with this title that I would put it upon myself to find out by writing up a full review about Wolfenstein on the Xbox 360, below see what I thought.
Taking place during Nazi Germany during WWII, Wolfenstein focuses on the paranormal studies both the Nazi’s and the allies looked into. Experiments using a Dark Force known only as the Black Sun are extremely close to giving Nazi’s the power needed to rule the world and all that stands in the way of total domination is a spunky young American soldier known lovingly as BJ. A straight up WWII FPS for the first few minutes, players quickly see where this game veers off course into a sci-fi shoot-em-up with everything from space-aged weaponry to zombie Nazis, what more could a gamer ask for?
BJ has a number of weapons at his disposal, from melee attacks using his gun butts and shovels, to occult powers of the veil and a mysterious amulet that lets him use and recharge his powers. These powers are somewhat out of place, but give the title a little more depth to the already shallow story. With the ability to see an alternate world around him (complete with exploding freaky metroid type monsters only you can see), slow down time, create a shield, strengthen bullets, and more you will find yourself constantly utilizing these powers (more than I would have liked), and constantly looking for pools to refill your veil energy. Like Wolverine’s feral sense, Spiderman’s spidey sense, and Batman’s … bat sense? You will find yourself playing through most of the game in veil view, taking away from the graphics and textures… which might not actually be a bad thing.
In a move sure to delight and anger plastic instrument enthusiasts everywhere Kurt Cobain has been included in Guitar Hero 5 alongside living rockers Santana, Matt Bellamy, Shirley Manson and deceased Johnny Cash.
The addition of Kurt Cobain gives us two never before used Nirvana tracks in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band video game, “Lithium (live)” and the holy grail *drum roll* “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
One has to wonder how much money Courtney Love made off this little foray but in any event I’m excited to take my flannel jacket out of the closet and rock out come September 1st.
People who Pre-ordered Tony Hawk Ride from Gamestop/EB games will now recieve a code for unlockable content on the games launch. The content is open for anyone who pre-ordered in-store or online at http://www.gamestop.com between now and Nov. 17 will receive an exclusive code on release day to unlock the brand new Quiksilver All ’80s All Day Level in the game.
The unlockable level was inspired by a real quicksilver event and promises to drop players in an authentic 80s skater feel complete with a retro wardrobe and 80′s Tony Hawk. Also unlocked will be Legendary skater Christian Hosoi.
Activision has announced the November 3rd release of Bizarre Creations’ new racing extravaganza game – and it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Players will race up to 50 licensed cars, over courses featuring jumps, alternate routes and hairpin turns – business as usual. What’s unusual is that while this is going on, players will be picking up power-ups – nitro, shields, and offensive weapons to knock the other players into last place – or out of the race completely.
Blur looks upon first glance to be no more than a Burnout clone, but without going into too many details, it’s a project all it’s own. Placing an emphasis on the multiplayer experience through a community-based interface, a “unique story-driven social network”, this game promises to deliver better, more personable online play.
So look for this title on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in November – if you’re not paying attention, it might just blow right past you.
Cheers.
Encore once more…
You know what’s funny? I did a bit of digging around before I got down to writing my review and realized that the DS version of Guitar Hero has seen its third offering in about a years time. So you know it’s been selling relatively well to merit a sequel and since the Guitar Hero Brand is popular there is no stopping this juggernaut on any platform. Despite that it’s a bit too quick to be releasing so many sequels if you ask me.
With Activition’s third offering for the DS we dive into the basic same game with a different playlist and more broad approach to single player progression. Save for a few key setbacks this has become my favorite Guitar Hero title on the DS simply because of the aforementioned feature and playlist.
Now andPOP has reviewed the previous iterations so for a full understanding I will kindly ask you to refer to those in depth reviews to get a broader understanding of the game.
I find it funny that this game actually took physical form, it couldn’t be download only on the DS, but had they gone that way I wouldn’t be surprised since that’s the amount of content that’s packed within the cart. That’s not to say it’s not worth a pick up if you are a huge fan of the series on the DS but if you’ve played and owned the previous two versions than you’ve essentially played the third. Now if you don’t have any of the DS incantations then this is the version you have to pick up. Read more…
Activision has announced the newest Call of Duty is being released exclusively for the Nintendo DS this fall. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized (two colons… let’s not make that joke) is going to feature intense PvP action as gamers fight ground battles, hack into enemy computers, shoot from gunships, battle tanks, and much more. Read more…
Somehow we all knew this was coming!!
Today Activision announced Call of Duty4 Modern Warfare will be released on Nintendo Wii on November 10th along side Modern Warfare 2.
The game will be ported by the fine people at Treyarch who have proven their skill set with with porting titled to the Wii and things are looking pretty good.
No word on the rating of the game and any gameplay changes the title might take.
It was rather sad seeing modern warfare love to every console except the wii.. but now thats being taken care of.
I have been waiting for Inglorious Basterds since it was announced. I have been waiting for the newest Wolfenstein game since I finished the last one I played. What can I say? I enjoy killing Nazis. Read more…
DJ Jazzy Jeff joins the in game character list (DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, DJ AM and the Grandmaster Flash) for fake plastic DJs to use this fall in DJ Hero.
With the addition of DJ Jazzy Jeff comes new track list additions such as: Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.” Read more…
Activision is teaming up with a crew of industry veterans at Twistory Studios and Image Publishing. They’ll be publishing a comic book based on the upcoming game Singularity.
The team includes David Atchinson, of the Occult Times Taskforce, Davide Fabbri, with credits from Heavy Metal and Dark Horse’s Star Wars, Christopher “mink” Morrison, whose work includes Dark Horse’s upcoming Shinjuku with Yoshitaka Amano, and Tom Mandrake, renowned artist of Batman and The Punisher. Atchinson, Fabbri and Morrison are making an appearance at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Read more…
Band Hero™ invites music and video game fans of all ages to log onto BandHero.com and immortalize themselves and/or their band within a mosaic tribute to the newest game in the Guitar Hero® family. Submitted photos will populate the mosaic and enter the individual’s or group’s names into a weekly contest where randomly selected winners will score a Band Hero band kit for the platform of their choice and a Nintendo DS Lite band kit. Head over to BandHero.com to learn more. Read more…
Unveiling 24 more songs to Guitar Hero 5′s massive 85 song list (not including new songs added for download in the future) Activision gives a taste of their variety in this upcoming title by announcing such hits as Iron Maiden’s “2 minutes to midnight”, Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio” (an exclusive live recording), No Doubt’s “Ex-Girlfriend” and much much more.
That’s not the big news that excites me however as not only will GH5 feature the unreleased single “Medicate” from AFI’s upcoming album Crash Love (available in game before the album’s release) but also Two legendary acts will join forces for the greater good of the global gaming… group. Read more…
