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Guitar Hero: World Tour gets punk rock DLC injection

by David Hinkle { Jul 3rd 2009 at 4:15PM }

Break out those tattered jeans and torn up flannel, because Guitar Hero: World Tour is getting a new DLC pack for the punk in all of us. Dubbed the Epitaph Punk-O-Rama Track Pack, the download features three tunes from three separate well-known Epitaph artists. It may be a bit more on the mainstream side of punk, but they're good tracks nonetheless.

Here's what you'll get (440

XBL / $5.49 PSN):

"21st Century Digital Boy" by Bad Religion ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)
"Linoleum" by NOFX ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)
"Ruby Soho" by Rancid ($1.99 PSN / 200 Wii Points)

The track pack is available for download now in the US and Europe. Who's about to rock? We may or may not salute you.

Report: 25 million played music games in April, banjo sales at all-time low

by David Hinkle { Jun 26th 2009 at 5:45PM }

You may not know this, but April is actually the biggest month of the year for banjo sales in the US. You see, the annual Jugband Jamboree takes place in April each year, across various states in the country, but nobody attended this year thanks to those darn Guitar Heroes, Rock Bands, and Singstars.

A new report (via GI.biz) came up with the data, based on research done by firm Interpret. In fact, aside from the staggering 25 million US gamers that got down with one music game or another, data showed that these gamers purchased 67% more CDs than those who didn't enjoy rhythm-based games. In addition, 29% of these wannabe rockers actually downloaded or streamed a music video in the past three months (compared to the 15% that partook overall), and 45% listened to music via a social network (versus 32% overall). So, as much as celebrities like to bash these kinds of games, it's helping more folks get into music, which, to us, is a good thing.

Bit.Trip: Core to be 100th WiiWare game upon its July 6 release

by JC Fletcher { Jun 25th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Gaijin Games posted this semi-cryptic puzzle to its official blog yesterday, offering what seems to be the release date for Bit.Trip: Core, the follow-up to the retro-rhythm-Pong-shooter, Bit.Trip: Beat. The numbers "7+6+9" correspond to a date: July 6, 2009, which just happens to be a Monday. We've gotten confirmation from Gaijin Games that this is indeed the meaning of the image.

"Absolutely," Gaijin's Chris Osborn told us. "And it will be the 100th WiiWare release!" Given that Nintendo saves its milestone Virtual Console releases for things like Zelda games, it seems like quite a distinction to be the hundredth game on WiiWare.

[Via GoNintendo]

The Beatles: Rock Band will make you cry, hold a stranger's hand

by David Hinkle { Jun 18th 2009 at 1:55PM }

During an interview with Gamasutra, The Beatles: Rock Band project lead Josh Randall revealed a great anecdote about a playtesting session. "I'm not that great, but the first time I sat in on a playtest session and saw three people singing in harmony together for "Here Comes the Sun," I swear I saw people tearing up at the end," he said. People crying while playing his game? What is this, Shadow of the Colossus?

He also points to another occasion where he saw people "hold hands -- total strangers holding hands, singing in harmony." Randall thinks the game has a lot of heart, and will evoke a lot of emotion from those who play. While we can't comment on that yet, we will say the game's opening cartoon did give us butterflies in our stomach!

Video: Scratch: The Ultimate DJ shows off its deck, new website

by Kevin Kelly { Jun 13th 2009 at 4:00PM }

The battle of the DJ games will be coming to a head soon, reminding of us when Armageddon went up against Deep Impact. But who's going to mix it up and come out on top here? Scratch: The Ultimate DJ just released a video that shows off some of the tech (and DJ know-how) that went into the Scratch Deck, and you can see how it stacks up against DJ Hero's controller.

Watch the video above and take a trip on their extremely urban adventure-themed website for more information. We like the addition of the separate drum pad to their deck, which DJ Hero has on the turntable with two fewer buttons. It's just that Scratch's characters look like they need to eat a sandwich or two. Numark calls the turntable the "first and only legitimate DJ controller for video gamers."

We're reserving judgment on these two until we can play them side by side, but the video above gives us a bit more confidence in Scratch. Now, let's see some more gameplay.

Gallery: Scratch: The Ultimate DJ

Sixth European Track Pack invades Guitar Hero: World Tour

by David Hinkle { Jun 12th 2009 at 4:00AM }

For those of you stuck in the Guitar Hero: World Tour bus, looking for some new tunes to crank out, know that some international influence is about to rock your copy of Activision's game. The sixth European track pack is now available for download, and includes the following songs:

Placebo – "The Bitter End" (France) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points
Loquillo y Trogloditas – "Cadillac Solitario" (Spain) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points
Finley – "Adrenalina" (Italy) - 160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points

You can download each track individually for the listed price, or if you would like to grab them all together in one fell swoop, you can nab the pack for 440

or $5.49 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively.

Hands-on: Lego Rock Band

by Kevin Kelly { Jun 10th 2009 at 2:30PM }

It's tempting to just take a review of Rock Band 2 and stick it under here and label it Lego Rock Band, because that's pretty much what it is, albeit with a few family-friendly tweaks. They're mostly aesthetic, and Harmonix is working with Lego, who has approval over all of the songs in the game, to make sure it's an experience that little kids can enjoy with adults. It might be a bit jarring to see Suzie, age 6, gyrating along to "Sex Bomb," for instance.

The biggest difference is that instead of just hitting notes, you're also collecting Lego studs each time you play correctly. Just like in all the other Lego games, the studs have a purpose, and in Lego Rock Band you can use them to upgrade your avatars by purchasing outfits and other accessories for them. They've even changed the in-game notes to look like the flat, round, single Lego studs. Besides that, the game is Rock Band as you've all come to know and love it. Mostly. What more could there be? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Lego Rock Band

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GameStop offers exclusive tracks, other goodies for The Beatles: Rock Band pre-orders

by David Hinkle { Jun 9th 2009 at 7:20PM }

Should you mosey on down to your local GameStop and drop a sawbuck on any version of The Beatles: Rock Band,
you're going to get more than just the usual slip of paper. GameStop is giving everyone that pre-orders the game three exclusive tracks, as well as a code for an in-game photo album.

We already know that the Xbox 360 version of the game is getting the exclusive 'All You Need is Love,' and that Abbey Road will be DLC down the line, so these tracks likely won't come from that album. Also, it should be mentioned that Wii fans won't be left out in the cold, as they'll also get these three free tracks, as well as one additional item: a 2gb SD card.

[Via VG247]

EB Games hosting huge Guitar Hero and Rock Band sale

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 9th 2009 at 4:50PM }

If you're one of the few people left on this planet whose living room, den and foyer aren't littered with fake plastic instruments, it's time for your induction. EB Games is doing a huge online sale right now for slightly "worn" copies of nearly every peripheral-centric rhythm title to come out of Activision and Harmonix. Act quickly, and you can pick up the PS3 or 360 version of the Rock Band 2 SE Bundle or the PS3 or PS2 version of the Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit plus free 3-day shipping for just $94.99.

You could also pick up the other discounted items -- the original Rock Band bundle, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero Aerosmith -- but the resulting necessary architectural extension of your gaming den might strip the deal of its cost efficiency.

A brief history of DJing, courtesy DJ Hero

by Kevin Kelly { Jun 3rd 2009 at 3:15PM }

Just like the Guitar and Band-based games that came before it, DJ Hero is blazing a trail into the world of scribble scratching mixmastering. In fact, there are four different DJ games in the works: DJ Hero, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, Armin Van Buuren: In the Mix, and DJ Star. That's not even counting the possibly, maybe canceled Harmonix DJ game, Hip Hop DJ or M2 Hip Hop.

But what does that mean for DJ Hero? How does it look? Do you want yet another plastic peripheral to love and care for? Will you become an overnight Paul Oakenfold? We took a look at the game with developer Freestyle recently, and read on for a truncated history lesson about the DJ which was firehosed onto us in a presentation. On your way over the break, scratch through the new images below.

Gallery: DJ Hero

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DJ Hero demoed on a stage one million miles away

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 2nd 2009 at 5:30AM }

Alright, look. We know this footage was shot a great distance from the action, okay? We know this, because we shot it. As posh and star-filled (shout out to Amy Smart and Breckin Meyer, our new best friends) as Activision's recent DJ Hero party was, it wasn't very sensitive to the needs of its non-telescopic lens-equipped blogging attendees.

Regardless, here's the stage demo for DJ Hero we saw earlier tonight. The microscopic jockey therein plays through an entire song from the game -- a mashup of "Boom Boom Pow" by Black Eyed Peas and "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi, if you were curious -- for the enjoyment of his enthralled, stylish crowd. Enjoy!

Guitar Hero Smash Hits demo rocks Xbox Live

by David Hinkle { Jun 1st 2009 at 1:45PM }

Those of you looking to check out Guitar Hero Smash Hits, know that a demo for the title is available now on Xbox Live Marketplace. If your internets are particularly tired today, or your hard drive can't bear the massive 498 MB in space needed for the demo, you could always just play one of the other previously released Guitar Hero games. Just saying ...

[Thanks, Mike W!]

The Beatles: Rock Band to feature harmonizing vocals

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 1st 2009 at 1:37PM }

The rumors were true! The grand opening of the Microsoft Press Briefing featured a rousing rendition of "Day Tripper," as played by the Harmonix House Band on their upcoming moptopped rhythm title, The Beatles: Rock Band. Said house band featured three singers, who harmonized brilliantly -- the game will apparently keep track of three different singers' performances as they attempt to mimic the band's catchy harmonies. Good luck finding three friends with the guts to pick up the Rock Band mic! They're a rare, rare breed.

DJ Hero to feature 80 original mixes of 100 songs

by Griffin McElroy { May 28th 2009 at 8:30PM }

We assumed DJ Hero's musical offerings would be impressive (considering the source of the mash-ups therein), but a recent Activision press release just gave us an idea to the number of tunes we'll be weaving together this fall -- according to the release, the game "features more than 100 individual songs that have been transformed into more than 80 exclusive, original mixes."

The press release also dropped a few of the artists included in the aforementioned 100 songs, including Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Marvin Gaye, Beck, and the Beastie Boys. Hopefully, the dispatch's failure to include James Taylor in this list was a simple, accidental oversight, and not indicative of Mr. Taylor's non-involvement in the turntable-centric title.

4mm unveils Def Jam Rapstar

by Justin McElroy { May 28th 2009 at 3:15PM }

Ask anyone who knows us: Joystiq understands hip-hop culture. So does the recently-revealed 4mm which today unveiled its maiden project: Def Jam Rapstar, a trailer for which we've nestled lovingly after the break. How do you know it's speaking to the hip-hop community so well with its new rapping game? Because CEO Nicholas Perrett manages to use the phrases "games that live long beyond the box," "MMO-esque," "long tail" and "game-like" in a single paragraph of the announcement story. Street? Street.

As for actual gameplay, we know only that it will include rapping. We'll let you know more at E3.

[Thanks, Storm Eagle]

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