LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues Trailer

Guitar Hero: Van Halen hot for retail Dec. 22

Between Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, Band Hero, and Guitar Hero: Van Halen, the rest of 2009 will be crammed full of Activision rhythm games. With so many offerings in such a short window of time, the publisher wants to give its games as much room to breathe as possible. Activision’s rhythm game gauntlet kicks off with Guitar Hero 5’s September 1 launch, and today the publisher told GameSpot it will end with the North American launch of Guitar Hero: Van Halen on December 22. The game is set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation 2 and previously had only been given a “second half of 2009″ launch window.

Like the Metallica and Aerosmith dedicated Guitar Hero games before it, Guitar Hero: Van Halen will feature 25 tracks from the hard rock group, as well as three playable solos by its famed guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The game will also feature 19 other musical acts, including Queen, Weezer, Blink 182, The Offspring, and Queens of the Stone Age.

 The complete Guitar Hero: Van Halen on-disc set list follows below:

Van Halen tracks:
“Ain’t Talkin Bout Love”
“And the Cradle Will Rock”
“Atomic Punk”
“Beautiful Girls”
“Cathedral” (solo)
“Dance the Night Away”
“Eruption” (solo)
“Everybody Wants Some”
“Feel Your Love Tonight”
“Hang ‘Em High”
“Hear About it Later”
“Hot for Teacher”
“Ice Cream Man”
“I’m the One”
“Jamie’s Cryin”
“Jump”
“Little Guitars”
“Loss of Control”
“Mean Street”
“Panama”
“Pretty Woman”
“Romeo Delight”
“Running with the Devil”
“So This is Love”
“Somebody Get Me a Doctor”
“Spanish Fly” (solo)
“Unchained”
“You Really Got Me”

Songs by other artists:
Alter Bridge – “Come to Life”
Billy Idol – “White Wedding”
blink-182 – “First Date”
Deep Purple – “Space Truckin”
Foo Fighters – “Best Of You”
Foreigner – “Double Vision”
Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
Jimmy Eat World – “Pain”
Judas Priest – “Painkiller”
Killswitch Engage – “The End of Heartache”
Lenny Kravitz – “Rock and Roll is Dead”
Queen – “I Want it All”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Sick, Sick, Sick”
Tenacious D – “Master Exploder”
The Clash – “Safe European Home”
The Offspring – “Pretty Fly For a White Guy”
Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life”
Weezer – “Dope Nose”
Yellowcard – “The Takedown”

Legendary Band Queen to Appear in LEGO Rock Band

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games today announced that LEGO Rock Band will feature the likeness of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and multi-platinum selling group Queen. Appearing in the game as LEGO minifigures, front man Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor will be seen jamming to their hit anthems “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.”

Guitarist Brian May said: “This is IT! I wanna play! When do I get my toy LEGO man?”

Today also marks the release of the Queen pack for the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content, featuring 10 of the band’s most loved songs including “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and the Queen/David Bowie collaboration, “Under Pressure.” In addition, Queen will release Absolute Greatest on Nov. 17, featuring 20 of the band’s biggest hits.

LEGO Rock Band puts the power of rock into the hands of tweens, teens, families and gamers of all ages as they go on a wild journey to stardom as they “Build a Band and Rock the Universe.” The game is developed by TT Games in partnership with Harmonix for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Wii home videogame console. LEGO Rock Band for Nintendo DS is co-developed by TT Games and Harmonix in partnership with Backbone Entertainment, a Foundation 9 Entertainment studio. All versions are scheduled for release holiday 2009. thank you to IGN for the story

A WITCH’S TALE FOR NINTENDO DS™ RELEASED NATIONWIDE

 

 

 

 

NIS America announced today that “A Witch’s Tale” has been shipped to retailers around the nation. A collaborative project between Nippon Ichi Software and HitMaker, A Witch’s Tale is a Halloween themed RPG. The game takes advantage of the Nintendo DS™ touch screen

by utilizing a unique drawing combat system. Players will cast spells and attack enemiesKey Features Drawing magic Use your stylus to draw various runes and cast powerful spells. Touch action using the touch screen. All combat actions, like escape, attack, items, and casting, are executed Dual screen map Easily navigate through the vast world of A Witch’s Tale with the dual screen. Your location and the land map will be displayed on the top screen. Card collection Blackjack battles, where you can take on both enemies and friendly units. Search out and collect all the playing cards to unlock the secret with easy drag-and-drop skills, and draw magic runes to cast special spells.

1,000 years ago, a tribe of powerful witches who used potent, dangerous magic lived beneath the world. One day, the witches invaded the surface world. When all seemed lost, the mystical Alice appeared. She used the witches’ own magic against them and sealed them away. They say the Witch Queen still lurks beneath the land, waiting for her chance to return to power.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will feature Ryo Hazuki!

 

He shall appear from a far eastern land across the sea, a young man who has
yet to know his potential… And he’ll be driving a badass motorcycle. Ryo Hazuki, star of the Shenmue series, returns in his first playable appearance since Shenmue 2 to join the ranks of the SEGA All-Stars as part of Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.

Ryo, protagonist of the Shenmue series and one of the most requested SEGA
character to make an appearance in All-Stars Racing will be riding his
borrowed motorcycle around classic SEGA themed race tracks. And when a
motorcycle just can’t cut it, Ryo unleashes his All-Star move and is able to
swap vehicles to his iconic forklift to charge and barge opponents out of
the way!

The Shenmue series, the story of a son’s quest for vengeance, began life in
1999 as the killer-app for the SEGA Dreamcast.  Originally developed by the
legendary Yu Suzuki for SEGA, Ryo has yet to gain his revenge but he’s
certainly no stranger to motorcycle racing and is sure to make a formidable
adversary for Sonic, AiAi, Dr. Eggman and the other All-Stars.
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing races onto store shelves Spring 2010.

New Nintendo WiiWare and Virtual Console Downloads

Fans of the legendary FINAL FANTASY® series should be especially pleased with this week’s downloadable game lineup. Making its Virtual Console™ debut is the original FINAL FANTASY, an NES™ classic that can now be enjoyed on the Wii™ system for the very first time. For hand-held gaming action with a sci-fi twist, this week’s new Nintendo DSiWare™ title, Thorium Wars™, lets you take control of an arsenal of vehicles to blast through waves of enemies in a variety of exotic locations. If it’s a more down-to-earth experience you’re after, check out an engaging new WiiWare™ puzzle game. Consumers should also note that today is the final day of a special promotion: You can receive 1,000 bonus Nintendo DSi Points™ by purchasing a new Nintendo DSi™ game system and connecting to the Nintendo DSi Shop by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Oct. 5, 2009. For full offer details, please visit DSiOffer.Nintendo.com.

Virtual Console

FINAL FANTASY
Original platform: NES
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: The world lies shrouded in darkness. The winds die. The sea rages. The earth decays. But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently awaiting its fulfillment. “When darkness veils the earth, four Warriors of Light shall come….” After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear, and in the hand of each was clutched a crystal.

Nintendo DSiWare

Thorium Wars
Publisher: Big John Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: In Thorium Wars, you must stop the Thorions, a super species of Thorium-based machines, from destroying mankind. Blast through waves of Thorions by controlling an arsenal of tanks, skyfighters, hovercrafts, gunboats and starfighters with either the standard or touch-screen controls. In 12 exciting missions, navigate through a variety of combat environments while viewing 360 degrees of the battlefield, fully rendered in 3-D. Toggle between first- and third-person views to destroy the terrifying army of Thorium beasts, from swarms of Redeye Drones to the bone-crushing Manticore Walker. This man-versus-machine battle proves to be the ultimate test for the survival of the fittest.

WiiWare

Word Searcher
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: You’ll need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete 100 themed word-search puzzles. Word Searcher contains fun words from multiple categories including anatomy, world cities and U.S. presidents. With a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle for everyone to enjoy. Help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with these engaging puzzles. Track and try to beat your own play-through times again and again—words are scrambled every time you play.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Brutal Legend designer Tim Schafer on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Guitar Hero Metallica

Guitar Hero Metallica

By Daniel Elson

May 20, 2009

Developer: Neversoft

Publisher: Activision

Consoles Available: PS3, XBOX, Wii

Number of Players: 1-4

ESRB Rating: T/ for TEEN

Review Rating: 9.5

Website: http://metallica.guitarhero.com/

 I really loved playing Guitar Hero Aerosmith. Could Neversoft really be able to do Metallica justice? Well ladies and gentleman they have! Guitar Hero Metallica is awesome game in my book! Playing this game is a blast by yourself or with your family&friends. I have my kids belting out tracks like Fuel and For Whom the Bells Toll. We’ve had many many late nights playing this game.  Everyone that has picked up that Guitar Hero Axe has a hard time putting it down.

The Metallica version has more to offer being a full band version (guitar, bass, drums and mic). I am a huge fan of Metallica! If you aren’t this might turn you into a fan! Give it a try if you not a fan of the band. It won’t let you down. The game play is smooth, exciting and in my opinion harder than previous games. The songs are long and will give your fingers workout. The Drums have an extra drum pedal feature but you better be really good on the drums otherwise expect to fail and fail a lot.

 Pros: In this version the whole family can join in the fun! You can play all the instruments from Guitar Hero World Tour. Another cool fact about the game is that after you pause the game (where you need a bathroom break or just time to hydrate) you can be rest assured that the game will not start right away. There is a timer that allows you to restart the game and get your fingers ready to rock. There is also a beginner setting which makes the drums a bit easier to play. To the double bass drum pedal for those experts out there wanting the most out of their drum set.

Cons: DLC!!! You can only use downloaded content from Death Magnetic kind of lame if you have a big investment of songs in World Tour. You’ll have to swap world tour back in to play those songs.  

The song choices are unbelievable. It takes you through Metallica’s career with songs like “For Whom The Bells Toll”, “Orion”, “Nothing Else Matters”, Sad But True” to newer songs like “Frantic” and ” All Nightmare Long”. They also have some amazing artists like System Of The Down, Motorhead, Social Distortion, Suicidal Tendencies, and the Foo Fighters There are a bunch of Metallica-themed extras included, from live video of performances to Metallifacts, which are performances of each song accompanied by trivia about the band, the song, and the game. The robust music studio from World Tour is back with a few new guitar sounds, but this game is really about playing songs, not recording them. The game brings its share of challenges but all in all it is phenomenal. It’s the kind of game that challenges you and keeps you guessing. The more skill you gain, the faster the songs, and harder you will rock! Whether you are a novice, gamer, or are like me and want the whole family involved, you will enjoy every second of it. Metallica is heavy metal which is our generation’s passtime and guitar hero has brought it to a living room near you.

R2D2 Console Droid. Play Everything and Anything

Cnet’s Blog Crave posted a little article about our favorite little droid with a ton of features.  It’s a Star Wars fan’s dream.  Click here for full article

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: ART LESSONS, AUTO RACING AND ARCADE ACTION MULTIPLY THE DOWNLOADABLE FUN

Greek mythology, grid-based strategy, high-speed racing, classic arcade action and a hand-held art course – this week’s additions to the Wii™ Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi™ Shop deliver a wildly entertaining mix. With new WiiWare™, Nintendo DSiWare™ and Virtual Console™ games debuting each week, Nintendo offers downloadable games to please everyone under the sun, and the list keeps on growing. For Nintendo DSi users looking to grow their own game library, here’s a valuable tip-off: Consumers can still receive 1,000 bonus Nintendo DSi Points™ by purchasing a new Nintendo DSi game system and connecting to the Nintendo DSi Shop by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on Oct. 5, 2009. For full offer details, please visit DSiOffer.Nintendo.com.

Nintendo DSiWare

Art Academy™: Second Semester
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Art Academy is a portable art course that anyone can enjoy. Art Academy: Second Semester provides new and returning students with a larger set of tools and in-depth lessons designed to encourage the creation of more complex artwork. By gaining an even deeper understanding of colors and techniques used by famous impressionist artists, you will be ready to take on more challenging themes that include moving objects, and vast landscapes with distant objects. The openness of Free Paint mode offers plenty of opportunities to hone your skills and boost your confidence as an artist.

DRAGON QUEST® WARS™
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Language
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: DRAGON QUEST WARS is a grid-based strategy game featuring all of your favorite quirky DRAGON QUEST monsters. Choose from several modes and get ready for battle. While the rules are simple, strategy is the key to victory. The game features single-player and DS Wireless Play, as well as battles with foes worldwide via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. (Broadband Internet access is required for online play.)

WiiWare

ARKANOID Plus!
Publisher: TAITO
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: ARKANOID Plus! is an updated version of the original arcade blockbuster. Players must destroy colored blocks by guiding an Energy Ball around the screen using a spaceship called a VAUS. The game features a host of new modes and settings that radically alter the experience: Arcade Mode consists of 61 rounds divided into left and right versions, with two types of boss characters appearing in the last round; VS Mode lets players face off against a friend or the CPU; and the unfailingly frantic Time Mode challenges players to clear rounds within a strict time limit. With the subtle differences arising from the choice of “Lives” or “Barrier” rules, plus a plethora of exciting items, you’re in for hours and hours of block-busting fun.

DRiiFT Mania
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: DRiiFT Mania is the ultimate top-down multiplayer racing experience. Challenge your friends in fast, exciting races and some totally crazy game modes. You’ll need to adapt your driving skills to the different racing environments if you want to succeed.

Virtual Console

Altered Beast™
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: “Rise from your grave!” When legendary Greek god Zeus brings you back to life with those famous words, you set forth on a mission to rescue his daughter, Athena, from the wicked God of the Underworld, Neff. To survive the gauntlet of mythological foes, you must hunt down the three-headed wolves that inhabit each stage and collect the Spirit Balls that they release. The Spirit Balls increase your strength and allow you to transform into a variety of forms, including a Werewolf, Weredragon, Werebear, Weretiger and the ultimate form, the Golden Werewolf. Each creature possesses powerful attacks to help bring an end to Neff’s scheme.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.