| Yet Another Post About Rock Band |
[Dec. 21st, 2007|08:45 am] |
At the risk of appearing obsessed, I wanted to share this because it is pretty nifty how these guys have been supporting the game.
In addition to releasing a good number of new tracks since the game came out (I've downloaded at least nine so far), they've also updated their community website so that you could link yourself to your rockers and bands. It is an interesting way to share the experience and so, without further ado, may I present an insider look to the Red Mantis Cult.
I know, it isn't much to look at yet. I have to chat with my band mates to see how to proceed. |
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| One Track Mind |
[Dec. 10th, 2007|04:02 pm] |
At the risk of boring you all with yet another post about Rock Band, I did want share with you all that I tested out the multiplayer function this weekend with the astute assistance of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) captain_squid and piratelemur.
They got themselves familiar with it for a few songs while I finished up dinner and then after we had finished eating, we dove into our multiplayer options. Quickplay would have allowed us to pick freely but since Squid and Lemur wanted personae of their own, we fired up the World Tour. We felt obliged to name ourselves Red Mantis Cult. I'll let one of my bandmates chime in the appropriate response.
One of the drawbacks I have read about this mode is that the person who makes the band is bound to it as its leader. It is good in that it still allows folks to be removed or added, but there should also have been an option whereby you could change the leader of the band, should it become necessary. Additionally, it seems that characters/avatars/whatever are locked to the instrument they are created under. So... if you make a drummer, they cannot become a singer. Because they mix the guitar and bass parts together due to the fact that they are governed by one controller, making a character there is a little more flexible. Squid and Leems were content to having guitar characters while I pulled up my drummer I had going in a solo tour (which is a pretty nifty thing).
Actually playing a tour is relatively cool. Each city has a number of venues and those venues have options for set lists. You can either pick from a few songs or you pick set lists of varying shades and colors. Some of them are set lists you pick, some are random, some are a mix between them. It keeps it interesting though the random songs can be tricky if it decides to drop a complicated song on you. Depending on how well you play on the difficulty level you select determines how much you increase (or decrease) your fanbase.
Venues and cities unlock at a brisk pace and opportunities such as winning a tour van or stealing roadies are part of set list selections. After playing through a little while, we gave ourselves a rest and hit the store to kit ourselves out. Squid found a nice steampunk ensemble while the Lemur decked herself in electric lime green.
Over the course of the night, I came to understand a few things:
1. We all liked how the crowd would start singing along if we were really nailing the song.
2. Squid preferred the new guitar over the old one. After experimenting between the two, I had come to the same conclusion.
3. My left foot has a better sense of rhythm when using the bass pedal of the drum kit.
4. Lemur really likes the Pixies.
5. General consensus was that we could easily tune out the noise from striking the drum kit. We had the sound up on the television but it wasn't too loud, I thought.
We were up pretty late and everyone had a go on just about everything. I felt like I hit the hump on the drums though because I played a couple of songs on Sunday and found it come a little easier. In my hubris, I jacked up the difficulty to expert and tried one of the beginner songs... where I promptly failed at around 71%. Lousy bridge.
I'll let my bandmates fill in anything I might have missed. However, I will close by saying that Harmonix did well. Very well even. This game is going to see a lot of use, even more should some of my other friends take a similar plunge so that we could get an online band together (hint, hint).
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go practice my stick twirls. |
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| Bang the Drum Slowly |
[Dec. 3rd, 2007|01:26 pm] |
I will make a brief acknowledgment that EA made good on its promise to replace the wonky kit quickly. The new pads performed well against my, er, quality control testing. Now it is just a matter of packing up the old pads and sending them back.
While I did not have an abundant stockpile of the fourth dimension in which I could lavish on the new gear, I did play enough to get a sense of my aptitude. My drumming skills need a little work. It is one thing to have a sense of rhythm. It is an entirely different thing trying to set three separate parts of anatomy to function in an independent, yet correlated cadence.
I have also noticed that the slower speeds of the easier levels can be more of a detriment than the guitar. Anticipating notes is always a problem, but I find tuning out extra percussion harder than tuning out the guitar fills. Once I feel a little more coordinated with the kit placement, I'll put that theory to the test on the harder difficulties.
Until next time. Keep on rocking. |
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| An Interesting Notion |
[Nov. 27th, 2007|09:45 pm] |
There has been a lot of press regarding Rock Band, both in its development and after its release. However, this piece stands out to me.
Why?
MTV, back in the day, was a refreshing outlet to expose people to new music and artists. Music videos themselves evolved into an art-form which sadly petered out as the station that launched the revolution also evolved itself out of the art-form in attempts to keep up with the fickle tastes of their young demographic.
I have often heard the sarcastic comments of those reminiscing about the does when MTV actually broadcasted music videos and even reveled in the irony. I find the above story to be an odd glimpse in to the potential of this medium and how MTV has shrewdly positioned themselves to cycle themselves back onto the pulse of music community.
It will be interesting to see what pans out and how much corporate taint may leak into the final product. All I know is that I have already downloaded the Bowie pack that opened up today and I am quite satisfied. |
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| Sick! |
[Sep. 24th, 2007|08:07 pm] |
There is a reason that I don't take up skateboarding.
Then again, there is a reason that I have been digging into my already scarce free time to play this wretchedly wicked game.
I did not pay too much attention to the game until its release. My curiosity was piqued when I saw that they took a more realistic approach to its development instead of the increasingly bland arcade versions of extreme sports.
Now, don't get me wrong... there is a place for those kinds of games. Hell, I still have a copy of SSX looming around somewhere. This step back to "reality" might bring back some of the sense of accomplishment when trying to pull off the more complicated tricks.
So I downloaded the demo and played it a couple of times to see if I liked the controls... and whether or not I'd be able to pick up on the scheme. Being EA though, they've taken a similar control scheme as they did for Fight Night which relies more on the analog sticks than button mashing to execute actions.
It was very enjoyable. But of course, I left some heavy foreshadowing to that effect in the beginning of this post. |
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| This one goes up to 10(80i) |
[Apr. 17th, 2007|07:36 am] |
As you may have picked up from Squid's post, I recently made the switch to HDTV. My tax dollars at work, per se. The process in its own was interesting. From doing the research, making the actual purchase, the uncertainty of the set actually fitting in Eris...
Then there was the set up. The entertainment center I had was the wrong sort to house this new TV so that led me to make my first trek to IKEA. That in its own right was an adventure. And moving furniture and appliances on your own... well, an extra pair of hands would have made the job a lot easier. Hindsight is 20-20.
Then there is the set up after the set up. That being getting everything connected up and then discovering that, oh yeah... right, I don't have high-def service on my cable and getting that upgraded. However, the affect is astounding. Some great picture quality and, like Squid said, hockey never looked better on it even if our team isn't worth the pixels.
The look of games on the 360 are also pretty good. That was, until I realized that my display set up was all wrong. I was only pushed out standard definition to the set for the past week. When I finally switched it over last night, ho-ly cats. It was like walking through the looking glass.
So, I would have to say that the new purchase is working out. |
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| This Isn't Fair |
[Apr. 2nd, 2007|12:50 pm] |
Harmonix has taken the extra step and is developing a collaborative rock band game.
Someone pinch me. |
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| Consolation Prizes |
[Apr. 2nd, 2007|12:41 pm] |
What do you get when you combine the closing of a computer store near your workplace and a new game console? An instant library of cheap games.
Yeah, one of the major chains has been exercising the red pen and as a result, I am losing one of my after work geek haunts. Disconcerting as it is, over the past two weeks, they've been cutting deeper and deeper discounts to clear out their inventory. I availed myself to pick out a few titles for the 360 that I knew I would eventually pick up.
I haven't had a lot of time to play them (see previous post), but I'll give some impressions of what I've seen so far.
Dead or Alive 4
I'll admit, I am sucker for this title. While you might think it is due to the advanced breast physics, it is more because it is a fighting game of some breadth where you don't necessarily need to be hard-core to excel. A party fighting game, if you will. This new version looks very nice and has a couple new faces in the mix from last time. The action is a lot smoother as well. It is also more difficult... at least for me. Maybe it is just a learning curve but I had my ass handed to me on more than one occasion.
Dead Rising
What's not to love about a mall full of zombies? I have just started playing this game and again the visuals are very good. A lot of the functioning is pretty good though aiming firearms is pretty wonky. Because it is a timed sort of game where you have 72 hours to hang out and then escape, I imagine there would be a lot of replay value. I tell you though, it was awfully satisfying clobbering a pack of zombies with a mall bench and I get slightly Pavlovian to what else it might have in store for me... so to speak.
Rainbow 6- Las Vegas
Have not even put this in the console yet. From everything I've read, it is right up my alley though. I played some of the first incarnations of this title on the PC back in the day. I am sure the functioning is quite different on the console, but it looks like it has a lot of promise. |
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| Coming Full Circle |
[Mar. 19th, 2007|02:04 pm] |
The long debate is over. I bought myself an Xbox360. The debate wasn't necessarily one of cost either. Along with a couple of gift cards from Christmas, I apparently have amassed a pretty decent pile of rewards from my tenure at my job. So I redeemed them and consolidated the lot and defrayed most of the actual cost of the console.
No, the debate was more focused on adding another thing that scythes away my free time. It seems to be at a premium these days and since my practice with the bass is precious, I'd hate to see it go by the wayside because I offer myself too many distractions. I've rationalized it that if I practice at least twice as much as I might play, that it will provide a benchmark with which I can temper habits. We will see how it goes.
That being said, I did pick up a game with the new console. I have seen a lot of good things from a recent release called Crackdown. The premise is that you are a genetically cloned super policeman sent out to break the backbone of three competing gangs that lord over the metropolis. It is geared towards free-play though, providing a vast expanse to explore with tasks you can perform should you feel inclined. On top of which, there is no set way to complete said tasks. Some have described it as a Grand Theft Auto variant in constabulary clothing.
Personally, after playing the game for a little while, it feels more like a Tick simulator. This is because the guy is nigh invulnerable, leaping from rooftop to rooftop causing untold collateral damage in the pursuit of his brand of justice. The only difference is that I don't have an overweight sidekick (though there does seem to be a co-op mode) and... I have guns. Lots of them too.
It is awfully fun and I had to stop myself on more than one occasion from shouting "SPOON!" when heading into battle.
Oh, and I did buy another game, but it technically hasn't been released yet so it really doesn't count. Or, at least, that's what I keep telling myself. |
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