is freaking annoying.
You can now create pictures with your band members, action figures of them, and t-shirts, etc., featuring your band! Allegedly. If I could get the XBox account to link properly. I'm trying to be patient, but the process is buggy and not well-documented. It would probably help if I knew what our XBox live email-tied account was, but I'm pretty sure I have that part right. I'd request the password, but I'm afraid to mess up our game login. This leaves me no choice but to bring my husband in on the process, which is unfortunate because I was going to surprise him with bandmates of our characters for Christmas, and now he'll be on to me.
I've tried twice now and am quite frustrated. I'm sure I'll get it working eventually, but I wanted to grumble in the meantime.
Showing posts with label Rock Band 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rock Band 2. Show all posts
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Rock Band action figures on the way
There's an announcement on the Rock Band forums about a big site update coming next week. Among many cool features is the one I've been eagerly awaiting (no, not the availability of Crowded House tracks, though now that you mention it...). I'm talking about those $75 action figure versions of your Rock Band character!
I may get a t-shirt too...I've been wondering when the online integration piece of this that was obviously required would fall into place. This sounds like it. Which I am pretty sure means that they're tying in the XBox live database and your account information to an account on rockband.com somehow, maybe your forum account even. Lots of possibilities there once they do.
They also mention picture functionality to take pictures of your band and make them available online, which is awesome news. I literally tried last night to take a picture of T-Cat to post here with a digital camera, but the batteries were low. It seems they knew what I was up to, and felt that T-Cat deserved better.
BANDMATE CREATOR
As if that weren’t enough, in addition to posters, shirts, and stickers, you can make customized 3D statues of your favorite Rock Band 2 characters, which we’ve dubbed “Bandmates”. These things are awesome. They’re about 6” tall, made using full-color 3D printing technology from Z Corporation. Just pick a character, an instrument, and a pose, and they’ll get shipped to your door for about 70 bucks. The Harmonix office is swarming with Bandmate prototypes. After we'd evaluated a test run, we’d give them away to employees, and there was always a mad scramble to grab them on giveaway day.
I may get a t-shirt too...I've been wondering when the online integration piece of this that was obviously required would fall into place. This sounds like it. Which I am pretty sure means that they're tying in the XBox live database and your account information to an account on rockband.com somehow, maybe your forum account even. Lots of possibilities there once they do.
They also mention picture functionality to take pictures of your band and make them available online, which is awesome news. I literally tried last night to take a picture of T-Cat to post here with a digital camera, but the batteries were low. It seems they knew what I was up to, and felt that T-Cat deserved better.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Rush Moving Pictures tommorrow
Just a quick note that it looks like the Moving Pictures DLC is finally coming out this week, 9/23, according to the Rock Band forums, as well as the following individual tracks:
Update 9/23 - Yep, Moving Pictures is there, alright. We downloaded it this morning, and tonight I'm gonna rockit tonight I'm gonna rockit tonight!
Bad Religion - SorrowAnd another news flash for you, Walter Cronkite...TCat's back in Rock Band 2, and now she's rockin' bass on HARD! And surviving, though it's not as pretty as her medium guitar stylings. I even went into the online battle mode with The TCat Project and kicked the snot out of a couple unsuspecting bands. Awwwwww yeah!
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
Sleater-Kinney - You're No Rock N Roll Fun
Stone Roses - Love Spreads
Update 9/23 - Yep, Moving Pictures is there, alright. We downloaded it this morning, and tonight I'm gonna rockit tonight I'm gonna rockit tonight!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
RB2 as history lesson
This morning I came across a really cool article on Xbox 360 Fanboy. The folks at Joystiq have discovered that you can get a perfect expert score on Rock Band 2 vocals by reciting the Declaration of Independence. Check the video:
This is cool not only because I will feel all badass getting perfect on vocals, but also because they've actually found a back-door way to get people to listen to a full reading of the Declaration of Independence! It's edutainment at its best, highly relevant in the middle of the political season, and as I watched the video, I did get a few goosebumps as the vocal deploy kicked in.
This is cool not only because I will feel all badass getting perfect on vocals, but also because they've actually found a back-door way to get people to listen to a full reading of the Declaration of Independence! It's edutainment at its best, highly relevant in the middle of the political season, and as I watched the video, I did get a few goosebumps as the vocal deploy kicked in.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The ultimate Rock Band 2 accessory
One of the things that makes Rock Band better than Guitar Hero, IMHO, is the amount of avatar customization it offers. Never underestimate the value of letting a player spend lots of time playing dress-up and tweaking the appearance of a video game character. I LOVE my Rock Band persona, I wish I could look like her, and certainly there are days I could use her attitude.
So naturally, when I saw this little announcement that Rock Band 2 will let you create action figures based on your RB2 avatar, I idly thought to myself, "ZOMFG I'm GETTING ONE!!!!" (really, the same reaction I had when I heard about this.)
Now, I don't know if I'm actually getting one, because $75 is a little steep (purely from a budgetary standpoint, I don't think it's unreasonable to charge), but the idea is freaking cool enough that the price is not a deal-breaker.
How COOL is that?? Very cool, that's how cool. And when they say it has the potential to be used on an MMO like World of Warcraft, I say...yeah, it does have that potential, a potential akin to finding a blank check signed by Bill Gates lying on the street. If one breed of player is willing to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy pre-leveled game characters, you can bet the yin to that yang, players who identify with the character they created strongly enough to want an action figure of it, will flock to this (if they aren't already, I seem to dimly remember something like this in conjunction with WoW a while back).
So naturally, when I saw this little announcement that Rock Band 2 will let you create action figures based on your RB2 avatar, I idly thought to myself, "ZOMFG I'm GETTING ONE!!!!" (really, the same reaction I had when I heard about this.)
Now, I don't know if I'm actually getting one, because $75 is a little steep (purely from a budgetary standpoint, I don't think it's unreasonable to charge), but the idea is freaking cool enough that the price is not a deal-breaker.
Players will be able to use the game's normal avatar creation engine to "create variety of body styles, faces, makeup options, hair styles and tattoos," said Scott Harmon, Z Corporation's vice president of business development. "Users can also design a band logo and have that applied to a (virtual) T-shirt, and then you control clothing, footwear, hats and instruments."
How COOL is that?? Very cool, that's how cool. And when they say it has the potential to be used on an MMO like World of Warcraft, I say...yeah, it does have that potential, a potential akin to finding a blank check signed by Bill Gates lying on the street. If one breed of player is willing to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy pre-leveled game characters, you can bet the yin to that yang, players who identify with the character they created strongly enough to want an action figure of it, will flock to this (if they aren't already, I seem to dimly remember something like this in conjunction with WoW a while back).
Friday, August 22, 2008
What's the Rush?
Yesterday I got the first Rock Band Community Zine. The big announcement in this issue is the full album downloadability of Rush's Moving Pictures (which has Limelight, my favorite). The downloads will be available next Tuesday, the 26th, and there's a new interview to go with it.
If this is supposed to make me feel better about my XBox version of Rock Band 2 being delayed to October 19, well...it does, a little. It's for the best anyway, I guess, I don't think I could handle Rock Band 2 and the Spore launch in the same month. (And I wonder, is it any coincidence that Warhammer Online's open beta begins on September 7, the same day as Spore's launch?)
It's not a great week for delay announcements, with Harry Potter being delayed to July 2009 (rumors on why are plentiful, this one's my favorite. /sigh), and The Watchmen on the ropes (THANKS, Fox...). But hey, if bad news comes in threes, we're all set!
Also, this gives me some time to start practicing Rock Band vocals. I figure it'd be nice to get up to speed on another instrument, and forays into the wild world of hard-level guitar have been dubious, though not as dubious as my dealings with the drumset. That leaves vocals, and while I do NOT have a singing voice, Rock Band vocals are mercifully all about pitch.
PS - It's not too early to start thinking about what comes AFTER Rock Band 2!
If this is supposed to make me feel better about my XBox version of Rock Band 2 being delayed to October 19, well...it does, a little. It's for the best anyway, I guess, I don't think I could handle Rock Band 2 and the Spore launch in the same month. (And I wonder, is it any coincidence that Warhammer Online's open beta begins on September 7, the same day as Spore's launch?)
It's not a great week for delay announcements, with Harry Potter being delayed to July 2009 (rumors on why are plentiful, this one's my favorite. /sigh), and The Watchmen on the ropes (THANKS, Fox...). But hey, if bad news comes in threes, we're all set!
Also, this gives me some time to start practicing Rock Band vocals. I figure it'd be nice to get up to speed on another instrument, and forays into the wild world of hard-level guitar have been dubious, though not as dubious as my dealings with the drumset. That leaves vocals, and while I do NOT have a singing voice, Rock Band vocals are mercifully all about pitch.
PS - It's not too early to start thinking about what comes AFTER Rock Band 2!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Latest on Rock Band 2
There's been an awful lot of info coming out this week about Rock Band 2, from the official to the wildly rumored. I figured it deserved its own quick entry.
G4 just released some official details about new RB2 features, and there's some great stuff in there! For one, not having to have a band leader is a big improvement, and the fact that your characters will be able to play whatever instrument they want. The mini campaigns that can focus on a single artist, genre, or instrument are interesting, and imply lots of downloadable song packs in our future I'd say.
In answer to Guitar Hero 4's wireless drum set, Rock Band 2 will have a wireless drum set as well. That doesn't interest me as much as the fact that RB2 will have a drum trainer mode, which I will be willing to try. The online band battles feature sounds extremely entertaining, though not something I would do, as my measley medium guitar skills would probably be eaten alive by the "real" rockers out there.
Another piece of really great news I mentioned yesterday is that Rock Band 2 will automatically import all your RB1 downloaded content.
Two versions of a leaked 60-song content list are making the rounds this week. Since claiming I wasn't going to look, I've been doing a lot of peeking, and am jazzed about what I have seen. I did notice that Crowded House is not on that leaked list. However, last night for RB1 we downloaded a couple Rush songs, and they were actually performed by Rush and not a cover band! Not to be too spoilery, but that is a good sign given that Rush is on the alleged 60-track list.
Also, Rock Band 2 is now available for pre-order.
So far, lots of information, and all of it good! Promises abound that next week's E3 will play host to even more exciting updates. Next week is going to be a flurry of stuff here, because it's also the week that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog debuts! OH YEAH!
UPDATE: 7/13. A premium drum set, wireless with cymbals and more responsive drums, has been announced for $300. I'm out. Oh, and here's a world premier "trailer" featuring the Foo Fighters' Everlong which doesn't show much, but is still fun to watch.
G4 just released some official details about new RB2 features, and there's some great stuff in there! For one, not having to have a band leader is a big improvement, and the fact that your characters will be able to play whatever instrument they want. The mini campaigns that can focus on a single artist, genre, or instrument are interesting, and imply lots of downloadable song packs in our future I'd say.
In answer to Guitar Hero 4's wireless drum set, Rock Band 2 will have a wireless drum set as well. That doesn't interest me as much as the fact that RB2 will have a drum trainer mode, which I will be willing to try. The online band battles feature sounds extremely entertaining, though not something I would do, as my measley medium guitar skills would probably be eaten alive by the "real" rockers out there.
Another piece of really great news I mentioned yesterday is that Rock Band 2 will automatically import all your RB1 downloaded content.
Two versions of a leaked 60-song content list are making the rounds this week. Since claiming I wasn't going to look, I've been doing a lot of peeking, and am jazzed about what I have seen. I did notice that Crowded House is not on that leaked list. However, last night for RB1 we downloaded a couple Rush songs, and they were actually performed by Rush and not a cover band! Not to be too spoilery, but that is a good sign given that Rush is on the alleged 60-track list.
Also, Rock Band 2 is now available for pre-order.
So far, lots of information, and all of it good! Promises abound that next week's E3 will play host to even more exciting updates. Next week is going to be a flurry of stuff here, because it's also the week that Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog debuts! OH YEAH!
UPDATE: 7/13. A premium drum set, wireless with cymbals and more responsive drums, has been announced for $300. I'm out. Oh, and here's a world premier "trailer" featuring the Foo Fighters' Everlong which doesn't show much, but is still fun to watch.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Rock Band 2, GH: Aerosmith, and MORE!
This week's entry is a big extended edition, packed with features! And it's a day early, I know, but I couldn't wait when I heard the news today about Rock Band 2!
So this past Sunday, Guitar Hero Aerosmith came out, and we picked up the deluxe edition (because I needed an Aerosmith Guitar, you understand…neeeeeeded it). Before playing, I reviewed the “tour book” that comes with this edition, and it was pretty cool, definitely got me hyped to start playing, though in two places, I spotted the ominous phrase, “Joe Perry Guitar Battle” - I do not like the guitar battles, I really don't.
There are only like 40 Aerosmith songs total, I think, and the ones that were available on earlier editions of Guitar Hero aren’t all available here. Which is silly to me, they should all be available as free downloads – it’s an Aerosmith version of GH, isn’t it? They should suspect people who buy it are looking to play Aerosmith songs. And given the low-ish song count, there better be a ton of downloads in the plans for this – and I’m sure there are…cha-ching…
I’ve only gotten to the second venue now, but so far the “intersecting bands” songs that are included and are not Aerosmith are still very enjoyable. I especially loved playing Dream Police by Cheap Trick, and scored my first perfect GH play-through on The Kinks’ All Day and All of the Night. Here’s the full GH: Aerosmith set list if you want to see it.
I’m starting to realize that while I LOVE Aerosmith, I’m just not that crazy about Guitar Hero (plus I’ll never forgive them for what they did to Rock of Ages). I think it’s because I didn’t really start playing till Rock Band came out. I strongly prefer the character creation options of RB, and the wardrobes are a TON better too. I’m also just used to the user interface and graphical style of RB. I have to say that while Steven Tyler’s likeness MOVES very much like him, I was a little disappointed that the face didn’t look more like him. In the end, I’m playing songs from one of my favorite bands, so I’m happy regardless, and am dying to get to the Run DMC version of Walk This Way. I’m not complaining, really, just saying that in my perfect world, this would have been under Rock Band.
Now keep in mind, I haven’t played it enough just yet for a fully fair review, because while we were playing, a storm hit and the house was suddenly struck by lightning! Our consoles are fine, but the stove, garage door, dryer, toaster, and possibly coffee maker are all fried. We thought it best to turn off the games for a while, plus the fire department made us evacuate so they could investigate that nasty electrical burning smell in the kitchen, and shut off the gas main, since the stove had decided to turn on the broiler before the controls died. I’ll share more thoughts on GH: Aerosmith when the heavens quiet down a bit.
ZOMG! Rock Band 2 has just been announced!
There’s a sweet 4-page interview on IGN with Dan Teasdale. Xbox ETA September. And holy #@%& he mentioned Crowded House! OMG! I thought I was the only one! In the words of Butthead, “We’re there, dude.” But please, no more Rush covers. I hate to see my poor husband, whose favorite band that is, suffer so. Please give him the real thing.
UPDATE (7/2) - 9 Rock Band 2 songs were inadvertently displayed during the most recent airing of G4's X-Play. Nice one, Sessler! Here they are:
Of those, I am probably most interested in Ace of Spades (because it cracks me up) and Hello There, though I'm sure Pinball Wizard is going to be well-received.
OMFG! Diablo 3 VIDEO!!
Ack, stop, no, my heart can't take this all at once!
Gamestop first look at Diablo 3.
I haven't watched the entire 19 minutes of footage, and what I have seen looked great, but apparently D3 fans are riled up about the art style, which they feel is too World of Warcraft. Look into it, and if you agree, you may want to sign the petition voicing your opinion.
Holy Cannolli! A New Battlestar Movie?!?
That guy just posted that a new Battlestar Movie's been greenlighted!
Spore Creature Creator #1 PC Title, #6 across all platforms, week ending June 21.
In other news, I've created a monster this past week, and by that I don't mean one of the critters in Spore Creature Creator; I mean my 2 year old daughter who now is utterly monopolizing my Creature Creator day and night! :)
“Research has found that little monkeys, like little humans, like to make things...”
I thought my daughter would get a kick out of the Spore creatures, so I had her pick out the various body parts for a new creature. As I mentioned in my last entry, she loved watching the new monster dance around with its 3 little minions.
The next day, she woke up and said, “Mommy, I want to make a creature with you!” which I thought was utterly sweet, so we went ahead and created another one. And that was the beginning of the end. Each session since then has required less and less help, and last night…last night I came over to see her test driving a more or less properly armed and legged quadruped. Creature Creator is THAT intuitive – so easy a 2 year-old can do it! I thought I was obsessed with Spore, but now I’m left to surf Youtube for tips and tutorials, because it’s no longer MY game. That little toddler stole my Creature Creator!
Bits and Pieces – some essentials from my personal web arsenal
Jib-Jab Sendables – Starring You!
Unnecessary Force is by far the best offering here.
Prank Dialer
Rick Roll your friends…over and over!
I Can Has Cheez Burger – LOL Builder
Why not cross that invisible line and start making your OWN lolcats? Or lolfriendsandfamily? It’s fun!
PS -
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Joss Whedon’s latest, looks to be a 3-part online mini-musical thing, available for a very limited time, beginning July 15, 17, and 19. Tell all your friends!
So this past Sunday, Guitar Hero Aerosmith came out, and we picked up the deluxe edition (because I needed an Aerosmith Guitar, you understand…neeeeeeded it). Before playing, I reviewed the “tour book” that comes with this edition, and it was pretty cool, definitely got me hyped to start playing, though in two places, I spotted the ominous phrase, “Joe Perry Guitar Battle” - I do not like the guitar battles, I really don't.
There are only like 40 Aerosmith songs total, I think, and the ones that were available on earlier editions of Guitar Hero aren’t all available here. Which is silly to me, they should all be available as free downloads – it’s an Aerosmith version of GH, isn’t it? They should suspect people who buy it are looking to play Aerosmith songs. And given the low-ish song count, there better be a ton of downloads in the plans for this – and I’m sure there are…cha-ching…
I’ve only gotten to the second venue now, but so far the “intersecting bands” songs that are included and are not Aerosmith are still very enjoyable. I especially loved playing Dream Police by Cheap Trick, and scored my first perfect GH play-through on The Kinks’ All Day and All of the Night. Here’s the full GH: Aerosmith set list if you want to see it.
I’m starting to realize that while I LOVE Aerosmith, I’m just not that crazy about Guitar Hero (plus I’ll never forgive them for what they did to Rock of Ages). I think it’s because I didn’t really start playing till Rock Band came out. I strongly prefer the character creation options of RB, and the wardrobes are a TON better too. I’m also just used to the user interface and graphical style of RB. I have to say that while Steven Tyler’s likeness MOVES very much like him, I was a little disappointed that the face didn’t look more like him. In the end, I’m playing songs from one of my favorite bands, so I’m happy regardless, and am dying to get to the Run DMC version of Walk This Way. I’m not complaining, really, just saying that in my perfect world, this would have been under Rock Band.
Now keep in mind, I haven’t played it enough just yet for a fully fair review, because while we were playing, a storm hit and the house was suddenly struck by lightning! Our consoles are fine, but the stove, garage door, dryer, toaster, and possibly coffee maker are all fried. We thought it best to turn off the games for a while, plus the fire department made us evacuate so they could investigate that nasty electrical burning smell in the kitchen, and shut off the gas main, since the stove had decided to turn on the broiler before the controls died. I’ll share more thoughts on GH: Aerosmith when the heavens quiet down a bit.
ZOMG! Rock Band 2 has just been announced!
There’s a sweet 4-page interview on IGN with Dan Teasdale. Xbox ETA September. And holy #@%& he mentioned Crowded House! OMG! I thought I was the only one! In the words of Butthead, “We’re there, dude.” But please, no more Rush covers. I hate to see my poor husband, whose favorite band that is, suffer so. Please give him the real thing.
UPDATE (7/2) - 9 Rock Band 2 songs were inadvertently displayed during the most recent airing of G4's X-Play. Nice one, Sessler! Here they are:
- Dream Theater or Finger Eleven - "Panic Attack"
- System of a Down - "Chop Suey"
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Give It Away"
- Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
- Kim Wilde - "Kids in America"
- Motörhead - "Ace of Spades"
- Cheap Trick - "Hello There"
- Journey - "Any Way You Want It"
- The Who - "Pinball Wizard"
Of those, I am probably most interested in Ace of Spades (because it cracks me up) and Hello There, though I'm sure Pinball Wizard is going to be well-received.
OMFG! Diablo 3 VIDEO!!
Ack, stop, no, my heart can't take this all at once!
Gamestop first look at Diablo 3.
I haven't watched the entire 19 minutes of footage, and what I have seen looked great, but apparently D3 fans are riled up about the art style, which they feel is too World of Warcraft. Look into it, and if you agree, you may want to sign the petition voicing your opinion.
Holy Cannolli! A New Battlestar Movie?!?
That guy just posted that a new Battlestar Movie's been greenlighted!
Spore Creature Creator #1 PC Title, #6 across all platforms, week ending June 21.
In other news, I've created a monster this past week, and by that I don't mean one of the critters in Spore Creature Creator; I mean my 2 year old daughter who now is utterly monopolizing my Creature Creator day and night! :)
“Research has found that little monkeys, like little humans, like to make things...”
I thought my daughter would get a kick out of the Spore creatures, so I had her pick out the various body parts for a new creature. As I mentioned in my last entry, she loved watching the new monster dance around with its 3 little minions.
The next day, she woke up and said, “Mommy, I want to make a creature with you!” which I thought was utterly sweet, so we went ahead and created another one. And that was the beginning of the end. Each session since then has required less and less help, and last night…last night I came over to see her test driving a more or less properly armed and legged quadruped. Creature Creator is THAT intuitive – so easy a 2 year-old can do it! I thought I was obsessed with Spore, but now I’m left to surf Youtube for tips and tutorials, because it’s no longer MY game. That little toddler stole my Creature Creator!
Bits and Pieces – some essentials from my personal web arsenal
Jib-Jab Sendables – Starring You!
Unnecessary Force is by far the best offering here.
Prank Dialer
Rick Roll your friends…over and over!
I Can Has Cheez Burger – LOL Builder
Why not cross that invisible line and start making your OWN lolcats? Or lolfriendsandfamily? It’s fun!
PS -
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Joss Whedon’s latest, looks to be a 3-part online mini-musical thing, available for a very limited time, beginning July 15, 17, and 19. Tell all your friends!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)