Couple Gaming

I am not sure how i missed this, maybe because we have been ever so busy on other things, including beta testing WarHammer, but it seems that Guitar Hero: World Tour Instruments will work with Rock band and possibly Rock Band 2.

the Xbox 360 version of “Guitar Hero: World Tour” will indeed be compatible with the instruments for the first “Rock Band.” The “GH” developers have, for obvious reasons, not been able to test their new game with the upcoming “Rock Band 2.” Other third-party guitar and drum controllers are expected to work with “GH: World Tour” as well.

This is by far the best news yet, this means that even the Ion drum set should work with GH: World tour as well!

I consider this more of a teaser than a trailer.. no actual gameplay.. But it’s from E3 & us GoW fanatics love it.

For us Music loving gamers there has been no shortage in good news these past couple months, from the annoucement of Guitar Hero: World tour, to GH on the DS we now get confirmation that Rock Band 2 will be coming out in Sept, and what’s even better is all the songs you downloaded for Rock Band will now be automaticaly moved into Rock Band 2.

From RockBand.com

Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content. All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.

- The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.

- Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.

- More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs - all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments

I don’t know about you all, but as long as the instruments are better, this information makes me think there is no need to go to Guitar Hero: World Tour.  But only time will tell.

So everyone is wondering if Guitar Hero: World Tour is just a Rock Band rip off, and to be honest I can’t answer that fully, however it does appear that if it is a copy of Rock Band, they obviously did some good improvments to it.

The most obvious improvement is in the drums, not only did they add two elevated wedges that serve as a high-hat and a cymbal but it is also wireless! That’s right now the only thing wired in the whole set is the mic, which if you have seen pictures of my setup is a welcome change, as I hate having all those wires strung across the room,  hopefully someone will make a wireless mic soon.

Besides that there is also some good game play additions, like the ability to make your own songs in the Music Studio, which allows you to record four tracks: Lead, Rhythm, Bass, and Drums, and I hear this goes in much further than most of us will use, but people like Lunchb0x will love.  Also the customization is said to be very in depth, so much so that you can create your own tattoo and design your own band logos, etc.  Unlike Rock Band where you can only select from pre-created ones, granted they did offer a lot.  And there is one other addition that I think was a good thing to do, and that is the beginner mode, which is just strumming, which will let your younger kids enjoy the game a lot more.

So even though at first I had written off Guitar Hero: World Tour as just a wanna be Rock Band, and I still believe they are stealing the idea, it does look like they are bringing some good things to the table.  I guess the only left is to see what Rock Band 2 brings when it gets close to release and decide from there, either way it looks like we all win in this competition, just pick the one that best suits what you are looking for, that or buy a bigger garage to rock out with all of them!

Well it’s that time of year again, and the madden gods must be appeased. So we all know that EA has the NFL license and we all fear one year the maddens will suck so bad that we won’t have a good football game, but from what I can tell via the rumors from EA and the videos going around the net, this isn’t a year we have to worry!! I know me and my friends have been trying to get a League going over the years, but it proved to be pretty difficult, but not this year as you can play a whole season in maddens!!!

I don’t want to re write the story that so many have already done, so I will just link you over to some pretty good detail at gamespot

Also here is a good video on the comparison to Madden 08

So GTA IV was released last night for most people, and the reports are coming in that various users are getting a frozen screen shortly after starting up the game.  This is affecting both PS3 and XBOX 360 users.  Since we can’t duplicate this problem our selfs may I suggest an off the wall fix for this issue?  Try disconnecting your console from the internet and seeing if that remedies your issue? Its the only thing the two consoles have in common.  I am not saying it will work, but give it a try, I am just trying to help

There were 52 video games released this week. I’m not kidding. 52!!! how do you know what your friends actually want, and what will get you removed from their 360 friends list?

We’ve done a little research… Try finding one of these when you’re out at the stores at 5am tomorrow. Remember, if it’s “Couple Gaming” approved, you can claim it’s for your friend AND their spouse! One less present to buy!

COUPLE GAMINGS CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

Mario Party DS (DS)

This game looks like it was made for the DS. Sure, Single-player Mario Party isn’t as much fun as with friends, but it has always been a put-down-pick-up-when-bored kind of game… and why else do people have DS’s? But it does offer multiplay with other DS’s, and if you have a friend who has a DS, they don’t need to buy the game to play with you!

Rock Band (All Game Consoles)

See Pre-Review.

Guitar Hero III (All consoles)

If your friends do not have this yet, it is your duty as a friend to give it to them.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS)

OK, so this is traditionally a non-couple-oriented game. But I know FAR too many people that viewed the Fatalities as “easter eggs” and were truly rewarded when viewing the unique way of disemboweling your opponent. Add that feeling to the new puzzle-inclusions, and I’m betting this is going to be enjoyed if both spouses have a DS. It looks like you’re also able to play online wirelessly.. so maybe I’ll have something else to do while I’m cooking…errr.. okay, watching Ymiris cook.

Mario Galaxy (Wii)

It seems everyone has been looking forward to this game; so much so, we’re pretty sure there will be bad reviews for months. Still, it’s worth trying..

Scene It (360)

Just like the normal Scene It that your nephew got you 3 years ago and you played only when they came over, there is now one that comes with cool controllers… so you don’t have to hunt around for the DVD Remote to play. But, no online play.. so if you want to play, make sure they live close, and you like going over there. And that they have a large liquor cabinet…

SimCity Societies (PC)

See Ymiris’ Post

The Orange Box (All Consoles)

Sure, this is mostly non-couple-oriented.. HL2 & Team Fortress 2 definitely can cause one spouse to become bored and nauseous while the other plays… but the Portal inclusion means it’s spouse-approved, with both members trying to solve the puzzles.

Bargain Bin Gifts

If you’re out wandering around and happen to see one of those “buy 3 get 2 free” boxes, shuffle around in them a little. If you see any of the following, snatch it up like a tickle-me-elmo doll & hide it in the bottom of your basket. These ones are pure gold!

Ghost Master (PC)
It’s like the sims, only you’re scaring people. Ahhh, I miss this game so much.

Phoenix Wrights (DS)
I will never have enough of it. NEVER!!!!

Movies (PC)
It’s like the sims, only you create your own movies. I loved the movies I made.. with the fires and the heartache and the horrible acting… back when all I had was a western bar set, and I wrote it myself. I want it back!!!

Alien vs predator (PC)
Even though this is more a single-player game, I remember Ophilye screaming with glee after being killed, and of course vomiting from the motion sickness. Good times! (When is the new one coming out!?)

EQ (PC)
yes I know, its still there, and we can’t go back to it now, but you always remember your first! We fired up EQ II the other day. It just isn’t the same.

Warcraft 2 / Starcraft (PC)
Another first for me, and something I spent many a mountain dew indulged night with!  This is always a good game to network and play for hours.

Ymiris Wish List:

It’s just not a list without Ymiris throwing in things that he’s been investigating.  This won’t get you bonus points as being something both members of a spouse will enjoy, but you will be thought of as someone on top of the latest hotness.

Assassin Creed (360)

Remember how much fun thief was? Well think of it made better and updated graphics! Only thing missing is Multiplay. We used to play theif as a couple way back when, and we’re pretty sure we’ll get the same kick out of this one. *Update*  We’ve now been receiving word that this is nothing like thief… more the openness of GTA, but the feeling of

Mass Effect (360)

It’s out, and if you aren’t playing it maybe you need to buy yourself and early gift eh?  If not, pick it up for a friend and plan on “borrowing it” the day after they beat it.

Spore (PC)

This is on a lot of peoples wish list, but without a release date announced this could be on their list next year as well!

OphilyesWish List

Pfft, if Ymiris is going to have a list, I damn well am!

Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends (DS)

No this game isn’t fun because girls like to cook.. cuz I don’t. It’s fun because.. well.. because it isn’t actually cooking. And because cutting things up is fun. Oh, I’m so ashamed for loving this game… and I know about 5 guys that feel the same way. Which means in about a month, you get to catch your male friends playing it & taunt them mercilessly. Ahhh, now that’s the Christmas present that just keeps on giving.

Childrens Wish List

Games that you buy for your child, but you’re okay playing with them after they go to bed…

Petz 2 games (DS)

Catz, horsez, dogz, and evidently dolphinz now. (DS, Wii)

Clue/Mousetrap/Perfection/Aggravation Compilation (DS)

Build-A-Bear (DS)

Hannah Montana World Tour (Wii) -
Okay, so maybe I want this a little too. Okay, a lot.

What about you? What are you writing to Santa for? What are you getting your friends? What do you miss?

When Guitar Hero III came out, we thought we had a choice to make: GH III or RockBand? GH coming out sooner pretty much sealed it for us (though if I had the choice to make again, I would have skipped GH III).

Saturday, Ymiris & I were out looking for christmas games for our friends when we came across a demo for Rock Band. They had a guitar, a set of “drums”, and a microphone, and it was set up right next to a demo for GHIII. Side-by-side, you can tell they come from the same minds. The graphics are incredibly similar, so much that I would almost call it a Guitar Hero 4. The tabs are a little changed, and the graphics look revamped (almost for the worse), but it’s easy enough to understand if you’ve ever seen GH.

After watching the graphics for a few minutes, we decided to try our hand at it. That’s right, it’s Couple Gaming Band.. with Ymiris on Guitar, and Ophilye on the Drums (I wasn’t about to take up the microphone in the middle of Best Buy) , performing EPIC.. as made famous by Faith No More.

Ymiris picked Medium and picked it up with ease. The guitar from the front looks a little less game-ish; the colors are listed along the side, and the buttons are the entire length of the guitar neck, instead of just buttons sitting on top of it. Ymiris reported immediately that they took a few minutes to get used to, and it wasn’t entirely a pleasurable experience, unlike the new wireless GHIII guitar. But, it wasn’t as sticky as the GHII guitar either.. so I suppose that is a good thing.

I picked Easy for the drums, and quickly realized that the yellow drum was broken, so I could only hit the other 3 notes. I also realized that there was no foot pedal.. but I still did pretty well without those 2 things. It came a lot more naturally than you would think, as I have never played the drums in my life; however, it was also a lot more difficult to keep the beat, at least in that song. There were drum beats where I couldn’t hear any, and it was missing things I thought would be there (it turned out being the base). However, the hardware was incredibly easy to get used to, and spaced apart fairly well.

Instead of just strictly Star Power to boost your collective score, you used something similar to help out your friends when they were sucking it up *cough*ymiris*cough*. The vocals & the drums have no control over when they use their power, but the base & guitar do. (I mean really, what are you going to do, shake the drums up & down to use the power? hehehe.. that would be awesome..)

Lastly.. we must bring up the songs. Now, I personally loved the GH1 songlist, was OK with the GH2 songlist, and despise the GH3 songlist. Don’t get me wrong, Barracuda is good, but when there are only 3 songs you like, they get annoying very quickly. Rock Bands songlist is Much more impressive. NIN, Garbage, the Clash, Soundgarden, Jet? These are bands I WANT to be! And they already have out 10 downloadable packs! granted $.99 - $1.99 per song is an obnoxious price to pay, (C’mon Microsoft. Just because I’ll pay it to have it on my Zune does NOT mean it’s acceptible for a stupid GAME that can’t go ANYWHERE with me!) but at least you’re not paying that amount for songs that already came in another game *cough*GH1*cough*. To get a full list of songs, view Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_son… )

So, as for the answer of GHIII or RB… well.. on our way out of Best Buy, Ymiris & I began discussing things. We’re pretty sure Santa could bring it to us this year, as Ymiris has been an absolute saint. Which, we continued discussing, is good, cuz I’ve been an absolute bitch. Luckily, I have some dirt on Mrs. Clause, so I’m expecting my Acura RDX to be in the driveway by 4 am.

I’m off for now. I need to go brush up on my singing…

“Wait.. they don’t love you like I love you.. maaaaaaaaahaaaahaaahhaaaaaps Wait.. They don’t love you like I love you!”