Jimi Hendrix Makes Guitar Hero World Tour

In the race for best rock simulation, Activision has pulled out a legend and brought to their franchise. Jimi Hendrix will play a role as an in-game character along with a couple tracks you may have heard: Purple Haze and The Wind Cries Mary.

Not only did Activision solidify Jimi Hendrix in their upcoming title, but they’re promising downloadable content from the legendary rocker. Who will Harmonix/MTV get in response to Hendrix? Well, they do have Bob Dylan, another exceptional and extraordinary artist.

JIMI HENDRIX TO MAKE VIDEO GAME DEBUT ON GUITAR HERO® WORLD TOUR

Video Game to Feature Music and Likeness of One of Rock’s

Most Influential Guitar Legends

Santa Monica, CA – July 21, 2008 – The iconic legacy of late singer/guitarist Jimi Hendrix continues in the upcoming Guitar Hero® World Tour video game from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVID).  One of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century, Hendrix will be featured in the game as a playable character, along with two of his most recognizable master tracks, “Purple Haze (Live)” recorded in 1969 at the San Diego Sports Arena and “The Wind Cries Mary.” Additional exclusive songs from the legendary artist will follow as downloadable content.

“Guitar Hero games have become the virtual rock stage for the industry’s most beloved artists and Guitar Hero World Tour continues that tradition by honoring the great Jimi Hendrix and celebrating some of his greatest work,” said Tim Riley, Vice President of Music Affairs for Activision Blizzard. “His presence in the game will serve to satisfy multiple generations of his fans and Guitar Hero devotees, as well as create new fans by reintroducing his genre-defining guitar style through the unique Guitar Hero experience.”

Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.  The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions.  The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.  For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea.  More information about Activision Publishing and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

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Microsoft Shoots for Number Two In Console WarMicrosoft Shoots for Number Two In Console War

Microsoft recently announced their price cuts on the Xbox 360, effective today, but what is motivating them? Microsoft’s not going to make much additional money by passing off the savings to the customer but they will, more than likely, sell a bunch of great new Xbox 360‘s to a new crowd of gamer.

Motivation? Sony.

“I’m not at a point where I can say we’re going to beat Nintendo,” says Don Mattrick, senior vice-president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. Indeed, Nintendo is likely to run away with the lead in the current generation of console gaming, leaving Microsoft and Sony to battle for second place. (businessweek)

Who would have thought Sony and Microsoft would be battling out this generation for second place while Nintendo breezes through with their Wii console and a handful of games with mediocre game reviews? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. If you saw this coming and you’re not on the marketing or project planning for one of these console makers you better prep your resume!

The battle isn’t cooling, Microsoft drops their price to compete with their big competitor Sony which also brings it closer to the price tag on the Wii getting two bird with one stone. The reason Wii is winning is clearly due to its broad demographic of grandpa and grandma non-gamers along with hardcore gamers who have to collect all the consoles and younger gamers that want to fit the trend.

Microsoft’s clearly shooting for second place by installing more units into the consumers home as possible. They’ve got a great library of first person shooter titles, a few RPG’s and RTS titles and the typical contraversial titles like GTA and Saints Row with more hot blockbusters (read: Gears of War 2) arriving soon.

I see this as a great opportunity for casual game developers to get into the Xbox Live Arcade market and start making themselves (and Microsoft) some money off the new gamers that will buy their first Xbox 360 for $199 and up. Microsoft’s getting closer to the low-budget gamer crowd with their price cuts so it would be great if they can take advantage of that market with lower cost titles as well.

If you’re a game developer looking for console stick time and you want to grab the attention of a large pool of gamers, the Xbox 360 isn’t a bad start!

While Microsoft isn’t aiming at Nintendo just yet, there is no doubt Nintendo will be in their sights if they can smoke the pants off Sony in the near future (by this holiday).

Mega Man 9: Initial Impressions (Xbox 360)Mega Man 9: Initial Impressions (Xbox 360)

With a few hours of Mega Man 9 under my belt I’ve got to admit, this game is FREAKING HARD. I’ve played many games since the original Mega Man series was released on the NES and later on the SNES and nothing compares to Mega Man 9 in terms of sheer difficulty. This new franchise title looks and acts like the original with all the glitches, colors, bleeps and effects of the original games.

This game is much like chasing your kids around the yard, you forget how “old you are.” Mega Man 9 challenges reflexes, hand-eye coordination, patience and persistence. You are constantly awarded with death upon death and level restarts. Just when you think you’re getting close to a leader you’re actually just encountering a harder portion of the stage.

Between the start of a stage and the final boss you’ll encounter larger single-screen microbosses who challenge your patience and skills. As it turns out, I’ve got very little of both attributes. Upon defeating a little boss I am handed another like boss which is a little tougher. Upon defeating this slightly tougher boss (after many level restarts) I’m rewarded with yet another more difficult microboss.

Mega Man traditionally allows you to wonder all of the selectable stages out of the gate but each one gets easier as you build your characters weaponry. The trick is finding that “easy” level to get you to a boss, defeat said boss and acquire a weapon of mass awesomeness. Alas, I’ve done none of these.

You can find online video walk-throughs on the Internet which can give you tips for getting around the stages but the end result is the same: patience, persistence and accuracy. Mega Man 9 teaches you that nobody is a game master without consistent practice.

The first time through a stage is a destructive mess of failure. As you restart the stage over and over you’ll learn some of the tricks to getting you through the initial enemies without taking damage. You’ll build up your arsenal of tricks for hitting enemies before they’re on the screen and mashing the fire button to freedom… until you hit your first spike.

Spikes are the bane of the Mega Man character. Mega Man isn’t a fan of little pointy objects which result in instant death. You can hit the jump button quickly for shorter jumps and longer for bigger jumps; jumping technique is required to move you through spike infested levels.

You learn quickly to never turn your back on an enemy. Turn around, ever so slightly, and walk back on the side-scrolling screen and forward again will result in the rebirth of all enemies you’ve killed. This includes bomb wielding birds, rock tossing baddies and hells fury in the form of red and green cannons.

If you’re looking to discover all the ways you can possibly lose in a game, feel your inner child emotionally crushed under the weight of 8-bit bad asses, Mega Man 9 is the game for you. The achievements will make you laugh and the difficulty will invoke that old controller tossing nostalgia.

Mega Man 9 is a challenge. If you wish to take on this challenge and prove your 8-bit weight in the world of high resolution graphic fairy tales this may be the title for you!

Whining Diablo 3 Fans Want Artistic Direction ChangeWhining Diablo 3 Fans Want Artistic Direction Change

We’ve waited years for a Diablo 3 announcement. Within days the Internet is afire with Diablo 3 news, theories, previews, screenshots and dialog about the next Blizzard Game. However, there are hardcore gamers that only see the Diablo cup as half full while the rest of us are simply excited to see gameplay footage.

What’s wrong with the upcoming franchise blockbuster? Apparently the art direction is making a few people upset because it’s too much like World of Warcraft. Holy crap, isn’t that a multi-million dollar hit MMORPG developed and maintained by none other than Blizzard?

“The main objective of this petition is to show Blizzard that there’s a significant number of players that dont agree with the current art style of the game, with this petition we hope to make Blizzard ear our voices, our opinions and our suggestions and we seriously want some changes in the artistic direction of the game so it could be more coherent and familiar with the Diablo universe.” (diablo 3 petition)

Imagine the developers and artist whom have worked, in secret, for years to bring gamers the next game in a series they’ve longed for? Not “thank you for making our dreams come true,” but “oh, c’mon, you can’t make the game I want?”

You must first understand the demographic of video game fans, especially those hardcore fans who will invest their (moms) time and money into the Diablo franchise. To many gamers the world actually revolves around them and all games should cater to their needs and desires.

The gameplay footage didn’t have enough “realistic world with realistic, dirty and muddy textures” and the game has too much “over-sized and exaggerated proportions like big shoulder guards.” The gameplay footage that we’ve seen is too clean, to “cartoony” and looks hand drawn rather than dark and eerie like the other Diablo games.

What? Is this a joke?

No, the internet gives voices to many folks, some folks whom we wish would stay silent. Instead, they start an online petition which will lead to no change, but alas, we can let them pretend.

Diablo 3 looks great, has a very nice direction and I trust that Blizzard will make it work. Blizzard has three key franchises and they work hard to perfect each one with the majority of gamers being satisfied customers.

(Thanks, actiontrip)