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Guitar Hero II 80s EncoreThe list of songs that will appear in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the ‘80s has been fully revealed with the announcement of the final eight, making for a total of 30 songs. Overall, the list isn’t terrible; it’s got a mixture of everything, from A Flock of Seagulls to The Vapors to Dio, but it just seems to be lacking any true flavor. It feels like a completely random selection of ‘80s songs, as opposed to, say, a really sweet group of ‘80s songs or one that captures a particular aspect of ‘80s music.. We still don’t have any official word on why Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy” disappeared after being seen in earlier builds of the game.

The game is set for release on PlayStation 2 on July 24 at a full retail price of $49.99. Nothing has been announced, but 360 Guitar Hero II owners might be seeing a downloadable content package (read: lots of microtransactions) later this year containing these songs.

The newly announced songs:

  • Anthrax’s “Caught In A Mosh”
  • Accept’s “Balls to the Wall”
  • Judas Priest’s “Electric Eye”
  • Dead Kennedy’s “Police Truck”
  • X’s “Los Angeles”
  • The Go Gos’ “We Got the Beat”
  • The Vapors’ “Turning Japanese”
  • Winger’s “Seventeen”
  • Limozeen’s “Because, it’s Midnite”

Click to continue reading Guitar Hero ‘80s Final Tracks Unveiled


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Pokemon Battle Revolution

Some big name titles are hitting this week, including the much anticipated The Darkness for both Xbox 360 and PS3. Transformers is bound to be a big seller by virtue of its name and the number of platforms that it’s coming out on. And Pokemon Battle Revolution for Wii is going to sell a scientifically accurate 1,432,345^100, or in other words, a metric crapton.

Click to continue reading Game Releases For The Week Of 6/25: The Darkness, Pokemon, And Transformers

Read More | Gamasutra

Manhunt 2 Wii box artTake Two is in what we call a pickle. Manhunt 2, set for release on July 10, has received a preliminary ESRB rating of Adults Only. Initially, this was believed to be a major problem due to the fact that some major retailers – such as Walmart – wouldn’t carry the game. Walmart composes a significant portion of the videogame retail market, making the AO rating a major blow.

Then came word that Nintendo doesn’t allow AO-rated games to appear on its systems. In other words, no Manhunt 2 on Wii, or at least not until the game receives a lower rating.

But as with books, television and movies, different content is meant for different audiences. That’s why the ESRB provides ratings to help consumers understand the content of a game before they purchase it. As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems.

How about Sony, who was supposed to see the game land on both the PlayStation 2 and PSP?

Currently it’s SCE’s policy not to allow the playback of AO rated content on our systems.

So where does this leave Take Two and Rockstar? They’re left with a very limited number of options, none of which are particularly attractive.

Click to continue reading The Adults Only Manhunt 2 Saga


Latest Gear Live Videos

As a huge fan of the original Tomb Raider game, it’s really gratifying to see how well Crystal Dynamics has re-invigorated the series. And frankly, I can’t think of a better way to make a new Tomb Raider game than to just remake (and improve upon) the original. And judging from the video above, CrystalD has done a really good job of improving on the original. Not only are there huge graphical improvements evident, but this video goes a long way in showing that Anniversary won’t just be a quick port. The developers are obviously taking the time to add some new features and puzzle elements to the game, so that even seasoned TR gamers will be getting a new experience.

TR Anniversary Edition will be releasing shortly for the PC, PS2, and PSP, with a Wii version to follow shortly thereafter. Color me giddy. Now, if we could just erase the memories of Tomb Raider 3 through Angel of Darkness and the movies.

Read More | Gametrailers.com

On the heels of EA’s new Madden video comes this brief look at the newest Need for Speed title, which we know next to nothing about - not a title or even the platforms it’ll be released on. The video is entitled “Damage,” and if you take a look at the video, you’ll agree that it’s an appropriate name. One of the features in the new NFS is apparently going to be the ability to rip your car to shreds in an accident, Burnout-style.

Like the Madden video before it, the game certainly looks pretty, but hopefully the game will play as well as the competition. As the video alludes, there apparently will be some sort of announcement on May 31 at the official Need for Speed website, and we’ll get word of whatever that might be to you as soon as it’s made available.


GH 80's Website ScreencapThe official Guitar Hero: Rock the 80’s website has launched, and there’s a nasty surprise waiting for Xbox 360 owners. Currently, it looks like the game will only be released for the PS2. Still, given the money-printing nature of the GH franchise, I’m guessing the 80’s tunes will be made available to 360 owners one way or another. The big question, of course, is whether 80’s edition will ever be released in disc form for the 360, or whether the new characters, locales, and songs will just be released as downloadable content for the 360’s GHII, making it exclusive to Xbox 360 Premium and Elite systems.

We’ll keep you updated as we get more info about this title. For now, check out the tracklist and other info available at the official website. Guitar Hero Encore: 80’s edition will launch in summer ‘07.

Read More | Guitar Hero Website

Lara Sittin' PrettyRumors are floating around these parts about Eidos’ remake, Tomb Raider Anniversary, making its way to the Wii in the near future. As a business move, it would seem to make perfect sense for Eidos. Nintendo’s new console with next-gen controls and last-gen visuals would seem to be a perfect fit for a port, and translating the game will probably be quite easy, meaning more copies sold for very little extra work. Of course, Eidos could ruin this pretty easily by just tacking on waggle-rific controls. Here’s hoping their one of the first 3rd-party companies to get it right and realize that not ALL games have to use the Wiimote. I for one would be perfectly happy to see this game played with the Classic controller.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary Edition is a re-imagining of the original Tomb Raider game featuring updated visuals, an improved Lara model (taken from Legend and enhanced), along with new moves and a few additional surprises. Having had a chance to playtest the game, I can tell you that you that fans of the series won’t want to miss it…

How soon’s it coming out? Well, unless CrystalD has been secretly working on this title for a while, I think it’s safe to guess that the Wii version will trail the PS2 / PSP version (to be released this May).

Update: Looks like it’s official (see here). The game will release “this year” and will feature Wii-specific controls. Dang.

Read More | Wii.Ign.com

GamerAndy LiveWe are back with another episode of GamerAndy Live! This week GamerAndy, GamerEdie, and Gear Live‘s Andru Edwards are behind the mic, bringing you a fresh dose of this week’s gaming news. Be sure to hit us up on the forums and let us know what you think.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 79:

  • A recent ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board threatens Internet radio and independent musicians by increasing costs to webcasters by 1,200 percent retroactively…and even for non-RIAA music. Please send a letter to your representatives to help reevaluate this Draconian and dangerous decision!
  • Sony throws party to celebrate God of War II. Great. The centerpiece of this event? A partially decapitated goat—and guests are invited to reach into the still-warm body, grab handfuls of offal and eat it. Good lord, what were they thinking?!? (Warning: Photo slightly NSFW in the United States for slight nippleage.)
  • Edie discusses the relative difference of “titties,” “boobies,” “boobs,” and “tits.” Andy defines “gazongas.”
  • The Xbox 360 Elite: Does Andru care? Does Edie?
  • Hironobu Sakaguchi (Red Racer, Final Fantasy) + Ken Kutaragi = BFF? Apparently not.
  • Speaking of Krazy Ken: He’s gone. Sony doesn’t want him, and neither does Nintendo, apparently. Sayonara, Sony! Konnichiwa, Mickey-Dees!
  • Andy goes into more detail about his recent PS3 purchase… and it’s not pretty. Andru and Edie also discuss the possibilities for Playstation Home, both pros and cons.
  • Edie still hearts her PS2, and Bully.
  • Andy rails about Kotaku’s recent habit of using countless internal search links in their stories—frustrating as hell, he says.

DS LiteThe NPD sales data for March has been released, and Gamasutra is reporting on the sales numbers. Overall, the sales data pretty much seemed to follow expectations. The Nintendo DS again showed strong sales, moving over 500,000 units in March. Sunday’s release of the latest in the Pokemon series might have the potential to even spike this further in April and May. The PSP sold 180,000; this month’s price drop would seem to ensure an increase for April. Of the non-portable consoles, the PS2 continues to have legs, moving 280,000 consoles and outselling all of the current generation platforms. This was probably helped a bit by the release of God of War II, which sold over 833,000 units.

Within current generation platforms, rankings stayed the same. The ever-supply-constrained Wii moved 259,000 consoles; Nintendo has promised more supply, but this may not happen for a few months. The Xbox 360 continued to hold on, with 199,000 units sold, and Sony’s sales numbers held relatively steady at 130,000 units.

Read More | Gamasutra

SCEA LogoSony Computer Entertainment of America revealed the list of software titles coming in Q2 for the PlayStation 3, PSP, and the PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 3 releases seem a little sparse, with the exclusive Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming some time in June, and the downloadable Calling All Cars hopefully coming in the next month or so. Most of the rest of the titles are cross-platform releases, but it will be interesting to see how good the F.E.A.R. port is. The PSP will see the release of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas, which might be interesting on the portable. The updated Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars could be a decent entry in the franchise, and there are the upcoming enhanced releases of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II on the PSP. The PlayStation 2 still offers a number of games, including the upcoming Manhunt 2 and a new .hack release.

Sony’s full press release and list of titles continues below.

Click to continue reading SCEA Reveals Second Quarter PS3, PSP, PS2 Titles


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