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id: Xbox 360 Rage may have separate discs for campaign and multiplayer
In an interview with Shacknews, id Software prez Todd Hollenshead brought up a novel approach that the developer may use to minimize disc-swapping with the Xbox 360 version of Rage: give the game's single-player and multiplayer modes their own discs."We'll probably have two DVDs for sure, and then the question is, will multiplayer be on a separate disc or not?" Hollenshead posed. "It makes no sense for a player to swap that disc in multiplayer, right? That's fail. They have to keep one disc in during multiplayer, can you just put all the multiplayer content on one DVD?"Sounds like a good idea to us; although, in the same interview, the id boss implies that the final number of DVDs the the Xbox 360 version of Rage will ship on isn't exactly settled, wondering, "Will we have to go to three?" We don't care how many discs it's on -- just make sure the game goes to 11.
Rock Band: no separate instruments until 2008
Speaking to Bits Byets Pixels & Sprites, a Harmonix rep confirmed that Rock Band instruments will not be sold separately from the game until 2008. In other words, if you were planning on buying a copy of the game and a set of drums separately, you're out of luck. If you want Rock Band this year, you'll be paying $170 for the whole kit and kaboodle. The rep gave two reasons for this. First, creating multiple bundles would increase costs and lead to fewer bundles being available at launch. Second, retailers aren't exactly keen to have 3 different (and large) versions of Rock Band clogging their shelf space.The rep also speaks about a few other issues, the most pressing of which is probably DLC pricing, a hot topic among Guitar Hero II fans. The rep is quick to point out that Rock Band tracks require more development than Guitar Hero tracks, as there are more instruments to be dealt with. In other words, we're expecting they won't be cheap, though the rep explains that there are many ways to pick and choose DLC. For instance, whole albums will be available as well as single songs, and there may be special offers for those that purchase multiple tracks. DLC is expected to arrive every week after the game ships through the end of the year, starting with The Who's Who's Next. Finally, the game is expected to have nearly 50 songs on the retail disc, not including bonus unlockables.
IGN dislikes MySims, seems to have never played Animal Crossing
Maybe it's us. Maybe we're the ones who just don't get it. But the last time we checked, lots of Nintendo fans enjoy cuteness (hi2u, Kirby!) and the look of Miis, and it doesn't mean we magically became casual gamers overnight. However, to hear IGN tell it, a fondness for anything cute obviously means it's family-friendly ... which these days, seems to be code for "non-hardcore." IGN confirms that theory when, at the bottom of their latest MySims preview -- which is as devoid of actual content as they claim the game to be -- they say, "This isn't likely to be a game that appeals to hardcore gamers, but families will probably enjoy some innocent fun in a creative environment that will provide some interesting challenges and problem solving."Did we maybe miss a memo about how games can't be fun? Because we like to think of ourselves as pretty hardcore -- we like to sweat and toil and swear our way through hours and hours of gaming of all types -- but we also like to have fun. If MySims is fun, how is it somehow only okay for families and not "real" gamers? The preview doesn't deny the fun factor. And there's no age limit on being a hardcore gamer. So what gives?We can only guess that the folks at IGN have never heard of a little game called Animal Crossing ... or maybe they just assume that only children want to beat up Tom Nook when he starts asking for his mortgage payments. After all, seems that MySims is pretty much Animal Crossing that trades the animals in for more building elements, and nothing in their preview contradicts that image ... except their idea that "hardcore gamers" won't like it. Personally, we're looking forward to giving it a try. The building elements of The Sims were always fun, and perhaps this new spin will make the actual gameplay more engaging. %Gallery-4109%
