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DJ Hero's turntable, crossfader peripheral spotted in E3 preview
Admit it, you weren't satisfied by those initial concept images of DJ Hero's button-laden turntable. Yeah, us neither, but thanks to a screengrab reportedly from a television promo for Spike / GameTrailer's E3 2009 coverage, we've now got a brief glimpse of what Activision's peripheral looks like in physical form. In addition to getting somewhat of an idea of its size, we've also got the first peak at the crossfader attachment. No clue on if that means we'll be needing a second turntable, but with any luck we'll get to find out for ourselves early next month. [Via Joystiq]
Ion Universal Cymbal Pack gives Rock Band drummers more stuff to hit
So we still don't know what that blasted mystery port is for on the back of the Rock Band 2 drum kit, but this one sure made our hearts beat a little faster. If you'll recall, it was Ion that dished out the premium drum kit earlier this summer, and this gives you the option to add in another cymbal if two just aren't enough. Too bad you can snag an actual cymbal on clearance for less than the $49.99 Ion's asking for this one; at any rate, she ships next week if you're interested.
PS3 Guitar Hero: World Tour drums not Rock Band 2 compatible; Gene Simmons guitar controller not compatible with taste
Guitar Hero: World Tour has only officially been on shelves for a day or so now, but unhappy PS3 customers are already making a fuss -- the game's new drumkit isn't compatible with Rock Band 2. That's a major disappointment -- having redundant guitars because Activision and Harmonix can't play nice is annoying enough, but two drumkits is downright ridiculous -- and it's doubly irritating because Sony promised it would bring the hammer down and make sure all these peripherals were cross-compatible. The Xbox 360 kits seem to work with each other, so it's probably just a bug and Harmonix is apparently working on patch. In the meantime, you can probably take out your frustration with this crazy Gene Simmons axe-shaped guitar controller that's due out on Halloween -- we're not sure if we'd pay $80 for the privilege of pretending to be in KISS while playing a video game, but if you're in the Army, Amazon is taking preorders now.Read - Guitar Hero: World Tour drums incompatibilityRead - Gene Simmons Axe Guitar
Friday video: Get down, Boogie oogie oogie
Finally, we can see one of the most important aspects of EA's Boogie: the dancing. Our Featured Friday Video for this week shows off the new rhythm title in motion, and the best description we can think of is "spastic, but in a good way." Also on display: the characters, called Boogs, who can be customized (another EA game that uses cutesy customizable avatars, but not Miis?), and who don't all look like Earl. The factsheet for the game mentions minigames (wouldn't be a Wii game without 'em) and a music video mode that lets players save their performances with added voice and custom camera angles and effects. Unfortunately, you have to check the site for the video, since we can't embed the Vooks player. We do have screens, though, after the break.
We can't resist looking at Ontama again
We knew we were going to blab about Ontama more. Sure, it'll probably turn out to be a mildly interesting game for children, but until we find out for sure we're going to continue on the OMG RHYTHM GAME tack. Here are a few things we learned from watching the video again and from poking around the recently updated website, making full use of our terrible Japanese language skills.Not only does the game involve tapping directions on the D-pad rhythmically while circling blobs on the touch screen, it also involves blowing into the microphone. For something that seems to be for young audiences, it certainly has a lot going on. Also possibly of interest: J-pop fans may (or may not-- we have no idea!) be pleased to hear that Ontama contains music from a group called 80 Pan.And, via Insert Credit, a little background on the developer Noise Factory: they used to be an internal SNK team who developed fighting games for the Neo-Geo. The fact that a fairly hardcore fighting game developer is working on this is another reason to think that quality gameplay might be found in here.
Follow the bouncing ball with Ontama
Ontama is a new rhythm game for the DS. Which is, really, all we needed to know for our hype-generating machine to go into full power. In case you hadn't noticed, we tend to get worked up about the music games. Rather than telling little mini-stories like Elite Beat Agents, Noise Factory's new game seems to be a somewhat more stripped-down, arcade experience, with characters that seem to be limited to describing gameplay. We don't exactly know how the game works, but we can tell that you touch little round creatures (probably the Ontama themselves, since that translates to "sound balls" or "music balls") to send them into icons on the top of the screen; you then hit directions and buttons that correspond to those icons at the right moment, like Parappa the Rapper. Enjoy the trailer after the break, and see if you can figure out a little bit more of what's going on.
Missed Gitaroo Man? It lives again!!! First review
There are two kinds of people in the world: those that have played Gitaroo Man and those that have not. Chances are, you're in the latter group. IGN has posted up one of the very first reviews of this music game, and it's all swell. The game features some sharp visuals, complemented by its zany uber-Japanese style. Mix in a soundtrack that covers everything from "happy sunshine flower time" Jpop to "I want to kill myself while wearing leather" grunge, and everything in-between, and Gitaroo Man has the makings of a game that everyone must own. IGN simply states the game is "one of the finest games the genre has ever produced." The game received a mighty 8.8.If there are any flaws, it has to be that there's nothing really new for veterans of the original. But, more likely than not, you may have missed this original title when it came out on the PS2. Don't miss it again.(And for you DS owners, don't forget to pick up Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, one of Inis' other music games.)
