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Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear now on sale in the UK
If you've been looking to get your hands on Samsung's new Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, boom, they're here. The company has kicked off another of its world tours to announce availability of its 5.7-inch smartphone and new smartwatch in 58 countries. In the UK, an unlocked Galaxy Note 3 will set you back £649 but it's also available on nearly all of the major carriers (we're still waiting to hear from Three) -- starting at around £30 on a traditional contract, or free if you decide to sign up to a new early-upgrader tariff. The Galaxy Gear retails at £299, but Samsung thinks you could use a £100 discount if you bundle it with an unlocked Galaxy Note 3, for a total cost of £848. Customers in the US, Canada and Japan, however, will have to wait 'til October -- though pre-orders are already open.
Logitech ups its skins game with the Guitar Hero Wireless Drum Controller
Have your World Tour drums lost their bounce, or the ability to register each hit of your sweet, smooth licks? You're not alone our rhythmically majestic friend, and Logi's here to bring your groove back, introducing the pretend drum kit with the no-nonsense name: Wireless Drum Controller. It's a Sony-only affair at the moment, using a dongle to connect to the PS2 or PS3 sans-tether, and some high-quality components to deliver a good feel without the annoying "whack whack whack" cacophony when you're unleashing your inner Animal. Each pad and cymbal is individually adjustable and the whole kit folds completely flat, just like that treadmill you bought last January, tucked under your bed, and promptly forgot about. It costs almost as much, too: $229, or about $60 more than you can get the entire Band Kit for. Nobody ever said rockin' was cheap, baby, and if you have the funds these should be rolling into domestic stores in the next few weeks -- Euro drummers will need to wait a month.[Via Welt Online]
How would you change Guitar Hero: World Tour?
Interestingly enough, a lot of the gripes you readers had with the original Rock Band were addressed by Activision in the rivaling Guitar Hero: World Tour (cymbals, anyone?), but we're pretty sure the picky ones out there still have something to complain about. And seriously, when dropping upwards of $180 to $190 for the full-on band kit, you absolutely have a right to nitpick. Now that you've hopefully rocked through a few set lists, how are you enjoying things? Are the revamped / new instruments to your liking? Are the sensors accurate enough? Do you wish there was a freestyle mode in order to give real drummers free reign over what beats they play? Is your equipment holding up under the intense pressure of rockin' it all night long? Grab a mic and spit your feelings (in rhyme or prose, whatever) below.
Guitar Hero World Tour now rocking store shelves everywhere
This day has been a long time coming, but Activision's next iteration of the Guitar Hero cash cow franchise is officially available. Truth be told, the game (and requisite instruments) was sitting on a-many of store shelves yesterday, but there's nothing like a formal announcement to really push you to take a few hours from work and rock out this evening. There's a variety of bundles out there ranging from the game alone ($49.99 to $59.99), the game and a guitar ($89.99 to $99.99) and the full-on band kit ($179.99 to $189.99), so make sure you choose wisely when heading out to drop some dough.
Guitar Hero: World Tour's secret "instrument" really a MIDI import feature
Ah, how easily phrases can be misconstrued when you're not absolutely precise in what you say. While the intarwebz have been ablaze with speculation about the elusive "new peripheral" on the forthcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour title, Neversoft project director Brian Bright has delivered a copious amount of non-potable water to the scene in the form of this sobering news. There actually won't be any new "instrument," per se; rather, the PS3 version of the game will include a MIDI import feature that gives PC-using musicians the ability to import rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass, keyboards and drum tracks in as a GH Tunes song. For undisclosed "hardware reasons," the Xbox 360 version can only handle the skins. Eh, 2 stars.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy, image courtesy of GameZone]
Joystiq eyes and ears-on: Guitar Hero: World Tour
Activision invited us out to the House of Blues last week, which was a fitting place to give us a first look at Guitar Hero: World Tour in action. Though we didn't get to play it, we did watch the folks from RedOctane take a spin through all the new features. Suffice it to say, this isn't simply Guitar Hero: Rock Band ... which is what we thought it might turn out to be. Read on after the break to find out why you'll soon have a closet filled with enough peripherals to make your own one-man band.%Gallery-25627%
Rampage World Tour tears up the PS3 tonight
Sony has announced that tonight they are releasing the SOE remake of the arcade classic, Rampage World Tour, through the North American PLAYSTATION Store. Priced at the standard rate of a mere $4.99, the downloadable title allows you to play as any of the three classic Rampage characters as you tear down skyscapers and generally terrorize the city. The game also offers multiplayer action for up to three people, online or local - no word on if it supports voice chat though.I'm pretty stoked about this title myself. I liked Mortal Kombat II a lot, but Gauntlet II was kind of lacking in the fun department. Rampage looks solid though, graphics held up surprisingly well and something about the simple, destructive nature of the gameplay of the original always entertained me.[Via Press Release]
Chicago signing for Uematsu, Aki, & Roth tonight
Are you in Chicago tonight for the big PLAY! concert tomorrow, but weren't willing to shell out $125 for the VIP meet-and-greet at the event? Well, you might be in luck (even if you're not attending), as a few famous folks from the concert will be on hand to sign autographs in Chicago proper for free tonight.From 7 to 9 PM (presumably Central time) at the Tower Records store on 2301 N. Clark St., Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, bilingual songstress Angela Aki (who wrote and sang the theme song for FFXII), and Principal Conductor and Music Director of PLAY! Arnie Roth will be signing autographs to promote the world-tour premiere of 'PLAY! A Video Game Symphony' and the CD for More Friends - Music from FINAL FANTASY.While this blogger is sadly occupied with prior engagements tonight, gamers in the area are more than welcome to mob that Tower Records and cause the store's employees much consternation and bewilderment. If you don't have any imported CDs to sign, however, don't fret: the store's web site claims to have "some awesome Japanese imports available for you to purchase and have autographed at the event." Not only that, Angela Aki will be performing live as well. Score! Anybody wanna tell us how this evening turns out when it's all sung and done?[Via The Daily Northwestern; image culled from Angela Aki's blog, Nobuo Uematsu's Squenix profile, and Arnie Roth's 2005 interview with IGN]See also: Official page for Tower Clark Street (with details on the signing) Ticketmaster site for the PLAY! concert debut tomorrow Sonic and Chrono composers to join PLAY! in Chicago
