Music Roundup for 5/29/08

This week's Music Roundup focuses on current hits out now I'm feeling or not rather than albums.

Let's start with the new G-Unit video for "I Like the Way She Do It" and I'm not impressed of this song (might as well plug their new album out in July since it is G Unit Ver1's World). I'm not a fan of the beat and the group has been going through some drama with the Young Buck being kicked out of the group. Yeah, 50 can do whatever he wants releasing the same old stuff with different beats because he is 50 having all that money. Their songs can be decent, but this one is a miss on my book (plus, they had crappy performances too).

Next up is my current banger, which is "Finer Things" by DJ Felli Fel w/ Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri, and Fabolous. This is not the official music video and they should do one because this song is pretty sick. Ne-Yo's hook is just nuts and Kanye's verse is crazy as well. Every time I hear this on the radio on the way to school, it feels it is a good start to the day ahead.

So I put up the wrong video for Coldplay's "Violet Hill" in an earlier post since that version was some viral one. The hype level is through the roof for their new album for people I know because it is Coldplay for crying out loud. My expectations for the new album is that it has to be way better than their last album X&Y even though that album was decent, but could of have been better (the hype got to them I guess).

I saw this video earlier today on MTV2 which is Atmosphere's "Guarantees" and while people say that they sold out of going to mainstream from the underground, it is about time more people realize the greatness that is Atmosphere. This video seems very chill as well as the song from their first single "Shoulda Known."

Lastly, I can't wait for N.E.R.D's new album, Seeing Sounds, and this is the song u hear during those Zune commercials while playing the NBA playoff games, Spazz. Honestly, I'm looking forward more to N.E.R.D.'s new one than Coldplay's new one and the word about the new Weezer album from the streets is it is not that good.

Come back next week on the Music Roundup for impressions of some albums like the N.E.R.D one and maybe Disturbed, which I don't know why I'm considering to check out their album (Maybe I just want to rock out to "Down with the Sickness" on Rock Band).

Another Street Fighter 4 Update

Famitsu rolled out new pics of new characters for Street Fighter 4.....

First up we have Rufus, which we already know about, but this pic is just funny just because of Ken's facial reaction (the facial expressions strike again!!). The storyline for Rufus is supposedly he is Ken's rival and still beats people up that looks like Ken. Of course there are comparisons of Rufus from Earthquake (Samurai Showdown) to Bob (Tekken 6).

Then we have Seth (likely the final boss of SF4), who I assume is the first versions of Urien and Gill (Street Fighter 3). The storyline for him so far is that he is involved in the weapons division of Bison's Shadoloo business. His only difference to Urien and Gill is the eye thing on his stomach, which is likely fires projectiles (pic below)If he plays like Urien in SF3 3rd Strike, get ready for lots of Aegis Reflectors (his likely normal super), his charge move (pic below), the knee dive, and those projectile shots. I don't want to call out his Ultra yet assuming he can use the Aegis Reflector (high-tier Urien players will like that!!).

Word from the streets say that Fei-Long and Dan are also confirmed for Street Fighter 4, but exclusive to the console versions. If that is true, expect them to be officially announced at Capcom's press event, CAPTIVATE, this week (actually next week when the embargo is up).

Music Video of the Day (5/29/08) - Usher's "Moving Mountains"

I finally found a legitimate version of this video since it adds the extra sound effects purposely designed for it. All I have to say that it is another great Usher video, which is for "Moving Mountains," his second single from the new album Here I Stand and it is one of his better songs in the album anyway, so might as well do a video for it. I like how it is a continuation from the "Love In This Club" video, him climbing up the mountain, and then breaking it. I have to put this video up there with similar videos like "U Got I Bad," "Burn," and "Confessions Part II." If I had to pick his next single, it would be "This Ain't Sex."

Clip of the Day (5/28/08) - TNT vs. ESPN

An oldie but a goodie is this postgame bit on Inside the NBA last year with TNT's Reggie Miller issuing the challenge of TNT analysts vs. ESPN analysts (former players). If this ever happened, TNT would win... If I had to pick the teams, it would be (way similar to Reggie's picks)

TNT: Doug Collins as the coach

• Ernie Johnson
• Charles Barkley
• Kenny Smith
• Reggie Miller
• Chris Webber / Magic Johnson

ESPN: Hubie Brown as the coach (or Jeff)

• Dan Patrick (Yeah, no longer w/ ESPN - Mike Trico as the alternate I guess)
• Tim Legler / Jon Barry
• Mark Anthony
• Marc Jackson
• Jamal Mashburn

Yeah the TNT folks would win in a pickup game against ESPN (both on the court and off it based on the quality of their shows).

New Guitar Hero Ads = Ugh!!!!

I stumbled upon these ads for Guitar Hero and I'm like why are doing this?

First up we have "Risky Business" ads with the two American Idol 7 finalists David Cook (the winner!!!) and David Archuleta (the loser!!!). At least the Cook version I can deal with since he is a rocker, but the Archuleta version doesn't make sense to me as it doesn't fit his persona at all. Then again, these being Guitar Hero ads is bad enough and since the brand is so popular, ads like these are bound to happen anyway. It is just sad how the GH property is being treated these days.

This new video for the upcoming DS game is just a new low for me. I feel like puking after seeing this one especially who knows if this idea will work at all. Then again, it will sell a million copies because of the deadly combination of the GH name and the Nintendo DS alone. Just rather play the console ones instead and this is just a waste of time.

Now this trailer is something I can agree with, which is for World Tour aka GH4. This video that was out last week showcases the new drum kit. The folks of Neversoft are getting help from Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Travis Barker (Plus 44, Blink 182), and Stewart Copeland (The Police) to make the best drums possible for GH World Tour even though I don't want to pony up for the full band bundle (refer to my previous post on the possible death nail of the rhythm genre). Then again, if Blink 182's "Damnit" is in the game, I might as well jump in since that song one of Blink's best (also fun to sing too).

So the two GH ads = Ugh!!! The GH4 Drum Kit = Yes!!!

Trailers at Ubidays 08

The curtain is finally pulled for Ubisoft to show some stuff at their Paris press event...

The big bombshell from the event is the announcement of Beyond Good & Evil 2 along with a teaser of the game. This has been heavily rumored for a while and it is finally official since the first one of the forgotten critical darlings last generation (it didn't sell that well). This is likely a 2009 release and I'm curious how better it can be than the original.

Next up is the new Prince of Persia game and this trailer is CG or pre-rendered even though the game itself will look cel-shaded. This is the reboot to the franchise with a new look for the Prince and a female partner going along for the ride. I didn't play the trilogy of PoP games that were out last generation, but I did play PoP Classic for XBLA and it was good. The release is this fall and hopefully this new direction can be a good thing for the franchise.

Ubi finally enters the extreme sports game arena with Shaun White Snowboarding starring the Flying Tomato himself (or Senor Blanco). Finally a new snowboarding game to care about and the approach from the developers is "Assassins Creed and Snowboarding combined together," which is interesting. I hope this game is pretty good because I need to play a good snowboarding game again (Amped 3 was pretty cool). This remind me, where's next-gen SSX EA?

Next up is a new trailer for Tom Clancy's EndWar, which is indeed another Tom Clancy game, but a RTS. I'm not really a fan of this one since probably I realized I don't have time for RTS games (LOTR BFME II was okay and C&C3 I didn't play much of). With that and H.A.W.X., what else can Ubi whore out the Tom Clancy name to?

If you're wandering why Namco Bandai's Soul Calibur IV is at Ubidays showcasing the two Star Wars characters Darth Vader on PS3 and Yoda on 360, Ubi is publishing it at the European countries so there. In this new trailer as well, there is some new antagonist and the armor breaking is finally showcased along with the Critical Finishes. Who knows if the online will be good, but we may find out soon enough on its July 29 release at the States.

Lastly is Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, the long awaited and perhaps the last great World War II FPS. A different trailer showed up on XBL Marketplace today with this new one here being more story-driven. I don't know about the graphics yet for this game, but the gameplay still shines being it is Gearbox developing it. I don't expect myself to play this unless a demo is happening for it, so we'll see.

So that's it for Ubidays stuff with no Splinter Cell Conviction (likely delayed to 2009) and Assassins Creed 2 (probably announced at E3 with a brief teaser shown). I didn't put up some Wii stuff here like Rayman Raving Rabbids 3 and the Dogz sequel because I don't care for them with Rabbids 3 having Balance Board support. The next big press event is Capcom's CAPTIVATE which is going on now I think, but the embargo will be up sometime next week with some big guns.

A Street Fighter 4 update (now official for consoles and PC)

Looks like my most anticipated game is now official for consoles with Street Fighter 4 coming to the 360, PS3, and the PC. The press release from various sites mentions a late 2008 release, which I'm not sure it will happen, but I won't mind since the arcade version is still slated for the summer at Japan (no word on U.S. arcades yet, but likely not - maybe Super Arcade will buy a cabinet even though it is expensive like Tekken 6). With this official announcement, I'm curious if the console versions are at Capcom's press event, CAPTIVATE, to be previewed and whether or not it will make an appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con and Evo 2K8, the grand daddy of fighting game tournaments. Capcom still has more characters and stages to reveal (Akuma is surprisingly not revealed yet), so there is still time for them to make us happy or piss off the hardcore fanbase (even some tournament players with move frames).

If it is out this fall, I rather buy SF4 than Gears 2.