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.

Some Vader and Yoda gameplay clips in Soul Calibur IV

IGN has put up gameplay footage of Darth Vader (clip above) and Yoda (clip below) in Soul Calibur IV. From each of these 30 second clips, I'm almost ready to call these characters "broken" especially with Yoda's small size advantage and Vader's force lift (probably counts as a throw - the commands are unknown yet how to do it). Other than that, they do look cool and obviously out of place since this is Namco Bandai's marketing excuse to rake in the money along with SC4 being a multiplatform release. Perhaps even the "increased boobage" will rake more money. I'm still looking forward to the actual game (I'm not hyped to play as Vader and Yoda compared to some people) to see if it was better than the last one, but there are SC4 pro tournaments, I expect these two to be likely banned and plus I rather stick to the normal characters anyway (even though I was decent as Necrid in SC2).

Music Video of the Day "Pork and Beans"

Weezer's new video for their new Red Album is pretty funny taking a stab of Internet trends. This song seems enjoyable to be on Rock Band too. I love the Death Wing (whatever that crappy game is called) reference in the video. Now I can't wait their new album which is out next month.

Resident Evil 5 Blowout This Week

Get ready for a blowout of RE5 stuff this week on the interwebs and GameTrailers TV this weekend as they show an exclusive trailer. As for this week, Capcom's press event will likely have some RE5 stuff like the rumored, but seems official co-op play along with the return of the Mercenaries mode from RE4. Hopefully RE5 continues to blow my mind and creeps back to my top 10 most wanted list (likely since NG2 is out next week). As for this weekend's GameTrailers TV, why are u showing Golden Axe: Beast Rider stuff with the fanbase already giving out the "Do not want" signs?

Lets Play Doctor... The Dr. Mario Online Rx Review

Nintendo's first entry to their own WiiWare service is a classic updated for the current generation, which is Dr. Mario. As for their first game for the service, it is a good start revitalizing an established puzzle game with new modes and online play as seen in some games on Xbox Live Arcade. There are enough modes to satisfy its 1000 Wii Points (1o bucks) price while it looks and sounds good enough being a puzzle game. The online multiplayer is perhaps the only reason to buy this game if you're played the previous iterations to death to compete against players worldwide while running smoothly at the same time. Dr. Mario Online Rx is a good game to recommend for Dr. Mario fans and fans of the genre that can be played in short or long bursts.

Dr. Mario Online Rx's gameplay is classic Dr. Mario with the classic mode faithful to the original game of eliminating viruses by stacking four capsules horizontally or vertically. The controls are simple using the Wiimote sideways for movement of the capsules. A quick drop button is also added similar to the recent Tetris games to speed up the action. The goal is still the same of clearing all the viruses (the weird looking pieces) to proceed to the next level and produce the highest score possible. The later levels have more viruses to eliminate which makes the action more intense especially when the speed of the dropping capsules ramp up if the game gets long. The other classic modes are taking on a computer opponent on a race of eliminating viruses the fastest and a flash mode where is the same mode, but you only need to take out the flashing viruses only to win. Other than the classic mode, the Virus Buster mode is a new take on Dr. Mario using the Wiimote pointer to move capsules around. This offers a new challenge for veterans of the series of playing the game a totally different way of using the Wiimote rather than using a d-pad for movement. It is still the same goal of eliminating viruses, but the twist in this mode is more capsules come when the game gets longer, meaning two capsules will drop down as the game progresses and so on with three. The addition of more capsules make the action make hectic and will test your reflexes because not paying attention to the dropping capsules will result in a game over screen. The Virus Buster mode is surprisingly fun and addictive just like the classic mode being a new way to play Dr. Mario which makes me wonder if a WiiWare Tetris game will have a similar mode to this.

The multiplayer in Dr. Mario Online Rx is the main attraction with online play up to two players. The game uses Mii support for game saves and your avatar when facing people online. Other than playing it locally against another player with the classic modes, the online is where is at and it is a simple system. Rankings and leaderboards are similar to Tetris DS of a single ranking of wins and losses where winning obviously increases your rank and the opposite for losing. Performance-wise, the online runs smoothly by Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection with no lag at all from what I played against other players worldwide. Other than playing worldwide, online can be played with friends by having the infamous friend codes to play. Unfortunately, Virus Buster cannot be played online (can be locally up to four players) at all, which would have been cool to play this mode against other players worldwide. Another cool thing is that can send a demo of the game to a friend that does not have it if they are not sure of buying it. The online play is pretty good being it is in the title of the game compared to some games on other services.

Graphically, Dr. Mario Online Rx looks good enough being a puzzle game. The game screen for the classic mode might be too small for some people, but it is tolerable while Virus Buster mode has a bigger screen because of using the Wiimote pointer. The viruses now feel like actual characters as seen from when you boot up the game and so on. The sound is also tolerable for puzzle game standards with the background music the same as the what was in previous games. The limited selection of music however makes me want to listen to something else on iTunes or something like that since the music in Dr. Mario does get tiresome if you're playing it on long bursts.

As a WiiWare game, Dr. Mario Online Rx is another great example of revitalizing a classic game for the current generation with the smooth online play and the new Virus Buster mode. The classic gameplay still remains as fun and addictive it was since the original. Virus Buster offers a new take for the franchise, but still keeps that addiction the classic mode had even though it is not playable online. The online multiplayer is as simple as it gets with an easy ranking system to understand and quick to get in games, but playing it slow and steady online will likely not lead to victory as reflexes matter if you want to win. It looks and sounds good enough being a puzzle game for the Wii. This whole game makes you wish that Nintendo should have done a DS version like Tetris DS because of the on-the-go aspect and it can be played on short bursts along with the simple online system. Dr. Mario Online Rx is worth the 1000 Wii Points for fans of the genre and those who are looking for a competitive online puzzle game on the Wii.

Score - 8/10

Pros

• Addictive single-player and multiplayer gameplay
  
• Virus Buster is a great new take on the classic game
  
• Online runs smoothly along with the ability to send demos of this game to friends.
  

Cons

• Virus Buster can't be played online.
• Even though the sound is tolerable, might as well blast something else on iTunes or something familiar.

After playing it

• A DS version of this should happen and hopefully can be played against Wii players too (if this happens, the Wii version has to be patched).
• A WiiWare Tetris game should implement a similar mode to Virus Buster.

Note: If you clicked the text, they are the screenshots that are in this post since I haven't figured out what to do to get rid of it and I totally screwed up my site font-wise (I don't know what happened).