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[Ziiro]

After some back and forth with the seller, I guess the CD was "Blemished" so bad that it wouldn't even play. It'd load to menu, but then it would lock up.

Wonder if I can get them to sell me the hardware as-is and I can buy the Stand-alone game somewhere else.

[Lobst]

ROCK BAND 3 NEWS: They just announced at SDCC that these songs will be on-disc:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FOA4ixV-3jU" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/FOA4ixV-3jU</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tDZy6-fMCw4" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/tDZy6-fMCw4</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_UdXbMyo1rU" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/_UdXbMyo1rU</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1SZblBbM_FM" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/1SZblBbM_FM</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/jACrmwTsi08" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/jACrmwTsi08</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ypkv0HeUvTc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Ypkv0HeUvTc</a>

Hopefully with the aid of RB3's song-rating feature I'll be able to spin-kick that last one into the stratosphere and out of existence, because otherwise this setlist is shaping up to be totally rad.

They also announced this for Dance Central, further cementing its mission to make me grin like a dork while flailing around in my room:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/xy4FXhkm6Nw" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/xy4FXhkm6Nw</a>

Finally, I just five-starred every song on Medium in DJ Hero! My verdict is it's a very solid and fun-to-play product with some excellent songs (and a few lame ones), hampered by some shameful Activision window-dressing. Examples: Aside from the (amazing) busty black lady DJ, every female character is an airheaded-looking sex object. Early arenas have Massive ads plastered all over them, including one with a Sprite-themed stage. One of the early achievements is 1G; to even out your score you have to beat a song on Hard with four stars or more (it wasn't too difficult, but what if you're a rhythm novice and have to start on Easy or Beginner?). Online play is two DJs (or DJ-plus-rhythm-guitar) playing side by side, neither of them influencing each other, and for some reason, there's no ingame Music Store for the DLC that's already out there.

But even with all these issues, I really like it! The game itself feels new in a way that's tough to describe; both your hands are responsible for so many different activities it's amazing how gentle they made the learning curve for this. The controller is super-solid and should last through the inevitable several sequels in the pipeline; plus, even out of the game it's fun to toy around with. Some of the mixes are total genius (Shout + Six Days, Technologic + Cars, I Want You Back + Semi-Charmed Life are just a few examples). It picks up especially near the end with the Daft Punk, DJ Shadow, and Scratch Perverts setlists, and has a hidden final-boss song before the Vinyl Cut setlist. There's an export code on the back of the manual; I'll be using it this fall, for sure.

I feel like I could punch through a wall with the strength I've gained in my turntable arm! Who wants to be lifted up off the floor? :D

[Lobst]

ROCK BAND 3 NEWSOCALYPSE: Appearing at GamesCon this week, Harmonix restructured their show-floor demo to include these more Euro-friendly songs:

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/E3BR-cacq9I" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/E3BR-cacq9I</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/aggpCrra8sI" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/aggpCrra8sI</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/DcnNeGQHwDc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/DcnNeGQHwDc</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/2TWS0Y9ihyA" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/2TWS0Y9ihyA</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/MNF0LdWkN30" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/MNF0LdWkN30</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/CQ9JdDAbKH0" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/CQ9JdDAbKH0</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/r1PbffNcbCo" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/r1PbffNcbCo</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/BNhYonvsTF8" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/BNhYonvsTF8</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/uK2gvRBLd0E" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/uK2gvRBLd0E</a>

_{(...okay, and also slipknot - before i forget. guess they've got to keep the scorehero dudes from jumping ship to guitar hero, right? ;__;)}

Two Spanish-language songs on the RB3 setlist so far? Sounds like someone's in the business of making this plastic-mic vocalist smile! What's especially interesting about the recent announcements is they're individually confirming snippets of a leak found on the GameFAQs message boards in June, which lists songs rumored to appear either as on-disc content or day-one DLC. Hear that? We've got Whip It, too! EAT IT, BAND HERO

Dance Central NEWSBLAST: The ESRB notes for the game's T for Teen rating include lyric snippets, from which four songs have been divined:

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/G4ka158s14k" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/G4ka158s14k</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/iKKONgfNONU" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/iKKONgfNONU</a><a href="http://youtube.com/v/bbX8kMAeMRc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/bbX8kMAeMRc</a>

On the official front, Harmonix also confirmed four artists "in anticipation of Leipzig": Benny Benassi, Cascada, Kool & The Gang, and Nelly Furtado. Surprising; considering other dance games focus on weird pop music licenses (the last DDR I played had Rock Lobster and Istanbul [Not Constantinople]; Just Dance has Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Eye Of The Tiger), it seems like Dance Central is focusing on music you'd have actually heard in a dancehall at some point in time. Progress!

DJ Hero 2 Newsday: DJ Tiesto has confirmed his appearance as an ingame avatar (joining DJ Qbert/David Guetta/deadmau5), you can build your own club in Empire Mode, and there's going to be a robust array of multiplayer modes in it (none of which feature a plastic guitar [thank god]). NEXT

DanceDanceRevolution: Announced in 2009 for an first-quarter 2010 release, Konami fell into a suspicious silence re: the glorious reboot of this oft-mishandled dancepad epic, which was set to include an eight-directional pad and turn the franchise into a downloadable platform with 150 songs available at launch. It's apparently now set to release for PS3 this fall, with Move support (where you point at targets on the screen at certain points throughout the song) and Eye support (where your moving silhouette is placed on the colorful background, replacing the doofy polygonal anime characters the series is known for). Won't be getting it myself, but it'll be interesting to see if it retains any similarity to this trailer from last year:

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/len-36qxifQ" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/len-36qxifQ</a>

_{(...wait, Ice Ice Baby? Never Gonna Give You Up? You call it "Octo-Move Mode"? Ten seconds devoted entirely to menu customization? Is this a fucking prank? GET OUT OF MY OFFICE, KONAMI)}

PowerGig: Rise of the SixString News:

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/qSOjn6byxpc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/qSOjn6byxpc</a>

AW YEAH, THE GAUNTLET'S BEEN THROWN! Granted, Rock Band 3 has a real guitar too (as well as drums that you actually hit), but this music-genre newcomer's moxie is still spectacular!

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/9lVEFhP39Ws" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/9lVEFhP39Ws</a>

...great! Your game is played with a real guitar! Interesting concept. How does the game itself look?

[teg]

Know what I miss most about Elite Beat Agents? It didn't look literally identical to every other rhythm game.

[Ted Belmont]

It also sold like 10 copies. So much for originality!

[Lobst]

ROCK BAND 3 MEGA-UPDATE: what the hell? Apparently in some interview a guy at Harmonix decided to leaf through the game's songlist in the background, accidentally, boneheadedly confirming:

Riverboat Gamblers - Don’t Bury Me… I’m Still Not Dead
The Bronx - False Alarm
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
Blondie - Heart of Glass
The Who - I Can See for Miles
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
John Lennon - Imagine
Big Country - In a Big Country
Primus - Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
Echo and The Bunnymen - Killing Moon
Dover - King George
Raveonettes - Last Dance
The Sounds - Living in America
Phish - Llama
Paramore - Misery Business
At The Drive-In - One Armed Scissor
The Muffs - Outer Space
Golden Earring - Radar Love
Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Something Bigger, Something Brighter
Swingin' Utters - This Bastard's Life
Hypernova - Viva La Resistance
Dire Straits - Walk of Life
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1

The video was pulled down once Harmonix realized people were peering into the 720p video and furiously scribbling down titles they recognize. These songs' appearance on this list doesn't tell us whether they'll be on-disc or day-one DLC, but still, . Rather than looking up all these incredible tracks on Youtube, some guy on the Awful Forums assembled an amazing Grooveshark playlist containing all the songs confirmed for one way or the other.

[Ziiro]

I finally got my hands on a DJ Hero Renegade edition for a decent price. Trying to get a handle on all the tricks and motions. Scratching with the blue note is a bitch.

[Ziiro]

Oh hey, the complete DJ hero 2 setlist is released and it's.. really underwhelming. ONE DAFT PUNK SONG? ONE?

[Smiler]

In that list, Kayne West's name shows up four times.

[Ziiro]

[teg]

Deadmau5 - "Ghosts N Stuff"
Deadmau5 & Kaskade - "I Remember"

Well, it's not all bad.

The original DJ Hero surprised me because it would ocassionally take one song that I didn't care for and make like three totally enjoyable mixes out of it (Disturbia comes to mind). Hopefully DJH2 does the same.

[Ziiro]

DJ Hero makes me feel stupid with my coordination. It's a common problem that when I mean to press the Euphoria button in the midst of a lot of notes I'll actually skip a note because my brain triggers the euphoria press as a button press.

Cross fading is equally a mind scrambler because of how accurate you have to be with it. It takes a lot of focus to do the cross fading right, but when you throw that along side a lot of scratching it just goes bad.

Problems aside: It's still fun. Even though I have to play on Easy with few attempts at Normal.
 

[teg]

Cross-fading is a huge pain in the ass for me because although there is a "lock" position for the center, it's so weak that ninety percent of the time I jump over it by mistake. I have no idea if it's just my turntable or what.

[Ziiro]

The DJ Hero 2 Demo is up on XBL, for those interested. I played it a bit, and I found it to just be more of the same - which is good, really.

The biggest add on to the actual gameplay (career is huge, but it's just a new mode) is freestyle scratching, freestyle cross fading, and a change to the freestyle sampling that makes you want to actual hit it in a pattern or beat for extra points - you're graded on it after the song.

The one problem I had with the game is it seems to have tightened up when you have to let go of scratches, which is just frustrating. That may have been a calibration issue on my end, though.

[Lobst]

Ah, Dance Central just unveiled its entire 32-song setlist! However, it has at least one rival coming out this year on Kinect: Konami's DaaaaAAAANCEmasters! With a $20 preorder credit on Amazon for anyone who buys it with Kinect, it's appealing pretty heavily to anyone who might feel a bit penny-conscious after spending $150 on a few cameras housed in black plastic -- but how does it look?

<a href="http://youtube.com/v/vQVT4M5tC4Q" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/vQVT4M5tC4Q</a>
<a href="http://youtube.com/v/mUz3G8W7fxQ" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://youtube.com/v/mUz3G8W7fxQ</a>

[Ted Belmont]

CREEPY BLONDE

The one in the game is pretty weird-looking too.