A Complete Tracklist, Catwoman in my Webb, and X-Men fever – Welcome to the mutant with its only power is a sharp tongue known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that needs some TLC, ya know Tough Loving Coochi…oh I’m sorry, welcome back kids. Turn your head at the dirty old man who doesn’t get any. Be sure to send your 18-21 year old sisters to him directly @ 108 Pe…, okay really I need to stop. Anyhow, I assu…ed the back to normal machine was in effect this week. I’m not sure it is but then I am getting that usual Wednesday headache trying to come up with something to make myself laugh. Next week: audience participation.
Ode To Morgan Webb
Speaking of needing some loving, I always needed some Catwoman in my life. I mean you could have Halle Berry or you could have Morgan Webb, is that really a decision. Okay some of you are looking at me strangely. Yes Halle is hot, but Morgan would be purr-licious. Anybody got a whip and a batarang, I seem to left those in my other trousers. Holy video game vixens posing as comic book vixens Batman! Indeed!
Quick news stories of interest
It’s official: From Aerosmith to the Rolling Stones to RATM, all 40 licensed tracks unveiled.
After a year of wishlists, speculation and even a bit of “slipped” information, RedOctane has finally revealed to us the final licensed tracklist for Guitar Hero II. Totaling 40 tunes in all, spread over eight difficulty levels, the sequel to our Best Music Game of 2005 seems to have an even wider range of rock-oriented music than the first time out. From Guns N’ Roses to the Police to Dick Dale, Guitar Hero II runs the gamut of rock.
Without further ado, here are the tracks you’ll be rocking out to come November 7th.
1. Opening Licks
Motley Crue – Shout at the Devil
Danzig – Mother
Cheap Trick – Surrender
Wolfmother – Woman
Spinal Tap – Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight
2. Amp-Warmers
Kiss – Strutter
Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box
Police – Message in a Bottle
Van Halen – You Really Got Me
Kansas – Carry on Wayward Son
3. String-Snappers
Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
Alice in Chains – Them Bones
Iggy Pop and the Stooges – Search and Destroy
Pretenders – Tattooed Love Boys
Black Sabbath – War Pigs
4. Thrash and Burn
Warrant – Cherry Pie
Butthole Surfers – Who Was in My Room Last Night
Mathew Sweet – Girlfriend
Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’
Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
5. Return of the Shred
Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name Of
Primus – John the Fisherman
Sword – Freya
Thin Lizzy – Bad Reputation
Aerosmtih – Last Child
6. Relentless Riffs
Heart – Crazy on You
Stone Temple Pilots – Tripping on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Stray Cats – Rock This Town
Allman Brothers – Jessica
Jane’s Addiction – Stop
7. Furious Fretwork
Anthrax – Madhouse
Living End – Carry Me Home
Lamb of God – Laid to Rest
Reverend Horton Heat – Psychobilly Freakout
Rush – YYZ
8. Face-Melters
Avenged Sevenfold – Beast and the Harlot
Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized
Dick Dale – Misirlou
Megadeth – Hangar 18
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
As for the unlockable bonus tracks, RedOctane tells us that it wants to keep those songs a secret until release as to not spoil everything for the fans. Sounds good to us, though we’re certainly interested to know simply what caliber of tracks will be included. Good things come to those who wait however, and luckily we have less than a month to do so.
Wow oh wowee! Could it possibly get any sweeter. Motley Crue, Danzig, Warrant, GNR, Lynyrd Skynyrd, F’ing Primus, and more! Seriously anybody who didn’t just drop their jaw and run to their nearest Gamestop, EB, or other video game operation and pre-order this gem needs serious help. Or needs to stop listening to rap and country. Seriously, that stuff will rot your brain. It can’t get much better than this, enough stuff to jam all night too. Air guitar heads to Shred Wannabes unite and feel the force of Guitar Hero 2.
Phantasy Star Universe Pricing Revealed
SEGA finally sent out word on their pricing for the upcoming online RPG Phantasy Star Universe for the US. The Guardians license, which is what you’ll need to take the game into the expansive and persistent online world, will be available for purchase on October 24, 2006 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PC online users for $9.99. Those playing on the PlayStation 2 and PC can also purchase a six month license for $49.99 to save some money.
Although the game will cost 10 dollars more on Xbox 360 with an MSRP of $59.99 and there won’t be any initial options for purchasing an extended online license, all is not gloom and doom in 360 land. That is because this Wednesday, October 11 and continuing Thursday, October 12, the Phantasy Star Universe multiplayer open beta will be available as a free download. The free open beta will run for a week and conclude on October 18, 2006. It will be open to all Xbox 360 owners with an Xbox Live Gold account.
Phantasy Star Universe will ship on October 24, 2006 for PlayStation 2, PC and Xbox 360 and is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB.
Some of you might remember the Phantasy Star online experience on the Dreamcast.(that was still running for the longest time) It was pay also, but they did give you a lot for your money. I really have high hopes for the series and it could be a great online experience and easily worth the $10 per month. Bonus to Xbox 360 owners, I wish I could get one just for the download. This could rival online monsters such as UO and Evercrack. I don’t need PSO, I need food man! (this might be a harder argument down the line).
Reasons the Sega Genesis was better than the SNES
Splatterhouse 2 & Splatterhouse 3
People don’t tend to be familiar with the Splatterhouse series. The game first appeared on the Turbo Graphix and had cult success as the first game to really intertwine elements of horror with good gameplay (this excludes games like Friday the 13th for the original NES, which had horrible gameplay or E.T. for Atari 2600 which was just plain scary). However, Splatterhouse paved the way for such horror staples like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and even *gasp* Dead Rising. Yeah I said it, no precious killing zombies with lawnmowers or shopping carts if it isn’t for this title right here. Splatterhouse 2 and 3 produced exclusively for the Sega Genesis upped the ante in gameplay and graphics as this game took you as Rick who had to always wear his Jason-like Terror Mask as he went to save his girlfriend Jennifer. Of course, if you end up playing through all three games, you might wonder is Jennifer really worth it? At least in the third one you have married the chick and have a kid. So you’re kinda obligated :). Great side scrolling action and some true horror elements and scary surprises.
Retro Game of the Week
X-Men (Arcade)
Witty grammatically incorrect dialogue and a good fighting game are paths to my gaming heart. One of the fine examples of this is X-Men, the Arcade Game. No, not the fighting game: Children of the Atom, but the side scrolling masterpiece. You were one of 6 characters: Cyclops (weak), Colossus (strong but slow), Wolverine (balanced good character), Storm (also balanced good character), Nightcrawler (weak but speedy as all get out), and Dazzler who was quite the forgotten character but actually one of the best due to her speed and mutant blast (my favorite too, she was quite the cutie). Your mission is to rescue Professor X and Kitty Pryde from Magneto who is trying to thwart human civilization. This game featured action like TMNT or Simpsons but carried it to a whole new level making you feel part of the X-Men Universe. Also depending on the cabinet, up to 6 players could be on the screen at once making for a truly diverse and deep experience. To be honest, it is still the best X-Men game ever, only the recent X-Men Legends games even come close. I’m really surprised that they haven’t ever released this or modified it for a home console release. Think about an updated X-Men arcade game for PS2/XBOX with new characters and more levels, don’t cream too much…I’ll doubt we’ll ever see it. Sad, very sad.
PS2
Family Feud
Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Avatar: The Last Airbender
God Hand
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Tales of the Abyss
PSP
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Gun Showdown
Scooby Doo! Who’s Watching Who?
XBox
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
Gamecube
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
DS
Clubhouse Games
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Crash Boom Bang!
Monster Bomber
Scooby Doo! Who’s Watching Who?
Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long, Attack of the Dark Dragon
GBA
Dora the Explorer: Dora’s World Adventure
Family Feud
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Barbie: 12 Dancing Princesses
Barbie Diaries: High School Mystery
Hammy Goes Nuts
Hot Wheels Compilation
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
Noddy: A Day in Toyland
Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long, Rise of the Huntsclan
Not really much this week, but PS2 has its share of decent releases this week with Mortal Kombat goodness (wonder if Mortal Kombat tic tac toe will be a feature), God Hand, and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner among others. The winner of complete over exposure has to be Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think it also coming to an abacus near you. More shlock to the GBA as well, I miss the true days of quality GBA (or just regular GB) releases. Now any old crap comes out. I mean all these are mostly kiddie fare at $20 a pop (if not $30), is anybody buying these? Then again I’m pretty sure I will see a lot of these at a bargain bin soon.
Some Final Thoughts and Mutterings
So that’s it for another morning read of gaming shlock. I’m still kinda hard pressed on a next gen console to buy. You could evenly divvy it up between 360, WII & PS3. I guess you could throw a good quarter in there too for just sticking with PS2 until I’m forced to make a decision. Hopefully PS2 games this fall like Guitar Hero 2, Sega Genesis Collection, WWE SVR 2007, Capcom Classics 2, and even titles like Marvel Ultimate Alliance will keep me entertained for a while. If not, looks like I’ll be forking out some dollars for the next big thing. So, please, please give to a starving gamer with a column & a big heart. Cash, games, systems, red headed females with nice bodies are all acceptable, before I go all Sally Struthers on your ass. Take care.
As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)
06/11/2007 @ 9:52 am