Dare to Play the Game

Expected Sales for New Super Mario, Lego Rock Band Setlist & Road Rash HD may not see light of day? – Welcome to the column whose mind is a swirling miasma of scintillating thoughts and turgid ideas known as Dare to Play the Game.

Still recovering from my cold, flu or whatever it is that has infected my holy temple of a body. I believe I am in the last stages of that sickness as I hardly cough during the day and my only problem is the night. For some reason at night, I’m not sure if my problem is being tired or what, but my caughing comes in fits and usually leaves me restless and tired the following morning.

Monday, I did buy a new pillow (my old one should have bit the dust a year or so ago) and it is helping considerably. I might go see the doctor anyway as this has probably dragged on longer than it should have. I feel basically fine until about an hour before I go to sleep, then it starts creeping up on me. Really odd. Hopefully this column will help stimulate some positive energy. At the very least, I can laugh at myself.

This is Raven Alexis. She’s an amateur porn star. She’s a real wild child but is also, you guessed it; totally into World of Warcraft. In a recent interview, she let the world know of her fetishes(masks) and how she would certainly has no problem with having sex in game. I’m guessing if you are a geek who is considering a purchase of an Troll mask and have a level 80; you might have just found your dream chick.

Super Mario

Last week, Nintendo held an event for Japanese retailers. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was dated and priced for Japan, apparently. Nintendo’s resident game wizard Shigeru Miyamoto talked and demoed the game as well. But what did he say?

If past Mario titles are anything to go by, Miyamoto isn’t probably right — he is right.

Well of course he is right. Even though Mario has been bastardized all over Nintendo platforms with games about Go-Karts, Golf, Tennis, and the Olympics; he is still a proven seller. Heck the only Mario game that really didn’t sell was when he let his brother take over in a starring role. Luigi didn’t have a mansion, he had a van down by the river.

Anyway, a new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii should do big business as long as it brings classic platform action and appeals to kids & adults a like. They just have to make sure that they don’t make any huge mistakes like Sega has done with Sonic and be the recipient of a million columns that debate when the last great game of the series actually occurred. Mario is tops in Nintendo Land, and unless Mario trims his mustache and starts goose-stepping; I wouldn’t expect anything different.

A screenshot from the new game. It looks awesome I must admit, looks to have some of the energy of the classics in level design. For some reason I want to go play Super Mario 3 or World. Time to fire up the SNES.

Road Rash

While we were certain that Electronic Arts was going to revisit classic racer Road Rash last year—we trust ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach without reservation—the publisher denied it was in development. Well it was at one point.

Let’s hope that EA has since reconsidered the decision to revitalize Road Rash and that the re-upped trademark was not filed in vain. Or for an iPhone game.

One of my favorite games on the planet has been Road Rash for quite some time. This is despite that the last Road Rash game I played was on the 3do system. Despite the tragedy of the system, this was a fantastic game and kept me up many hours trying to complete each level. Many nights, I keep wondering if I would ever see another Road Rash game, even if they turned it into a Burnout clone.

But then this tech-demo shows up. There really is a market for this, even in the crowded field of racers. Why? Because it stands out. It’s a great combat game and if you put some real story to it instead of running around a track, it could sell very well. A racing game with a story? I know it sounds like science fiction but there is some real potential and I just hope that Electronic Arts doesn’t waste time in pursuing this.

A screenshot from the tech demo. It looks pretty decent. I always liked the fact they gave the riders names and personalities. If they do make an update/revisit, they need to keep that dynamic for the single player. It’s worth the effort, trust me.

Lego Rock Band

* All American Rejects, “Swing, Swing” – $.25
* The Kooks, “Naïve” – $.01
* The Automatic, “Monster” – $.01
* KoRn, “Word Up!”- $.75
* Blink-182, “Aliens Exist” – $.10
* KT Tunstall, “Suddenly I See” – $.01
* Blur, “Song 2” – $.50
* Lostprophets, “Rooftops”- $.01
* Bon Jovi, “You Give Love a Bad Name”-$2.00
* P!NK, “So What” – $.50
* Boys like Girls, “Thunder” – $.01
* The Police,”Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” – $1.25
* Bryan Adams, “Summer of 69” – $2.00
* The Primitives, “Crash” – $.01
* Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting” – $1.75
* Queen, “We Are The Champions” – $2.00
* The Coral, “Dreaming of You” – $.01
* Queen, “We Will Rock You” – $1.50
* Counting Crows, “Accidentally in Love” – $.25
* Rascal Flatts, “Life is a Highway” – $.75
* David Bowie, “Let’s Dance” – $1.00
* Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters” – $1.50
* Elton John, “Crocodile Rock” – $1.00
* Razorlight, “Stumble and Fall” – $.01
* Europe, “The Final Countdown” – $2.00
* Spin Doctors, “Two Princes” – $.50
* Everlife, “Real Wild Child” – $.50
* Spinal Tap, “Short & Sweet” – $.50
* Foo Fighters, “Breakout” – $.50
* Steve Harly, “Make Me Smile” – $.01
* Good Charlotte, “Girls & Boys” – $.25
* Sum 41, “In Too Deep” – $.75
* The Hives, “Tick Tick Boom!” – $.25
* Supergrass, “Grace” – $.01
* Iggy Pop, “The Passenger” – $.25
* Tom Petty, “Free Fallin” – $1.25
* Incubus, “Dig” – $.50
* T-Rex, “Ride a White Swan” – $.25
* Jackson 5, “I Want You Back” – $.50
* Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk” – $.01
* Jimi Hendrix, “Fire” – $1.00
* We the Kings, “Check Yes Juliet” – $.01
* Kaiser Chiefs, “Ruby” – $.01
* The Zutons, “Valerie” – $.01
* Katrina & The Waves, “Walking on Sunshine” – $.50

Why are so many of these songs make me bang my head against the wall and not in a good way? Oh right, it is that whole family friendly Lego crap. Stick to adventure games guys. There is however some really great songs in here, they are just too few and far inbetween. Good songs like a Bon Jovi’s You Give Love a Bad Name or Bryan Adams’ Summer of 69 or anything from Queen. Songs like Ghostbusters or Kung Fu Fighting are just fun. But then there are miscues like the constant use of the Rascal Flatts cover of “Life is a Highway” instead of Tom Cochrane’s. I’ve emailed Tom before, he’s actually a nice guy and I have a hard time believing that he wouldn’t jump to have his music in the Rock Band series. Oh wait, Rascal Flatts is in, and nobody except a few Canadians & me have any clue who Tom Cochrane is.

Outside of that, there are so many pop friendly songs on here that it makes you want to spew glitter and bio-degradable Prius parts. Spin Doctors, Foo Fighters, the Hives, Good Charlotte? Geezus, stop the insanity. There are also a good volume of one-hit wonders which only further dilute the product. Rock Band has been good for established bands and they should work towards core bands and not bubble gum wonders as seen a lot here.

This comes to a grand total of $26.74. The game is going to sell for $50. We’ll go ahead and round up to $30 and assume I was a little harsh. Still, there are a few other looming issues for this release. First, song export is still available as reported, but there have been reports that it will cost up to $10 to do an export so you can play it on Rock Band 2. $10, I’m already paying $50 for the game; shouldn’t this be included? Heck, RB1 was $5 and the Track Packs/ACDC have been free.

The second thing is that Lego Rock Band will include Rock Band store but the songs will be limited to your family friendly selections. Meaning no Nine Inch Nails or Marilyn Manson I’m guessing. While expected, I hope it doesn’t lead to a time where the majority of the DLC for Rock Band becomes family friendly just to satisfy the Lego Rock Band queue. I still like my trashy music thank you very much. It will also be interesting to see if it blocks out the offending song entirely, meaning you download Disposable Teens from RB2 Store and whether or not it shows up on your DLC for Lego Rock Band to play since you bypassed Lego’s family filter.

I’m not sure if I’m going to buy Lego Rock Band, the obvious answer would be to wait. But how long? The first price drop? The second or wait for a cheap bargain bin. We’ll have to see, and I would really like some reviews as well. However, if I saw a sale at $30, I might have to bite.

This slew of episodes is affectionately called Beyond Time and Space. Episodes include subjects such as Santa Claus, Volcanoes, Zombies and even Satan himself. At 1600 points, believe it or not this is an excellent value; especially if you enjoyed the first Season. I’m still holding out for a disc release of both seasons and yes I would pay $40 for it. I have no doubt that I want to play it, I just have trouble paying for that much digital content.

Axel & Pixel is an interesting little point & click adventure about a painter and his faithful dog. The pair is going to a dangerous and surreal dream world. From first indications, the game is flat out gorgeous. Everything is hand-drawn, it’s made by a group of artists and developers out of the Czech Republic and could be a sleeper hit. Hopefully, people do give this a try.

This is an action/battle game where you defend your territory and at the same time try to invade up to seven people’s territories. You do this by capturing projectiles and firing towards your opponents. Projectiles are simple shapes like circles, lines, cubes and pyramids. The Wiimote & Nunchuk are used to hold a platform in place which will capture projectiles or fire them away. Unfortunately, there is no online multiplayer but you can either find 7 friends or have them created for you.

This sequel to the original arcade hit was very well received. It included three characters: Haggar, Maki and Carlos as they again took on the Mad Gear Gang and try to defeat the gang around the world by traveling to various locales including Hong Kong, France & Italy. This was the first Final Fight on console to have 2-player simultaneous action and is certainly worth the points.

PS2
Cars Race o Rama

PSP
Half-Minute Hero
Cars Race o Rama

PS3
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Brutal Legend
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
Way of the Samurai 3
Cars Race o Rama
Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame

Xbox 360
Brutal Legend
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
Magna Carta 2
Way of the Samurai 3
Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame
Cars Race o Rama

Wii
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
A Boy and His Blob
Cars Race o Rama
Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame
Medieval Games
Squeeballs Party
Alien-Monster Bowling League

DS
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Cake Mania 3
Hero’s Saga: Laevatein Tactics
Petz Pony Beauty Pageant
Cars Race o Rama
Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame
Dream Dancer
Chicken Blaster
Dodge Racing Charger vs Challenger

The game of the week has to be Alien-Monster Bowling League. I mean Aliens & Monsters & bowling! You can’t beat that. Seriously, most have been waiting for Uncharted 2 and it should be a run away hit. Brutal Legend also comes out this week and we’ll see if Jack Black and his word of mouth advertising can make the game sell quite a few copies. I’m guessing it will have some success, but not sure how much. Another Mario and Sonic game is the only standout and this time it is the Winter games. I really think they are missing the boat with Mario and Sonic teamup games, we want a platform adventure. Make it happen!

Gaming wise, I didn’t do much this week. I played a little Watchmen, messed around with Rocketbowl and even took in a little Fable II Pub Games. Yeap, the latter two were just working slowly on those achievements that take forever. Watchmen, I am close to being done with Night Owl on single player. I am doing pretty well with picking up batteries, much better than the cards with Rorschach. I am also waiting to start either Lego Indiana Jones or Red Faction Guerrilla, both of which I got on the cheap. I need the diversion of a full game again, and not these little parlor games. But first the doctor to take care of whatever is ailing me. Take care of yourself and don’t be stubborn like me kiddoes.

As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)