Friday, November 14, 2008

Which to buy: ‘Guitar Hero’ or ‘Rock Band 2’?

In the battle for band game supremacy, choosing sides is a matter of taste
Plant either “Rock Band
2” or “ Guitar Hero World Tour ” in front of four people, and you’ll have an instant party. I promise. But which one’s better? Well, that’s a matter of taste.
At first blush, “World Tour” appears to be the better game thanks to improved instruments, refined gameplay, and more enjoyable note-plucking. But isolated reports of hardware bugs, a sloppy menu, and a less-than-desirable online mode complicate the choice.
For the uninitiated, “World Tour” and “Rock Band 2” feature downward-scrolling notes that must be played to the beat using a wireless toy guitar, bass or drum set. Singing is performed using a wired microphone, much like karaoke. The overall effect is extremely convincing, even for musicians, making your ordinary self feel like a bona fide rocker of real-world music.
While MTV’s “Rock Band” was first to add drums and singing in 2007, Activision’s “World Tour” upgrade to “Guitar Hero” is more innovative. Guitar controllers are more responsive, making you feel better prepared to hit incoming notes, and there’s a new touch pad high on the neck for playing solos. (Watch out Ace Frehley.)
“World Tour” drums and singing are also improved over “Rock Band 2.” The drum set is quieter, features a softer kick pedal, and adds two raised cymbal pads, which not only make more sense than the primitive flat pads of “Rock Band,” but the are easier to hit and more fun to play. “World Tour” singers also enjoy cleaner vocals and two ways of reading lyrics: “Rock Band”-style where words scroll across the screen, or karaoke-style, where upcoming lines bump current ones from below.
Unfortunately, some “World Tour” owners are reporting drumming misfires. Activision has quickly addressed the issue, offering a free tuner cord that connects to a computer and corrects the problem. But it will require extra effort on your part, and it makes “Rock Band 2” more reliable out of the box and better suited for the technically challenged. (Author’s note: I’ve played one “World Tour” set that works perfectly, and another that had problems registering snare and high-hat hits).
“Rock Band 2” is also more dependable when it comes to band chemistry, even if its instruments are inferior. Both games support a four-player band mode, but only “Rock Band 2” lets players gauge easily how everyone’s doing, and assist bandmates if they’re failing. What’s more, the menus in “Rock Band 2” are easier to navigate, as is playing others online.
But if you want to create your own original music and cover songs, “World Tour” is the only way to go, since it’s the only one of the two that includes a robust recording and mixing studio. The music samples sound more like a cheap Casio keyboard than something you would expect from a professional recording, but there are a variety of passable presets, and the drums can do double duty as an electronic drum set.
In terms of music, each game features more than 84 songs, many of which are included in both games. I found both track lists to be more than compelling, but there are differences. Van Halen, Coldplay, Jimi Hendrix, and Michael Jackson are exclusive to “World Tour,” while “Rock Band 2” has the lock on AC/DC, Panic at the Disco, Kansas, and The Offspring. If you want to download more songs, however, “Rock Band 2” has a bigger online store, but both stores are growing.
In the end, musicians and experienced rhythm game fans will likely prefer the innovations of “Guitar Hero: World Tour,” while “Rock Band 2” will appeal to casual players and online gamers for its ease of use and proven experience.
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Posted by JImmy at 06:22:53 | Permalink | No Comments »

Gamers line up for ‘World of Warcraft’ expansion pack

They’re all over Santa Fe, hiding in business suits and baggy jeans, using skateboards and walkers, listening to Mozart and Eminem.

You just can’t tell a fan of the computer game World of Warcraft ( Buy wow gold ) by his cover.
But shortly after the bells tolled midnight, an odd mix of
Santa Fe gamers was expected to leave the real world behind and gather at the City Different’s video game stores, hoping to pick up what could easily become the biggest PC game release of the year: The game’s second expansion pack called Wrath of the Lich King.
“I’ve seen little kids reserve it, and older gamers really like it, too,” said Shane Padilla, an assistant manager at the south-side GameStop at 3777 Cerrillos Rd. “The game caters to a lot of different groups.”
In Warcraft, which is called a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG, people create characters from a host of different races and play against each other, explore in-depth environments and group together to fight monsters in strategic battles.
The largest audience for the game might be teenagers and the college crowd, but that hasn’t stopped the 30-somethings, 40-somethings and even 50-somethings from picking it up and playing, said Jason Miller, assistant manager at the GameStop at College Plaza.
In fact, at his store, there was even an 80-year-old woman who came in to pre-order the game, he said.
“She said she had a friend back East who was playing and she needed a hobby, what with retirement, so she’s going to pick up the game,” Miller said. “We have a whole set reserved for her. Warcraft is interesting like that. People from all over the world play, and people of all ages play.”
The game’s last expansion pack, Burning Crusade, which came out in January 2007, smashed PC sales records, with 2.4 million copies purchased in the first 24 hours after release.
Since then, Warcraft’s popularity has continued to grow. In October, Blizzard Entertainment, which makes Warcraft, announced there are about 11 million subscribers to the game worldwide.
All of Santa Fe’s GameStop stores expect to sell out today, most likely by noon, even though each store has ordered extra copies to meet the demand, officials said.
“We won’t be able to get our next batch until at least Saturday or maybe Monday,” Miller added.
Those who pre-ordered the game didn’t have to show up at midnight to get it, but many planned to anyway because of the promise of new realms to explore and monsters to fight in the wee hours of the morning, he said.
The 80-year-old woman wasn’t planning to be part of that crowd, Miller added.
“She didn’t get too excited about the midnight release,” he said with a laugh.
Down the road, though, at the GameStop in the Santa Fe Place mall, a 70-year-old woman who pre-ordered the game sounded eager to pick it up at the midnight release, said Jamie Morris, store manager.
“This lady came in one of those scooter things — she was like 70 — and she ordered it for herself,” Morris said Tuesday afternoon. “She’s a die-hard fan. If she can get somebody to help her, she said she’d definitely come at midnight.”
Morris worked at a different Santa Fe GameStop for the January 2007 Burning Crusade release and said it was pretty wild and fun to see the excited gamers.
“I had customers come in fully dressed as characters, pretending to use their powers,” she said. “I had a lot of fun. At that release, it took us about 30 minutes to get about 120 people their copies.”
Today promises a host of similarly excited gamers — and if you notice a few empty seats around you at work or in school, well, there’s a chance Warcraft could be behind it.
But that’s just how it is with this smash-hit game, Morris said.
“I’ve had customers who ordered it a year or more ago,” she said. “It’s finally here. I don’t play, and even I’m excited.”
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Posted by JImmy at 06:21:42 | Permalink | No Comments »

World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King expansion now available

It’s been long awaited but now avid WoW fans can get their hands on the latest expansion to the World of Warcraft–( Buy wow gold ) the Wrath of the Lich King. And even though you could buy the physical copy of the game at retailers prior to today, Blizzard officially launched the expansion pack today.

The original launch plan was to make it so everyone had to wait until midnight in their time zone to access the the expanded content, but a change in the plan occurred yesterday. Instead, users were allowed access at 9 p.m. PST to make for a single launch. Of course, some subscribers complained, but there will always be a few discontented individuals.
Apparently, one bug has already been detected that makes it so users on the European servers couldn’t access the Death Knight class, but Blizzard made a temp solution: first create a new character at level one, and then make a Death Knight. A real fix should be rolled out soon.
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Posted by JImmy at 06:16:43 | Permalink | No Comments »

Day of dread arrives for World of Warcraft Widows

The latest World of Warcraft ( Currency: wow gold ) game was eagerly awaited by millions, but there was one group who have been filled with dread by the game’s release: “Warcraft Widows”.
The game has such a firm grip over the lives of many men, that some wives complain they rarely see their spouses any more. One 39-year-old Warcraft Widow, Carolyn, recently told The Times that the game has so absorbed her husband Paul, that she sees him only during meal and lavatory breaks.
“We’ve had to enter into some heavy negotiation to work out the nights and weekends when Paul can play without me nagging him to stop, because it’s not just the odd half hour,” she said.
At a recent gaming convention, one player said a friend became so obsessed with the game that his wife gave him an ultimatum: quit Warcraft or the marriage is over. He started divorce proceedings the next day.
The game makers, Blizzard Entertainment, do not reveal the average time players spend on the game, but academic research estimates it as much as 25 hours a week. One unpublished study says the figure could be closer to 40 hours.
Spotting this trend, Relate, the relationship-counselling organisation, has introduced a training module for its counsellors on problems caused by online gaming-obsessions. An internet support group called “WOW_widow” has also sprung up with the motto: “Stop leveling and start living!”
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Posted by JImmy at 06:15:38 | Permalink | No Comments »

World of Warcraft: night elves gather as WoW comes to London

By day, Scott Hamshere, 24, is a la-bourer from Bromley. By night, he transforms himself into a night elf warrior, journeying the lands of Azeroth, battling demons and completing quests in the World of Warcraft (Buy wow gold ).
He should have been the first person in
Britain to get a copy of the latest instalment of Warcraft, the world’s most popular online computer game. He had queued for over 40 hours outside HMV in Oxford Street for the honour. But as the barriers were lifted at midnight on Wednesday it was all too much, and the night elf warrior collapsed from exhaustion.
“I think the tiredness and hunger, anticipation and adrenalin all got the better of me,” he said yesterday. “Braving the cold for that many hours has an effect on your body. It was a bit of a silly thing to do.”
Scott’s level of dedication for the game was easily understood by the thousand or so people who had joined the queue behind him. They are among the 11 million people who play the online game, paying a monthly subscription of about £9.
To the passer-by, this crowd of eager gamers in Oxford Street may have looked human. In their own minds, however, they were a mob of mythical heroes, among them dwarfs, blood elfs and orcs.
For these gamers, the doors to the record store had become the gates to Northrend, the new continent that Warcraft players will be able to explore in the expanded game. The fans were an invading army and after they had counted down the final seconds before the tills opened, they let out an almighty roar.
As the excitement peaked at the front of the line, Chris Hughes, 40, an IT worker, joined the back of the queue, where the mood was more sombre.
“I think we underestimated how many people would be here,” he said. “We can always go to Tesco tomorrow and get a copy if they run out.”
The latest expansion of the game, Wrath of the Lich King, is one of the most eagerly anticipated computer game releases in a month full of new blockbuster games. Last weekend Gears of War 2, on the Microsoft Xbox 360 console, sold over two million copies in the days after its release. For the launch of Lich King, 15,000 stores around the world were opening at midnight to satisfy demand.
Players of Warcraft spend hours going on quests and doing battle with one another, building up their character – “levelling up” in the game’s jargon – to gain the powers and abilities of a small god.
Far from the stereotypical image of the sad teenager playing the game alone, however, the vast majority of the crowd in Central London had turned up with the friends or family with whom they compete.
Emma Hintze, 21, had travelled with her boyfriend from Canterbury to join the queue. “Playing Warcraft is like watching a really great film,” she said. “But you’re immersed in it, and changing it constantly.”
She admitted that she had no hope of getting back home in the early hours to play the game, and would have to wait until the trains started running again in the morning.
“I knew I wouldn’t get to play tonight, but I just wanted to be here with other people who were also into it. It’s a social game, and this is a social experience.”
The game’s success is thanks to a dedicated audience who can’t get enough of the ever-evolving virtual world that Blizzard, the game-makers, have created. “The content we have with Lich King is the best we’ve ever created,” said Paul Sams, a Blizzard executive.
Mr Sams was treated more like a celebrity than a board member of a multimillion-dollar company, with fans lining up for hours to get his signature. “Events like these are humbling,” he said. “We’re just as excited about playing the game as them.”
As for Mr Hamshere, Blizzard gave him a collector’s edition free after hearing of his collapse. He said he would put off playing it for a day because he needed time to recover.
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Posted by JImmy at 06:14:30 | Permalink | No Comments »

World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King Released Today, Prepares to Further Ruin Lives

If there was ever a crack of the internet (besides porn) it would be World of Warcraft. （ Buy wow gold ） Untold numbers of players have lost countless wives, girlfriends and jobs in pursuit of, well, who knows really?
And today, which we will call Black Thursday, the expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King has been released, opening the game up for even more hours of mining and questing and what not. I’m not exactly sure what a Lich King is, but it sounds like some sort of fungus.
But start researching the Death Knight leveling spec and in preparation for the Nexus War. The Utgarde Keep has new importance and you’ll need a Northrend Map to help navigating new areas. I’ve no idea what any of that means, but the line around the Gamestop by my house last night says that a lot of other people do.
So yeah, enjoy it, but remember to go outside every couple of hours.
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Posted by JImmy at 06:13:34 | Permalink | No Comments »