The Stupid Gamer

Below you’ll find a slideshow of some of the pics I took at E3. I might be adding more as time goes on, so if you care, check back and watch the slide show again to see anything new. After that, I have links to some of my hands-on articles that I wrote for Kombo.com. I’m still going to do that E3 wrapup podcast and will also reveal my top picks for the show soon. I imagine your hype for said things must be through the roof. You can view a full screen version of the photo slideshow by hitting that little button with the four arrows on the bottom of the image window.

Links to hands-on articles (I will be adding to this as more stories go live):

E3 2009: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer
E3 2009: Mafia II Impressions
E3 2009: A Boy and His Blob
E3 2009: New Super Mario Bros.
E3 2009: The Beatles: Rock Band
E3 2009: Sin and Punishment 2
E3 2009: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
E3 2009: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
E3 2009: Real Heroes: Firefighter

Activision is intent on putting out 8-10 Guitar Hero games per year, so it’s kind of hard to keep up with things like track announcements for their upcoming games. Recently, the first tracks from Guitar Hero 5 were made known to the public. They are:

Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
Santana – No One To Depend On
Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Runnin’ Down a Dream
Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
The White Stripes – Blue Orchid
The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil
Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
Stevie Wonder – Superstition

So some of those are pretty awesome, and I’ve been waiting a long time to see Tom Petty make his way to these games, but I think I’m burnt out on the Guitar Hero franchise. I’ve noticed that at parties Rock Band is the only one that gets pulled out anymore due to the much better and larger DLC support. Disc swapping is annoying. Unless a real innovation is unveiled in Guitar Hero 5, I’ll stick with my Rock Band bias.

2008 ended with a huge bang as November and December saw a parade of high quality releases. While this was good for gamers with enough time and cash (or generous gift-giving family and friends), it also meant that many very good games were lost in the shuffle or looked over in favor of the next big title. Most of these games listed will be worth buying after you get through your backlogs, as they can be found used or at a discounted price. I guess you could say this a “best of the rest” of sorts from me, but these are just a handful of games that I hope don’t get passed over by gamers going into the new year.

Burnout Paradise - Criterion created an arcade racer fan’s dream with Burnout Paradise and they’ve continued to support it extremely well through downloadable content. With more downloads (awesome ones at that!) on their way in 2009, Burnout Paradise is a very good deal for both 360 and PS3 owners. The game is perfect for online multiplayer addicts as there is a very active community, but the single player offering is also large enough to occupy you for countless hours.

Battlefield: Bad Company - EA kind of slid this one in under the radar, but the game was generally received well enough by critics. The game at first glance looks like a typical wartime FPS game, but it actually offers a lot of gameplay variety, an entertaining story, and a very humorous set of well-acted dialog. This will be an excellent pickup for getting through the next release drought on a budget.

Mega Man 9 - Available as a downloadable game on all three consoles, this game is an excellent modern day retro experience. The game is brutally difficult, but ultimately very rewarding. Just don’t send me the bill for your busted controllers, ok?

Bionic Commando Rearmed - Another downloadable game that can’t be skipped, especially if you were a fan of the NES original. Games like these are a prime example of why Capcom survived the transformation from arcade giant to console era bigwigs. Midway, take notes.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - An interesting mix of puzzle and adventure gaming combined with a very charming art style make Professor Layton one of the more charming and enjoyable games released all year long.

Chrono Trigger DS - Quite possibly the best JRPG ever made, Chrono Trigger DS adds a few new things to the classic experience. If you haven’t played the SNES version, this one is a no brainer and you need to pick this up ASAP.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts - A charming and fun adventure/platformer from Rare that is much better than it’s given credit for. The game has hilarious dialog, very tight gameplay, and an undeniable addictive quality to it. I realize that many people were hoping for a more traditional Banjo-Kazooie experience, but if you ask me, this is every bit as satisfying.

Geometry Wars 2 - Not much to say here except for that this game is amazing. This is still my favorite Xbox Live Arcade game.

World of Goo – This is probably the most criminally overlooked game on the entire list. Available as a Wii Ware title, World of Goo will appeal to anybody that’s willing to sit down with it for a few moments.

Tecmo Bowl DS - Classic Tecmo Bowl gameplay with slightly updated graphics and Wi-Fi support. Awesome.

There are plenty more games that are worthy of being mentioned here, but let’s be honest, you can’t possibly have time to get to all of them, right? I’m sure I missed an obvious pick or two, so sorry if I spaced a pick you’d like to have seen me include on the list. Feel free to include your own in the comments section, however.

Coming soon, I’ll have my picks of games to keep an eye on for 2009.

Yeah, for real. Watchmen, one of the most celebrated and praised comic book series of all time is coming to gaming. The game will be delivered in episodic format and is a prequel to the Watchmen graphic novel. EGM has the exclusive story in their upcoming December issue which will include screenshots and plenty of details.

Want more Rorschach? Play the upcoming game.

I’m not sure how I feel about this, to be honest. I loved Watchmen, but I’m not sure that a game is the best method for delivering additional storylines. One thing is for sure, the Watchmen creator and author Alan Moore is not going to be too happy about this one…

Here we go, let’s start off with hardware and then move to the software top ten.

Hardware

1. Nintendo Wii – 687,000
2. Nintendo DS – 536,800
3. Xbox 360 – 347,200
4. Sony PSP – 238,100
5. Sony PlayStation 3 – 232,400
6. Sony PlayStation 2 – 173,500

Software

1. 360 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – 610,000
2. Wii – Wii Fit w/ Balance Board – 518,000
3. 360 – Rock Band 2 – 363,000
4. Wii – Mario Kart Wii – 353,000
5. PS3 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – 325,000
6. 360 – Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – 297,000
7. Wii – Wii Play w/ Remote – 243,000
8. 360 – Madden 2009 – 224,000
9. Wii – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – 223,000
10. PS2 – Madden 2009 – 158,000

360 4/10 – Wii 4/10 – PS3 1/10 PS2 1/10

So on the hardware side the Xbox 360 was able to reclaim its lead over the PS3, thanks to a price drop, but Nintendo still holds the top two spots with the Wii and DS. On the software side of things, Nintendo and Microsoft are basically just mopping up the charts, but only one of the Wii titles on the list is from a 3rd party. The coming months will be very interesting as all the big guns will be rolling out from both the 3rd parties and each company’s 1st and 2nd party developers. Fanboys, commence fighting…NOW!

Here you go, in alphabetical order, no less.

• 311 – “Beautiful Disaster”
• 30 Seconds To Mars – “The Kill”
• Airbourne – “Too Much Too Young”
• The Allman Brothers Band – “Ramblin’ Man”
• Anouk – “Good God”
• The Answer – “Never Too Late”
• At The Drive-In – “One Armed Scissor”
• Beastie Boys – “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
• Beatsteaks – “Hail to the Freaks”
• Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell”
• Black Label Society – “Stillborn”
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Weapon of Choice”
• blink-182 – “Dammit”
• Blondie – “One Way or Another”
• Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – “Hollywood Nights”
• Bon Jovi – “Livin’ On A Prayer”
• Bullet For My Valentine – “Scream Aim Fire”
• Coldplay – “Shiver”
• Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Up Around The Bend”
• The Cult – “Love Removal Machine”
• Dinosaur Jr. – “Feel The Pain”
• The Doors – “Love Me Two Times”
• Dream Theater – “Pull Me Under”
• The Eagles – “Hotel California”
• The Enemy – “Aggro”
• Filter – “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
• Fleetwood Mac – “Go Your Own Way”
• Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
• The Guess Who – “American Woman”
• Hush Puppies – “You’re Gonna Say Yeah!”
• Interpol – “Obstacle 1″
• Jane’s Addiction – “Mountain Song”
• Jimi Hendrix – “Purple Haze (Live)”
• Jimi Hendrix – “The Wind Cries Mary”
• Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
• Joe Satriani – “Satch Boogie”
• Kent – “Vinternoll2″
• Korn – “Freak On A Leash”
• Lacuna Coil – “Our Truth”
• Lenny Kravitz – “Are You Gonna Go My Way”
• Linkin Park – “What I’ve Done”
• The Living End – “Prisoner of Society”
• Los Lobos – “La Bamba”
• Lost Prophets – “Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Sweet Home Alabama (Live)”
• Mars Volta – “L’Via L’Viaquez”
• MC5’s Wayne Kramer – “Kick Out The Jams”
• Metallica – “Trapped Under Ice”
• Michael Jackson – “Beat It”
• Modest Mouse – “Float On”
• Motorhead – “Overkill”
• Muse – “Assassin”
• Negramaro – “Nuvole e Lenzuola”
• Nirvana – “About a Girl (Unplugged)”
• No Doubt – “Spiderwebs”
• NOFX – “Soul Doubt”
• Oasis – “Some Might Say”
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train”
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Mr. Crowley”
• Paramore – “Misery Business”
• Pat Benatar – “Heartbreaker”
• R.E.M. – “The One I Love”
• Radio Futura – “Escuela De Calor”
• Rise Against – “Re-Education Through Labor”
• Sex Pistols – “Pretty Vacant”
• Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
• Smashing Pumpkins – “Today”
• Steely Dan – “Do It Again”
• Steve Miller Band – “The Joker”
• Sting – “Demolition Man (Live)”
• The Stone Roses – “Love Spreads”
• Stuck In The Sound – “Toy Boy”
• Sublime – “Santeria”
• Survivor – “Eye of the Tiger”
• System of a Down – “B.Y.O.B.”
• Ted Nugent – “Stranglehold”
• Ted Nugent’s Original Guitar Duel Recording
• Tokio Hotel – “Monsoon”
• Tool – “Parabola”
• Tool – “Schism”
• Tool – “Vicarious”
• Trust – “Antisocial”
• Van Halen – “Hot For Teacher”
• Willie Nelson – “On The Road Again”
• Wings – “Band on the Run”
• Zakk Wylde’s Original Guitar Duel Recording

Some good stuff on there…also some gut-wrenchingly bad songs. Ah well…it should be fun.

I realized earlier this week that I play an insane amount of DS compared to how much I ever played my GBA or Game Boy. I’m sure many of you out there are the same way, but to illustrate it I decided to pull out all of my current gen cases (a few are missing from the pic below, however) and stack them up side by side for a quick comparison shot. Is this the nerdiest thing I’ve ever done? Well, if you don’t count the time that I abused my E3 press pass to get Shigeru Miyamoto’s autograph, then yes, it probably is. I was pretty shocked to see how many DS games I’ve accumulated, and I realized that maybe I’m not quite ready for that next Nintendo handheld. Anyway, take a look at the pic below and feel free to send your own in (jar155 [at] gmail dot com) and I’ll post them here. You can also drop a link to any pics you might have in the comments section.

Off the top of my head, I know that 2 PS3 games, 2 PSP games, 3 Wii games, 2 360 games, and at least 6 DS games are missing from my pic. And yes, I own MGS 4, so for those of you that take a magnifying glass to my stack, I’m currently lending it out to a friend.

Ok, I’ll admit it. I have many EA Sports games sitting on my game shelves. From current and past years I have iterations of NCAA Football, Madden, Tiger Woods, and more. However, I really feel like EA goes out of their way to give me a solid nut punch whenever they can. NCAA 09 and Madden 09 both have their share of inexcusable issues, and FIFA 08 was pretty much broken in comparison to 07, but I was having very high hopes for FIFA 09 based on gameplay videos and early previews of the game. Now EA has announced Adidas Live Season for FIFA 09 that will “dynamically update player form in-game to mirror real world performance.” Sounds great, right? Well, it is, except for that EA is making you pay a premium for the service. In a recent press release, EA Sports said the following (emphasis is my own):

EA UNVEILS NEW ADIDAS LIVE SEASON FOR FIFA 09 THAT WILL DYNAMICALLY UPDATE PLAYER FORM IN-GAME TO MIRROR REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE

EA Secures Exclusive Licensing Agreement with Spanish La Liga BBVA; FIFA 09 Demo Available World Wide on Sept. 11

GUILDFORD, UK. – August 20, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a new premium service for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 09 called adidas Live Season that will redefine the football videogame experience by dynamically updating player form in-game on a weekly basis so that player attributes mirror real-world performances. FIFA 09 will now feel and play differently throughout the entire 2008-2009 season matching the weekly rhythm of football. The new service will be available for Barclay’s Premier League, La Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and Mexican Primera Division on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PC.

Each year EA puts out another edition of each of their sports games with only the most minor changes (many times taking a step back in the process), and yet they still charge the full $60. Games like Madden are usually receiving a roster update and a new gimmick, with this year it being the ridiculously stupid Madden IQ. Now when they actually come up with something worthwhile, they decide to rake their fans over the coals. Haven’t we given you enough, EA? To those of us that are stupid enough to buy your marginally updated crap from year to year, don’t you think we deserve a returned favor or some acknowledgment of appreciation? Nah, I guess you’d rather squeeze each and every one of us for every penny we’ve got.

You already sold the naming of the feature to Adidas, shouldn’t that pretty much cover any costs incurred to run the service? Do you really need to turn us upside down and shake us? Thanks, EA, you’re awesome!

A forum user at GameFAQs that was responsible for leaking tracks for Guitar Hero III has released what he is saying is a setlist for Guitar Hero World Tour. Sorry for the sloppy copy and paste job, but here are the tracks:

Eagle Rock High School Tour:
“Dope Nose” by Weezer
“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
Encore: “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins

Big City Kids Tour:
“Roland” by Interpol
“Santeria” By Sublime
Encore: “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers

Feelin’ Nostalgic Tour:
“Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon
“Hold the Line” by Toto
Encore: “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol

Vixens Tour:
“Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar
“All Around Me” by Flyleaf
Encore:”Misery Business” by Paramore

Undertow Tour:
“Stinkfist” by Tool
“Lateralus” by Tool
“Schism” by Tool

Synchronicity Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Sting” (Guitar Career Only)
Encore: “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

Fight the System Tour:
“The Kids Aren’t Alright” by The Offspring
The Good Left Undone” by Rise Agaisnt
Encore: “Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park

QQ Tour:
“Face Down” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
“The Kill” by 30 Seconds to Mars
Encore: “Thank You for the Venom” by My Chemical Romance

Rockin the Carnival Tour:
“Dammit” by Blink 182
“When You Heat Stops Beating” by +44

Neva’ Forget Tour:
“Jumpin Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult
Encore: “Light My Fire” by The Doors

We Want the Funk Tour:
“Take it Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Renegades of Funk” by Rage Agaisnt the Machines
Encore: “No Sleep till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys Feat. Kerry King

Rockin’ the Joint Tour:
“Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz
“I Don’t wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith

On Top of the World Tour:
“Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains
“Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe
Encore: “Spin the Black Circle” by Pearl Jam

G. Stinger Tour:
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
“Car Chase City” by Tenacious D
Encore: “Everlong” by Foo Fighters

Lands End Tour:
“Animal” by Def Leppard
“Runaway” by Bon Jovi
Encore: “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses

Doin’ it Different Tour:
“Song for the Dead” by Queens of the Stone Age
“Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots
Encore: “Assassin” by Muse

Hootin’ and Hollerin’ Tour:
“The Boys Are Back in Town” By Thin Lizzy
“Life in the Fastlane” by The Eagles
Encore:”Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

All Pissed Off Tour:
“Here to Stay” by KoRn
“Dragula” by Rob Zombie
Encore: “Bat Country” by Avenged Sevenfold

Here Me Roar Tour:
“10,000 Fists” by Disturbed
“Duality” by Slipknot
Encore: “Toxicity” by System of a Down

S.D.M.F. Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Zakk Wylde” (Guitar Career Only)
*Encore: “Demise of Sanity” by Black Label Society

Fathers of Metal Tour:
“Don’t Talk to Strangers” by Dio
“Heaven and Hell” by Black Sabbath
Encore: “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne

Making Progress Tour:
“The Spirit of Radio” by Rush
“Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
Encore: “Pull Me Under” by Dream Theatre

Eruption Tour:
“Beat it” by Micheal Jackson Feat. Eddie Van Halen
“Hot for Teacher” by Van Halen

Tooth Fang & Claw Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Ted Nugent” (Guitar Career Only)
Encore: “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent

Decades of Metal Tour
“Warriors of Time” by Black Tide
“Leather Rebel” by Judas Priest
Encore: “Hallowed be Thy Name” by Iron Maiden

Livin’ in a Nightmare Tour:
“Angel of Death” by Slayer
“Tornado of Souls” by Megadeth
Encore: “Master of Puppets” by Metallica

Legends of Rock Tour:
“Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry
“The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix
Encore: “Purple Haze (Live)” by Jimi Hendrix

Bonus Tour:
“45″ by Shinedown
“96 Quite Bitter Beings” by CKY
“Bombshell” by Powerman 5000
“Clavado en un Bar” by Maná
“Enjoy the Silence” by Lacuna Coil
“Feuer Frei” by Rammstein
“Fury of the Storm” by Dragonforce
“Never Too Late” by The Answer
“Nottingham Lace” by Buckethead
“One Armed Scissor” by At The Drive-In
“Satch Boogie” by Joe Satriani
“Schrei” by Tokio Hotel
“Soul Doubt” by NOFX

“We’re An American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad
“Guitar Battle Vs. Sting” by Sting
“Guitar Battle Vs. Ted Nugent” By Ted Nugent
“Guitar Battle Vs. Zakk Wylde” by Zakk Wylde

Sample Songs:
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Chad Smith
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Dave Grohl
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Travis Barker
“Cliffs of Dover” created by Neversoft
“Misirlou” created by Neversoft
“Walk This Way” created by Neversoft
“YYZ” created by Neversoft

If this is true, there is lots of good stuff on there. I hate seeing the guitar battles being included in there; those were easily the worst part about GHIII. Anyway, both this and Rock Band 2 have stellar lineups, so music rhythm fans should be pleased.

Ubisoft has never been shy about milking their franchises. I mean, c’mon, how many Tom Clancy games can they put out per year? Anyway, one of the best new franchises of the past generation was Beyond Good and Evil. The game was amazing, and fans of the game have been clamoring for a sequel for quite some time. Sadly, the original didn’t sell well, and years passed by with fans having a pretty negative outlook on their chances. Well, just a couple of days ago (sorry I’m late, folks), Ubisoft showed the teaser trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2. Yes, it’s really coming. Below is the teaser trailer that should get you all giddy.

For those of you that missed out on the original, tracking down a copy isn’t always so easy. The GameCube version is the best out there, but if you have to “settle” for the PS2, I still think you’ll be happy. I do kind of wish that the visual look from the original had carried over to the sequel, but I’m so happy right now that I’ll just take it any way it comes.