Guitar Hero: Metallica confirmed

Well that didn’t take long to be confirmed.  As we reported on the 12th, there were rumours of a Metallica themed Guitar Hero doing the rounds, but now today Metallica have spilled the beans via their official web site Metallica.com and via their fan newsletter that the rumours are indeed true.

The full announcement from Metallica is as follows:

Yes, we know, it’s the worst kept secret in rock-n-roll but we’re here now to finally confirm that there will indeed be an all-Metallica Guitar Hero game released in the first half (!?) of 2009. Guitar Hero Metallica allows you to play as us in either single instrument or band career game modes in your choice of some famous settings (Tushino Airfield anyone?) or new venues with in the round staging. Included are 28 Metallica songs along with a few from some of our buddies like as Alice in Chains, the Foo Fighters, Slayer, Machine Head and Queen. There is also an all new Expert+ difficulty setting featuring two bass drum kick pedals (!!!) along with all the gameplay modes from Guitar Hero World Tour.

Over the next few months, we’re going to be updating you with track listings, more features, of course how and when you can get the game, and some cool previews of the game right here on the site. As you’ve heard us say before, keep checking back for more details!

There is also a brief blurb over at the official Guitar Hero site about the upcoming Metallica-ised (yep, I’m making up words) version of Guitar Hero which you can see here:  http://hub.guitarhero.com/#/AllGames/metallica

Resident Evil 5 Demo Confirmed

3FL ‘Fill Em Up’ Challenge

Are we doing it wrong?

Do think you’d make a great server admin? Reckon you know what it takes to keep a server fun and fresh? Then do it!

Here’s the deal – You pick any current 3FL server that’s not getting the love it needs and fill it up. If you can make that server hit it’s maximum capacity 3 times in 7 days, we’ll make you an admin for that game on the 3FL network. Pretty simple hey? Jump in the forums and let us know what server you want to take the challenge on and then: it’s on.

To enter the challenge, jump in the forums and post in the 3FL ‘Fill em up’ challenge thread indicating what server you want to take the challenge on.  Also if you don’t think any of the servers for that particular game are setup quite the way you’d like them, let us know your preferred options and we’ll reconfigure it before you start.

Then all you’ll need to do is get people to play on that particular server.  Bring your mates, your clan, your family, whoever.  Fill the server up 3 times in a week and you’ll be awarded a probationary admin role here at 3FL.  Then all you need to do is adhere to the 3FL Admin Code of Conduct to become a permanent fixture around here – as long as you keep those servers filling up, otherwise what will you admin?

Oh and sorry, but you can’t choose a server that has been full in the last fortnight.

Why no Wii Games of the Year for 2008?

WiiLand Writes:

The poor performance of the Wii at awards season is perplexing. In November the console sold an estimated 2 million hardware units in North America alone, setting all sorts of records and further cementing the dominance of Nintendo as the market share leader in this current hardware generation. How is it that the console with the most units sold by a landslide doesn’t even have a single release in the running for the coveted “Game of the Year” category?

The simple answer is that Nintendo dropped the ball, big time. At least from the perspective of the so-called “core” gamer, Nintendo’s first party offerings this past year have been disappointing. The company drew wide criticism for its desultory showing at E3 this year, where the most interesting things they had to show were a new version of Wii Sports and the underwhelming Wii Music. Where were the Zeldas, Marios, Yoshis and Kirbys that the Japanese publisher is known for? Not even on the horizon for 2009. It seems that Nintendo is so busy printing money with their incredible new console, they forgot to make any actual games for it.

GOD of WAR III + 1080p Screens

 Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War 3 is a single-player game that allows players to assume the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he scales the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and descends into the dark depths of Hell once more to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him.

God of War III news has been held close to the chest by Sony. The recent unveiling of a trailer during the SPIKE TV Video Game Awards show has led to the game being listed on the Official PlayStation site.

GOWIII has traditionally been a single player game but has been rumored to have multiplayer elements included in its gameplay, a first for the God of War series. The Official PlayStation game listing however puts a stop to the speculation.  Why ruin a good thing right?

Tawkn.com has posted eleven 1080p screens from the God of War 3 trailer, and it looks even better than when in motion, since the trailer went so quickly. Now you can sit back and really get a good look.

Now all I need is a 1080p TV!

Guitar Hero – Hendrix?

Guitar Hero is a series of Music Video Games published by RedOctane, in partnership with Activision. The series is notable for its use of a plastic guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate the playing of music…

Need i go on?  NOPE!

Metallica is much anticipated to come out in 2009 with achievements like the below by Aerosmith, Guitar Hero – Metallica will be a hot item indeed.

"The band Aerosmith has made more money from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith than from sales of any single album."

And with talks like this from Slash…

Referring to the evolution of the Guitar Hero brand since he was featured in Guitar Hero III, Slash said the following:

Now, this statement should be taken with more than a grain of salt. Remember that this is a musician we’re talking about — not an Activision representative

Lets wait and see!? 

The Renaissance of games.

Renaissance is the word that is often used to describe the period in history between the 14th and the 17th century, a period in time where many changes were brought into the world, mainly by a resurgence of classical learning, which is looking back at what had been done before, and analysing what has worked, and more importantly, why. The other major advancements in the renaissance period were those in works of art. Painters and sculptors both worked with great diligence at their craft, to try and bring them to life in the minds eye, developing new methods and ideals that included the use of shading, colour and perspective in more realistic ways, to make the paintings live.

The games industry has now been around for a long enough time to apply a classical learning method to the medium, there is enough source material to look back upon and learn from, so that the games of the future can show a dramatic improvement upon the games of the present. This process has been happening already for a few years, it is very possible to see the positive ideas and ideals that get pioneered in one particular game, copied and adapted for use in newer games. The game industry is only just now beginning to innovate with newer and more experimental styles of art, in visual, auditory and even in gameplay.

Within the current large development studios, there is an element of unwillingness to push the envelope of design within their games. The cost of a feature game at the moment is now approaching, and in some cases exceeding, the cost of feature films, so more and more development houses are unwilling to extend the medium out to it’s fullest potential and break through with an art house hit, and instead churn out the "summer blockbusters" of the games world. These so called "AAA" titles are most definitely not bad games, they are just polishing what has come before, and creating a higher class of interactive entertainment experience for most consumers, instead of trying new ideas and concepts. There are exceptions to every rule, and there are studios at the moment that are creating genuine works of interactive art, but for the most case, these art pieces are being created by small independent studios.

In recent times the independent studio has begun to flourish, with more and more quality titles getting more and more attention, in both the underground and mainstream markets. Part of this emergence is the ease of accessibility for developers on the current generation of consoles, as all three of them have the ability to connect to the internet, and download and access content in a digital form. For game developers of the previous generations, the largest hurdle was getting their creations into the hands of people who were not actively looking for it. The main cost being in the duplication of media and distribution of that media to retail stores. Only a handful of independent games were ever published for the previous generation, and not many of them have seen the success that is needed to continue development on that path. In contrast, thanks to the digital distribution that is available to the current generation of consoles, more and more independent studios are starting to see success, and not only with traditional titles, but with titles that push the boundaries of games as art.

There is a common misconception about games-as-art and art-in-games, these are two very different, but not mutually exclusive terms. A game can have amazing works of art in it, and still not be considered a piece of art by many critics. While high quality graphics and sound can be considered works of art in their own right, merely including them in a game is not enough to produce something that will be considered a work of art. For most people art in games is only categorised as the use of high quality images and sound, those that are trying to push the medium to become something more, believe that these are not necessary components to produce a work of art. As an example of this is the game Passage by Jason Rohrer ( http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/ ) this game is a small five minute experience, and within it’s 8 bit presentation it explores the themes of growth, love, struggle, ageing, discovery, memory loss, death and how the future appears. Passage is a quintessential independent art game, pushing the interactive side of games to present an experience that promotes thought and contemplation.

All that being said, there is a developing trend in the industry to try and bring more meaningful and insightful concepts to the fore in every aspect. This trend is shown in recent games such as the recent franchise reboot of "Prince of Persia". This recent release is trying a new style, not only in its visual aspect, but also in some of its game play features. However progressive the visual style used in this game is, many critics still would not consider it an art piece, but rather a case of art-in-games. A good example of a high profile game that is considered art by many critics is the Playstation 2 game, "Shadow of the Colossus". This game not only tries a distinctive art style, but the story and the actions that the player take during the course of the game evoke real emotion and feeling in the player, something that is often strived for by game development teams.

I will be continuing this discussion in 3 more articles, discussing in depth some examples of visual art, auditory art and game play art. Please stay tuned and feel free to comment, and discuss this in the forums.

Gears 3 for 2010? Plus, No Gears 2 for PC!!!

In other Gears news, It seems that Gears 2 will not be coming to PC. According to this IGN Interview with Epics Cliff Bleszinski (a.k.a Cliffy B), Lead developer of the Gears sequal, it was revealed by Cliff that Gears 2 will not be coming to the popular gaming media. Here is what Cliff had to say when asked the question by the guys at IGN:

Gears of War is a great franchise first and foremost for Xbox 360, and therefore we’re focusing on that platform for Gears of War 2. We’ve decided we’re not going to do a PC version this time around.

Personally, this is a big disappiontment to me, as a big fan of PC gaming.  Having personally played, and finished (3 times), Gears 2, I was really looking forward to the idea of being able to play one of my favourite Xbox 360 titles using a mouse and keyboard, but it seems that won’t be happening.  Sorry PC gamers, looks like we got the short straw on this one.

Wii – Who You Gonna Call? – GHOSTBUSTERS!

Most will remember the enthralling game play of the Comm64 and its further adaptations.  Now it’s beginning time to revisit your old memories and pick up your packs and get slimed!

On December 11, 2008, Atari showed gameplay for the Nintendo Wii.  This is anticipated for June 2009 and will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first film’s theatrical release.

Plot outline gives:

The events of the game occur during Thanksgiving 1991, two years after the events in Ghostbusters II. Players portray a new recruit hired to test Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz’s new equipment, during a recent rise of paranormal activity. This paranormal activity begins to occur as the city is about to unveil a Gozer exhibit. The team is thus called to investigate. Along the way, players battle several entities from the films, such as the Library Ghost, Vigo, Slimer, Gozer, and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. One level, in the console versions, involves escorting the Ecto-1 through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while another takes the player directly into the Ghost World.

As long as Marshmallow Man’s there I’m IN!

Dawn of War 2: Release set for March 09

As featured in this Eurogamer article, Warhammer 40: Dawn of War 2 is set to release in March of next year.

Relic has taken up residency to let journalists once again joyously romp around the code of Dawn of War II; each of them racing ahead in the single-player in an attempt to get to the part where the Tyranids enter the fray.

In this aspect, reader, I failed. But I at least came back from this wonderful corner of a Nottingham trading estate with the full knowledge that Dawn of War II is going to emerge in March of next year as a deep and important notch on the bedpost of strategy gaming.

The formentioned article also gives readers a very informative rundown of features that may/will be included, and is definitely a good read.

For more information on Dawn of War 2, including trailers and screenshots, goto www.dawnofwar2.com