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Posts with tag Rhythm

Headache de Amigo: busy screenshots, possible maracas

Posted May 16th 2008 10:30PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Screens


We aren't sure if we've got our Dreamcast Goggles on or if we're remembering accurately, but while Samba de Amigo was always colorful and festive, we don't remember it being so headache-inducingly busy. Do not look directly into the new screenshots in our gallery-- we suggest a pinhole projector. Don't get us wrong: it's still Samba, and it's still yay, but we honestly didn't think that the Wii could produce so much brightly-colored clutter on one screen.

Speaking of brightly-colored clutter, a Sega rep told Kotaku that they are looking into maraca attachments for the Wiimote, to enable accurate rattling. They've gone so far as to contact potential manufacturers. We hope it works out; what's Samba without loud controllers? A cover for the Nunchuk seems like it would be pretty awkward, however.

Gallery: Samba de Amigo

The Haruhi dance game in more detail

Posted May 16th 2008 1:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports, Screens


Thanks to Famitsu, we now know a little more about how the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya dancing game works. It'll feature the Hare Hare Yukai dance, of course, but it will also feature new dances! Dancing through the main game will unlock options for the "free mode," including costumes, locations, and songs. In free mode, you can play the song of your choice. This is also where the three-player multiplayer is available. This mode is also being touted as enabling exercise, though we don't know if that means some kind of exercise/health-related (calorie count, etc.) will be included. It is also currently unknown whether the two remaining SOS Brigade members will be playable, but they're male and therefore a low priority.

The SOS Brigade icon in the corner of the screen reads "Action!" to alert players to the start of a stage. The life bar starts at full and decrements along with missed movements. Moves are to be performed while move icons are inside a generous red bar, which makes the game look fairly easy.

Konami reveals Rock Revolution

Posted May 15th 2008 7:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


If Guitar Hero is the result of crossing Konami's original GuitarFreaks game with Frequency, Konami's newly-announced Rock Revolution is a hybrid of GuitarFreaks and Guitar Hero/Rock Band -- which looks as derivative as it would sound.

Rather than localizing Guitar Freaks, Konami and developer Zoe Mode have created a new game that combines the graphical look of Rock Band with the vertical scrolling interface of the Bemani series. The new game features drum and guitar gameplay, but the Wii version is not slated to use any peripherals. The screen above is clearly not from the Wii version, but we wouldn't expect it to look too different (just lower-res). Rock Revolution is expected to release in October.

Widget of the Bands

Posted May 15th 2008 8:45AM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Fan stuff

We might not be getting Wii game demos any time soon, but if you want to sample the rhythm game Battle of the Bands, you can try out a widget that simulates THQ's recently released Wii software. Of course, we'd have to hope that the Wii game controls much, much better than this keyboard-utilizing demo, but it still gives you a general idea of Battle's basics.

Essentially, you have to hit the notes in rhythm with the 1, 2, and 3 buttons (or use the mouse), depending on where the note lies on the strip. Each time you hit a certain amount of notes correctly, you'll launch a weapon at the opposing player. You can change weapons as well, but the more powerful the attack, the more notes you'll have to hit to activate it.

All in all, it's nothing more than a way to kill a few minutes on the internet, but it's still the closest you can come to experiencing Battle of the Bands without trying the real thing. This widget is also a good way to give you an idea of the changing styles of music in the game, so it's really worth a look if you're interested in the title -- just don't expect to have an easy time with the keyboard controls.

Gallery: Battle of the Bands


[Via GamerTell]

Game Informer reveals Guitar Hero IV drum kit [update]

Posted May 14th 2008 11:00AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Peripherals

Well now, it looks like the June 2008 issue of Game Informer has a little surprise up its sleeve. You got it, this is none other than the drum kit that will be utilized in Guitar Hero IV. Looks kind of weird, if you ask us. But, hey, maybe the thing looks goofy, yet has a great feel to it? We'll have to wait and see.

As you can tell, it's different from the Rock Band drum kit in several ways. For one, it would appear the kit only has 3 face drums, with two weird high hat-looking things above the main drums, along with the requisite bass pedal. Will this be an easier drum kit to manage than the one bundled with Rock Band?

Update: Whoops, fixed some oversight on our part. Sorry for the mistake.

[Via Joystiq]

UK duo get world record playing Guitar Hero III in UK

Posted May 12th 2008 12:30PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News


And here we thought getting a handful of people to watch you play Guitar Hero III was a pretty big feat. Turns out, in Earls Court, London, over 9,000 people turned out to watch two teenagers tear it up in the game. The two young lads introduced band 30 Seconds to Mars by laying down some hot licks on their fake guitars in Guitar Hero III.

This makes them Guiness Record holders now, something that we're quite jealous of, to be honest. Why? Well, because we've got ten years on them and have zero world records. Basically, it feels like we have wasted our lives.

Samba de Amigo features some kind of pay-to-play online content

Posted May 6th 2008 10:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

The boxart for the Wii version of Samba de Amigo has now been revealed in tiny form on Gamestop's site. It is, as far as we know, the first game to feature the new red Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay-to-Play logo, which was first shown at GDC this year.

Either this means that you'll have to pay a subscription fee to play Samba online, or (infinitely more likely) that downloadable songs will be available over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Which, if true, makes the Wii version of Rock Band (with its new lineup of expansion discs!) just that much more insulting.

Gallery: Samba de Amigo


[Via NeoGAF]

Rock Band Track Pack no replacement for DLC, available July

Posted May 5th 2008 2:17PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: News

Rock Band for Wii isn't even screwing you over out yet, and already the downloadable content problem has been solved! All you have to do is buy an additional disc with a whopping twenty tracks for $29.99! No, you don't get to choose which ones you want and spend only a little money. You want extras? Pony up, suckers!

It's one thing -- and an acceptable thing -- to milk customers for a few bucks at a time for additional songs they really want. It's another thing altogether to offer up a full expansion for thirty dollars less than a month after the game is released. That's right: Rock Band isn't scheduled for the Wii until June 22, and this Track Pack is due July 15. And it's labeled Volume 1, naturally ... expect another round not long after that. We're anticipating September.

The only logical explanation for this travesty is that Harmonix is upset that they missed the Wii boat and are now scrambling to scrape as much quick cash as possible. The question is: will Wii owners take the rather unattractive bait? Fume your way past the break to see the full track listing for Rock Band's Track Pack Volume 1.

Continue reading Rock Band Track Pack no replacement for DLC, available July

Boogie sequel confirmed?

Posted May 2nd 2008 3:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Rumors


EB Games' site has a rather interesting listing up. It's for Boogie Superstar, which we can only assume is a sequel for EA's Boogie game (you think, Wii Fanboy?). Uh, did Boogie do well enough to justify a sequel? Also, will this supposed new sequel utilize the Balance Board, as rumored?

Despite some lukewarm reviews and an overall failure at retail, it would seem that EA is not giving up on their rhythm-based franchise. Let's just hope that this time around, it will require more than a babbling baby's effort to actually succeed.

[Via Go Nintendo]

An even Hottester Party this fall?

Posted Apr 29th 2008 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors


Konami wrote themselves into a corner with the title of their Wii Dance Dance Revolution game. If DDR Hottest Party is really the hottest party, what will the inevitable sequel be? Will it be a different superlative -- the coolest party, or the freshest party, or the most Chex-Mix-having party? Will it be the Hottest Party For Real This Time -- Last Time Was the Hottest to Date, But This Time's Even Hotter Than That?

Well, if the title of the new game found on Gamefly's site (with a release date of September 30th) is the real title, it'll just be DDR Hottest Party 2. It worked for Final Fantasy.

WRUP: Rockin' out edition

Posted Apr 25th 2008 12:45PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: What are you playing?


For us, the only title of interest in this week's releases is Battle of the Bands. We'll admit that we enjoy the rhythm-based games quite a bit, so naturally it appeals to us. Of course, what with us being bloggers and all, we probably won't get a chance to play it until Nintendo's next console is released.

That isn't the case for you all, we're sure, who have time to play games and read gaming blogs on the internet (thanks!). What will you be playing this weekend? Picking up anything new?

Gallery: Battle of the Bands

Namco Bandai pops in with more Mugen Puchi Puchi screens

Posted Apr 21st 2008 3:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports, Screens, WiiWare


Namco Bandai has unwrapped a release date for Mugen Puchi Puchi Wii, the WiiWare rhythm game based on the toy based on popping bubble wrap: June 24th. No word on a U.S. date yet, though we are crossing our fingers (with bubble wrap between them).

Not only will you have the ability to pop bubbles by pointing at them and pressing 1 or 2, you'll be able to smash them en masse with a Wiimote on its side, as if rolling over them with a rolling pin. You'll even be able to use the remote to slash through the bubbles.

The game's 40 stages help provide even more variation, from a snowman level to an ikura donburi level in which you pop salmon roe (ewwww), and even the excellently named "Namco Old Games Stage."

Harmonix was hesitant over Wii, now big fans

Posted Apr 16th 2008 5:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Interviews



Well, we finally know the answer to a question that's been floating around since before the Wii version of Rock Band was confirmed: when it came to the Wii edition, what took so long, fellas? After all, Nintendo's console not only sells lots, but it's also a hit with the social gaming crowd, who'd surely lap up Rock Band.

The answer is a familiar one, because like so many other developers and publishers before it, Harmonix failed to anticipate just how popular this Wii thing was going to be. GameDaily grilled Harmonix VP of Product Development Greg LoPiccolo on this, who manfully admitted that "when we made the initial decisions about where to place our resources, [the success of the Wii] wasn't as clear as it became in retrospect and really for us, it was simply a matter of resources." Or, to put it another way: Harmonix likes money.

LoPiccolo also confessed that Harmonix had been reluctant to hand over the development reins of the Wii version to a different company, and that the studio "wasn't comfortable handing much of the core off to others, because we wanted to make sure that it was everything we wanted it to be." Whether Wii Rock Band is everything we want it to be is still up for debate.

Gallery: Rock Band

First Rock Band Wii shots arrive, fail to cheer us up

Posted Apr 15th 2008 9:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Screens


Rock Band's taken its fair share of flak recently -- some would say it's been perfectly justifed -- but perhaps these first screens of the Wii version in action will help slow the barrage of complaints about the game.

To the surprise of nobody, they're pretty much identical to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Harmonix's multi-instrumental extravaganza (minus the super-sharp HD look, obviously), and, y'know, that means it's quite a pretty game, at least. Convinced, yet? No? You're still dwelling on that missing DLC and online play, aren't you? Can't blame you. So are we. Sigh.

Gallery: Rock Band

Samba de Amigo missing some much-needed shake

Posted Apr 15th 2008 4:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Screens



Samba de Amigo on the Dreamcast was the most relentlessly cheerful game ever, and the Wii version won't be toning down the exuberance -- just looking at this latest batch of art and screens from Sega's shake-'em-up almost brought light to the recesses of our dark, cynical hearts. But there's something gnawing at us, something that prevents us from getting all giddy over Wii Samba: the controls.

Apparently, we're not alone in this respect. A number of the recent "hands-on" articles that have appeared in the wake of the Nintendo Media Summit mention how Gearbox hasn't yet nailed this aspect of the game.

We've already discussed Joystiq's experiences (choice quote: "[...] the Remote and Nunchuk just don't feel the same as the original maracas."), and Go Nintendo felt similarly ("Unfortunately, there are still some control quirks. There are times when the Wiimote/Nunchuck will lose your positioning. This didn't happen too often, but it happened enough to make note of it.") Meanwhile, GameSpot's Ricardo Torres was perhaps the most forgiving, claiming that "the control is on its way toward being solid." Call us demanding little so-and-sos all you like, but we want solid! Not "on its way toward being solid."

The general feeling seems to be that the title is shaping up well, but that the maracas are sorely missed. If you're reading this, Sega, you know what to do.

Read: Joystiq's hands-on impressions
Read: Go Nintendo's hands-on impressions
Read: GameSpot's hands-on impressions

Gallery: Samba de Amigo


[Screenshots via press release]

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