Rock Band and Wii….Gimped?: My $00.02
Just noticed over on Shacknews this morning that Rock Band is dated for a June 22 release on the Wii.
Unfortunately the Wii version will lack both downloadable content and online play. Furthermore rumors abound that both character customization and world tour mode are missing as well. While the core gameplay will remain I have to wonder if such a gimped version of the game is really worth the effort. Given the rapidly decreasing prices, and rapidly increasing capacity, in memory cards I think that downloadable tracks should be possible on some level. It wouldn’t be as ideal as a hard drive but it could work.
I grow increasingly worried at the longevity of the Wii. While Nintendo has created a product able to bring gaming to the masses they have hobbled their system with poor support for online gaming and other content. With its simple interface and intuitive controls I could see the Wii being the centerpiece of an entertainment center but with its minimal native storage space and lack of HD support this idea seems woefully underdeveloped. I have heard far too many horror stories about the friend code system, and the lack of an online infrastrucure, in an industry that is becoming ever more dependent on cooperative and competitive online content, is going to seriously hurt in the long run.
Innovation is great. Unfortunately innovation that comes while ignoring worthwhile industry trends is dangerous at best, and suicidal at worst. Things aren’t all grim. Nintendo, and other developers, seem to have recognized the problem and tried to rectify it with online support for some games. SSB: Brawl and Guitar Heor 3 both feature online support, and the upcoming Mario Kart will feature it as well. But again, all three are sidled with Friend Code system and, as I’ve frequently heard in the case of Brawl, servers woefully inadequate to handle player demand. What online play does exist is eerily silent; in world where voip is increasingly mainstream playing games online in silence is becoming almost a foreign experience.
I’m not sure how one would go about rectifying this problem. That is assuming Nintendo sees it as a problem. Software update? Dare I say it…new hardware? (whether it be in add-on form, a venue Nintendo has experimented with in the past, or a different “flavor” of the Wii).
Virtual Console married to the player communication and coordination functions of Microsoft’s Live service would be a match made in gamer heaven but Nintendo hasn’t said a word whether it plans any modification of its online services. They have been quiet on the new Wii announcements (to my knowledge Mario Kart remains the only big title on the horizon) and I await anxiously for new from the big N on their next big step.
Bill and Eli’s Big Adventure
All of us have fond memories of childhood adventures; of playing pretend in backyards and parks, or exploring places we think we shouldn’t be. Conn and Hal Igguldon’s Dangerous Book for Boys was a testament to this and I think in all of us (or maybe it’s just some of us) that little boy that longs for adventure and discovery never really goes away.
I’ve blogged about Mr. Harris before. He seems to me an average guy (or not so average maybe) who has some solid opinions on the gaming industry. In between his gaming commentary he has offered tips on being lazy, opinions on music, various distracting links, and annecdotes about his son Eli. This year, as his son is home for spring break, Bill has set up a huge adventure for his son and, despite his claims at being the prince of laziness, he has managed perhaps one of the greatest feats in fatherly badassery that I have ever seen.
Check out the below posts on the adventure for childhood memory in the making:
Awesome.
Metal Review: Carved in Stone by Rage
Since I reviewed the newbies last week I figured I should show shine some attention on the veterans. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of Rage previously, but damn if this isn’t an impressive album. Originally from Germany circa 1984 Carved In Stone marks an impressive 18th album and, while their lineup has changed over the years, the current trio here works wells together.
Peter “Peavy” Wagner on vocals eschews the death metal growl and the screamo howl for a more middle ground similar to Ville Laihialla of Sentenced (a band that formed the same decade as Rage but has since parted ways). Victor Smolski is equally comfortable switching between heavy riffs and subtler materials. Smolski’s verstalitiy is particularly apparent on “Open My Grave,” a track that also manages to feature some damned impressive fills by newbie drummer Andre Hilgers, and the slower balladesque “Without You”
I doubt the guys from Rage will win any metalcore fans over. This is an album firmly entrenched in the European school of metal; a style that I have yet to see an American band pull off completely. While there are bands that certainly pay homage to this “traditional” metal (Trivium’s The Crusade) and others that have their own American version (Megadeth, United Abominations) it just isn’t a typcial style for the US metal scene. If you haven’t heard of Rage and are fan of more metal bands like Iron Maiden and, to a lesser extent, Manowar give this album a try. A stellar from an old school band. Now a bonus, “Open My Grave” music video, God Bless YouTube
Thou shall not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind
About 36 seconds into this video, I became very concerned for future of the human race.
Rest assured that when the robots come to enslave us, they will appear in forms approximating metallic goats. And they will not be easily knocked over. Although I’m assuming by the time they’re actually aware enough to start their conquest that there will be a wide variety of robotic quadripeds leading the charge. Goats are just the beginning and, while ill-tempered, presumably the people beyond this traveshamockery will push production into more exotic and deadly species of animals. Just imagine an army of robot tigers, robot crocodiles, robot platypi (they’re poisonous)…all impervious to fear and pain…all difficult to knock over.
We might want to nip this thing in the bud.
Mike Says: Courtesy of JoCo via BoingBoing via the Onion: a vision of the future:
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