Greetings humans, Monki here, crapping video game news into my hand and delivering it to you with a swift throw.
First of all, an apology. I've been super busy criss-crossing the country over the past few weeks as well as being tied up with my 'real' job and helping a friend start a music career. Things have been rocking in the old treehouse as of late. I have lined up some really sweet features for the site though. One will go live next week, we have a contest on the way soon and I'm heading out to L.A. again for another feature. Frequent flyer miles, here I come.
So what have I missed in the past few weeks? Just a new version of the 360, the release of Guitar Hero 2 on 360, the breaking of Guitar Hero 2 on 360, the GTA 4 trailer, news on Transformers, Jack Thompson in hot water, Rock Band, Red Vs. Blue ending.....
Just a little bit... I guess it is time to get started then!
Press Releases of the Week!
So we all know that Megatron is being voiced by Mr. Smith in the upcoming Michael Bay giant-robot movie. Turns out we get the original Mr. Frank Welker voicing Megatron in the video game. Read on and roll out.
Santa Monica, CA - April 6, 2007 - Legendary voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, the original voices of OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON from the first TRANSFORMERS animated series, are set to star as the lead characters in TRANSFORMERS: The Game, from Activision, Inc., developed under license from HPG, the licensing division of Hasbro, Inc.
"As TRANSFORMERS fans, we knew the importance of having the well-known voices of OPTIMUS PRIME and MEGATRON in the game," said Laird Malamed, head of production, Activision, Inc. "Peter and Frank's signature voices bring the characters to life and will immerse a whole new generation of enthusiasts in the epic battle between the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS."
Based on "TRANSFORMERS," the upcoming live-action feature film due out on July 4th from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, TRANSFORMERS: The Game lets players choose to protect the Earth as AUTOBOTS or destroy it as DECEPTICONS. Playing as OPTIMUS PRIME, BUMBLEBEE, MEGATRON, BARRICADE and others, gamers will experience the unstoppable power and massive scale of their favorite ROBOTS IN DISGUISE as they battle for Earth.
Sounds good to me! Hah! Get it? SOUNDS good? Oh good lord, that one took me days to write! Seriously though, is this enough to placate those rabid Transformers fans? Or is this still "Flames on Optimus = Nipples on Batsuit" and what not?
I can't play music. I tried. I can't. I CAN play music games though. Guitar Hero 2 will be thoroughly shredded in my living room. This release makes me excited.
CAMBRIDGE, MA - April 2, 2007 - Harmonix, developer of the blockbuster Guitar Hero franchise, MTV: Music Television, a division of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, and Electronic Arts today announced Rock Band, an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. Rock Band will allow gamers to perform music from the world's biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering deep online connectivity. Built on unprecedented deals with the world's biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the biggest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band is slated for release on PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in holiday 2007.
The leading music publishers - EMI Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music - are allowing unrivaled access to their catalogs of incredible songs for use in Rock Band. The record labels - EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group's Universal Music Enterprises and Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment - have agreed to supply master recordings by their artists for use in the game.
"Harmonix was founded to create new ways for everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from playing music. Our work on Guitar Hero was an instrumental step toward that goal," stated Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. "But Rock Band is Harmonix's most ambitious project to date, and it will take music gameplay to an entirely new level. MTV has given us the freedom and the resources to really swing for the fences and make the game we've always wanted to make."
"Our vision for Rock Band is to completely change the way people interact with and enjoy the music they love," said Jeff Yapp, EVP, MTV Program Enterprises. "By joining forces with EA and the music industry's largest record labels and publishers, we are striving to create a groundbreaking new platform that allows people to connect with their favorite music and artists in ways they never have before."
"Rock Band is a revolutionary new way for gamers and music fans to experience music," said David DeMartini, said vice president and general manager of EA Partners. "The team at EA Partners is thrilled to help MTV and Harmonix launch this incredible game on the global stage and get it into the hands of gamers worldwide."
As previously announced, Electronic Arts will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australia.
I'm most excited about the idea of original music within this title. Using a video game as a launching pad for new artists? Very cool. Also, the idea of rocking out with a buddy in Seattle and a vocalist in Boston while I sit on my couch in Austin makes me happy. Mark this on your list of games to buy for Christmas.
Pretty Images of the Week!
This first video comes to us from reader KINGDADDY. It's AICN favorite Andy Serkis doing some mo-cap work for Heavenly Sword, one of the few PS3 titles that look very interesting to me. Damn good work Andy.
"My sacred genitals" indeed. Oddly enough Quint went on a rant like this when I took a large pot from him the last time we played poker together. Hmmmm... he has been spending too much time down in Kiwiland methinks.
Up next is a cinematic from Mass Effect. Man I'm pumped about this one. KotOR team doing their own original IP. Sweeeet.
Would have thought the gang leader from Saint's Row would become a captain in Mass Effect? And make me want to join the Navy, and defile Jennifer Connelly.
And how could I not post this trailer under pretty images? Yeah it's a bit old now, but damn does it make me hap-hap-happy to see. Wooohoooo....
Back to Liberty City. Back to where it all began. Back to the loop of people getting pissed off due to virtual violence. It's like we're on a big ferris wheel. At the bottom we can hear the rants and screams of lawyers and "concerned parents" and we have to deal with all their vile hate. Then the wheel turns and we are up in the air, avoiding everything, seeing off in the distance, enjoying things. Then the wheel turns and the cycle starts again.
At what point will parents just 'get it?' Keep an eye on what your kids play. Keep an eye on what your kids watch.
Grand Theft Auto hasn't inspired a generation of car-jacking teenagers, Grand Theft Auto HAS inspired people to rethink what a video game could be. Playing GTA 3 was a kick to the chest, nothing had been that perfect of a mix. Adventure, driving, action, shooting, it was all beautifully blended together for the first time. But it was still a game.
In the documentary "8 Bit" (which had a great reception in Austin, btw) one of the interviews discussed violence in video games. He talked about Death Race, a game inspired by the movie Death Race 2000. The game was released in 1976 and involved the player controlling a car that ran over "gremlins" which were really just stick men. When run over, the "gremlins" turned into tombstones. Controversy blew up over this game. 15 pixels of a tombstone caused such a stir.
As much as things change, they still remain the same.
Video games are so very young. It's been around 35 years or so since video games (as we know them) have been around. We are just now getting to the point where you can dissect a game as a work of art. Games like Okami, Shadow of the Colossus...they are changing the way people view games. Technically though aren't all video games works of art that we manipulate? Literally. You move around a model, or a sprite, or a pixel, one that some other person actually created in a world that someone painted or drew or scanned. Manipulating art through a world of programming.
Okay, I'm getting off topic here.
Grand Theft Auto is important. Here's a quote for you to print: Grand Theft Auto 3 is the Citizen Kane of video games. It changed how we dealt with the subject. No longer were games toys, they were something to be studied, something to be understood. GTA3 defined the terms "sandbox" and "open-world" as we know them. People who wouldn't normally talk about video games started to again. Most of the time those people were ones I'd rather have remain quiet about video games unfortunately. The same people that bitch about violence in games are the ones who covered up Lady Justice's bosom in court rooms.
We live in a repressed society. Grand Theft Auto is a response to the societal norms we must abide by on a daily basis. 45 year old women have their Fabio romance novels to break their daily habit, their get away. Children have Elmo and Sesame Street. Teenagers want to take the anger and aggression that comes with being a teenager out on virtual beings and I say, let it happen.
I'd much rather have Johnny clubbing away at a gang member in Crackdown than clubbing away on his little sister.
Don't get me wrong, video games are not a replacement for other aggression-releasing acts like sports. Kids need social activity. I know one too many video game geeks that don't know a thing about being social. Of course, I know one too many art geeks that don't know a thing about being social. But video games can be used as a learning tool. Who learned about world countries by playing Risk!? I know I did. Why not learn the basics of driving in a video game? You'll have to refrain from slamming into other drivers though.
As long as their are 'violent' games out there us gamers will hear vicious protest against them. Thankfully we are all growing up along with our pastime so by the time we are all in our 40s, we'll be bitching about whatever crazy new fad the kids are into then-a-days. Remember, it's all a big circle. Now pay for your ticket and cotton candy and get back on.
Stupid Wrap-Up of the Week!
Over the course of writing this article I went and tried to buy a copy of Guitar Hero 2. Yeah...they don't exist anywhere. Everyone is sold out. I did pick up a copy of Puzzle Quest for my DS though. The Penny Arcade guys have been going on and on about that one, so I figured I'd check it out.
I've contacted some people who applied for a position on the AICN Games team a long while ago and we're finally getting the ball rolling towards an expanded section here on AICN. Stay tuned for more information about that over the coming weeks.
Alright, I'm leaving you with this sweet vid of a guy who made a incredible stage for the Halo theme on Guitar Hero 2. Radical.
I can hear Quint creaming his jeans already. I gotta go grab a mop. Until next time kids, back up the tree I go!
