Well, Rock Band finally came to Canada and I got my copy on December 28. This resulted in the best New Year's Eve of the past five years or so, rocking out with some good friends for approximately 10 hours straight (with some food and beverage breaks in between). The game is absolutely fantastic and everything I hoped for but after playing it so much we have heard pretty much every song multiple times. That's where EA and Harmonix's commitment to downloadable content comes in. I have already downloaded about five songs, most of them great, but there are some I just really wish would come to the service and here they are in a list form, just to keep them straight.

1. "Hotel California" by The Eagles
I'm not a big Eagles fan but this song is absolutely perfect for a game like this. Has great lyrics, drums throughout, an awesome bass line and some of the best guitar riffs ever. That and it is epic in length. It would just be really fun for all involved in playing it.

2. "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
I realize this song was already in Guitar Hero II but that was a cover version and you also didn't get to sing along with it. The guitar part is great but singing to it would be so awesome, plus there is enough for the bass player and drummer to do as the song goes along.

3. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
Not sure how fun this would be for those playing instruments but again, sounds like a great song to sing.

4. "Freewill" by Rush
So far they have been okay delivering the Rush content but for some reason they are all cover versions and yet they charge full price. I demand more Rush and preferably authentic Rush. EA has the money, why not spend it on something worthwhile? This song would be perfect though, but really, any Rush song is near-perfect so they could choose another. "Fly By Night", "Working Man" or "Closer to the Heart", doesn't really matter to me just make sure its the actual track next time.

5. "Beverley Hills" by Weezer
"Buddy Holly" is up for download and thats awesome so why not get some more Weezer on there, this time with one of their more recent songs? Sounds like it would be fun to play.

6. "Renegade" by Styx
Okay, I am a fan of Styx. Many find that offensive or something but I stand by them as being a band with many great songs that are fun to listen to. This one in particular has some great guitar work and awesome lyrics, making it a perfect candidate for this game.

7. "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin
I know everyone is demanding some Zeppelin be released in a game like this and I think this is the perfect song for them to choose. Its got enough for all four players to do (unlike "Stairway to Heaven", many people's top choice) and its one many people know.

8. "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath
Again, I know it was already in the original Guitar Hero but as a four-player experience it would be so much more. Oh, and why does it seem all Ozzy Osbourne related songs are cover versions? Again, either charge less for the cover or get the original track. Also would like to mention "Crazy Train" but I'm not sure if that was Black Sabbath or just Ozzy. Either way, that would be great as well.

9. "The Root of All Evil" by Dream Theater
This is my favorite song of theirs and it would be a pretty crazy experience for the drummer and lead guitar player. Not sure how much the bass player would have to do but still...

10. "The Patient" by Tool
At some point they need some Tool and this is my favorite song of theirs. Make it happen (please).

And finally my "that'll be the day" wish is "On the Loose" by Saga. Thing is, there is pretty much no bass in this song but a ton of keyboard so if they could release a keytar controller or somehow make it possible to play the keyboard on a guitar controller then they could release this song. Of course, given the song's limited appeal, not sure they will consider the effort worthwhile. Still, that would be awesome.

Yeah, so there are some of the songs I'd really love to see come to Rock Band. I really hope the game gets a large enough fan base to warrant tons of content being made available for download. There is already some awesome stuff reported to be on the way including the album "Nevermind" by Nirvana and "Appetite for Destruction" by Guns N Roses. I'm really looking forward to seeing a future where almost everyone has played Rock Band and we all look forward to album releases in the game and whatnot. May have just renewed my interest in the music industry. Nice job Harmonix.

Well, Christmas break has now begun. School is finished, work is slowing down so I finally have time to kill. Guess thats going to mean a lot of games as there really isn't anything exciting happening this Christmas. Family out of town, friends busy working, just me and a stack of games. This void of other activity is also resulting in ridiculous amounts of time spent watching movies, which is great considering the glut of top-notch releases this month. Probably the ones I'm most looking forward to seeing are "Juno" and "There Will Be Blood" but others such as "The Savages", "Sweeney Todd" and "Charlie Wilson's War" look intriguing as well.

Also eagerly awaiting the Canadian release of "Rock Band", being a big fan of music video games. I've had it pre-ordered since October but turns out due to the need to print all things Canadian in both English and French (despite the fact the vast majority of Canadians don't speak a word of French)delayed the game a full month. Guess in the meanwhile I'll begin Mass Effect (been meaning to play it since I got it over a week ago) and try desperately to improve my Virtua Fighter skills.

I came to the painful realization last night that I am truly awful at fighting games. I mean, I have always been amused by them but Virtua Fighter is such an intricate, deep game compared to things like "Soul Calibur","Dead or Alive" or even "Tekken". You need to know what you are doing and really be good at the game to land those combos. The AI totally wasted me 3 fights into the Arcade mode on default settings which was really humiliating. I always play as Shun Di, the games Drunken Kung Fu artist. This dates back to my time with Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution which I fancied myself reasonably okay at but whatever skills I may have had at one point are seriously rusty at this point. That or VF 5 is a much harder game.

In closing, I will still be an active Gamespot member though my enthusiasm for all things Gamespot has seriously deterioated after the firing of Jeff. I mean, sure Gamespot's journalistic integrity may still be intact but the fact remains that Jeff was entertaining. He brought so much energy and enthusiasm to everything that it just made the site something special. The last "Hotspot" was so weak without him and after the Jeff tribute was over, last weeks "On the Spot" grew pretty boring as well. They got rid of the keystone of Gamespot, in my opinion, which basically reduces the site to the same level as every other site out there. It has no edge now but I'll stick with it because its the community I know. Still, terrible decision and really ruined a lot of the fun atmosphere. And now that animated "Time Trotters" series will never come to be, which is just really depressing for long-time fans. Miss the good ol' days.

Well, a days worth of horrible news has pushed me over the edge. No longer a subscriber to Gamespot. Never thought I'd see the day but after such a disgusting, corrupt management decision I just can't look at Gamespot the same way anymore.

It hurts though. This site has been such a big part of my life and really got me fired up about games, more then I ever was prior to discovering it three and a half years ago. I admire many of the staff that are still there but I don't envy them right now, there must be a lot of turmoil in that office. I hope they stand up for integrity and refuse to swallow this.

Can't believe its over.

Vyse86

Well, last night I was checking all the big game-related web comics and I was completely bewildered by the latest Penny Arcade. I didn't really get the punch line and was generally very confused. Rather then find out what it meant I decided to get some sleep.

Fast forward to this morning when I check the soapbox only to discover that Jeff Gerstmann, 10 year veteran of Gamespot and host of "On the Spot" had been fired! "Heresy" I said, "this cannot be true. What sort of madness led to such a terrible decision!!". It was then that it all made sense. Kane and Lynch, the Penny Arcade joke, everything. The thought that Jeff's negative review would lead to his termination is pretty much the most sickening thing I have read in a long time.

Some are rejoicing at this news and I honestly don't understand what they have to be happy about. Yeah, Jeff gave Twilight Princess an 8.8. So what?!? That game was a total let-down and is my pick for worst, non-CDI Zelda game ever. This is a sad day for gaming and game journalism and there is no silver lining to find here. This is gross and I can't believe its happening. No wonder there was no "On the Spot" yesterday, I thought something fishy was going on. Never thought it would be something like this though.

Good luck Mr. Gerstmann, you'll certainly have no trouble finding work elsewhere. I'm sure a great number of subscribers will follow you.

EDIT: Interesting angle presented by Kotaku. Total rumor at this point but it seems one Josh Larson is to blame. Inexperienced managerial types unknowingly unleashing Pandora's Boxes it seems.

Recently an article on Gamespotdescribed how the 360 was doing in Japan (basically, very poorly)and what Japanese developers were doing to try to turn things around. I've been wondering myself as to why the system just doesn't seem to be catching on over there. Its got the largest library of games of the three current consoles and its reasonably affordable, especially when compared to the PS3 which is apparently outselling the 360 somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 1. Why can't they appeal to Japanese consumers?

With the previous Xbox the answer I kept hearing was "There aren't any RPGs on the system". That was certainly true of the original Xbox as I cannot think of one good JRPG on that system. On the 360, however, I can easily list a handful of games, not all of them good but still, theres definitely been some progress there. In fact, I'd go so far as to say if you want to play an RPG on any one of the current generation of consoles, the Xbox 360 is the place to go. I own all three systems but the one with games, RPGs and otherwise, is the 360. Games like Eternal Sonata, Blue Dragon and the soon to be released Lost Odyssey were all clearly developed with the Japanese consumer in mind yet they just don't seem to be selling systems or generating much buzz over there.

One of the claims mentioned in the article is that Japanese gamers don't like stressful, challenging games. Really? Last I checked some of the hardest games around came from Japan and sold well all over the place. Games like Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden are notorious for their difficulty yet they keep selling them and making more. Granted, the top-selling games in Japan seem to be more casual games such as Brain Training and Mario Kart, but there is certainly a market for harder games, at least, there was up until recently.

Microsoft seems to also be making an effort to appeal to casual gamers with a variety of puzzle games and the like appearing on Xbox Live Arcade, not to mention the upcoming batch of games from SNK Playmore. Perhaps that will help turn things around? One can only hope. It really makes no sense to me how the one gaming console out there that seems to making an effort to offer a wide variety of games is being treated with such disdain in Japan. Its a fine console with fine games, what more do they want?

Yeah, this is kind of lame but just wanted to mention that today, July 26 is the birthday of one of the great minds working in video games today, Tim Schafer. Seriously, every game he has ever made is fantastic. It also happens to be my sister's birthday today as well which is a great little happy circumstance. Yeah, happy birthday Tim, keep making great games. And all ya'll should play 'em. Don't let what happened to Psychonauts happen to Double Fine's next game. Yeah, I'm done.

Well, I finally have obtained the finest version of one of the finest games of recent years. I am referring, of course, to Tim Schafer's "Psychonauts", an excellent platformer filled to the brim with clever humour and dialogue. I have owned the game for several years now but in its somewhat ugly Playstation 2 form. Since I got an HDTV its been hard to play games that aren't looking their best and I've been meaning to play through Psychonauts again for quite some time. Unfortunately, it isn't exactly easy to find for the Xbox, arguably the best version of the game available as it combines the higher resolution graphics and faster loading times of the PC with the great control only a console can provide.

In fact, it is now impossible to find as Double Fine announced the game is now officially out of print and no more copies will be made anywhere, EVER. As soon as I read that I ordered a copy, along with a T-shirt. Not only that, but I paid a tad more and now my copy comes complete with Tim Schafer's autograph on the cover, how sweet is that? Been a big fan of his games since I was maybe nine years old so I'm really pleased with it.

Anyway, if you are planning to play this excellent game better move fast as there aren't many left. Of couse, you could always download the PC version through STEAM. No matter how you play it, check it out. Its a really fantastic game all around and one I'm going to enjoy playing again.

Well, saw Spiderman 3 recently and, like many others, I was extremely disappointed. I'm not going to go into all the reasons I hated the movie but one of the many was not enough Bruce Campbell. Sure he was in there and it was anything but a subtle cameo but they seriously need to consider making this dude a villain, I vote for Mysterio.

Anyway, leaving Spiderman 3 I decided to go back and visit the days when Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell were a force to be reckoned with so I started a "Evil Dead" marathon of sorts. I hadn't actually seen them and considering they are often revered as being a milestone in low-budget horror I had to see them for myself. So I watched all three over the past couple days and I definitely did enjoy them overall.

The original was actually extremely well filmed considering how low-budget it was. It certainly had a fair share of gross moments but nothing to extreme and overall it was really good. Then there is Evil Dead II which is definitely my favorite in the trilogy. Way more Bruce Campbell then in the first film and just a much lighter, more fun-oriented vibe. Also, this version had some pretty sweet commentary with Bruce, Sam and some other chaps that worked on the film. Unfortuantely, the trilogy kind of ended on a lesser note with Army of Darkness. It tries to recreate the light, comedic tone but it is way to obvious with it's gags and the director's cut I saw had a really irritating ending.

Anyway, pretty sweet trilogy overall and I plan to continue watching Bruce Campbell's films, starting with Bubba Ho-Tep. Really hoping they go ahead and make an Evil Dead 4 sometime and there is talk of a Bubba Ho-Tep sequel so the future looks bright for Bruce Campbell. Sadly, Evil Dead: Regeneration, the game widely considered as the best of the Evil Dead games, is currently not backwards compatible on the 360 so I can't experience playing as Ash yet, but hopefully the next batch of backwards compatible games will include it on the list. Here's hoping. Anyway, thats it for now.

Lately I've been playing all of Tim Schafer's classic adventure games in reverse order. Why? you ask? Well, about a week ago I saw a few episodes of this crazy animated "kids" show called "Invader Zim" and it really reminded me of Psychonauts. As such, I went to the "Double Fine" website and discovered that Tim Schafer basically writes this awesome feature called "Double Fine Action News" which he updates frequently in a blog of sorts filled with his witty brand of humor. This all got me wanting to replay Psychonauts but I realized I only had the PS2 version and now that the superior Xbox version is backwards compatible on Xbox 360, I really should seek out that version if I want to replay it.

 However, I discovered that all versions of Psychonauts are no longer being made and can't be found anywhere. However, it is possible to order the game directly from Double Fine, autographed by Tim Schafer, no less. I definitely intend to do this sometime but due to the somewhat high price of it, as well as all the other Double Fine schwag I want, I can't rationalize it right now.

And, because of that, I decided I'd revisit his previous, excellent PC games to experience that brand of humor and adventure. Beat "Grim Fandango" again a few days ago, and it was even better then I remember. Since so much time had passed since I had played it last, the puzzles seemed kind of fresh and challenging again which made the game fun again. Then I beat "Full Throttle" last night, which was a lot shorter then I remembered. It was still pretty great but if you know the solutions to all the puzzles that game is incredibly short. Still, worth playing if you can find it.

And now I shall begin replaying one of my favorite games of all time, "Day of the Tentacle". I first played it over a decade ago when I was a kid and I have many fond memories of this game. Great music, great voice acting (especially for 1993) and a funny, time-travelling related storyline. Its a fantastic game and I can't wait to play it again.

After that, I guess I'll have to track down a copy of "The Secret of Monkey Island" to make my marathon complete but I've had trouble tracking down most of the Monkey Island games. Still, recently got a job at a video store (which translates to two free rentals a day!) so I should be earning and saving some money pretty soon so perhaps I can justify some eBay shopping pretty soon. 

Well, got the best surprise I've had in a long time earlier today. You see, about three months ago in January there was an episode of Tournament TV called "Snake Wars" which ended with some trivia questions with a limited edition, camoflague Playstation Portable which included a copy of Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops as the grand prize. Well, no one at Gamespot ever informed me as to who won that and I quickly forgot about the whole thing but I got a call from my Mom while I was playing Oblivion about a mysterious package from San Francisco and it was indeed that PSP.

 Now, I've been somewhat interested in a number of Playstation Portable games since the system launched but just never felt the need to spend the couple of hundred dollars needed to buy one. Problem solved thanks to Gamespot. As soon as I heard the news I ran to Wal-Mart and managed to snag the LAST copy of WTF ( a game I have wanted desperately to play since it was Byte Hell 2000) and Lumines II (got way into the series last month with Lumines Plus). Anyway, really great news. Subscribing to Gamespot's Total Access service was totally worth the money. This PSP warrants about four more years of subscription.

 Anyway, sorry to boast about my good fortune but I'm just really happy. Really turned my day around after a long day at school.

[UPDATE]

Here is a link to some pics of my prize. I couldn't figure out how to put pictures into my Gamespot profile (also explains why my profile pic is kind of lame and I have no banner) so its the best I could do. These were taken with a cellphone camera so the quality isn't that great. Sorry.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11432&l=7737a&id=715440602