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• GWI: Gaming While Intoxicated

  Like any sensible young man, I am a fan of good beer. And obviously, a fan of video games as well. For certain reasons, these two interests don't usually intertwine.  I usually unwind with an adult-style beverage (or two) along with some quality gaming at the end of the day, but I get hopelessly distracted when operating on anything more than a solid buzz.  However, a recent purchase of mine proved to me that some games actually get better as your BAC rises. Folks, Rock Band 2 has driven me to drink.  More. Of course, this really should have come as no surprise; I've done karaoke before, and I can say that if you aren't sick the following morning (and not from shame), you're doing it wrong.  So I decided to test out the Karaoke Principle by inviting a few friends over who had never played Rock Band before.  Here's some dialogue that was exchanged as we were sober and holding plastic instruments: Friend 1: I'm not gonna lie. I feel like a pretty big nerd right now. Me: Don't worry; this is the first step of our suicide pact. Read More... Posted Nov 17 2008, 11:00 AM by Bob Mackey with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: whatcha playing, guitar hero, bob mackey, rock band 2, drinking, alcohol

• Gaming Impulse Buys

  Gaming is an expensive hobby, and freelance writing is not exactly a lucrative career (no offense to my kind, handsome bosses). So, when it comes to buckling down and buying a game, I tend to split my time between fretting and doing online research for hours on end.  But with certain games, something just snaps and shuts down the reason center of my brain--which tends to operate even when I'm drunk.  I've fallen victim to the siren song of music games so much that I really should have started to notice a pattern in my life by now.  Let me break it down for you: - 2000: I walk into my nearest Funcoland (coincidentally, the worst name for a business ever), see a new copy of Samba de Amigo and the maracas, and promptly hand over $120 + tax. I had no idea why I was even in the store in the first place. - 2001: I see an official Konami Dance Dance Revolution bundle featuring the game plus a dance pad. Inexplicably, I find myself buying it. Seemed like a good idea at the time. - 2005: What's this? Taiko Drum Master? At this point, it had been marked down to twenty bucks, so it's probably my least impulsive impulse buy. - Today: I get a fat freelancing check in the mail, and my paycheck was just depositedin my bank account last night.  I immediately drive to target and purchase Rock Band 2 against my will.  IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN Read More... Posted Nov 14 2008, 06:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: music, gaming culture, bob mackey, rock band 2, gaming habits, capitalism

• The Economist Weighs in On Music Games

  A few weeks ago I called out music industry bigwigs who were pushing record companies to charge Activision and Harmonix more money to feature songs by bands on their rosters. I argued that this is stupid, and these execs should view music featured in Guitar Hero and Rock Band as free advertising.  Welp, the Economist agrees. Read More... Posted Oct 09 2008, 05:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: music, cole stryker, guitar hero 3, rock band 2, economist

• IGN Pwned by Random Dude on a Forum

  Linking to some guy's rant on a forum doesn't exactly fall under journalistic best practices, but Select Button's Broco had me rolling in the aisles with this scathing indictment of IGN's journalistic integrity. Basically, he picked a random review (Rock Band 2) and blotted out all the meaningless cliches and empty verbiage. It's twenty-two paragraphs of tripe, and well, it speaks for itself. Here are the opening two paragraphs: Harmonix launched music games into a whole new arena with the release of Rock Band last year. No longer did music games have to be about just playing the drums or the guitar or singing. All three elements were merged together into a cohesive and thoroughly enjoyable package. But while Rock Band was a breath of fresh air, it did have some issues. With the release of Rock Band 2 less than a year after the original, Harmonix addresses many of the past concerns and adds an awesome new online mode, certain to keep gamers rockin' for another year. The biggest addition isn't a new feature or function, but 84 new songs. All master tracks, these 84 songs represent the single greatest collection of songs in a game to date. Headlining the new tracks is the first Guns N' Roses single in more than a decade, "Shackler's Revenge." Along with these are a slew of incredible songs that span the '60s right up to today. AC/DC, Metallica, The Talking Heads, Pearl Jam, Journey, Megadeath, Modest Mouse, Rage Against the Machine, Bon Jovi, Jane's Addiction -- I could keep going, but you get the point. There are some brilliant songs here. And while there are going to be a few tracks each person will not care for, there's far more good here than bad. Read More... Posted Sep 16 2008, 12:00 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, journalism, rock band 2, ign, hilary goldstein