I wanna rock!Harmonix
Harmonix, creators of the popularGuitar Herogames, have announced their next foray into the music world withRock Band, a four player game to be published by EA and due out by the end of this year. The four-piece band will consist of a lead guitar, a bass guitar, a microphone, and a drum set. You can invision the drooling happening at EA over the profits from the peripherals alone. Anyway, the game will support online multiplayer, meaning that I can finally get that high school band going, with my friends from high school, who are now scattered throughout the country. Make sure to use the multiplayer on your favorite comfort rug as you will be there for hours no doubt..Also of interest is unprecedented access to the master recordings from some of the biggest music companies. Seems like they are finally waking up to the notion that the music business has changed. Rock on, Wayne! Microsoft has announced that starting on May 7th, Xbox Live users will be able to text message with the over 260 million Windows Live users on PCs or mobile devices. This marriage of all things Microsoft messaging has been a long time in coming and has been at the core of the Xbox Live business plan. To help you text, this summer Microsoft will unveil a keyboard attachment for the Xbox 360 controller, as you can see above. It's actually a pretty slick add-on and I applaud the design. What I don't understand, though, is the desire to text people while playing a game or watching a movie. What's the point? If I'm watching a movie, I don't want to be disturbed. There are many more enhancements coming with this May 7th update, and you can read the entire list I downloaded the demo ofBoom Boom Rocket, a new Xbox Live Arcade game made by EA, and while I'm not a big fan of EA games, I do have to say that they got this one right. EssentiallyDance Dance Revolution, with buttons instead of a dance pad, the game challenges you to set off fireworks to the beat of music as you slowly fly through a city. The visuals are amazing, but are hard to take in because you're concentrating so hard on the buttons. This is the perfect party game, easy to pick up and understand, fun for others to watch, and quick enough that everybody gets a turn. I suggest downloading the demo for some free and fun gameplay. Whammy bar got you down? If you're one of the unlucky thrashers whoseGuitar Hero IIX-Plorer guitar's whammy bar isn't responding well, you have two choices: send it in for repairs, or, do it yourself! Since opening up the guitar doesn't void the warranty, what have you got to lose? Just follow Hat tip to If you're without a Wii, but are still pining for some new games then why not check out two quirky and funny game demos from Xbox Live:Monster Madness: Battle for SuburbiaandShrek the Third. Both are free and together offer you a few hours of decent gameplay. Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbiais a top-down multiplayer cooperative shooter in the vein of such hits asSmash TV. Based in a setting of typical modern-day suburban America,Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbiapresents an offbeat riff on pop-culture horror with a vast collection of humorous looking mythical and paranormal creatures. I gave it about 15 minutes and the top-down aspect of it really gave me some problems. Nevertheless, this is a nice change of pace from your normal first person shooter and definitely ranks high on the sarcasm meter. The cartoony characters and highschool stereotypes will make this a popular game. Video game hardware sales data for March
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/animal.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/xbox_keyboard.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/boom_boom_rocket.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/whammy_bar.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/monster_madness.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/wii.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/xbox360.jpg"/)
![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/ps3.jpg"/)
Console-wise, the Wii did come out on top of the current gen systems, however, the PS2 did outsell it, thanks in large part to
You've got to be kidding me? NYC, the place where corrupt politicians and police chiefs (Bernie Kerkik, I'm looking in your direction) dot the landscape like so many hot dog carts, is raising a stink about Yes, in the![]("http://www.lunabean.com/graphics/gta_iv.jpg"/)
In previous incarnations, players advanced through the game by killing cops, selling pornography to children and killing prostitutes. Details of the latest version have not been released.