Judo Boy is kickin' ass. He has moved from the easy setting on Guitar Hero III to Medium. For those of you that have not played this game, this is quite the accomplishment due to the jump in difficulty. At this rate the kid is going to be shredding on Expert in about a month and then I'll have choice but to put him in a rock band and book his first tour.
Did I mention that I'm still on the Easy stages?
In other video game news Grand Theft Auto IV is released today and it seems to be the best one in the series. Watch a review here. It's expected that this will be the biggest and fastest selling game of all time. I have to admit the series is well done and I've enjoyed my time with it. Of course, there has been a great deal of controversy around the games as well because you can do all manner of criminal things such as gun people down, steal cars, and have (implied) sex with hookers. The beauty of the series is that you do not have to do those things. You can put out house fires, take sick people to the hospital, and play pool in a bar.
The biggest problem that I have with people that rail against these games in particular and video games in general is that typically they are uninformed or misinformed. They may criticize GTA but would consider The Godfather (or Good Fellas) to be a shining example of American cinema. The subject matter is pretty damn close what separates them is the method of delivery. Film is established, video games is a new medium. I will admit that video games started out as a medium that appealed to children but they have come a long way in the last 30 years.
Several states have tried to pass laws that would restrict the sale of mature rated games to children under 18. While this may be overkill of the part of government I don't have a problem with it. If parents don't have the time or are too lazy to check on their kids to see what kind of content they are consuming then I suppose we do need the government to raise our kids for us. We talk more about this later.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
All Hail the Guitar God!
So I got Guitar Hero III finally from my EBay win last week. It kicks total ass. It takes a little getting used to the guitar controller but it is more like playing a real guitar than I thought it would be. Even on the easy setting some of the songs are somewhat difficult. Of course with practice it will get easier but I'm the kind of gamer that likes to complete things 100% so I'm breaking out into a sweat just thinking about how tough it will be on Expert.
Judo Boy is trying to get used to the whole concept of the guitar and having to push the fret buttons and strum at the same time. Granted it takes coordination but he is easily frustrated and it's a challenge to get him to calm down and focus. The good news is that he has the ROCK (yes, it rates all caps) movements down. As soon as he starts to hit a string of notes and gets the rhythm he goes into rock star mode and dances/gyrates around. I have no idea where he learned it and he has never been one to practice the fine art of air guitar, so it baffles me where he picked it up.
I also have a new found respect for anyone that can play the guitar. I'm just pressing colored buttons and clicking a strumming bar that simulates strings and that's kicking my ass. I can't imagine having to press the correct string(s) and strum those string(s) in any sort of pattern that makes sense.
So if any of you out there have Guitar Hero III and you want to challenge me to a dual go ahead and send me an invite. But know this, I suck and I'm easy prey. Be gentle.
Oh and one more thing. It looks like Vanilla Gorilla will be working with me at the end of the month. That's all I can say for now.
Judo Boy is trying to get used to the whole concept of the guitar and having to push the fret buttons and strum at the same time. Granted it takes coordination but he is easily frustrated and it's a challenge to get him to calm down and focus. The good news is that he has the ROCK (yes, it rates all caps) movements down. As soon as he starts to hit a string of notes and gets the rhythm he goes into rock star mode and dances/gyrates around. I have no idea where he learned it and he has never been one to practice the fine art of air guitar, so it baffles me where he picked it up.
I also have a new found respect for anyone that can play the guitar. I'm just pressing colored buttons and clicking a strumming bar that simulates strings and that's kicking my ass. I can't imagine having to press the correct string(s) and strum those string(s) in any sort of pattern that makes sense.
So if any of you out there have Guitar Hero III and you want to challenge me to a dual go ahead and send me an invite. But know this, I suck and I'm easy prey. Be gentle.
Oh and one more thing. It looks like Vanilla Gorilla will be working with me at the end of the month. That's all I can say for now.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Rock On!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I was able to find Tony Hawk Proving Ground Limited Edition for Xbox 360 on clearance about a month ago for $7.49. It just so happens that there is a demo of Guitar Hero III on the disc so I thought I would give it a try.
I'm hooked.
This whole Guitar Hero thing has been going on for awhile now. It's the "hot new thing" in video games and it seems to be drawing a whole lot of interest from people other than hardcore gamers. There have been stories on the local and national news. It's showing up in bars and at school fun fairs. And the ultimate sign of mainstream; it's the game demo of choice at Walmart.
The idea is pretty simple. Make the player feel like they can play a guitar as well as Slash from G'N'R when they really suck with the real thing. Sounds great in concept but the critical part is the execution and they nailed it. It's fundamentally a rhythm game where you press the correct button at the correct time. Kind of like an elaborate game of Simon Says. The beauty of the game design lies in the music. Once you start to "feel" the music you can almost guess which buttons you will need to press and when.
I was playing the demo with a regular controller but you can buy a bundle that has the game as well as a controller that is a mock-up of a guitar, so you can really feel like you are rockin' the house. So I went on EBay to take a peek at what I get my hands on. The bundle at retail with the wireless guitar runs $90. I found an auction for a new, open box unit and won it for a total of $55. Not a bad savings. I have yet to get my paws on it but when I do I'll post an update of impressions.
Did I happen to mention that I might have gone a little overboard I bid on an auction for Guitar Hero II and won that one for $45. So I'll have two guitars that Judo Boy and I can play together since there is a Co-Op mode where one person can play lead guitar and the other can play either rhythm or bass guitar. I can see this being a kick ass party game where we get the friends together and after a couple of cocktails they strap on the ax and rock to Even Flow by Pearl Jam, Rock This Town by the Stray Cats or even the all time classic request Freebird by Lynard Skynard.
Of course this is all part of my master plan to get Judo Boy to learn how to play a real guitar in the near future. Until then you'll find us playing to packed arenas full of rabid fans all around the world. Rock on brothers and sisters! Rock On!
I'm hooked.
This whole Guitar Hero thing has been going on for awhile now. It's the "hot new thing" in video games and it seems to be drawing a whole lot of interest from people other than hardcore gamers. There have been stories on the local and national news. It's showing up in bars and at school fun fairs. And the ultimate sign of mainstream; it's the game demo of choice at Walmart.
The idea is pretty simple. Make the player feel like they can play a guitar as well as Slash from G'N'R when they really suck with the real thing. Sounds great in concept but the critical part is the execution and they nailed it. It's fundamentally a rhythm game where you press the correct button at the correct time. Kind of like an elaborate game of Simon Says. The beauty of the game design lies in the music. Once you start to "feel" the music you can almost guess which buttons you will need to press and when.
I was playing the demo with a regular controller but you can buy a bundle that has the game as well as a controller that is a mock-up of a guitar, so you can really feel like you are rockin' the house. So I went on EBay to take a peek at what I get my hands on. The bundle at retail with the wireless guitar runs $90. I found an auction for a new, open box unit and won it for a total of $55. Not a bad savings. I have yet to get my paws on it but when I do I'll post an update of impressions.
Did I happen to mention that I might have gone a little overboard I bid on an auction for Guitar Hero II and won that one for $45. So I'll have two guitars that Judo Boy and I can play together since there is a Co-Op mode where one person can play lead guitar and the other can play either rhythm or bass guitar. I can see this being a kick ass party game where we get the friends together and after a couple of cocktails they strap on the ax and rock to Even Flow by Pearl Jam, Rock This Town by the Stray Cats or even the all time classic request Freebird by Lynard Skynard.
Of course this is all part of my master plan to get Judo Boy to learn how to play a real guitar in the near future. Until then you'll find us playing to packed arenas full of rabid fans all around the world. Rock on brothers and sisters! Rock On!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Open the Gates!
So here's the first post of my new blog. Lots of things have changes in the last year and I felt that it was fitting to update my "persona" to reflect those changes.
The name of the blog happens to reflect a name that my wife has given me, that would be Seanface. This in turn is a reference to the film Borat and vanilla face (you have to see the film to understand) which became a running joke between her and I. It also happens to be my Gamertag on Xbox Live so if you see me on Call of Duty 4, which I'm obsessed with at the moment, let me know that you stumbled across my blog. Unless you're just going to tell me that it sucks, then don't bother.
So welcome everyone to my new blog. I hope you enjoy the ride. Just remember one thing, It's my blog and I'll do what I want. If you don't like it take a hike.
The name of the blog happens to reflect a name that my wife has given me, that would be Seanface. This in turn is a reference to the film Borat and vanilla face (you have to see the film to understand) which became a running joke between her and I. It also happens to be my Gamertag on Xbox Live so if you see me on Call of Duty 4, which I'm obsessed with at the moment, let me know that you stumbled across my blog. Unless you're just going to tell me that it sucks, then don't bother.
So welcome everyone to my new blog. I hope you enjoy the ride. Just remember one thing, It's my blog and I'll do what I want. If you don't like it take a hike.
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