Rock Band

We get a whole bunch of stuff this week for Rock Band DLC. A 5-pack of alternative country style music, and a 3-pack of Jimmy Eat World songs. I’m a fan of Neko Case and never knew how to categorize her. I had her under independent. “Alt Country” is actually an interesting phrase.

Alt Country 5-Pack

• Drive By Truckers: 3 Dimes Down
• Lucinda Williams: Can’t Let Go
• Neko Case: People Got a Lot of Nerve
• Old 97s: Time Bomb (LIVE)
• Steve Earle: Satellite Radio

Jimmy Eat World 3-Pack

• Jimmy Eat World: Futures
• Jimmy Eat World: Lucky Denver Mint
• Jimmy Eat World: Sweetness

Each track is $1.99 or 160 Points. The Alt Country pack is $8.49 or 680 Points, and the Jimmy Eat World pack is $5.49 or 440 Points. I’m almost floored in the fact that they have a 5-pack out, which is great to see. Especially since all five are different.

Wii players will get the following songs from The Cars this week.

• Good Times Roll
• My Best Friend’s Girl
• In In Touch With Your World
• Don’t Cha Stop
• You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
• Bye Bye Love
• Moving In Stereo
• All Mixed Up

Guitar Hero: World Tour

I’m almost floored because I never noticed that the song that they use in their commercials. Finally “Old Time Rock & Roll” and two other Bob Seger songsare available. The Bob Seger Track Pack, priced at $5.49/440 Points, includes these songs:

• Old Time Rock & Roll
• Her Strut
• Get Out of Denver

Each song is also available individually for $1.99/160 Points each.

Lips

Here is the list of Lips songs available. The first three are up for 160 MS points each. I’m not sure about the next three, especially with the prices wavering between 160 and 180.

• How To Save A Life by The Fray
• Swing Life Away by Rise
• Speed Up by Funkerman
• The Adventure by Angels and Airwaves
• Amber by 311
• In The Shadows by The Rasmus

So it turns out that the cryptic clues that Nintendo sent out were actually clues about the Commodore 64, Earthbound fans have to wait another day. We have three classics from the Commodore 64, each 500 points. The three 8-bit games are: The Last Ninja, International Karate, and Pitstop II. I’m just hoping that the controls are somewhat responsive, from what I recall the controller only had a joystick and two buttons which seems perfect for the Wii. But really is 500 points worth it when one could buy those cheesy “25 Games in one” plug-ins for a better price? I may be cynical because the game quality just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Over on WiiWare, there finally is some form of First Person Shooter. There is wi-fi usage and aliens. I’m assuming that any fan of the FPS should consider. Granted, the Wii still has the age and reach problems (younger, and Nintendo seemly wants more females) and this game may be lost in the shuffle.

Here’s some more information:

WiiWare

Onslaught (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated T for Teen—Animated Blood, Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Onslaught is an FPS that puts you in the middle of a futuristic war between humans and insectoid aliens. Become part of the Elite Interstellar Strike Force and fight against an overwhelming onslaught of alien life forms. Enjoy the rush of mowing down wave after wave of aliens with machine guns, grenades and more. Feel your heart pound as you battle gigantic boss aliens. Beyond the normal game, Onslaught includes additional modes that let you play with rivals from around the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Team up with as many as three other players in Free Battle mode, or compete on special maps to see who can get the most points by killing enemies before time runs out in Ranking Battle mode. (Router and broadband access required for online play. For more info, go to www.nintendo.com.)

Virtual Console

The Last Ninja™ (Commodore 64, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Animated Blood, Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): The evil Shogun Kunitoki has long envied the powers of the Ninja brotherhood and would do anything to acquire their knowledge. To this end, he has sworn an oath to their total destruction. Once every decade, all Ninja must travel to the Island of Lin Fen, where they pay homage to the Shrine of the White Ninja and receive further teachings from the Koga Scrolls. Seizing the opportunity, Kunitoki summoned forth all the spirits from the depths of the Nether World and flung their full force against the amassed Ninja. None escaped the wrath of Kunitoki. Word of this unnatural disaster soon reached Armakuni, the last Ninja. Gathering all his courage, he has sworn to wreak a terrible revenge on the Shogun and all his followers. What unforeseen hazards await him?

INTERNATIONAL KARATE™ (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older—Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): INTERNATIONAL KARATE is a simulation of a karate tournament in which one person can play against the computer or two players can compete against each other. During the game, you’ll fly to various locations around the world. In all stages of the game, a wise old judge will watch over you and award you either a half-point or a full point, depending on how successful a hit has been.

Pitstop II™ (Commodore 64, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Pitstop II was the first game that brought serious auto racing action to the computer screen—the thrill of battling an opponent, the excitement of fighting for the lead out on the track, and the suspense of struggling to be the first out of the pits. Third-person graphics and a split-screen display allow one or two players to experience the challenge of car racing head-to-head. Six of the world’s toughest tracks are waiting, from Brands Hatch and its hairpin turns to the mile-long straight of Vallelunga. You can practice against the computer, but nothing will compare to the fun of racing against another person. Indeed, Pitstop II proves that car racing was never meant to be a solo sport.

Rock Band DLC

Rock band seems to be having a little bit of slim pickings this week:

• Wasted Again - Turbonegro
• Black Sunshine - White Zombie
• More Human Than Human - White Zombie

We got ourselves three rock tracks for Rock Band this week. Each track is $1.99, but there is no track pack version of the three this week. I guess it’s spring cleaning until next week’s double pack. There’s definitely a lot happening next week.

The Wii is also slowly catching up with their downloadables. This week’s line-up includes seven master recordings from Nirvana’s popular Nevermind album. The songs are:

• Breed
• Lounge Act
• On a Plain
• Polly
• Something in the Way
• Stay Away
• Territorial Pissings

The seven Nirvana tracks are available now. Each track will cost $2 or 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

Paul McCartney fans rejoice, there are three Wings tracks. The pack itself is ($5.49) and each individual track is $1.99, as always.

Wings Track Pack

• Jet
• Junior’s Farm
• Hi, Hi, Hi

It’s not the Beatles, but the songs are still quite catchy.

This week for the Wii we have a very space theme. The games this week are Evasive Space and Life Force

Life Force is actually based off of Gradius. Personally, I love the Gradius series. Sure, I’m not great at it, but you always need a side scroller/shooting game. I just recall that all of the different superpowers. If you’re a big fan of the series and haven’t played it already, I would also suggest Gradius III which has been out for the Virtual Console for almost a year.

For Evasive Space, I like the colorfulness of the game, but I would definitely suggest making sure that your Wii-mote is well calibrated. I have a slight problem with having to hold up the Wii-mote up almost the whole time, but the game looks quite creative.

Nintendo has also given a cryptic clue for something that will be released. They use the words “fun surprise” so I’m not sure whether it means a game or not. This is their clue:

From AZ to NC, if you’re a fan, your applause could rattle your walls, windows, door. You might enjoy this news whether you live in a brick house or Vanderbilt dorm. Even people living along Route 286 in rural Pennsylvania ought to be excited. It’ll feel like a bunch of birthday greetings and, really, who could ask for more?

I dunno, but I guess we’ll have to wait. Here’s more info about the two games below:

WiiWare

Evasive Space™ (Yukes Company of America, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Launch a one-of-a-kind mission to rescue the stars. The universe is going dark, and it’s up to you, Konki the Stellar Guardian, to set things right. Dr. Dark Matter and his roving band of space thieves have stolen many of the Constellation Stones that make up the heavens. It’s time to suit up, power up, recover the Stones and once again bring light to the night sky. Using the Wii Remote™ controller’s unique pointer capabilities, simply point and thrust Konki through 20 dangerous time- and collection-based missions in the harshest of environments. Navigate through narrow, mazelike astral caves riddled with space worms, steam pipes and mining drills. Explore vast space stations while avoiding turret fire, mines and huge crushing gears. Weave through cluttered asteroid fields and gaseous planetary rings. Evade the hazards, pick up precious items and ship upgrades, and save the Constellation Stones before the night sky is lost forever.

Virtual Console

Life Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): This classic shooter, originally ported to the NES in August 1988, is a spin-off of the seminal Gradius series. Pilot the Vic Viper through six stages of intense action, alternating between horizontally and vertically scrolling environments, and take on wave after wave of enemies. Destroy particular enemies throughout the game (which takes place within the body of an enormous alien) to release power-up capsules and equip your ship with your choice of more powerful weapons, extra speed and shields. Utilize the power-ups carefully, though, as a fearsome guardian lurks at the end of each stage and won’t be easily defeated. You can go it alone or bring along a friend to take on the challenge simultaneously. Do you have what it takes to save your planet?

Don’t let spooky Friday the 13th or a lack of loved ones stop you from rocking out. Here are this weeks downloads.

Rock Band

Our downloads this week come from the Fratellis.

• The Fratellis - Creeping Up the Back Stairs
• The Fratellis - Flathead
• The Fratellis - Henrietta

As always, the tracks are $1.99 (160) or 5.49 (440) for The Fratellis 01 pack.

And since the Wii is still trying to play catch-up here is their weekly downloads:

• Rush “Tom Sawyer”
• Rush “Red Barchetta”
• Rush “YYZ’”
• Rush “Limelight”
• Rush “The Camera Eye”
• Rush “Witch Hunt”
• Rush “Vital Signs”

All tracks are original master recordings. Remember the price is 200 Wii points (aka $2) per track.

Guitar Hero

We have what they are calling the “Acoustic Track Pack” :

• Incubus - “Drive”
• The Shins - “New Slang”
• Ryan Adams - “Wonderwall” (cover)

For this week it’s all about “acoustic” hits. Totally love the songs “Drive” and “Wonderwall” (cover or not). I would definitely suggest them myself. You can purchase the songs individually for 160 MS Points, $1.99 on PSN, or 200 Wii Points. The track packs will cost 440 MS Points $5.49 on the PSN.

Lips DLC

And for the pop stars…

• Olivia Newton John – “Magic” (160)
• Avril Lavigne – “My Happy Ending” (160)
• The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg – “Buttons” (160)

My personal suggestion? Probably the Pussycat Dolls track. Mix that with some seductive dancing and you got yourselves a Lips party! Find someone and sing to them. That will attract a mate. Lol.

Mario Paint? A music game? Yeah, the 1992, Super Nintendo favorite brought one of the most creative outlets for music production. The very basic music composer that was included in the game was a breakthrough. Sure there were only three songs packaged in the game (including the Mario theme) and the measures were limited (about 24 if I recall correctly). You had the ability to make your song 3/4 or 4/4 time and there were several “instruments” that you could play. My favorite was the face that made some odd baby sound.

There are a lot of games that come with peripherals, but the Mouse was perfect. It was something so 80s/90s with the emergence of the home computer (aka the PC). There weren’t many games that supported the mouse but this one was well worth the buy.

On a side note, I loved the Gnat Attack game. Swatting bugs? Only Nintendo could get away with something oddly everyday and make it fun.

This game would fit perfectly for the Wii and Nintendo should consider. Especially with the gaming genre spreading out to more casual players, a game like Mario Paint would be great for children, adults, men, women, anyone really. The Wii-mote would be a decent replacement for the mouse, though if one could plug in either a USB mouse or a Gamecube-plug based mouse; that would be amazing.

Anyone who needs a Mario Paint music fix can Google “Mario Paint Composer” . There have been several versions created so find the one that’s best for you.

Here are some of my favorites:
– Sonic’s Green Hill Zone
– The Beach Boys: I Get Around
– Street Fighter 2: Balrog’s Stage

The last song brings back some good memories of Street Fighter 2, but that’s another day of reminiscing.