XYBA Podcast Ep 17

Andy, Eric, Jeff, and Josh are back with the last XYBA Video Game Podcast of 2007. We discuss games we played on holiday and games we got for Christmas. Good times.

00:00 - Intros
00:35 - Games We're Playing :|: Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Gundam, Viva Pinata: Party Animals, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, SceneIt, Call of Duty 4, Half Life 2, Guitar Hero III, Tenchu Z, Transformers, Contra 4, New York Times Cross Word Puzzles, The Simpsons Game, Rock Band,
50:57 - Gaming News
1:02:30 - What We Are Looking Forward to For Gaming in 2008
1:34:38 - Rantz :|: Jeff goes off on Sony and their firmware restrictions

Download XYBA Podcast Ep 17

Guess What EA Sent Me? (Part 2)

Remember the extra guitar that I received from EA last week? Well last night I got around to opening it and as I thought it was another Rock Band guitar, but this one was different. At first I didn't recognize the difference, but then I realized there was no cord. This mama jama was a wireless guitar.

As you can imagine I was pretty excited. I would much rather have the wireless guitar over the wired guitar. But as quickly as I noticed it was a wireless guitar, I noticed something else. The guitar was lacking a certain green color. Something was off just a smidgen. Then I took a closer look at the Xbox 360 jewel (you know the button with the 4 green curves around it that can turn on the console) and to my surprise it didn't have it's signature green X on the button. Instead it said "PS".

At this point my heart broke and all the great moments I imagined having with the wireless guitar disappeared. I'm not sure why EA sent me a PS3 wireless guitar, since I never requested one and I don't own a PS3 yet. Something in their automated system must not have been tested well because they sent me 2 guitars instead of one and one of the guitars is for the wrong console. I started a thread on the Rock Band forums about it. Thanks EA.

Guess What EA Sent Me?

Another Rock Band guitar. I'm not sure why, but yesterday when I was tending to the puppies at home I heard a knock at the door. I go outside and I see the UPS man placed another Rock Band guitar box at my door.

I haven't opened it yet, but I have contacted EA asking if the 2nd guitar is a more reliable guitar. Also I didn't accidentally order two because I signed into my EA account and checked the replacement order screen and there's only one order. So if they reply that they only have on record one guitar, then it looks like I gots me a freebie.

Apparently the EA customer support is giving out freebies as well. One thread on the Rock Band forums says that the customer support gave him a free game for his replacement not showing up in time.

Guitar Repair for Dummies!

For any of you poor saps who were lucky enough to grab your box-o-rock, but unlucky enough to get a busted guitar here's a possible solution. It seems that some impatient maverick took it upon himself to crack open the strum-less ax and fix it freelance. If you also have the gumption to go at yourself he has posted some directions with pics here. Of course I'm sure this would void any warranty if your parts appeared "tampered" with, but for those in need of a quick fix of rocking this may be the way to go. Rock On on soldiers of noise, Rock On!!

Rock Band Announcement Hinted At

MTV, the creators of Rock Band, are hinting that a major announcement will be coming from them very shortly. Rumors run wild on the internet as to what the announcement will be.

Some think it will be a Rock Band update or expansion that will allow gamers to create or use their own music.

A lot of the speculation thinks that the announcement will have some kind of "Hollywood" tie in. I'm not sure what that would be. There's already a game where you make movies, it's called The Movies.

Microsoft's Perfect Storm is Brewing

At E3, Microsoft promoted a "Perfect Storm" of games for the holiday season. I was looking through some release dates(one of which was added today) and it looks like November will be one of the "stormiest" months of the year.

Now, on one hand, it's fantastic. A lot of games I want to play are coming out. But on the other hand, where will I get the time or money to play them all? I understand that Microsoft wants to make a big holiday splash, but why can't they spread them out some so I'm not going through these droughts? Also, a number of these games are multi-platform so it's also a big storm for other platforms as well.

Here are the November releases I'm looking forward to. Time to start dancing on street corners again to make some extra cash.

Army of Two finally had a release date of November 15th slapped on it today. This game was made to play in co-op mode as you play one of two mercenaries out there fighting wars for money. Their use of customizable weapons and agro should make this shooter pretty fun.

Assassin's Creed is due out sometime in November. The exact date has not been announced yet. This game allows you to take the role of an assassin in Jerusalem in the year 1191 during the Third Crusade. Expect a lot of stealth, hand-to-hand combat and jumping off of stuff.

Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare may be out November 5th, but that date hasn't been locked down yet. Take on the role of a US or British soldier to fight some rogue factions in the modern era.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men should be out mid-November. And the game's already been optioned to be made into a movie. In the game, you get to play a "flawed" mercenary and team up with a psychopath to shoot lots of people.

Mass Effect is also due sometime in November. The epic sci-fi RPG has been a long time in the making and highly anticipated. Pick one of six classes and lead your squad on the exploration and defense of the galaxy.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames should be out the first half of November. They made this one co-op so that should increase the fun exponentially.

Rock Band should be out around November 20th. A chance to pay $200 and rock out on guitar, bass, drums or even sing. Let's get the band back together!

Splinter Cell: Conviction is due out November 16th(although there is a foreign rumor about a delay on the nets today). Play Sam Fisher as you never have before, out in the open without all your fancy tech and sneaking around.

Guitar Hero Has Competition

Looks like Harmonix, EA, and MTV are teaming up to bring the ultimate band playing experience to the 360 and PS3 (sorry Wii owners). The idea is to take SingStar (Jeff's Favorite) and Guitar Hero and throw in a drum kit to form a band. Some highlights:

• Real Band - No Covers
• Online Bands - Each member can be in other countries
• New Songs - Artists will release new songs on the game
• EA - Easy Achievement points

The title is Rock Band, which leaves me to believe that you can't have any other band, but one that rocks. Sounds like fun. Should you hold off on getting Guitar Hero then? No because chicks dig a room full of guitars. Just get a guitar stand to hold all your gear now.