Battle of the Bands

Battle of the Bands

First came Guitar Hero and things were great. The makers incorporated a more interactive way to play a game by making a guitar controller that hits the note when you play the different color frets. They made a playlist of great guitar songs that anyone would easily know and made it fun by playing the songs with the controller. When you play it, it feels like you are the Guitar Hero.

Then they made a second game which had a new playlist of songs. But when they came out with a third game, another company decided to make a game which includes a band like scenario. They released the game Rock Band, which had the guitar controller, another guitar used as a bass, a microphone for the singer and the drum set. A lot of people would choose one over the other. Guitar Hero can get boring since it only deals with the guitar position and Rock Band was hard because they try to fit every players' notes on the screen making it difficult to see. Both had their pros and cons for a while.

Rock Band 2 was released and Guitar Hero World Tour came out with a band like scenario as well. They added cymbals to the drum set for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero WT came with them by default. Now the two games seem like the only difference is the playlist for each one.

"Kid Friendly" Games For The PS1 Series

"Kid Friendly" Games For The PS1 Series

There are several games out there that parents would not deem appropriate for their children. Any of the Grand Theft Autos, Gears of War, Halo...All of which I really couldn't see a seven year old playing anyway. That is why I am starting a series of Kid Friendly games for the original PlayStation system. Sure the system may be out dated but the amount of kid friendly games is right up there with Nintendo. So lets get started.

The Crash Bandicoot Series.

In these games you are a wily little bandicoot named Crash. In this kid friendly adventure you are doing multiple things varying from smashing mystery crates, to collecting crystals, to swimming, to doing your bandicoot spin to knock out the baddies, to riding jet skis, and so on... This is one kid friendly game that I have had much fun with and still do to this day. Its rated E for Everyone for Comic Mischief. Comic Mischief is basically short for "Kid friendly violence". Violence without the violence. Even adults can have fun with this one and you can have fun with out having the large "M" on the case.

Next Gen Consoles and their lack of Worthy RPG's

Next Gen Consoles and Their Lack of Worthy RPGs

Next Gen systems have everything needed to make an avid video gaming fan (such as myself) drool at their capabilities, from hi-def graphics to video game download and the streaming of videos. There is just one thing they lack: games, and in particular Role Playing Games. Role Playing Games, or RPGs for short, are my gaming bread and butter.
There is nothing I love more than to sit in front of my TV on a Sunday afternoon and grind through the first few chapters of a new RPG. But recently I have been left in the dust with both my Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The current RPGs out for both systems could be counted on both hands (Eternal Sonata, Mass Effect, Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Culdcept Saga, Blue Dragon, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean, and even Enchanted arms and Two Worlds), and the amount of good RPGs could be counted on one hand. So I've now been forced to trek out and play games such as Resistance and Gears of War. I've even started playing a bit of NCAA 09, something I never thought myself capable of. There is nothing wrong with these games, I would just prefer a nice, well rounded, fun RPG. The future holds some promise for gamers such as myself with the release of Final Fantasy XIII, Versus, and Agito, Kingdom Hearts 3 (one of my all time favorites), 50 blood on the sa....ha just kidding, and a few others. Hopefully developers will hear our cries and put out some awesome RPGs for us to waste our days grinding and upgrading equipment on.

Why PlayStation 3 Gives You More For Your Money

Why PlayStation 3 Gives You More For Your Money

Before I get to today's topic, I'd just like to say that I have the distinct pleasure of being the first to post on the BRE Software Video Game Store Blog. I look forward to all of your comments and I hope I can do the first blog justice. Enough with that! On to the topic of the day!

***This is a multiple part series. I'm not quite sure how many weeks this will run, as I have not pre-written any of my articles yet. Next week, I should have a better idea of just how many weeks this series of articles will last.***

Part 1:
Talk to any gamer, casual or otherwise, and when you ask them what system they prefer, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the answer 98% of the time will be 'Xbox 360!'. Of course, the very next question is "Why?". Answer: 'It has more games and the online play is better.'

I can't fault that argument due to the fact that if a gamer is looking for quantity of games and the ability to easily play online, then this is a valid opinion. However, the real question is how much is that response driven by the media/marketing that goes into the Xbox 360 and how much of it is derived from the never ending PlayStation 3 bashing that goes on on message boards?

Before you start jumping on me for Xbox 360 bashing (which I'm not...well, only a little bit), here are a few things to consider. The Xbox 360 was rushed to market one year earlier than anticipated and one year earlier than the PlayStation 3 (and Nintendo Wii for that matter). Naturally, the Xbox 360 is going to have a greater selection of games.

Second, Microsoft was forced to extend ALL Xbox 360 warranties to 3 years. Yes, count 'em...1...2...3 years for a problem they never really could explain to the public. Yes, you know by now that I am speaking of the Red Rings of Death. Had Microsoft taken the extra year in R & D (Gamer Translation: Beta Testing), this problem could have easily been taken care of and one could argue that the Xbox 360 would have roughly the same amount of games available as the PlayStation 3. Furthermore, for those avid Microsoft fans, the original Xbox would have had an additional year of support which would have meant more games and a longer shelf life for the system.

What ever happened to the mindset of wanting to have quality over quantity?

Yes, I know this article may be a little abstract and not too in-depth on why the PlayStation 3 is the better buy, but it is important to address this first so that you understand where I am coming from for the remainder of the series.

I look forward to your comments! A quick programming note: My articles will appear weekly on Monday beginning March 2nd.