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    Guitar Hero: The Beatles sends us into a terrifying alternate universe

    September 7, 2009 - 12:00pm

    Have you ever wondered why single-band Guitar Hero games meet with a chorus of groans, but when Rock Band does it, it's assumed to be the best thing ever? This video depicting a fictional Guitar Hero: The Beatles captures it perfectly. We don't even want to explain the joke(s) -- experience the train wreck in real time after the break.The Guitar Hero: Whoever series reached its ridiculous extreme with the recent announcement that the Van Halen game would be given away as a freebie with Guitar Hero 5. While we appreciate it as a deal, it shows just how much even Activision thinks of it.[Thanks, Jeff]

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    NintendoWare Weekly: Contra ReBirth, Super Return of the Jedi

    September 7, 2009 - 11:15am

    Happy Labor Day! To celebrate the occasion, Nintendo offers a WiiWare game that is guaranteed to be hard work. That's what Labor Day is about, right? Doing as much labor as possible? Nintendo certainly isn't taking the day off, bringing us a decent number of downloads (relative to our lowered expectations). The list is available after the break.

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    PAX 2009: More characters for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

    September 5, 2009 - 8:30pm


    Activision isn't officially at PAX this year, the publisher just dropped in to hijack our eyeballs for the evening so we could spend some with with Blur, Tony Hawk Ride, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. In the midst of the gaming and socializing, Acti revealed a few new playable characters in MUA2: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and exclusive to the Wii ... Goofy!Okay, we jest. The ink still isn't dry on that contract yet, but we hope that future versions of this game will gave us some sort of Disney hint, even if it's just a Scrooge McDuck level where you have to swim through gold coins. All kidding aside, MUA2 has added Iceman to the PS3/360 version, while the Wii inexplicably gains the cooler characters of Cyclops, Psylocke, and Blade. Where's the justice?! While we go vigilante and deal with this news, feel free to check out the gallery below and the new Iceman video just after the break.

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    A Boy and His Boy-Shaped Blob in a new trailer

    September 5, 2009 - 6:00pm

    WayForward has done something fairly magical with its gorgeous remake of A Boy and His Blob -- it's made the game look appealing even to someone who has played the NES game recently enough to remember the abject frustration, untinged by nostalgia. In fact, we think this game is lovely enough to attract players who don't even know there was another game.This 'launch' trailer (though the game isn't out until October) includes some animated story sequences, the use of which shouldn't be much of a surprise in a hand-drawn game. It also includes a quick look at some delightful jellybean-granted Blob abilities, like a mech and some kind of "boy" shape.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Square Enix's 'Game with No Name' broken up for DSiWare

    September 4, 2009 - 6:45pm

    The sequel to Square Enix's retrogaming/horror game Nanashi no Game (The Game with No Name) features a "cursed" platform game, an 8-bit sidescroller with creepy axes everywhere. That game-within-a-game is being brought to DSiWare in Japan on the 9th as Saikyouyoko Square Action Vol. 1 Noroi No game Chi and Vol. 2 Noroi No Game Dake (Extreme Misfortune Side Square Action Vol. 1 Cursed Game: Blood and Vol. 2 Cursed Game: Prison).Also broken up for DSiWare: Face Training, the game that introduced the camera to the DS. It's being sold in single exercises for 500 DSi Points each, as Kyou kara Hajimeru Facening Kao Toremini (Start Today Facening Face Training Mini). Also there's more mahjong, but when isn't there.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Contra ReBirth spreads to North America on Monday

    September 4, 2009 - 3:00pm

    Were you feeling a bit left out by the release of Contra ReBirth everywhere but North America? We were too, which is why we're delighted to tell you that North American Wii owners will be able to get their fill of dangerously shirt-free side-scrolling combat this Monday. We'd like to take the opportunity to thank Konami for telling us what's going to be available before it's available. Konami included the short trailer above, which includes one frame of ridiculous cut scene: "All fighting men are 'Contra,' whether they be human or robot!" There are also new screens of the adventures of Bill Rizer and samurai Genbei Yagyu (what?) to enjoy in our gallery.
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    Rock Band Weekly: Freezepop, PAX artists, Jackson 5 and more

    September 4, 2009 - 1:00pm


    Rock Band Weekly celebrates PAX next week with tracks from artists performing at the big games convention in Seattle this weekend. The PAX trax come from nerdcore bands and artists like Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot and Paul & Storm; with each song at a wallet-friendly price of $1. Those looking for mainstream musica can consume tracks from 3 Doors Down and The Jackson 5. Check out all the stuff coming to the various versions of Rock Band next week after the break.
    Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:

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    European Nintendo downloads: Consider yourself a hero

    September 4, 2009 - 12:14pm

    This week's new PAL Wii Shop update is short on selection, offering only one new game for Wii and one new app for DSi, but both are intriguing. Konami's Contra ReBirth arrives in the West for the first time, offering the first original Contra gameplay since 2007's brilliant Contra 4 -- though don't expect anything that revelatory.DSiWare now features an app we've been curious about since its non-unveiling at E3: 6 in 1 Dictionary with Camera Function; an app that is designed to translate between six different languages, even with words photographed by the DSi camera.

    • Contra ReBirth (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
    • 6 in 1 Dictionary with Camera Function (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)

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    No More Heroes 2 trailer serves up mouthful of details

    September 4, 2009 - 11:22am

    Suda Goichi takes the throne once again to narrate (in curiously deep voiceover) a new trailer for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. While the last trailer was mostly narrative-focused, this trailer (posted after the break) goes into detail about new features in the game, including new controls for the Beam Katana(s), the ability to kick and punch with the B button, and the new 8-bit-style job missions! Be warned (explicitly, if not by knowledge of previous No More Heroes promotion): there is some toilet humor.Additionally, we've posted two gameplay clips below the new trailer, as featured on IGN. While the footage in the trailer is from the Japanese version and therefore blood-free, the gameplay footage is very bloody and includes some tasteless (even for NMH) violence. The clips also include proof that if you thought the sword's battery charging couldn't get any more phallic, you were mistaken.[Thanks, Ihar]

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    Wii Sports Resort: The lost games

    September 4, 2009 - 10:35am

    In an email interview with Wired, Wii Sports Resort producer Katsuya Eguchi revealed that, beyond the twelve events included in the final game, even more were planned that didn't quite make it in the game."We considered fishing and a water slide activity before deciding on the final twelve events," Eguchi said. We're having a hard time imagining a controllable, skill-based water slide game, which may have been one reason it didn't end up in Resort. "As for more unconventional concepts, we created a pretty fun prototype of kendama, a traditional Japanese toy, that just didn't fit the game's theme." So, a toy didn't fit the "resort" theme, but fighting with fake swords was completely appropriate? Working at Nintendo is complicated.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments