Okay, so Marvel characters tend to fight each other on a regular basis, generally before teaming-up to take out a mutual enemy, but never quite on the scale of Marvel's Civil War storyline. The gigantic crossover serves as the backdrop to Vicarious Vision's second foray into the four-player superhero beat-em up. After a series of increasingly tragic circumstances, the government decides they want all superhuman heroes identities registered, splitting the Marvel Universe down the middle between those who favor freedom and those unopposed to full disclosure.

When superheroes clash, can anyone win?

Loved
A Crossover Epic: Ultimate Alliance 2 presents a truly epic tale in the Marvel Comics universe, combining elements of both the Secret War mini-series and the all-encompassing Civil War storyline, pitting heroes against heroes as the government tries to force all superheroes to register their identities. I won't spoil how the game handles the resolution of the conflict, but I will say that by the end of the story the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance. It isn't quite Marvel canon, and some of the more memorable moments in the Civil War storyline are absent, but on the whole its one satisfying tale.

Fused Together: The game was originally called Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, and the fusion attacks that allow different heroes to combine their powers into devastating special moves is certainly one of the title's more entertaining features. They echo the same sort of special maneuvers often seem in team-up comics, often with spectacular results. The three different types of fusion attacks - clearing, targeted, and guided - vary in availability based on the characters that make up your group, adding a bit of strategy to the hero selection process.

Marvel Team-Up: Ultimate Alliance 2 supports 4-player co-operative multiplayer in both local and online modes, making for some good times with close friends or total strangers. It can get a bit chaotic, but overall the multiplayer is solid, and the fusion system adds a little more cooperating to the co-op. I would have liked to be able to play my own leveled-up character in an online match rather than the characters that the host has available, but making fun of your hosts party composition lends to the enjoyment.

Graphically Novel: Vicarious Visions tightened up the graphics considerably for this sequel, with lush environments and characters lovingly rendered to match their comic book representations. The presentation at times mirrors the stark presentation of the Civil War comic series covers, with characters presented as stylistic silhouettes, presenting them as the iconic figures that they truly are. The graphics aren't perfect by any means, but they compliment the game nicely, and isn't that what they're supposed to do?

Extras: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is packed with plenty of extras to please fans of Marvel Comics, from concept art to trivia games to audio files that offer insight into events going on behind-the-scenes during the game. The simulator returns, though the classic comic-inspired missions of the first title are replaced with a series of multiplayer-friendly mini-games, which isn't a change I'm overly fond of. Still, there's enough fan service packed on the disc to keep Marvel fans happy for quite some time.

Deadpool: The fourth wall is nothing to Deadpool. Just as the print version is aware that he's in a comic book, the digital Deadpool knows he's in a video game, and he never lets you forget it. "Hello? Low health bar!" Once I unlocked him, I never took him out of my party.

Hated
Dumbed Down: While gameplay remains largely the same, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has seriously cut back on the behind-the-scenes roleplaying elements that I so enjoyed in the first title. Inventory management is gone, replaced with the ability to equip three boosts that affect the entire party. Also gone is the original game's alternate costume system, where different versions of each character had a different set of powers, allowing you to custom-tailor your hero to suit your particular play style. Special powers that you can only buy depending on which side of the Superhero Registration Act fight you choose help, but not that much.

Comical Voice Work: Inconsistency is the name of the game in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, which certain characters rising to the top and others falling flat. When they're bad, they're very, very bad. Unlocking Thor, one of my favorite characters, was a complete and utter joy...until he opened his mouth. I suppose in a game with this many characters there are bound to be a few bad apples, but with voice talent the likes of Fred Tatasciore, Steve Blum, and Armin Shimmerman in the game you at least need to make sure the rest of the cast can at least keep up.

Glitches: More indicative of a lack of polish than a broken game, I encountered quite a few glitchy moments during my time with Ultimate Alliance 2. Teammates running by me one moment only to return from the opposite direction the next; AI-controlled characters getting caught in the geometry or refusing to follow, resulting in moments of unfortunate solo gameplay; and enemies that don't quite respond to your presence were all among the little buggy bits that vexed me periodically as I played. As I said, nothing game-breaking; simply annoying.

I played the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance all the way through on no less than four separate platforms, so it makes sense that the changes made between the original and the sequel would weigh heavily with me. The loss of the costume switching mechanic in particular is a tough pill for me to swallow, as it was one of my greatest joys in the first game. Still, the storyline is more closely tied with the Marvel Universe, the fusion system is an entertaining addition, and while I still got a little lump in my throat every time I unlocked a new outfit, I did manage to enjoy myself a great deal.

It may not quite live up to the original. but Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a solid, entertaining title that will most likely please both fans of Marvel Comics and those that merely wish to spend many hours beating up bad guys in a spectacular fashion.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Other versions developed by n-Space (Wii, PS2, DS) and Savage Entertainment (PSP). Released on September 15th. Retails for $59.99 USD. Played Xbox 360 version. Played through story mode completely on heroic difficulty picking anti-registration branch, participated in drop-in online multiplayer, and went back to a previous save to experience pro-registration branch.

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In this latest developer diary for the title, we're told all about the things the team did to ensure the original Dead Space experience wouldn't be watered down.

While Guitar Hero: On Tour requires a "Guitar Grip" peripheral that plugs into the DS' Game Boy Advance slot, the soon-to-be-released Band Hero also makes use of a rubber drum skin that slips over the portable.

The skin features four tiny color-coded drum pads that tap on the DS' face buttons when a gamer uses them to play drums. The skin won't fit on the DSi because it's not the same shape as the DS, but the only issue is a form factor one.

"It's something we want to work on and we have been investigating ways to get (Band Hero) to the DSi," said David Nathanielsz, executive producer at Vicarious Visions. "But we looked at how many people already have the Guitar Grip and already have the DS and not the DSi."

Vicarious Visions said that both the drum and Guitar Grip peripherals compatibility issues with the DSi are "solvable problems," but not something they're committed to yet.

Band Hero is set to hit the Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2 this November.

This trailer also shows off Face to Face's Disconnect, but I'm pretty sure my parents won't care about that. They'll probably be happy to see the drop-in, drop-out play mode and the part where we won't have to fight over who gets to play guitar, but I could just be projecting.

Guitar Hero 5 is out September 1.

I've heard people criticize Guitar Hero games in the past for being too much of a video game and not enough of a music experience (boss battles? C'mon…). While Roadie Battle definitely is about winning and not about playing music, I'm pretty sure those who love the Wii won't mind a bit. And the competitive types won't even have time to quip "You used to be about the music, man," as they rock their hearts out to crush the competition.

What Is It?
Roadie Battle is the first of two Wii-exclusive Guitar Hero 5 modes — the other being Stage Manager. Roadie Battle links two DS consoles to a Wii so up to four players can play. Two Wii players actually play music while the two DS players play as roadies out to sabotage the rival bands' gear backstage to wreck the performance via stylus-based mini-game. When a roadie succeeds in smashing the opponent's speakers or causing his pyrotechnics to malfunction, a status effect impedes the guitar player's progress. It's awfully hard to hit all the notes when everything's on fire.

What We Saw
I played two rounds of Roadie Battle and backseat-gamed one other journalist's experience for a match.

How Far Along Is It?
Fairly final. Guitar Hero 5 is out September 1.

What Needs Improvement?
Maybe More Variety In Mini Games: There are four or so multi-tiered mini-games Roadies can choose to wreck things backstage or (when wrecked by the other roadie) try to repair. Each usually involves scribbling with a stylus (for stuff like snapping guitar strings), blowing into the mic (to put out fires) or mashing a button at the exact right time (to switch out a backward-strung guitar with a good one). These mini-games never vary no matter what band you're with or which song you're playing – so I could imagine gameplay getting a little stale, especially when everyone's memorized the stylus motions to each game.

What Should Stay The Same?
The Teamwork Dynamic: Controlling a roadie is about more than just blowing into your DS mic and frantically scribbling on the touch screen. You've got to listen to your guitarist or you won't know when he's caught on fire, or how long she can keep going with her guitar strings reversed. Working together you develop a strategy where you know how long you have to wreck things and how quickly you need to click the "run back" icon to return to your side of the stage and repair sabotaged equipment. This is what developer Vicarious Visions calls a "Guitar Hero ecosystem" and it wasn't actually built for casual gamers most often associated with the Wii and DS. "When we designed Roadie Battle, we were really thinking about core gamers," Developer Karthik Bala said. "But we had this family come in, a mom, dad and their two kids and they've never been able to play guitar hero with their kids at all. But they loved being the roadies. They could play that mode all day long."

I Could Play This Mode All Day Long: I don't think I've had this much fun with a Guitar Hero game before. Sure, the mini-games might get old after a while, but it'll be a long while. Especially if I get a good teammate on guitar and someone with faster fingers to compete against. Roadie Battle might not be a pure music experience, sure. But for roadies, it's isn't about the music – it's about the band, man. Do it for the band!

Final Thoughts
I can't wait for a Groupie Battle mode in Guitar Hero 6. Oh and in case you were wondering about Stage Manager — it's not really a game mode. It's just a way for a DS player to change the lighting, special effects and camera angles during the Mii Freestyle mode on the Wii so you can "help" record music videos.

Nope! Not at all. Instead, it'll tap right into your Wii address book and share those contacts, cutting out a lot of frustrating data entry. Of course, that'll only work if you had people in your Wii address book in the first place, but hey, adding them there is probably worth it since this sets a precedent for other developers to follow.

Guitar Hero 5 Wii Blowout [IGN]

While the gameplay is largely similar to the first, putting the player in control of up to four Marvel super heroes, the visual style has drastically improved from the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance. MUA2 looks incredibly sharp, taking better advantage of the now-gen hardware than the original. Also new is the "fusion" combination of powers, letting characters like the Hulk and Wolverine work together—in the Marvel trademark "fastball special"—to take down enemies.

Other characters can combine in less predictable ways, with the Hulk joining Songbird to create an amusing hamster ball-like sphere of pink and green destruction. Hulk roll!!

Normal attacks and special attacks are nearly identical to the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance, using the right trigger to perform each hero's signature moves.

Our run through of the demo, set in Washington, DC and during the Civil War storyline that ran through numerous Marvel titles in 2006, was a relatively quick beat 'em up affair. We had access to two sets of teams that included mainstays like Hulk, Spider-Man, Storm and Iron Man.

We met up with fan favorite Deadpool, who was no easy task to defeat. Fortunately, after putting a hurt on Deadpool, he asked to join our team of Marvel's merry men. The writing here was spot on, with the anti-hero spouting laugh out loud dialog. We were given three options with which to respond to Deadpool's request and choosing one affected how our team leveled up, making us either more defensive, aggressive or diplomatic. Those choices affect a team's defense, strength and fusion powers, respectively, adding a bit more variety to your alliance of choice.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 looks like it will go a long way to improving the series, with noticeable boosts to the game's graphical capabilities, leveling mechanics and storytelling. If you were just a casual fan of the first, we'd highly recommend paying attention to the second.

"It's not just a DS with cameras in it as some might think," video game producer David Nathanielsz told Kotaku in an interview earlier this week. "It's a more powerful platform."

Nathanielsz is the executive producer of the forthcoming Band Hero DS, which is in development at Activision's Vicarious Visions studio. (Check out Kotaku's Band Hero DS interview.) Vicarious Visions has distinguished itself in recent years at being one of the top houses for DS development, pushing the hardware more aggressively than most studios outside of Nintendo.

But Vicarious Visions has released just one download-only game for Nintendo's DSi, which has been on the market in the U.S. since April. The studio's next game, November's Band Hero DS, won't even play on the DSi. One reason for the studio's lack of DSi compatibility for its next project is obvious: the DSi lacks the Game Boy Advance slot that current models of the Vicarious Visions' DS music games — including Band Hero DS — require. It's where the games' guitar-grip peripheral plugs into.

Nathanielsz wouldn't say whether Vicarious Visions has found an alternate method for connecting guitar peripherals to the DSi for future releases, but he did say that not supporting the DSi with Band Hero DS was more than just a matter of the missing GBA slot.

"This is something we've really been thinking about and working on," he said. "What's interesting about the DSi is [that] it's a much more capable system than the DS and DSLite than some may think." He was suggesting that the machine has more horsepower, something I've heard from other DS developers as well but did not have a chance to follow-up on in this interview.

"We want to do it right," said Nathanielsz. "We want to get the best experience for what that platform can deliver."

This November, Activision's Vicarious Visions studio will release its fourth music game for the Nintendo DS. Band Hero DS follows a trio of shrunken Guitar Hero games that were playable on Nintendo's handheld with a bundled guitar grip that plugged into the Nintendo DS' Game Boy Advance slot. The add-on simulated the feel of a guitar fret.

The portable Guitar Heroes were hits with kids but have suffered mockery by many reader of sites like this one, who have surmised that the games on the DS are only good for hand cramps and embarrassment.

"No matter what your game is, you're always going to have a subset of people who won't want to play it for philosophical reasons," David Nathanielsz, the game's executive producer at Vicarious Visions told Kotaku in a phone interview earlier this week. "That's unfortunate for us because there is a large group of people who see pictures of Guitar Hero DS or Band Hero DS and say, 'That looks dumb' or whatever. 'I never want to play it.'"

But play it and you just might be converted "I don't think we'll get everyone," he said. "But if we can get the message out there for people to try it…"

What if people could get over their apprehensions? What would they find?

Vicarious Visions' new game, Band Hero DS lets four people use their systems to play in a virtual band together. Its drum and guitar peripherals work only with the middle version of the DS, the DS Lite. Players can attach the guitar grip to play lead guitar or bass, wrap a sleeve of rubberized silicone around the system — the "drum grip" — and tap on mini drum pads to play drums or sing into the DS mic for vocals. And gamers can configure their band with any combination of those instruments, allowing for an all-vocals band or one with two drummers.

Imagine a quartet of players jamming together. The DS of each of the four gamers, linked over local wireless, emits the music of the game's more than 30 master tracks. Unlike Daigasso Band Brothers, the Nintendo-published multiplayer music game released in Japan in 2004, each system won't just play the sounds of the instrument its gameplay is tied to. Each one plays all of the music.

Being on a fourth iteration of a design helps. The developers of the portable Heroes repeatedly tweak their systems for detecting the strumming — and now also the drumming — efforts of their players. Some players, Nathanielsz said, lift their stylus after each strum. Some never lose contact with the screen. The game has to recognize that variety. Vicarious Visions has cleared elements from the touch screen and tweaked the programming again to improve strumming responsiveness.

For drumming, the game will recognize taps on its drum pads, not, as some may have anticipated, on the DS touch screen. A touch screen interface was considered, Nathanielsz said, but the DS' inability to recognize more than one tap on its touch screen at a time introduced the risk of the system failing to recognize two rapidly successive taps, particularly if the player was inputting them with two styli or fingers on the left and right sides of the screen. Going with something more button-based literally felt better for Vicarious Visions. "When we sat down and started prototyping drum play we wanted to replicate the rhythmic, kinesthetic experience of drumming," Nathanielsz said. "What we quickly realized is the movement of your thumbs in a horizontal and vertical direction was really compelling and fun." The gameplay that way should have the quickness and a bit of the physicality of drumming in real life.

The new game also includes WarioWare-sized, music-themed mini-game challenges that can be thrown at players in a competitive mode to throw them off or can be given to a struggling player in co-op mode to earn a boost. All songs are unlocked at the beginning of the game, but an expanded single player batch of 200 Achievements-style "Awards" spread across four instrument-based progressions has been included to help add longevity.

The game does not support the DS' Wi-Fi functionality and Nathanielsz said there are no plans to support downloadable content (as expected given the DS Lite's lack of storage capacity).

Why isn't this game called Guitar Hero 5 DS? Activision is splitting its rock-based Hero games this fall with both a Guitar Hero sequel and the new Band Hero console and portable game. The latter has a broader and more pop-inclusive soundtrack. Tracks include artists ranging from Queen to Pink to No Doubt.

To the skeptics, note Vicarious Visions' philosophy with these games. "We're not trying to replicate 100% the experience of Guitar Hero on the DS," Nathanielsz said. "The console games might be trying to make you feel like a guitarist... we're trying to abstract that one step. How can we make a great music game based on playing in a band?"

The new Transformers game, like its DS predecessor, has an online web-site-based metagame that pits its owners against each other. And, as of today, the Autobot side is winning.

A check of the official website for the so-called Battle for Earth, shows Autobots earning more than 26 million pieces of Energon compared to almost 22 million by Decepticon players, four days into a battle among all the game's web-connected owners.

Like a Pokemon or Nintendogs DS game, the Transformers DS movie games come in multiple versions. Non-rich people purchasing the DS version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen must make a choice:

Buy the Decepticon or Autobot version.

Whichever version a player has determines their faction when they connect their DS online and join to fight in the metagame battle. Players don't compete in standard competitive multiplayer matches. Instead, connecting the game online unlocks new daily challenges. The challenges are single-player snippets of action set in the 3D enviornments of the DS game. Performance in those challenges is uploaded back to the official site and points are added to a faction's tally. The battlegrounds are spread across six regions of a global map and the war continues until one faction controls the six regions. Currently, Decepticons only have a strong edge in the game's Australia region.

This morning, I bought the Decepticons version of the DS game. I connected online and decided to help the war effort in Europe. My single-player mission involved trying to defend a region for about two minutes. I was terrible at it, possibly owing to how low-powered my starter-Decepticon is. I was able to hold off for about 15 seconds, earning 450 experience points (for rank) and several hundred bits of Energon. I'm the 784th-most valuable contributor to the Decepticon effort. Our top fighter has contributed 1,218,150 pieces of Energon.

The metagame concept used in these Transformers games assumes a close to even balance between those who will buy the Autobot version of the Activision-published game and the Decepticon version. It's a safe guess, apparently. An Activision rep I interviewed about this metagame for the first Transformers DS game in 2007 told me that Hasbro has determined that Transformers fans are split 50/50 between the two factions (So nobody's for the Quintessons? Thank goodness.)

Maybe the creators of hip-hop games should divide their games into East Coast and West Coast flavors. Or Gran Turismo could be sold in Democrat and Republican editions.

Whatever the case, the Decepticons could use some help.

With Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 focusing on the Civil War storyline from the comics, it makes perfect sense that Norman Osborne make an appearance. After all, this was the storyline that left him one of the most powerful men in the world, though he wasn't exactly prancing about in a goblin suit while he participated. Still, I suppose Norman Osborne in a business suit isn't quite as interesting in a video game setting.

Former Scorpion Mac Gargan also teamed with the Thunderbolts during the series. Infused with the Venom symbiote once worn by Eddie Brock, this marks the first time Gargan's take on Spider-Man's greatest foe makes an appearance in a video game.

Judging by the exhaustive profiles the pair were given last week on the game's official website, it looks like these two aren't just throwaway characters either. Hit the links below to read up on the anti-hero duo's Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 appearance.

Things that go bump in the night (Part 1 - Venom) and (Part 2 - Green Goblin) [Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2]

Up until now Deadpool's appearance in the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 roster has been kept quiet, but an advertisement included in retail copies of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine video game reveal Wade Wilson in all his red and black, smack-talking glory. Note that his traditional appearance in the ad doesn't rule out having the movie version included as an alternate costume, but we're relatively sure the folks at Vicarious Visions know better than that.

Deadpool Joins Activision's Ultimate Alliance [IGN]

That title is Mixed Messages, developed by port & handheld specialists Vicarious Visions. It's a party game for 2 to 21 players, and works a little bit like Pictionary, with players drawing something before passing the DSi on to somebody else to draw something else.

It's available now for 500 Nintendo Points. Oh, and it's the first third-party downloadable title for the handheld, for what that's worth.

This was the most shocking thing I retained from my interview with David. The rest is to be expected – of course Vicarious is pleased to have climbed from Jet Set Radio on the GameBoy Advance to such lofty heights as developing Guitar Hero: World Tour for the Wii.

“We’re excited to stay with Nintendo,” said David. “And we like developing for the Wii.”

David feels that people don’t know just what the Wii can do. Multiplatform game development usually treats Nintendo’s “next-gen” console like a retarded little brother that needs placating. But Vicarious was determined to bring all the passion that went into World Tour’s development on 360 and PS3 to the Wii.

To that end, nothing has been skimped except a layer of polish on the graphics. What did you expect? The Wii does have limits. All the stuff that makes World Tour a solid party game is there – the Music Studio, Career mode… And to top it all off, is the Mii Freestyle mode.

Mii Freestyle allows gamers to strum and drum randomly while their Miis rock out onscreen. It’s not like Music Studio in that you can’t edit together for a track. But as far as freestyle goes, it doesn’t get much better than this. There are even cue cards with suggested moves to get you going if you’re not sure what sort of sounds you “should” be making. You can also set a repeating drum backbeat so you can play along with that and sound like you’re actually making music instead of randomly strumming guitar.

David is especially passionate about the idea that everyone should be able to play this game. He told me a story about a fan who’d contacted him to thank him – this fan’s son was crippled by a stroke and could barely use one side of his body. Playing drums on Rock Band or on the 360/PS3 Guitar Hero is totally out of the question for this kid. But on the Wii, with the nunchuck-remote combo option for drumming, he can play drums. And David is totally stoked that his game made that possible.

“[Playing as] a band is a social experience,” David says. And so is his game.

In addition to that everyone-can-play attitude, the in-game music store features accessibility like nobody’s business. Anything you buy from the store (or download from the Guitar Hero site’s Music Studio section) can be put on an SD card, and carried anywhere and put in any set list on any system running the game.

I wrapped up with some key questions about what he liked to play on Guitar Hero. David likes drumming to the Foo Fighters (jeez, who doesn’t?), playing guitar to Assassin by Muse, and singing Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell. He also has ideas on what song he’d like to see in Guitar Hero. At first he told me The Sugarplastic’s Sun Goes Cold – but later, he emailed me, saying he “couldn’t live with himself” if he didn’t change that to I Am the Resurrection by the Stone Roses.

“Considering the number of times I air-guitared to the song as a teenager, it is clearly at the top of my list,” reads his email. “Hopefully at some point down the road I’ll get my chance to play it in Guitar Hero, but for the near future I’ll have to get by on playing The Stone Roses’ ‘Love Spreads’ which is in World Tour.”

In case you missed the question in my Neversoft interview with Brian Bright, I’ll ask again – what song would you want to see in Guitar Hero or Rock Band?

Me? On Wii, I think it’d be cool if they did a Disney pack of all the songs from the movies we saw as kids. Under the Sea, Beauty and the Beast – shit like that, so we can relive our childhoods (or maybe share them with our own kids).

It started with a broken BART train. This led to a cab, which I had no money to pay for. The next shit storm occurred when my flight was cancelled. And then, the later flight I got bumped to was delayed by an hour and half. Oh, but it gets better. I get to the hotel with a mere 40 minutes to go before the event starts and the room I’m given is being remodeled.

*Cue AJ’s head exploding*

So, yeah. After all that, Guitar Hero: World Tour fucking owed me a good time.

And by God, I got it. I had to throw a few elbows and put up with the posturing bastards attracted by the competitive edge to Guitar Hero III, but I freaking got my good time.

Here’s the thing – this game is Rock Band. No, don’t give me that crap about how it’s different, it’s better, it’s got six drumheads, so it’s totally different. It is Rock Band. And who says that’s a bad thing? I already knew how to play the instruments. Not well, mind you, but it’s not like I needed a tutorial to find the fret buttons.

It’s like having a favorite candy and then they come out with a sour version that fizzes in your mouth and has Tool songs. That’s what Guitar Hero: World Tour is – the Warheads to Rock Band’s Airheads.

There are some subtle differences in appearance – the in-game visuals are more lurid and less sparkly, the fonts and vocabulary are completely different, and the Tool-themed venues are just freaking awesome creepy. And the not-so-subtle differences from Rock Band aren’t that jarring because this is still a Guitar Hero game, so it’s perfectly natural to go through competitive modes and encounter devil-looking “bosses” as you plow through career mode.

The only major thing that sets Guitar Hero: World Tour apart is the make-your-own-music feature. On PS3/360, this is only in the Music Studio mode where you can record yourself jamming on whatever instrument (except the vocals) and edit it together to sound like a real track. This is part of Activision’s strategy to reach out to the community in a way that Rock Band didn’t; allowing you to record your own music and upload it to the web (where other people can download it and put it on their set lists).

The Wii has Music Studio, too, but it also has Mii Freestyle mode. And if just now, you’re rolling your eyes and muttering “Wii Music, feh,” I’ve got news for you: this mode was probably the most fun anyone had all night (next to getting sloshed and singing Michael Jackson’s Beat It without shame or inhibition). Mii Freestyle is just like jamming in your friend’s basement when you’re young and don’t know what you’re doing – a carefree setup where there is no wrong and no right, with little cue cards and an optional looping drumbeat to get you going if you don’t know where to start.

I tried this mode out after being savaged by my peers on the 360 version; it was the perfect salve to my wounded pride. It’s not that I disgraced myself singing vocals on 360 – I may be tone deaf, but World Tour’s Easy mode lets you get away with off-key murder (and on Beginner, you can just shout incoherently into the microphone). It’s just that the attendees had divided into two groups without telling me – and the 360 version was for Hardcore Only. So because I didn’t know the lyrics to Filter’s Hey Man, Nice Shot and I wasn’t alive during the 70s when Pretty Vacant came out, I wasn’t “hardcore” enough to play with that crowd (even though it wasn’t me that failed us out of Schism, it was the drummer).

That’s my main problem with Guitar Hero: World Tour – the peer pressure from other gamers. Rock Band has its fair share of performance artist assholes that refuse to play with anyone who isn’t rocking on Hard or above, but I think it was established by the consumers that Rock Band was for everybody and Guitar Hero III and beyond was for the hardcore (come on – boss battles?). Thus, I encountered way more competitive jerks in just three minutes on World Tour than I ever did playing Rock Band for an entire year. The people I was playing with on 360 wouldn’t even let me try out Beginner and sneered at me when I chose Easy for vocals. Which is funny, since none of them wanted to sing at all.

After we scraped our way through Hotel California, my impressions of World Tour were all bad for a solid 10 minutes: “Fuck this game, it’s just a rip-off of Rock Band – only assholes want to play Pretty Vacant. And who really cares about singing? So what if there’re two extra drumheads to hit? I can just wait for Rock Band 2…” Etc.

It didn’t help that there’s still an emphasis on competition in World Tour. It’s not as severe as in Legends of Rock where versus mode had you crippling your opponent with seemingly-random power-ups. That game was less about the music and more about the game. But it’s still obvious in World Tour that you’re supposed to be better than the next guy – or at least above reproach if you fail the song. Even the icons for each player’s success speak to this; they’re side-by-side instead of on the same line, enhancing the feeling that you’ve got to be better than everybody if you don’t want to get made fun of.

I frown on this – and not just because I suck at guitar. Even if I could pull off the insane riffs without spraining my wrist, I would still scorn a game that takes all the fun out of pretending to be a rock star. So I salute World Tour for including Beginner mode – even if it’s boring for the bassist to just press the strum button every so often and not go near the fret buttons. It’s a way for a noob (or a girlfriend, or a kid) to play without forcing them to sing when they don’t want to (and aren’t particularly good at it anyway).

When I found my way to the Wii version, everything got better. It wasn’t just the Mii Freestyle mode that changed my outlook; it was the gamers that gravitated to Nintendo’s little white box. These were the guys and girls who didn’t care who was playing on what mode and were patient as people combed through the song list over and over again, looking for that one song they weren’t ashamed to sing (Eye of the Tiger was a big hit). And they didn’t give me lip when I set vocals to Beginner so I could screw up the live version of Sweet Home Alabama (I have a Texan accent – I just can’t say “Alabama” the way Lynyrd Skynyrd intended).

So maybe one stereotype is true – non-hardcore gamers prefer the Wii. But like Guitar Hero being a Rock Band clone, who says this is a bad thing? If the dev team on World Tour meant to make a game for everyone that had just as much appeal as Rock Band and maybe a little bit more (okay, kind of a lot more) content, then it looks like they’ve succeeded.

Or at least they got through to me. And by the end of the night, I was screeching my way through Jimmy Eat World’s "The Middle" (apropos, given the peer pressure I was under) with the best of them. But I swear, if you guys aren’t already good at guitar, you’re either going to have to play World Tour in secret until you get better, or play it on Wii.

P.S. I realize hardcore does not equate asshole. And I’m damn sure you guys are going to love this game with or without all that fancy-schmancy accessibility I was gushing over. The set list is solid, the difficultly ramps up smoothly so you don’t hit any brick walls, the motion-captured celebrities look amazing, and the head-to-head face offs are now a fair fight of who is the better player instead of who gets the power-up first. Just try and remember this is a party game and not an opportunity to alienate all of your friends, ‘kay?

ETA: Sorry - something was way broken with my gallery...

By now I'm sure most of you are familiar with the seemingly odd transition of Guitar Hero from consoles to handhelds, namely the DS. When Guitar Hero: On Tour was announced a few months ago it left many of us scratching our heads wondering how they would pull it off. Even with the addition of pictures of the add-on peripheral it was still hard to imagine exactly what it would be like trying to play. I finally got my chance to check it out for myself a few days ago and despite former misgivings I actually found it quite fun.

The first thing I took a look at upon arriving was the "guitar grip" peripheral. It was a pretty sturdy little piece of a equipment that fits snugly into the GBA slot of the DS. The clear plastic cover is removable and the logo can be pulled out so you can customize the look of it. The strap is likewise customizable, no doubt providing plenty of opportunity for merchandising. As you may know, there are only four buttons in this iteration of the game and while some players may find this disconcerting, there is actually a good reason for it. With the DS literally strapped to your hand, it would make it impossible for you to be able to slide your hand to reach the fifth button. Then of course there is the space issue. After looking at it close up, it seems the addition of the fifth button would make it a bit crowded.

I started out with a little solo play and was surprised how easy it was once I got comfortable with it. I will admit that the peripheral seems a bit awkward at first, but once you figure out how to hold it in a way that is comfortable for you, it just becomes an extension of your hand. Strumming is done on the touch screen with a guitar pick stylus and you can pretty much strum anywhere on the screen for it to work. The whammy bar is also controlled here in the same way for those long notes. The rest of the gameplay is pretty straightforward GH: follow the notes and hit your keys.

Next I checked out the multiplayer game (multikart only) with a fellow journalist. It was fairly easy to get the two DSs talking and once it started it was all out war. The DS multiplayer has the addition of attacks that can be pulled out at opportune times to foil your opponents playing. Set their guitar on fire, make them sign an autograph, cut their strings, the viscous fun never ends! While these attacks were cool and added a nice variance to the game, I sometimes found it difficult to launch the attacks since you have to touch little icons on the strum screen. If you are anything like me and are concentrating on the moving dots, sometimes it's hard to look away long enough to touch the icons. I still managed to launch some attacks but it was to the detriment of my playing. Still, if you can manage doing those things all at once, the attacks are a lot of fun.

Other additions to the game include some new venues (subway, rooftop, parade, Greek Arena) and two new characters (Gunner Jaxon and Memphis Rose). Guitar hero: On Tour will feature over twenty five songs, twenty of them being exclusive to the DS and the remaining being staff favorites from Guitar Hero III. For a handheld game taken from a popular console title, I have to say I was pretty impressed by the graphics. They looked sharp and didn't leave me feeling cheated or that I was missing something. All in all I had a good experience playing and this should be a great title for Guitar Hero fans and since it's rated E it will be a great fun for your rockin' little ones too! Take a look below for a partial song list of twenty songs. The remaing five will remain a mystery until the game launches or someone leaks it. Which one do you think will happen first?

Subway
Do What You Want – OK Go
All the Small Things – blink-182
Spiderwebs – No Doubt
Are you Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister

Rooftop
All Star – Smashmouth
Breed – Nirvana
Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield
Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar
This Love – Maroon 5

Parade
Heaven – Los Lonely Boys
Helicopter – Bloc Party
China Grove – The Doobie Brothers
Rock And Roll All Nite – Kiss – *Cover
What I Want – Daughtry

Greek Arena
Jet Airliner – Steve Miller Band – *Cover
Black Magic Woman – Santana – *Cover
Stray Cat Strut – Stray Cats
La Grange – ZZ Top – *Cover
Youth Gone Wild – Skid Row – *Cover

A memorial service shall be held next Tuesday. Flowers and donations may be forwarded to Vicarious Visions and Activision Corp. Guitar Hero is survived by its sole sibling, Rock Band. Rest In Peace.

[Thanks Josh!]

On Tour will use a pick-stylus and touch screen strings for strumming and that fancy Guitar Hero Guitar Grip for fretting. The game will include a local wireless co-op mode and a Guitar Duel battle mode with battle items unique to the DS. Some examples include forcing a player to blow into the microphone to put out pyrotechnics gone wrong and being forces to autograph the touch screen to stave off crazed fans in the middle of a set.

The game will have five new unlockable venues. You can customize the game a touch by changing the color of your guitar and picking outfits for your guitarist. The DS version will come with six characters, two of which are new to this version. The rated E 10+ game is due out this summer.

Hit the jump for the full release, complete with quotes!!!

Guitar Hero(R): On Tour Explodes onto Nintendo DS This Summer

New Game Introduces Revolutionary Guitar Hero(TM) Guitar Grip(TM) Peripheral for Anytime, Anywhere Guitar Hero(R) Gameplay

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Mar 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — For the first time, handheld gamers will have the freedom to unleash their inner rock star anywhere, anytime with Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) upcoming Guitar Hero(R): On Tour for Nintendo DS(TM). The game will deliver a unique Guitar Hero(R) experience by challenging handheld gamers to rock out and prove their shredding skills on the most diverse set list of master tracks ever offered in a Guitar Hero game, including classic rock, alternative and pop favorites such as Nirvana, OK Go and No Doubt.
The game will be packaged with a revolutionary Guitar Hero(TM) Guitar Grip(TM) peripheral that fits snugly into the DS and a unique Guitar Hero pick-stylus that brings a new dimension to handheld gaming and the core gameplay that defines Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero: On Tour has been designed specifically for the DS platform and will offer the DS audience an all-new compelling music experience.

"We are continuing to introduce new and exciting ways to bring music to audiences with Guitar Hero," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing for Activision/RedOctane. "The Guitar Hero Guitar Grip redefines how games can be played on handheld systems and the integration of the microphone and touch screen gameplay on the DS, further illustrates Guitar Hero's leadership in delivering the most unique and creative quality hardware and software on the market."

"We're designing Guitar Hero: On Tour from the ground up to take full advantage of the DS platform by integrating signature gameplay with fresh new content and DS specific features," said Karthik Bala, CEO of Vicarious Visions. "We've taken all of our learnings on the DS platform to date and pushed it to the limits to create a truly innovative Guitar Hero experience."

Guitar Hero: On Tour continues to build on the franchise's signature easy-to-play, yet difficult to master addictive gameplay, and now lets players take their experience on the road wherever they go. Players use the Guitar Hero pick-stylus on the touch screen to strum their favorite tunes and create their rock 'n' roll legacy in career mode.

Fans can also join together to play co-op mode using a local wireless network, or battle each other in a Guitar Duel using new Battle Items unique to the DS platform. For example, players must blow into the microphone to extinguish a pyrotechnics effects gone wrong, or use the touch screen to autograph a crazed fan's shirt in the middle of their set.

Featuring five unlockable new venues, the game lets players personalize their experience by choosing the color of their axe of choice, selecting to play as one of six characters - two of which are all new and exclusive to Guitar Hero: On Tour - and outfitting their guitarist in numerous styles.

Guitar Hero: On Tour is being developed by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS. The game is rated "E 10+" (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB and is scheduled for release this summer. For more information, visit www.guitarheroontour.com.