/Just Spooged In Pants

Despite how incredibly nerdy it may be, I can't help but find myself ecstatic that the inevitable has been confirmed - a new Halo game.

The now titled Halo 3: Recon was originally supposed to debut at E3, but there was a minor fiasco in which Microsoft requested that the heavily-teased secret unveiling be delayed. It has only made the arrival of the details that much sweeter.

About two weeks ago, a teaser trailer simply called "Keep It Clean" showed up on Bungie.net, and fueled a ton of speculation - was it an entirely new game? If so, why did Halo 3's logo appear at the end? Gamespot had a great analysis, offering a number of interpretations to the trailer:

Though nothing is official yet, the title in question appears to be the "Halo Recon" project that has been rumored for months. A source told GameSpot in July the project will be "a cross between Ghost Recon and Gears of War." Instead of following the Halo franchise's usual protagonist--the SPARTAN super-soldier Master Chief--it will supposedly follow the exploits of a squad of colonial marines in a "less cartoony" and "more bloody, violent, and grim" tale of a battle between UNSC forces and the pan-racial religious empire known as the Covenant.

Well, they hit the nail on the head so far. Although the style of the game hasn't been revealed, it has been confirmed that the title is literally Halo 3: Recon, and it is an entirely new campaign with a new hero.

Personally, I embrace the idea of getting away from the series' iconic character. Players are really just interested in his abilities, rather than his personality, which is basically non-existent. As long as this "new hero" isn't a clone of him and has a decent backstory, we may have a winner. As far as gameplay goes, I'll take anything I can get. All three of the Halo games have brought me thousands upon thousands of hours of joy, and I don't expect any less from this installment. I just wish it was coming out sooner than Fall 2009.

Rock Band 2 Track List

IGN just released the track list of the highly anticipated Rock Band 2, simultaneously filling me with joy and regret. Yes, I love Rock Band, but I have dumped close to $200 on the game, hardware (yes, I somehow can sleep soundly at night with a plastic drum set in my basement), and downloadable tracks. This is more or less a conformation that I will spend even more money pretending to be a rock star in front of a TV screen.

But alas, it doesn't cost me anything to check out what Harmonix will seduce me with in September. This is why I love the Electronics Entertainment Expo - it's a truckload of information dumped on gamers all within a short period of time.

The full list is included in the link above, organized alphabetically, but I thought I would highlight the more interesting points of the reveal.

The first thing that jumps out to me is the inclusion of a GUNS AND ROSES CHINESE DEMOCRACY TRACK. Seriously. It's probably shit, but given the legendary status of Axl Rose's perpetually-delayed mystery album, it was huge for MTV Games and Harmonix to include "Shackler's Revenge." I have to admit that as a fan of the GnR glory days, I am a little bit curious.

In addition to this, there are some great songs included - Beck's E-Pro, Bon Jovi's Livin' on A Prayer (hell, Penn Staters get enough practice on the vocals at home games), The Foo Fighter's Everlong, Journey's Any Way You Want It, Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son, The Red Hot Chili Pepper's Give It Away, Tenacious D's Master Exploder, and The Who's Pinball Wizard will all but ensure I pay up once again. Given the promise that "All downloadable content will work with Rock Band 2 and gamers can export tracks from Rock Band 1 to Rock Band 2," I'm already feeling better about my impending investment.

Another facet of the unveiling of the track list is a confirmation that the Bonus Tracks, once again, accomplish the physical impossibility that is sucking and blowing simultaneously:

76.	Abnormality	Visions	2000s
77.	Anarchy Club	Get Clean	2000s
78.	Bang Camaro	Night Lies	2000s
79.	Breaking Wheel	Shoulder to the Plow	2000s
80.	The Libyans	Neighborhood	2000s
81.	The Main Drag	A Jagged Gorgeous Winter	2000s
82.	Speck	Conventional Lover	2000s
83.	The Sterns	Supreme Girl	2000s
84.	That Handsome Devil	Rob the Prez-O-Dent	2000s

Does anyone enjoy these tracks? I only recognize one band on this list - Bang Camaro - and that's simply because I remember their crappy song on the first Rock Band.

Harmonix also keeps things traditional including bizarre choices on the track list. Yes, we understand that you're going for a wide gaming audience, but are the following necessary?
- Alanis Morrisette - You Oughta Know
- The Donnas - New Kid In School
- The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat
- The Muffs - Kids In America

The important thing is that Rock Band 2 seems poised to deliver more of what drew so many of us otherwise rationally-thinking adults to buy overpriced plastic instruments; a solid selection of songs, enough material to warrant considerable replayablitiy, and graphics that show how much Guitar Hero slacks off in the department. More on Rock Band 2 in the inevitable complete reveal of the new peripherals.

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Rock Band 2 (game only) at IGN

MTV and Harmonix Gave Me A Birthday Gift Whether They Knew It Or Not

From IGN:

June 20, 2008 - MTV and Harmonix announced today that three tracks from Weezer's newly released Red Album will be made available for download in Rock Band on June 24 on Xbox Live and June 26 the PlayStation Network. The list of songs includes "Dreamin," "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," and "Troublemaker." The track pack will cost you $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points) when bought as a bundle and $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) for each individual song.

I've got to say, not only am I thrilled that Rock Band (the game in my collection that is second only to Halo 3) has allowed me to sing and play along with Weezer's hits "Say It Ain't So," "El Scorcho," and "Buddy Holly" in the past, but that they pick my three of my favorite five songs off their new album.

The Red Album is comparably solid to other albums, and while it may wilt in the second half, I love it as much, if not more, than Maladroit. What better day for MTV and Harmonix to make an announcement that I can further integrate Weezer and Rock Band than my birthday? It will without doubt be worth the measly $5.49 I will hand over as soon as possible this coming Tuesday.

Fable 2 Screenshots

Years and years ago, my brother Nick would randomly drop to the floor and make himself convulse - it was his way of coping with what he called "Fable Cravings." You see, he had been following Peter Molyneux's game Fable for the Xbox for years, and apparently couldn't wait.

Besides this practice being particularly annoying, the problem with this whole situation is that Nick built up the game to be something that it wasn't. To his credit, Molyneux made huge promises he never could have delivered - "Blades of grass you cut will stay that way."

When the game came out, Nick played a game he expected to have limitless customization and player freedom that only had a fairly pedestrian amount of unique features. He ultimately viewed the long-awaited Fable in a negative light.

Hence, I am trying my best to temper my expectations for Fable 2. I myself loved the original, so I should have less reason to worry than my sibling, but I do not want to fall victim to the same aggrandizement for which Molyneux has become infamous. On the other hand, IGN has some interview material and screenshots with the creator of the game and it looks anything but disappointing. Also, check out the video interview.

The first 15 minutes of Fable 2 begin with you as a child. You'll choose to be either a boy or girl, but no other customization options are available.

Molyneux hopes that Fable 2 will not only deliver on the past promises for the original game, but will exceed all expectations. There's a lot to buy, a lot to explore and a lot of ways to improve your character. In fact, the final feature in Fable 2 isn't unlocked until the final 20 minutes. Expect to constantly have new expansions to your power and new wrinkles to gameplay throughout.

At one point in Fable 2, you meet a shadow creature who decides that one person must suffer in order to proceed in a crucial part of a quest. A young, attractive woman wanders into the woods and you are given a choice. One person must be horribly scarred. But will you sacrifice your own face to save this pretty girl or will you let vanity rule your decision? Sure, it could be easy to say you don't care about how you look, but your appearance affects how everyone in Albion reacts to you. Come home to your wife and kids with a mangled face and they will scream with terror. Are you willing to spend the rest of your time in Fable 2 horrifying children? And if not, then you forfeit the happiness of an innocent woman.

Maybe it's just because I need a girlfriend to occupy the time I would be using to play this game, but that sounds freakin' AWESOME! The final feature isn't unlocked until the final 20 minutes of the game?! Morality-bending shadow creatures?! Why don't game developers put that kind of stuff in EVERY game?!

Just hit me if I start having "Fable Cravings."

Disappointing Halo 3 Tidbits

If Bungie, the company behind the Halo Trilogy, does one thing well, it's informing hardcore fans of upcoming projects. The Weekly What's Up(date) has been something I, as a fan of the games, have checked every week for months. Unfortunately, good news comes as often at bad news.

Though there was some hints to the contents of upcoming Downloadable Multiplayer Maps, I found a few things discouraging:

- "We’re absolutely aware of the massive community outcry and desire to have new armor permutations added to Halo 3. It’s been investigated thoroughly and there will not be any new armor permutations added to Halo 3."

This sucks. 'Investigated thoroughly' means 'deemed not fiscally advantageous'. Granted, this could be one of those things where I don't know what I'm talking about, but this would be something fans of the game would love, but wouldn't make more people buy the game. It's not the worst thing in the world - after all, given the countless hours I've spent on Halo 3, I've gotten plenty of bang for my buck - but it would have been a great piece of downloadable content a handful of the community would have gladly paid for.

- "There are no plans that we are aware of to make the Legendary Maps free, ever."

I kind of feel like this is the most disappointing news. I'm not crying foul yet, but it seems like there was an assumed agreement that if you waited long enough, your patience would be rewarded with a waived fee for downloadable content - all the other Map packs followed this pattern. Is it because Bungie is it's own independent company and doesn't have the financial luxury to keep giving away older content? Or are they capitalizing on the fact that two fan favorites - the remakes of Lockout and Sidewinder (Blackout and Avalanche, respectively) - are contained in the Legendary Map Pack? The third possibility is that they don't want to dissuade sales right before they make the DLC free - you wouldn't pay for it if you knew it was only three more weeks until you didn't have to, would you?

- "We have no plans of any kind to reset Ranks in Halo 3. That said, we aren’t thrilled with the way the lines have blurred between EXP and Rank – your rank is really just a number we’re using to match you with other similarly ranked players – and that line blurring something we’re spending a lot of time looking at."

I kind of liked when they would reset your rank. If you waited a few weeks to play ranked matches, you could steamroll the competition for a good forty games. I really can't fault them too much for this - it's a testament to the new leveling system they've implemented.