Teens in Tech Games

Activision Publishing today announced the latest game to be introduced in the Guitar Hero franchise; Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The latest installment in the world’s most popular music game series, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will “redefine music gaming with an all-new, story-driven Quest Mode, a completely redesigned rock-inspired guitar controller, the biggest on-disc selection of rock music ever in a Guitar Hero game and Quickplay+, which invites challenge-starved fanatics to test their rock skills in any of the on-disc or over 500 songs in the Guitar Hero Music Library.”

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock offers the complete interactive and connected experience bringing friends and foes to the stage in the ultimate rock music adventure. Running on the powerful Guitar Hero engine that has been expanded and refined, coupled with the return of the critically acclaimed and fan favourite features like Party Play’s jump in/jump out gameplay, a host of Competitive modes and the ability to play any combination of guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

No date has been announced yet, but once we have more information, we’ll let you all know!

2K Sports announced today that 24 year-old Wade McGilberry of Semmes, Alabama has won $1,000,000 by being the first person to throw a verified perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K10, the latest iteration of the popular Major League Baseball 2K series. The special contest, which was available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3, features vastly improved gameplay and pitching mechanics this season in Major League Baseball 2K10.

Fans were able to participate in the $1,000,000 Major League Baseball 2K10 contest beginning on March 2, 2010 at 12:01 AM PST. The competition ended on May 1, 2010 at 11:59 PM PDT. To compete, gamers had to play in MLB Today mode, select from any of the available matchups, and then choose the option to participate in the ‘MLB 2K10 contest’ that automatically defaulted to the proper gameplay settings as defined by the official contest rules. Entries had to be recorded via camera or digital video recorder in compliance with guidelines provided by 2K in the official rules, and all eligible entrants had to submit a copy of their recording in its entirety for verification. Submissions were only accepted on DVD.

To ensure accuracy in the verification and submission process, 2K Sports partnered with Twin Galaxies International, the worldwide authority on video game world records, and provider of scores to Guinness World Records that are published in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition. On May 2, 2010, 2K Sports, in conjunction with Twin Galaxies International, began reviewing player submission videos. After a thorough review process, 2K Sports determined that Wade McGilberry was the first person to throw a verified perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K10.

You can pick up Major League Baseball 2K10 today in stores.

Hyperkin, a developer and distributor of video game accessories, has announced the launch of the PS3 3-Port USB Hub which connects three additional controller outlets to the PlayStation 3.

In addition to the controller outlets, the 3-Port USB Hub has also been designed with a memory card slot that accepts SD cards, SDHC cards, MMC cards, and memory sticks. The PS3 Hub is also compatible with PS3 Slim and other computers.

The USB Hub is $14.99, and available today.

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that singles from bands including Flyleaf, Busted and Silverchair will be added to the Rock Band Music Store. The songs will be added to the Rock Band Music Store for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

With more than 400 artists, including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, AC/DC and Green Day, as well as more then 1,100 songs available through the music store, 65 million songs sold through the download store alone. Rock Band is claiming to the sales and content leader in the interactive music space, providing the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums.

Busted, one of the new bands featured in the music store, have sold more than 3 million albums worldwide, won two BRIT awards and sold out several arena tours. Songs from the three bands, Flyleaf, Busted and Silverchair, will be added to the Xbox 360 and Wii on April 27, and PlayStation 3 system on April 29.

The songs will be available for purchase as individual tracks on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks only on Wii. Pricing information as follows:

Price: $1.99 USD,£.99 UK,€1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track

Introduction-

Assassin’s Creed II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and Microsoft Windows. It is the second video game installment of the Assassin’s Creed series and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game Assassin’s Creed. The game was released on video game consoles in November 2009, and will be released on Microsoft Windows in February 2010 in Europe and in March 2010 in North America.

First Impressions-

When I first watched the trailers for Assassin’s Creed II, I was blown away. The graphics were the first thing that really caught my attention, and they were simply amazing — some of the most realistic graphics I have ever seen. The story line seemed kind of weird, but then again, it is Assassin’s Creed, and the story in the first game was a bit strange too. The whole “explore the world how you want to” idea is really cool, and I enjoy being in control of the game I am playing, not the other way around. Upon first playing the game, I realized that the controls were fairly easy to use and remember, and the overall gameplay was extremely smooth. My first impression of this game was definately that this would be a great game.

The Good-

The good parts of this game are not too much different than my first impressions were, the graphics were great, fun and fairly easy to manipulate gameplay, and the overall smoothness of the game. To me, the most impressing part of this game was in fact how smoothly it ran and how quickly it loads new maps and locations. The generally short load times make the game more fun to play, since you don’t have to wait ten minutes to clear a 5 minute mission.

The Bad-

One thing that can actually be more annoying than good to some people is in fact the openness of the game. Many people might get lost wandering off to some random areas where they no longer are following the main story line, or they will get caught up doing a side story for a majority of their time. For most people, this will add to the greatness of the game, but for some it can cause confusion and frustration.

Overall-

Overall, I thought that this game was really fun, and extremelly addicting. The always changing story and constant twists make for a suprise every time. Sure, the game starts out slow… really slow, but if you just hang in there for a bit, the real fun will begin. Aside from the extremely borin start, this game is truely epic, and I would definately rate it a 4.5 out of 5.

Introduction-

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Officially announced in the December 2008 issue of Game Informer, it was released in October 2009 and has been named by Metacritic as the most critically acclaimed game of 2009.

First Impressions-

My first impressions of Uncharted 2 are not too much different from my first impressions of Assassin’s Creed II. The graphics were awesome, the gameplay is overall easy, and the game runs fairly smoothly. The difference of this game is how it grabs you at the start. Playing this game is like watching a movie, you forget you’re even playing the game!

The Good-

The good parts of Uncharted 2 are the graphics, gameplay, and awesome campaign. I have heard that the multiplayer is really amazing too, but I personally have not had the time to try it out. The great thing about the campaign is how attention grabbing it is. For example, as you’re going through the world, you will encounter random challenges such as the ground falling from beneath you, or a bridge breaking as you’re running across it. These little things come out of no where, and really grab your attention, let alone people who might be watching you. The constant surprises really keep you interested in the game, and make the game way more fun.

The Bad-

The bad parts of this game are quite hard to point out, and to be honest, I cannot think of anything that I was really disappointed with. Some people may not like how some levels are quite confusing and may be hard to figure out, but hey, that’s part of the game. It can’t just be an easy ride, follow the yellow brick road game.

Overall

Overall, Uncharted 2 has the greatest campaign I have played in terms of keeping the user interested. This game definitely deserves all of the hype that it got and all of the outstanding ratings, including the more than 25 perfect scores from some of the most prestigious gaming companies out there.

At Spike’s Video Game Awards Medal of Honor was previewed. What can we expect from this game?

The game actually does look cool. Although it looks like a Call of Duty knock off, I think it will be a popular game. Considering the Medal of Honor games made shooters, as we know them, can it compete with Call of Duty?

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was a hit and it would be hard for Medal of Honor to beat it. Call of Duty has both that FPS and RPG aspect to the game. You can level, earn guns, earn challenges, and kill people. I think Medal of Honor will be more of a campaign game. Call of Duty didn’t have one of the greatest campaigns, so I think Medal of Honor will try to beat that.

Medal of Honor will be taking place in Afghanistan. One of the developers stated, “Medal of Honor is “historical fiction” set against the backdrop of the current war in Afghanistan. Much like “Saving Private Ryan” is a fictional story told through the lens of a small band of characters during WWII.”

The game sounds really cool and I can not wait to hear more about it. Maybe more information will be released at CES this spring.