Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s—PS2
Publisher: Activision (RedOctane)
Developer: Harmonix
Release date: 7/24/07

Harmonix and RedOctane found that Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II were lacking in the hairspray department, so this week we get Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

Essentially, this game is the same as Guitar Hero II but with songs from bands like Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, Skid Row and even The Go-Go’s. There’s no doubt that Guitar Hero has a strong following, but the question here seems to be whether or not gamers will spend $50 for what is basically an expansion pack for Guitar Hero II.

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Next-Gen’s top 20 E3 games from least- to most-anticipated. Notice that we’ve known about many of these games long before E3, but judging by the new details revealed about them at E3 07, our anticipation level grew significantly for some titles regardless.

20. Turok (PS3, Xbox 360)
19. Killzone 2 (PS3)
18. Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3, PC, Xbox 360)
17. Civilization: Revolution (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS)
16. Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
15. Echochrome (PS3 PlayStation Network, PSP)
14. Stranglehold (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
13. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
12. Wii Fit (Wii)
11. Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3)
10. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
9. BioShock (Xbox 360, PC)
8. Crysis (PC)
7. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
6. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
5. Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

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Star Wars Celebration IV – with Cyndee San Luis and Robert Welkner! Interviews with Haden Blackman (lead, The Force Unleashed), Tommy Tallarico (Video Games Live), Ken The Elvis Trooper, R2D2 Droid Makers, Patrick T. Gorman (Star Wars Trilogy in 30 mins) and much more!

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Let’s get right to it, lowered in price $100 the Sony 60GB PS3 is now available for $499! Armed with the Blue-ray Disc player, built-in HDD, 1080p high-def output, Wi-Fi connectivity and SIXAXIS wireless controller, what else could you possibly want from a serious gaming system? On top of that, from now until September 30, purchase a PS3 and receive 5 free Blu-ray movies with mail-in redemption.

It was also revealed that an 80GB PS3 will be coming in August. We will keep you posted with more information on this console as it comes in. Take advantage of this price drop now and order your PS3 online or at your local GameStop.

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SuperCon SuperNerds! from andylauer and Vimeo.

Coverage of The SuperCon (Nerd Expo) with comedian Lisa Corrao in Fort Lauderdale.

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Microsoft announced today they are extending all Xbox 360 warranties to three years, a policy that not only applies to new consoles but retroactively, as well. If you’ve had to pay for Microsoft to repair the red ring issue in the past, they will pay you back. At 2:30 p.m. PST, Microsoft will hold a teleconference to announce this.

“As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures,” said the company in a statement. “Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.”

This comes just after 1UP’s own story about a man who’s gone through 12 different machines since purchasing an Xbox 360 near launch, reports overseas of companies refusing to repair the hardware because the load is so overwhelming and responses from the Forza Motorsport 2 team about users experiencing hardware failures while trying to play that game.

“The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize,” said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division. “We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come.”

Microsoft says they’ll be taking a “$1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.”

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Taryn Southern sings and shows off her talents in this video spoof!

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The Vancouver police department is set to run a recruitment center in MMO Second Life in a bid to recruit tech-savvy individuals.According to a Vancouver Sun report, the city’s police department is establishing a presence in the virtual world, staffed by officers in custom VPD uniforms and set to go live this Thursday.

Kevin McQuiggin, head of the department’s tech crimes unit, said that the vast majority of all major crimes are technology related in one form or another, hence the department’s drive to recruit web and technology friendly candidates.

“It’s important for us, as an organization, to keep abreast of modern technology — both from an educational standpoint and an outreach standpoint, and from an investigative standpoint,” he said.

“As we move into the future, we’re going to need people who understand technology — that are conversant with it, that understand the impact of it and understand how to use it.”

While McQuiggin feels it is imperative to keep up with changing working conditions and embrace technology, he acknowledges that new realms of police operation will inherently come with new challenges.

“It’s going to be interesting when we start to receive crime reports – you know, harassment cases or things like that – in the virtual world… How are we going to deal with them? Where does the crime occur? Where is the suspect? Where is the victim?

“There are jurisdictional issues. Where does the crime occur? Where is the suspect? Where is the victim? We want accountability but if it’s spread all over the world like that it makes it very difficult for us.”

Original Source: Next Generation

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