CollegeHumor have outdone themselves again. This one is for all those people who can’t finish an easy song in Rock Band without the “No-Fail” option 
Via: Kotaku AU
Category: Video Games
There’s a whole bunch of stuff that’s come out of E3, but given my fixation on Rock Band, this one sort of requires its own entry. The big news, of course, is the official announcement of Rock Band 3 features.
Gameplay
Some pretty nifty stuff here. Harmonix has recognised that RB and GH excel most as party games, and as such are adding more social dimensions. Although not bleeding edge, drop-in/drop-out will be helpful for those Endless Setlist sessions that I keep trying to organise.
There will apparently also be a party mode which includes playlist management, party shuffling, and mid-song difficulty adjustments.
With the new instruments (below), there will also be a new “Pro” mode where those of us bored with poor plastic simulations will get a much more authentic experience. View full article »
Film School Rejects is pointing to a press release that Legendary Pictures is developing a Mass Effect cinema release. Legendary are the folks behind Dark Knight, 300 and Watchmen, so the franchise would be in good hands.
Obviously it’s still early days — no director has been attached — but I’d be curious to see who could potentially get cast for the film. Would you go with the game’s voice actors, or someone else?
Fresh off my morning feed reading, Giant Bomb is reporting that Rock Band 3 might have keyboard support:
… downloaders of the Green Day: Rock Band demo…received something of a tease after finishing the bite-sized, two-song offering. After hitting “exit,” they were greeted with a big old Rock Band 3 banner that displays pictures of two guitars, a set of drums, microphones … and a keyboard right next to the “3″ logo.
If true, this would be both awesome and frightening. One thing that has bothered me while playing many of the classic rock tracks (and I have a lot of them) is that the guitarist is often required to cover the keyboard or organ part. Given that the instruments approach runs and melodies differently, it feels unnatural and sometimes outright difficult, especially when you consider that the RB guitar is really a poor approximation of the instrument.
On the other hand, being a trained pianist, I’m aware of exactly how complex keyboard parts can be. And there’s no way Harmonix can escape using a real keyboard with real black-and-whites. I’m interested to see how notes will be tracked on screen, since I’d definitely prefer a treble clef. Finally, can I bring my own? I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a new keyboard, and this would definitely be an opportune moment.
Update: Ars reckons it’s a keytar!
A friend suggested that I have a look at a Sims 3 experiment called Alice and Kev. It tells the story of a homeless girl and her father, sleeping on park benches and eating on the charity of their neighbours.
Although it started off as a bit of a laugh, it quickly became a very touching drama that raised social awareness of real-life issues. The whole run is not very long, but the author is both a good writer and a great shot with the Sims 3 camera. I found it very touching and recommend you take a few minutes to read it.
