Goodbye to Official Rock Band DLC

Hey! I'm new here, and wanted to introduce myself - I go by DarrenIndeed. I've been playing games for years, in fact my first memory is of playing Global Defence on the Master System back when I was about 2 or 3. I'm a huge SEGA fan, and I usually write for http://www.segashiro.com if you want to e-stalk my writings.

Since just before Guitar Hero 2 launched, I have been hopelessly addicted to the various music games Harmonix has put out, so it makes sense to me to use this for my first post here.

Yesterday was the last official release of Rock Band DLC, and after 271 consecutive weeks of music and over 4000 downloadable songs, I am sad to see it end. Harmonix have made this little video about Rock Bands' 5 years of releases and DLC. For now we still have RBN releases though, so there will still be new songs coming.

XBLA Microsoft Studio sale

Hey folks - another sale from Microsoft with Xbox LIVE, this one looks a bit better. I've taken this from Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson - I've added links for each title to the Xbox LIVE marketplace.

Content	Original Price	Sale Price	Savings
Forza Horizon December IGN Pack	400	200	50%
Trials Evolution	1200	800	33%
Trials Evolution: Origin of Pain	400	200	50%
Magic 2013	800	400	50%
Castle Crashers	1200	800	33%
Pinball FX2 Tables
Marvel: Avengers Chronicles	800	400	50%
Plants vs Zombies Table	240	120	50%
Pinball FX Classic (Full)	800	400	50%
Trials HD	800	400	50%
A World of Keflings	800	400	50%
Full House Poker	800	400	50%
Hydro Thunder	1200	600	50%
Hydrophobia	400	200	50%
Ilomilo	800	400	50%
Dust: An Elysian Tail	1200	600	50%
Deadlight	1200	600	50%
Mark of the Ninja	1200	600	50%
Nike+ Kinect Training Upper Body and Core Workout	400	200	50%
Nike+ Kinect Training (Games on Demand)	?	£24.99	?
Magic 2013 Expansion Pack	400	200	50%

These are on sale until Monday 8th April. Deal of the Week is still on, will be posting this up shortly.

(P.S - Castle Crashers and Deadlight are great!)

April Fools! No, these are actually the deals for XBLA tomorrow...

Happy Easter all!

There's a one day sale on Xbox LIVE to celebrate April Fools tomorrow. I honestly don't know if they're real or fake - because to be honest, it is a pretty shocking sale. Unless you're looking for DLC for nearly 5 year old Fallout 3, then you're in luck! 

Here are the deals as copied from Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson. Please note that some Microsoft Point prices might differ a tad, as these are the American prices.



Spring Sale	Original	Sale Price	Savings
Assassin’s Creed 3 Season Pass	2400	1600	33%
Battlefield 3 Aftermath	1200	600	50%
Fallout 3 : Point Lookout	800	200	75%
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta	800	200	75%
Fallout 3: Broken Steel	800	200	75%
Fallout 3: The Pitt	800	200	75%
Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage	800	200	75%
Dishonored – Dunwall City Trials	400	160	60%
The Amazing Spider-Man GonD	$49.99	$19.99	60%

*Prices and availability will vary by Xbox LIVE region. Prices for Games on Demand titles are show in US $
Please check your local dashboard or Xbox.com for specific content pricing and availability.



Here's for hoping that this is indeed an Easter/April Fools joke, and loads of egg-sellent Games on Demand games are on sale for super cheep. Oh no I didn't!

So I realised I've not done enough articles on Comic books or Art...

...So lets combine the two!

I've recently got hooked on a comic book series called Saga. It's an independent series, published by Image comics - so might sadly get overlooked by the casual comic browser. It's written by Brian K. Vaughan (writer and producer for multiple series of Lost, comic series Ex Machina and Y: The Last Man, the latter of which is currently being adapted to film) and Fiona Staples (various art in comics over the past decade).

Saga is a unique epic fantasy/science fiction story, reminiscent of nothing you've ever read as a comic book before, with hints of Star Wars with Shakespearian mystical character design (on drugs). So far, the basis of the story is following that of a child, and their parents Marko and Alana, a pairing of 2 soldiers united by the wars of their species. The artwork is simply flawless, and some of the best I've seen around in a comic book. There are some explicit scenes in the comic books, so mature readers suggested.

I've got the urge to spew loads about this story and the characters it involves, but you really need to find out for yourself why it's so good. After all, there is a race of people with televisions for heads...

You can feast your eyes on the first issue of the comic here, I definitely recommend it!

Also, if you get reaaaaaally hooked off of that first comic, and you're left wanting more, here is the link to the Amazon page. You can pick up the first 6 comics as a graphic novel currently for a mere £6.75.

Grab your game carts...

If you've got a stack of your favourite SEGA and Nintendo game carts, but no longer possess your old consoles (or don't have the space for them), you can now set your sights on getting the latest Hyperkin development in hardware emulation, the slick-looking RetroN 5!

Recently announced at the Midwest Gaming Classic convention as the RetroN 4, Hyperkin have gone one better and announced a retro enthusiast dream addition in a 5th Famicom slot, and renaming the machine the RetroN 5. This retro gaming console hybrid supports the following formats:

Famicom

Gameboy

Gameboy Advance

Gameboy Colour

Genesis

Megadrive

NES

SNES

Super Famicom

It may be missing out on some retro format essentials, such as SEGA Master System or Amiga, but we're not complaining, since the gadget boasts complete PAL and NTSC compatibility, HDMI 720p and support for up to 4 wireless bluetooth controllers. The console also sports a total of 6 original controller ports for SNES, NES and Mega Drive, with the added function of using any controller for any game - so if you want to use a SNES controller to play Ecco the Dolphin, it's completely possible!

The RetroN 5 also comes with a wireless bluetooth controller, chargeable via a micro USB port to a USB port on the console. There are also 6 facing buttons and 2 shoulder pads, with a microswitch directional pad replacing the traditional directional pad.

If that wasn't enough, it's also possible to save games, and store saved games on the system, with an auto-save feature when the system is shutting down. You can also re-map controller layouts to your own preferred configuration, and control manual and passive over clocking for super-slow or super-speed retro gaming.

This could appeal to uber-fans of retro gaming that want to store parts of their retro collection for safe-keeping, or to the casual player who has a couple of games in their attic and wants to play their friends on their Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninjas NES cart.

Would it ever equal the feeling of the real thing though?

It's been a while...

Hey folks, it has indeed been a while since I posted last on here. Infact, this is the first post of the new year! Don't worry though, I will be hopefully posting in abundance in the coming weeks and months.

I have been invited to write for www.twinstickgaming.com, so I'll be writing there concurrently with this blog. You might see some stuff from here work its way onto here if you follow them, and vice versa. Either way - it's all about the games!

Stay tuned folks..