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| Reveal Your Personality With the
Warhammer Collector's Edition |
| March 27, 2008 at 4:56pm |
Show your personality with the way you
customize your Grumlock and Gazbag collectible miniature.
When we heard yesterday about the loot that comes with
the
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition, which
will release this fall, we
thought of several opportunities for you to show off your
personality. Here are just a few. We're sure you can come up with
more.
The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition comes with two hardbound books: a graphic
novel and an art book. You could put one of those on your coffee
table and send a message like this. "I'm a complicated,
sophisticated person who likes to read and appreciates art. However,
I also have a playful side; so we should probably start making out."
Another sweet extra in the
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition is
a choice of 12 unique character heads, which will allow you to
customize the look of your character by race, gender, smarminess
and more. We're sure some of you out there will figure out how to
use all 12 heads at once, but we're not sure what that reveals about
your personality.
Probably the best opportunity to provide a glimpse into the complex creature
that is you would be the exclusive Grumlock and Gazbag collectible
miniature that you assemble and paint yourself. If you painstakingly
check each paint color for accuracy and apply 12 coats with a fox-hair brush, you
might be a detail-oriented person. If you whip out a
can of spray paint and don't even shake it for the label-recommended
30 seconds, you might be a task-oriented person who just wants to get
the job done. If your unassembled miniature sits in the box until
you throw it away the next time you move, you might be a
procrastinator. Or you may be trying to avoid reliving the childhood
trauma of ruining your P-51 Mustang model when you spilled a big
glob of airplane glue right on the canopy. But those are the models
that end up being the best ones for a firecracker and BB-gun war.
However you decide to express yourself when you receive your collectible
Grumlock and Gazbag
this fall, we'd love for you to send us a picture of it at
editor@gamestop.com when
you finish it. |
| More Rocking: Rock Band Will Rock the Wii this
Summer |
| March 25, 2008 at 5:21pm |
Better than coffee cans. Coming soon to
your Wii.
When Rock Band was released earlier this year for
Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2, we know that you Wii owners were probably
thinking, "What about us? We'd like to join a Rock Band." We know
you were probably jealous when you watched your friends rocking out
on their consoles. We even heard about that time you taped some
coffee cans together and played along with the main theme from Super
Mario Galaxy. Your days of wondering whether Folgers sounds
better than Maxwell House are about to end because
Rock Band for Wii
will release June 22.
Just a day after the summer solstice, you'll be able to throw away those coffee cans
and play on a
drum set
designed especially for the Wii, not to mention a
guitar
and microphone, as well. On the other hand, we probably
should mention them because they will come packaged in the
Rock Band
Bundle for Wii. It also comes with a USB hub, but we've never heard
of anyone becoming famous for playing that. If you prefer to build your band one piece at a time
like that guy who built a car in the Johnny Cash song, you'll be
able to get the game only
and put together your ensemble with the
separate accessories. The game will feature 63 songs, including five
bonus songs just for Wii gamers. So keep practicing on those coffee cans,
and get ready to go on tour this summer. |
| Guitar Hero Rocking its Way to the DS |
| March 21, 2008 at 1:21pm |
No tiny guitar here. This way should
be easier.
When we first heard that Activision was
making Guitar Hero for the DS, we pictured a tiny wireless guitar
controller that you operated with tweezers and a stylus taped to
each finger of your left hand. Fortunately for you, we were not in
charge of working out the controls, and someone else came up with a
way to play guitar and preserve the portability of the DS.
Guitar Hero: On Tour for DS will ship with a small adapter grip with
the familiar Guitar Hero fret buttons that plugs right into your DS Lite.
You'll control strumming with the pick-shaped stylus on the lower DS
screen. You can see exactly how this works out in the video that's
on our product page.
You might also appreciate the irony of the
actors in the video pulling a tiny DS out of a full-sized guitar case.
In addition to the familiar Guitar Hero look, you'll also find some
features unique to the DS platform, such as co-op
play using the local wireless network. And you may find yourself
having to blow into the microphone to extinguish a pyrotechnics effect gone
wrong, or using the touch screen to autograph a fan’s shirt in the middle of
a set. Guitar Hero: On Tour is scheduled to release June 29, which
just happens to be the birthday of Gary Busey, who starred in The
Buddy Holly Story. We're pretty sure Buddy Holly songs won't be
included in Guitar Hero: On Tour, but we'll let you know if we hear anything.
|
| And the Winner is... Sparty the
Spartan! |
| March 19, 2008 at 2:11pm |
Is this madness? No, it's just Sparty
the Spartan.
You may have noticed that the cover for NCAA Football 09 for Wii features a mysterious grayed-out figure. If you were hoping this meant that NCAA officials have finally approved
the use of cloaking devices, then we hate to disappoint you, but that's not the case. The good people at
EA Sports, who bring you NCAA Football 09, asked college
football fans to vote on their favorite mascots, and after tallying
up more than 700,000 votes, the winner was Sparty the Spartan of Michigan State University.
As a result, Sparty will grace the cover of the Wii version of NCAA
Footbal 09. This is not a slight to other college mascots. Sparty
just happened to receive the most votes in this particular contest.
Some of the other top picks included mascots from University of
Central Florida, Washington State University, Auburn University,
Louisiana State University, University of Nebraska, Kansas
University, Iowa State University, University of Alabama and Penn
State University.
In fact we'd like to recognize all mascots,
who are personally responsible for most of the victories of their respective teams.
How could your favorite team possibly win without the mascot picking
a mock fight with the other team's mascot, or waving off a field
goal the officials have already signaled as "good," or climbing into
the bleachers and pretending to swallow some poor kid's head? Their contribution to
the world of sports may never be fully appreciated. We'll put up the
cover with Sparty's likeness as soon as it's completed.
|
| Cuteness Reaching Critical Levels |
| March 17, 2008 at 5:20pm |
This non-zombie, non-burned kitty
comes free with your pre-order of Harvest Moon Cute.
In an effort to make up for showing zombie
cats being fried by a flamethrower in our preview of Monster Madness: Grave Danger for PS3, we'd like to present the cat-loving cuteness of Harvest
Moon Cute for DS. While supplies last, when you pre-order Harvest Moon Cute before the March 25 shipping date, you'll get a free
non-zombie, non-burned plush kitty. Of course, whether or not it
remains a non-burned kitty is entirely up to you.
In Harvest Moon Cute, a misunderstanding has caused 101 Harvest Sprites to
go astray, and it's up to you to round them up. In the meantime,
you'll raise livestock, tend your fields and look for Mr. Right.
That sounds like a task for the ultimate multi-tasking woman who can
bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan.
Some of our customers have started a buzz in our customer preview
section for Harvest Moon Cute. For example, customer "briter" said,
"I seriously am shaking right now. I want this game soooo badly!"
Customer "Story" said, "I'm so excited! I'm on my way to order this game right now, and
I can't wait till it comes in!" Who can blame them? In addition to
the aforementioned tasks, you'll also be able to change clothes AND
decorate your house! And have we mentioned the plush kitty? Of
course we have. Pre-order your copy now because those kitties are in
limited supply!
|
| Monster Madness: Grave Danger Hands-On |
| March 13, 2008 at 4:18pm |
Umm...Cat lovers may want to skip this
challenge.
We skipped work for a couple of hours last
Friday and paid a visit to SouthPeak Games for
an exclusive hands-on preview of Monster Madness: Grave Danger for PS3.
If years of watching TV and movies has taught us anything, it's the
fact that putting a nerd, a skater dude, a cheerleader and a goth
girl in the same room for any length of time can only result in a
zombie invasion. And that's exactly what happens to the four main
characters in Monster Madness: Grave Danger. Not only did we have to
contend with zombies during our preview, but we also faced all those
things that creeped us out when we were kids, like spiders, clowns,
and even a wrinkled old cat lady (Not a half-cat, half-lady. That
would just be weird. It was a lady who owns hundreds of cats.) We had to
escape her clutches and kisses to avoid draining away our lives.
We played in four-player co-op mode and found the controls easy to
master. Just point the right analog stick and your weapon fires in
that direction. We started out with automatic nail guns and picked
up a few others along the way, like a pipe shotgun and flamethrower.
Weapons can be upgraded by collecting parts from easy-to-find
toolboxes scattered around the neighborhood, or by visiting the
pimped-out trailer of Larry Tools. Character-specific melee weapons
and character-specific upgrades, like a pocket protector or Underoos,
are also scattered about. A quick check of the menu told us if we'd
missed anything.
We also played a few of the 25 different challenge modes. Reaching
your goal in a challenge mode will unlock costumes for your
character. We tried running over zombies in a souped-up hot rod, and
we also experienced the guilty pleasure of wasting zombie cats with
a flamethrower. We went back into co-op play just long enough to
ride a rocket-launching, swan-shaped paddle boat before we ran out
of time and had to head back to work.
Overall, we think you'll find plenty of monster-whacking fun in Monster Madness: Grave Danger,
which seems to be free of the control and camera issues that plagued its predecessor, Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia. In fact,
it seems to make good use of intuitive controls and the Unreal 3 Engine. It's scheduled to ship on Aprill 22,
and you can pre-order your copy here or at your local GameStop.
|
| Trivia Quiz Answers |
| March 10, 2008 at 4:02pm |
The Spruce Goose on its first and only
flight.
Here are the answers to our impromptu trivia
quiz from Friday.
Q: What animal's eye is bigger than its brain?
A: The ostrich.
Q: Alan Hale, Jr. was famous for playing "the Skipper" on Gilligan's Island. What was the Skipper's real name? Bonus: What about the Professor? Bonus Bonus: What was Gilligan's first name?
A: Revealed over the radio on the first episode, the Skipper's name was Jonas Grumby, and the Professor's name was Roy Hinkley.
Gilligan was referred to as "Willy Gilligan" in a never-aired pilot episode.
Q: We know Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Or if you're a conspiracy theorist,
you know Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the elaborate Hollywood set known as the moon.
Who was the last man on the moon?
A: Eugene Cernan.
Q: What was the largest aircraft ever flown?
A: Howard Hughes' H-4 Hercules, known as the "Spruce Goose"
had a wingspan of 319 ft. 11 in. (97.54 m), the largest of any
aircraft ever produced. Its first and only
flight on November 2, 1947 lasted for about 1 mile, and it never
flew above 70 ft. in the air.
Q: How many ounces of gas does the average, healthy human release on a daily basis?
A: About 17 ounces.
Q: On what day of the week do most bank robberies occur?
A: Friday.
Q: What American historical figure has the most statues in his (or her)
likeness?
A: Sacagewea, who guided Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition.
All answers have been verified by watching countless hours of Gilligan's Island and Jeopardy. Give yourself 1 million points for each correct answer.
|
| Another Video-Game Twin Spotted |
| March 7, 2008 at 4:42pm |
Buzz and Josh: Separated at birth?
Our never-ending quest for video-game
look-alikes has brought us to another separated-at-birth scenario.
Someone recently pointed out that Josh, from our internet team,
bears an uncanny resemblance to Buzz, the host of the Buzz! quiz
games.
Pictures don't lie; so you be the judge. We think the idea has gone to Josh's head
because whenever someone asks him a question, he now responds with something like,
"I'll tell you if you can tell me the highest commercially navigable lake in the world,"
which, of course, is Lake Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru. He
is also considering
having all of his teeth removed to complete the look.
Speaking of the Buzz! games, a couple of new versions for PS2 will
begin shipping on Tuesday, March 11 and they'll be in stores
Wednesday, March 12. You can choose from Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz or Buzz! Jr. Robo Jam, both of
which are available with or without answer buzzers.
See if you know the answers to a few of our favorite trivia questions
(without "googling").
What animal's eye is bigger than its brain?
Alan Hale, Jr. was famous for playing "the Skipper" on Gilligan's Island. What was the Skipper's real name? Bonus: What about the Professor? Bonus Bonus: What was Gilligan's first name?
We know Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Or if you're a conspiracy theorist,
you know Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the elaborate Hollywood set known as the moon.
Who was the last man on the moon?
What was the largest aircraft ever flown?
How many ounces of gas does the average, healthy human release on a daily basis?
On what day of the week do most bank robberies occur?
What American historical figure has the most statues in his (or her)
likeness?
We could go on, but we should probably get back to work. We'll post the answers Monday. Also,
don't forget to send pictures of you and your video game twin to editor@gamestop.com.
|
| Pig Latin Controversy Erupts, er…
Erupts-ay, umm… Eruptsway |
| March 5, 2008 at 3:30pm |
Here is the offending article from our
newsletter.
When we talked about Imperium Romanum in this
week's edition of our weekly newsletter, we thought it would be fun
to write the headline in Pig Latin. We turned "Order Your Copy
Today" into "Order-ay Our-yay Opy-cay Oday-tay." Little did we know that it would
spark a firestorm, or irestormfay, of controversy. We've had a few
e-mails, all with different translations, telling us that we had the headline wrong.
We decided to do a little research, and here's what we learned.
Although the language game of Pig Latin has many variations and
dialects, it basically involves moving the first consonant sound of
a word to the end of the word and adding the "ay" sound to it. So
"cat" becomes "atcay," "dog" becomes "ogday," etc.
Simple, right? But what if the word starts with a vowel? And do you
hyphenate the word or not? And what about capitalization?
That's where the regional dialects come in. While "Order-ay Our-yay Opy-cay Oday-tay."
may be perfectly acceptable in some circles, it could be considered
butchering the language in others. Get it? "Butchering" Pig Latin?
Anyway, after minutes of exhaustive research, we've learned that the
most common way to spell "Order Your Copy Today" is "Orderway Ouryay
Opycay Odaytay." We apologize for any distress this may have caused
our newsletter subscribers. If you canceled your subscription
because of this, we humbly ask you to give us another chance and
sign up for the newsletter again here. If you are a Pig Latin
scholar and you have a better translation, please send it to editor@gamestop.com. Ankthay Ouyay.
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