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The big day has finally arrived as Rock Band makes it’s long awaited debut at ButtonBandits HQ. No longer do we have to wait every day for news on a European release date. The PlayStation 3 may not have the best online service in the world and the install times on Devil May Cry 4 and GT5: Prologue sure are a pain… but nothing can beat the benefits of region free gaming when it comes to European release date delays! Look out for a full review and special feature coming soon. I can already here the sounds of a US PlayStation network account being set up to access to all that juicy downloadable content!

It seems Dan Houser from Rockstar may have been listening to this weeks ButtonBandits.com podcast (even though we recorded it after this interview). In the podcast I say that GTA IV is not really about the graphics but the sprawling environment and the gameplay. In an interview with IGN Dan says “”The thing that I probably get the most upset about is when people go, ‘Well GTA’s not about the graphics.”. “I don’t agree with that point. It’s not about hi-res graphics (as hi-res as they can be) but the worlds always looked - and maybe I’m deluded in this - but they always looked lived in, in a way most people can’t achieve.” Check out the full interview on IGN here which is a very in depth 11 page feature on the making of GTA IV, well worth a read.

MCV reports on an advert taken out by a national newspaper on the website StarNow. The site is a online community for aspiring actors and models to raise their profile. The advert encourages people to “pitch” their idea for a story along the lines of how games tipped them over the edge into a life of crime. The advert reads:

“

A national newspaper wants your story and will pay hundreds of pounds to the right person.
Write a few lines about how computer games turned you to crime and if it’s something we like, we’ll call you straight back.
Payment details: paid role
”

What would have been a good story would have been for someone to go along with it, get paid for the article but making it clear to the paper it was all made up. Then write an even better story exposing the paper for covering news stories they know to be fake, purposely trying to give games and gamers bad name.

(EDIT:This was an early April fools joke. Oops, that’l teach me not to check story sources while in a rush to play Rock Band!)

Nintendo will launch a service called “Wii want more” on May 17th In the USA. The service, accessible from the current shopping channel will provide content to purchase to extend the life or games. Nintendo says that 27 games will make use of the service on launch day with a special promotion on content for Super smash Bros. Brawl. For the first month of launch, you will be able to download an add on for Super smash Bros. Brawl for free instead of the usual $10. The pack will add four undisclosed new characters and two new stages to the game. Other games set to support the service include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Mario Kart Wii. Third party’s are said to be fully supporting the service although no specific companies or games have been mentioned.

No announcement has been made on when or even if this service will be making it’s way the European region. If we are going to be receiving the service, presumably the Super Smash Bros. Brawl content won’t be included due to the games lack of release in this region. Possibly we will get a different launch offer such as some free Mario Kart content assuming we even get the service.

Sony is set to relaunch it’s PlayStation store mid April with a brand new look that will no longer use the PS3’s web browser. The new look (pictured) will sport a custom made interface featuring improved navigation and greater scope for categorisation of content. Oddly, because of this Sony say they will not be updating the existing store any longer, meaning there will be no new content for the next 2 weeks. Once the new store is launched, gamers can expect a bumper update of content to go with the new look.  All existing content will still be available for download during this change over period.

Okay so I’ve been playing the Battlefield: Bad Company beta demo for a week solid now and I have to admit at first I was not overly impressed by it. Maybe because I was expecting too much after Call Of Duty 4, but if you forget about Call Of Duty 4 for just one minute this is not that bad of a game. The object of the game is to protect or blow up gold crates either by planting a charge or blowing them up with one of the games many vehicles. Many of the games flaws lie around the people actually playing the game rather than the game itself, For instance a lack of communication between players and nearly everyone treating it as if it is a free for all deathmatch. The game itself has some good touches like blowing up buildings so players can not hide away in them and access to vehicles such as tanks and boats which gives the game a little bit more. Sometimes it can be a little hard to know who’s side you on, especially in the middle of mass gunfire as the only thing telling you who’s on your team is a different colour code above their head. Overall I think Battlefield: Bad Company is a good game once you have given it time and got used to the controls, I for one will be purchasing the game when it comes out and hope the single player and other multiplayer modes are as good.

Alright lucky listeners it’s that time of the week again! It’s the latest installment of the Button Bandits Podcast! With, as always, your hosts: Frosty and Giant Haystax!

This week we:

- Talk about Grand Theft Auto 4!

- Discuss the Bryon Report!

- Call our “insider” in the industry for the latest games gossip!

- Read your fan mail!

- And much, much more!

So download,stream or subscribe in itunes. Have a listen and come join the fun!

 

 Standard Podcast [25:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

First off let me stress that I’m not a big RTS fan by any stretch of the imagination. I much prefer my strategy games to be of the turn based variety. The only RTS games I’ve really enjoyed over the years are K240 on the Amiga, and the original command and conquer. I always have a hard time getting to grips with most modern RTS’s. With this in mind here’s how I found Universe at War: Earth Assault.

The single player game begins with you playing as the Novus getting ready to be beamed to Earth to stop the Hierarchy invasion taking place. This is basically the tutorial teaching you the controls and the unique features of the Novus force. RTS games on consoles are a touchy subject with few games managing to pull of a decent easy to use control method. Thankfully Petroglyph have managed to come up with a very competent and accessible system which is explained during the tutorial. Basically what would be the mouse cursor is effectively a target stuck to the centre of the screen, so to move the cursor you move the screen. The main 4 buttons are set to select an individual unit, select all units and cancel selection. The areas where the control method comes into it’s own though is the simple use of the trigger and bumper buttons to quickly access special abilities and unit groups. If you have all units selected when using the right trigger button, all the units special abilities are brought up in a circular menu. The unit that has that ability will then perform this while everyone else will carry on with what they were doing with all units still selected. Groups are formed automatically and accessible with the right bumper button. Here you can select your specific groups of units. Holding down the Right Trigger brings the radar into view from the upper right of the screen and allows you to quickly direct units over large areas.

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The Daily Mail has advised that this weeks Byron report said that ”allowing children to play on computers unsupervised is as dangerous as letting them play outside on their own”. This is going to be bad news for today’s release of Crayola Treasure Adventures on the Nintendo DS which is being targeted at kids but is said to depict graphic images of a colour crystal thief. Players of the game are tasked with completing a series of puzzles that eventually lead to the capture of the thief and so restoring colour to the world. ButtonBandits.com has learnt that shockingly, hundreds of titles a year are released which are blatantly marketed at encouraging kids to play on them. The majority of these carry no warning about this requirement of parental supervision.

One such title called Noddy and The Magic Book was released back in October 2006 on the Playstation 2 and is amazingly still available to buy today from leading on-line retailers. The game features two naughty goblins, Sly and Gobbo who have stolen Big Ears’ magic book and are using it to play tricks on people in Toyland. One parents review of this “game” on Amazon is chilling in it’s encouragement of allowing young children to play it, saying “This is a great game for young children. My 4 year old really enjoys it.”. If this wasn’t bad enough the parent goes on to say “Let me stress though that on most of the games the average child will not need much help”, blatantly ignoring all warnings about the harm this product could cause their child if they are left unsupervised with it! The front cover of the games box even goes as far as to claim the product is suitable for anyone aged 3 years and up.

Fortunately it’s not all bad news as it seems some of these so called games may not be too bad an influence after all. Anne Diamond reports in the Daily Mail that a title called “Halo 3″ is violent but that there’s not really much blood or bad language in it and that her sons tell her it’s relatively non-threatening. Look out for discussion on these shocking discoveries in Sundays ButtonBandits.com podcast.

 The first of a two part episode, sees the Angry Video Game Nerd take a look at The Intellivision and ColecoVision consoles.

Warning: explicit “Lyrics”