Today EA Games and Harmonix announced the “First Ever ROCK BAND LIVE TOUR.” Headlined by Panic At the Disco! and Dashboard Confessional, the Rock Band Tour kicks off October 5 and will go on until November 14.
The best part about this concert tour is that gamers have a chance to get up on stage and rock out. According the the press release: “The concert tour will let Rock Band bands rock their way onto the main stage with a truly interactive experience that allows fans to compete in head-to-head competitions for the chance to play on the main stage in-between the tour acts’ sets. Bands will be selected through local radio promotions, national contests and on-site at each show.”
Despite my abhorrence for the headlining acts, I can’t hate on this event. I just love it when companies have a spectacle to promote a game.
For the full press release hit the jump. Read more »
Today GungHo Online Entertainment announced that their MMO, Ragnarok Online, will be making a jump from PC to DS. This will be the first time Ragnarok will be playable on a console. According to GungHo, gameplay is quite similar to that of the PC due to the DS’s touch screen. Ragnarock will allow up to three gamers party up via Wi-Fi. The game will arrive in Japan on December 18. There has been no announcement about an American release date.
Read: Ragnarok Online Is Nintendo DS Bound.
With the conclusion of the Digital Games ladders, we’ve switched the tournament over to a bracket format for the Regional Finals.
The regional brackets pit national medalists against one another in a fight to the death to determine who is best in the region. In addition, if you are a participant in the Digital Games brackets and want to be featured in a new video show GGL is developing, please save your demos and replays (where applicable)!
GGL rules stipulate that all replays should be saved for dispute purposes regardless, but there could be some very interesting coverage opportunities for you and your team in the future, so please save replays!
Good luck to all competitors!
With the end of the Digital Games ladders, GGL is proud to announce the national medalists for all games. These medalists will eventually be preserved on a DG medals page, but here’s the list for your perusal.
Visit the Digital Games news post to see a long-format list of the medalists.
Congrats to all the winners and we’ll see you in the bracket portion of the tournament!
Today PC gamers are able to download Mass Effect’s DLC, “Bring Down the Sky”, for free.
What exactly is “Bring Down the Sky?” According to Wikipedia: “‘Bring Down the Sky’ includes a new uncharted world that introduces the notorious and feared Batarians, a humanoid species with four eyes. A Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent. This mission is concurrent with the main storyline. BioWare has stated that the adventure should take 90 minutes to complete. The expansion also features an additional achievement awarded upon completion of the mission.”
In order to download it, just boot up Mass Effect. There will be instructions on the launch menu. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can just snag both “Bring Down the Sky” and Mass Effect 1.01 from here.
Read: Mass Effect DLC now on PC for free.
Today Sony released the version 2.42 firmware for the PlayStation 3. According to Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations: “This update improves the playback quality of some PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation format software.”
To be honest I really don’t understand what this update does. I wish that Sony would stop giving these vague descriptions. I’m wary to put anything on my $400 machine without some idea of what it does. But, as your faithful reporter, I’m downloading it now to see if there are any changes. If I find something, there will be a post.
Read: Firmware (v2.42) Now Available.
Joe “nineX” Szymkowicz had a chance to sit down with Shane “rapha” Hendrixson, of SK-Gaming, after his trip to the ESWC Masters Quake 3 competition. Exhausted from the combination of jet-lag and an intense field of competition, Rapha talked about his future in gaming and some topics swirling around the deathmatch community.
GGL: So you’re back from Paris; how do you feel? What did you think of your play in the tournament?
Hendrixson: I am so glad to be back where I could eat some really good food; French food is bleh :o It’s going to take a few days to get back into the swing of things, and I’ll slowly start practicing again. I think I did well, despite all the problems I was having.
GGL: After already seeing much of the competitors at the Masters event, how do you feel about the upcoming finals event in San Jose?
Hendrixson: Gonna be a tough event but as I said before I’m looking forward to it. The gap isn’t real big between most of the players that’ll be going to the finals, there are going to be some fantastic games. I feel good going into it and I’m glad I still have a month to try and prepare for it.
GGL: You’ve played plenty of times on LAN in the US; what was it like playing in your first international event?
Hendrixson: Going into it I thought it would be a bit more difficult because of the jet lag and I was right but all in all it was a nice experience :) Read more »
Blizzard announced today that tickets for this October’s BlizzCon are going on sale this Monday, Aug 11. Costing $100 a piece, the ticket grants you access to panels, concerts, giveaways, the whole spectacle. BlizzCon will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
If you don’t have the money to make the trip, don’t worry. Blizzard and Direct TV have teamed up to bring the whole event to your living room. BlizzCon will be a “pay per view event [that] will deliver a minimum of eight hours of live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more.”
For all the details, hit the jump. Read more »
If you have a PlayStation 3 (and even if you don’t), chances are you are on the edge of your seat for LittleBigPlanet. Thanks to the good bloggers over at lbpcentral.com, who had over an hour and a half of game time at Comic Con, lots of info has been released.
Regarding character customization:
“• There is a Tron suit you can wear in the game, along with a killzone helmet and mask.
• Not only that, but there are about 25 different materials and designs that you can choose to have your sackboy made out of, including 3 types of camo.
• There are held items that you can choose from, such as a wooden sword and a magic wand (a stick with a star on the top). You can’t use them as weapons, but when you slap while holding an item you hit them with said item.”
There is plenty more after the jump. Read more »
Months of intense competition came to a conclusion with Monday night’s CGS World Final match between the San Francisco Optx and Birmingham Salvo. These two teams were all that remained of the original eighteen that began season two of the Championship Gaming Series. It has been a long road for both franchises. San Francisco barely got into the semi-finals. It took a dramatic win over 3D.NY in the wildcard qualifier to secure their place in further competition. Meanwhile, Birmingham earned its place in the final only after a narrow one-point, overtime victory against the Carolina Core.
Tonight’s climatic match began with Forza 2. Birmingham’s Daveyskills took the lead after slamming into San Francisco’s Sackamonjaro at the start of the race. A determined Sackamonjaro kept close and attempted to knock Daveyskills out with a collision early in the second lap. Daveyskills nevertheless managed to stay ahead and finished the race in first place. Sackamonjaro followed in second, with Birmingham’s Picaso and San Francisco’s Miximup finishing in third and fourth respectively. Birmingham now held an early 5-2 lead over San Francisco.
Birmingham’s player Bazza scored two goals early in the first half of the FIFA 08 match. He knocked the ball into Stermy’s net for a third time, but the goal was declared invalid because Bazza’s player was off-sides. Stermy finally got on the board after scoring a goal with only seconds left in the first half. Despite strong vocal support from San Francisco’s fans, Stermy could not tie the game in the second half. As a result, Bazza won the match, 2-1. Read more »
Today Microsoft announced that over the next five weeks, five of the most anticipated Xbox Live Arcade games will be arriving. According to their gamerscore blog:
” * July 30: “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” – The latest version of the wildly popular retro shooter offers screen-melting intensity and insane new features, including six action-packed gameplay modes, new enemies, scoring strategies and a diverse list of exciting Achievements. “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available at 800 Microsoft Points.
If you want to see of other four games, hit the jump. Read more »
Today Sony launched their PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits collection. Going for a reduced price of $30, the collection consists of nine titles, including:
* Warhawk
* MotorStorm
* Resistance: Fall of Man
* Call of Duty 3
* Need for Speed Carbon
* The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
* Ninja Gaiden Sigma
* Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
* Assassin’s Creed
If you ask me the real gems in the collection are Warhawk and Resistance: Fall of Man. If you do pick up Warhawk, make sure you check out the GGL’s Warhawk ladder. You might be able to make a few dollars while playing a fantastic game.
Read: PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits Buyer’s Guide.
