Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree...

Rock Band 3 is out, I've completed my review and... I'm still playing. That actually says a lot for a video game reviewer in the Christmas season; I typically don't get much of a chance to go back and play games after they've been reviewed... especially at a busy time like Christmas.

I don't have a lot of time to play, but I've been squeezing in a song before work, one when I get home, one before I go to bed... that sort of thing. What's mainly got me coming back for more, at this point, is the leaderboards. They provide a way to be relevant to other players without being overtly social. I'm not the type of person who like to chat a lot when I'm playing videogames. I also am not fond of waiting for other players to be ready, having other players drop out of a game I'm playing or feeling reluctant to simply restart a song because other unseen players would be inconvenienced. So, for me, the leaderboards are awesome.

You don't "opt in" to the leaderboards. You're simply there. You rank wherever you rank, if you have an Internet connection. If you feel intimidated by the rest of the world's rankings, you can choose to view your ranking among just your friends. Personally, I am viewing the world rankings as a challenge.

As of this writing (well, as of last night, on my last attempt at these songs), I had rankings on two songs which- added together - were just under 100:
Pro Keys Expert:

• Everybody Wants to Rule The World (Tears for Fears): 62


• Blue Monday (New Order): 36

...and Queen's got Rock Band 3 versions of their songs available, which include Pro Keys parts. That and the Billy Joel pack make for lots more Pro Keys goodness to challenge yourself with...

...see you on the leaderboards...

Back from E3, but still all about it.

...Now we're decompressing and posting full-length stories on our impressions from the show. Feel free to as questions, they might make me remember to add something I would have otherwise left out.

I'm wrapping up a story on Rock Band 3 at the moment... and waiting to hear for sure whether Fridtjof actually ended up winning an iPad at the show. If so, we might start reviewing iPad products soon... if not, well, I think StarScream's supposed to be getting one soon, anyway, so we'll probably start reviewing iPad products either way.

Transformers: War for Cybertron Video Interview

Check out our video interview with High Moon Studios' Game Director Matt Tieger -- Transformers: War for Cybertron. This is our first original content video - interview or otherwise, conducted and edited by our very own Ricky Tucker, AKA StarScream... Appropriate, no?

Farewell to a Friend...

Gary Coleman passed away yesterday. Gary Coleman, from Different Strokes and Postal 2. Gary Coleman from that E3 where Kudo Tsunoda never got the message that Psibabe was looking for him. Gary Coleman from the Sony Party from that time I didn't approach him to ask him to walk up to Ashley after she returned to the table and simply point up at her and say, "You!" The Gary Coleman who, with buxom blonde on arm would somehow always be in front of us at any Johnny Rockets we went to. That very same Gary Coleman.

The gaming industry will mourn his loss, as will we, here, at Game Vortex.

Looking at Astro Gaming...

Astro Gaming has pretty slick looking products that come in pretty slick looking packaging, all black-on-black, glossy-on-matte, lined with chrome, coated in comfortable rubberized coatings and bristling with features and included accessories.

They first caught my attention with a snazzy Flash banner ad somewhere, but they had a high-tech gamer/DJ feel about their products, so I was thrilled when I received the Astro A30 gaming headset, the MixAmp and some assorted accessories in for review.

I'm currently working on reviewing these products, and they're great, so far... with the reviews to be posted later tonight. I found an interesting website that Google is funding, called English Central, and used the A30 Headset with that to practice my English on trailer video clips from Resident Evil and commercials and such. Too Fun.

However, I need to try them out in some online gameplay on my consoles and with the final episode of lost coming on tonight, I don't have access to my television until after it's over... and they're might not be many people online anywhere in the world to play against.

Hmm... that actually might give me a chance to get a "king of the hill" achievement online... Might have to use it with that. I guess I could run over to J.R. Nip's and give it a try.

At any rate, busy, busy, busy... and watch for the reviews soon!

Blast from the Past...

Wow. 1988. In the Heyday of the Commodore 64. Back when I was still in West Feliciana High School, I submitted some tips to a popular Commodore magazine, aptly titled, "Commodore Magazine". I submitted a few and two of them were selected to be printed. Each tip selected receives a $5 check... well, except for the fact that I put them in the same envelope and, somehow, they found that as enough reason to just give me $5, instead of $10. No biggie. It wasn't really about the money. And, for that matter, I all but forgot about them ever being printed, my copies of the magazines getting lost (at worst) or misplace (at best) in the last couple of times I've moved to a new place.

However, just today, I was Googling myself (no, not for the typical vanity purpose; I was trying to locate some information about my mother in conjunction with myself) and I found where someone had put some issues of Commodore Magazine online when my search pulled up a couple of results from scribd.com.

Wow. 1988. In the Heyday of the Commodore 64. I realize that they're all but completely irrelevant (at best) now, but still, I wanted to post a link to them, for anyone who might want to check them out.

My first Game Tip ever published...
'Commodore Magazine Vo1-09-N12 1988 Apr'
(Search for "Yie-ArKungFu"): http://www.scribd.com/doc/14565370

My keyboard repair tip for the C64...
'Commodore Magazine Vol-10-N04 1989 Apr'
(Search for "RepairingYourKeyboard"): http://www.scribd.com/doc/14573215

I looked at the info about these being scanned in and saw that they were scanned in last year, which probably has something to do with copyright expirations, as it's 20 years after publication, but I also found it interesting (coincidental, I suppose) that they were both scanned in on my birthday. What a nice gift. Thank you, Steven D. of Prince George, B.C. Canada. It's just what I didn't even realize I wanted.