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...

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?

2009 Things to Do...

So, how did YOU read the above title? As things to do this year? ...or as the number of things to be done? Either way, you're pretty close.

Starscream is working on a new layout for GameVortex.com and PSillustrated.com... something fresh and much more easy to navigate around, while helping to reinforce the fact that PlayStation Illustrated is a part of the GameVortex Network. We will be going for much better integration between the two in this redesign.

J.R.Nip is starting to look at the redesign from a 'features' perspective... We don't intend for this to be merely a new paint job, so functionality will be improved, along with the look and feel of the websites as they are now.

As for me, I'm going to be involved in both sides, of course, but I'm also working on a few projects of my own, updating our RSS feeds so that they are more useful, seeking partnerships on various levels with other websites and companies and trying to become more active in my "community"... both in Baton Rouge and internet-based.

That's not quite 2009 things, but I'm not done with the list... just ran out of time to blog... gotta run and work on some of those aforementioned things...

...till next time.

Post PAX, Post Gustav, Post Guitar Hero World Tour Press Event, Post Ike Update

A lot has transpired in the past few weeks, and thank God, it seems we've lived through it all. J.R. Nip and StarScream did, eventually, make it back from PAX, the GameVorplex wasn't blown away by hurricanes, I made it out to participate the Guitar Hero World Tour press event in Santa Monica, CA (and will be posting a report on all of the coolness that entailed) and I've gotten sick and (as of this writing) just about over it.

Due to the hurricanes and the resulting power outages, we've gotten a little bit behind on things, as it's difficult to play games or even movies when you have no electricity, but we're working hard on catching up. Check for lots of updates... soon.

Taking over the world from a small bedroom in the mountains

I recently took a vacation with my in-laws. I know, most people immediately think, "big mistake!" Actually, it wasn't all that bad; yes, there was some friction, but we all lived through it.

My mother-in-law (and for that matter, my brother-in-law) didn't seem to want to do as much "active" stuff as I would have like… I could have spent most of my trip divided between walking up and down the strip in Gatlinburg and riding go-carts and playing mini-golf in Pigeon Forge. Of course, since the 18-wheeler incident, Ashley can't take that kind of walking, either. So, instead of having someone else to run up and down the strip with, I had a group of people who didn't want to do much. Although Ash and I were up for it, they weren't even interested enough in the Incline Railroad (Chattanooga, TN) to wait to ride it. True it was a projected one hour wait (how?!), but still, it's not like we go there once a week.

Regardless, there were several early evenings and late mornings that I found myself in a bedroom with my PS3 and Civilization: Revolution to keep me company. We didn't even have Internet access in the room! Luckily for me, Civ Revolution is certifiable crack. I could have played that game holed up in a room for another week if there was somewhere comfortable to sit. I was playing it to review it for GameVortex, so I was quite sad to finish the review and turn it in, as that usually means I won't find another chance to play the game.

Actually, I'm considering writing a strategy guide for Civ Revolution, to give me a "reason" to play it some more. It's really fun. I highly recommend it if you're into that sort of thing… or for that matter, if you're curious about Turn based Strategy games. If you're interested, check out my review of Civilization Revolution on PSillustrated.com.

- Robert "Geck0" Perkins