nRant: RB1 > RB2, right?! WRONG.

I thought about writing something about Rock Band, and it seemed fitting with our latest video, the Rock Band Documentary. You... have seen that, correct?!  Anyway, Rock Band! How many of you actually own this rather expensive game? Of course I do, and if you have keen eyes when watching our Rock Band video, you'll see that I have the original Rock Band 1 (RB1) Special Edition version, rather than the much more superior Rock Band 2 (RB2) set... although, I do have the RB2 disc-only game! Now, I've had a reason for this odd purchase, and when I stumbled upon a recent article about RB1 & RB2 for Wii, I felt I had to come out with my thoughts.  

The article at GoNintendo titled "Consumer buy Rock Band [1] for Wii, love less features," is of course a sarcastic statement, but according to statisitcs... it's true! O_O Now, if you are someone who keeps up with game information, the following rant about Rock Band for Wii will not be news to you. Basically, when Rock Band 1 first came out in 2007, it came out for Xbox 360, PS2, and PS3. Way to leave Nintendo in the dark, huh? Well finally in June 2008, Harmonix (the game company for RB), finally gave Wii owners the chance to rock out and release RB1 for Wii (almost half a year later). You think, finally you can be cool and pretend to play in a band!

FYI, RB2 beats RB1 in EVERY WAY, as RB2 Wii had all the features that RB1 were missing... so I guess in a way, Harmonix apologized and FINALLY delivered RB2 with all the bells and whistles, something we deserve! And having both games from experience, every Wii owner needs to pick up RB2... a fantastic game!

Here was my plan. I knew indirectly that I would pretty much be supporting Harmonix of buying crappy games (RB1), as evidenced by the article mentioned earlier. I did this, not because I love less features (that is so stupid), but because I am a SMART shopper! Let's take a look:

Option A) RB1 Full Bundle + RB2 Disc = $100 + $50 = $150

Option B) RB2 Full Bundle + RB1 Disc = $190 + $50 = $240

As you can see, I went with Option A for the price tag. $150 is LOWER than the entire RB2 bundle by itself, yet I am getting 2 games for STILL, less than RB2. Now, you can't tell me that isn't smart shopping. Of course, there is the downside of supporting Harmonix's crappy version of RB1 version, which prompted the above linked article, and also pretty much getting the old set of instruments. With RB2, the instruments are new and improved, most notably the drums having a gel center on the pads to quiet the noise a little bit more. Soo I'm pretty much getting the "ugh" bundle of RB, but I save almost $100 by doing it this way. However, there was one really neat benefit that I tell myself for getting the RB1 bundle, and that was because the drums are white, to match the Wii! Now, that's kinda cool, I will admit, considering the other platforms are just the boring gray/black color, including the RB2 Wii version. So maybe Harmonix gave us a special white-colored drum set as an incentive for buying a lacking RB1? Who knows. That's what I tell myself. Even though I sadly gave my money toward the shoddy product that is RB1, I still got both RB1 & RB2 for less than RB2 by itself. Soooo, that's my reason why I bought the RB1 bundle. But trust me, if money wasn't an issue, I wouldn't of touched RB1 with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole. :)

So, that's my rant on Rock Band. Again, if you haven't read the article I linked above, please take a look at it, it isn't that long, and it's pretty much what prompted me to type out this rather long nRant. But thanks for reading, as I see you've made it to the end! :D Also.. you may be thinking, what about Guitar Hero: World Tour? Well, again, from watching the Rock Band video... I'm just a Rock Band kinda guy. ;) (and a smart shopper!)

Ready to discuss this nRant? Join in on the thread here: http://www.internetdinosaur.com/apps/forums/topics/show/250328-nrant-discussion-rb1-rb2-right-wrong-

Blog: Comfy Clothing

I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for the cold to kick in. I'm tired of the heat, and loves when the fall/winter air arrives to cleanse us! You see, the way I feel, is that in the summer time, there's really nothing you can do except just sweat it out and be uncomfortable (however water and ice cream seem to taste better on these days!). In the winter time, you can actually do something about it, and that is to wear more comfy clothing! I'm sure you can probably find some loopholes in my argument, but yeah. :] Anyway, I felt the urge to make some information known to you that you probably did not know prior to reading this post! If you haven't already, please direct your eyes to the Hot Topic model on the left. This guy is sporting the (in)famous Wii Hoodie I wore in Episode #1.3, Timebomb. I bought this with some Christmas money last year, along with some Hot Topic coupons (that place is expensive!!), and well, there were having a $10 off hoodie sale, which still ended up costing around $30ish. That being said, it pains me to tell you that you can now grab this one-of-a-kind hoodie for just $11.99! No joke, Hot Topic is getting rid of this awesome hoodie, so if you want to be just like Nintendo Boy (or not...), grab this amazing deal by clicking here!

I actually really like Hot Topic, and you'd be surprised at how much Nintendo goodies they have for sale if you've never been to their store. Just for kicks and giggles, I'd suggest you take a look at the Nintendo section of their site, and there's actually some really cool apparel there, and *some* of them are for an incredibly great price. Yes, if you were thinking this earlier, yes, this is my secret of Nintendo-geeky items; I wait until Hot Topic has a sale! Seriously though, they have things from plushies and messenger bags, to tons of really cool shirts. I promise you'll find something you like, so if you're trying to not spend money now, don't click here, where all the Nintendo stuff is!! :]

nRant: Wii Motion Plus at the Resort

Hey guys, sorry for lack of updates this past week, but I was at band camp! Perhaps more on that later... anyway, here's a juicy new nRant to take up some of your time you really shouldn't be wasting... after all school is coming up for many of us soon! So, the last nRant was about the upcoming E3. Now that that has come and gone, I'm sure you've heard by now that it didn't live up to people's expectations. Maybe even the worst E3... not sure why really, but I kinda touched the subject on the last post... I wondered what they could pull out from their sleeves, and the answer was, sadly, not much. Of course there were new games announced and etc, and blah blah, but really, not much of 'breaking news' really hit. However, we did get new information from the big N, and the biggest news is a new accessory for the Wii remote which will be used with a new installment of Wii Sports.

That's right, you heard correctly. The sequel to the famous Wii Sports game that EVERY Wii Owner has (haha) is Wii Sports Resort. The game takes place at something of a beach resort, where your Mii will engage in more exciting activities. It was announced that there will be 10 games (as opposed to Wii Sports' 4) which include activities such as frisbee with a Mii dog (?), jet ski, and even some fencing, which is like sword play. Well, now you're thinking, oh that sounds kinda cool. It gets better. WSR will be the first game to utilize something called Wii Motion Plus. This accessory, which is attached to the bottom of your Wii remote, will allow 1:1 control! Yes, that's right, 1:1 control. For those of you who don't know what this is, basically, whatever you do with the remote will be copied exactly on the game in real time. So, imagine this while playing Zelda, and you swing the Wii remote (as the sword) in an awkward way, well, the way Link will swing the sword will be the exact way. Pretty awesome, no? This allows for more precise motion control, hence the name, Motion Plus.

I believe this to be a new step for the Wii, and it's a nice new addition. This accessory will debut sometime in Spring 2009, and will actually be bundled with Wii Sports Resort for $50. So, there's some bang for your buck. And as you can see in the picture to the right, the WMP accessory will also come with an extended version of the Wii Remote Jacket to work with WMP. Of course, the next line of games will most likely be using WMP to where they see fit, so shelling out the $50 for WSR and WMP doesn't sounds like such a bad deal. I mean, wouldn't you want to obtain the sequel to Wii Sports, the BEST-SELLING GAME THAT EVERY WII OWNER HAS?! Haha. Well, if you don't like my jokes, you may still enjoy WSR. I'll be honest and say that I played Wii Sports for maybe a week after I got my Wii, and then... eh. I mean, if I have Zelda, Mario Party, etc., why bother still playing Wii Sports? Of course I may be biased seeing as I'm somewhat of a hard-core gamer and don't fancy playing Mii Bowling too much, but the game is really perfect for anyone, and especially those who have really never even touched a gaming console.

So, what do you think? Are you gonna pick up this newest peripheral from Nintendo

At $50, it may be a bit pricy for just another simple game to use your Miis, but it may be little time just before every game is using the 1:1 motion feature of this new device, and you will be soon succumbed to join in on the latest craze.