2008 – The Year of the Plastic Peripheral!

My house is simply not big enough for all my plastic gaming extra’s! It is actually getting beyond a joke, as my other half is threatening to move them all (including me) to the spare room where there is only an SD TV (gasp). What started as a small box to hold my Wii nunchucks and classic controller has now developed into 3 boxes and that is not all of it in them – Plastic guitars need big boxes!

We have always had peripherals. Back in the days of the NES Zapper and the first ever driving wheels and pedal combos. It is nothing new really. Except this year we have seen SO many new “plastic” based products released into the gaming world it is taking over my lounge. Some have been instant hits, some are just crap, some are in between. Some enhance the game, some are essential, some are the biggest waste of your cash since an Xbox HD-DVD drive.

One of the biggest peripheral sensations so far this year is the Wii Fit balance board. A Nintendo licensed set of bathroom scales that is actually taking the world by a storm. My other half insisted we get one (I think that is the only reason I don’t live in the spare room yet), even my mum has one! Keeping to the Nintendo Wii tradition this is aimed at the casual gamers and also at the politically correct “look video games are not as bad as you think and I’m actually getting exercise” population. Unfortunately, like with the Wii, Nintendo seem to have an inability to manufacture more than 5 a week meaning demand is higher than Amy Winehouse at Glastonbury. (Editor’s note: In case you didnt know, this paragraph gives all sorts of hints that the author is British)

Some enhance the game, some are essential, some are the biggest waste of your cash since an Xbox HD-DVD drive.

Rock Band hit the UK recently on the Xbox 360 only (Microsoft exclusive period!) and people were buying Xbox’s just so they could buy it and the way over priced “band-in-a-box”! Coming in at just under twice as expensive as our US counterparts (£189 = over $350) your rock band in a box was not a cheap purchase but the potential drumming related blisters, and an extra set of fret buttons tempted a massive amount of people. Although not taking the place of our beloved Gibson GH controllers which still sit proudly next to the TV (I have even pushed the boat out and decorated my own faceplate!)(Editors Note: I have no idea what that means either… must be a UK thing). For us PS3 owners though, the news of the Guitar Hero: World Tour package has reached us in time so we can save ourselves from Rock Band and go straight to GHWT. There is no way my missus would let me have two plastic drum kits in the house let alone the spare room.

Another new plastic peripheral to hit the gaming world this year has been the new Gcon 3 gun for use with Time Crisis 4. Now, this one takes the preverbial plastic biscuit – its bright orange! not even an attempt to make it look remotly cool has been made. Orange! of all the colours in the world it has to be orange. I for one will not be buying it. Attached to the side of the ghastly coloured thing is a nunchuck styled joystick and button combo making the whole thing incredably uncomfortable to hold and making you look just as stupid at the gun (except slightly less Orange). My love of the Time Crisis series can’t even save this one.

One of the Wii’s most anticipated game releases since its launch hit the streets this year complete with yet another plastic attachment for your Wiimote. (I haven’t found a need to attach tennis racket, golf club or even fishing rod attachments to my Wiimote – but a lot of people have!) The Wii Wheel is actually a lot of fun to use, if not a bit daft looking. The controls took a little while to get used too, but once you learn to steer subtly not stupidly your good to go. It certainly made the latest “plumber in a go kart” edition worth while getting. Also, Mario Kart Wii signaled the turning point for Nintendo with regards to on-line gaming.

It seems that even the handheld devices are getting in on the Plastic Peripheral business thanks to Guitar Hero: On Tour! a plastic guitar grip with 4 fret buttons plugs into the Game Boy port of your Nintendo DS and even comes with a guitar pick shaped stylus! Genius! what ever next… a finger drum kit?

One of the largest game peripherals I have seen (that isnt a drum kit) is the Ace Combat 6 Flight controller for the Xbox 360. My friend has one and its well…huge and… bulky. Kind of like a drum kit with more buttons but less fun. He enjoys it, bless him, but then again he has flight simulation games for his PC with what can only be described as a cockpit peripheral for them!

Hey lets not forget my 2 SingStar microphones and my PS3 Eye Toy camera, plus my Wii zapper. And we best not forget the eagerly anticipated wireless Buzz! Quiz TV controllers I pre-ordered ready for delivery this week! I haven’t mentioned the dvd remote, the external hard drives, or the controller charging units. They are going to have to design me a huge peripheral to store all this crap in. Either way I’m in danger of needing a bigger house!

Life After Rock Band?

This week saw the release of 2 new editions to the Guitar Hero family – but I doubt I am the only one who is still waiting for the most promising GH of 2008!

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is the first GH game focusing on one band or artist.  Following their rise to fame, the game takes you back to high school for Aerosmith’s early days up too their biggest hits of recent years.  On the way there are plenty of non-Aerosmith songs to aid the variation without straying too far from the vision of keeping it about one band.  Personally, I’m not an Aerosmith fan and there isn’t enough in this GH3 spin off to make me buy it.  Maybe I will rent it, and see If I change my mind.

Guitar Hero: On Tour is the breakaway venture taking the GH franchise to the handheld devices.  Designed for the Nintendo DS, the revolutionary “guitar grip” attachment allows for mobile shredding.  I got my hands on one of these today in a Gaming Shop, and it isnt as gimmicky as it sounds/looks but god forbid you be left handed!

These two new games are a sign that Guitar Hero is not going to fold to Rock Band‘s pressure.  In fact, this is just the beginning.  The next installment will of course be Guitar Hero World Tour.  A sublime leap forward for console rhythm gaming.  I was all set to go out and purchase an XBox 360 just so i could get Rock Band (it is only available on the 360 in the UK at the moment!) but before I could relieve myself of £189 ($300+) plus the price of another game console, I read about GH:WT!  I will be saving my hard earned cash and purchasing the superior music/rhythm game. (Editor’s Note: Rock Band 2 doesn’t look half bad either)

These two new games are a sign that Guitar Hero is not going to fold to Rock Band‘s pressure.

Also, not content with trying to overtake Rock Band, GH:Aerosmith and GH:On Tour will be actually heading out on tour with the “American Idols” in the coming months.  And Rolling along for the ride will be the demo version of World Tour!  With Rock Band appearing at various festivals across the US this summer, has GH taken it one step further and actually joined a “tour” albeit not a world one?

Its a tough choice ahead for those of you who already own Rock Band.  I mean come on, be realistic – how many plastic based peripherals do I “actually” have the room for?   In fact – that sounds like a whole other discussion to me!

This can also be read at celineellis’ blog Celine Is A Geek

“Guitar Hero: World Tour” Teaser and Drummer Demo Trailers

First and foremost, you need to head on over to GameTrailers and watch the Guitar Hero: World Tour Exclusive Debut Trailer. Sure, it is just a teaser, but you do get your first look at someone hitting (sort of, the guy looks half asleep) the new drum set.

You can also briefly see the new guitar. In a not so surprising move, Activision seems perfectly content to rip off the idea of a second set of fret buttons From Rock Band. Dont get me wrong, I am not one of those guys to complain about one company stealing from another (so long as it makes a better game experience, you can steal from Jesus as far as I am concerned). The interesting thing about this move however is that I dont really buy into the fact that those smaller fret buttons add anything to the total package. Yes, they are great for kiddies who might not have the size and dexterity to use the normal fret buttons, but that is a rather small target to aim at. Did anyone really ever use the small frets in RB more then once or twice to test it out? Why even bother including them in GHWT? Perhaps they feel the “copycat” name calling is already going to rain down, so they might as well make the most of it.

The mic is also in the video, but you dont get to see it at all really. Nothing against RB’s mic, but this is where Activision can also slap a few features in and claim superiority. Here’s hoping the GHWT mic will have some sort of setting or whatz-it to play around with.

While the teaser trailer is nice, those seeking a little bit more info on the drums can look at the other official video released so far. In the Drummer Demo Trailer, you can watch as Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Stewart Copeland (The Police) and Travis Barker (Blink 182) talk about using the new drums. Even better, you can watch them wail on them a little bit. Unfortunately you dont get to see any game play, just the guys womping on the not-plugged-into-anything pads. I suppose the almost dramatic circling of the drums in white space to give a better look at them, makes up for it in some ways.

“Playing guitar, that’s all great and everything.

But hitting stuff?… Awesome!”

In the video, Smith talks about the durability of the set (those cymbals do seem to be begging to be snapped off), while Copeland discusses the supposed ease of setting them up and taking them down. This is very interesting to me because I firmly believe that you will not be able to offer a cheap way to have the best of both worlds. Hopefully GHWT will prove me to be incorrect. Barker on the other hand goes on to talk about how important it was too have the the raised cymbals and authentic feeling of movement (going so far as to mentioning playing with eyes closed) included in the game.

Needless to say, this game is shaping up to be more then what we might have expected. The details are only now starting to come in and we will be all over every aspect of it until release.

Be good. Stay up.

Update: You can view a slightly longer version of the Drummer Demo Trailer from this post on the official Guitar Hero website. Also of note is the fact that Activision has 6 slots available for videos on the site, so we can expect a load of info from them soon enough.

Also available on the official site is a 3D view of the drums, simply click on the little star over the drums below the trailer viewing window. Guitar & mic 3D images are promised soon.