2007/11/30
2007/11/29
Ok people, I need to get these things off my chest. I generally don’t like to bitch, but I need to vent.
1) Old people: No one likes it when you count out exact change at the supermarket counter. Seriously, no one. It slows down the whole operation. The checkout person doesn’t like it, and the people behind you don’t like it. Trust me. Just pull out another bill or use a credit card. True, you’ll accumulate a lot of change this way. When you do, take it to one of those CoinStar machines, and convert into credit at Amazon.com or some other retail. It’s free and easy, and actually pretty fun. Kind of feels like free money.
2) This one is a personal gripe. If you’re eating, I don’t want to be on the phone with you. I’ve had a couple recent conversations with people eating. I don’t think it’s impolite or anything, it’s just an issue with me. I don’t like the sound of people eating, and therefore, I REALLY don’t like that sound amplified and right in my ear. So if I ask you to call me back after you’re done eating, please don’t take it personally.
3) If you’re in an elevator, it’s actually not that funny to jump or otherwise bounce. I understand the risk of anything bad happening is very small, but the severity of that risk certainly outweighs the pleasure you get out of it, doesn’t it?
That’s it for now. I’m pretty sure posting about things that bother me is a sure way to make them happen more often (“Dude, I really don’t want to be called ‘Birdman’”), but here goes.
1) Old people: No one likes it when you count out exact change at the supermarket counter. Seriously, no one. It slows down the whole operation. The checkout person doesn’t like it, and the people behind you don’t like it. Trust me. Just pull out another bill or use a credit card. True, you’ll accumulate a lot of change this way. When you do, take it to one of those CoinStar machines, and convert into credit at Amazon.com or some other retail. It’s free and easy, and actually pretty fun. Kind of feels like free money.
2) This one is a personal gripe. If you’re eating, I don’t want to be on the phone with you. I’ve had a couple recent conversations with people eating. I don’t think it’s impolite or anything, it’s just an issue with me. I don’t like the sound of people eating, and therefore, I REALLY don’t like that sound amplified and right in my ear. So if I ask you to call me back after you’re done eating, please don’t take it personally.
3) If you’re in an elevator, it’s actually not that funny to jump or otherwise bounce. I understand the risk of anything bad happening is very small, but the severity of that risk certainly outweighs the pleasure you get out of it, doesn’t it?
That’s it for now. I’m pretty sure posting about things that bother me is a sure way to make them happen more often (“Dude, I really don’t want to be called ‘Birdman’”), but here goes.
2007/11/28
I've seen a million faces... and I've rocked them all...
Last night, after hours, I joined Baditude and some of his workboys at their work for a session of Rock Band. And I'm pleased to report that it was as fun as I was hoping and expecting.
When I first showed up, I sat out for a song or two, watching how it all worked out. There is one player playing lead guitar, one playing bass guitar, one person drumming, and the fourth singing. The two guitars play exactly like all the other Guitar Hero games. The drums plays in a very similar manner, in that you have to hit the correct pad when the falling note hits the bottom of the screen. The singing, however, is completely different. You get the words scrolling across the top of the screen, as well as a wavy line (like a heart-beat EKG readout) that indicates pitch. Somehow the mic senses timing as well as pitch, and you get indications of how well you're doing.
So I jumped in on guitar for a song, and it was pretty standard. I played on Expert difficulty, and maybe we were just on an easy song, but it wasn't too challenging. After the song, the guy at the drums said "Do you want to try the drums?" I said "I've been waiting a year to hear those words." :)
Drums was fun. Hard. But fun. I've practiced drumming off and on for years now, very informally, but I think I have only a little more knowledge and practice than the average person off the street. I'm not sure how much that helped, but I was able to jump right into Medium difficulty (and one Hard) without too much problem. What I found really interesting was when a Real Drummer (someone who actually owns a drum kit and plays in a band) was put on the drums, he couldn't get by at all. He was failing out of Easy. What was funny was that, like a real drummer, he just kind of kept his own rhythm, albeit rocksteady, but wasn't really able to adjust to what the game was prompting him to play. I think once he learns how to read the notes, however, he'll be awesome.
We rotated around a bit, and it came to my turn to sing. Ugh. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I loaded up "Enter Sandman", since I'd just seen a video of some Mom doing an awful job at it. What was reassuring, however, is that everyone was a pretty bad singer, and no one seemed to mind. And when I was playing a different instrument, I was so busy concentrating on my own stuff to even think about how the singer was doing. So I got through it the best I can, and no one laughed at me. Later that night, I sang "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and felt a little more relaxed. The singing was weird, since it was a lot of changing pitch and adjusting to feedback, rather than just being relaxed and singing.
All in all, I think it's a totally solid game, and would be AWESOME at a party (especially with enough beer to get Iwan on the mic). It will happen someday.
In other news, we just got word at work that we're in a big push on the project I'm a part of, and we can't request any new vacations through the end of February. In addition, we're asked to work overtime for the same length of time. I'm pretty bummed about it, but realize that I've had it pretty good for a long time, and it's time to pay some dues. It couldn't really have come at a worse time, though, since I already feel guilty for not being home, and missing out on my baby's life enough as it is (which, coincidentally, even makes Rock Band nights bittersweet). But things could be worse, so I'm not too complain-y. Just kind of sucks.
Time to wake up the kiddo. My favorite time of the evening! :)
When I first showed up, I sat out for a song or two, watching how it all worked out. There is one player playing lead guitar, one playing bass guitar, one person drumming, and the fourth singing. The two guitars play exactly like all the other Guitar Hero games. The drums plays in a very similar manner, in that you have to hit the correct pad when the falling note hits the bottom of the screen. The singing, however, is completely different. You get the words scrolling across the top of the screen, as well as a wavy line (like a heart-beat EKG readout) that indicates pitch. Somehow the mic senses timing as well as pitch, and you get indications of how well you're doing.
So I jumped in on guitar for a song, and it was pretty standard. I played on Expert difficulty, and maybe we were just on an easy song, but it wasn't too challenging. After the song, the guy at the drums said "Do you want to try the drums?" I said "I've been waiting a year to hear those words." :)
Drums was fun. Hard. But fun. I've practiced drumming off and on for years now, very informally, but I think I have only a little more knowledge and practice than the average person off the street. I'm not sure how much that helped, but I was able to jump right into Medium difficulty (and one Hard) without too much problem. What I found really interesting was when a Real Drummer (someone who actually owns a drum kit and plays in a band) was put on the drums, he couldn't get by at all. He was failing out of Easy. What was funny was that, like a real drummer, he just kind of kept his own rhythm, albeit rocksteady, but wasn't really able to adjust to what the game was prompting him to play. I think once he learns how to read the notes, however, he'll be awesome.
We rotated around a bit, and it came to my turn to sing. Ugh. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I loaded up "Enter Sandman", since I'd just seen a video of some Mom doing an awful job at it. What was reassuring, however, is that everyone was a pretty bad singer, and no one seemed to mind. And when I was playing a different instrument, I was so busy concentrating on my own stuff to even think about how the singer was doing. So I got through it the best I can, and no one laughed at me. Later that night, I sang "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and felt a little more relaxed. The singing was weird, since it was a lot of changing pitch and adjusting to feedback, rather than just being relaxed and singing.
All in all, I think it's a totally solid game, and would be AWESOME at a party (especially with enough beer to get Iwan on the mic). It will happen someday.
In other news, we just got word at work that we're in a big push on the project I'm a part of, and we can't request any new vacations through the end of February. In addition, we're asked to work overtime for the same length of time. I'm pretty bummed about it, but realize that I've had it pretty good for a long time, and it's time to pay some dues. It couldn't really have come at a worse time, though, since I already feel guilty for not being home, and missing out on my baby's life enough as it is (which, coincidentally, even makes Rock Band nights bittersweet). But things could be worse, so I'm not too complain-y. Just kind of sucks.
Time to wake up the kiddo. My favorite time of the evening! :)
2007/11/26
Hi Everybody!
Let’s take a moment and review the past few weeks, shall we?
Little Allison is doing well. She’s growing really well, and already we can look back at pictures from previous weeks and see a big difference. She’s started smiling more, and definitely talking more, and generally is more attentive to the world around her. She still remains pretty good natured, although she can get pretty pissed off when she’s tired (she’s like her Daddy that way). She has a doctor’s appointment today where she’s going to get some number of shots. That’s not going to be a pretty scene. Her new thing is sleeping for hours at a time, which is pretty cool. She’s pretty consistently sleeping from 9pm to 3am, and then again until 7am. Diana appreciates that.
Diana’s been doing a great job as stay-at-home Mom. It sounds like it’s not really hard work, but just constant. Even breaks during naps are filled with other things that need to get done. She’s been making lots of playdates with friends and grandparents, so that sounds like it breaks up the days a bit, which is nice.
We were supposed to have Thanksgiving with my family, Diana’s family, and another family. However, my parents at the other family got a pretty nasty stomach virus and were horribly sick, so Thanksgiving was officially cancelled. That was kind of a bummer, but we still spent the day with Diana’s family, and that was still nice. I’m glad we didn’t get whatever sickness was going around… it sounded awful.
This weekend I officially entered myself into the holiday spirit. Friday evening found me at Home Depot for some reason, and they were setting up Christmas tree sales in the parking lot, and holiday music was playing, and I got all caught up in it. I think last year I let the holiday season just sort of come and go without making much note of it, but this year I’m into it. My parents visited on Saturday, and I roped my Dad into helping me get a tree. So we got that all set up Saturday afternoon, and Diana and I decorated it that night. That was a really memorable evening. I was sitting with Allison sleeping in my arms while Diana decorated the tree (under my careful supervision, of course). We had Christmas music playing, and I just was filled with a happy feeling. It was really nice.
I’ve been able to get out and see some friends recently, too, which was nice. The Buhr’s came down and it was nice to see them. I got in some quality gaming with Eryn and Little Buhr and his roommate. We played a new game (whose name I don’t remember), which was very Puerto Rico’ish and very fun. I’ve logged some good Team Fortress 2 hours, including a session with Mike and Eryn and a workboy, which was pretty cool. I learned this weekend that even Iwan was getting set up with TF2, and I loo forward to meeting him online sometime.
I beat “Raining Blood” in Guitar Hero 3, which I’d previously thought was impossible. That means that I’ve completed ALL songs on Expert, getting me to the final Boss Battle against “Lou” the devil. The song is a metal version of “The Devil Came Down from Georgia”, and it’s really tough. And unlike the other boss battles, I don’t think I can wuss out on this one. You have to pass it to continue. I’m pretty pissed, since I want to get the final song unlocked, but I think I need to beat Lou first. Ugh. Fucking Boss Battles. I hate you. In other gaming news, Rock Band has come out, and official reviews are glowing. Some user reviews on message boards are a little complain-y (mostly about defective equipment and compatibility issues, not the game itself). I’m pretty sure that I really, really, REALLY want it. People looking for gift ideas could do a lot worse. I still haven’t played it yet (aside from the broken demo at Best Buy), and it’s killing me.
That’s about it for now. November is quickly passing, and December is quickly filling up with social plans, including family birthday and Christmas celebrations, as well as company holiday party, Eryn’s traditional gift exchange party (which I look forward to ever year!), and so on.
All things considered, it’s a pretty good time to be an Adman.
Little Allison is doing well. She’s growing really well, and already we can look back at pictures from previous weeks and see a big difference. She’s started smiling more, and definitely talking more, and generally is more attentive to the world around her. She still remains pretty good natured, although she can get pretty pissed off when she’s tired (she’s like her Daddy that way). She has a doctor’s appointment today where she’s going to get some number of shots. That’s not going to be a pretty scene. Her new thing is sleeping for hours at a time, which is pretty cool. She’s pretty consistently sleeping from 9pm to 3am, and then again until 7am. Diana appreciates that.
Diana’s been doing a great job as stay-at-home Mom. It sounds like it’s not really hard work, but just constant. Even breaks during naps are filled with other things that need to get done. She’s been making lots of playdates with friends and grandparents, so that sounds like it breaks up the days a bit, which is nice.
We were supposed to have Thanksgiving with my family, Diana’s family, and another family. However, my parents at the other family got a pretty nasty stomach virus and were horribly sick, so Thanksgiving was officially cancelled. That was kind of a bummer, but we still spent the day with Diana’s family, and that was still nice. I’m glad we didn’t get whatever sickness was going around… it sounded awful.
This weekend I officially entered myself into the holiday spirit. Friday evening found me at Home Depot for some reason, and they were setting up Christmas tree sales in the parking lot, and holiday music was playing, and I got all caught up in it. I think last year I let the holiday season just sort of come and go without making much note of it, but this year I’m into it. My parents visited on Saturday, and I roped my Dad into helping me get a tree. So we got that all set up Saturday afternoon, and Diana and I decorated it that night. That was a really memorable evening. I was sitting with Allison sleeping in my arms while Diana decorated the tree (under my careful supervision, of course). We had Christmas music playing, and I just was filled with a happy feeling. It was really nice.
I’ve been able to get out and see some friends recently, too, which was nice. The Buhr’s came down and it was nice to see them. I got in some quality gaming with Eryn and Little Buhr and his roommate. We played a new game (whose name I don’t remember), which was very Puerto Rico’ish and very fun. I’ve logged some good Team Fortress 2 hours, including a session with Mike and Eryn and a workboy, which was pretty cool. I learned this weekend that even Iwan was getting set up with TF2, and I loo forward to meeting him online sometime.
I beat “Raining Blood” in Guitar Hero 3, which I’d previously thought was impossible. That means that I’ve completed ALL songs on Expert, getting me to the final Boss Battle against “Lou” the devil. The song is a metal version of “The Devil Came Down from Georgia”, and it’s really tough. And unlike the other boss battles, I don’t think I can wuss out on this one. You have to pass it to continue. I’m pretty pissed, since I want to get the final song unlocked, but I think I need to beat Lou first. Ugh. Fucking Boss Battles. I hate you. In other gaming news, Rock Band has come out, and official reviews are glowing. Some user reviews on message boards are a little complain-y (mostly about defective equipment and compatibility issues, not the game itself). I’m pretty sure that I really, really, REALLY want it. People looking for gift ideas could do a lot worse. I still haven’t played it yet (aside from the broken demo at Best Buy), and it’s killing me.
That’s about it for now. November is quickly passing, and December is quickly filling up with social plans, including family birthday and Christmas celebrations, as well as company holiday party, Eryn’s traditional gift exchange party (which I look forward to ever year!), and so on.
All things considered, it’s a pretty good time to be an Adman.
2007/11/12
I love stuff like this...
I absolutely love this "Web 2.0" stuff. I love sites that make it easy to create new content.
This site, animoto.com, is totally easy to use. Upload pictures, upload music (or choose from a collection online), click a button, and you get a neat video. It's so easy even my parents could use it (hi Mom! :)
Here's a quick sample:
This site, animoto.com, is totally easy to use. Upload pictures, upload music (or choose from a collection online), click a button, and you get a neat video. It's so easy even my parents could use it (hi Mom! :)
Here's a quick sample:
Back to Work
So, it’s with completely mixed feelings that I’m back to work this morning.
It’s kind of funny how much things are the same around here, and why shouldn’t they be? It’s refreshing to see that the sarcastic guy is still sarcastic, the nice guy is still nice, and the know-it-all guy still knows everything. I really enjoy the people that I work with, and it’s really nice to be back. I don’t yet have any responsibilities, aside from just catching up on emails and stuff, so that’s nice.
On the other side, obviously, I miss my wife and baby. I hope they’re doing well without me. I close my eyes and see a tiny little face, and hope she doesn’t forget about me. I hope I don’t miss out on too much. I’m confident, though, that everything will be fine at home without me.
This weekend, the whole family packed up for a day out. We drove down to Del Mar, and walked on the beach. We then headed up to Seagrove Park for a little feeding and hanging out. It was there that we had our first real overflowing diaper. After a brief panic (mostly tempered with disbelief at how much stuff there was), we retired to this middle of a big grassy area to get all clean and changed. We handled it well, and luckily there were not too many people around (is it “were not too many people” or “was not too many people”?), but there is a bench that I’d advice avoiding the next time you’re down there.
We hit up Board and Brew for lunch, and decided to take our sandwiches up to the local elementary school. I was feeling nostalgic (weird), and it was a nice Saturday morning, so I figured there might be soccer games going on. I spent a HUGE amount of time at the Heights school, and it was fun to go back. We ate sammies and watched the little guys play soccer. Good times.
We got home in time for me to hook up with Discostup and Baditude for some Team Fortress 2, which I thought worked out pretty well. Mike is in Germany, separated by a 9 hour time difference and a 200ms ping time. But I was able to set up a Ventrilo voice server, and after we all connected to that, it was like all three of us were in the same room. I miss Mike a lot, so it was nice to spend some time with him. TF2 is surprisingly playable with a high ping, since some of the classes don’t really require a whole lot of precision (Heavy, Engineer, and Medic jump to mind). So that was a good time. I hope we can do it again sometime soon.
And finally, I’m still completely stunned by the Charger game last night. I was on the edge of my seat during most of the game, and can’t believe we walked away with a win. That was probably the most exciting game I’ve ever seen. Allie spent the day in her Chargers jumper, and I had my “LT” jersey on, and that probably had something to do with it.
It’s kind of funny how much things are the same around here, and why shouldn’t they be? It’s refreshing to see that the sarcastic guy is still sarcastic, the nice guy is still nice, and the know-it-all guy still knows everything. I really enjoy the people that I work with, and it’s really nice to be back. I don’t yet have any responsibilities, aside from just catching up on emails and stuff, so that’s nice.
On the other side, obviously, I miss my wife and baby. I hope they’re doing well without me. I close my eyes and see a tiny little face, and hope she doesn’t forget about me. I hope I don’t miss out on too much. I’m confident, though, that everything will be fine at home without me.
This weekend, the whole family packed up for a day out. We drove down to Del Mar, and walked on the beach. We then headed up to Seagrove Park for a little feeding and hanging out. It was there that we had our first real overflowing diaper. After a brief panic (mostly tempered with disbelief at how much stuff there was), we retired to this middle of a big grassy area to get all clean and changed. We handled it well, and luckily there were not too many people around (is it “were not too many people” or “was not too many people”?), but there is a bench that I’d advice avoiding the next time you’re down there.
We hit up Board and Brew for lunch, and decided to take our sandwiches up to the local elementary school. I was feeling nostalgic (weird), and it was a nice Saturday morning, so I figured there might be soccer games going on. I spent a HUGE amount of time at the Heights school, and it was fun to go back. We ate sammies and watched the little guys play soccer. Good times.
We got home in time for me to hook up with Discostup and Baditude for some Team Fortress 2, which I thought worked out pretty well. Mike is in Germany, separated by a 9 hour time difference and a 200ms ping time. But I was able to set up a Ventrilo voice server, and after we all connected to that, it was like all three of us were in the same room. I miss Mike a lot, so it was nice to spend some time with him. TF2 is surprisingly playable with a high ping, since some of the classes don’t really require a whole lot of precision (Heavy, Engineer, and Medic jump to mind). So that was a good time. I hope we can do it again sometime soon.
And finally, I’m still completely stunned by the Charger game last night. I was on the edge of my seat during most of the game, and can’t believe we walked away with a win. That was probably the most exciting game I’ve ever seen. Allie spent the day in her Chargers jumper, and I had my “LT” jersey on, and that probably had something to do with it.
2007/11/05
Now is the time when I talk about Guitar Hero 3.
First and foremost, I wasn't really all that excited about GH3. When I told this to Discostup, being the fine doctor that he is, he was concerned over my health and well being. Was I feeling all right?
The truth is, even since I learned that GH3 was being made by a NEW company, and the people who made GH1 and GH2 had moved on to Rock Band, I knew (or hoped) that Rock Band was going to be the next big thing. And I'm pretty sure I still believe that. I saw some demo footage of early GH3, and it looked awful. So I was dubious.
However, looking at the song list, there was enough on there to get me excited enough to give it a shot. So I picked it up the other day, and have gotten some opportunities to play it. I jumped right into the Expert career ('cause I ROCK).
The early songs were fun, but nothing too exciting. The first things I noticed about the game was that the Hammer On/Pull Off notes were very brightly lit. A nice touch, I think. It also appeared that the HOPO timing was greatly relaxed, which kind of translated into finger-mashing being an acceptable strategy. I found myself many times in the middle of a hard solo not knowing what I was really doing, just smashing buttons and strumming as best I could, and hitting a lot more notes than I expected. Kinda took away a little from the technical feel of it.
Another note: The lead singer is DAMN ugly. I have no idea what they were thinking.
They've also sexed the game up a bit. My girl Casey Lynch now has g-string panties that ride up over her pants. One of the venues, so far as I could tell, was an actual strip club, complete with (scantily clad, but still clad) go-go dancers. It felt a little too obvious and out of place.
After playing through the first couple sets, I got to my first "Boss Battle". GH3 introduced a new "battle" playmode, where you play against someone else. Instead of getting Star Power to increase your score, you get battle power. When you activate your battle power, it causes mayhem on the other player: their notes blink, or they get lefty-flipped for a while, or a button on their guitar doesn't work, or they have to hit the whammy bar a bunch before they can hit notes.
I was really, really hoping that this would remain a multiplayer option only, but alas, it wasn't to be. Sprinkled throughout the career mode, you have to face off against a computer controlled Boss. The object is to make them fail the song by using your Battle Power against them, and the do the same to you. It was dumb. It totally drew me out of the game. All I wanted to do was pass it and move on, which I eventually did with Boss #1 (Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine). Boss #2 (Slash from G'n'R) kicked my butt repeatedly. Luckily, I found that if you fail a couple of times, you are given the option of "Wussing out" and skipping that boss. I took this option in a heartbeat. However, the song is still listed in the playlist, and it says "Wussed Out" next to it, so eventually I'm going to have to go back to it. Ugh.
The concept of turning Guitar Hero into a fighting game really bothers me to the core. I'm NOT a musician by any means, but music has always struck me as totally collaborative and synergistic. The music that is played in these duels is actually really cool two-part back and forth guitar parts, but it gets totally stomped on by the Battle Powers. It would be super fun to play it in a Cooperative mode, rather than a battle mode. I hope that's possible.
(Rock Band, as a contrast, I think really understands this. Playing with a full complement of singer, drummer, guitar and bass is going to be a really, really big deal. I can't wait to try it out with friends.)
And speaking of multiplayer, I was able to talk Diana into playing a song or two with me during some free time. I loaded up the game, and went to Multiplayer, and found there was no Co-op mode. Wha?! It turns out that there is a Co-op CAREER (which is cool) but what that means is that you need to play and unlock the songs like you do in a career. That's fine for me and Baditude, but Diana likes to pick and choose her songs. Forcing her to play through the entire set list isn't going to fly. I found it all pretty confusing.
There were some high points, though. Coming up on an encore, and finding it was "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam got me all sorts of excited. Playing "Welcome to the Jungle" is awesome. I recently heard a song on the radio and told Baditude that it would be a great song for Guitar Hero. Turns on the song was "La Grange" by ZZ Top, and it's included, and as awesome as I hoped. Finally, there's "Rock You Like a Hurricane". 'Nuff said.
So, there you have it. I give Guitar Hero 3 a big "meh". It has it's moments, but I think Baditude summed it up best: "Mostly, I found myself thinking that I'd rather just be playing Rock Band."
In other news, Allison is doing fine. :)
First and foremost, I wasn't really all that excited about GH3. When I told this to Discostup, being the fine doctor that he is, he was concerned over my health and well being. Was I feeling all right?
The truth is, even since I learned that GH3 was being made by a NEW company, and the people who made GH1 and GH2 had moved on to Rock Band, I knew (or hoped) that Rock Band was going to be the next big thing. And I'm pretty sure I still believe that. I saw some demo footage of early GH3, and it looked awful. So I was dubious.
However, looking at the song list, there was enough on there to get me excited enough to give it a shot. So I picked it up the other day, and have gotten some opportunities to play it. I jumped right into the Expert career ('cause I ROCK).
The early songs were fun, but nothing too exciting. The first things I noticed about the game was that the Hammer On/Pull Off notes were very brightly lit. A nice touch, I think. It also appeared that the HOPO timing was greatly relaxed, which kind of translated into finger-mashing being an acceptable strategy. I found myself many times in the middle of a hard solo not knowing what I was really doing, just smashing buttons and strumming as best I could, and hitting a lot more notes than I expected. Kinda took away a little from the technical feel of it.
Another note: The lead singer is DAMN ugly. I have no idea what they were thinking.
They've also sexed the game up a bit. My girl Casey Lynch now has g-string panties that ride up over her pants. One of the venues, so far as I could tell, was an actual strip club, complete with (scantily clad, but still clad) go-go dancers. It felt a little too obvious and out of place.
After playing through the first couple sets, I got to my first "Boss Battle". GH3 introduced a new "battle" playmode, where you play against someone else. Instead of getting Star Power to increase your score, you get battle power. When you activate your battle power, it causes mayhem on the other player: their notes blink, or they get lefty-flipped for a while, or a button on their guitar doesn't work, or they have to hit the whammy bar a bunch before they can hit notes.
I was really, really hoping that this would remain a multiplayer option only, but alas, it wasn't to be. Sprinkled throughout the career mode, you have to face off against a computer controlled Boss. The object is to make them fail the song by using your Battle Power against them, and the do the same to you. It was dumb. It totally drew me out of the game. All I wanted to do was pass it and move on, which I eventually did with Boss #1 (Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine). Boss #2 (Slash from G'n'R) kicked my butt repeatedly. Luckily, I found that if you fail a couple of times, you are given the option of "Wussing out" and skipping that boss. I took this option in a heartbeat. However, the song is still listed in the playlist, and it says "Wussed Out" next to it, so eventually I'm going to have to go back to it. Ugh.
The concept of turning Guitar Hero into a fighting game really bothers me to the core. I'm NOT a musician by any means, but music has always struck me as totally collaborative and synergistic. The music that is played in these duels is actually really cool two-part back and forth guitar parts, but it gets totally stomped on by the Battle Powers. It would be super fun to play it in a Cooperative mode, rather than a battle mode. I hope that's possible.
(Rock Band, as a contrast, I think really understands this. Playing with a full complement of singer, drummer, guitar and bass is going to be a really, really big deal. I can't wait to try it out with friends.)
And speaking of multiplayer, I was able to talk Diana into playing a song or two with me during some free time. I loaded up the game, and went to Multiplayer, and found there was no Co-op mode. Wha?! It turns out that there is a Co-op CAREER (which is cool) but what that means is that you need to play and unlock the songs like you do in a career. That's fine for me and Baditude, but Diana likes to pick and choose her songs. Forcing her to play through the entire set list isn't going to fly. I found it all pretty confusing.
There were some high points, though. Coming up on an encore, and finding it was "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam got me all sorts of excited. Playing "Welcome to the Jungle" is awesome. I recently heard a song on the radio and told Baditude that it would be a great song for Guitar Hero. Turns on the song was "La Grange" by ZZ Top, and it's included, and as awesome as I hoped. Finally, there's "Rock You Like a Hurricane". 'Nuff said.
So, there you have it. I give Guitar Hero 3 a big "meh". It has it's moments, but I think Baditude summed it up best: "Mostly, I found myself thinking that I'd rather just be playing Rock Band."
In other news, Allison is doing fine. :)
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