Star Wars the Force Unleashed Concept Art
© Lucas Arts
Toy Maniac: Countdown to Force Unleashed
By: Robert T. TrateDate: Thursday, August 21, 2008
Madden NFL 09 for the Xbox 360 is currently outselling all other systems (according to Amazon). This doesn’t make me want to play it any more though. Sports games have never really done for it me as a gamer. I like a back story and usually being the lone figure on a mission, N64’s Golden Eye and Star Wars Shadows of the Empire being two of my favorites in that genre. When Guitar Hero arrived I had little interest in playing it. There is no adventure, no action and no tie to a previous license that I already have a tie too (Bond and Star Wars). This was fine, until one day at Best Buy I found myself watching this kid play War Pigs by Black Sabbath. It looked simple enough; hit the buttons when they are highlighted. After several failed attempts, I became addicted. It’s the challenge that made it intoxicating. Like beating Boba Fett or completing a mission in record time on Golden Eye, I had to master My Name is Jonas by Weezer.
I picked up Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii and beat it (after a little while). However, I quickly learned the disadvantage of the having cool hip game system. All I got was the game and the songs contained with in it. The PS3 and Xbox 360 were constantly adding new songs enabling the gamer endless hours of fun where mine were slowly coming to an end. When Activision announced that there would be another Guitar Hero coming out I was ecstatic. Finally there would be the chance to learn new songs and rock out all over again.
Guitar Hero Aerosmith is an interesting concept. Pick one band, feature them in the game and then supply a few other songs along the same genre of music to accompany them. A great concept, especially if you love Aerosmith. If you are not a fan twenty-five Aerosmith songs on the other hand is a tad much. The game begins with you following the band’s career from its very start. Before each set there are interviews from various band members telling stories about the different venues. It works well as your band is the opening act. After you complete the first two songs the gamer is then forced to play at least three Aerosmith songs to continue. The songs involved are old school Aerosmith, so old our parents will barely remember them and you won’t find them on any greatest hits album. This is understandable in the terms of marketing for the band and for giving us songs that are heavy in Joe Perry’s (lead Guitarist) guitar riffs. Knowing that Walk This Way and Living on the Edge will pop up somewhere in the game becomes a quest for the songs that you really want to play.
The venues are great but essentially they are nothing more than backdrops for someone else to watch as the gamer tries to complete the song. The challenge of Guitar Hero on any level is whether or not you can complete the song. Guitar Hero Aerosmith is really not much of challenge. The songs may be longer and tougher than most of songs in Guitar Hero 3 but they lack any of the essential repetitive playing that Guitar Hero 3 possessed. This is evident because these early day Aerosmith songs weren’t popular. They aren’t classics that beg to be mastered like Sabotage, Paint it Black, Paranoid or Number of the Beast. Sure there are a few classics in the game that are worth mastering and Walk This Way featuring Run DMC is one of them but they are few and far between. Guitar Hero Aerosmith just didn’t supply the thrill or challenge that was expected after playing Guitar Hero 3. It would have been a better download.
If Guitar Hero 3 is getting old or a new set of songs is needed to challenge you then Guitar Hero Aerosmith is a fun night. If you are a die hard Aerosmith fan who is in the mood for a playable documentary about the band then this is your holy grail. For this gamer who so loved Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii I think it is time to move on or perhaps look into buying a system that can have more memory and better graphics.
New from MEZCO
He’ll arrive just in time for holidays. What Maniac wouldn’t want to have a stylized likeness of old Leatherface under the tree? From Mezco’s Cinema of Fear line Leatherface with join their stylized Jason Voorhees complete with chainsaw, mallet, bucket, bone knife and apron. Leatherface will feature 13 points of articulation. As an added bonus, he looks to be completely huggable. Check out Mezco for further details.
ACTION FIGURE MUST HAVE OF THE WEEK
After reading numerous, disappointing, reviews this weekend on Star Wars The Clone Wars I decided I too should face the music. It wasn’t as terrible as most people said it was. Sure there were plenty of sore thumbs and, in essence, it should have been just a TV pilot. I’ll admit I grew tired with the whole Anakin and Ahsoka banter. I understand its place in the story and how it will transpire on the TV series but I think they could have dialed it down a notch. While the story played out, one character stood out above the rest. Captain Rex, a clone trooper, suddenly became much more interesting then his Jedi generals. A tiny moment in the film catapulted him to the action figure must have of the week. It occurred when Anakin informs Rex that he cannot rescue him and his men. A slight pause happens and Rex responds that the mission is more important and they’ll be fine. Without another thought he continues on with the good fight. The makings of a true hero and solider were evident in both Dee Bradley Baker’s (voice) performance and how he was animated. Sure the Clones will turn against the Jedi in the end; I just hope that the series will lend itself to more personal stories dealing with the clones and the effect the war will have on them. Lucas has made the Jedi dull but this race born to fight and die without a second thought has suddenly become much more intriguing.
Countdown to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Out at the San Diego Comic Con I had a chance to play Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on two different systems. First I played the Wii version where I was Darth Vader on Kashyyyk wreaking havoc. Many of the objects, if not all, were controllable by the force. It was fun but tough because I just picked up the controllers and blindly battled my way through. I jumped onto the next console and played the game on an Xbox 360. As Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice I learned how to control the force and knock over a few Stormtroopers. That alone sold me on the game. So there are 26 days left and I for one plan on having a sick day on September 16th and hopefully enjoy Star Wars once again.
Video Game updates:
With Madden NFL 09 dominating the charts the video game releases are slim to none. After checking Amazon this week I noticed that there really aren’t any Maniac games worth mentioning.
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