Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Game Review (Call of Duty Black Ops Annihilation Map Pack)

After quite a break between "First Strike" and "Escalation," the one between "Escalation" and "Annihilation" was much shorter. In what felt like no-time, a third Black Ops map pack was released. How does it compare to the first two?

Drive-In: 4/5 This map has a feel, to me, quite similar to that of "Trailer Park" from Modern Warfare 2, and somewhat like "Firing Range" from Black Ops as well. Treyarch says they added this map due to the popularity of "Nuketown," but I don't really see any resemblance. "Nuketown" is a super-tiny map, and "Drive-In" seems to be at least twice that map's size. Anyway, "Drive-In" is the smallest map from the pack, and it's really a good bit of fun. As the name states, it takes place at a drive-in movie theater, with a whole bunch of different areas to go into including food stands, and an arcade. Above average map, but nothing that'll make you jizz yourself.

Hangar 18: 4.5/5 I can just tell you right now, this is the best map of the pack. It's not so much that Hangar 18 is super unique, but it's laid out very nicely, and there are just some nice areas in and around the map. Another nice thing about "Hangar 18" is that it'll cater to pretty much anyone's play-style - there are a few areas to snipe, there are some medium range areas for those who use assault rifles like myself, and there's also the hangar itself, which is close-quarters for those who use SMGs and shotguns. "Hangar 18" is, to me, is a good example that mapmakers don't need to try too hard to create a winner.

Hazard: 4/5 Treyarch states that this map was inspired by "Cliffside" from World at War, although the maps are really unlike each other, aside from the fact that they have a cliff. "Hazard" takes place on a golf course in Cuba. This is most definitely a map for snipers - it's a large, mostly open map, with several areas that are just screaming for snipers to sit near them. "Hazard" is a pretty solid map, but its absolute biggest downfall is the fact that the majority of the center of the map is pointless if you want to actually survive. To get around the map effectively, you'll have to run almost in a giant circle, unless you want to risk getting killed running through the golf course.

Shangri La: 4/5 I'm not a huge Zombies buff, as I've stated before, and I tend to only really play Zombies on each map a couple times until I get the achievements, but Shangri La is actually a pretty cool map. The spike traps, quick sand, and things like that are quite the nuisance, but Shangri La's a fairly good Zombies map - I don't think fans of the gametype will be all-too disappointed with this.

Silo: 3.5/5 In the video preview, "Silo" looked and was said to be the biggest map in the game. Uh, no. While it's a pretty large map, "Silo" is probably about the size of the on-disc maps "Array" or "Crisis." Immediately in the screenshot showing the map before the game started, I thought this looked like Black Ops's version of Modern Warfare 2's "Quarry" ... a fairly large map with different levels to walk up, as well as its share of buildings. "Silo" isn't a MISERABLE map, but it's definitely the weakest of the four. It's also not helped by it's pretty bland, grey appearance, and the fact that you'll find yourself almost exclusively in and around area D3 on the mini-map. Essentially, that's where you'll find both teams - in Team Deathmatch - trying to camp.

---

Annihilation is a pretty decent map pack. "Shangri La" is much different than any other Zombies map in terms of looks, and is also quite challenging as there isn't really one great spot to camp - "Hangar 18" is far and away the best map here, but both "Drive-In" and "Hazard" are also worth playing. While "Silo" is a blah map at best, it's hard to expect every map in a pack to be very good or better. For $15, you're getting 4 maps that offer great variety: golf course, a drive-in movie theater, an aircraft hangar, and a Russian silo place dealie - varying in sizes as well. The multiplayer maps in Annihilation aren't the greatest of the current three choices available for Black Ops, but I'd still recommend downloading them.

4/5

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Food Review (XXL Steak Burrito from Taco Bell)

Let me just say first of all, you can get beef, steak, or chicken in this burrito - I'm not positive, but I believe steak's the most expensive, at $4.99.

The Taco Bell website says this, "The New XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito is our biggest burrito yet, STUFT full of grilled, marinated steak, a blend of three cheeses - cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella - flavorful seasoned rice, hearty beans, reduced-fat sour cream, chunky guacamole, avocado ranch and fiesta salsa, wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla."

As I said, you don't have to get steak - I have also gotten beef, and to be honest, I think I preferred the beef. Anyways...

How's it taste? Good. There's nothing in this burrito they didn't already have at Taco Bell, but it's "Everything but the kitchen sink." To be quite honest, I really dislike the avocado ranch sauce - at least I think that's what i was tasting. Maybe it was the guacamole. Either way, there's something in there I don't particularly care for - it's one of those two things.

How big is it? (That's what she said. Er. Asked.) I think according to the website and doing a little conversion, it weighs about a pound, although it varies. I've had two of these, and the beef burrito I got felt like it weighed considerably less than the steak one I got. Then again, that can also depend on the person making it.

Is it worth it? As with the Double/Quad steak burritos, I can't recommend something from Taco Bell this expensive. It's just not worth it. Why would you spend about five bucks on one burrito, when you can get five different one dollar burritos? Sure, I'd say try this at least once, as it does taste quite good, but because of the price, I can't recommend this too much.

3.75/5

+ Tastes good, and is a good size.
- Expensive as a Thai hooker. Eh. Maybe a little more expensive.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Rock Band DLC Review Part XIV (December 2008)

It's the last month of 2008 - will Harmonix end 2008 with a bang..?

"Are You Dead Yet?" Children of Bodom
"Tutto E' Possibile" Finley
"Hay Poco Rock 'n Roll" Platero y Tu
"Tempted" Squeeze
"Ready, Set, Go!" Tokio Hotel
"Real World" All-American Rejects
"Headphones On" Miranda Cosgrove
"Body I Occupy" Naked Brothers Band
"I Don't Want to Go to School" Naked Brothers Band
The Singles 1992-2003 Album by No Doubt
Going Country 01 (Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, etc.)
Rockin' the Holidays 2008 (Barenaked Ladies, Billy Squier, The Pretenders)
Foo Fighters 01
"Space Truckin'" Deep Purple
"Funk #49" James Gang
"Hymn 43" Jethro Tull
"Take Back the City" Snow Patrol

Eh... nope. Sum-41 and AC/DC made their Rock Band debuts this month though! Ohp, nope. Finley and Platero y Tu respectively sound like those bands in ways. You know, minus the English language. "Squeeze" is a simple, but great song most people have probably heard. "Real World" is a poor AAR song choice, and the Nickelodeon tracks can be done without, even if the Cosgrove one is free and the other two are a dollar. The No Doubt Greatest Hits album has a decent number of songs I would suggest others to download, and is a welcome addition to the Rock Band catalog. Country finally gets its own pack in Rock Band with Going Country 01, and I can tell you "Free and Easy" is well worth downloading, country fan or not. Rockin' the Holidays 2008 pack disturbs me. We got Barenaked Ladies and Billy Squier, but HOLIDAY songs - for shame. Barenaked ladies could and should have a pack, as should Billy Squier, yet these were their first songs in Rock Band, and we've gotten nothing since. The song choices for Foo Fighters 01 I didn't really care for, but there are a few singles from the final week of the month, "Hymn 43" and especially "Funk #49", that should be purchased. There are a few good songs this month, but there's a hell of a lot more of a disappointment than anything else.

Ftw of the month: "Tutto E' Possibile" is way too overlooked and actually a good song, to me at least, "Tempted", a good portion of No Doubt's Greatest Hits, "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", "Funk #49"
Gtfo of the month: The Nickelodeon tracks, Rockin' the Holidays 2008
Avg of the month: 3.25/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part XIII (November 2008)

October was pretty average... there was good, there was bad. November's got a pretty huge list of songs, but are the songs any fun to play?

The Presidents of the United States of America 01
"Use Me" Hinder
"I Don't Care" Fall Out Boy
Rock Band 2 20-Pack (The Cab, Underoath, Endeverafter, X Japan, Shaimus, Between the Buried and Me, etc.)
The Colour and Shape Album by Foo Fighters
Dead Kennedys 01
Mission of Burma 01
Century Media Girls of Metal 01 (In This Moment, Lacuna Coil)
"Gone" Crooked X
The Killers 01
Yngwie Malmsteen 01
"Jesus Christ Pose" Soundgarden
"Pretty Noose" Soundgarden
"Laid to Rest" Lamb of God

Man. That's a huge month in terms of number of bands and tracks - but just how much fun are these songs? Well, skip right down to the 20-Pack that was free for those that purchased Rock Band 2 - a lot of the songs, to me, were not good at all, but there were a few gems in there. "I Wanna be Your Man" and "Like a Fool" are probably the best two of the entire pack. They both sound great, and are a lot of fun to play as well. For The Colour and Shape, I'll just say I'm "meh" on Foo Fighters. They have some good tracks, but I'm not a guy that enjoys their entire discography. For me, "Monkey Wrench" and "My Hero" were enough for me, and I passed on the rest. Mission of Burma 01 has terrible reviews, and rightfully so. That week and the next, with the exception of The Killers 01, we got heavy/hard stuff. Yngwie Malmsteen isn't especially heavy or hard, unless you're talking about difficulty - "Caprici Di Diablo" is a hammer-on fest that'll give your fret fingers a work out. November is a pretty typical Rock Band month - some good, some bad. This month's a good example of quality > quantity.

Ftw of the month: "I Wanna be Your Man", "Like a Fool", "Monkey Wrench" and "My Hero" from The Colour and Shape, mostly because of the drums, The Killers 01, "Caprici Di Diablo" is you want to see just how fast your fingers can move.
Gtfo of the month: "Use Me", "I Don't Care", A LOT of the 20-Pack songs, Mission of Burma 01
Avg of the month: 3.5/5

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Rock Band DLC Review Part XII (October 2008)

September made up for August in a big way with three albums from three WAY different genres, and a pretty great selection of singles. October, make it two good months straight!

"All Right Now" Free
"Stop!" Against Me!
"Bad to the Bone" George Thorogood & the Destroyers
"Cream and Bastards Rise" Harvey Danger
"Nearly Lost You" Screaming Trees
"Push It" Static-X
The Offspring 01
Dr. Feelgood Album by Motley Crue
Nirvana 01
Siouxie and the Banshees 01
"Dammit" blink-182
"Well Thought Out Twinkles" Silversun Pickups
"Melatonin" Silversun Pickups
"Pretty in Pink" The Psychadelic Furs

For the most part, this month is disappointing to me. There are some pretty big names, but poor song choices. For instance, Harvey Danger's best known for "Flagpole Sitta", yet we got a song by them that pretty much no one has ever heard of. I consider myself a fareweather Static-X fan, and we got "Push It." Nirvana 01 is a BLAND pack almost all the way through with the exception of a few tracks, the SSPU tracks are just 'meh,' and Siouxie and the Banshees 01 is a turd - as is "Pretty in Pink" for that matter. The Offspring pack was pretty decent, Dr. Feelgood has some stellar songs on guitar, and "Dammit" is a quick song on drums that requires some serious stamina. There are some songs that should be bought this month, but it's average overall.

Ftw of the month: "Stop!", The Offspring 01, some tracks from Dr. Feelgood, a few keepers in Nirvana 01, "Dammit"
Gtfo of the month: "Cream and Bastards Rise", Siouxie and the Banshees 01, "Pretty in Pink"
Avg of the month: 3.5/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part XI (September 2008)

After two great months, August came, and Harmonix shat on our faces. Well, September's a new month, and Rock Band 2's release is on the horizon.

The PAX 2008 Collection (Coulton, MC Frontalot, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets)
All That Remains 01
"Charlene" Stephen and the Colberts
Rock Band Live 2008 Tour 01 (The Cab, Dashboard Confessional, Panic at the Disco, Plain White T's)
Peace Sells But Who's Buying? Album by Megadeth
Moving Pictures by Rush
"Sorrow" Bad Religion
"She Sells Sanctuary" The Cult
"Bandages" Hot Hot Heat
"Shoot the Runner" Kasabian
"You're No Rock-and-Roll Fun" Sleater-Kinney
"Love Spreads" The Stone Roses
Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Well. That's a big month, to say the least - I suppose in celebration of Rock Band 2's release. THREE albums in one month, including one in back-to-back weeks. I'll start at the top - PAX 2008? Pass. Easy pass. All That Remains, I'm just not a fan of. "Charlene" seemed like a joke. Some of the songs in the Rock Band Live 2008 pack are worth checking out... Peace Sells is, in my opinion, extremely overrated. I'm not a HUGE Megadeth fan - I like some of their stuff - but I don't care for that album. Rush, same-ish story, but Moving Pictures was well worth the purchase. Then, we have all the singles that were released with Moving Pictures. "Sorrow" is WELL worth downloading in my opinion, as is "She Sells Sanctuary" for nostalgia purposes, and "Love Spreads" by The Stone Roses due to its radicalness - yes, radicalness - on just about all instruments. As if that wasn't enough, BSSM by RHCP was released for the final week of the month. In my eyes, easily the best of the three albums for the month. September is WAY better than August - not even on the same level. There are some duds this month, but that's pretty much unavoidable. Despite those few songs, the amount of worthwhile songs drastically overrides the turd tracks. A solid month, to say the least!

Ftw of the month: Most of Moving Pictures, "Sorrow", "Love Spreads", a selection of songs from Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Gtfo of the month: PAX 2008 Collection, "Charlene", Peace Sells, But Who's Buying?, "You're No Rock-and-Roll Fun"
Avg of the month: 4.25/5

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Rock Band DLC Review Part X (August 2008)

After two above average months of DLC, would we be lucky enough to get three straight months of DLC to make us go :O--? Let's find out... NOW!

"Toxicity" System of a Down
"B.Y.O.B." System of a Down
Cruefest 02 (Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Sixx:AM)
Roadrunner Records 01 (Dream Theater, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, etc.)
"Girl U Want" Devo
"Through Being Cool" Devo
"Rio" Duran Duran
"Girls on Film" Duran Duran
"Get Your Rock On" The Janitors
Locksley 01

Nope! The streak couldn't last. Although I find SoaD to be an okay band, I just didn't find the two songs particularly fun to play in Rock Band. Challenging for sure, but not very enjoyable. "Life is Beautiful" by Sixx:AM in Cruefest 02 is a keeper track, and "Sleepwalker" and "Constant Motion" from Roadrunner 01 are as well. It should be noted that Airbourne's "Runnin' Wild" was in the pack, but has since been removed from the pack, and Music Store for whatever reason. The two Devo songs are passable, and the Duran Duran songs aren't anything to really jump up and down for. "Get Your Rock On" is a song for 11-year-old girls, and Locksley I'm just not that big of a fan of. There are a few songs this month that I'd recommend getting, but most of it can be passed up without much thought.

Ftw of the month: "Life is Beautiful", "Sleepwalker", "Constant Motion"
Gtfo of the month: "Get Your Rock On", the Devo songs.
Avg of the month: 3.25/5

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Food Review (Frozen Strawberry Lemonade from McDonalds)

These have been out for awhile now and I finally got around to having one. I saw a bunch of reviews claiming "It's just average." but I was craving one regardless. I must say, the reviews saying that? Are right. To be honest, I was put off by how tart the lemon was - it was okay at first, but then it just seemed artificially tart, and almost bitter. Also, to get the strawberry and lemon in one sip, you need to stir the thing around yourself, as the strawberry stuff will just sit at the bottom if you don't. The drink is a reasonable price, and tastes pretty good at first, but it's hard to even finish a 16oz one of these, due to its intense tartness and somewhat bitter aftertaste.

+: Not a terrible price, tastes good at first.
-: Way more lemon than strawberry, need to mix manually, becomes somewhat difficult to finish drinking about halfway through the 16oz.

3.5/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part IX (July 2008)

June 2008 was the best month of DLC to date - to me - but could July surpass that? Yes? No? ...Possibly maybe?

Cruefest 01 [Motley Crue, Papa Roach, Trapt]
"Promised Land" Vesuvius
"Snow ((Hey Oh))" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Tell Me Baby" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Closer to the Heart" Rush
"Working Man (Vault Edition)" Rush
The Best of 'The Who' 12-Pack
Nine Inch Nails 02
"Devour" Shinedown
"Junkies for Fame" Shinedown
"They Say" Scars on Broadway
"This is It" Staind
"Electric Crown" Testament
"Yomp" Thenewno2

Ironically, the worst song from Cruefest 01 is Motley Crue's track. It's a shame we didn't get "Headstrong" from Trapt, but "Who's Going Home With You Tonight?" turned out to be a lot of fun. "Promised Land" is a super solid free track. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rush MASTERS in the same week? Sound good to me. An epic twelve pack from The Who? Really now? First half of the month was ridiculously good. Nine Inch Nails 02? Eh. Shinedown's alright, but nothing compared to what the first half of July brought. The last four singles of the month - underwhelming to say the least. "They Say"? Lame. "This is It"? Wtf... why? Lame. "Yomp"? Lol... enough said right there. "Electric Crown" is a bit of a hidden gem, but other than that, after The Who on July 15th, the month was meh.

Ftw of the month: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rush, majority of The Who 12-pack
Gtfo of the month: "They Say", "This Is It", "Yomp"
Avg of the month: 4.5/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part VIII (June 2008)

All of the months with the exception of March have been average or worse. Is June the first BREAKTHROUGH month?

Disturbed 01
Jimmy Buffett 01
MTV2 01 [The Material, The Myriad, Them Terribles]
"Girls Who Play Guitar" Maximo Park
"Critical Acclaim" Avenged Sevenfold
"Afterlife" Avenged Sevenfold
"Hammerhead" The Offspring
"Rock 'n Roll Dream" Crooked-X
Doolittle by Pixies
Weezer 01

New Disturbed? Eh. Decent fun, but where's the old!? (It was soon to come.) Jimmy Buffett? I'll take it. MTV2 pack? What the shit? What bands are THOSE? Turns out I really enjoyed all three, especially since the pack was a measly 240 MSP. "Girls Who Play Guitar"? Another song I loved listening to and had fun playing. Avenged Sevenfold I don't really care for, but both songs this month are fun, and "Afterlife"s guitar solo is killer. "Hammerhead" is a newer Offspring song, but one of the better ones. "Rock 'n Roll Dream" is easily worth $1, and Weezer? Even if it's from Red Album? Take my money. The thing from this month that I didn't care for was Doolittle. I'm not a huge fan of the band by any means, so I come in without bias - the songs SOUND decent - some of them - but virtually the entire album is TERRIBLY boring to play. June 2008? A good month? Damn right.

Ftw of the month: A7X songs, Weezer 01
Gtfo of the month: Doolittle, Disturbed 01 (Only because they're new songs!)
Avg of the month: 4.25/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part VII (May 2008)

April outside of Screaming for Vengeance was a drag... please, May. PLEASE be better to me.

Scene 01 [Fall Out Boy, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Angels & Airwaves]
"Hanging on the Telephone" Blondie
"Train in Vain" The Clash
"Kool Thing" Sonic Youth
European Singles [Muse, Tokio Hotel, Oasis, Die Toten Hosen, and others.]
The Cars self-titled Album

A lot of songs this month, for sure. Angels & Airwaves made me pretty happy when I saw they were having a song, but was bummed when saw it was "It Hurts", one of their weakest songs in my opinion. I'm bummed to this day that we've still yet to get even one more song from them. I really dislike the song "Kool Thing" itself, but it's a fun workout on drums. The European songs are hit and miss, with Beetlebum's "Blur" being the final cover in the Rock Band catalog. Muse also made their debut in the game, with what's currently their only song in Rock Band, "Hysteria." The second album was also released for Rock Band, and it turned out to be The Cars, a pretty solid album, but only about half of the songs are worth playing over again many times on any instrument.

Ftw of the month: "Countdown to Insanity" (Love that riff), "Hysteria", "Rock 'n' Roll Star", select tracks from The Cars' album.
Gtfo of the month: "Beetlebum", "Manu Chao", "New Wave"
Avg of the month: 3.75/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part VI (April 2008)

March was the best month of DLC since Rock Band's launch in my opinion - how does April 2008 fare?

"Still Alive" GLaDOS
Harmonix 01 [Bang Camaro, Count Zero, Freezepop]
Classic Rock 01 [Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Police, Blondie]
"Saints of Los Angeles" Motley Crue
Screaming for Vengeance Album - Judas Priest
"Red Tandy" and "Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear" The Mother Hips
"Zero" Smashing Pumpkins

Well, we got our first album in Rock Band. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance" which is one of the last albums I'd've expected to see be among Rock Band's first albums. Welp, there's really not much to say for this month, in my opinion. "Screaming for Vengeance" is great for the most part, and the Classic Rock 01 pack is pretty good, but there's nothing else to really speak of. "Red Tandy" is fun on drums, "Zero" is an average Smashing Pumpkins song... meh. As great as Screaming for Vengeance is, it can't make up for the rest of the weeks.

Ftw of the month: Screaming for Vengeance, "Message in a Bottle"
Gtfo of the month: "Still Alive", "Shake", "Sprode", "Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear"
Avg of the month: 3.5/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part V (March 2008)

Oh, March 2008. Since Rock Band's launch, I'll just tell you right now this was probably the best month of DLC. A lot of songs, good variety, and lots of money spent.

Grateful Dead 01
"Crushcrushcrush" Paramore
"Beethoven's Cunt" Serj Tankian
Shockwave" Black Tide
Earache Thrash 01 [At The Gates, The Haunted, Evile]
Boston 01

Without listing each song from the Grateful Dead and Boston 6-packs, this month on the surface looks kind of short and weak - BUT, if you have any good taste in music whatsoever, you'd know that isn't the case. I'm not exactly a big fan of Grateful Dead at all, but I wound up getting the entire pack and ultimately had a pretty good time with it. Paramore released their one and only DLC track this month as well. Earache Thrash 01 threw some of the hardest songs we had seen in Rock Band up until this point, "Thrasher" on guitar and "Blinded by Fear" on drums in particular. Boston 01 needs nothing said for it. To be honest, at the time, I hadn't heard too much of their stuff, but I got the pack, and to this day, the songs remain some of my most played songs in Rock Band 3.

Ftw of the month: "Shockwave" Black Tide, Boston 01
Gtfo of the month: If I had to choose, just because I dislike the genre, Earache Thrash 01
Avg of the month: 4/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part IV (February 2008)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe February 2008 had the fewest songs of any month in Rock Band's history, with just 12 downloadable tracks. Hm. How's it look...

"Roam" The B-52's
"We Care A Lot" Faith No More
"Calling Dr. Love" Kiss
(Arguably) Punk 02 [The Clash, The Police, The Ramones]
"Sex Type Thing" Stone Temple Pilots
"El Scorcho" Weezer
"Why Do You Love Me?" Garbage
Nine Inch Nails 01

And that does it. It should be noted that this is also the first month of DLC that didn't feature a cover - it wasn't quite the end of them, ("Beetlebum" by Blur was the final cover.) but almost. February 2008 was just another average month of DLC. Kiss made their DLC debut with a somewhat surprising/strange song choice, and The Clash, The Police, The Ramones, Stone Temple Pilots, AND Weezer added to their own DLC catalog this month. To me, this month's quite forgettable. Nothing outside of "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails on drums is particularly memorable.

Ftw of the month: "Sex Type Thing" Stone Temple Pilots, "The Perfect Drug" Nine Inch Nails
Gtfo of the month: "Teenage Lobotomy" The Ramones
Avg of the month: 3.25/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part III (January 2008)

With the short year of DLC in 2007 over and done with, Harmonix starts its first full year of DLC. What's in store...

"Gimme Three Steps" Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Hard to Handle" The Black Crowes [Cover]
"Limelight" Rush [Cover]
"Die, All Right!" The Hives
"Interstate Love Song" Stone Temple Pilots
"Number of the Beast" Iron Maiden [Cover]
"Action" Sweet [Cover]
"Last Train to Clarksville" The Monkees [Cover]
"All the Small Things" blink-182
Oasis 01
"Siva" Smashing Pumpkins
"Working Man" Rush [Cover]
"Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)" Coheed & Cambria [Cover]

7 of the 15 songs for January 2008 are covers. The entire month, with the exception of the second to last week, was nothing but singles, something else Harmonix didn't do all too often. I'd say the biggest thing that was released this month was either "Gimme Three Steps" or Oasis 01. Sure, you see Iron Maiden and Rush, but then you have to remember they're covers. We wound up getting masters in the future though. Overall, a decent month. One of my favorite bands, blink-182, released their first track on Rock Band, and there's certainly nothing wrong with an Oasis pack and a single from Stone Temple Pilots. A few things worth getting this month, but the slew of covers is a bit of a bummer.

Ftw of the month: "Interstate Love Song" Stone Temple Pilots, Oasis 01
Gtfo of the month: "Action" Sweet, "Last Train to Clarksville" The Monkees
Avg of the month: 3.5/5

Monday, June 06, 2011

Rock Band DLC Review Part II (December 2007)

The first full month of Rock Band DLC - December 2007. Anything good? Wellll... let's take a look, shall we?

Black Sabbath 01 [Covers]
Punk 01 [Buzzcocks -Cover-, The Clash, The Ramones]
"My Iron Lung" Radiohead
"Brass in Pocket" The Pretenders [Cover]
"Buddy Holly" Weezer
"Attack" 30 Seconds to Mars
"The Kill" 30 Seconds to Mars
"Dirty Little Secret" All-American Rejects
"Move Along" All-American Rejects
"Song With A Mission" The Sounds [Cover]

And that's the month. 6 of the 14 songs are covers, including the entire Black Sabbath pack. Starting at the top, Black Sabbath 01 was actually, to me, a pretty good pack. Despite the songs not being masters, they sounded alright, and were - not too surprisingly - quite fun on all instruments. Punk 01 is a different story - while the Buzzcocks and The Clash songs are super awesome on drums, The Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" is a drag, and the guitar on all three tracks is underwhelming. The following week was the first week I saw a song I immediately recognized and wanted - "Buddy Holly" - which isn't exactly the most fun song to play, but it's a keeper. For Christmas '07, Harmonix threw some modern songs at us, two of which, at the time, I was super excited for. Those songs being All-American Rejects, which only were really fun to play on drums.

Even though almost half of the songs from this month are covers, December '07 remains pretty solid with some decent variety. While there aren't many songs from this month that I'd consider a lot of fun to play, there are a few big names here, including Radiohead's one-and-only DLC track to date.

Ftw of the month: Black Sabbath 01
Gtfo of the month: "Rockaway Beach" The Ramones
Avg of the month: 3.5/5

Rock Band DLC Review Part I (November 2007)

"Are you really going to review every month of Rock Band DLC?"

Want an answer to that? Okay. Well. My answer is MAYBE. With over forty months of DLC in the books including 1200+ songs and constantly growing, it'll take a long time, but I will try to review each and every month.

I will start with November 2007, which is the shortest month of DLC in Rock Band history. With the original Rock Band launching November 20th 2007, there were only two weeks of DLC. However, Rock Band's launch-date DLC line-up looked like this:

"Fortunate Son" Creedance Clearwater Revival [Cover]
"Jukebox Hero" Foreigner [Cover]
"Bang A Gong" T. Rex [Cover]
"My Sharona" The Knack [Cover]
"Cherry Bomb" The Runaways [Cover]
"Joker & the Thief" Wolfmother
Metallica 01
QotsA 01
The Police 01

Now THAT is a pretty huge week to say the least. Although all but one of the singles were covers, the launch DLC for Rock Band was actually very good with a few exceptions. Personally, I didn't care for "Bang A Gong" or "Cherry Bomb" in particular because they were just BORING. The best DLC of the launch week in my opinion would have to either be "Joker & the Thief" or the Metallica pack. "My Sharona" is pretty close too, despite it being a cover.

And, for the second and final week of November 2007, we have

David Bowie 01

In my opinion, an average week. Throw in the fact that two of the three songs are covers, and you have a below average week. I'm not a huge Bowie fan, but all three are quite alright, and are decent fun. This is the first time Harmonix almost always started releasing just three songs a week.

Ftw of the month: "Joker & the Thief", "My Sharona", Metallica Pack 01
Gtfo of the month: "Cherry Bomb", "Bang a Gong"
Avg of the month: 3.75/5