Rock Band 3

You know, I think I may have been in this playing fake music with fake plastic instruments from the very beginning. I remember trying to five star every song on every difficulty on Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 3, and then there was the blast of a time I had playing Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s at "our bar" in New York City. Of course, long before that, and this was before the 80s were retro, when the 80s was just called "now" or "today," I remember rocking out on the Hit Stix, a pair of drum sticks hooked up to a speaker. A couple of years ago I got into Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour with a group of friends that would one day evolve into my Dungeons and Dragons group. This series of games has given me a lot of memories, but I have to say that Rock Band 3 is by far the best game. Now that people can't remember a time when there wasn't a plastic guitar with five colored buttons leaning against the wall near their television, a game like Rock Band 3 has to really bring it. And it does. There are more songs to choose from, even stealing from previous installations, and the game is more of a party game, like a Mario Party with guitars and drums. After completing the world tour, I felt accomplished. And I also felt like going back and getting gold medals on everything. I don't know that Rock Band 3 can be followed. My suggestion: either abandon making future games in this genre or keep adding more downloadable content with new songs and game modes.

The Beatles Rock Band

My friend Tom Mitsos recently moved from his parents' house into his very own apartment. I borrowed my father's pick-up truck and helped Tom to load up all of his belongings. That consisted of a couple of boxes, some furniture and clothing, and, of course, his Beatles Rock Band set-up. Sure, he offered me Subway a week before as payment, but the real payment was getting to play Beatles Rock Band with him, my friend Adam, and my lovely girlfriend Amy (who I actually believe is miles beyond Ringo when it comes to playing the drums - MILES). Some have argued that this game gets boring because you play songs by the same band all day, but with four singers (I originally wrote "three singers," but then I remembered Ringo) and a versatile catalog of original material The Beatles have proven why they deserve their own Rock Band. Can you say the same thing of Green Day?

Postcard 2010: (7th Gen) Console Gaming

A couple of years ago, I went to the New York Comic Con and witnessed, at the Marvel booth, the unveiling of a mission-based Iron Man video game and a sandbox Incredible Hulk game, both for the X-Box 360. The high-definition three-dimensional environments astounded me and the game play looked fantastic. I gazed in awe at these two video game wonders before promptly forcing myself to turn away and never look back. The temptation to play seventh generation console (Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, X-Box 360) games combined with my meager earnings could only bring about suffering.

The last console games I remember playing were Xenosaga and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Playstation 2 and X-Box respectively, archaic, outdated systems. I'd played Wii at bars and large get-togethers with friends, but it wasn't until finding that Amy owned a Playstation 3 that I actually got into the new wave of console gaming. We played Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, Brutal Legend, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, and X-Men (a port of the original arcade game). It was quite the console renaissance, and perfectly timed, considering the fact that many believe the next (eighth) generation of consoles to be overdue. I even found myself the proud owner of an X-Box 360 game and controller by the end of the year (but sadly, no X-Box 360).

I may be behind the times, but at least I'm still trying.