Written by Matt Goldberg

Having Internet on my phone is both a blessing and a curse.  It's a blessing because I can at least get some semblance of real-time news coming out of an event like E3 where there were major announcements like Netflix coming to Xbox 360 and the set list for "Rock Band 2".  The curse is that I hear about video for games like "Fallout 3" and "Resident Evil 5" and I want to rush home and see that video. 

After going through all of the day's news, here's what I see are the hits and misses.  Gamers, get your hate mail ready.  First, the hits:

THE GOOD

NETFLIX COMES TO XBOX 360

Net-savvy folks will scoff at this announcement as there's already a program that will allow you to swing Netflix's "Watch it Now" feature to your XBox 360.  Unfortunately, the process involves using Windows Vista and if you use that, you don't get to scoff at anyone.  Roku users who own 360s will probably just feel about $100 worth of regret after buying the new set-top box that allows for the same thing all 360/Netflix users will be getting this Fall.  For free.  My Netflix subscription is currently on hold but once that feature comes alive, so will my membership.

NBC/UNIVERSAL ARE NOW ON XBOX 360

It's not a bad bit of news, especially since the company is adamant about having their head stuck up their collective ass as far as Apple is concerned.  But I'm all for shows like "30 Rock" and "Burn Notice" having new ways to reach a wider audience. 

GAMES TO GET EXCITED FOR BASED ON ALMOST NO INFORMATION

- Gemotry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Hopefully will cause twice the epilepsy of the first game)

- Portal: Still Alive (new levels, new achievements, available on XBLA Fall 2008)

- South Park XBLA in 2009 (it's been so long since those horrible 3-D South Park games that I can be excited again for a cash in on the franchise's name)

- Uno Rush (more Uno is good Uno in my book)

ROCK BAND 2

I'm sure there will be more news on this once people who are there get their hands on, but today we got the full, official set list.  Posted below:

1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s

2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s

3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s

4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s

5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s

6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s

7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s

8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s

9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s

10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s

11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s

12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s

13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s

14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s

15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s

16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s

17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s

18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s

19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s

20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s

21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s

22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s

23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s

24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s

25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s

26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s

27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s

28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s

29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s

30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s

31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s

32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s

33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s

34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s

35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s

36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s

37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s

38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s

39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s

40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s

41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s

42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s

43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s

44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s

45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s

46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s

47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s

48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s

49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s

50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s

51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s

52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s

53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s

54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s

55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s

56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s

57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s

58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s

59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s

60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s

61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s

62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s

63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s

64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s

65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s

66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s

67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s

68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s

69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s

70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s

71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s

72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s

73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s

74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s

75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade

76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s

77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s

78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s

79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s

80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s

81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s

82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s

83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s

84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

If you don't get excited for at least half that list, then you hate music and have no business being alive.  Oh, those are just the songs to fit on the disc.  There's going to be 20 song available as DLC and they're going to be free. 

And to answer your question, yes, that's the first new song from Guns N' Roses in 14 years and a track off the long-rumored new album.

To answer your other question, all the music you downloaded for "Rock Band 1" will play in "Rock Band 2".  You'll have to play a small fee (under $5 so probably $4.99) to get the tracks off the "Rock Band 1" disc but you'll pay it.

"Rock Band 2" is clearly more of an upgrade than a full sequel but it fixes some minor annoyances. Your band leader is no longer locked-in, your character isn't tied to just one instrument, and your NPCs are now designed by you so your goth band no longer features a lumberjack on the mic if your singer isn't present.  Oh, and you can play together online.  Some people may dig that.

FINAL FANTASY XIII

I don't care how many price cuts they make: every time they lose an exclusive like this, the value of the PlayStation 3 takes a major hit.  So "Final Fantasy XIII" will be releasing simultaneously on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.  Ouch.

THE BAD

FINAL FANTASY XIII

Of course, "Final Fantasy XIII" was announced back at E3 2006 and there's still no indication of the game's release date or what it's about.  Also, the new trailer shows that the imagination, at least as far as design goes, lives nowhere near Square Enix.  This could be from any "Final Fantasy" game since FFVIII.  I wish I could say something nice about the gameplay but like the rest of the game, it's a mystery.  It's cute that Square still thinks it's 1999 but the way they release information on their major titles is a joke.

Oh, and I still haven't forgotten how much I hated "Final Fantasy XII" so flashy CG that reminds everyone how your movie studio bombed isn't going to convince me that I lucked out owning a 360 so I now have the opportunity of buying your latest JRPG opus. 

CONFESSION TIME – FALLOUT 3

I never played any of the previous "Fallout" games but I guess if you have, then you've been eating up this marketing campaign.  If you're like me, you see a game that's basically "Bioshock" but outdoors: Americana mixed with dystopian/post-apocalypse society.  The brief developer play-through seemed focused more on the weapons and killing people up real good than any story or what makes this game unique.  Yes, I see the appeal of a weapon that launches mini-nuclear bombs.  I don't understand why that's worth $60.

CONFESSION TIME – GEARS OF WAR 2

I'll be more excited about this game once I stop getting my ass handed to me on the easiest difficulty level.  Throwing grenades in emergence holes needs to stop being impossible.  Anyway, the game comes out November 7, 2008.  Hopefully I'll have the first one beat by then.

CONFESSION TIME – RESIDENT EVIL 5

Today we saw the first co-op gameplay from "Resident Evil 5" but (and maybe it's just because I've been playing it recently) I was reminded of "Army of Two's" asinine co-op work.  The whole co-op sequence has you fighting through a horde of zombies together, one player using a submachine gun, the other across the street with a sniper rifle, all so one player can shoot the lock off a door.  How does that not feel forced and distracting? 

THE UGLY

FABLE 2

I don't care what game you're making.  Going from majestic vistas to having a bird shit on a guy does not make your game eye-catching.  I love how the designers of "Fable 2" exist in a bubble where they're totally oblivious to all the other developments that other games are making so they think that being able to own a dog or raise a family or create your own virtual RPG world is something unique.  There's so much emphasis on what you can do, like going out drinking with a friend or having a dog as your sidekick, but there's no explanation about why you'd want to do it.  The attention to detail doesn't really matter if it's not built around a game worth playing. 

360 DASHBOARD REDESIGN

Taking Miis and calling them Avatars; bringing friends into an "online party setting" like PlayStation Home; putting it with you gamercard and then slapping it all against an empty white background doesn't inspire excitement.  I'm not saying the Dashboard doesn't need a redesign.  It just seems like these are unnecessary thefts.  360 owners weren't clamoring for their own Miis.  But if today's Microsoft Press Conference taught us anything, it's that the behemoth and its many sequels cannot be stopped.