Few games warrant my need to have them right away. Guitar Hero is one of those games that got me in line the day of. Actually, I had someone else get it for me, but nonetheless I had the game day of release. This means I paid a premium to have it first, but I figured since I do that rarely it’s OK this once. Guitar Hero 80s is pretty good but is an obvious cash-in and more of an expansion than a new game.

Unless you love the songs included in this pack – which I do – then your average hero can pass. And more so don’t get it as your first Guitar Hero game. Start with GH2 and get this later when it comes down in price. Both GH1 and GH2 have better songs overall that have more guitar throughout the songs, like Clapton’s “Crossroads,” and they are far better at getting you used to playing the game more so than GH80s. If you start with 80s, GH2 will kick your ass.

With acts like Dio, Poison, Winger, and Iron Maiden it’s hard to go wrong, right? Yes and no. This game has a mix of rock runs like the Maiden tune, but then it also has odd songs you don’t associate with guitars – like “I Ran” from Flock of Seagulls.

The problem with the songs on this disc are they follow the 80s formula – which is great on the radio but not always in the form of excitement for guitar players. Most of the songs are 80% chords and simple strums and 20% kick your ass solos. For the first half of every song you have simple rhythms and chords. But then at half way you get your standard rippin’ guitar solo, then exit with fat chords. I don’t want to say you’re bored for the first half, but it’s very repetitive and lends itself to memory very quickly.

The “pay off” song in this game is Extreme’s “Play with me” – a song seemingly lost to the ages, however I’ve been hearing for nearly 20 years now as it was a staple from the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure soundtrack (good album, by the way).

Overall this (right now) this disc has value only to loving heroes, otherwise it is a rip off. Fifty bucks for 30 songs is a bit steep – about $1.50 per song – but I think you’ll find once GH3 comes out and we’re all downloading songs they will probably cost about the same price. There’s nothing special in this game – same graphics as GH2 shy of some new costumes – otherwise it’s standard issue. But no bonus tracks?! Boo!

But by GH library now has three titles and probably over 100 songs if I really counted. This should hold me over for quite some time until I debate on getting GH3 for the Wii. The track list for GH3 doesn’t perk my interest as this or the previous games did, so we’ll have to see. And since it’s a new developer behind GH3 I’ll wait for fallout to see if it’s worth my time.

Til then…be excellent to each other, and…party on dudes!

I was sitting in the car waiting and watching a local video game store. It was a VGE store, locally run and operated. And as is on par with these video game stores, it was a hole. Old video game posters in the window with a big “SUPER NINTENDO” sign as though it was the latest and greatest thing on the planet. And a walk inside would divulge what you would expect; racks of used video games, a bin of DVDs, and random gaming crap everywhere. There’s something to be said for the hole-in-the-wall store, but it’s time game stores start to class it up a bit.

I used to work for a hole-in-the-wall (HITW) computer store, so I know first hand how they run and the mentality running behind them. They keep their overhead low by skimping on the environment. People come for the prices not for the store, right? In most cases true – especially given the clientelle these stores trying to get through the door. But I think it’s long overdue for a gaming store to style it up and actually have a video game boutique – a place that is a) clean, b) well lit, and c) just trendy enough to look cool but not over-styled.

What does that mean? It means you can’t let a video game person design the space. When you do that you get what we have today…with more wood paneling than you can shake a stick at. I’m a gamer and I know these stores. I can’t even tell you how many I’ve walked into and unfortunately they are like fast food places now. They are all uniform so you know exactly what type of vibe you’re gonna get and what type of people behind the counter you’re going to get. Some store needs to step up and shake things up.

They need to rethink the video game store. Internet sales are hurting everyone, big and small, so they need to distinguish themselves in another way. I think that way is environment and customer service – the basics to any good (successful) retail store. Prices are important and they need to be competitive, but giving people piece of mind is very important. Plus…lets not forget the type of gamer the Wii is creating. Casual gamers. Right now these people go to Wal-mart to buy their games. For most of them this won’t change, but some might go into their local store if they weren’t afraid of what might jump out at them or what puddle they might step in.

A lot of stores let you demo games on consoles, but these TVs are usually on the counter and make it very awkward for you to ask to play and try out a game or accessory. How about we make this feature a little more approachable so people can have fun? Have some nice kiosks or some couches or something – think shoe store – where people can casually try out games.

Video game stores have also lost focus. Almost every store I go in is selling DVDs and music along with their video games and parts. Why are they selling DVDs? When was the last time you bought a DVD from a video game store? Or a music CD? People, not even gamers, go to those stores for non-video game goods. These stores need to unload the DVDs and CDs in the back alley and get back to doing and learning what they do best – video games. I want people that know games but aren’t repulsive – someone that has an inkling of socialness.

In short – We need a video game store for adults.

A place where us “old” gamers can hang out without having to deal with the new blood gamers. They need their place and we need ours.

Does e-mail not work well enough? You can send text, photos, video — anything really, as an attachment. You can mail multiple people, some even silently so as to not alert other people to their peeping. I’m quite fond of e-mail. It works great. But apparently we’re all looking for more ways – and thus more complicated – means of communication. Maybe this is my first “back in my day” speech of my young age, but seriously.

First there was e-mail. Then we were all instant messaging. Now we’re text messaging from our phones (which is just IMing with a smaller keyboard), and next it will be Twittering. I read about Twitter a while ago in one of my regular nerd blogs. Then again today I read an article from an established blogger talking about Twitter and the others (Pownce, to name one), and how it is really just information garbage – “casual information” as he calls it. It’s comparable to standing in a room with millions of people you don’t know. Eavesdropping on the universe. Most of the time it’s crap but if you’re watching carefully enough you just might see something valuable, like “party @ Bob’s 2nite @ 8p” – Bob might get a few more guests than he expected.

Actual Twitter tweet:
“Putting away dinner for leftovers later…maybe Friday? I love red beans and rice!”

I’ll being saying “Twitter” since I believe they were the first to kick of this whole craze, but in this case it means any service that does Twitter-like things. I compare Twittering to life blogging. And I’m not talking life events and experiences like I write about here at the Toast. No, I’m talking about life blogging…things like “I’m sitting on the couch” type blogging. Literal life blogging. Twitter is not a blog in the terms of web page or site. Twitter can be understood more as a giant bulletin board where people can post their stupid thoughts for everyone – and I mean everyone – to see. This includes friends, family, and the general public. But nothing is permanent or searchable like a regular site, it’s not supposed to be.

I attribute Twittering’s new found rage because it has a low entry barrier. Twitter can be done from any type of device; computer, PDA, phone, iphone, whatever so long as it is on-line. The messages, called twitters, are very small messages maybe only 100 characters at most. Frankly, that’s not a lot of room so it forces you to be brief. But why bother in the first place? Do you just need another outlet where you can bitch? Or are you searching for something…or someone?

Actual Twitter tweet:
“Kitchen is officiall “clean” now. Very Excited. Need lots of sleep now.”

Blogs are typically themed and let people come and read (hopefully) well-written and thought out entries. A blogger is usually after a specific type of audience. Not a demographic but people of certain tastes, such as liking the same sports team or liking movies. When you write for a blog you’re trying to get “your people” to read what you have to say. You don’t always succeed but that’s the goal. But with twittering, how does telling everyone “you’re eating dinner” make you attract a narrow set of people? We all eat dinner, so why would that make me want to communicate back? So I can tweet back, “i’m eating dinner too?”

I see Twittering as two things: 1) a marketing tool, 2) a soap opera

I’m already considering using Twitter-type communications to promote web sites and on-line features. It’s low cost, low overhead, and just outright doesn’t hurt. Nothing ventured even if nothing gained.

Second, if you just sit and watch the twitter stream for a while you can get hooked eavesdropping. This held my fascination for few minutes until I lost track of the person I was watching. Unfortunately, there are so many tweets coming and going your chances of seeing a continued conversation/thought are slim. You’d have to be paying attention for a while to see Bob tweet “eating dinner” and then a few minutes later see his tweet of “now on the can.”

The one thing that fascinates me most about the twittering concept is that people are willing to go out of their way to tweet something. They are conditioning themselves to tweet before every minor (or major) event in their life. At no time would I want to have my phone attached to me 24-hours a day and then think, “oh yeah, I’m going to the fridge, I better tweet it!” and then proceed to text out that tweet and send it. The time I spent twittering I could have done whatever mundane task I was doing. We all have boring lives 80% of the time, there’s no need to confirm that with others.

Why add more pieces to your puzzle? What do you gain?

Actual Twitter tweet:
“Just got done playing game”

Sure, you can argue a blog like this is the same thing. Who cares about it? But I pick and choose what I blog about, I don’t blindly write about everything I’m doing, every TV show I watch, or every time I mow the lawn. Topics make a blog.

Do we all really need another means of communication? Now I’m expected to check e-mail, IM, and Twitter? And I get squawked at when I fail to check MySpace too. Plus cell phone messages. There, that’s five modes of communication. Can’t we please pick one. They all work and do the same thing.

If you want to communicate with your circle of friends, e-mail them. Or start a message board somewhere…something basic, easy, and most of all, just pick one, agree on it, and use it. Don’t choose something new and make everyone learn something new, especially if you don’t give up the old method. No one is going to adopt new methods when their old methods are still around – why go to the food bowl in the other room when I have a food bowl in this room? You have to eliminate things for new things to get adopted. Sometimes it happens naturally, but only when it’s really cool and really worth it, and that is rare.

Twitter on.

The big video game convention, E3, was last week and I was watching some highlights and reviews over at GameSpot and caught an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto – otherwise known as the Father of Mario. He’s an interesting character that seems to have a great personality, definitely a man you could invite over to the BBQ. Since he is the brains behind Mario and 90% of Nintendo’s first-party games, he was interrogated about the Wii and it’s game future.

The Nintendo Wii has gotten most of its press because it appeals to “everyone,” including the non-gamer crowd, like your mom and grandmother. But he mentioned something at the end of the interview that I always realized but never gave it much stock, but now it seems so obvious. He talks about how a part of being good entertainment is it’s ability to look fun. Not only does the player’s experience need to be fun, but it should also look fun to spectators. If you witness somebody enjoying and playing, then you believe you can do it too because you can easily see what is involved. It’s not a bunch of hidden skill and quick hands (at least not at first).

This theory is directly responsible for why Guitar Hero, DDR, and any other game that doesn’t require your typical controller is doing well right now. It’s why I bought Guitar Hero pretty much sight unplayed and the Wii too. Sure, I researched the games on-line, but by watching others play and seeing videos reassured me that it was going to be fun – no test drive needed. This is why the Wii continues to catch the eyes of the world and picks the pockets of people that wouldn’t have thought of buying, let alone playing, video games before.

These new “fully interactive” games will make better gaming rock stars in the future and should help move video games more into the mainstream media. They already air game tournaments on TV…at the ass crack of dawn on a Saturday, exactly when the gamer audience is sleeping…smart. Anyway, how exciting is it to watch people playing Halo? Not very – it’s like watching poker – a bunch of folk in their various hats and sunglasses with headphones plugged in for maximum deep thought potential. But how about watching someone play what essentially translates into air guitar? That’s very entertaining. It’s entertaining because it’s funny and because you’re watching someone doing something that you would like to be doing but aren’t for one reason or another.

And with games like Rock Band that involved four people mimicking an actual rock band – drums and all – business should start picking up.

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Your requests for a forum have not gone unheard. I bring to you The Daily Menu, official forum for The Morning Toast. Use the menu at the top of the page to visit and sign-up for an account if you want to play.

Now, some of you may remember the last time I tried a forum…it was way back in the Moogman days and to this day I believe that forum caused the downfall of Moogman.com, albeit my own fault. Thus I will try better at keeping tabs on this forum to stop invasion from happening.

All that being said, enjoy.

I’m a fan of leisure games, so when cornhole reared its head a few summers ago I was wonderfully hooked. I first played cornhole at work where we held a cornhole tournament. In my first “season” of play my team came in second place. So we refined our tactics and in the next season’s tournament we spanked everyone and came out the champs. And to victory goes the spoils, and in this case that was my very own cornhole set. Winning that set came at a good time because I was about to build my own set.

Now the cornhole set is a staple at all outdoor gatherings. Cornhole is one of those games that everyone can play and appears easy enough that you aren’t afraid to try…like bowling. You stand there and think, “well I can do that!” And you try, and suck, so you get frustrated…but that acts as mere motivation and you keep trying.

But the other day at work I experienced another outdoor leisure game and I fear it will be come the new rage this season or by next season. The game is bolotoss. And yes, it’s as dangerous as it sounds.

When someone says “bolo” I immediately think of two things: 1) bolo ties, and 2) the scene in Return of Jedi when the ewok whacks himself in head with a stone bolo.

You see, bolos, when not in tie form, are typically used as weapons. You throw them to trip someone or something up…or you fling it at an attempt to whack them directly. Either way, the object there is pain. But bean bags, or corn bags, on the other hand are a little less lethal.

Bolotoss is setup with a ladder-type thing set 20-feet from you. You then take bolos and fling them at the ladder. The object is to get the bolo to wrap around the ladder rungs and stay. The higher the rung on the ladder you land, the more points you get. Again, a simple concept that sounds fun and challenging in the same vein as cornhole. But let me tell you, bolotoss is not a game you can play at a casual family gathering…or any other setting where people are within a 50-foot radius.

We got a bolotoss set at work (Budweiser bought it for us) to use as a promotional game when we visit bars and places. We already have cornhole sets and those go over really well because everyone from kids to adults can have fun throwing bean bags. But I feel sorry anyone that tries to play bolotoss near children, windows, crotches, or yard gnomes.

And the bolos you toss are heavy. Heavy enough that a weak toss would easily fly through a window or windshield. Bolotoss is also one of those games yahoos can make on there own with some PVC pipe, so you’ll probably start seeing them crop up in yards…just don’t park near them

I just don’t trust anyone playing bolotoss…I don’t care how good you are or how many bar tournaments you win. When the bragging rights revolve around how you didn’t hurt any spectators the game is a little bit backwards – however, my Wii playing is almost getting to that point, so look out.

Four stings and no solos. How hard can it be to play the most underrated instrument, the bass? To be an exceptional bassist, it takes lots of practice. Think the bass isn’t important? Listen to the noise the White Stripes create and think again. Without bass, music lacks heart and structure. Here are five bassists who are talented enough to sing while keeping the pulse.

1. Geddy Lee

I realize that Geddy Lee’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard for many listeners. I’ve been hearing him since I was in the womb so maybe I’m partial. Geddy Lee’s voice and bass playing (not to mention the keyboards) paved the way for prog rock and modern rock. Without Geddy, there would have been no Les Claypool or Cliff Burton and that would have been a shame.

2. Les Claypool

Everything Les Claypool does is distinct. One bass line or vocal note and you know who you’re listening to. Primus is an acquired taste but if you have become a fan, it is to hear the jumping bass lines.

3. Kip Winger

Go ahead. Laugh. Kip Winger was too pretty for his own good but regardless, he’s a tremendous bassist who has done session work for everyone from Bob Dylan and Alice Cooper to Twisted Sister and Kix. He has range, both vocally and musically, and you’ll appreciate his talent if you can overlook his hair band image.

 4. Sting

I’m not even going to explain it. Go listen to The Police. Right now.

5. Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons is neither a stellar singer or bassist but he is cool. While some could argue that Paul McCartney made playing bass cool, I credit that to Gene Simmons. Guitar was king until Gene Simmons. Regardless of how you feel about Kiss, Gene Simmons commands respect even in full make-up and convinces his audience that he is the most skilled bassist since Larry Graham.

Other notable bassist/singers: Paul McCartney, Blackie Lawless, Steve Winwood, Mike Rutherford.

I stumbled across this photo on Flickr and couldn’t help but post about because we’re all Guitar Heroes here. This just goes to show that Guitar Hero can introduce some classic rock to those under the age of five. So the kids of the future can enter kindergarten with a somewhat solid education.

Oh, and to Chris, this is why you need to get Guitar Hero and a Wii. If Alistair doesn’t look like this within the next 5 years I will be sorely disappointed.

Rock on, heroes, rock on.

After many years of absence, the once-popular Daily Quote has returned. What started way back in the Moogman days now has a home here at the Morning Toast. I’m sure you are all ecstatic.

You’ll notice the blue (ha ha) bar below the graphic at the top of the page, right side – this is where the daily quote appears.

To submit a quote for consideration, just click the daily quote and use the form. I will be checking daily quotes as they are submitted. Not that I don’t trust everyone, but every now and then this site gets blasted by robots and spam, so I need have some one to thwart them. There is also a security word that you’ll have to type in to submit a quote, similar to when you submit a comment.

And the daily quote is truly daily only if there are quotes to choose from. If the pool of quotes runs dry then the daily quote will sit on the last quote used. So the more you submit the more likely it is to actually be a daily quote and not just an “often” quote.

I might also add that the Car of the Day changes daily too. Check out the bottom of any page, it’s pretty cool.

So it’s blue…big whoop…wanna fight about it? I felt it was time for a change and this is it. I’m still trying it on for size, so you might see some things come and go magically. But I did make room for the daily quote, I just need to find a way to allow y’all to submit quotes safely and then have the site pick one randomly. Here’s hoping.

At least that would be a great headline. I heard some DJs on the radio talking about it and I actually think Mr. T might be a good fit. The Price is Right is in an awkward position right now. They had a host that became a pop culture icon. Now in order to maintain popularity they have to have a host that has that type of quality, on top of being a good host.

If they pick a unknown for the host then the show will fall flat and will have to rebuild, which as we’ve seen, can takes decades. The other choice is to find someone with a built-in culture reference and audience base. But even that is tricky because Bob Barker got popular with that 18-34 demographic that equals money. If you pick someone that is known to many but not known to that demo, then you’re in the same place as if you had a nobody in the seat.

Mr. T is new on my list of Barker replacements and one I think that might work. He’s got built-in pop culture appeal, he’s got presence, and he’s got energy. But I’m not sure if Mr. T could stand aside and let the contestants do their dancing, hugging, and kissing. Barker was really good at being popular and cool but letting the players do their thing. He was in the background enough and also in the front enough, a delicate balance.

Existing game show hosts are always a good look. Names like Chuck Woolery and Pat Sajak may top that list. But I’m one for the actor list and turn them into a game show host. Mr. T is on that list and I would also nominate Hulk Hogan, Bob Sagat, Dave Coulier, Erik Estrada, Ellen Degeneres. Maybe even Gary Cole would be good – you know, Limburgh from “Office Space.” Possibly Jimmy Kimmel, he has a built-in younger audience and can play it down when necessary. And from left field, David Bowie – which would be incredibly cool but has a snowball’s chance.

It will be interesting to see where they go. I fear they will pick someone old, like George Hamilton, which fit the Bob Barker mold but is too old and too obscure to make a hit. I think they need an older host but one that actually has some life left in them.

“I pity da fool that don’t get their pet spayed or neutered!”

My Playstation 2 gave out a few months ago, although it seems longer. It was going along fine and then, seemingly randomly, and started making an odd noise when the disc would go into the console and try to play. It was a grinding sound, like gears were skipping. At first, the console got by and just hiccuped, but then it happened more and more until it wouldn’t even read a disc. I thought I was out my PS2 and would have to pony up for a new or used one, which still run around $100. But, being me, my first instinct was to try and fix it. It turned out to be easier than I thought but very tedious.

Getting the case off was easy but then I had to get into the part where the tray and laser were. There are four of the tiniest little screws you’ve ever seen holding on the top to this part of the console. So I got out the jeweler’s screwdriver set and they promptly broke while I was trying to unscrew. After that I gave up for the longest time with all intentions of trying again…but I got lazy and was happy without it. I was probably burned out on PS2 at the time and it being broke actually was the best thing because I didn’t have to tell myself not to play. But then I started to have withdrawal.

So I had at it again. This time I put some WD-40 on the screws before I tried again. I just sprayed some WD40 onto a plate and used a q-tip to rub it onto the screws. Then I happened to find a glasses repair kit that had the perfect size screwdriver. Not only was the head just the right size, but the handle was very short and gave me a lot of leverage that I didn’t have otherwise. This time the wee screws came undone and there sat the laser.

Since I wasn’t exactly sure what the problem was I just turned it on to see what I could see. What was happening is that the laser was not moving at all. So I gave it a little help. I pushed the laser up and back to kind of reset it. I pushed it as close to the laser as it would go. I gave it a whirl again and the grinding noise was gone. Huzzah!

And then I went and botched it up in an entirely different way. There is this ribbon cable that connects the power switch to the main console. In my excitement I manage to yank out the ribbon cable. And of course slot A for the ribbon cable was under some other parts and naturally it required me to take more of the console apart. Sigh.

That started to go well until I flubbed up the CD tray. I’m not exactly sure how I managed to do that but the tray started to only open half way. Not good. I figured I must have made the tray slip gears and get out of alignment. This, of course, required that I take the console apart even more. I found my gear hunch was right. The tray got off kilter with the open/close gear. The solution to this was taking out the tray and resetting it.

This baffled me for the longest time. I searched and searched for directions on how to get that tray out. I happened to read about a screw that held the tray rod in place. Although those directions were for a different problem, it mentioned a screw that I started to look for. The screw was on the bottom of the tray in the corner…sneaky screw.

Taking out this screw released the tray slide rod and I could remove the tray entirely. Great, but now what? I saw the gear that controlled the tray and the raising of the laser. I pushed this gear until the laser was as high as it would, acting as though the tray was closed. Trying to get the rod back through a hole and working with the tray WHILE the tray was in closed position took a little fanagling, but I finally got it. There’s not magic here, just keep wiggling it until it gets into place – then screw in the rod holding screw.

By this point, I could connect and reconnect the power ribbon cable with my eyes shut. I managed to yank that thing out so many times I’m surprised it didn’t break all together. Then the moment of truth…the first test.

The tray opened all the way as it should, I put in a disc and it closed and started. No grinding and no disc errors. All looked good, so I grabbed some games and played for a while, having the console open in case it needed some repair. Thankfully, it didn’t. So I put it all back together (although I lost some screws) and hooked it up and played my first run of Guitar Hero in what seems like forever.

So now I am with PS2 and Wii, as it should be. And now I also have the skills to repair a PS2 and a classic NES. I prefer the NES over the PS2, as there are like two parts instead of 200, but it’s nice to know I can give it a go before I drop my cash on a replacement. Just a little patience, a small screwdriver, and Google – the solution to all of life’s problems.