Making the Band Second Gear

SECOND GEAR

Epic Games’ big announcement at this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco came as a surprise to absolutely no one: It is working on “Gears of War 2,” the sequel to its 2006 smash. Lead designer Cliff Bleszinski promised it will be “bigger, better and more bad-ass” when it comes to the Xbox 360 in November.

Otherwise, GDC was all about smaller games. I’m more excited that D3 has a sequel to “Puzzle Quest” – a sci-fi version called “Puzzle Quest: Galactrix” – in the works. And fans of Valve’s “Portal,” surprise winner of the GDC’s award for game of the year, were delighted when designer Kim Swift let slip that a follow-up is being developed.

The conference is also home to the Independent Games Festival, which honors innovative, low-budget games created outside the big publishers’ studios. Top prize – $20,000 – went to Kloonigames’ 2D puzzler “Crayon Physics Deluxe.”

MAKING THE BAND

The most common complaints I hear about “Rock Band” are that it’s too expensive and it’s not available for the Wii. Electronic Arts and MTV Games will eventually deal with both issues; in the meantime, Disney Interactive Studios hopes to fill the gap with the forthcoming “Ultimate Band.”

The distinguishing feature of “Ultimate Band” is that it won’t require the purchases of a separate guitar, microphone and drums. Instead, you’ll use the Wii controller and nunchaku to simulate acting as the frontman and playing instruments. There also will be a portable version for the Nintendo DS.

Disney has become a music industry powerhouse in the past few years, topping the charts with “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana.” But Disney Interactive’s Graham Hopper said the “Ultimate Band” set list will be broader, with “music kids love and parents love.” The first two samples: “My Generation” by The Who and “Fell in Love with a Girl” by The White Stripes (finally!).

– Lou Kesten, The Associated Press The most common complaints I hear about “Rock Band” are that it’s too expensive and it’s not available for the Wii. Electronic Arts and MTV Games will eventually deal with both issues; in the meantime, Disney Interactive Studios hopes to fill the gap with the forthcoming “Ultimate Band.”

The distinguishing feature of “Ultimate Band” is that it won’t require the purchases of a separate guitar, microphone and drums. Instead, you’ll use the Wii controller and nunchaku to simulate acting as the frontman and playing instruments. There also will be a portable version for the Nintendo DS.

Disney has become a music industry powerhouse in the past few years, topping the charts with “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana.” But Disney Interactive’s Graham Hopper said the “Ultimate Band” set list will be broader, with “music kids love and parents love.” The first two samples: “My Generation” by The Who and “Fell in Love with a Girl” by The White Stripes (finally!). Epic Games’ big announcement at this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco came as a surprise to absolutely no one: It is working on “Gears of War 2,” the sequel to its 2006 smash. Lead designer Cliff Bleszinski promised it will be “bigger, better and more bad-ass” when it comes to the Xbox 360 in November.

Otherwise, GDC was all about smaller games. I’m more excited that D3 has a sequel to “Puzzle Quest” – a sci-fi version called “Puzzle Quest: Galactrix” – in the works. And fans of Valve’s “Portal,” surprise winner of the GDC’s award for game of the year, were delighted when designer Kim Swift let slip that a follow-up is being developed.

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