Review: Roadie Pro Upgrade

Well, probably about anyone who wanted to upgrade to the ION Drum Rocker has a master plan to evolve into a drummer. Of sorts, at least. This also means a watchful eye must be dedicated to equipment used to convert the ION a regular electronic drumkit.

ION recommends the Alesis DM5, which is a full-featured, and pricey drum module. What isn't highlighted by the Rocker manufacturer is that a kick pedal, kick trigger, and another cymbal trigger are also needed to make the conversion. With the DM5 already at $300+, that's already making the investment seem sketchy. A kick trigger is around $100, another cymbal trigger with mount is $50, and kick pedals can range from $50 - $300+, it'd be better just to buy a separate kit!

Sigler Music has a cheaper alternative with their Roadie Pro Upgrade. I've mentioned it before, but now I have the upgrade kit in-hand and ready to review.

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Out of the box, the parts were good-to-go. The kick pedal was a perfect tension for accuracy. The kick pad housing is sturdy and stays in place. The hi-hat pad is much sturdier than it looks in the picture. The only complaint I had about the now-open-box special is that the packing was poor; mostly just parts drown in packing peanuts. Nothing seemed damaged, but more care in the packaging would have reduced some uneasiness.

The picture instructions do the job, but the text instructions could have been better. All of the parts in the kit install easily, and use the same mounting hardware as came with the ION. It should be a no-brainer for the most part.

After playing with the kit for a few hours, I have two complaints. The first minor complaint is it seems the drum brain is overly sensitive with the hi-hat controller. It will double and triple the clasp sound with a single engagement. The second complaint is more important; the kick trigger is LOUD. It can be heard over headphones, and can even drown out the kick-sound when externally amplified. If keeping it quiet around the domicile is the plan, than this kick pad will certainly fail the task. Thwapping noises will ring throughout the halls and drive someone nuts. But maybe after jamming with the original Rock Band kit, co-inhabitants will already be numb to obnoxious clicking and banging.

Overall, this upgrade kit gets the job done. It looks great and performs it's functions as intended. The third differently-shaped cymbal doesn't look out of place and actually works with Rock Band, which is an added bonus in itself. The brain isn't going to impress seasoned drummers, but it should do the trick for budding "drummists". The kick trigger pad needs to be quieter; maybe some extra padding and/or a different beater would help. Other than that, aspiring drummers will have the perfect kit-completer on their game-controller-turned-drumset.

3 pros:
-Converts the ION Drum Rocker into a complete stand alone drumkit
-Low price for this set of items and gives a 3rd cymbal for Rock Band use
-Excellent for starting drummers that don't know what they need

3 cons:
-Still need a kickbox to make the kick trigger work with Rock Band
-Brain is is over-sensitive to the high-hat pedal
-Kick trigger pad is rather loud and obnoxious out of the box

Personal Appraisal: $199.99*
MSRP: $199.99
Other Opinions:**

8/10 rockband.com forum user

*Personal Appraisal at the time of the review
**Reviews for this kit aren't readily available at this time

Rented my first XBL movie

I'm going to admit right now, unless it's ALIENS or ALIENS related, I'm not really a movie fan. But that doesn't stop me from watching the occasional flick.

To date, I've refused to wait for the download and to pay money for a movie rental that's a mere 24 hours once activated. For the money, I'd think 72 hours would be a bit more fair, matching rental stores. On the other hand, my friend tells me that pay-per-view is similar in price but offers only half the time. Interesting.

I figure Batman Begins would be a good trial run, since I wanted to see it, but had little faith in a non-Keaton version. Clooney and Kilmer were awful in my opinion, and even Batman Returns was a bit lame. But Batman has always been a favorite of mine since the comic book "Batman vs Predator".

For Batman Begins, it was $3 for SD and $4.50 for HD. Since Blu-ray isn't exactly the most amazing thing to me, I figured I'd save download time and money and just stick with SD. I started the download, and went out for some errands.

I have no idea how long the download took, but I was ready to go after I got home a couple hours later.

For being compressed and the "lowly" 480p, the movie looked great. It was better quality than a lot of downloaded films I've seen, and the 1.5GB size was impressive. The movie itself was better than expected, although it misses the magic of the original movie. For a film that I expected to be a one-viewing deal for me, the whole experience was near-perfect.

My suggestion for these films in the future: the price is right, but extend the duration of the rental. 14 days means nothing if only 24 hours of it is usable. Keep the 14 day time frame for use but extend the viewing period to 72 hours. Then I won't feel like my lack-of-trip to the video store is in vain.

Lost Odyssey isn't traditional for Xbox gamers

Joystiq's metareviews are great for peeking into multiple opinions within a short blogpost. One thing I've seen be to the distaste of reviewers is that Lost Odyssey seems "traditional" or fashioned amongst "old-school". While I don't agree with the SNES-era mechanics (try more PS1), it's easy to see how LO came about through prior Final Fantasy creators.

One thing these reviewers forget is that not all Xbox gamers are seasoned RPG gamers. In that sense, traditional means nothing. Xbox gamers had Fable, Phantasy Star Online, and Knights of the Old Republic. None of those are hardly standard. LO is a welcome addition to the Xbox line, and it is a starting point of better RPGs to come.

PS3 vs 360 - Smackdown vs Raw 2008 Review

My martial arts background leaves me a little less accepting of the fake sideshow soap opera known as "Professional Wrestling". That said, I must say that collecting the physical form of that sideshow and hurling it into a video game is where it's at. You'd think that the TV show would have been based off a video game...not the other way around with how ridiculous it is.

Anyway, I've got the PS3 and 360 versions in my mitts. I was going to try to try to do a comparison...but the two versions are neigh indistinguishable aside from the onscreen controller instructions. I did notice that the PS3 version had a few more noticeable jaggies, but it wasn't anything horrendous. I attribute this to playing in 720p (PS3 doesn't upscale). The 360 version upscales to 1080p, but the colors take a little hit because of it (but less jaggies). As usual, the 360 version has achievements, so I'd tip in its direction.

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I decided to give SvR the "noob test". I let my button-mashing room mate give it the first go. Since the controls revolve around thumbstick movements more than button presses, his patience wore thin quickly. The controller almost became the next hole-in-the-wall; it was that bad. In short, the game is not noob-friendly, and it does not walk new-comers through on how to play the game very well.

Since I'm more comfortable with the current generation of games, my attitude was quite a bit different. I was slamming and flipping around with Mysterio within minutes. Most of the slams were cringe inducing, more so than expected. It was rather liberating, and it puts a game like Rumble Roses in its place (the forgotten Bargain Bin).

The character models are impressive; the developers captured most of the characters' details. However, uncomfortable polygon collision is a bit common here, along with some disappointing transitional animations. Don't expect much from the crowd either, but we don't' care about the background. The "superstars" are all that matters here.

The 24/7 career mode seems to cover the right bases. There's plenty of modes/match types to keep players going. Beyond that, creating your own wrestler and running the ropes will probably leave for quite a bit of play value. Unfortunately, creating a noob means for some potentially aggravating losses. The dedicated won't have a problem with it, however.

Even though wrestling fans don't have a lot of options for games, SvR 2k8 should fulfil their slamming needs. The character models enhance the experience for those with favorites, and the slams will leave real spectators crowingly entertained. Fans will not be disappointed here in either version of this pummel-fest.

Fan-worthy:
-Excellent detail on character models
-Cringe-inducing moves
-"Legendary superstars" available for play

SLAMS:
-Questionable transitional animations
-Not "noob" friendly; controls could be better
-Polygon collision is too common

Resembles/Feels like: An improved version of SvR 2007 with improved features
Rent or Buy: Buy for wrestling fans
Personal Appraisal: $49.99
MSRP: $59.99

Other Opinions:

7/10 (360 version) TeamXbox
7.5/10.0 (PS3 version) IGN
4.5/5.0 (360 version) GamePro
(no scoring system) (PS3 version) VideogameVagabond.com

Xbox 360: Tenchu Z Review

Ninja Gaiden fans looking for "hot" Ninja action should stop here. Tenchu may have Ninjas, but the idea is to "appropriately" slow things down and go from full-throttle aggressive, to "stick and move" with stealth in mind rather than unapologetic domination.

However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ninjas are technically supposed to be stealthy. The premise behind the game is perfect. Take guns out of the Splinter Cell environment, and you should have a non-shooter stealth action title. Unfortunately, the series has not progressed along with the hardware it runs on. If the gameplay was as perfect as the premise, Tenchu could return to it's former glory.

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Admittedly, it is fun for a while to run around and slaughter the herds of dumbfounded Samurai that stand between the ninjas and their goals. Tuning out the bad physics, lighting, and polygon collisions happens naturally after a while. A little twist of the imagination makes this game fantastic. However, we put money down so someone else can have the imagination and we can have the experience.

Don't get me wrong, Tenchu Z has some enjoyable moments. The first dozen or so stealth kills still make the player feel like a bad-ass, so it's not a complete waste of time. But many of the games coming out now leave us expecting a lot more than this paltry effort for our hard-earned dollars. For those new to the series, definitely pick this up, when he price is stealth-killed to the bargin bin.

Perfect Shuriken Throws:
-Character creation was a good idea: create-a-ninja! BLAM!
-Online co-op was a good idea
-Newcomers to the series will find enjoyment here

Ninja Dogs:
-AI is pathetic; hiding 20 feet away in the open works
-Repetitive levels, and repetitive missions
-Graphically disappointing. Shadows go through floors and solid walls.

Hits like: Every Tenchu before it.
Rent or Buy: Rent
Personal Appraisal: $24.99
MSRP: $59.99

What Other Reviews think:
5.2/10.0 at IGN
2.5/5.0 stars per gamespy.com
5.0/10.0 from tweaktown.com