THQ announces Band Mashups for Wii

THQ announced a new music/battle game for Wii today called Band Mashups . The game features 150 tracks and five music genres, including rock, funk/hip-hop, country, marching band and Latin. THQ is promising a unique gameplay experience, as players will use the Wii Remote to battle it out with their preferred musical style. We'd explain it further, but THQ's global brand director, Randy Shoemaker can probably do it best.

" Band Mashups takes an innovative approach to the rhythm/action genre by blending music and combat in the ultimate battle of the bands,” said Shoemaker. “Using a rhythm based game-play mechanic, the game delivers 70 over-the-top musical weapons and utilizes the Wii Remote’s functionality to deliver a completely original musical combat experience. Fighting with a sniper violin or flamethrower guitar is something gamers should definitely look forward to.”

The game has an extensive single-player mode, as well as a multiplayer versus mode. The story puts players into the role of one of 11 bands attempting to topple the nefarious big boss, Mr. Hong, and take control of New Cadenza. During a battle, the leading player will be able to use “music switching” to their advantage, by taking control of the music style both players hear. W henever an opponent turns the tide of battle, the music changes as well, switching between different music styles. Band Mashups is currently scheduled to release for Wii this April.

Xbox celebrates Grammys with special Xbox Live weekend

Microsoft announced a special Xbox Live weekend event set to coincide with The Recording Academy's 50 ^th Annual Grammy Awards. Starting tomorrow, Xbox Live members who are fans of Rock Band will be able to participate in online activities, including a three-day Play & Win sweepstakes for a chance to win a special prize packages, and join a virtual celebrity band.

To kick off the weekend, Xbox LIVE will host Game with Fame sessions allowing Xbox LIVE Gold members to sign onto Xbox LIVE on Feb. 6, 7 and 8 from noon to 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time to score an opportunity to chat and play Rock Band with some of the biggest artists in music. Artists such as T-Pain who participate in the Game with Fame will be doing so live from the fifth annual Grammy Style Studio, The Recording Academy’s official styling suite where nominees, performers and presenters are invited to select one-of-a-kind pieces from leading international lifestyle brands to wear to the awards show on Feb. 10 and various Grammy Week events. Guests currently confirmed to attend the Style Studio include Snoop Dogg, will.i.am, Akon, John Legend, Ali Hewson, Solange Knowles, Daughtry, Dave Koz, No Doubt, The Pussycat Dolls, Natasha Bedingfield, The Roots, Emerson Drive, Tank, Emily King, Miranda Lambert, Buckcherry, Fat Joe, Ryan Shaw, Lang Lang and Lil Mama, but there are still more expected to drop in. Xbox Live Gold members interested in jamming out can send a friend request to the Xbox LIVE Gamertag GrammyGwF.

Gamers will also be able to participate in the Play & Win sweepstakes throughout the weekend. To enter, players must register here for the Play & Win sweepstakes and then play a “Rock Band” multiplayer session. There will be one winner per hour during the 72-hour period (12:01 a.m. EST, Feb. 8, to 11:59 p.m. EST, Feb. 10). All hourly winners will then be placed in a second drawing for a chance to win the Grand Prize — a trip with a guest to New York City to tour MTV Studios, a Fender Stratocaster Guitar, an Xbox 360 “Rock Band” game with guitar and drum set, and a 12-month subscription to Xbox LIVE. In addition, three first-prize winners will be chosen to receive a Fender Stratocaster guitar, an Xbox 360 “Rock Band” game guitar and drum set, and a 12-month subscription to Xbox LIVE. Six second-prize winners will receive a copy of “Rock Band” with guitar and drum set and a 12-month subscription to Xbox LIVE. More registration details and official rules are available through the official event Web page.

Rock Band 's developers will also be playing online over the weekend. Members wishing to play against one of the development team members should be on the lookout for the following Gamertags tomorrow night from 7 to 10 p.m. and throughout the rest of the weekend:

RBDevDan
RBDevAdamC
RBDevWhitney
RBDevChrisC
RBDevAdamB
RBDevChrisE
RBDevCasey
RBDevJohn
RBDevJoe
RBDevAaron
RBDevJake
RBDevColby
RBDevJeremy
RBDevMatt
RBDevCaleb
RBDevEmily
RBDevRyan
RBDevJustin
HarmonixDev1
HarmonixDev2
HarmonixDev3
HarmonixDev4
HarmonixDev5

Playstation Store update

Downloadable Games

Go! Sports Skydiving ($4.99 USD/$5.99 CDN)
Go! Sports Skydiving is a skydiving simulator that uses the SIXAXIS wireless controller to twist, turn and pull off tricks. The easy and intuitive motion control allows you to move through the skies into various skydiving team formations or solo tricks with the greatest of ease. Supports several single player modes, including formation, team match, landing and several online battle modes.
File size: 457 MB
ESRB Rated E

PS one Classics for PS3 / PSP

Crash Bandicoot: WARPED ($5.99 USD/$6.99 CDN)
Oh, yeah! He’s back! AND he’s ready to rumble! It’s a whole new adventure with Crash Bandicoot, and this time he’s time-traveling through the ages with his little sister Coco! Scuba-dive with the sharks, ride a baby T-Rex, go soar the skies in a plane, gallop along the Great Wall of China on a tiger, dodge ancient Egyptian mummies, and much much more!
File size: 105 MB
ESRB Rated E

Add-on Game Content

MotorStorm Chinese New Year Skin (free)
Celebrate the Chinese Year of the Rat with a special gift from the MotorStorm team! A special Chinese New Year gift awaits all our players - a mystery paint job for the Wulff Revo Rally Car.
File size: 100 KB

Rock Band

Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

Calling Dr. Love – Kiss ($1.99 USD/$2.99 CDN)
We Care a Lot – Faith No More ($1.99 USD/$2.99 CDN)
Roam – B-52s ($1.99 USD/$2.99 CDN)
File sizes: 23 MB – 41.3 MB

Demos

LOST PLANET Multiplayer Demo
This is the multiplayer demo for the Sci-Fi action shooting game LOST PLANET . Connect to the net and do battle on a distant frozen world. The snow pirates are waiting for you!
File size: 231 MB
ESRB Rated T

Game Videos

Uncharted : Final Trailer (free)
Check out the newest trailer for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune featuring Uncharted: The El Dorado Megamix by DJ Shadow!
File size: 177 MB (HD)

MLB 08 The Show First Look (free)
There’s a reason so many gaming editors are saying “[The Show] is the best baseball franchise ever created”. But take a look for yourself with a first look as the team heads into spring training for the 2008 season. MLB 08 The Show: Nothing Gets You Closer.
File size: 32 MB (HD)

Burnout Paradise Dev Diary (free)
A closer look at Burnout Paradise with Creative Producer Alex Ward and Lead Designer Craig Sullivan.
File size: 338 MB (HD)

Burnout Launch Trailer 1 (free)
Check out the 1st Launch trailer from Burnout Paradise where your possibilities are limitless.
File size: 63 MB (HD)

Burnout Launch Trailer 2 (free)
File size: 62 MB (HD)

Conflict “Destruction” Dev Diary (free)
Hear from Julian Foxall, Senior Programmer at Pivotal Games, as he discusses some of the impressive destruction capabilities utilized in the new co-op FPS, Conflict: Denied Ops .
File size: 488 MB (HD)

Movie and Blu-ray Disc Trailers

WALL•E Trailer 2 (free)
What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? WALL•E , a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for. From Academy Award-winning writer-director, Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”), Disney•Pixar’s WALL•E is the story of one robot’s comic adventures as he chases his dream across the galaxy.
File size: 128 MB (HD), 182 MB (1080)

30 Days of Night Trailer (free)
Cross over to the dark side in this bone-chilling adaptation of the cult-hit graphic novel. In a small Alaskan town, a growing band of bloodthirsty vampires thrust the living into a deadly game of cat and mouse and screams.
File size: 106 MB (HD), 137 MB (1080)

PS3 Wallpaper

(2) Uncharted Wallpapers (free)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Wallpaper
File sizes: 816 KB - 1.30 MB

Here is this week’s content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com. There, you’ll find descriptions of the content and directions on how to get started. For more on the PLAYSTATION Store for PC, please click here.

Downloadable Games

* Go! Puzzle ($5.99 USD/$6.99 CDN)

Digital Comic

* THE CRYPTICS ($2.99 USD/$3.99 CDN)

PS one Classics for PS3 / PSP

* Crash Bandicoot: WARPED ($5.99 USD/$6.99 CDN)

Demos (free)

* HARVEY BIRDMAN ATTORNEY AT LAW DEMO
* PUZZLE GUZZLE PC STORE DEMO

PSP Wallpaper (free)

* Twisted Metal HO Wallpaper #1

Game Videos (free)

* flOw PSP Trailer
* Twisted Metal: Head On Behind The Scenes 1
* Twisted Metal: Head On Behind The Scenes 2
* THE CRYPTICS Video
* BRAVE STORY: NEW TRAVELER TRAILER