Our friends at PS3 Fanboy recently had a chance to try out the guitar equivalent of the ION Drum Rocker: Starpex's premium (i.e. not plastic) guitar controller, which more or less looks like a gutted Fender Stratocaster. Their verdict is that the Starpex plays very well, but the $180 price tag is likely to turn off more than a few people. Bonus points for being fully compatible with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but no word on an Xbox 360 version. The Starpex will be available for PlayStation 3 and PS2 rockers, with a Wii version reportedly on the way later.

Rather than parsing the info out in tantalizing nuggets, Harmonix/MTV has just given us an expansive look at the future of Rock Band, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. The magazine revealed six of the full albums headed to Rock Band 2, which we'll now happily pass along to you:

• Foo Fighters -- "The Colour and the Shape"
• Red Hot Chili Peppers -- "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"
• Jane's Addiction -- "Nothing's Shocking"
• Megadeth -- "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying"
• Stevie Ray Vaughn -- "Texas Flood"

The last album is a best-of No Doubt compilation made specifically for the game. Rather than try to impose our own musical tastes on you, we'll just pass the mic your way and ask which of those records has your head banging in anticipation.

[Thanks, Jon]

"Hang on a minute," I thought as I played Guitar Hero: World Tour at Activision's booth at the Leipzig Games Convention, "Isn't this Rock Band?" The layout on the World Tour screen is almost identical to Harmonix's series, with the guitars on either side, the drums scrolling down the middle (with the same horizontal bars displaying bass notes, except in World Tour they're purple, not orange) and the vocals on top. The star power meter, along with the rock meter, is kept in the top left, which means that if you're playing drums or bass guitar, it's not very easy to see.

It took a little while to get used to the drums. The two-tier structure with the cymbals feels great, but can be slightly confusing at first. The drums are a lot bouncier than the Rock Band ones, making them not only quieter, but more fun to play. With Rock Band, the bounce seems to come more from the way the sticks are held, rather than out of the structural nature of the pads. Not hearing the constant thok, thok is definitely preferable too, as anyone who has bought silencing pads for their Rock Band drums will know. [Editor's note: Rock Band 2 also features quieter, bouncier drums.]

In an interview with Edge, Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro establishes two very interesting facts:

1. del Toro, who has been enamored with gaming's charming beeps and boops since the days of Pong, lavishes a considerable amount of praise on Sony's Team ICO. "There are only two games I consider masterpieces," he says. "Ico and Shadow of the Colossus."
2. The popular filmmaker has excellent taste in games.

Those are far from the only titles he appreciates, however, as he tells Edge that he "absolutely loved BioShock." In addition, he approves of Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Silent Hill, which he likens in particular to a "Lynch, Polanski or Romero type of horror experience." It seems our only point of disagreement can be found in his "happy" working experience with Konami's Hellboy: The Science of Evil. Nobody's perfect, eh?

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

We spent almost at an entire day at the Activision booth at Leipzig, playing and chatting with developers. They had a decent bunch of games to show to us, though the big attraction was Guitar Hero: World Tour. Before getting a go on the drums and guitar (check back later for our full hands-on) we had a natter with project director Brian Bright to learn more about some of the game's more web 2.0 features.

So I noticed when you were going through the track maker during the press conference that it didn't look like you could record vocals. Is it possible to do that?

You can record vocals while you're playing, so that you can create real songs, voice and all. If you also add a keyboard track to the song, this will act as the vocal melody. Obviously, it won't read what words you're saying, you'll just be able to hum along. But you can do the same with any singing game available now.

We've heard of 18-hour bras, but 18-hour boss battles? Ridiculous! A couple weeks back, we reported on a Final Fantasy XII guild that attempted to take down one of the game's new big bads, the Pandemonium Warden, only to succumb to fatigue, hunger, sleep deprivation, and general near-deathness at the 18-hour mark. Square Enix now says it has heard the fan outcry against the idea of such longevity-rich enemies and is fixing things.

"In response to these events, we have determined that further alterations are required to prevent such battles from exceeding a certain predetermined length of time," reads the latest community update from PlayOnline. What will these "alterations" consist of? "Included in the version update scheduled for early September will be modifications to the degree of difficulty of Pandemonium Warden (and associated pets), Absolute Virtue (and associated pets), and Jailer of Love. The aim of these changes is to create battles where a decisive outcome may be reached within a shorter period of time."

Square's statement also reaffirmed the company's continued "commitment to a healthy and wholesome game environment." You know, one where players aren't passing out while playing.

[Via Massively]

We had a little trouble picking our favorite release this week. Though Mario Super Sluggers made a compelling case, in the end, we had to go with the little game that helped the 360 rise, phoenix-like from the ashes in Japan (before, you know, it dug right back in to those comfy ashes the following week): Tales of Vesperia.

Portable players get some good news this week too with the handheld release of N+. Check the full list right after the break.

Here's a fun fact you may not be aware of -- a majority of Joystiq's readers fall into the 65 - 80-year-old age bracket, explaining why a majority of our ads are for prescription arthritis medication, Stouffer's Seasoned Bread Stuffing, and seasons of Matlock on DVD. As such, only a select few of you know that many schools across the country will be back in session tomorrow. The anguish among the nation's young people is almost tangible -- excluding those whose schools operate on a quarterly schedule, or homeschoolers, or Guitar Hero aficionados with irresponsible hippie parents.

With all the superb, high-quality games that dropped this summer, we wouldn't blame you for feeling like your scholastic minds aren't exactly at their sharpest. Instead of doing your summer reading of The Sun Also Rises or attending your bi-weekly Algebra Club meetings, you focused your attention on moving up the ranks of Battlefield: Bad Company or toiling through the story modes of Soul Calibur IV. Luckily, the repercussions of your educational neglect aren't as severe as you might fear -- somewhat subliminally, these Japanese hardware sales posts have provided subtle instruction over the long, humid summer months.

Don't believe us? Perhaps you don't recall the various history lessons we've snuck into your consciousness. It seems you also don't realize the firm understanding of the statistical sciences we've surreptitiously imbued into your unaware mind. How quickly you've forgotten the important baking lesson that will certainly serve you well as you enter your incredibly challenging Home Economics course. Finally, think back to the valuable lessons of acceptance, resourcefulness, and stick-to-itiveness we imparted as we faced our own work-related hardships.

Hemingway is for the birds; we'd wager that as you grace the halls of your learning establishment tomorrow morning, you'll find yourself better equipped than your contemporaries for the mental challenges provided by your educators -- and for that, we have just one thing to say. You're very, very welcome.

- DS Lite: 78,666 18,232 (30.17%)
- PSP: 64,413 5,912 (10.11%)
- Wii: 53,036 14,530 (37.73%)
- PS3: 11,393 1,720 (17.78%)
- PS2: 10,168 1,665 (19.58%)
- Xbox 360: 7,358 17,604 (70.52%)

[Source: Media Create]

See: The scholastic archives

We're so jealous of Lara Croft. Not for her frequent adventures, or her physical fitness, or her swanky pad, or even her loyal manservant -- with the lifestyle and wages of a professional video game blogger, all of those things become readily available. There's one aspect of her life we still manage to covet, however -- her international travels. Sure, we occasionally get to head to the west coast, or Germany, but in her latest title, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Ms. Croft manages to hit up Mexico, the Arctic Sea, and in the above video, the lush jungles of Thailand.

The sneak preview features some excellent shots of the second level of Underworld, not to mention a fantastic look at Lara's beautiful ... platforming animation. Considering the unlikelihood of the Thailand Video Game Expo ever existing, we regret to admit that it's probably the closest we'll ever come to The Land of Smiles.

We're happy to report that when James Bond returns to video games this fall with Quantum of Solace he'll be voiced by our new favorite 007, Daniel Craig. But we're a little worried about how we're going to focus on the game when our undies continue to spontaneously drop to the ground, coaxed off by Bond's baritone brogue! The game will also feature Judi Dench as M and new additions Mathieu Amalric and Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko.

... Listen, did we type that part about our undies dropping out loud? No? OK, thank goodness.

Sega has a mighty lineup on public display (and behind closed doors) at Leipzig Games Convention 2008, comprised of titles from the East and West. MadWorld and Bayonetta, its collaborations with former Clover Studios staff, are there, as are Sonic games, strategy titles, DS wares, and more. But there's nary a sign of PSP support to be found. And it was doing so well with games like Crush. Ah well. You can check out screenshot galleries of everything Sega has on show after the break.

To be blunt, after some of the series' most disappointing entries, Need for Speed Undercover has something to prove. Today, EA revealed some of the features of the November release, the opening salvo in the battle to win back our hearts (unless you count the announcement of Maggie Q's involvement ... which we do not.)

You'll be taking down a crime syndicate with Ms. Q (if you're nasty), a story that will be presented with the help of live-action footage (hooray!). From a gameplay perspective, the big draw seems to be the Heroic Driving System, which EA describes as "a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles." ... So, it's an emergency brake?

Maybe it's just our relief from the yucky, Far 2 Fast and Uncom4tably Furious aesthetic that's plagued the series recently, but this new entry sounds like a breath of fresh air. Well, Undercover, it would seem we, much like the Ghostbusters, are ready to believe in you.

Well, this should make the patented Joystiq Instrument Compatibility Matrix a bit easier to memorize. Straight from our special Leipzig correspondent Jem Alexander, Activision says that If you play Guitar Hero World Tour on PS2, PS3 or 360, your instrument is going to work. Whether it be from Rock Band, Rock Band 2 or whatever, it works with Guitar Hero World Tour.

Now, what does this mean for the Wii version of the game? We have absolutely no idea. But hey, what are you complaining about: It's got Miis in it! Isn't that enough?

According to DFC intelligence figures cited by Dave Perry, Sony has lost more money on the PlayStation 3 hardware than it made on the PlayStation 2 during its five most popular years. In pure numbers speak it's lost $3 billion on the PS3, which is about equivalent to everything it made selling PS2s during its peak years. This story would actually have a lot more impact if Carl Sagan was around to say "beelyuns."

Perry, best known for his stint at Shiny Entertainment, was speaking at the really long-named Games Convention Developers Conference, which appears to be both a Convention and a Conference, and was just using the figures to underscore how much Sony was spending on hardware development. However, the 1UP article doesn't mention until near the end that the original PS2 lost money in its first year, and that Sony (and the other console makers) does this so it can make bank on the software/games that people need to fuel their systems.

In all fairness, the article goes on to explain that Microsoft lost $4 billion on the original Xbox, and has had to spend over $1 billion replacing faulty hardware in the 360 and extending the warranty for original purchasers. So, we tend to think $5 billion trumps $3 billion. The real winner in this struggle? Nintendo. It has been churning a profit on that little Wii since it hopped out of the gate. Rassin' frassin' wand-wagglin' profiteers.

LucasArts has sent us a rather hefty excerpt from The Art and Making of The Force Unleashed book (itself a whopping 224 pages) that came out this week. We're guessing it doesn't end with a note on the dev team being cut.

Click above to peruse the gallery (Protip: Click on the Hi-res button on each gallery page to view a high-resolution version of the image). A demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed drops this Thursday, with the full game arriving mid-September.