Fixing the Rock Band Drum Kit

So here I sit in familiar territory, assaulted again by faulty Rock Band/Guitar Hero equipment. In the last two weeks I have had my second rock band drum kit pedal snap in two. While you would imagine since this problem has been ongoing for over a year now, companies like Block Head would make a replacement product that would address the issues with the OEM hardware, this is sadly not the case. A couple of weeks ago I had to replace the original drum pedal that came packaged with the Rock band 1 drum kit, thus I purchased the 'Rock Band Hit Kit' manufactured by BlockHead from my local Best Buy. Typically, I would have done my internet research prior to a purchase like this, but this was an emergency buy, my sis was in town and she wanted to play dammit.
This purchase was not too upsetting as I felt pretty fortunate to have had my OEM pedal last almost 1.5 years, while many people have reported failures in less that a month of rigorous use. The Blockhead pedal worked great, which is more than I can say for the terrible sound dampening pads that were also included in the Hit Kit...they are officially worthless, unless you like missing drum strikes that were unmistakably hit. However, after 3 sessions, the pedal broke and as I did not save my receipt I am forced into a situation where I do 1 of 3 things:

1. Fix my existing rock band pedal with a machined metal plate (which you can easily find on eBay) or for free with butter knives and Duck tape:

2. Buy a new kit, either the stand alone Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour kits look good, although not as quite as good as the hefty Ion drum kit pictured here.













or lastly the option I am going to try
3. Add the pedal from the Portable Rock Band Drum Kit from Mad Catz.

Reviews from Kotaku and IGN both describe the pedal as well built and having a smaller rise than the OEM. Additionally, some dude has used velcro to attach the pads from the kit to the original rig, effectively making it much more sensitive and far more ghetto.

So...I am off to Best Buy to pick this thing up, I will update this later with impressions and answers to the all important questions: how much fake instumentation can you fit in a living room.

Update: I purchased the portable drum kit from Mad Catz and plugged in the drum pedal to my RB1 kit. It worked like a charm, feels very sturdy under foot, and it's low rise really decreases legs strain compared to the original pedal. On the downside it has no traction padding on the bottom, resulting in slippage across the floor upon vigorous play. I put it on the rug, which solves the problem but may not always be a suitable solution for everyone. My verdict is buy it if you can find it for a decent price (20$ from on sale at Best Buy), it will solve your woes and prevent future snapped pedals.

The Death of a Gaming Institution

Yes, you read that correctly, EGM is dead. After almost an entire week of lamenting the untimely demise of my all-time favorite gaming publication, Electronic Gaming Monthly, I am finally ready to admit to myself that it is really over. On top of it all, UGO.com, decided to distract me from this gut-wrenching blow by providing a swift kick to the balls in laying-off almost ALL of my favorite 1Up staffers and effectively ending the greatest catalog of weekly podcasts known to man. In the vein of Amy Pohler and Seth Meyers, REALLY UGO...really? I understand the business aspect of it, the purchase one of the premiere names in enthusiast gaming journalism provides instant access to a dedicated and passionate user base. But to just shit-can the people that draw the type of heavy traffic UGO is trying to acquire is short-sighted at best. I hope everyone at 1Up moves on to better things, but honestly, I can't imagine a better job than working for EGM. I guess I will start looking for ways to replace 1Up Yours, 1Up FM, and GFW Radio on my airwaves, but I don't believe that is possible. The dream is dead, good bye EGM and good night 1Up.

Sony MUST fix the PS3

I have decided to write this in the time it takes to update Little Big Planet to version 1.04. Since its release, I have been debating buying Little Big Planet due to several concerns I have about its network infrastructure and level moderation, so I decided to rent it first. It finally arrived today, and following inserting this highly anticipated game into my PS3, I was forced to update to the latest version of the game. I am cool with this, it happens ALL the time with Xbox 360 games and requires a brief moment of my time to allow a brief quick download followed by a quick installation. Updating the PS3 however, is another story. It has been some time since I have even turned on my PS3 mainly because of the pain in the ass it is to update the system firmware (a process that routinely take 10+ minutes). Thus, because it has been so long since I have played my PS3, I of course have to update the system firmware before I can begin playing LBP (in the biz, we call that a vicious cycle). After sucking it up and updating my system to Firmware ver. 2.53, I finally click on LBP with great anticipation...only to discover I have to apply not one, but three patches before I can actually play. While this process is now 88% complete, it has already soured my experience and makes me realize why I prefer my XBOX 360. Sony, YOU MUST FIX THIS. Take a page from the Xbox playbook, make this process FAST! Make this process PAINLESS! And in the words of my good friend Oscar Rogers, JUST FIX IT!

UPDATE: At least Little Big Planet was worth it, wow.

Michael Crichton Reaches 'The End'

As a kid, my mother read to my sisters and I constantly, anything from Little Women to Theodore Taylor's The Kay. When I reached the age where I could read to myself at a high enough level, I was excited to finally have the autonomy to choose what fantastical worlds I was going to immerse myself in. Including the requisite Stephen King and John Grisham novels, I began to read the works of Michael Crichton. The Great Train Robbery, The Terminal Man, and The Andromeda Strain all captured my young imagination and held it long enough for me to actually want to learn more about each elegantly incorporated topic that Crichton always managed to weave into his narratives. While his books always managed to land on my library reserve card, I would have considered many other authors to be more influential in terms of my own real world interests. However, that changed in 1990 when Crichton published a novel called Jurassic Park, which I read cover to cover in less 3 days, quite an accomplishment for any eleven year old. That novel and its sequel, The Lost World, introduced me to a topic that was previously unknown to me, molecular genetics, a field in which I eventually earned a Ph.D. and am currently working in. Since then, I have anxiously awaited every one of his many releases, some with more fanfare (Timeline) than others (Next), but always finding a way to captivate my imagination and transport me back to a time when I believed anything was possible. So yesterday, upon hearing the news of Mr. Crichton's death at the fairly young age of 66, I was quite saddened but even more so I was reminded of my origins, the inspirations that have shaped the direction my life has taken and the avenues that I persued in part because of him and his works. While some have described his books as fun summer reading with no more impact than a romance novel, I am proof of a life well spent inspiring youthful imaginations.

The Way it Should Be

The fantastic open world racing/crashing game Burnout Paradise has been on store shelves for almost a year now, and in my own collection for almost as long. Burnout allows you to race around the fictional city of Paradise, a fantastical world filled with almost as many street racers as it has ramps decorating its city streets. For the last ten months I have continued to sporadically pop Burnout Paradise into my Xbox 360 and play for large chunks of time. This differs from most of my game collection, which typically sits on the shelf after I have either completed the game or grown tired of its multiplayer modes. The reason I continually go back to Burnout Paradise is because its developer, Criterion Games, has figured out how to make games that to stay relevant beyond its release window. Criterion actually supports its game, continuously adding new modes, challenges, and content FOR FREE (a phrase I hate to use in this situation because many developers forget that we did actually pay 60 bucks for the game). The most recent updates added new cars, a whole new class of vehicles in motorcycles, weather effects, and day/night cycles. These features completely changed the game for me, creating new challenges and renewing my enthusiasm for it. While many multiplayer FPSs have followed this model by adding in new maps for players to compete against one another, these updates are typically pay-to-play and rarely enhance the single player experience. While I am all about the video game industry getting paid (lord knows I do my part to support it), I sincerely appreciate the recognition by Criterion that their consumers will continue to support their game if THEY do. So cheers to you Criterion Games and congratulations on your success, keep up the good work (and clearly they intend to as they have already announced an additional 4 future updates for Burnout). Here's hoping the rest of the industry sees your success and follows in your footsteps.

The Greatest PrObama Tee Ever

Here is my latest creation, which if you are a Star Wars fan, should make your mouth water. I am currently printing it up on a tee for myself.

McCain for Galactic Emperor

While I myself could not think of one valuable asset McCain could bring to the Presidency of the United States, there are other positions for which he is perhaps better suited.