Sick Puppies will get their competitive juices flowing on Friday, December 18th at 8pm EST, when they will be challenging fans to an online session of WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 over the Xbox Live network. The band will be using the gamertag “SICKPUPPIESband” and the gaming session is expected to last for about 2 hours.

“We can’t wait to meet you guys online and play WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010,” said Emma Anzai, bassist of Sick Puppies. “You’re going down!”

“You’re Going Down,” the No. 1 single from the band’s recent release, Tri-Polar, appears on the soundtrack to WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010. In addition, “You’re Going Down” served as the official theme song for the WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view in June 2009.

The band is currently wrapping up a tour with Rev Theory and Adelitas Way. A tour with Nickelback and Breaking Benjamin begins next April.

Tour dates are as follows:

12/16 Egyptian Room at Murat Centre Indianapolis, IN

12/17 Eagles Ballroom Milkwaukee, WI

12/19 Coussoulis Arena/CSUSB San Bernardino, CA *with Chevelle, Unwritten Law, Switchfoot

1/08 Egan Center Anchorage, AK

4/6 John Labatt Center London, ON

4/8 Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON

4/9 Bell Centre Montreal, QC

4/11 Scotiabank Place Kanata, ON

4/13 Verizon Center Washington, DC

4/14 Hampton Coliseum Hampton, VA

4/16 Bi-Lo Center Greenville, SC

4/17 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC

4/19 Amway Arena Orlando, FL

4/21 Philips Arena Atlanta, GA

4/24 BOK Center Tulsa, OK

BANG CAMARO’s song “Revolution” will be featured in the upcoming The SIMS 3 video game. EA, the makers of the game have teamed up with retailers across the country to offer exclusive MP3 downloads of the song with the pre-order of the SIMS 3.

Those that pre-order will get the game with special edition packaging that includes a free poster (two sided with the band on one side and a Sims version on the other), a sticker set, and most importantly, a redemption code for a free downloadable MP3.

Here’s what MP3 you will get and where

BANG CAMARO – “Revolution” – Best Buy exclusive

LADYTRON – “Ghosts” – Target exclusive

YOUNG DRE THE TRUTH – “I Love LA” – GameStop exclusive

DEXTER FREEBISH – “The Other Side” – Walmart exclusive

DATAROCK – “True Stories” – EA Store Exclusive

The SIMS 3 will hit stores on June 2^nd Look for a video for BANG CAMARO’s “Revolution” soon!

For the SIMS 3 Screenshots and trailers

http://www.ea.com/games/the-sims-3-collectors-edition
In other BANG CAMARO news, the band is hitting the road with Electric Six to form what will most definitely be two weeks of a traveling party!

BANG CAMARO / ELECTRIC SIX TOUR DATES

April, 2 2009 – East Lansing, MI – The Small Planet

April, 3 2009 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection

April, 4 2009 – Bloomington, IN – Rhino’s

April, 6 2009 – Chicago, IL – Double Door

April, 7 2009 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue

April, 8 2009 – Fargo, ND – The Aquarium

April, 9 2009 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeviille Mews

April, 10 2009 – Omaha, NE  The Waiting Room

April, 11 2009 – Columbia, MO – Mojo’s

April, 13 2009 – Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar

April, 14 2009 – Norman, OK – The Opolis

April, 15 2009 – Austin, TX – Emo’s Alternative Lounging

April, 16 2009 – Denton, TX – The Boiler Room 

For More information

www.bangcamaro.com

www.myspace.com/bangcamaro

For Bang Camaro promo tools

www.thesyn.com/mediatoolbox

BANG CAMARO’s new album BANG CAMARO II is in stores now.

DOWNLOAD AN MP3 OF “NIGHT LIES” HERE

RETAIL LINK

If you are into video games, chances are you’ve probably hear Bang Camaro’s music but might not be familiar with them. Over the last few years, the band has become the premiere band for video games. Supplying their songs to a variety of titles, most notably, the Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and The Sims game lines.

Consisting of over a dozen members, the group has brought their fist pumping group sing-a-longs and catchy rock riffs, on the road and developed a killer live show that’s made legions of fans.

Check them out now!

Visit www.bangcamaro.com or www.myspace.com/bangcamaro for more information.

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today the Roadrunner 6-pack to the Rock Band^TM Music Store catalog of downloadable content.  Available August 12, Australian Airbourne’s “Runnin’ Wild,” former Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara’s DevilDriver with “Clouds Over California,” progressive rock multi-platinum act Dream Theater’s “Constant Motion,” metalcore Killswitch Engage contribute “My Curse,” Grammy nominees Machine Head share “Aesthetics of Hate” and Grammy nominated multi-platinum act Megadeth round out the 6-pack with “Sleepwalker.”

Each track will be available for .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points) for one month or the 6-pack for $5.99 (480 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for one month.  Prices good until September 9 when they return to the regular price point of $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per track or the 6-pack for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points).

Read on for more after the jump.

Release date:          Tuesday, August 12, 2008 (Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360)

Thursday, August 14, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks: Roadrunner 6-pack

Airbourne                    “Runnin’ Wild”

DevilDriver                    “Clouds Over California”

Dream Theater          “Constant Motion”

Killswitch Engage          “My Curse”

Machine Head          “Aesthetics of Hate”

Megadeth                    “Sleepwalker”

Price thru Sept. 9: .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track for one month or

$5.99 for the 6-pack (480 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for one month

**AFTER September 9:

$1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track or

6-pack for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360)

(All six tracks utilize the original master recordings)

Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PLAYSTATION®Network

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

With the addition of these tracks there are now more than 200 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc). Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers’ voracious appetite for rock with more than 18 million downloads since its launch on November 20, 2007.  The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band allows online play and features that expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band downloadable content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode.  In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online, all players must own the same downloadable track.  Downloadable content for the Xbox 360 is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE Marketplace using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system’s version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the PLAYSTATION Store through the free PLAYSTATION Network and is downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system’s built in hard drive.

On June 30, Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, announced the release of Rock Band 2 this coming September and will support all previously downloaded content.  The groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games is committed to taking gaming to the next level with the evolution of the franchise.  Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360 and be available for additional platforms later this year.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today the additions of Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Sixx: A.M. and System of a Down tracks to the Rock Band^TM Music Store catalog of downloadable content. Available August 5 in celebration of Crüe Fest, the 40+ city rock extravaganza featuring Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt, the Rock Band Music Store will have a 30-day, .99¢ price point to purchase Mötley Crüe’s “Face Down in the Dirt, Buckcherry’s “Rescue Me” and Sixx:A.M.’s “Life Is Beautiful.” Earlier this year, Rock Band teamed up with Crüe Fest for the length of the tour mobilizing fans and players to participate in the Rock Band Second Stage Experience. Gaming enthusiasts compete for the chance to play the game onstage as opening acts of the headliners, win backstage passes to the Rock Band VIP area, score meet and greets with artists on the tour and play Rock Band backstage with Crüe Fest artists.

Having sold more than 85 million albums, global rock superstars Mötley Crüe add their second track to the download catalog with “Face Down In The Dirt,” [JS2] the #1 Independent Album, Saints of Los Angeles, is the band’s first with the original lineup in more than 10 years. The first single, “Saints of Los Angeles,” was the first new track to debut at the Rock Band Music Store. “Face Down In The Dirt” is available for .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft).

Sixx:A.M. contribute their first single, “Life Is Beautiful,” from their debut album, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, the gripping complement to Mötley Crüe cofounder, songwriter and bassist Nikki Sixx’s harrowing autobiography Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star (MTV Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster). “Life Is Beautiful” is available for .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360).

Multi-platinum, Grammy nominated rock act Buckcherry make their Rock Band debut with “Rescue Me,” from their forthcoming fourth studio album Black Butterfly. “Rescue Me” is available for .99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360.

System of a Down make their Rock Band Music Store debut with “B.Y.O.B.,” the Grammy Award-winning song and the first single released from SOAD’s fourth album Mezmerize, and fan-favorite “Toxicity,” (ranked #14 on VH1’s 40 Greatest Metal Songs) from the Toxicity album. “Toxicity” and “B.Y.O.B.” are available for $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) each.

The first Crüe Fest pack was released at the beginning of July to coincide with the launch of the tour. Including songs from Mötley Crüe (“Down At The Whisky”), Papa Roach (“Time Is Running Out”) and Trapt (“Who’s Going Home With You Tonight”), the pack has enjoyed great download success. Trapt’s latest CD, Only Through The Pain is also out on Tuesday, August 5^th.

Release date:

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 (Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360)

Thursday, August 7, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks:

Mötley Crüe “Face Down in the Dirt”

Buckcherry “Rescue Me”

Sixx:A.M. “Life Is Beautiful”

Price:

.99¢ (80 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track for one month then

price point changes to $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per

track

Track:

System of a Down “B.Y.O.B”

System of a Down “Toxicity”

Price:

$1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

(All five tracks utilize the original master recordings)

Locations:

Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PLAYSTATION®Network

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

With the addition of these tracks there are now more than 200 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc). Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers’ voracious appetite for rock as more than 15 million downloads have been purchased since its launch on November 20, 2007. The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band allows online play and features that expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band downloadable content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online, all players must own the same downloadable track. Downloadable content for the Xbox 360 is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE Marketplace using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system’s version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the PLAYSTATION Store through the free PLAYSTATION Network and is downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system’s built in hard drive.

On June 30, Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, announced the release of Rock Band 2 this coming September. The groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games is committed to taking gaming to the next level with the evolution of the franchise. Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360 and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today additional Rush tracks will be available at the Rock Band™ Music Store catalog of downloadable content. On July 8th, air drummers and guitarists will rejoice when direct from the Rush Masters Vault the exclusive Rock Band versions of “Closer To The Heart” and “Working Man (Vault Edition)” (featuring never released alternative guitar solo) are made available for $1.99 per track (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft). One of the most successful progressive rock bands in music history, Rush have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and continue to sell out arenas worldwide. Rush now have 5 songs available for Rock Band including cover versions of “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight” and “Working Man,” almost a full-set by prog rock standards!

Also available are two amazing tracks from six-time Grammy® winning, multi-platinum funk rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers. “Snow ((Hey Oh))” and “Tell Me Baby” from their critically acclaimed ninth studio double album Stadium Arcadium will be available for $1.99 per track (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox LIVE Marketplace).

Release date:

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace)
Thursday, July 10, 2008 (PLAYSTATION®Store)

Tracks:

From the RUSH Masters Vault:

“Closer To The Heart”
“Working Man (Vault Edition)”

Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Snow ((Hey Oh))”
“Tell Me Baby”

(All tracks utilize the original master recordings)

Price:
$1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox LIVE Marketplace) per track

Locations:
Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PLAYSTATION®Network

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

With the addition of these tracks there are now more than 200 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc). Rock Band continues to fly off shelves and satisfy music fans and gamers’ voracious appetite for rock as more than 15 million downloads have been purchased since its launch on November 20, 2007. The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band allows online play and features that expand the boundaries of music gaming. Rock Band downloadable content is playable and integrated into setlists in all game modes including: Solo Tour, Band World Tour, head-to-head competition either locally or online, and from any Quickplay mode. In order to play downloadable content for head-to-head matches or multiplayer online, all players must own the same downloadable track. Downloadable content for the Xbox 360 is available for purchase via Xbox LIVE Marketplace using Microsoft Points and is downloaded directly to the Xbox 360 hard drive. Downloadable content for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system’s version of Rock Band is available for purchase on the PLAYSTATION Store through the free PLAYSTATION Network and is downloaded directly to PLAYSTATION 3 system’s built in hard drive.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

Here’s an awesome game that I had almost forgotten about. If you’re partial to simulation type games, and are more about solid gameplay and strategy than eye-candy, this is right up your ally. Earth 2025 is a text-based online war-strategy game. Once you pick whether you want to play in a free-for-all, tournament setting, or alliance-based campaign, you’ll be given a bunch of turns, and dropped into the game’s interface. Basically, you will use your turns to allow time to pass by in your country. During this time, your country will develop according to how you’ve set the fund distribution. Once you’ve used all your turns, you’ll have to wait until the next day, when you’ll be given a small, set amount of turns. That’s a pretty huge simplification of a very deep system, though. You’ll have to pay attention to aspects of your country such as the military and industrial strengths (obviously), but you’ll also have to keep an eye on agriculture, and having goods to sell. The great thing about this game is that you don’t have to be a military power-house to be powerful. You can focus all of your resources on making food, for instance, and become filthy rich doing that.

Your goal in the game will be to attain a high rank. In every “season” of the game (May 1 – June 29 for example) there is a big board ranking every player. Keep in mind, there are thousands of people playing this game every season. You’ll be ranked according to your country’s networth. If you’re good enough at it, and develop your country properly, you’ll shoot up the ranks quickly, and the 2,000-4,000 ranked players will be quite envious of your newfound prowess. This, however, will quickly lead to you being attacked by those players! Alliances between players is greatly encouraged, and recommended for this reason.

This game has no real graphics involved at all. It’s all text. This means you don’t have to have a fancy system to run it! As far as music goes, you’ll have to supply your own. Personally, I think it’s better in this type of game to put on something of your own choosing anyways. Whatever storyline is there is pretty much irrelevant to the gameplay. If you like war strategy games, don’t be scared off by this game’s lack of bells and whistles. In my opinion, this actually adds to the game’s charm! I got totally hooked on this game and played in a few seasons solo before I went and joined a big alliance of countries. If you really get into the game, you’ll find yourself talking on some IM program with your teammates almost every day, discussing strategies and such.

If you’ve got some time to kill on the computer, and like war simulation games, head over to http://games.swirve.com/earth/ and sign up. It’s free, after all!

Lately, I’ve been spending more time playing my Nintendo DS than my Playstation2. The game that’s been keeping my attention is called Rondo of Swords. It was put out relatively recently by Atlus. This game is a strategy RPG, like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem. You play a series of battles on a giant grid, usually involving a ton of enemy units trying to destroy your units. What sets this game apart from the rest is its Route Maneuver system. You’ll draw a line on the DS over the squares you want your character to move, and if that path takes them over any number of enemy units, the character will attack those units. You could attack 6 guys with 4 of your characters in one turn! You’ve got to be careful though, because if you wind up in a vulnerable position, the enemy will do the exact same to you.

The setting of the game is the typical medieval setting with knights and princesses, etc. The music from this game is average at best, but that’s not a big deal since it’s a DS game, and you’ll probably be playing it in some noisy places anyway. Graphically, the game looks really old-school. Characters are shown on the top screen in 16-bit style, along with their stats. You’ll view the board on the bottom screen, and when any unit begins an attack or casts a spell, the top screen displays a battle sequence, complete with some nifty spell animations.

I think this game is an awesome SRPG, deserving of the 25 hours I’ve put into it so far. However, I should warn anyone who wants to try it out: It’s extremely difficult! This game’s battles will put you in very sticky situations on a constant basis. It’ll usually take me 10 tries or more to complete a battle and get all of the things accomplished that I wanted. Your characters earn skill points by leveling up, and in turn use those points to unlock and level up abilities. If you waste those skill points on useless skills, your characters will suck throughout the game and you’ll be at a big disadvantage. Often times during battles, success can hinge on one character missing a bad guy. If you’re up for the challenge, grab this game for the Nintendo DS!

I felt it was about time to cover the most classic game of all classic console games: Super Mario Brothers by Nintendo. This game was released by Nintendo for the NES and changed my life in 1985. I guess that completely dates me, eh? The funny thing, and the reason I decided to cover Mario Bros. this week, is because it’s so absolutely classic that people think of these songs all the time and don’t realize they’re doing it. Amazingly, this game only had four tracks within it!

This time it was my dad humming in the kitchen, but I’ve caught myself doing it at work. One of the favorite things I like to say to my co-workers is, “Sorry, Mario. The princess is in another castle.” They don’t always understand what I’m saying, but most of them do. Everybody remembers Super Mario Brothers–it’s the classic. It was the first in so many things. If I need to explain the gameplay of this game to you, then you have probably never played a video game. Simple but perfect, at least at the time. Even by today’s overpowered gaming standards, I can still get a kick out of this game. Not quite sure where you’d get a copy though, since even Gamestop stopped selling it some time ago, after selling it for as little as 10 cents a game. A buddy of mine had a wall made out of these games. Literally. My best guess would be Ebay or the flea market. Since sometimes it’s hard to find an NES, you can even try getting an emulator for the game–it’s worth it.

But I digress. For those of us who are retro gamers, this music is unforgettable. Music in games was definitely simpler back then, but not less awesome than music today. Every once and a while you hear this music as a ringer on someone’s cell phone–this music is still a real part of our culture now (over 40 million copies of Super Mario Brothers have been sold between this game and all its sequels). If you’ve never played Super Mario Brothers, you definitely need to. It’s one of the roots of the history of video games, and even if there are only four tracks in the entire game, I would bet that you’ll remember every one.

When this Atlus game was released in 2006, I was pretty much rabid to get it. I’m a huge fan of the original Disgaea (released in 2003) and had insanely high hopes for this game. Did it fulfill my expectations? Kind of. It fulfilled them enough that I’ve already put 300 hours into this game. Maybe you can guess how many I’ve put into the original?

Disgaea is the SRP for Playstation 2 that Final Fantasy Tactics was for the original Playstation. If you like strategy games, then you need this game. If you like games you can literally play forever, then you need this game. If you are a completionist (like I am) then you may never get 100% in this game and it will drive you nuts. I still haven’t gotten all the pirate maps, and have yet to see The Land of Carnage.

Yes, you kill Pirates in this game, and you pilfer their maps. This game is nuts! Nippon Ichi (the developer) definitely went all out by pushing limits on this game. The colors are very vibrant, the music is over-the-top, and the gameplay is top-notch for strategy lovers. It’s a grid based game, and characters level up both themselves as well as their skills. There’s a decent array of weapons, armors, and accessories to aquire and a few secret characters well worth getting. The extra missions like the pirates and the dark assembly in the infinite Item Worlds give this game that extra level of satisfaction that the original couldn’t quite reach.

However, the reason the original Disgaea is probably a better game is because the characters and storyline in Disgaea 2 are just terrible. You just can’t care about them because they’re just so generic. Boy with unknown parents has unknown powers. Cute girl with snotty attitude has super-powerful alter ego. You get where I’m going with this. Unfortunately the whole storyline is so flat and guessable that you almost find it insulting at times. Axel might be the worst side-character ever. Adell is one of the most generic heroes ever, and his voiceovers will have you grinding your teeth after a while.

Unfortunately the music is just as bad. Not only is there a lack of variety in it throughout the game, each track is overbearing and too loud in itself. Even if some of the music is a good breather from the rest of the music (such as when the pirates come in on the Item World) it’s not much of a reprieve. Between the voice-acting and the background music, you might find yourself muting this game and putting on the stereo. This is a game that’s sadly sometimes more enjoyable in silence.

All this being said, Disgaea 2 is definitely worth playing. When I get bored with my other games, I always find myself coming back to good old Disgaea. The great thing about this game is that as long as you spend your time in the Item World instead of in story battles, you don’t have to listen to the story. I find that sad, but the gameplay in this game is so good that I can overlook it. Not only that, anyone who loves the characters from the original story is going to find a nice surprise with this sequel! Go play this game!