Like a Shot to the Groin...

 

 

Pain
(PS3; $9.99; Rated T for Crude Humor/ Sexual themes/ Violence; us.playstation.com)

Allegedly born out of a brainstorming meeting by the Sony marketing department (always where the best game designs come from), "Pain" is a simple downloadable game who's target demographic falls along the maturity spectrum between the TV series "Jackass" and the "American Pie" films. It is for those who can't get enough of ball-to-balls hilarity on "America's Funniest Home Videos" and TiVo reruns of MTV's "Scarred."

For me, it's only mildly amusing and only for a very limited period of time- place me on the spectrum where you will.

 

Rock Band Weekly: 'Clarksville' Edition

This week's "Rock Band" DLC involves a little old, a little new, and a little show that had me glued to the television every day at 4:30p.m. during my junior high years in all of its syndicated goodness.

For those of you who need more 60's tunes, maybe The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" isn't the first one to spring to mind, but then again, if you're like me and had dreams of being Micky Dolenz (I was never a Davy Jones fan, just a little too girly for me), you're not going to gripe.

For those jonesing for some Classic Rock, Action's "Sweet" should satiate you for a while. And for those who don't want to listen to good music can always download the admittedly-catchy, though musically simple, "All the Small Things" by Blink-182. Don't get me wrong, I have a great time listening to some Blink, I'm just saying that it's more towards Fall Out Boy than towards The Outlaws on the Rock Band musicality spectrum.

All songs are 160 MS points/$2 and are not available in a discount pack. Rock on.

Answer the 'Call'

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
(360, PS3; $59.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Intense Violence/Strong Language; charlieoscardelta.com)



Developer Infinity Ward made a huge splash when the Xbox 360 launched by having "Call of Duty 2" available on day-one. "Call of Duty 2" was the game that showcased what a next-generation game should look, sound, and feel like.

After taking a break from the "COD" franchise, and letting another developer create the ho-hum "Call of Duty 3," Infinity Ward propels the series in "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" both in timeline and gaming experience. "COD4" takes the franchise out of Nazi-controlled countries during WWII, and sets them in the all-too-familiar modern Middle East, where Russian nukes have been stolen by a radical terrorist group who've just taken control and assassinated the president of unidentified Middle Eastern country. Bouncing in between storylines of a US Marine and British SAS operative, players will find themselves in the thick of a global conflict.

Also known as "in the s@%t"

Trailer: Star Wars in SoulCalibur IV

In addition to the "HOLY CRAP" announcement yesterday from Bandai-Namco that the Dark Lord of the Sith AND the lean, green, Jedi-machine would both be making appearances in the highly-anticipated "SoulCalibur IV," screenshots weren't good enough.

So over at Gametrailers.com is the trailer that shows them in motion- not much fighting from our favorite Jedis, but a lot of dramatic posing amidst next-gen fisticuffs.

Trailer after the break; in the meantime, here's an image that sprang onto 1up.com yesterday:

Makes "The Godfather" look like "Space Jam"