by The Flickcast, Aug 12 2011 // 9:00 AM
Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.
Let’s get started!
• Want to learn how to have the body of Spider-Man and the creepiness of a grown man in tights hanging out with kids? This instructional workout video hosted by Spider-Man himself should help!
• Homemade puppets aren’t usually a collection that one brags about, but this homemade Wheatley puppet from Portal 2 is definitely one to show all of your friends as they drool with envy.
• The very first episode of Adult Swim’s Black Dynamite animated series has made it online before it hits TV. Bring on the animated exploitation!
• The folks at Sesame Street feel like enough is enough and have decided to come forward with an official statement about whether Bert & Ernie are actually gay or not.
• What do Kanye West, Jay-Z, Aziz Ansari and Spike Jonze all have in common? They all came together to bring us the official music video for “Otis” and it’s pretty awesome.
• Hot off of his Oscar win for the Social Network score, get your first taste of what Trent Reznor is bringing to the table in the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
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Posted in: Action · Comedy · Features · News · On The Radar · TV · Web
Tagged: Adult Swim, Aziz Ansari, Bert & Ernie, Black Dynamite, Charlie Sheen, Game of Thrones, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jay Z, Kanye West, Portal, Portal 2, Sesame Street, Seth MacFarlane, Spider-Man, Spike Jonze, Supercut, Trent Reznor, Wheatley
by John Carle, Jul 15 2010 // 11:00 AM
It’s official. DJ Hero 2 has gotten the biggest lineup of dance and hip hop artists all into one place at the same time (and thankfully no one is getting shot). Just to name a few, DJ Hero 2 will feature 2Pac, 50 Cent, The Notorious B.I.G., Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Tiësto, Deadmau5, Eminem, Puff Daddy, Metallica, Stevie Wonder and a slew of others.
Though the full song list of mashups featuring these all-star artists hasn’t been released yet, you can already tell it is going to be big when looking at the level of talent being used in the game.
Take a peek below at the full list of artists coming to DJ Hero 2 and stick to the Flickcast for more news on it as it becomes available.
- 2Pac
- 50 Cent
- Adamski
- Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
- Armand Van Helden
- A-Trak
- B.o.B.
- Basement Jaxx
- BlakRoc
- Bobby Womack
- Bruno Mars
- Busta Rhymes
- Calvin Harris
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Posted in: Activision · Announcements · Games · Music · News · Playstation 3 · Video Games · Wii · Xbox 360
Tagged: 2Pac, 50 Cent, A-Trak, Activision, Adamski, Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, Armand Van Helden, Basement Jaxx, BlakRoc, Bobby Womack, Bruno Mars, Busta Rhymes, Calvin Harris, Chamillionaire, Chemical Brothers, Colby O'Donis, Daft Punk, Damian Marley, Diplo, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Hero, DJ Hero 2, DJ Shadow, DLC, Donna Summer, Dr. Dre, Drake Edwin Starr, Eminem, Gorillaz, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Harold Faltermeyer, House of Pain, Iyaz, Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, Jay Z, Justice, Kanye West, Kaskade, Kelis, Keri Hilson, Kid Cudi, Kool & The Gang, Lady Gaga, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, M.I.A., M|A|R|R|S, Major Lazer, Malcolm McLaren, Melle Mel & Duke Bootee, Metallica, Missy Elliot, Mos Def, MSTRKRFT, N.O.R.E., Nas, Nate Dogg, Naughty By Nature, Nelly, New Boyz, New Order, Nightcrawlers, Orbital, Pirate Soundsystem, Pitbull, Playstation 3, Puff Daddy, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Robin S., RZA, Salt N Pepa, Sam Cooke, Sam Sparro, Sneaky Sound System, Snoop Dogg, Snow, Soulja Boy Tell Em, Static, Stevie Wonder, The Chemical Brothers, The Notorious B.I.G., The Prodigy, Tiga, Timbaland, Video Games, Warren G, Wii, Will.I.Am, Xbox 360, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
by John Carle, Jun 9 2010 // 2:30 PM
DJ Hero was a top game for not just the Flickcast, but for the whole video game industry last year. Not only was it a unique take on the music game genre, it was also one of the two best as it shared that title with Beatles: Rock Band in our Best of 2009 awards. Since we all know how Activision feels about franchising, we knew it was only a matter of time before they were going to announce a sequel. Today, that came to fruition with the announcement of DJ Hero 2.
DJ Hero 2 looks to take the original game’s successful formula and kick it up not one, but two notches. The original DJ Hero featured the newly created turntable controller and a mixer. The sequel will take advantage of the two sided functionality of the mixer and add on a second turntable, helping recreate a more authentic DJing experience. In addition, a microphone will come into play for multiplayer mode (or just a very talented multitasker).
Speaking of mutliplayer, DJ Battles will be added to the game featuring mixes created specifically for the battle mode. Party Play will allow for vocalists to jump in and jump out of songs while singing or rapping along with the current song. Single player has also been revised with the creation of the new Empire Mode. Empire Mood will be a career mode styled upon being a unknown rookie DJ who looks to become the CEO of a major entertainment empire, all through his DJing skills.
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Posted in: Activision · Announcements · Games · News · Playstation 3 · PlayStationNetwork · Video Games · Wii · XBLA · Xbox 360
Tagged: Activision, Chemical Brothers, DJ Hero, DJ Hero 2, DLC, Jay Z, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Metallica, Playstation 3, Rihanna, Video Games, Wii, Xbox 360
by John Carle, Apr 12 2010 // 9:00 AM
As we reported last month, DJ Hero received a three pack of downloadable mixes and they sure didn’t hold back. For it, they got series icons Jay-Z and Eminem and took some of the most popular songs of each artist to make these mixes. You’ll notice that I am referring to them as mixes and not mashups.
Taking a slightly different step from the traditional DJ Hero song formula where one song’s lyrics are used over another song’s background, these three mixes showcase both sets of lyrics.
The three mixes featured in the pack are “Can I Get A…” by Jay-Z with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, “Shake That” by Eminem with “Show Me What You Got” by Jay-Z, and “Without Me” by Eminem with “Encore” by Jay-Z. All of the mixes fall into the High intensity category.
If you have opened up other songs in this category then these should be reasonably playable for you but if it wouldn’t be recommended to play them without working your way up to High intensity. Even at medium, these songs feature some fast track switches as well as simultaneous scratching and crossfading.
The “Without Me/Encore” mix is a very unique mix as it takes a rather fast paced Eminem song and combines it was a background that sounds like it would have been the theme song of a 1970s TV show. But it works. One thing that no one can dispute about DJ Hero is the level of quality brought by the unique and expertly done mixes in the game. Without a doubt, it is leaps and bounds from the original cover songs that used to be featured in the Guitar Hero series.
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Posted in: Activision · Games · News · Playstation 3 · Reviews · Video Games · Wii · Xbox 360
Tagged: Activision, DJ Hero, DJ Hero: Renegade Edition, DLC, Eminem, Jay Z
by John Carle, Mar 11 2010 // 1:00 PM
Maybe it’s the fact that we have an affinity for music games around here. Maybe it’s because two of our review crew are former disc jockeys. Maybe it’s just because it is a damn good game. Whatever the reason, we’ve been big fans of DJ Hero since its release late last year. Between a 9.0 review score and awarding it “Best Music Game of 2009″ along with Beatles: Rock Band, DJ Hero has earned itself a place in our hearts and on our gaming shelves.
Lucky for us (and for you), yesterday Activision announced a downloadable three pack of mashups for DJ Hero featuring the headline artists of the game’s Renegade Edition, Jay-Z and Eminem. Coming on first to the XBox 360, the three pack will include:
“Can I Get A…” by Jay-Z / “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (Shown Below)
“Shake That” by Eminem / “Show Me What You Got” by Jay-Z
“Without Me” by Eminem / “Encore” by Jay-Z
The XBox download will cost 640 Microsoft points ($8.00) on March 18th.
PlayStation 3 will be receiving the pack at $7.99 on March 25th.
Wii will have all three songs as downloadable singles for 300 Nintendo Points ($3.00) each on March 25th.
Take a look at “Can I Get A…”/”Lose Yourself” from the upcoming pack after the jump and keep it here for more news on the game as it breaks!
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Posted in: Activision · Games · Music · Playstation 3 · Trailers · Video Games · Wii · Xbox 360
Tagged: Activision, DJ Hero, DJ Hero: Renegade Edition, DLC, Eminem, Jay Z
by Matt Raub, Dec 16 2009 // 2:00 PM
Stephen Colbert has been known for many impressive stunts since his show debuted, including shaving his head on a trip for the troops in Iraq, hosting a star-studded Christmas Special, and declaring war on Glenn Beck. He’s recently outdone himself once again by joining pop superstar Alicia Keys in a suburban Connecticut version of “Empire State of Mind (Part II).”
The song has been in the top 10 charts for months now, and is a love letter to New York City by both Keys and Jay Z. Colbert takes on the Jay Z part, with his own suburban spin, in last night’s episode.
The original song (not this version) is currently available on Alicia Keys’ new album, The Element of Freedom, which is currently available at iTunes and other music retailers. Check out the video from last night’s Colbert Report after the jump.
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Posted in: Comedy · Music · Networks · News · TV · Video
Tagged: Alicia Keys, Empire State of Mind, Jay Z, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, The Element of Freedom
by John Carle, Oct 15 2009 // 12:15 PM
As you have seen, we’ve been closely following the release of DJ Hero, the next step in rhythm gaming from Activision. Today is no exception as the company has now released the full 93 song set list for the game. While all club styled mixes, remixes and mashups, DJ Hero boasts one of the most varied collection of artists in any Hero franchise release.
With everything from the Jackson 5 to 2Pac, Daft Punk to Queen and everything in between, that variety of DJ Hero’s playlist is unmatched, as long as you like mashups and remixes. If you are a musical purist to the extreme, this game isn’t really what you’d be looking for.
In addition, the game will feature 10 tracks where players can plug in their Guitar Hero guitar and play alongside their friend on the DJ Hero turntable for a true real time rock / dance mashup. But the track we are most excited to try out… Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby” vs. MC Hammer “You Can’t Touch This” which brings together the two most famous “hip hop” acts from our youth and combines two of the catchiest songs of the early nineties.
Click through to check out the full set list.
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Posted in: Activision · Games · Music · Press Releases · Video Games
Tagged: 2Pac, 50 Cent, Beastie Boys, Beck, Daft Punk, DJ Hero, Guitar Hero, Herbie Hancock, Jackson 5, Jay Z, MC Hammer, PS3, Vanilla Ice, Xbox 360
by Joe Gillis, Oct 13 2009 // 12:15 PM
We’ve got a new intro cinematic video to share with you today showcasing the cool upcoming DJ Hero game from our friends at Activision. I’m going to go out on a limb right now and say this game, based on all the stuff we’ve seen so far and the caliber of artists involved, could end up being as big as Guitar Hero.
I know, that may sound crazy, but this game seems to have what it takes to succeed with its innovative design and new turntable controller. Plus, its got some great music from artists like Jay-Z, Eminem, Daft Punk, The Scratch Peverts, Grand Master Flash and DJ AM which only enhances its potential awesomeness.
I guess the jury is still out but I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on the game. DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition ship to North America on October 27th for Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and PS2. Until then, be sure to check out the video of this cool into cinematic after the jump.
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Posted in: Activision · Games · Gear · Music · News · Video · Video Games
Tagged: Daft Punk, DJ AM, DJ Hero, Eminem, Grand Master Flash, Guitar Hero, Jay Z
by Joe Gillis, Jul 27 2009 // 4:30 PM
With all the news of comics, movies and TV coming out of San Diego over the last four days, we can’t forget that there’s also game news to be concerned with. Speaking of games, Activision just announced that DJ Jazzy Jeff will be bringing his unique brand of skills to their upcoming DJ Hero game.
Here’s all the 411 from the official Activision press release. Also, be sure to check out the trailer for the game, featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff himself, after the jump.
DJ Jazzy Jeff, GRAMMY Award winning hip-hop and R&B record producer, actor and world famous turntablist will ascend to the virtual stage this fall in Activision Publishing, Inc. and Guitar Hero’s highly anticipated video game DJ Hero. In addition to joining the distinguished rank of playable characters that will appear in the game, including DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, Grandmaster Flash, DJ AM and others, DJ Jazzy Jeff will shake the room and bring the party to life with his own set list featuring two exclusive mixes hand created by the legend himself – Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.”
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Posted in: Activision · Games · News · Press Releases · Video · Video Games
Tagged: DJ Hero, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Shadow, Grandmaster Flash, Guitar Hero, Jay Z