B.B. King Signs on with XM Radio to Host Weekly Music Show

Blues music icon B.B. King will begin hosting his own weekly music show for XM Radio beginning in September 2008, it was announced today by the company. The program will feature a broad range of blues and gospel music hand-selected by King, along with stories about the artists and other personal anecdotes from the bluesman’s epic career. In anticipation of King’s hosting debut, today XM relaunched its dedicated blues channel “Bluesville” as “BB King’s Bluesville” (XM 74).

“I love the blues and am looking forward to sharing my passion, stories and my favorite music with all the folks who listen to XM, one of the few places where the vibrant sounds of the blues still thrives,” said B.B. King.

For more than 60 years, Riley B. King — better known as B.B. King — has defined the blues for a worldwide audience. Since he started recording in the 1940s, he has released over 50 albums, many of them classics, won 14 Grammy Awards, been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of the Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Chairman’s Award, among many other awards. In a special ceremony at the Library of Congress, Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington presented B.B. with a “Living Legend” medal in honor of his achievements as a musician and ambassador for the blues. After 10,000 concerts, B.B. King continues to bring his music to audiences around the globe spending the better part of each year on the road with his beloved guitar, “Lucille.”

On August 26, Geffen Records will release B.B.’s newest T Bone Burnett-produced album, “One Kind Favor,” and, on September 13, King — one of few living musicians in the world to be so honored — will preside at the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in his hometown of Indianola, MS.

B.B. King was born September 16, 1925, on a plantation in Itta Bene, Mississippi, near Indianola. In his youth, he played on street corners for dimes, and would sometimes play in as many as four towns a night. In 1947, he hitchhiked to Memphis, TN, to pursue his music career. Memphis was where every important musician of the South gravitated, and which supported a large musical community where every style of African American music could be found. B.B. stayed with his cousin Bukka White, one of the most celebrated blues performers of his time, who schooled B.B. further in the art of the blues.

Natsume Announces E3 Lineup

Natsume, a worldwide developer and publisher of family-oriented video games, announced today their
lineup for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), which begins tomorrow, Tuesday, July 15, and runs through Thursday, July 17. The company will be holding one-on-one meetings in room 517 at the show
with select media representatives. The majority of the titles showcased will be shipping this summer and fall on a variety of video game systems, including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and the PSP.

“We are very excited to share the details on all of the titles that fans and consumers can expect to see from us later this year,” said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO at Natsume. “From all-new games that expand on the Harvest Moon series to an original-IP, Princess Debut, a dance and adventure game for girls, we will have plenty of family-friendly interactive entertainment for everyone in the
household.”

Information on each title is listed below. For more information on Natsume at E3 or any of these titles, please visit www.natsume.com.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS)
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness brings the largest portable Harvest Moon experience ever to the Nintendo DS. Starting off with an abandoned farm, a handful of seeds, and the determination to start a new life, it’s up to the player to develop a mysterious, abandoned island into a bustling tropical paradise. By harvesting crops, raising animals, and mining for precious gems, players will help the island grow into a vibrant town filled with people, businesses, and eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. Players can take on the role of a male or a female, and choose who they want to fall in love and start a family with. Players can also test their farming skills against each other and compete for prizes via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
In Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, players find themselves in a troubled island town which once prospered with life and energy, but is now in serious trouble. The mystical Mother Tree that once watched over the island has disappeared, and the Harvest Goddess is nowhere to be found! The island has lost its connection with nature and the inhabitants don’t know what to do – it’s up to the player to save the island! You must help to rebuild the island by tending to the earth, befriending and raising animals, nurturing friendships, and creating a
family. Long-time Harvest Moon fans as well as new players will find an exciting, involving storyline and plenty of activities including cultivating crops, caring for animals, and participating in festivals.
All-new controls for the Nintendo Wii Remote give players the chance to feel like they’re really farming!

Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (DS)
Rune Factory 2 is set several years after the first game. The evil Sechs Empire has been defeated, and the Kingdom of Norad is once again at peace. Things may not stay that way for long, however, as dark premonitions foretell of dangers to come. It’s up to player to uncover the source of these premonitions and bring peace to the kingdom once more. In a first for the Rune Factory series, the story of Rune Factory 2 is multigenerational. Players begin the game as Kyle, a strange man who comes to Alvarna Village. Eventually, players will take on the role of Kyle’s child, opening up a whole new adventure. It’s an innovative feature that allows players to follow the story of their family and the townsfolk over two generations! Rune Factory 2 offers innovative Touch Screen controls, easy-to-use menus, and an all-new compelling storyline.

Princess Debut (DS)
In Princess Debut, players find themselves in a fantasy world where they have 30 days to get ready for the big ball. They’ll have to master their dance moves and win over one of the six handsome, charming princes to be their partner. They’ll meet and woo the princes through the game’s large, branching storyline and exciting events. Once the player convinces a prince to be their dancing partner, it’s time to go out on the dance floor! Players will use the Touch Screen to guide their character gracefully across the dance floor while matching their partner’s rhythm. All of the dances in the game are taken from motion-captured professional dancers, so the game is just as impressive to watch as it is fun to play.

Hamtaro (DS)
Join Hamtaro and all his friends in a variety of fun and educational brain-training games designed for elementary school children. Children will develop their memory, word comprehension, math skill, and many other abilities as they play through 12 engaging, interactive games. Parents can monitor their child’s growing abilities, adjust the difficulty level to match their child’s skills, and reward them with special items. Hamtaro and his friends make learning fun!

Yumi’s Odd Odyssey (PSP)
Yumi’s Odd Odyssey is a fast-paced puzzle platformer for the PSP. Trapped in a bizarre world filled with spikes, pitfalls, and giant, hostile fish with nothing but her wits and her trusty rubber fishing line, Yumi will have to run, jump, climb, and swing her way to freedom. Yumi’s fishing line isn’t just handy for fending off fish–it also works like a grappling hook, allowing Yumi to latch onto and swing from just about any part of the environment. The game’s advanced physics allow players to pull off remarkable feats of grappling acrobatics and find new, creative ways through the open-ended levels. With its colorful graphics, wild worlds, and ingenious grappling gameplay, Yumi’s Odd Odyssey will have players hooked!

EA’s E3 Lineup Review

EA Logo

E3’s right around the corner now and in the big show, we’re going to be seeing a lot of awesome games filled with win. EA will be bringing in the biggest lot, from what I can tell. In this post, we check out which games are worth getting excited for. And there is, of course, the entire EA Line-Up right below:

• Dead Space
• FaceBreaker
• Hasbro Family Game Night
• Littlest Pet Shop
• Madden NFL 09
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
• Mirror’s Edge
• iPhone/iPod Touch Games from EA Mobile
• The Sims 2 Apartment Pets
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 for the PSP
• Zubo
• MySims (PC)
• MySims Kingdom (Wii, DS)
• Spore
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Command & Conquer Red Alert 3
• Crysis Warhead
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• The Lord of the Rings: Conquest
• SimCity Creator (Wii)
• NBA Live 09
• NCAA® Football 09
• Skate It
• Rock Band™ 2
• Left 4 Dead

Definitely a mouthful. Check out the slightly more detailed looks by hitting the jump!
Continue reading “EA’s E3 Lineup Review”

Vikings + Aliens = Outlander

Viking Boat!

Now, I’ve always thought that the Vikings deserve to be treated better in Hollywood. We have Rome represented over and over again and 300 made Sparta immortal in Hollywood. But for the Vikings, we had to endure the desaturated headache that was Pathfinder. But all that can change in a major way when sci-fi viking epic of pure awesome, Outlander comes your way later this year.

In the classic galactic struggle between man and alien, the ship of a human from a faraway planet crashes into the Nordic coast. Our hero, Kainan thus finds himself in the company of Vikings, but he is not alone. His adversary, an alien creature, the Moorwen also emerges from the wreckage and since he’s the monster-baddy-thing, we have him wanting to destroy everything there is. And well, Kainan and the Vikings must stop him.

To be honest, the plot sounds like a video game to me. The concept would totally work, but since there’s a movie coming out, we have to dash all our expectations there. Still, the movie can be equally awesome, because 300 proved last year that a story high on visual effects and action can actually be excused for a shallow story.

Still, who the hell doesn’t want to see freaking Vikings fighting freaking aliens! It’s outstandingly awesome! And to prove it, check out the great trailer they just released. It’s intense and totally works up on the action element. It also doesn’t seem to have the musty old-age feel most period films tend to have. With the sci-fi element, it feels a lot more slick. Check out the trailer below and there’s a great gallery of photos here.

Dragon Age renamed, coming to E3!

Dragon Age Origins

Dragon Age, BioWare’s much-awaited dark fantasy game that will be bringing them back to their classic D&D-style hardcore roleplaying, will be coming at this year’s E3, courtesy EA. In fact, it will be one of their “premier” titles at the big gaming showdown next week. A select press will get the chance to get their hands on the game.

More interestingly, the game has been renamed. Yes sir, you’ll refer to it as Dragon Age: Origins from now on. The name change may not seem like a whole lot, but I honestly like it: it adds more class to what was originally a pretty generic name… (then again, no offence to BioWare, an epic fantasy hardcore D&D roleplaying game does sound a tad generic).

Staying truthful to their promise of “More on July 9th”, the official website has also been updated. Not that it really gives you a whole lot more. I love the logo, which I have graciously pasted above. But an interesting bit of info it gives it that the First Trailer will be coming out on Spike TV and Spike HD this Friday at 1:00 am. Of course, it will be then uploaded to Gametrailers in glorious HD-ness.

The website also gives you two newsletters to subscribe to: one for info on the game in general, and another for “world-builders” (read modders). Hmm, perhaps BioWare is going to put a lot of focus on moddability and customization, like Neverwinter Nights. The more I hear of this game, the more I can’t help believe that it’s a spiritual successor to Neverwinter Nights in some way or another.