So After the lead designer, Dan Teasdale tells us that Rock Band 3 is “the next big leap in music gaming” and it’s “the ultimate music game”, how can you not be amped? Even being a huge geeker fan off the music game genre and downloading tons of new songs, I cannot play more than three songs in a row without getting sick of it, so I am very curious as to what harmonix has in mind to keep our attention on their new installment that has already been in development for two years? Well keep your eyes and ears peeled cause it is romured to be out by this holiday season and we should know more in the upcoming months.

Hint: European / American Name Conversion

The following list states the American names followed by their European counterparts. Unlockable Karts are denoted by *.

Lightweight Karts:
• Standard Kart S / Same
• Booster Seat / Baby Booster
• Mini Beast / Concerto
• Cheep Charger / Same *
• Tiny Titan / Rally Romper *
• Blue Falcon / Same *

Lightweight Bikes:

• Standard Bike S / Same
• Bullet Bike / Same
• Bit Bike / Nanobike
• Quacker / Same *
• Magikruiser / Same *
• Jet Bubble / Bubble Bike *

Middleweight Karts:

• Standard Kart M / Same
• Classic Dragster / Nostalgia 1
• Wild Wing / Same
• Super Blooper / Turbo Blooper *
• Daytripper / Royal Racer *
• Sprinter / B Dasher MK 2 *

Middleweight Bikes:

• Standard Bike M / Same
• Mach Bike / Same
• Sugarscoot / Bon Bon
• Zip Zip / Rapide *
• Sneakster / Nitrocycle *
• Dolphin Dasher / Same *

Heavyweight Karts:

• Standard Kart L / Same
• Offroader / Same
• Flame Flyer / Same
• Piranha Prowler / Same *
• Jetsetter / Aero Glider *
• Honeycoupe / Dragonetti *

Heavyweight Bikes:

• Standard Bike L / Same
• Flame Runner / Bowser Bike
• Wario Bike / Same
• Shooting Star / Twinkle Star *
• Spear / Torpedo *
• Phantom / Same *

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Super Mario Galaxy 2 is coming out later this month and the teaser’s are pouring in. The latest development is the fact that Luigi, Mario’s sidekick, may be getting more exposure than his little cameo’s he normally gets. Hopefully we will be able to see more of our green plumber in this game than the last.

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Hint: Turtle Tipping for 99 Lives

You can use the decades old turtle-on-the-stairs trick from Super Mario Bros. to get 99 lives in New SMB Wii. Go to world 2-3 and, at the end, right before the flag, you’ll find a set of steps and a turtle ambling down them. If you time your jump just right you’ll continue bouncing on the shell collecting lives until you max out at 99.

Easter Egg: Sounds From Beyond the Grave

When you’re playing multiplayer and one of the players runs out of lives mid-level, he or she can still contribute to the game from the Great Beyond. Each direction of the D-pad is mapped to a different sound effect. Hold a direction and hit the 1 and 2 buttons to trigger different sounds, including clapping, a horn, kick and snare drums, and of course cowbell. The unfortunate players waiting for the level to end can add a drum line to the music.

Hint: Protect Your Head

If you press 1 and shake the Wii remote to pick up a small object, like a turtle shell (as opposed to just picking it up with 1), you’ll hold it above your head, protecting you from falling Bob-Ombs, etc.

Hint: Red Mushroom House Tomfoolery

When playing multiplayer you can steal your teamates’ turn in the Red Mushroom House match game by performing a ground pound on him (jump and the press DOWN).

Hint: Double Ground Pound (Multiplayer)

With at least two human players you can perform a special double ground pound that has the ability to kill all nearby enemies much like a POW block. You’ll need to time your ground pound (press JUMP then DOWN) so both players hit precisely at the same moment.

Hint: Flower Coins

Shake the Wii Remote to spin-jump on any of the small, dancing flowers in the game to make a coin appear.

Unlockable: Mushroom House Bonanza

Beat the game to make all the Mushroom houses in Worlds 1-8 reappear. Collect all the Star Coins and visit every Warp Cannon to make the houses reappear and stay for good.

Hint: Knock Out Marauding Enemies

On the world map you’ll encounter marauding enemies. To avoid these map screen enemies you can activate a star from your item menu.

Unlockable: Save Anywhere

After you beat the game (beat World 8-Bowser’s Castle) you’ll be able to “hard save” anywhere you’d like. The option replaces the Quick Save option.

Hint: Mushroom Houses

In New SMB Wii, you can make a bonus Mushroom house appear on the map by saving Toad when he appears in a level. To do this, you’ll need to head to a level with the white Toad marker. Release Toad from the ? Block he’s trapped in — near the beginning of a level, listen for the cries — and run him all the way to the end of the level to make a Mushroom House spawn. The type of Mushroom house depends on the final digit of the time when you grab the flag at the end of the level.
• Green (1-Up cannon game) – Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 0, 1, 2 or 3.
• Red (Match game) – Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 4, 5, 6 or 7
• Gold (Star reward) – Get Toad to the end of the level, hit flag when the last digit of the time ends in 8 or 9

Note: In multiplayer, you can make a Mushroom House appear using the a similar timing method. Hit the flag when the time digits end in 00,11,or 22 for a green house; 33, 44, 55, 66, 77 or 88 for a red house; or 99 for a gold house.

Unlockable: Alternate Endings

Perform the actions below to unlock an alternate ending:
• Ending 1 (The Princess says, “Did I ever tell you about the Secret World?”) – Beat the game once.
• Ending 2 (The Princess says, “Oh Mario, tell me about your adventure again!”) – Beat the game a second time.

Unlockable: World 9

Beat the game to unlock World 9. Each level in World 9 is unlocked by gathering all of the coins in each of the Worlds 1-8:
• 9-1 – Find all the Star Coins in World 1
• 9-2 – Find all the Star Coins in World 2
• 9-3 – Find all the Star Coins in World 3
• 9-4 – Find all the Star Coins in World 4
• 9-5 – Find all the Star Coins in World 5
• 9-6 – Find all the Star Coins in World 6
• 9-7 – Find all the Star Coins in World 7
• 9-8 – Find all the Star Coins in World 8

Easter Egg: Slow Down Or You’ll Lose Your Hat!

If you get 99 lives, the maximum number of lives in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario will lose his hat! Once you beat a level with a full 99 count, Mario will appear hat-less on the map screen and in subsequent gameplay. You’ll regain your hat once you lose a single life.

Unlockable: Save File Stars

Performing special actions will award you stars on your save file. Here are the stars you can earn:
• Star 1 – Beat the game (you can use Warp Cannons)
• Star 2 – Collect all 24 Star Coins in World 9
• Star 3 – Beat every “normal” level in the game,i.e., you don’t need to find Secret Goals.
• Star 4 – Collect all 207 Star Coins in the first 8 Worlds.
• Star 5 – Beat every level, find every secret goal and use all of the Warp Cannons.
• 5 “Sparkly” Stars – Get all five stars without making a Luigi Block appear (you cannot die 8 times in a row on a single level)

Unlockable: Super Guide Mode

Die in a level 8 times and the game will give you the option to turn on an “Auto Pilot” mode in which Mario completes the level on his own. This appears as a green Super Guide block (with a ! on it) in the the level. Hit it to activate the mode and you’ll be able to watch Luigi finish the level for you.
Note: There is no Super Guide for World 9.

Activision has announced the track list exclusive to the DJ Hero Renegade Edition version of the game. The DJ Hero Renegade Edition is aimed at the hardcore wannabe mixer, complete with a premium Renegade turntable controller and a hard shell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand.

The Jay-Z CD features one hit song from each of his 11 albums, but also includes “Brooklyn Go Hard”, which is on the Notorious film soundtrack.

Meanwhile, Eminem’s CD focuses on offering newer, rare music samplings including a brand new, unreleased track called “Taking My Ball”.

Here’s the complete track list of both Jay-Z and Eminem’s DJ Hero CDs.

JAY-Z’s DJ Hero Renegade album disc track list:

Ain’t No N***a JAY-Z Featuring Foxy Brown
Where I’m From JAY-Z
Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) JAY-Z
Jigga My N***a Ruff Ryders Featuring JAY-Z
I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me) JAY-Z
Izzo (H.O.V.A.) JAY-Z
03’ Bonnie & Clyde JAY-Z Featuring Beyoncé Knowles
Dirt Off Your Shoulder JAY-Z
Show Me What You Got JAY-Z
Roc Boys (And the Winner Is) JAY-Z
Brooklyn Go Hard JAY-Z Featuring Santigold
D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune) JAY-Z

EMINEM’s DJ Hero Renegade album disc track list:

Taking My Ball EMINEM
Say Goodbye to Hollywood EMINEM
Soldier EMINEM
The Re-Up EMINEM & 50 Cent
Rabbit Run EMINEM
Get U Mad EMINEM
Bad Guys Always Die Dr. Dre & EMINEM
Public Enemy No. 1 EMINEM
Say What You Say EMINEM Featuring Dr. Dre
Lose Yourself EMINEM
Hey Lady Obie Trice Featuring EMINEM
One Shot 2 Shot EMINEM Featuring D-12