Rock Throne Drum Stool

Rock Band is not only for the casual player, it can become something very extreme and real; through the better the accessories and peripherals, the better and more realistic gameplay you will enjoy. So as all companies do, Icon, has created a drum stool just for Rock Band, and Guitar Hero. Any unsuspecting person would love to have this in their living room to help make their Rock Band experience even more real; and with a price of $30, how can you lose? The problem with this chair is just that, a drum stool for a price like that and with advertising like that just can’t be good. And it isn’t. You really get what you pay for on this one; it feels decent for the first few months and it is definitely worth the low price point. However, eventually after twisting and turning on the chair the bolt began sheering off the chair and cutting a large ring around the center pole. This proves problematic as after this the chair was far too wobbly to use and became more trouble than it was worth. Sure it might be tempting, just because it says it’s made for Rock Band, doesn’t mean it should be used with Rock Band. Save up your money, and go buy a $100 saddle seat at your local music shop. Don’t waste your money, your butt deserves more than this.

However, if you are on a tight budget and you still want to make your drumming feel more realistic then buy it on Amazon for $30.

Or if your looking to treat your butt and you are ready to make the jump for a real chair, then try this.

Remember to vote in our latest poll for which you prefer: digital downloads or the physical box. VOTE NOW!

SciFi MMOs

“Space the Final Frontier,” was the beginning to many Star Trek episodes, it started a new adventure in the chapter of the Star Trek Universe. Many games have tried to recreate this but none have quite come close to capturing the magic of Star Trek. Now, though, an MMO that will “boldly go where no man has gone before” is coming soon; along with other SciFi MMOs.
No other SciFi MMO has quite been a huge success. Tabula Rasa recently and sadly had its plug pulled. It was not a bad game at all, it was quite creative and new in lots of areas but there just wasn’t enough room on the market for it. EVE online is probably the biggest SciFi MMO out there right now. It does nothing different than other MMOs out there other than its player driven universe where players can get involved with politics and make decisions that will affect every single player. Three new MMO hope to become the SciFi MMO that will take off and challenge the setbacks other MMOs of its kind have faced.

Champions Online

Champions Online is much like the game City of Heroes, in fact made by many of the same people, only better. Every single character you could ever hope to create or think of you can with its unique and very detailed character creator. It has a skill tree that gives you direction but does not prohibit you from taking any power you want. The beautiful art direction looks like a wonderful comic book. This game has great expectations and is expected to release Q3 2009.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

The Old Republic made a huge appearance at E3 as it was announced as being the first MMO ever to be fully voiced. Set in the Knights of the Old Republic Universe, 100 years before Darth Vader is born. This MMO has a lot of room to move with its lore. Sith, Jedi, Bounty Hunter, Republic Trooper, Sith Scout, and a lot more are just some of the classes available. The way that I like to describe this MMO is full BioWare RPG only and MMO. They have set the standard high with this one, lets hope they can keep it. It is set to release sometime in 2010.

Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online, a game that many fans like myself have been waiting for. Now what would make a Star Trek game good? Well Cryptic Studios has felt that big is what would. This game is promised to be huge with plenty of space to explore, hundreds of planets to colonize and tons of ships to battle. You can play as part of the Federation or the Klingon Empire. You can be any of the races and even create your own race if you choose. Ships are fully customizable and a wide selection is available. Away missions where you beam down to planets will be there also and friends can join in on those too. The Design for this game looks good, lets hope that the mechanics and game play will work well also. This game is set to release in 2010.

Lets hope that these three MMOs can give a jump start to the SciFi brand that is lacking. They all have great promise and look good, we’ll see if they hold up to their potential.

Simple Port Forwarding

Forwarding ports is a major requirement for many games to be played online. If you are going through a router and a game doesn’t work right, then perhaps you need to forward some ports. Forwarding ports can sometimes be a pain, but here is a little program that makes the process simple. Simple Port Forwarding is an application that helps you to easily set up and forward ports for over 600 games and other applications. The application is very simple to use and it only takes a minute to install. Once installed simply follow the 7 steps provided to easily start forwarding ports.

This software features:

• Save your ports list to easily share with friends or family.
• Automatic program updates. (Must run as administrator in Vista and Windows 7)
• Easily update routers, predefined ports, and languages with just a few clicks. (Must run as administrator in Vista and Windows 7)
• Set your computers IP address to static or DHCP with just one click.
• Easily add/remove/view the ports you have forwarded to the Windows built-in firewall.
• Test that your port forwarding is working with the built in tester that will open and listen on the ports so the tests won’t fail.
• Advanced tools like “Silent Mode” to keep webpage script errors from popping up.
• Debug Mode to let the user control when the program goes to the next step in a script, helping find problems with any script.
• Access to the list of router guides. (Such as port forwarding, port triggering and wireless setup)
• Access to the list of router screenshots.

Check this software out if you have ever needed to forward ports, and the best part is this software is freeware, which means it’s completely free! Check it out today, what do you have to lose?

Download Simple Port Forwarding 2.4.7

Size: 3.85 MB
License: Freeware
Requires: Windows

[Found on MajorGeeks.com]

Game Deal: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

In recent years a game with 40 hours of gameplay could be considered as a solid campaign. Many games, also fall much short of this, like Mirror’s Edge, which can be beaten in an afternoon. The number of hours a gameplay a game can provide does not necessarily make the game any better than a shorter game. However, if this game is of decent quality, then it will make the experience last that much longer and make that game worth far more than it’s sticker price.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition is an awesome RPG with a ridiculous amount of gameplay as well as rather good graphics. This game can take over 200 hours to complete. With tons of side quests along with the rich main story, there is sure to be a lot to enjoy. In today’s age, you might consider paying over $100 for that many gameplay hours as many games might charge $5 per hour. However, you can walk away with this RPG for just $20 on Newegg. The Game of the Year Edition contains both the original Oblivion game, as well as the Shivering Isles and Knights of The Nine expansion packs. Be careful, however, as role-playing games are not for everyone, there is a lot of story and dialogue to take care of and if this is not your forte, even for the price you might hate playing this game. But if you love RPG then this is a game that must be played and any true RPG fan has to be able to say they’ve played this.

Buy it for $20 on Newegg.