One was mentioned in the weekly Nintendo Download press release. If you buy the game and have synced your Club Nintendo account, you will get an email in about a week with a secret code. Nintendo has the details here. They don’t say exactly what the code unlocks, but there’s a picture of a Charizard. So I’m thinking Charizard. This offer expires next April.

Note that Nintendo’s info page at this writing still thinks Pokemon Rumble is only 1000 Wii Points. It’s actually 1500. I smell a last-minute price hike.

The second code can be found by watching this week’s edition of Nintendo Week via the Wii’s Nintendo Channel. Host Alison has a Rumble interview and the guest reveals the eight digit code that will net you a Blastoise. Following the trend here of Final Evolutions of Gen 1 Starters, I’m going to guess that a Venusaur will be made available through Nintendo Power or wherever.

Pokemon Rumble features the entire original cast of 150 Pokemon, but it seems plain that the hooks are there to add in the remaining 330+. It just remains to be seen how Nintendo will add those guys in and what it will cost.

Incidentally, the game is pretty much Li’l Diablo.

When asked about the viability of sequels for their “Hero” brands next year, the response was rather awe-inducing.  Dan Rosensweig stated:

“We’re working on our 2010 slate now. You will probably see fewer SKUs from us, but the focus on making the best-selling, most fun to play, best-reviewed games will continue. Those are the things that are constant. [There will be] more DJ Hero, and the next iterations of Guitar and Band are on the way. But we will see how the market plays out. What you will see is the games will live longer and be more vibrant through DLC.”

Okay, so apparently, next year is the year when DLC for music games finally becomes an important battleground.  Did I miss something here?  Isn’t that what Harmonix has been preaching about for some time now?  The idea that you do not need to have a new release for your game every year.  Instead, just load up on DLC content for the game, buying what you want to be included in the game.  I am just amazed by the idiocity of the people that run the brands at Activision.  No, I do no think Dan Rosensweig would ever want to admit that his chief competitor is better, but sometimes, you need to acknowledge those that have created something in your field that works.  Borrow from it and innovate, but it is really stupid to completely ignore the fact that someone has outplayed your brand in the downloadable marketplace.

What do you think about the current “Hero” brand games.  Do you need more disc based releases, or should Activision take a page from Harmonix and work on ramping up their DLC offerings?  Make your comments known below.

The Sgt. Pepper’s album DLC will finish off the album collection, and includes such hits at “When I’m Sixty Four”, “Lovely Rita” and “A Day In The Life” to name a few.  You can purchase tracks individually, or in a “Complete The Album” pack if you have an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3.

Pricing for individual tracks is standard Rock Band pricing, with each track costing 200 Wii Points, 160 MS Points or $1.99 on the PS3.  The “Complete The Album” download will be 1080 MS Points or $13.49 on the PS3.

Check the jump for the full press release for more info.

MTV Games and Harmonix Release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band As Second Downloadable Album For The Beatles™: Rock Band™ On November 17th

New York – November 13, 2009 – Apple Corps, Ltd., MTV Games and Harmonix, the world’s leading developer of music-based games and a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) will be available in its entirety for purchase and playable as downloadable content in The Beatles™: Rock Band™Music Store starting November 17, 2009.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band becomes the second full album from The Beatles to hit The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store since the video game’s launch on September 9, 2009. Last month MTV Games and Harmonix released Abbey Road (1969) as the first full downloadable album for use in the game. Additionally, “All You Need Is Love,” the first downloadable track available for the game, has shown similar success with more than 100,000 downloads to date on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network and all Apple Corps Ltd., MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

With “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Getting Better,” and “Good Morning Good Morning” already included on The Beatles: Rock Band game disc, players will now be able to play songs from, and complete, the entire Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

Available for Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from (Nov. 17) and PlayStation®3 System (Nov. 19):

Individual Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band singles: “Fixing A Hole,” “She’s Leaving Home,” “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!,” “Within You Without You,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lovely Rita,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “A Day In The Life.”

Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per each individual track

The “Complete The Album Pack” features:

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band singles: “Fixing A Hole,” “She’s Leaving Home,” “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!,” “Within You Without You,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lovely Rita,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “A Day In The Life.”

Price: $13.49 USD, £7.49, €8.99 (1080 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Complete The Album Pack”

Available for Wii (Nov. 17):

Individual Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band singles: “Fixing A Hole,” “She’s Leaving Home,” “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!,” “Within You Without You,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,” “Lovely Rita,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” and “A Day In The Life.”

Price: $2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per each individual track

As previously announced the complete Rubber Soul (1965) album will be released as downloadable content in December. The Beatles: Rock Band downloadable content is available for purchase on the Xbox LIVE, PlayStation®Network and via the in-game The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store for Wii™ using Wii Points purchased through the Wii™ Shop Channel.

The Beatles: Rock Band offers players an unprecedented, experiential progression through the music and artistry of The Beatles and is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™ console from Nintendo. The game is compatible with all The Beatles: Rock Band and Rock Band™ instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero® and other authorized third-party music video game peripherals and microphones.

The Beatles: Rock Band marks the first time that Apple Corps, along with EMI Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Harrisongs Ltd and Startling Music Ltd has presented The Beatles music in an interactive video game format. The Beatles: Rock Band is published by MTV Games and developed by Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company and creators of the best-selling Rock Band. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) serves as distribution partner for the game. In addition, Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles’ innovative LOVE album project, provided his expertise and served as Music Producer for this groundbreaking Beatles project.

The Beatles: Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen with the descriptors “Mild Lyrics” and “Tobacco Reference” by the ESRB.

About Apple Corps. Ltd. Apple Corps Ltd. was founded by The Beatles in 1968 to look after the group’s own affairs. The London-based company has administered the catalogue of The Beatles releases of the 1960s that have sold to date more than 600 million records, tapes and CDs. Since the 1990s, Apple has piloted new Beatles projects that have become benchmarks for pioneering accomplishment and which have included The Beatles Anthology projects, the 28-million selling album The Beatles 1 and The Beatles LOVE show and CD. Further information on The Beatles’ projects can be found at www.thebeatles.com.

About MTV Networks MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, HarmonixNickelodeonNick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.

About MTV Games MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.

About Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., based in Cambridge, MA, and established in 1995, is the leading developer of ground-breaking music-oriented videogames. Harmonix was founded by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, who formed the company to invent new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music and have pioneered music and rhythm gaming in the US. For more information please visit: www.harmonixmusic.com.

About Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

© 2009 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Harmonix, Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., an MTV Networks company. Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and The Beatles: Rock Band are developed by Harmonix Music Systems, inc. MTV: Music Television, MTV Games and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Guitar Hero is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

After a slight delay in the mail system, I finally received my review copy of Dragon Age: Origins on the PC, and after thirty minutes of play, I can say that it was well worth the wait.  From the initial isometric view, down to the intricate family relationships that are formed in those early moments of the game, show just a small amout of what the game has to give a player through the long run.

My first thirty was delayed a few minutes, by what might be the most ridiculous system ever to handle DLC content in a game.  On the PC, it was not too bad, except I had a hell of a time getting my Bioware account to link up to the Dragon Age social site. Only after getting that successfully synced up, could I finally use the DLC codes that came in my game box.  Since I did not have a store bought copy of the game, I did not get the Warden’s Keep, but I did get most everything else.  The DLC is kludgy, requring you to exit the game, register the download, hope that you don’t have issues linking your Bioware account to your Bioware social account, etc.  Bioware, why not just have a code in the game that you enter.

That said, once I started up the game, I was presented with the character creation screen, and I knew at that point I was home.  All the customization that was available in Mass Effect is available here, except that the graphics have been bumped up a bit.  I liked that there were more quality choices for making characters this time around, because the ones in Mass Effect were lacking at times.  I had my female warrior created after about 10 minutes of tinkering.  Yes, I am a female warrior, you have a problem with that?

My origin path that I was creating had me playing as a Warrior Noble, where I was the daughter of a famous warrior.  My father and brother were readying themselves to go into battle, and I was lamenting the fact that I would have to stay behind.  The voice work from the characters is a little stilted at times, but there is enough good story there to get you hooked.  Most of the introductions done in the Origins story are there to prepare your for the world and how you will interact with it.  I learned the ins and outs of combat and attacking enemies with a full party.  I did like the way that you could surround enemies with your party.  Combat is three dimensional, and you have to remember that if you want to succeed.

My first thirty finished with a great setpiece, as I had to fight my way out of the keep I lived it, as a friend of my father turned traitorous, and attacked.  My escape had me fighting through several throngs of enemies on the way to the secret exit.  It left me wanting more, as the story hooked me in big time.  I was perplexed at the total lack of voice over for my character.  I am not sure if that only shows up in the origins section of the game, or if I will play through the whole game like a Gordon Freeman, completely mute.  It made less sense when I remembered that I was asked to choose a voice for my character.

Dragon Age: Origins is a very enjoyable experience through the first thirty minutes.  This obviously does not give you a true feel for a game that has an average play through time of 60 hours, but from what I have seen so far, I have really enjoyed what Bioware is feeding players this time around.  Keep an eye out for a full review after I get enough time to play through the full story.

The rare, legendary, FINAL pokedex member is available this week at Toys R Us as a free Wonder Card download for any of the current three DS core Pokemon games. Not only do you get a level 100 monster, but you also get a little shove of interest to the next Pokemon games. Seems that Arceus, when traded forward into HeartGold or SoulSilver, will allow you to “witness the moment a legendary pokemon comes to be.”

Having Arceus on your team will allow you to catch – at level 1 – either Dialgia, Palkia or Giratina. You know, the three poster monsters for Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, respectively. Sure, pro Pokemon Trainers likely have all three of them already (legally, even.) But catching them at level 1 means you’re getting the beast in a far more malleable form. Like, you could train it to fetch sodas from the fridge or something.

Some of the tunes you see this month will come from Marvin Gaye, Lady GaGa, Colbie Caillat, Bananarama, Juice Newton and The Supremes.  Maybe it is just me, but did we not get enough of The Supremes in October? 

Hit the jump to see the release schedule for each week for the month of November.

November 6th:

• Juice Newton – Angel of the Morning
• Bananarama – Shy Boy
• The Supremes – You Keep Me Hanging On

November 13:

• Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On
• Marvin Gaye – How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You
• Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On (The Ecology)

November 20th:

• Colbie Caillat – Fallin’ For You
• Colbie Caillat – Realize
• Colbie Caillat – The Little Things

November 27th

• Lady GaGa – Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)
• Lady GaGa – Love Game
• Lady GaGa – Poker Face

Each of the songs should run you 160 MS Points, while the artist track packs should run 440 MS Points.

Nintendo Power revealed the news in issue #248; the Arceus distribution will be at Toys R Us from November 7 through 15. As with previous critter handouts, you’ll just have to show up and download it over the DS WiFi.

Arceus can change its type based on certain held items, which might make it a good pinch-hitter on your team. It is the last final absolute end of the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum generation Pokedex. And if the upcoming HeartGold and SoulSilver releases follow the remake trend and do not add any new types, Arceus could be our last new pokemon for quite a while.

Up until now, odds are that if you encountered somebody with an Arceus… it was a hacked fake. So it will be nice to get a legal version of this rare beast.

Double Fine and Electronic Arts announced the first heaping of DLC for Brutal Legend today, and it looks like we are in store for new maps.  Yes, the Tears of the Hextadon map pack will be coming to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on November 3rd and 5th repectively.

Tears of the Hextadon will contain two maps for multiplayer duels online, with the first map taking place on a circular battlefield, while the second will take place on a long and narrow stretch of a canyon.  The big news for this map pack is that Playstation 3 owners will get the DLC as a free download if they get the maps before November 19th, while they will be full price on the 360 at the day of launch.

Tears of the Hextadon will cost 400 points on the 360, while the Playstation 3 will charge $4.99 after November 19th.  Seems a bit pricey for two maps, but for those that enjoy the stage battles in that game, this will only expand the choices when going online with Brutal Legend.

Check the jump for the full press release.

Double Fine and EA Get Rocking with First Downloadable Content for Brütal Legend

Tears of the Hextadon Map Pack Unleashes Two New Multiplayer Maps in November

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct 27, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Double Fine Productions Inc. will turn up the volume come November when the first downloadable content is released for the heavy metal, third person action game, Brütal Legend(TM). Tears of the Hextadon will be available on Xbox LIVE(R) on November 3rd for 400 MS Points and on PlayStation Network(R) on November 5th, where the two-map pack will be downloadable for free until November 19th, then costing $4.99 after November 19th.

The Brütal Legend Tears of the Hextadon map pack expands the Brütal Legend Stage Battle multiplayer experience with two new multiplayer maps. In the first map, Circle of Tears, vile waters have carved a rough-hewn circular battlefield into a forsaken land that players must circumvent to destroy their opponent. In the second map, Death’s Fjord, players find themselves on an icy mountain pass with a dense cluster of fans that lie below, waiting to be harvested by those brave enough to capture them without cover from enemy attack. All players who download the new map pack will receive a free axe, the Blade of Ormagöden.

“I play Brütal Legend online every night,” said Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. “And I need more maps! Circle of Tears is named after the crying of my vanquished foes on the battlefield, and Death’s Fjord is obviously a tribute to my Nordic ancestors, and their love of fan geysers and… Well, actually I just thought the name was cool. See you online!”

Brütal Legend has received acclaim by critics worldwide, with PLAY Magazine scoring Brütal Legend a perfect 10 out of 10, calling it the, “greatest video game ever created”. IGN also praised Brütal Legend, giving it 9 out of 10 and awarding it Editor’s Choice, calling it, “one of the best games all year”. Brütal Legend is available for MSRP $59.99 on the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system and PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system. Brütal Legend is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and 18+ for PEGI.

For more information on Brütal Legend and to sign up for the Brütal Legend newsletter, please visit www.brutallegend.com. To follow Brütal Legend on Twitter please visit http://twitter.com/brutallegend.

About Double Fine Productions

Double Fine Productions (http://www.doublefine.com) is an award-winning, independent game development studio founded in 2000 by games industry veteran Tim Schafer, creator of such gaming classics as Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle. Located in San Francisco’s South of Market district, Double Fine specializes in high-quality games with an emphasis on originality, story, characters, and fun. In 2005, Double Fine released the critically-acclaimed Psychonauts, which won several awards including “Best Action / Adventure Game” from OXM, “Game of the Year” from Eurogamer, and “#6 XBOX game of all time” from G4TV. At the 2006 Game Developers Conference, Double Fine itself was awarded the title of “Best New Studio” by their fellow developers.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA(TM), EA SPORTS(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Brütal Legend is a trademark of Double Fine Productions, Inc.”PlayStation” and “PLAYSTATION” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

With the new GTA DLC hitting an Xbox 360 near you today, Rockstar has released a new trailer for the game, that really has little to do with the actual game.  It shows us one of the new TV shows that you can watch on a TV in the game called Princess Robot Bubblegum.  And it is one of the funniest things I have watched on the web in a while.

Now I just have to figure out what is worse – the fact that I know everything they say in the trailer is true about anime, or the fact that I know all these facts and still watch gobs of anime.

Today Harmonix/MTV Games announced their Halloween-themed DLC pack. And by Halloween-themed, I really mean in a very-very-loosely-connected-by-means-of-slightly-spooky-artist-names kind of way.

Up for offer are three tracks from Rob ZOMBIE (omg! Zombies!), five from WOLFmother (WOLVES! aaaargh!) and . . . um, tracks from the decidedly less amusingly-titled artists Liz Phair and Morningwood. All will be available over the next week in time for your Halloween rock-outs.

Hit the jump for the details.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Oct. 27) and PlayStation 3 system (Oct. 29):

• Rob Zombie – “Burn”
• Rob Zombie – “Dragula”
• Rob Zombie – “Superbeast”
• Wolfmother – “New Moon Rising”
• Wolfmother – “Pilgrim”
• Wolfmother – “Sundial”
• Wolfmother – “White Unicorn”
• Wolfmother – “Woman”
• Liz Phair – “Rock Me”
• Morningwood – “Best of Me” *
• Morningwood – “Sugarbaby” *

Tracks from Sonic Youth and Steely Dan will also be available to download for PSP’s Rock Band Unplugged next week.