I have just downloaded and played Tales of Vesperia, a new game from Namco Bandai in the Tales series. (The demo isn't out in america yet!) I must say that they are doing an amazing job on the game, although I would've liked to see at least 1 anime cutscene. I also would've liked to see a Settings menu, the A and B buttons switch during batttle (A-Artes, B-Normal attack), and the abliity to free run without holding down LT. Other than that, I think it's great!

Here is the intro to the game from that Microsoft RPG event in Japan. Of course I used the english version of the song.

And the intro with the original japanese version...

Here is my playthrough of the demo:

I can't wait, and I've already pre-ordered it! The Gamestop employee screwed up really bad and thought I was pre-ordering that other 360 game that has the word "Tale" in it....(unrelated to the Tales series, of course)

Well, here's good news: After like 3 months of saving money, this week saw a CC sale for Rock Band PS2, which is $139 ($149 for 360, which is what I got, as well as PS3). I actually used price match at Best Buy (since my Best Buy gift cards contributed to the purchase).

The construction took like 30 minutes, with the longest part being when I had to find a place to plug in that USB hub to an outlet. The drums were difficult to assemble at first, but I figured it out (specifically with the placement of those bars). For the guitar, it was a snap. (I already knew how to put it together since I currently own GHIII - which means I could use my Les Paul if I want to.) You know that screw at the bottom of the Stratocaster? (the Rock Band guitar) I twisted it for like 5 minutes, and then I finally figure out that unlike that other screw, the strap slips right on.

Anyway, once I finished setting up, I downloaded the update. From there, I downloaded Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects (which I've been playing/listening to on my Zune a lot) as well as Still Alive (that free one from Portal). About 40 minutes ago, I actually got 98% 5-star vocal on DLS. (Is there an achievement for 100%?)

The drums are hard, even on medium. I simply can't get used to that bass pedal. (But I will one day.)

And as for the guitar, well, I've played GH, so it's like that. (Though, why can't you tilt it to activate Overdrive?)

Feel free to comment below.

[UPDATE] I've found out that yes, there are 100% (Expert) achievements for each instrument, but for bass, it's only up strums. For drums, I've found that the easiest song for this is the one that appears at the top of Quickplay (the one with no bass pedals (damn thing wears my foot out anyway) but I forgot the name)

This is my 1st AMV. It is based on the Tales series. Sorry for having that Gamespot thing on the bottom of some clips.