The Tech Canuck's Blog

For those users that are Canadian I will do my best to tell how this program works and hopefully we all get access to it when the update full launches.

First, it downloads like any other game, and gets stored in the game library under “Xbox 360 game” It has no achievements or add-ons. It starts off in the portal, pictures, your career milestones, an Intel option and a career option. At the bottom it shows how many friends are playing halo in some form or another (Halo 3, ODST or Halo Wars)

Pictures:  A selectable photo album of halo pictures, these can range from fan photos to in-game screen shots.

Intel: Previous photo albums will be selectable here, as are videos from the marketplace, Inside xbox stories about halo and all halo downloable content. You can even use way point to download marketplace material. It also mentions and gives a small description about all the halo books. And the full stories of all the halo games. Finally there is a ticker at the bottom that currently is showing thier twitter address: http://www.twitter.com/HaloWaypoint

Career: (note: The career milestones will not show on the main page until you have selected The career option once.) From here you can check out your career milestones, which are like halo waypoint achievements that dont count towards your overall gamerscore, they are more for fun. The same with waypoint awards, these are unlocked by earning achievements in halo games. And a list of all halo achievements. This feature is probably where waypoint shines, it gathers all data from Halo 3, ODST and Halo Wars and puts it all together in one location.

Finally as an added bonus, you can unlock avatar items thanks to waypoint.

ODST Hoodies – Earned by getting the “dark times” achievement in ODST

ODST Armor -Earned by getting the “Good Samaritan” achievement in ODST

ODST Helmet – Earned by getting the “Campaign Complete” achievement in ODST

ODST Shirts – Earned by getting the “Tourist” achievement in ODST

Waypoint Monitor (avatar prop) – Earned by loading your career in Waypoint

Recon Helmet – Earned by getting the “Vidmaster Endure” achievement in ODST

All in all Halo Waypoint is pretty neat if you are a halo fan. It’s a one stop location for any of the story and to track your progress. However if you aren’t that into halo or are a casual player then this isn’t for you.

Yesterday the first wave of people that signed up for the preview program got the update to see what will be coming to Xbox live shortly. And it brings some neat yet kind of pointless updates to the Xbox.

First upon the new update you will get new channels: Xbox Preview, Video Marketplace Beta, and Music Marketplace and My Community.

Xbox Preview – Much like the last preview program we get announcements, whats new and what we can do and Helps and tips.

Facebook on Xbox- This is one feature I was looking forward to that actually I am disappointed it. First time it asks you to download the software then to use your log in and the choice to remember your login, password and to display your box live info. Once this is done you are able to see your home page and everyone’s updates, view profiles and pictures friends have posted and your own. Update your status and check who is on Facebook that also has Xbox live and vise versa (if they are also in the program and have used Facebook for Xbox live) The biggest problem is Facebook is so expansive that it feels like a very stripped down version of the website. You can view pictures but you cant play all the countless Facebook games, watch videos or even click links people have posted. Making it something you may use once and awhile but probably avoid. Once games take advantage of this add-on and allow for screen-shot uploads and information sharing it might seem more beneficial.

Twitter on Xbox – I actually find twitter more beneficial than Facebook. Twitter is kept to be simple where as Facebook is more complex. You can update your status and see tweets from everyone you are following on the main page. Scroll though the latest tweets, and update your status. You can also click a tweet and reply, re-tweet, view profiles and favor tweets. If you click on someone’s profile you can also send direct messages, were as on my twitter I was only able to message people that were following me that I was also following. It also is much more simplified and easier to use on the Xbox, you see the tweets and respond. Post your own tweets and dont need to worry about # or @ symbols you just grasp it, even if you are a newb to twitter like myself.

Zune Marketplace – Very similar to the itunes marketplace, it is completely replacing the existing marketplace and this is good and bad. First the good, all movies that were put on the xbox marketplace are available on the zune (or will be momentarily). Much like Facebook, you are asked to get a new download and then taken into the service. What makes this beneficial, especially for us Canadians? We finally get television shows to download and keep. Right now its small, but will expand. The only networks we have access to are MTV, Spike and WB. The shows range from Beavis and Butt-Head, Jackass, TNA, The Hills, and Who is the Deadliest Warrior. Independent videos offers Wb Videos (like The Guild) and GamerTV. The other exciting features of this service are Party and Sharing information. Now if you are watching a movie or television show you can choose to share with your friends what you are watching not just “gamertag is watching a video” You also can make a party and everyone with the update can watch what you are watching! The downside now is, any exisiting videos you have are integrated with the zune service, and it needs to boot up for you to watch what you have downloaded. Then they need to load, so getting to your existing content is a slower process. It now sorts them by Movies, TV and Games videos. It also sorts them my title and labels how many episodes there are. This makes the update worth it, and I am excited to see what they will do with the Zune marketplace.

And finally the Music Marketplace, which bunches all music games in one spot and will eventually have music videos and other music documentation. Currently its not up but it will the one stop shop to get tracks for rock band, Guitar Hero and Lips. Currently it also has Imagine by John Lennon for rent.

Besides this Last.fm will be coming (for Canadians as well I believe) Xbox live news (for US members only). And next week Major Nelson has promised all selected for the preview program will get access to Halo Waypoint. More on that when it develops.

It seems as if  neversoft has lost thier minds with how many new hero games are coming before the end of the year. Guitar Hero 5 is out now, DJ hero is on the horizion and now Band Hero is also slated to be released. Recently on the xbox live marketplace the demo for Band Hero is out and I got a chance to try it:

The game feels like a stripped down version of Guitar Hero 5, it offers the same jump in / jump out play mechanic and easy to do hammer-ons. Besides this you can enter a karioke mode that isn’t for score its just for fun. Unfortunatly it feels like a beginners game for people wanting to try the instrumental game genre. And for someone that has loved Rock Band since it came out, it doesn’t feel geared towards someone like me at all.

That being said it IS a pop type rock game and most pop songs won’t appeal to me. Here is the roster:

• The Airborne Toxic Event – “Gasoline”
• The All-American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret”
• Alphabeat – “Fascination”
• Aly and AJ – “Like Whoa”
• Big Country – “In a Big Country”
• The Bravery – “Believe”
• Carl Douglas – “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Cheap Trick – “I Want You To Want Me” (Live)
• Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up To Dry”
• Counting Crows – “Angels of the Silences”
• Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down”
• David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
• Devo – “Whip It”
• Don Mclean – “American Pie”
• Duran Duran – “Rio”
• Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life”
• Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down”
• The Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed”
• Hilary Duff – “So Yesterday”
• Jesse McCartney – “Beautiful Soul”
• Jackson 5 – “ABC”
• Janet Jackson – “Black Cat”
• Katrina and The Waves – “Walking on Sunshine”
• The Kooks – “Naïve”
• Lily Allen – “Take What You Take”
• Maroon 5 – “She Will Be Loved”
• Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
• Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Impression That I Get”
• No Doubt – “Just A Girl”
• OK Go – “A Million Ways”
• Pat Benatar – “Love Is A Battlefield”
• Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue – “Kids”
• Roy Orbison – “Oh Pretty Woman”
• Snow Patrol – “Take Back the City”
• Styx – “Mr. Roboto”
• Taylor Swift – “Love Story”
• Taylor Swift – “Picture to Burn”
• Taylor Swift – “You Belong With Me”
• Tonic – “If You Could Only See”
• Village People – “YMCA”
• Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue”

So of course if none of these songs don’t appeal to you then the game won’t matter. The other selling point is that you can play as Taylor Swift and Adam Levine (of maroon 5) but once again if you dont care about these artists then the game isn;t going to appeal to you.

I personally feel this game would have been a better choice if Guitar Hero had stayed just focused on guitars and allowed for guitar heavy songs that rock band couldnt have gotten. Then band hero might have seemed cooler. Even allowing these songs and people as extras for Guitar Hero 5.. but as it stands right now, the game doesnt appeal to me what-so-ever.

Even more of a depressing fact? Band Hero will come bundled with the improved drum set that Wii owners got with Guitar Hero 5. 360 and PS3 owners only got the GH:WT drumset bundled.

On a final note, if you are intimidated by the band games and want an easy way to get into them, this might be for you. The karioke idea is pretty neat but seems more like a gimmick than a feature.