In a possible first, fans of the game and the band will be able to catch KISS on their Facebook page next week on November 25th as they perform live at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at 9pm PST.

The KISS Track Pack can be purchased on the Xbox Live Marketplace at 440 MS Points ($5.49), from the Playstation Store for $5.49, and the Wii Shop Channel for 550 Wii Points ($5.49). Each song can be purchased individually on each system for either 160 MS Points, $1.99 on Playstation 3, or for 200 Wii Points.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 24) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 26):

· Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed” *
· Kelly Clarkson – “Miss Independent” *
· P!nk – “Who Knew” *
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “A Thing About You (live)” *
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Even the Losers (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Here Comes My Girl (live)” *
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Mary Jane’s Last Dance (live)”
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Refugee (live)” *

(All tracks are original master recordings)

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology Pack 01” as well as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, and as individual tracks on Wii. Tracks marked with a “*” are also available in the family-friendly LEGO Rock Band Music Store.

Price: $1.99 USD (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$9.99 (800 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology Pack 01”
$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track

Rock Band DLC Additions for Wii in Europe

Rock Band 2 for the Wii was released Oct. 9 in Europe. Featuring over 100 songs (The Rock Band 2 game disc features 84 tracks. In addition, players have access to an additional 20 free DLC tracks. Online connection required.), Rock Band 2 showcases an extensive music catalogue with an eclectic blend of classic and new artists. The Rock Band library for Wii in Europe is being updated regularly with back-catalog tracks. For a complete list of tracks available now, visit http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3247220#post3247220.

To enter into this exciting and riveting sweepstakes, visit http://www.bandhero.com/MeetTaylorSwift. You will need the code from the back of your Band Hero instruction manual.

In the end though gamers will have to settle the feud of who’s best by going out there and buying the game, which released today. And to coincide with the release of the game you can enter a sweepstakes to possibly win a HDTV or a Vancouver 2010 messenger bag.

EA is having a big day today, with 3 major releases in Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC), Need for Speed Nitro (Wii), and Lego Rock Band (Xb360, PS3, Wii, DS). Dragon Age: Origins is an epic Fantasy-RPG with diverse choices and quests. One interesting “hook” of the game is that players’ starting positions in the story and location in-game will be based on their character design choices. The game is developed by BioWare (Mass Effect, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic), a company that has built a very respectable reputation for aiming for ambitious targets in their games and hitting them. Need for Speed: Nitro is a Wii-exclusive racing game where players can race at various locations around the globe. This is the first Need for Speed title in recent years for Wii developed by EA Montreal. Fans of the series have considered the past few iterations to be less than stellar, and look for EA Montreal to output a better version this year. After seeing Need for Speed: Shift’s innovative new approach and success, hopefully Nitro will carry the torch just as well. Following up on the Rock Band centering on The Beatles from September EA is today releasing Lego Rock Band, a title intended for younger gamers. Lego Rock Band’s music library includes E-rated pop songs from Elton John, The White Stripes, and Bon Jovi.

The other big music game hitting stores today is Activision’s Band Hero (Xb360, PS3, Wii) which is seen as LEGO Rock Band’s direct competition. Band Hero also features a pop-heavy library with songs from Taylor Swift, No Doubt, and 3 Doors Down.

Another title which may or may not be considered a “new” release is the Star War Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition (Xb360, PS3, PC) from LucasArts, which includes two extra missions from the Original Trilogy set in Tatooine and Hoth and retails for $39.99. Additionally, PSP owners will also be able to experience the Star Wars universe today in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron.

Dirt 2 for PC is coming out today, a few weeks after the consoles versions. The reason for this is that Codemasters took time to develop the game for Windows 7 and DirectX 11.

Official rules and details of the promotion can be found at http://kfc200games.prizelogic.com.

The track pack is available on Xbox Live for 440 Microsoft Points, on the Playstation Store for $5.49, and the Wii Shop Channel for 550 Wii Points. Individual songs are available for 160 MS Points, on PS3 for $1.99, and on Wii for 200 Wii Points.

Who is Warren Spector?

Warren Spector is a designer whose credits include Deus Ex and the sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Thief: The Dark Project, System Shock, Ultima Underworld I and II, Wing Commander and many others. His industry experience spans work with many companies, including Origin Systems, Looking Glass Studios, helming the Austin, Texas branch of John Romero’s ill-fated Ion Storm, and now Junction Point.

After founding the studio in 2005, Spector mentioned working on a game that used Valve’s Source engine and would be released Steam. Job advertisements for the company called for artists to work on a game that included “classic Hollywood cartoons” with “cartoon mice, cats and wabbits.” In 2007, Disney Interactive acquired Junction Point, fueling the rumors that the studio was in fact building a game associated with Disney. The following release of the above concept art all but confirmed them. Finally, last month, Game Informer revealed they would be unveiling and confirming the existence of a game from Junction Point named “Epic Mickey.”

The Plot

The story of the game is this: the sorcerer Yen Sid (seen in Fantasia) created a pen-and-paper world many years ago for forgotten Disney characters. The world can only be accessed through a mirror, and Mickey being Mickey, trips through it and spills paint thinner on the world. Naturally, the world was affected for the worse by this, but Mickey gets out before Yen Sid discovers him. Disney-philes may know of a classic character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who will be Mickey’s enemy in the game. After a turn of events where the Phantom Blot (seen below) kidnaps and sends Mickey back into the world, Oswald formulates a plan to destroy the mouse. To add to his troubles another classic Disney character, The Mad Doctor, works with the Blot and creates robotic versions of Mickey’s friends to confuse and intimidate him. Oswald, who is jealous of Mickey’s success and popularity, has The Mad Doctor make him friends that look like Donald Duck and Goofy. Mickey’s mission is to save the world by stopping the Phantom Blot and gaining the trust of Oswald.

To fit with the game’s orientation towards those that do not normally play video games, Epic Mickey will be a Nintendo Wii exclusive. Interestingly, Spector and Disney originally intended the game to be a Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 title with a more sinister bent, but realized that a game based on Mickey Mouse would be a more natural fit for the Wii.

Disney Interactive and Junction Point have not yet announced a release date, but given the progress shown so far, expect to see it in stores next year.

When considering how many copies of Guitar Hero have been sold during the life of the franchise, 1 million seems like a paltry number. Activision has moved 38 million copies within the franchise, with 7 million alone sold this year. However, no other game or game franchise can claim to have 1 million certain fans.

A large part of the appeal of Guitar Hero’s Facebook page is the amount of GH content that people can access while logged into the social networking platform. The page includes the latest information on the Guitar Hero games, fan stories about their Guitar Hero experiences, as well as exclusive info on past, current, and future games.

Rob Zombie is bringing 2 tracks from his debut solo album Hellbilly Deluxe (”Dragula,” “Superbeast”) and one from his newest album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (”Burn”). Good luck on the vocals there, gamers. Wolfmother will be howling in 5 tracks with “New Moon Rising,” “Pilgrim,” “Sundial,” “White Unicorn,” and “Woman.” Outside of the Halloween festivities is Liz Phair’s “Rock Me” and Morningwood’s “Sugarbaby” and “Best of Me.” Rounding out the group are two Rock Band Unplugged Tracks, Sonic Youth’s “Kool Thing” and Steely Dan’s “My Old School,” set for a October 29th release.

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Rob Zombie Pack 01,” “Wolfmother Pack 01” and as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks on Wii.

Pricing: $1.99 USD (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

$5.49 (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Rob Zombie Pack 01”

$8.49 (680 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Wolfmother Pack 01”

$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track

$1.99 per track on the PSP system