The podcast is getting older, slower and it's voice gives out several times for the first half, but the Level 3 podcast is still standing tall, ready to be delivered straight to your dome.

Featuring your host Darth_Homer from inside a library, and myself on location at The elektrixxx Estate we overcome the odds and wind up with another podcast you can almost be proud of!

We try our best to converse about what we've been playing, a Capcom film, a Stranglehold film, Sing Hero, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, a Professor Layton trilogy, THE CHAMP: John Cena and more!


Download one unit and inject into each ear as soon as possible:
http://www.archive.org/download/Level3Podcast-Episode40/Podcast40.mp3























This fine game passed the time in between breaks



The Odd Couple is back, complete with the theme song!

elektrixxx.

The first of two important packages I'm expecting had arrived in the mail.
























I received my replacement Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit. I had heard of this happening in forums and was glad the same had happened to me. The box came back with more than the drums I sent back. Extras included cymbals, microphone, drum sticks, bass pedal and drum stand. It's great that they didn't take that stuff out, however there were some noticeable visible differences between what I received and what I had originally bought at retail.

If you've just recently purchased Guitar Hero: World Tour you may not even have known, but if you purchased the full bundle at launch you will see for yourself what the current sets look like right now with the following images. The hardware on the left is my hardware from launch and on the right is the brand new stuff.


























The headset jack is no longer a seamless black. It looks like they're just prying open 360 controllers now.

























The cymbals no longer have a fancy print on them. They're just smooth.

























On the underside of the cymbals, the plastic is no longer aligned with the rubber.

























There is a manufacturing template mark on the bass pedal. The bass pedal hinge itself is actually looser than the launch pedal, which makes it lean more to the left or right slightly.

























Even the printed logo on the sticks isn't as large or as sharp as previously.


I think everyone would agree, and maybe Red Octane would probably admit that this is a cost and time saving measure. It may look slightly different to the original set, but now it's much more reliable. I don't really have a problem with the changes, but if you have a launch World Tour drum kit, your set is just a little rarer.

In the end, what matters most is that this remixed drum kit is in PERFECT working order... better than perfect in fact...

























Now my drum fills are extra filling.

elektrixxx.

Okay, so my Xbox 360 finally crapped itself, and it's about damn time.

No, it wasn't the ye olde ring of death but my video output was totally tripping out before giving out entirely. Observe:







































The end was nigh, and my life with the Xbox 360 flashed before my eyes...

Playing Gears Of War in 1080p for the first time...

Buying my first XBLA title, Pac-Man Championship Edition...

Unlocking 1000G in Burnout Paradise, and 200G in Uno, which were my first retail and arcade games with all achievements unlocked...


And then... what?


IT FIXED ITSELF SOMEHOW!


I don't know why, but all of a sudden it works fine again. I had talked to "Jim" from India for nothing, because everything is rocknrolla again. I guess all's well that ends well. This experience was not aimless though; I did learn a few things. It's harder than it seems to force the Red Ring Of Death, and I learned how to remove the faceplate.

I was meant to miss the release of the Halo Wars demo and the Burnout Paradise DLC, but a 360 death at this point would still have been in good timing. My Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit is out for replacement anyway, so what better time to be without the box? Besides, the backup plan wasn't really going to cut it...

































The things we say in desperation.

elektrixxx.

On location at a bar in a back shed 20 kilometres from town, I skip breakfast and brace myself through 35 degree celsius heat for my worldwide podcast debut!

Join me and host DarthHomer in two different states in Australia for a new awesome episode of the Level 3 Podcast.

Amongst my burping throughout this week's show we chat about what we've been playing, Guitar Hero, Red Ant's closure, a Mass Effect re-release, PS3 exclusivity, Final Fantasy XIII's release date, The 1UP Network and more!

Get your podcast fill right here:
http://www.archive.org/download/Level3Podcast-Episode33/Podcast33.mp3



And I think the Guitar Hero mic worked out quite well.

elektrixxx.

Guitar Hero: World Tour. Rock Band. Drum kit supremacy is a varying opinion among Australian consumers, with their decisions being swayed by price, availability and hardware choices such as an extra drum, cymbals, drum size, and more minor discretions.

I've made my opinion and experience of the World Tour kit known within forum posts, private messages and blog comments, but I cannot keep lying any longer.


I've been keeping secrets from you all.


I'd been praising the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit since it's release, when this whole time my own kit has been riddled with problems; most of which I have never disclosed, until now. For the first time, I will give my negative experience with the drums of Guitar Hero: World Tour and now, I give you eight reasons to hate:


#1 TOC - TOC - TOC - TOC - TOC

Straight out of the box my orange cymbal was not sensitive enough. The problem would not be fixed until my MIDI cable arrived in the mail. In the mean time I had to hit orange extremely hard, which ended up giving me muscle pains from playing for too long, as well as making gameplay unpleasant to listen to.


#2 Problem Getting It Up

I don't lift the cymbal height at all. If I move them any higher than the lowest it makes too much of a rattling noise when you hit it. Again, another issue from a brand new kit.


#3 Unwired For Sound

On one drunken pre New Years Eve party some mistakes were made which led to the wire for orange being ripped apart.

I couldn't send my kit off at the time because I needed it for New Year's Eve, which was in-between two other important parties. My only option was to solder new wire on it myself.

It works fine now; looks ugly though!


#4 Velcro Independence

After an extended gaming session I proceeded to pack up my drum kit. When I lifted the pedal off the floor, the Velcro didn't co-operate! The Velcro had ripped right off the bottom of the pedal, and after just sticking it back on a couple of times I wound up using super glue to fix the problem.


#5 The Kangaroo Pedal

I didn't have the problem at my house with a moving bass pedal because the rug that I sit my kit on sticks with the Velcro very well, but at my friend's house the pedal was in a new location after every track. Eventually we set up a rug just so that we could play drums properly at his house.


#6 Crashed Cymbal

Eventually my Yellow cymbal began having issues and MIDI cable tuning couldn't fix the oversensitivity of the cymbal. It registered a hit when the orange was struck, and requires a sensitivity tune that was so low it was unreliable for gameplay.

I had to get it replaced.


#7 Pain In The bAss

If you hit the bass pedal too hard (and maybe even if you don't) the plastic cover that the pedal touches splits and lifts up. It makes a clicking noise from the plastic, and eventually you have no choice but to peel it off.

Peeling the plastic off can also bring a sensitivity issue from the glue. It would register a second hit when you lifted the pedal up.


#8 Self-Uncovering

And finally, the plastic outside which houses the buttons and battery compartment is loose on one side. It may be contributing to further rattling.



The thing about most of these faults was that Rock Band could still be played despite these issues. Before I fixed the orange wire I could still play Rock Band, and when I sent the yellow cymbal away for replacement I put the orange in it's place and could continue playing. Most sensitivity problems that plagued Guitar Hero were non-issues in Rock Band.

But you know what, even after all this, I would STILL get the World Tour kit if I were to purchase it now. I cannot deny that I prefer the bigger pads, cymbal pads, bass pedal that's free to placed where I want, quieter pads and the fact that it's not from a 2007 game. What I remind myself regarding the Rock Band drum kit is that the drum noise, drum size, lack of sensitivity detection and being less one drum for an untrue Guitar Hero experience cannot be repaired of replaced.



Take full advantage of your warranty, before it's too late.

elektrixxx.