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Starting today at the Battlefield: Bad Company website players worldwide can vote to determine which two single player levels will be turned into unique maps for the multiplayer Conquest mode. This vote gives players the chance to revisit popular locations from the single player campaign, such as the golf course in Par For the Course, now in an intense multiplayer match. The two maps with the most votes by Tuesday, September 2nd will win.

Related: Battlefield: Bad Company website

Tags: Battlefield Bad Company, Battlefield, Bad Company

YouTube Tomb Raider Underworld Video

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Eidos Interactive presents a tantalising taster of Tomb Raider: Underworld’s stunning Thailand setting in which Lara shows off a beautifully smooth repertoire of moves against an evocative and atmospheric backdrop.

Related: Tomb Raider Underworld playtest impressions, Tomb Raider Underworld announced

Tags: Tomb Raider Underworld, Trailer, Tomb Raider Underworld video, Tomb Raider video

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Last night I attended the Samba De Amigo party in a Mexican venue in Old Street, London. We got to see the game in action and have a few free drinks courtesy of Sega.

The game has over 40 Samba-inspired songs and will probably have you accidentally knocking precious vases off shelves as you swing your nunchuck and remote to the beat of the music, strike poses and showboat. Your Mii can also join in the fun and you can play solo, co-op and view online leaderboards to see how well you shake against others round the world. The Samba De Amigo party release date is mid September.

And I wasn’t even drunk! First person to send these to me as an animated gif wins a prize.

Mammy, Mammy! -Sonic shows us his Jazz Hands

There’s nothing normal about an ant in a bikini and a cactus with maracas.

Looks like a mad Beatles trip.

Related: Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise, Wii Music

Tags: Samba De Amigo, party, Samba, Wii, Mii

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Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced its first European Metal Gear Online Championship, with entrants competing to win a luxury trip to Tokyo – home of series creator, Kojima Productions! Entry is open to players over 18 from all PAL territories, and entrants are invited to visit their site to register to play. The first competition will be held on August 15th.

Konami is planning to host four preliminary tournaments per week – each preliminary tournament will feature six players per team, with one back-up member, and will span 16 games of 16 teams competing within the ‘Team Deathmatch: Direct Elimination’ mode and with the maps changing each game. Each match will comprise one round of 15 minutes and the best two teams from each preliminary Tournament will advance to one of two European Final Tournaments.

The two European Final Tournaments featuring teams who win their preliminary rounds will be played in September, with 16 teams each competing for the main prize of a trip to Tokyo between 9th-13th of October where they will be entered for the Grand World Finals at this year’s Tokyo Game Show where further prizes await the successful teams!

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Related: Konami registration, Metal Gear Online review

Tags: Metal Gear Online, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear

We’ve had an email from someone who wants to know if it’s possible to use a Guitar Hero guitar with Rock Band for the Wii. The bad news is that you can’t, which is a shame because we know you can with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. There have been a number of third party Wii guitar controllers released so we thought we’d compare each instrument and draw up this Wii instrument compatibility matrix which lists each Wii instrument and which titles they are compatible with:-

CONTROLLER AND PRICE		COMPATIBLE TITLES
		Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	Guitar Hero Aerosmith	Rock Band	Rock Band 2	Guitar Hero World Tour	Guitar Hero Metallica	Guitar Hero Smash Hits
Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul	$59.99	Yes	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar	$59.99	Yes	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rock Band Guitar	$59.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Rock Band 2 Guitar	$52.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
ezJam Wireless Guitar	$69.99	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wii Shred Ax Guitar	$25.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Frontman Wireless Guitar	$36.95	Yes	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-
Rock Thunder Guitar	$50.00	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gene Simmons Axe Guitar	$66.96	Yes	-	-	Yes	-	-	-
Wii Rock Icon Guitar	$39.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dazzle Wireless Guitar Hero Controller	$39.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Intec Universal Wireless Guitar	$69.99	Yes	-	Yes	-	-	-	-
Wii Guitar Evolution Wireless Guitar	$49.99	Yes	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Xtreme Wireless Guitar Controller	$47.99	Yes	-	-	-	-	-	-
Guitar Hero World Tour Drums	$79.99	-	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rock Band Drums	$99.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-
Rock Band 2 Drums	$89.99	-	-	Yes	Yes	-	-	-

Recommended Guitar Controller

If cross-compatibility is critical then the most suitable 3rd party controller we’ve looked at is the $69.99 ezJam Wireless Guitar which works across the board with all titles. Although build quality isn’t up the same standard as the official controllers it isn’t let down by features – strum, tremolo and whammy bars are all covered along with a tilt sensor to take advantage of features found in later versions of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. If you are after something less ‘Nintendo white’ and a little more ‘rock’ with the same compatibility as the ezJam then the glam styled Rock Thunder might be more suitable with a quieter strumming action than the ezJam.

Runner up

If it wasn’t for lack of compatibility with the original Rock Band for the Wii we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the $59.99 Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar as the axe of choice – these guitars are exceptionally well built compared to every other guitar controller we’ve played and guaranteed to work with all Guitar Hero titles along with Rock Band 2. If you have your heart set on playing tracks from the original Rock Band with there is a workaround. Using the $29.99 Rock Band 2 you can transfer the 55 songs from the original Rock Band disc over to a suitably sized Wii compatible SD card. You’ll then be able to use Rock Band 2 to play your mega library of tracks from the original Rock Band, Rock Band 2 plus any of the 800+ downloadable songs you may have acquired along the way. We’re hoping that Harmonix will implement a similar export key system for transferring tracks from the forthcoming Beatles Rock Band and Lego Rock Band.

Additional accessories

Whilst researching these guitar controllers we came across a must for any serious guitar collector wanting to keep their controllers tidy in the living room – there is a $13.99 Dual Guitar Holder which doubles as a mic stand and a Triple Tree Guitar Stand which holds up to 3 guitars for $29.99.

We’ve also found a specially designed storage box for holding Rock Band accessories – once your kit is tucked up inside your visitors won’t know you are a secret plastic rocker. Amazon have shaved around 50% off so if you are in the market for some new furniture and want somewhere to hide a pair of guitars, a set of drums and a mic then have something to put your feet up on after a heavy rocking session then this is a great space saving idea.

For those of you wanting to play a Wii music game without the need for instruments then we recommend a look at Disneys multiplayer Ultimate Band which uses strumming and drumming actions on the Wiimote and Nunchuck to play – watch our review of Ultimate Band to see what you think.

Buy from Amazon.com:

• Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul – $59.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar – $59.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour Drums – $79.99
• Rock Band Guitar – $59.99
• Rock Band 2 Guitar – $52.99
• Rock Band Drums – $99.99
• Rock Band 2 Drums – $89.99
• ezJam Wireless Guitar – $69.99
• Wii Shred Ax Guitar – $25.99
• Frontman Wireless Guitar – $36.95
• Rock Thunder Guitar – $50.00
• Gene Simmons Axe Guitar – $66.96
• Wii Rock Icon Guitar – $39.99
• Dazzle Wireless Guitar Hero Controller – $39.99
• Intec Universal Wireless Guitar – $69.99
• Wii Guitar Evolution Wireless Guitar – $49.99
• Xtreme Wireless Guitar Controller – $47.99

Related Wii music articles:

• Guitar Hero 2 review
• Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock review
• Guitar Hero World Tour review
• Guitar Hero Aerosmith review
• Guitar Hero Mii support
• Rock Band review
• Rock Band 2 review
• Rock Revolution review
• Wii Christmas party games
• Samba De Amigo review

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Tags: Wii, Wii Guitar Hero controller, Rock Band

Konami has released the official soundtrack to its best-selling Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots title for the PS3. Scored by long-term Metal Gear associate and Hollywood artist, Harry Gregson-Williams, the 16-track CD features melodious, stirring tracks written for the blockbuster stealth-action title. No doubt it will take less time to listen to the soundtrack than watch the game.

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Tags: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots soundtrack, soundtrack