I meant to post this yesterday but I had a really bad migraine and couldn’t sit at the computer.  😦  But before that happened, I was able to Tweet about the DLC’s release.

The letter was cute enough.  I liked the fall stationery being used.  I found it somewhat weird that they would be sending us DLC for Autumn when the leaves on the trees in the game haven’t changed color yet… but anyway.  Unexpected DLC is always nice, right?  WRONG!  The new US DLC is a Pile of Leaves.

I’m pretty sure this DLC is an insult in disguise.  Japan thinks we’re a bunch of ‘shmohawks’! (LOL.  That’s a word from Curb Your Enthusiasm, which has just started it’s new season!  It’s hilarious!)  There is one cute thing about the leaves, though.  You can walk on them, and when you do, it makes that nice little crunchy sound.  So technically you could fill your room with leaves and run around making crunching noises…  if that’s your thing.  😉

I guess I won’t complain that we got new DLC.  Just would have been nice if it was something a little more… exciting.  Like an entire outfit like Japan got last week.  Ahh well.  Ruby likes the あかいちゃんちゃんこ!

Don’t forget to go to the city this weekend and bid on something at the Auction House.  I forgot to display an item last week.  😦  But I have big plans for NEXT week’s display period, so be sure to check for that later on.  And of course, tomorrow is the FLEA MARKET!  So put some rare fish and bugs on display to get some major bell-age!

OH and before I go, I’d just like to say that I recently purchased Guitar Hero 5 for the Wii and it is AWESOME!  I had never played GH on the Wii before.  Previously, I had owned a few GH games for the PS2.  I have to say, the upgrade from those old PS2 games to the new GH5 is amazing!!

My Mini-Review of GH5:

The GH5 Guitar Controller

This new guitar is definitely top of the line.  It includes both a removable neck (for easy packing and transporting) and a removable face plate.  It also includes the ‘slider bar’ which allows you to play wah-wah and slide effects.

GH5 The Game

There are so many game modes I don’t even know where to begin!

Career Mode: Playing with up to four different instruments (guitar, bass, vocals and drums) advance your career as a musician or a band by completing songs and challenges.  Specific instrument-oriented challenges are shown for every song, and when they are completed you earn new customizations for your instruments, as well as new costumes and sometimes new characters.  There are a LOT of venues and with 85 songs… you’ll be working on your career for a while.

Mii Freestyle Mode: This is a really fun mode when you want to take a break.  Using any of the Mii’s saved on your system, choose a music style and just jam.  I like this mode because you can use a Wii remote and nunchuck to play ‘air drums’ if you don’t have a real GH drum set.  The air drums only work in Mii Freestyle Mode, though.  You can record and save your jam sessions, and if you have a Nintendo DS, you can use Download Play to be the ‘Stage Manager.’  This gives the DS player complete control over the camera angles, lighting, and visual effects on screen.  You can even send your saved videos to other people on your Wii friend roster!  (Though I haven’t tried that just yet… lol!)

Party Play: Perfect for parties and ‘casual players,’ you can just jump into any song, using any instrument, at any time.  If the song has already started, no biggie!  Just join the band and play whenever you want.  You can quit in the middle of a song without disrupting your band mates too.  It’s very easy to pick up and join in.

Competitive Mode: Play against your friends at home or online.  I haven’t really played this mode yet, since as of now none of my Wii roster friends have this game.  And all my searches for a random online opponent have come up empty.  I’m hoping this is because the game just came out, and will be busier as time goes by.

DS Roadie Mode: This mode REQUIRES a Nintendo DS.  It’s wacky, crazy, high-pressure fun!  If you’ve ever played “GH: On Tour” for the DS Lite, then you already know how to play this mode.  One player uses the guitar controller and plays a song as usual.  Their DS counterpart, or Roadie, is standing by to help their partner and sabotage the opponent.  Up to two guitarists and two Roadies can battle at once.  The DS mini-games are all similar to the Guitar Battles from “GH: On Tour.”  You need to blow out fires, re-connect the sound board, destroy your opponent’s speakers… and lots more!  I’m not going to spoil all the fun!  Just a tip:  communicate with your partner.  Make sure the guitarist tells the Roadie when they get sabotaged!  The DS mini-games are intense and the Roadie usually won’t have time to look up at the TV screen to see if everything’s ok.  So TALK to each other, people!

There’s also a GH Store to download new songs, and other modes that I haven’t even checked out yet.  Now, I’ve read in some less-than-stellar reviews of this game about calibrated lag and problems with the drum set.  I don’t play on an HD TV, and I don’t have the drum set so I can’t speak on those subjects.  But the game play I’ve experienced has been extremely positive and fun!  🙂