Wowee. Home certainly is growing, almost to the point where I start to care. I’ve not touched the application in a couple of weeks because there’s not really anything to do at the moment. Maybe it’s just a European thing.

Anyway, Sony’s just released a patch with the first “corporate partner” space included, and EA have announced their plans to bring their sports franchises to their own Home space in the near future. All the info’s waiting for you after the jump.

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The original “Rock Band” released in the States for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Nov. 20, 2007. Its much-anticipated follow-up arrived the following year. There seemed to be a disturbing trend developing. The full-band simulator appeared as if it might become an annual franchise. That type of cycle, while not necessarily bad, can transform an IP into little more than a cash cow. Fortunately, unlike sequel-happy Activision Blizzard, it appears that Harmonix isn’t going to run its IPs into the ground.

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More market casualties as the economic downturn worsens, and once again, because nobody seems to be interesting in emailing me bargains (that’s yamster [at] sarcasticgamer [dot] com) it’s the UK the Bargain Hunter is touching on again. This time, it’s multimedia store Zavvi, who have just closed a handful of stores across the country and are doing their damn best to keep the rest of them alive by announcing an “up to 50% off” sale on everything. Absolutely everything. That means CDs and the like, yes, but in this column we’re interested in the games.

According to MCV, Zavvi will cut the price of everything, from 20% off to half-price. That means you could potentially be picking up Rock Band for under £100, or grabbing a new console at an unbeatable price. What’s more, these aren’t discounts of full prices, but discounts of already-discounted prices, so everything will be extra cheap.

The sale begins tomorrow, and I’ll be hitting up Zavvi in Glasgow and Twittering great bargains as I see them. Follow my Twitter or add it to your RSS reader to get the best deals as I spot them. Best of luck, and happy bargain hunting!

When Guitar Hero was king of the console music games, the Bass player was nothing more than the 2nd player spot, and the note chart was usually pretty lame. Nobody liked playing the Bass part, and it seemed like it was really toned down so it was easier to play with a regular controller when a second guitar wasn’t available.

Now with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour on the market, the Bass part has been upgraded to be the intricate part of the band it’s meant to be. Not everyone still likes playing the Bass, and I’ve seen some rather heated arguments when the same person gets stuck playing Bass numerous times in a row while playing online, but there are a number of strange people like me out there who enjoy the groove and rhythm needed to get the most out of playing the Bass chart.

Mad Catz has the answer for us Groove Assassins in the form of a Bass Guitar made specifically for Rock Band 1 and 2. Should you buy it? Find out after the jump.

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It’s a new year, and 365 more days to get together with the SG community and play some games. Of course, we probably won’t be hosting 365 gamer nights this year, because otherwise I may go crazy doing this job, but we’ll have at least one night a week for you meet some new people and find some new enemies.

All the information after the jump.

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Covered:

• Good news, bad news
• Lesley’s Husband
• The game Lesley sucks at this week, Tomb Raider Underworld
• Boot camp suggestions
• CES
• Animal Crossing
• Peta loves Fable 2… what?
• Wii Sports outsells Mario
• Biggest Loser
• Pink play dates

Download the mp3 here.

BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO PINK’S BRAND NEW INDEPENDENT FEED. (RSS) (iTunes)

Ever wondered how it’s possible to milk a MySim? EA certainly knows how, since they’ve just announced two brand new games for the Nintendo-friendly MySims franchise and, oddly, they have nothing to do with the Sims-lite gameplay the original game offered. They’re, ugh, a party game and a ‘funky, slap-dash, *generic family friendly adjective*’ kart racer.

Why why why why why? Join me after the jump, as I try to answer this most involving of questions. And fail, probably.

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I am convinced that, in the future, all couples will have to pass a mandatory evaluation before they can produce offspring. This test will be introduced within the next decade after the U.S. government discovers that many individuals are simply too stupid to raise children or even tie their own shoes.

The Associated Press has reported that a six-year-old Virginian wrecked his family’s car while attempting to drive himself to school.   It was reported that the lad “learned to drive playing ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Monster Truck Jam’ video games.” Let’s see if he retains that scholastic enthusiasm in a decade. By the time I got to high school, I was looking for any possible excuse to keep my tail in bed. I used to pray that some freak storm would cause fire to rain down from the sky. I was never that lucky.

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Our buddy Godfree over at Gamertag Radio has just dropped in some info about GTR’s upcoming gaming party, Community Vibes IV. Marking GTR’s 4 year anniversary, CVIV will mix live music with gaming tournaments and the chance to win some ace prizes including Elite 360s, Zunes and games in all-day tournaments on Halo 3, Gears 2 and more. What’s more, SG will be guesting at the event along with SFX360 and Destructoid and others.

Entry to CVIV is free, and the event itself is on Saturday, February 21st at Club Ecco, 168 SE 1st St. Unit 1A, Miami so if you’re in the area it’s definitely worth checking out. Free entry, gaming tournaments, live music, prizes? If I weren’t on the other side of the Atlantic then I’d be marking my calendar.

Rumors abound that the SG Pink Show wants to record their first live in-person show at the event.  God help us all.

You can check out all the info and scope out the video promo over at Gamertag Radio.

It’s a bit of a sad day. 1UP as we know it will cease to exist very soon as it has been bought from Ziff Davis Media by UGO Entertainment, who have immediately set about making some changes in the staff. Mainly by laying 30 of them off. Ouch.

Hit the jump for the info on what is a pretty dark day for the world of independent gaming journalism.

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Re-read that title. This is seriously s**t-hot breaking news here, exclusive to SarcasticGamer.com as well as the GamerCast Network, pretty much every gaming site in the world, and general common sense. PETA have called Fable II the most animal-friendly game of 2008; a not-so-prestigious-but-almost-laughable award that most certainly wont be going to Cooking Mama. The thing is, as UK industry mag EDGE pointed out, Fable II isn’t actually the most animal-friendly game out there.

Silly PETA! Will you ever get anything right?

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When I’m asked what my favorite game of all time is, I usually give a top five rather than pick just one. When I’m asked what my favorite genre is however, I always respond by saying RTS without question. What can I say, I’m an army brat.

Find out what kicked off my love affair with video games, RTS titles in particular, my thoughts on their evolution and the future of the genre after the jump! [continue reading →]

Jitterbug and Nerves are recording this episode at the tail end of 2008. They decide to run through their top five games of the year in Talkingship Episode 5.

Subscribe to all of the great community shows via iTunes or RSS, or download this episode right here: mp3