So I think I might have finally recovered from those sleepless nights of editing for “i am error.” Now all I have left to tackle in the spring quarter from hell is this hefty 10 page paper on the education experiences of Japanese and Korean immigrants in Chicago…

Sounds fun, I know.

Speaking of never ending battles, some new Guitar Hero III videos popped up featuring the new multiplayer “battle mode.” It’s like the pro face-off mode on some Barry Bonds steroids and Whitney Houston drugs- seriously, this mode is that messed up. Everybody’s beloved Star Power is replaced by some power-ups that are designed to really irritate your opponent:

Broken String: When an opponent breaks one of your strings, that button on the guitar controller won’t work until you fix it. To do so you’ll have to rapidly tap that “string” until it is repaired.

Difficulty Up: This one won’t appear if both players have the difficulty set to expert. If you’re playing on hard or lower and this gets sent your way, then you’ll find yourself playing up a difficulty level for a brief period of time.

Amp Overload: This attack causes the scrolling fret board on screen to shake and blur, making it extremely difficult to read which notes are approaching.

Whammy Bar: If you get attacked with this bad boy, you’ll have to get your whammy bar moving and fast before you can play notes again.

Steal Power: This one is self-explanatory. Use it to steal an attack from your opponent before they can use it. If they don’t have one to steal and you activate this power, you’ll lose it.

Double Notes: Make your opponent double up on how many notes they have to play for a short period of time: Devastating in the midst of a crazy solo.

Lefty Flip: The attack to end all attacks. Putting lefty flip on your opponent forces them to either transcribe the music or actually flip their guitar over and play left handed. Used at the right moment, it can not be stopped.

Living Colour- “Cult of Personality”

Hit the jump for my random thoughts and another video. Hell, I’ll even throw in a bonus for everybody if you jump on over. Do it!

Tenacious D- “The Metal”

Kudos to Neversoft for trying something new in an attempt to keep this goldmine fresh, but this probably won’t be my mode of choice. I like to keep my Guitar Hero experience pure and unadulterated, especially when it comes to multiplayer mode. Besides, I practically used to play battle mode back in the day when my roommate insisted on shouting as loud as he could in order to disrupt my awesomeness. When that didn’t work, he would occasionally try to physically mess with my guitar in some way (and this was all in solo mode!). I hope he reads this also, because that totally wasn’t cool.

On another note- I’m pretty sure the Left Flip combo can easily be overcome by playing off of your opponent’s screen (assuming you both play on expert, which you should). So much for the “attack to end all attacks.”

Either way, I’m starting to get that “oh baby, another Guitar Hero game this fall!” feeling again. I’m really digging the master tracks from the original artists (both videos are master tracks). I just hope the Queens of the Stone Age track will be announced soon. Speaking of which, a full preview of the new album has been posted on their official site. I dig it, but then again, Josh Homme could probably record an entire album consisting of just him reading Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” with a tambourine in the background and I would probably love it.

One last closing note: I apologize for a lack of banner in this post (although it could be argued that a video post doesn’t need a banner, but I wanted to make one anyways!). I am still recovering from the great Powerbook hard drive crash of last week as I continue to try to get all my old programs and settings back to normal. I miss you, Photoshop.

IGN [via thebbps]