Leading drum research initiative The Clem Burke Drumming Project has announced a collaborate research project with Activision’s Guitar Hero World Tour that will examine the benefits of using the game’s drum kit controller.

The project is an unique collaboration between Blondie drummer Clem Burke, Dr. Marcus Smith and Dr. Steve Draper from the University of Chichester and Gloucestershire, respectively. Their aim is to gather information of various art forms of drumming through the application of scientific principles. Here’s where Guitar Hero comes in:

With two raised pads that represent the hi-hat and either the crash or ride cymbals, three pads which correspond to the snare and two toms and a bass-drum kick pedal, the Guitar Hero World Tour drum controller simulates an authentic drum kit.

When playing on the drum kit controller in the game on higher difficultly levels, the Clem Burke Drumming Project believes Guitar Hero World Tour will provide an opportunity to acquire the specific motor skills needed for drumming. The Clem Burke Drumming Project will investigate the transfer of skills and the physiological demands of game play compared to live drumming.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project recently launched its first wave of findings, revealing that gigging professional drummers had a heart rate profile similar to professional football players and expended a significant amount of energy (400-600 kcal per performance). Physiological tests included the measurement of heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate in rehearsal tests and monitoring heart rate and blood lactate during live stage performances.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project team will conduct a series of physiological and neurological tests using the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit controller, which will be permanently housed in the University of Gloucestershire’s newly-built dedicated drumming laboratory and at the University of Chichester.

The research will also examine the neurological changes in the game, seeing how the brain’s grey and white matters evolve during gameplay. It will also investigate the health benefits of playing the game.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

Online players try to beat each other out when they play xbox 360 tournaments for money. Try it now!

Sony’s long-running and way past its prime MMORPG EverQuest 2’s latest expansion The Shadow Odyssey is scheduled to launch worldwide today. It is the fifth expansion for the franchise and will add even more content to the game. A compilation pack for gamers is now available via retail stores and digital download for $39.99.

“The storyline of The Shadow Odyssey allows players to explore uncharted regions in the virtual world of Norrath while experiencing nostalgic areas made famous in the original EverQuest almost 10 years ago,” said Bruce Ferguson, senior producer, Sony Online Entertainment. “This expansion comes on the heels of the highest selling expansion to date, Rise of Kunark, and the incredibly successful Living Legacy program, which ran over the summer months and attracted large numbers of new and returning players who are ready for exciting new adventures.”

The add-on adds more than 20 new zones, nostalgic EverQuest dungeon themes and increases the Achievement Point level cap to 200. It also adds a new Dungeon Delving mission system and five new Heritage Quests with unique rewards. Two new deities and more have added as well.

Delivering even more awesome goods, Good Old Games is now host to titles from Epic’s classic shooter franchise Unreal.

The first titles to be available are Unreal Gold (with the Return to Napali expansion pack) and Unreal Tournament: GOTY Edition. Two more titles – Unreal 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004 – will also be made available completely DRM-free.

“Epic Games redefined the first-person shooter with the Unreal series, and we’re very happy to welcome them to the growing list of companies that share our vision of digital distribution,” said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com. “We know that a lot of gamers have been waiting for new deals, and we’re sure that the Unreal games will satisfy their lust for alien blood and intense multiplayer action… DRM-free, of course.”

Keeping in mind how downloadable content has become popular and how developers want to monetize their games further, Ubi producer Ben Mattes confirmed that “significant” DLC for single-player title Prince of Persia is in the making.

“We certainly have plans for downloadable content, [but] we can’t really say more than that right now,” said Mattes.

Thankfully, the content won’t simply be new skins or weapons, but actually something “significant” in the form of a “new story, a new experience, maybe a prequel, maybe a sequel,” according to the producer.

“We’re going to do something that really offers a lot of value for the player. In terms of when: sometime next year – I’m not sure of exactly when, it’s all still in discussion.”

The new Prince of Persia title is due out December 5 on PS3 and Xbox 360; PC is due out the following week.

To celebrate the release of the Meme expansion for Metal Gear Online on November 25, Konami sent out these nonsensical screenshots that show off one of the game’s major character in a shirtless pose and a rather content girl with one guy checking her out.

Seeing as how the arcade business is almost dead in North America, it comes as no surprise that Capcom does not plan on releasing Street Fighter IV on arcades stateside.

"At this point, it does not look like Street Fighter IV arcade machines will officially hit the U.S. arcade market," stated Chris Kramer, Capcom’s senior director of communications and community.

He also shot down the idea that the game could revitalize the arcade scene, noting that no game by itself can rejuvenate an industry which has been dead for “seven or eight years.”

Street Fighter IV is due out February 2009 on PS3 and Xbox 360, with a PC version set for release later.

This week’s update to Virtual Console is quite hefty as it sees the addition of the fourth episode of Strong Bad, as well as Space Invaders and more. Here’s the deal:

WiiWare

Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 (Telltale Games, 1 player, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Crude Humor, Mild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Move over, generically buff action heroes. Strong Bad is here to show you how it’s done in his hand-crafted cinematic masterpiece, Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective. You play Dangeresque, a dirty cop in pursuit of a little action and several big sacks of cash. Can our hero stay alive long enough to defeat his arch-nemesis, save the world and get the girl? Looks like he’s gonna have to jump.

Target Toss Pro: Bags (Incredible Technologies, 1-16 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points): Target Toss Pro: Bags is a new video game based on beanbag toss, the nation’s hottest backyard and tailgate sensation. Bags – or Cornhole, as it’s called in some parts of the country – originated in the Midwest in the 1960s and has since become a staple at outdoor social events from coast to coast. Similar to horseshoes, Bags is a deceptively simple yet extremely competitive game where players try to toss beanbags into a hole in a slightly raised platform or "box" for points. Whether at a tailgate party or a summer barbecue, the game has become a social focal point, and the unmistakable thud of bags hitting the box is now a universal party soundtrack.

Virtual Console

SPACE INVADERS: The Original Game (Super NES™, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Experience one of gaming’s iconic franchises in this perfect rendition of the arcade classic. Take aim at the field of invaders relentlessly marching toward you. Move quickly but carefully, using the barriers for protection as you avoid missiles fired by the aliens and try to destroy all of them before they reach the bottom of the screen. Further enhance the nostalgia by choosing from several modes that simulate different versions of the arcade game (such as upright cabinet or black-and-white). Or if you want to prove your superior skills to a friend, try the new VS mode and see who can stop the alien menace the quickest. All in all, it’s pure gaming at its best, now with no quarters required.

FORGOTTEN WORLDS (SEGA GENESIS, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): FORGOTTEN WORLDS is a one- or two-player side-scrolling shooter made by CAPCOM. It was one of the first games to incorporate 360-degree aiming and shooting. This SEGA GENESIS version provides the same impact and intensity of the classic arcade game. In the 29th century, without warning, warships broke through the sky, loaded with fiendish aliens. They rained down fire, bombs, missiles and napalm, leaving the land barren and inhospitable. Humanity was enslaved and Earth became known as the Forgotten World. In a hidden place, a group of brave humans raised two male children in secret. They brought up the young men as warriors, training them for battle. The two warriors emerged as armed machines of might, strength and super power – the Nameless Ones. Fight the hateful invaders as the powerful Nameless Ones. Collect Zenny to upgrade your weapons and satellite, and free the planet.