Rock Band

[Thrashdragon]

It was confirmed at Leipzig that Rock Band will be available on the PS2 (in addition to the PS3 and the 360), and more tracks were released. Current list of all known tracks:

1960s
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones

1970s
"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who
"Mississippi Queen" by Mountain (non-original recording)
"Suffragette City" by David Bowie
"Paranoid" by Black Sabbath (non-original recording)
"Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue ?yster Cult
"Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones
"Highway Star" by Deep Purple

1980s
"Tom Sawyer" by Rush (non-original recording)
"Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash
"Epic" by Faith No More

1990s
"Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters
"Enter Sandman" by Metallica
"In Bloom" by Nirvana
"Vasoline" by Stone Temple Pilots
"Say It Ain't So" by Weezer
"Cherub Rock" by Smashing Pumpkins
"Creep" by Radiohead
"Sabotage" by Beastie Boys

2000s
"Main Offender" by The Hives
"Go With the Flow" by Queens of the Stone Age
"Reptilia" by The Strokes
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet
"Here It Goes Again" by OK Go
"The Hand That Feeds" by Nine Inch Nails

[Rovey Wade]

As I'm sure you know Thrash, I'm a bit of a GH fanboy.

But I'll definitely be getting this game over GH III.

[Thrashdragon]

Joytiq hands-on posted this morning:

In 1999, Konami of Japan unleashed DrumMania on Japanese arcades and with it, the ability to link the machine together with GuitarFreaks for session play. This was considered a novel idea at the time, though it wasn't the most affordable setup. The following year, they released a home version of DrumMania, complete with the appropriate controller. That is, of course, if you had no intentions of playing the game with any sort of accuracy.

Jump to the present day and not only has Harmonix solved the problem of session play, but they've also produced a drumming peripheral that challenges the quality of Konami's original arcade beast.

Sticks in hand, we sat down behind Harmonix's latest kit, flipped the difficulty to hard and proceeded to lay in like few others have before. If there is any doubt as to the mastery of rhythm wielded by Harmonix, Rock Band surely squashes it.

The most important aspect of drumming (aside from, you know, coordination) is how you handle your sticks. The trick to it is to have an extremely loose grip and let the impact do all the work for you. That said, the rubber material of Rock Band's drum set feels absolutely perfect for proper play. Obviously, a real drum kit provides much greater feedback, but compared to what we've seen in the arcades with DrumMania, it's of equal, if not superior quality.

Also of exceptional quality is the kick pedal, which comes fully loaded with proper resistance and a nifty sliding feature to accommodate both left and right footed players. Harmonix intends for players to lay into the kick pedal the same way you would the real thing by resting your foot down naturally and tapping out the beats. This works brilliantly, though if you're not used to it, you may start to feel fatigue in your ankle sooner than anticipated. That sounds like a negative, but really, we wouldn't have it any other way.

Rock Band, as we all know, isn't just about the jerk in the back of the stage. The guitar has also received a major face lift and one that isn't so much cosmetic as it is a technical improvement. The frets are no longer separated from one another and feel much less like buttons as they do actual strings. While the buttons do feel mushy, this drastic change makes sense once the legendary solos of Expert mode come into play. The Guitar Hero series has always been known for its fanciful finger magic, but the Rock Band controller makes these impossible feats come more naturally. The controller also features five extra fret buttons located towards the bottom of the neck which are used exclusively during solos, though we didn't get to a chance to work those out.

After playing well over a dozen songs in our four player session, it became obvious that the vocalist was the glue that held it all together. One aspect of the karaoke that we've been curious about was whether or not it was possible to play both an instrument and carry the vocals at the same time. It may not be an official option, but if you know a song by heart (and have a mic stand or very caring friend to act as one) then there isn't anything stopping you from being the ultimate Bemani nerd.

Some may argue that Rock Band, with it's elaborate controllers and four-person role play, is taking the video game music thing too far; that at this point, if you're shelling out the cash (an amount which has yet to be determined) to invest in all this gear, you might as well start a real band. If there's a valid point anywhere in that argument, we don't really care to see it as Rock Band has already cemented itself as one of the greatest party games of all time. Should you only pick up one guitar wielding title this holiday season, regardless of entry fee, this is it.

No Moore's were pulled during our time with Rock Band.

I will probably be getting GHIII as well, just because it comes out first and I'm jonesing for something new. And because I have no self-control. :D

[Thrashdragon]

Kotaku has several videos and an in-depth review on their site:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/making-ears-bleed/rock-out-band-292995.php

[Rovey Wade]

Thrash, surely you and I can't be the only ones interested in RockBand.

:?

[Thrashdragon]

Thrash, surely you and I can't be the only ones interested in RockBand.

:?

Probably the only diehard nuts about it. :D :jam:

[Brinn]

wooOoooOoooo yea rock band!

All my friends are obsessed with GH so I'm sure they'll pick it up. I'm a casual follower.

[Rovey Wade]

wooOoooOoooo yea rock band!


That's more like it.
:D

[Thrashdragon]

Grateful Dead confirmed as DLC for Rock Band:

NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks within Viacom , and Rhino Entertainment, a division of Warner Music Group , announced a deal that will bring the legendary band Grateful Dead to the highly anticipated music videogame Rock Band. The iconic group is making 18 master recordings from its diverse catalog available as digitally distributed game levels following Rock Band's release this holiday season. Among the songs available will be the classic Dead tracks "Truckin'," "Uncle John's Band," "Touch of Grey," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Casey Jones."

"Grateful Dead's unique fusion of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, and jazz challenged traditional musical boundaries and pushed the limits of creativity to produce a signature sound that is undeniably their own," stated Paul DeGooyer, MTV's Senior Vice President of Audio, Home Video and Electronic Games. "With an enormous legion of fans all over the world, Rock Band will give players a chance to interact with the music of these beloved rock pioneers and experience what Grateful Dead did best - jam from the depths of their souls."

Distributed by Electronic Arts , Rock Band is an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. The game challenges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune - all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Built on an unprecedented partnership with artists, record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span the full range of rock music and include original master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time.

"Grateful Dead, with their 30-year career and their timeless music, are the perfect addition to Rock Band," says Mark Pinkus, Rhino's Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Custom Product & Sync Licensing. "It's going to be a blast playing along to songs ranging from the Dead's earliest hit 'Truckin'' to their final hit 'Touch of Grey.' I'm confident that Rock Band will be instrumental in introducing kids to the magical music of Grateful Dead."

Grateful Dead's journey ignited in San Francisco's Haight and Ashbury district during the psychedelic '60s. The band, well known for constantly touring, continued to spread their message of peace and love for another three decades with a devoted community of fans known as Dead Heads, many of whom traveled the country with them. Earlier this year, the Recording Academy awarded Grateful Dead a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for its contribution to the evolution of rock music.

Grateful Dead is the latest artist to join the vast musical downloadable multi-track master offerings of Rock Band, joining the list of epic artists such as Metallica and The Who's iconic Who's Next album, the first full album scheduled for downloadable content, in addition to the dozens of on-disc tracks spanning every genre of rock from alternative to classic to heavy metal.

[Thrashdragon]

Three new songs announced, and a trailer at Gametrailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24685.html?r=1&type=wmv):

Week by week, MTV, Electronic Arts and Harmonix have revealed bits of Rock Band's track list, and 1UP's happy to pass along three new additions:

Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" [master track]
Red Hot Chilli Pepper's "Dani California" [master track]
KISS' "Detroit Rock City" [master track]

This joins the previously announced songs, which include...

Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper" (Master)
The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again" (Master)
David Bowie "Suffragette City" (Master)
Black Sabbath "Paranoid" (Cover)
The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop" (Master)
Mountain "Mississippi Queen" (Cover)
Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Master)
Rush "Tom Sawyer" (Cover)
Nirvana "In Bloom" (Master)
Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline" (Master)
Weezer "Say It Ain't So" (Master)
The Hives "Main Offender" (Master)
The Strokes "Reptilla" (Master)
Queens of the Stone Age "Go with the Flow" (Master)
Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly" (Master)
Metallica "Enter Sandman" (Master)
Deep Purple "Highway Star" (Master)
Faith No More "Epic" (Master)
Jet "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (Master)
OK Go! "Here It Goes Again (Master)
Radiohead "Creep" (Master)
Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" (Master)
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go" (Master)
Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" (Master)
Beastie Boys "Sabotage" (Master)
Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds" (Master)
Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid" (Master)
The Pixies "Wave of Mutilation" (Master)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps" (Master)
Hole "Celebrity Skin" (Master)

November can't come soon enough.

[dirtyoldgoat]

Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Master)

LAWL.

'Nuff said.

[Thrashdragon]

Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Master)

LAWL.

'Nuff said.

After a few beers I foresee many living rooms filled with people screaming, "WAAAA-AANNTTTEEE-EEE-EEEDDD"

:D

[dirtyoldgoat]

After a few beers I foresee many living rooms filled with people screaming, "WAAAA-AANNTTTEEE-EEE-EEEDDD"

That was exactly the thought I had in my head...