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WRUP: The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a few things: Characters featured in many, many of the video games we've been playing lately. What we'll likely be called come Monday, after staying up 'til 4AM every night this weekend playing Rock Band 3. A show premiering this Sunday, which happens to be Halloween, at 10PM on AMC. What's everyone playing?
Rock Band Weekly: The Doors, a Rush song
Okay, Rock Band 3 owners, if you haven't picked up your three free Doors songs ("Light My Fire," "Riders on the Storm," and "Touch Me,"), now would be the time. Next week, the three tracks will cost you and be added to The Doors Greatest Hits: Special Edition album pack, which will increase in price to $20. So, get those free tracks and pick up the album for $15, before you're singing the roadhouse blues for longer than you have to. Also, one lone Rush song, "Subdivisions," will be available next week. It will feature the option to add "Pro" guitar or bass to it for a buck. Break on through to the other side of this post (we're so sorry, again) to see track details.
Rock Band 3 peripherals tested as MIDI instruments
If you've elected to drop a few wads of cash on acquiring the new keyboard and Mustang guitar peripherals so you can enjoy Rock Band 3's newest features, you've secretly invested in a pair of fully functional MIDI instruments as well. Create Digital Music, a site dedicated to -- well, you can figure it out -- recently reviewed the two devices' capacity for real-life rocking; and surprisingly, they're both very capable in that regard. The Mustang guitar may not have the authenticity of real strings, but at $150, it's one of the most affordable MIDI guitars on the planet. With Synth and Strum input modes, it could have some interesting applications for those creative types. The keyboard also received high marks for its ergonomic form factor and velocity-sensitive keys. In short, it's not the best keyboard on the planet, but it can (and should) be used as an actual keytar. Why haven't you bought this yet? You're wasting everyone's time.
Unofficial Rock Band catalog search app arrives on iPhone
Here's a hypothetical situation you or someone you know has probably experienced at some point in your life: You and a friend are out at a restaurant or bar, and Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" comes on the radio. You remark how this is one of your favorite Rock Band songs, but your friend replies that this song, criminally, is not part of the Rock Band catalog. You argue about this point all night, ruining your dinner, drinks and, ultimately, friendship. There's another way -- a better way, friends. A new, unofficial and free iPhone tool from developer Three Brothers Apps titled "RB Song List" lets you scan through the game's downloadable catalog on the go. Using this app, you could have resolved this hypothetical argument in seconds, and then spent the rest of the night talking about why the hell "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" isn't available on the Rock Band Store.
Rock Band 3: how to import Rock Band 2 songs
Rock Band 3 is ready to receive the 1.93GB Rock Band 2 song export. RockBandAide details the export process (actually a track pack download) that requires $10 and the code from the back of your Rock Band 2 instruction manual, originally used for some bonus downloadable tracks. To redeem the code, go into the "Get More Songs" menu in Rock Band 3 and head on over to the "Redeem Code" option. The five songs that will not survive the export process are: AC/DC – "Let There Be Rock" Journey – "Any Way You Want It" Metallica – "Battery" Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Give It Away" Soundgarden – "Spoonman" RockBandAide reports nine songs from Harmonix bands will also not make it through the journey, but don't stop believin' in the company's bands, because they'll reportedly return as free DLC packs. Also, if you'd previously paid for the license transfer for Rock Band 1 tracks, don't worry -- those tracks are all set on your hard drive and ready for rockin'. Update: The PS3 and Wii export details will be explained once RockBand.com is live again. Also, regarding PS3 imports of Rock Band 2, users will need to wait until the PSN updates later today (same situation occurred with Fallout: New Vegas). For Xbox 360 owners who lost their RB2 manuals, there will be a code replacement service available. We'll update as we learn more. Update 2: For those who no longer have their RB2 manuals, Harmonix tweets: "if you need a new code you can get one from EA!" (though there is currently no clear way to request a code from the support page). Update 3: Harmonix now has all the particulars of exporting detailed in a guide. [Thanks, Andrew K.]
Rock Band 3 getting John Lennon's 'Imagine' album as DLC
Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that John Lennon's acclaimed 1971 album, "Imagine," will be among the first albums available for download in Rock Band 3. We imagine all the people who purchase the new keyboard peripheral will be very eager to play some of Lennon's ballads. An exact release date and price has yet to be announced (should that have been a "Gimme Some Truth" joke?), though you can expect Lennon's nine tunes (the title track is already on the disc) to join The Doors and Billy Joel online sometime after the game's October 26 launch. And even if you buy it a bit late, there's no better way to commemorate a legend's 70th birthday. Remember how disgusted Grandpa was when you gave him a quarter of a beetle inside a velvet box?
Rock Band 3 review: The only rhythm game you'll ever need
The peripheral-centric rhythm genre seems like it's been around for an eternity, doesn't it? In actuality, the genre went from relative obscurity to complete and utter saturation in just five years. From deep beneath a blanket of fake plastic instruments, it can be difficult to see where the innovation is going to come from next -- or, to put it more efficiently, it can be easy to adopt the opinion that the innovation may never come. Fortunately, Harmonix hasn't capitulated quite so easily. Though Rock Band 2 could be knocked for its lack of ambition, with its largest changes being focused on improving the user experience on a superficial level, the third generation of Harmonix's music platform has ambition to spare. Not only does it fix the few kinks left unsmoothed by previous entries into the series; it adds an unprecedented amount of new features to the Rock Band experience you, and likely your group of faux-bandmates, have come to know and love. That experience, already a relatively unparalleled source of enjoyment, is exponentially greater by the virtue of these new additions. To put it less mathematically: Rock Band 3 is the greatest rhythm game ever made, and quite possibly the only rhythm game you need to own. %Gallery-105733%
Rock Band 3 Fender Mustang Pro guitar review
Next week's Rock Band 3 launch marks a giant step for the franchise, with the pro mode edging its gameplay closer to actual musicianship. The keyboards and drums are easier transitions to make, given what's essentially one-to-one mapping for notes and logical input solutions. But what about a guitar, arguably the genre's flagship instrument? We've seen and tried two solutions to the pro guitar input conundrum: the Squier Stratocaster, an actual guitar that's still not ready for primetime, and the Mad Catz Fender Mustang, a 102-button replica more reminiscent of peripheral than instrument. Still, with a mid-November release date, the latter's likely to be your only official option for pro guitar rocking this holiday. So, how does it fare? Read on to find out! P.S. For all your other Rock Band 3 queries, check out Joystiq's exhaustive review! %Gallery-105735%
A Rock Band 3 pro guitar trailer to crush your dreams
There may have been a part of you that had a dream. You might have thought you could pick up a Rock Band 3 Mustang controller or Squier guitar, learn a few tricks, and instantly start rocking out in Pro Mode. Now, just watch the note charts in this video -- never mind trying to make sense of them -- and feel the weight of your dreams being crushed. Sorry kids, this is going to take some practice. It's like you're actually playing music or something.
Billy Joel coming to Rock Band 3 out of spite
There are plenty of reasons artists license their music for a rhythm game. There's money, certainly, and notoriety. But what about scorn? For Billy Joel, it was more than enough reason to license a dozen or so of his songs to Rock Band 3. Here's his account from USA Today:"I've never allowed my music to be used in a game before," but an Entertainment Weekly review of NBC's The Office changed his mind. Alluding to an episode in which characters mention a Rock Band featuring Billy Joel, "the critic wrote something like, 'God forbid that ever should happen.' So I called my people and said, 'Get me (on) that Rock Band game.' Then I wrote the critic, saying that every time I get a check, I'll give him a little nod." We're assuming the songs will cost money, but we'd submit that reading the above story and knowing we'll never do anything remotely that cool is a dear enough price to pay. Update: According to a release we just received from Harmonix, Joel's songs will start arriving on Dec. 14, including "Big Shot," "Captain Jack," "It's Still Rock N Roll to Me," "Movin' Out," "Only The Good Die Young," "Piano Man," "Pressure," "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," "The Entertainer," and "The Stranger"
Rock Band DLC web widget makes sense of 2000 song setlist
So, yeah, there are a lot of songs playable in Harmonix's various Rock Band games. More than 2,000 in fact, encompassing Rock Band Network, LEGO Rock Band, Rock Band 1, 2 and soon, Rock Band 3. In an effort to help make finding out if the song you want is among those, the developer has created an embeddable web widget that lets you search by artist, song title, year and genre (then sort within those results). It's really pretty handy -- we've embedded it after the break, actually, so you can give it a try. If you'd like to stick it on your websitethingy, grab the widget here. Those familiar with iframes and other such web two-point-oh terms will know what to do with it.
Rock Band 3 kicked off with The Doors DLC
With Rock Band 3's new keyboard peripheral, it seemed like a sure bet that we'd see downloadable songs from The Doors sooner or later. Harmonix has opted for "sooner," announcing the release of twelve Doors tunes on Rock Band 3's October 26 release date. Three of the songs, "Light My Fire," "Riders on the Storm," and "Touch Me," will not only feature downloadable Pro Guitar and Pro Bass functionality, but will also be free until November 1. The rest of the songs, which have yet to be officially priced, will be designed for traditional Rock Band guitars (and Pro drums and keyboards), and will be released as a nine-pack on October 26. After November 1, all the songs will be available as a twelve-pack. All this is part of a promotion for the November 22 release of the new Doors "Live in Vancouver 1970" CD set. Break on through to the other side of this post (we're so sorry) to see the list of tracks. Spoiler: yes, "L.A. Woman" is in there, for those of you desperate to have an excuse to chant "Mr. Mojo risin'" in your living room. [Update: Pricing info added.]
Harmonix talks about future projects, returning to Frequency and Amplitude
Though Rock Band 3 certainly seems to be doing its fair share of innovation, what with the keyboard peripheral and fancy real guitars, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos recently told Edge Online that the studio isn't in danger of drying up the idea well. "There's a lot of creative terrain to explore with Rock Band," Rigopulos explained, "new forms of interaction between the player and the music. We still have some very exciting things planned." One of those "very exciting things" was possibly referenced earlier in the interview, when Rigopulos explained the studio would love to return to its earlier rhythm titles -- namely, Frequency and Amplitude. "In terms of rhythm-action-type games focused on electronica," Rigopulos said, "that's something we'd love to come back to at the right moment in time. Or something completely new focused on that style of music." Ooh, ooh, we know! How about a game just called Rave, which uses two PlayStation Move controllers. We'd be so down for that.
Bon Jovi Greatest Hits album to be released as Rock Band 3 DLC
Bon Jovi's new "Greatest Hits" album will be released November 9. If you'd rather play along with your own feather-haired avatar than merely listen to "It's My Life" on repeat, you'll be able to do so through Rock Band, as the album will be released as DLC soon after the Rock Band 3 launch. "Bon Jovi for us is one of our most requested artists," MTV's Paul DeGooyer told MCV. "We've had a couple of songs on disc" -- as we can attest, with "Livin' On a Prayer" an unusually frequent song in our random selections -- "but we've never done a vertical campaign like this with them." Harmonix confirmed the Bon Jovi DLC in a forum post, with one caveat: "Don't expect a huge multi disc album release though, as the Surgeon General has determined that anything more than 12 tracks of Bon Jovi in a single pack could contain potentially dangerous levels of swoon when downloaded by women, and result in deadly amounts of 'good hair envy' in men." So it won't be the full two-disc "Ultimate Collection" version of the album. [Thanks, MarkHawk]
Rock Band catalog reaches 2,000 downloadable and on-disc tracks
Harmonix and MTV Games have announced that the total sum of the on-disc and downloadable songs for the Rock Band franchise has surpassed 2,000 tracks. Though these songs have been contributed by over 800 recording artists and bands, Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" was the song responsible for pushing the series' catalog past the massive milestone. We find that somewhat appropriate, as if you were to play all of the Rock Band franchise's 2,000 songs, you'd be pretty experienced at playing Rock Band. The game's creators also appear to be experienced at making oodles of money from song downloads, as the press release announcement reveals that players have downloaded over 75 million tracks from the Rock Band Store and Rock Band Network. We'd bet dollars to donuts that at least 65 million of those downloads were of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler." Dollars to donuts, we say!
PS3 Rock Band 3 keyboard bundle won't be sold in US
Recently, fans began noticing that the PS3 Rock Band 3 keyboard bundle had disappeared from US retailer listings. The $130 bundle is still available for pre-order on Xbox and WIi, and both the keyboard and game are available separately on PS3. Just ... no bundle. And that means that Rock Band 3 and the keyboard, together, are effectively ten dollars more expensive on PS3. Harmonix addressed this baffling omission today, announcing that due to "the agreement terms for the region," the PS3 keyboard bundle will not be available in the US, though the game and keyboard will be available separately. "This does not affect European customers as the Rock Band 3 keyboard/software PS3 bundles will still be available in Europe," the announcement states. We've contacted the developer to find out what exactly this agreement entails. If Harmonix sings, we'll let you know.
Remix the new OK Go single for Rock Band 3 competition
As evidenced by their music videos, OK Go's one of the more creative bands out there -- that's why we weren't surprised to hear about a competition the quartet is holding in conjunction with Rock Band 3. The rules of the contest are simple: Remix OK Go's newest single "White Knuckles" using all of your musical prowess. Dave Fridmann, the band's producer, will highlight his favorite remixes every week on OK Go's website, until the contest's winner is decided Oct. 29 -- at which point it will be transformed into a Rock Band Network track. Like magic! The creator of the winning track will also receive a 360, a Rock Band 3 full band bundle and a signed copy of OK Go's upcoming album, "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky." Would it be too much to ask that they sign the 360 and all the instruments, too? We mean, we know creating intricate internet music videos probably keeps them busy, but remixing a song for use in a video game's gotta be hard work, too.
'All' Rock Band 3 DLC to include Pro keyboard and drums, Pro guitar sold for $1 more
Harmonix had previously hinted that DLC for Rock Band 3's "Pro" mode would a bit more expensive than the vanilla offerings because it required "a lot more work to do." Speaking with IGN, MTV Games' Paul DeGooyer clarified exactly how the pricing will differ for the upcoming sequel. He explained that "all DLC released for Rock Band 3 will be fully Rock Band 3-compatible, which means it'll come with Pro Mode for keyboard and drums, harmony mode, etc." However, Pro Mode for guitar will be sold separately. "If you're not interested in Pro Mode for guitar, you can still get the DLC that should conform to our current DLC pricing, and you get Pro Mode for all your other instruments." The cost of Pro guitar will be $1, the interview reveals. "The alternative would be of course to include it (in the regular download) and up the price for everybody, which I don't think is really fair," DeGooyer argued. Additionally, he reveals that not all DLC tracks will even offer Pro notes for guitar, saying certain bands' "guitar parts wouldn't rise to the level that they would need to have pro mode authoring associated with them." Ouch. There are plans to retrofit earlier DLC with Pro tracks, however DeGooyer was unable to clarify how the process would work. Apparently, the studio is having trouble making a system that "recognizes people who have already purchased" DLC in order to "be able to supply the updated file at a discount."
Rock Band Weekly: Bob Marley's 'Legend' album
The rumor of Bob Marley's "Legend" coming to Rock Band next week is true, reports MTV Multiplayer. The one notable song missing from the DLC album release is "Get up, Stand up." You won't be stuck waiting in vain for this uplifting track, however, it's actually on the Rock Band 3 setlist. People, get ready, the complete "Legend" DLC details are posted after the break.
Rock Band 3 guitar trainer preview: Fret nice
We've previewed Rock Band 3's general new features, the Pro mode and the keyboard trainer, but where the rubber meets the road is the guitar trainer. This is where Harmonix can expand the scope of instrument-based rhythm games: If you can connect a real guitar to your console and actually play a game to learn how to play guitar, then learning to jam isn't just trivial, it's fun. Though I only got to play along with the pro guitar trainer for a short time, every indication is that Harmonix has done exactly that. The guitar trainer is astounding -- paired up with the real guitar controller from Fender or the 102-button controller, Harmonix applies its steady knowledge of gaming reward and replay not just to earning career mode money or having fun with your friends, but to actually learning and applying a knowledge of chords and guitar notes. %Gallery-102076%
