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Rocksmith maintains its thrill with Blues Pack DLC
Ubisoft has announced a new round of downloadable content for Rocksmith. The Blues Pack DLC lives up to its name, adding three blues tracks to the available roster. Specifically, the pack includes "Soul Man" by the Blues Brothers, "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan and "The Thrill Is Gone" by blues legend B.B. King.The songs are available via PSN or Xbox Live for $3 each. Download them now and fool your friends. Tell them your dad totally knows someone at Ubisoft and got an early copy of Bluessmith.
Ubisoft dates Rocksmith for UK despite trademark issue
Ubisoft has issued a September 14 release date for its guitar teaching program Rocksmith in the UK. There's a small problem with that: Ubisoft hasn't actually cleared the trademark dispute that pushed the game into 2012 in the first place. "No agreement/deal has been reached and no meaningful dialogue engaged," Kris Ford, percussionist for the band Rocksmith, told Eurogamer.Ford said the release date announcement was "interesting but no surprise." Proceedings with the European trademark office are expected to continue through June. Giving a date to the game is "a bit presumptive to say the least, as to the outcome of that process and decision." He admitted that Ubisoft could just launch the game as it did in the US, "which will mean the start of a different kind of legal battle in the UK courts." Ford then went on to hope for "another English victory" close to the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. Really.
Rocksmith update adds user interface and lag tweaks
Have you felt like your Rocksmith-ing hasn't been as full of rock as it could be? Been having problems trying to navigate all those menus? The latest update aims to address your concerns and more.Perhaps the biggest feature being introduced is Lag Correction, an option that allows users to tweak sound and the speed at which notes are displayed on the screen. Another fix eliminates errant scores achieved in Guitarcade through exploiting the pause button -- pulling an ill-intended Peter Moore, if you will. The precision tuner is also now more accessible and available prior to any song or event outside of multiplayer.Hit the break for the full list of changes.
Rocksmith DLC: Don't Fear the Barracuda swimming through the Space Oddity
Rocksmith DLC takes a trip through time this week, with a trio of songs from the 60s and 70s. David Bowie's "Space Oddity," Heart's "Barracuda," and Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" have all been released as new downloadable content. The songs can be had for $3 apiece on either PSN or Xbox Live.
Amazon discounts select PS3 peripherals, active games
We don't mean these games will make you start taking hikes or playing bocce ball in the park or something. These are games Amazon has classified as active -- they require more input from the player than simply mashing a button or d-pad. Sometimes you have to, like, stand up to play these games. Amazon's discounting Just Dance 3, the LittleBigPlanet 2 Move bundle, Zumba Fitness ... and Rocksmith? Rocking out counts as activity, we guess. There are also discounts on Kinect and the Wii Cyberbike. Oh, and PS3 accessories have been incongruously mixed into the list. You can pick up some 3D glasses, in case Santa dropped one of those 3D displays down your chimney this year.
Rocksmith drops free holiday DLC
Just in time to prepare for your audition with the Transiberian Orchestra, Rocksmith is getting into the holiday spirit with the free Holiday Song Pack. The pack includes shreddable versions of "Carol of the Bells," "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and "We Three Kings." You can grab it from Xbox Live right now. And again, lest you missed it the first time around, it's free.
12 Days of Joyswag: Rocksmith, Epiphone guitar, and Astro A40 headphones
Another year, another 12 days of holiday giveaways! Between now and Christmas Day, we're doing the one thing that makes us feel truly alive: giving. Specifically, we're giving you fine folks some of the swag we've managed to collect in our cluttered home offices. And the good will and merriment doesn't stop here! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for even more chances to win! Hey, you. Yeah, the nerdy dude (or lady dude) in the back. Do you know how to rock? Yeah, we can do the plastic guitar thing too, but we're talking about with a real axe. While Rocksmith may not have been our exact cup of tea, there's no denying that it actually works: You can control a video game with a plain old guitar. And we're going to prove it to one of you by giving away a copy of the game on Xbox 360, an Epiphone SG G-310 electric guitar, and a pair of wired Astro A40 headphones with the Rocksmith logo. That's everything you'll need to get the lead out. Whatever that means.
Rocksmith DLC adds Vampire Weekend, T. Rex, Three Days Grace
If you've got the patience to stick with Rocksmith's guided tutorials, you could know the guitar parts of three new songs by the weekend. The real guitar-utilizing game will have its DLC library expanded with a trio of tracks this week: "Cousins" by Vampire Weekend, "20th Century Boy" by T. Rex and "I Hate Everything About You" by Three Days Grace. We can confirm that the first two, at least, are great songs, and that the third might just be the angriest song ever recorded by a human being. Each track will run shoppers 240 Microsoft Points ($2.99 on PSN), but the ability to impress all the ladies and dudes on the quad with the preposterously frantic rhythm portion of "Cousins" is absolutely priceless.
Rocksmith adds Radiohead, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Black Keys; more DLC coming Nov. 15
Fret not, ye who have mastered all of the licks and diddies found in Ubisoft's Rocksmith: DLC is incoming. Today, Ubisoft has announced that select Radiohead, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Keys jams are available for download today. It's mostly what you'd expect -- well, in the case of Lynyrd Skynyrd, anyway: "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Body Snatchers" by Radiohead and "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys are available for 240 MS Points ($3) or $2.99 on PlayStation Network each. On November 15, the Rock Hits 1970's Pack makes available Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," Boston's "More Than a Feeling" and The Allman Brothers Band's "Jessica," all of which will follow the same pricing scheme. Ubisoft promises "new music packs will be released on a regular basis." So, every two weeks then?
Detoc: Rocksmith reviews show 'lack of enthusiasm' for innovation
Laurent Detoc, Ubisoft's North American executive director, believes Rocksmith didn't fare better in reviews because it was just too innovative. "What I see when I read the reviews is a lack of enthusiasm for something that is new," Detoc told Gamasutra. "We, as human beings, tend to like what we know." That lack of interest in new experiences, of course, is exactly what led us to say that Rocksmith "oozes boredom," suffered from audio latency, and "declines every single opportunity presented to educate the player on music theory." He then went on to say that reviewers are asked to cover too many disparate genres. "We can't expect critics to be experts at everything," he said. That was the other unspoken issue, we suppose. Rocksmith was too new, and we don't have a dedicated "being taught how to play the guitar" critic.
Rocksmith review: Drop-D minus
Video games, by design, are meant to impart fantasy; they let us make believe that we as people are more incredible than we actually are, or that there's more to the world around us than we realize. They're a way to bridge the gap between the possible and the impossible, and music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero help the musically unskilled escape their lack of real-world training. Even though it's not really like playing a guitar, those games still require skill and concentration, and can be just as satisfying as a result. Rocksmith's approach to rhythm games is rather different, however, in that it subverts the illusion of musicianship found in its contemporaries in an effort to turn you into a real musician, capable of playing a real, honest to goodness guitar. But the reality of the situation is that Rocksmith fails as both an educational platform and as a rhythm title, despite its groundbreaking technological foundations.%Gallery-125828%
Ubisoft delays Rocksmith until 2012 in Europe over trademark dispute
If you live across the pond, you may be familiar with the band Rocksmith. Ubisoft, publisher of the upcoming Rocksmith video game, is currently entrenched in a legal dispuit with the band, who tells Eurogamer that it even preemptively approached Ubisoft to work out an agreement. Apparently, Ubisoft "ignored" the band's letters. Currently, Rocksmith has a tentative 2012 launch window in Europe, the result of a subsequent official complaint levied against Ubisoft. That apparently got noticed, Kris Ford, the band's percussionist, told Eurogamer. "They've threatened me with a defamation of character action, for comments that I've made in the media. I'm not quite sure what they mean by that," he said. "They were just being bullies I think, because there's nothing I've said that can't be backed up with absolute fact. I've got documents proving that I registered the name." There isn't a definite time-frame of resolution for the matter, though official documents say the dispute could last as long as February 29, 2012. "Everything is down to them; if they want to delay then they just carry on as they are. If they don't want to delay things then they'd better start talking to me or my lawyers," Ford said.
Rocksmith, as demonstrated by John 'Fatal1ty' Wendel
Surprisingly, there's nothing "XTREAM" at all about this Rocksmith promo video featuring pro gamer John 'Fatal1ty' Wendel. Instead, we have a laid-back look at his daily progress with the game. He's no Satriani after three days, but it's still pretty nifty to see a game actually teach someone a real skill. Rocksmith is out October 18. We just hope the release won't be accompanied by Fatal1ty branded guitar picks.
Rocksmith: Schooled by rock
If I had Rocksmith when I was a kid, I would be a lot better off now. In 1995, I begged my parents to buy me a guitar. As you can imagine, I was swept up in the grunge fever that permeated a lot of the '90s. My idol, Kurt Cobain, died a year before and being the 12-year-old I was, I had it all figured out: I was going to be a rock star. My parents bought me a used Ibanez acoustic, with the promise of an electric guitar if I stayed at it. I did and, 16 years later, at an event for Ubisoft's Rocksmith, I discovered that my parents and I had wasted money on guitar instruction over the years. %Gallery-125828%
Rocksmith will support co-op play with separate cable
You'd be surprised how much space one needs to appropriately rock out. We'd suggest at least three or four feet of space around you to be left clear when rocking, but if you're willing to risk rocking out over another rocker, you can pick up a special cable that lets two individuals play Rocksmith on the same TV. Ubisoft calls it the Real Tone Cable. It'll be available for individual purchase (MSRP $29.99) alongside Rocksmith when it launches on October 18. Hit the jump for the full press release.
Rocksmith also available in $200 Epiphone guitar bundle
Rocksmith allows you to use any guitar as a music game controller, and for interactive music lessons. That's so awesome if you have an electric guitar! But what if you don't have a guitar? What then? What do you do? How does that work? It'll be okay. In addition to the normal $80 bundle (which includes the game and an interface cable), Ubisoft has announced a $200 bundle that throws in an Epiphone Les Paul Junior guitar. It's an "entry level" guitar, but then, if you're buying Rocksmith, you're probably an "entry level" guitar player, and you can buy into the hobby for less than you'd spend at a pawn shop.
Rocksmith preview: Six-string authenticity
Perhaps it's because of the immeasurable oversaturation of the peripheral-based rhythm genre, but my initial reaction to Rocksmith wasn't exactly warm. Others have tried to incorporate real guitars into their music titles with varying levels of success, but Rocksmith's approach to using a six-string as a controller seemed a tad primitive at first glance: Instead of detecting metal-on-metal contact on a MIDI-equipped guitar controller, Rocksmith merely detects the tones produced by your real instrument. Though it seems unsophisticated, Rocksmith's recognition of sound turns out to be its greatest strength. Rather than teach you an exhaustive new interface and set of techniques, Rocksmith makes one simple demand of its players: You make the notes, and we'll make them sound awesome. %Gallery-125828%
New Rocksmith songs announced, Titus Andronicus, Best Coast and Pixies make the cut
For serious, you guys: Ubisoft's real-guitar rhythm game Rocksmith is shaping up to have one of the best soundtracks ever featured in a rhythm game. The company announced a whole mess of new play-it-yourself tunes today, showcasing the game's creators' indie rock credibility: Best Coast's "When I'm With You," Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch," and Titus Andronicus' "A More Perfect Union" are just a handful of the college radio-friendly tracks included therein. Check out the full list of songs after the jump. Don't worry, grandpa, there's still some Cream and Rolling Stones in the mix which may better suit your old, old ears. Maybe if you ask really nicely, you might be able to get some Jelly Roll Morton and Irving Berlin into the final release, you super old grandpa, you.
Pre-order Rocksmith at GameStop, get $25 off a real guitar
Rocksmith, Ubisoft's upcoming resuscitation of rhythm game Guitar Rising that allows players to plug in any guitar and jam away, has a special promotion going on through GameStop. Anyone who pre-orders the game (a product with a $79.99 MSRP) will get a voucher good for $25 off any guitar purchase at a Guitar Center location of their choosing or via Guitar Center's web site. The voucher will be sent "within two business days" after the game ships or printed out in-store. It can't be combined with any "clearance, ukuleles, price matches, scratch & dent, vintage equipment, Gift Cards and musician services (Pro Coverage, GC Garage)" and the coupon is only valid through December 31, 2011.
First look at Rocksmith, straight out of SXSW
If we were Ubisoft, we would have picked Austin's South by Southwest event as the location for the first demonstration of Rocksmith as well. During that week in March, it would have been impossible to find a person who wasn't totally thrilled about anything involving a guitar. So keep in mind that many of the people interviewed in this trailer (after the break) were already in high spirits (and possibly high on spirits) when they tried Ubisoft's real-guitar-compatible music game. At least you'll be able to see the game for yourself -- the first gameplay footage is contained within, too. Rocksmith looks to feature a traditional Rock Band/Guitar Hero interface, with the guitar's strings represented vertically on top of the note chart. It's harder to explain it than it is to tell you to just watch the video.
