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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.
Guitar Hero out on iPhone now
Wait, isn't Guitar Hero out for the iPhone already? I guess it wasn't (competitor Rock Band came out months ago), but as of the keynote yesterday morning, it is now. Activision has finally released a version of the very popular music game for Apple's device, and the early reviews are pretty good. Unlike most of the music games on the iPhone, you can actually use the multitouch screen to "strum," in a minimal imitation of the game's guitar controller. The game also offers up customizable rockers, and it's Facebook-connected as well. The soundtrack is pretty impressive, too, although the pickings are slim without in-app purchases. There are six songs to play right away, from Queen to Rolling Stones to Weezer, and then you can buy various 3-packs of songs from different bands like Protest the Hero and Vampire Weekend. The app itself is priced at just US$2.99, so it looks like Activision is aiming to compete with the $6.99 Rock Band by going cheap and making it up on the in-app purchases. Which is actually not a bad idea -- this way, you only have to pay for the songs that you want rather than a big song list that you're not interested in. Otherwise, the app seems like a respectable version of the console game on Apple's handheld. It's a little late, given that competitors have all released their own versions already, but it's priced and featured accordingly. If you've still got room for another music game on your iPhone, it's worth checking out.
Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero: January DLC
If you've been jonesing to play along to a song performed by a fictional, cartoon heavy metal band, then look no further: Activision has announced a downloadable Dethklok song coming this month to the Guitar Hero line, as part of a metal track pack. On the opposite extreme, January will see a Vampire Weekend collection released for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero to coincide with the band's new album, as well as a three-track Creedence Clearwater Revival set and a collection of songs from "up-and-coming blues masters." (We assume that these so-called masters are real people and not cartoon characters.) All tracks packs will be available for $5.49 on PS3, 550 Wii Points, or 440 on Xbox 360. In addition, all songs will be available a la carte for $1.99, 200 Wii Points, or 160. Head past the break for the complete January DLC lineup.
